Captive Spirit (24 page)
Pakuna laughed. “Apache? Trees as tall as clouds?” he snickered with disbelief. “Have you grown as mad as Chitsa?”
Honovi’s voice got louder. His nostrils flared. “Aiyana speaks the truth. I saw them, too. And more.”
“Diego will be back,” I said again. “He’ll bring others. I’m sure of it. You must believe us. You’re not safe here. These mountains can no longer protect you. Come with us,” I begged. “We’ll find the others together.”
“Never!” Pakuna yelled. “This is our village. This is your village, too. If you leave here, you can never return.”
Chitsa began to mumble to herself. She shook a necklace tied around her neck. Tiny river shells hung all along it. When the necklace moved, it sounded like rain.
She was trying to remind me.
I nodded at her, just once, and the corners of her wrinkled mouth turned up underneath so many folds of skin.
Silently, I reached for Honovi’s hand and threaded my fingers through his. Lobo looked up at us, panting.
And then we started to run.
Liz Fichera wrote her first story about her collie, Lady, when she was ten years old. She’s been hooked on writing stories ever since although, mercifully, her story lines have expanded beyond furry animals that talk and dance. Liz’s path from hobby writer to published writer was neither easy nor quick. From the time of her first story till the publication of her first novel, Liz has worked as a woefully bad receptionist, teacher, technical writer, project manager, and IT Director for a Fortune 500 firm. Born and raised in Park Ridge, Illinois, Liz moved to Arizona after college, never expecting to live more than one year among cactus and people who’d never seen snow. She was wrong. When she’s not busy writing her next novel, Liz likes to travel, visit museums, support local theater productions and try to cook Italian dishes that taste as good as her mother’s. Liz and her husband, Craig, live in Phoenix, Arizona.
Captive Spirit
is her debut novel. You can visit her on her website at www.lizfichera.com.
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ISBN: 978-1-4268-9039-0
Copyright © 2010 by Liz Fichera
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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