Polly
Iyer
This book is a work of fiction. All names of characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination, including some
geographical
references. I hope no one is offended by the liberties I’ve taken under artistic license. Any resemblance to persons either living or dead is purely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.
Cover design by Polly
Iyer
Goddess of the Moon
Copyright © 201
2
by Polly
Iyer
ASIN:
B009Y3OAG4
Table of Contents
Chapter One
The Snatch
Chapter Two
The Call
Chapter Three
The Bassinet
Chapter Four
Clarity in All the Confusion
Chapter Five
The Star and the Crescent Moon
Chapter Six
The Offering
Chapter Seven
Into the Mythological Realm
Chapter Eight
A Magnetic Attraction
Chapter Nine
The Pink Room in the Pink House
Chapter Ten
The Devil’s Room
Chapter Eleven
A Mixture of Purity and Evil
Chapter Twelve
Transformation
Chapter Thirteen
A Truth Stranger than Fiction
Chapter Fourteen
The Descent into Hell
Chapter Fifteen
Hacker Extraordinaire
Chapter Sixteen
The Invitation
Chapter Seventeen
A Question of Genes
Chapter Eighteen
Ascent from Hell
Chapter Nineteen
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
Chapter Twenty
Back into the Lion’s Den
Chapter Twenty-one
A Game of One-Upmanship
Chapter Twenty-two
Break Up or Make Up
Chapter Twenty-three
The Never Retractable Word
Chapter Twenty-Three
When Dreams Become Reality
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Age of Defiance
Chapter Twenty-Five
A Little Twist of the Knife
Chapter Twenty-Six
A Tangled Web
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Hidden Meaning
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Irresistible Magnetism
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Gods and Goddesses
Chapter Thirty
Temptation
Chapter Thirty-One
The Agenda
Chapter Thirty-Two
A Tearful Reunion
Chapter Thirty-Three
An Unthinkable Conclusion
Chapter Thirty-Four
A Little Background Music
Chapter Thirty-Five
The Seed of a Plan
Chapter Thirty-Six
Who’s Watching the Children?
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The Night of the Crescent Moon
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Fear, the Consequence of Truth
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Return to the Comfort Zone
Chapter Forty
To Act the Part
Chapter Forty-One
Into the Lioness’s Den
Chapter Forty-Two
Who’s the Boss?
Chapter Forty-Three
A Rude Awakening
Chapter Forty-Four
The Disciple
Chapter Forty-Five
Chameleon
Chapter Forty-Six
A Pie in the Eye
Chapter Forty-Seven
The Truth Will Set You Free
Chapter Forty-Eight
Breaking the Weak Link
Chapter Forty-Nine
Welcome to Paradise
Chapter Fifty
Last Try, Do or Die
Chapter Fifty-One
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Chapter Fifty-Two
The Ticket to Ride
Chapter Fifty-Three
Beat the Dawn
Chapter Fifty-Four
Silent Confession
Chapter Fifty-Five
Escape
Chapter Fifty-Six
The Long-Awaited Reading
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Amid the Confusion
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Introspection
Chapter One
Th
e Snatch
K
idnapping
babies
used to be
easier
.
He’d check the charts to
be sure he had the right
baby
and wait for t
he perfect moment
. Then
a
snip of the
plastic
bracelet
,
sli
de
the baby
into the
satchel in the
cleaning cart
,
and
out the
employees’
door.
No one paid attention to a hospital janitor.
Now
,
impossible-to-remove
bar coding and electronic devices
on the bab
ies
ignited a firestorm of
alarms
that rivaled warnings of
an enemy attack
on the homeland.
He’d been careful breaking into the houses.
One
reported
kidnapping wasn’t even his.
The
propitious theft kept the police from
determining
a pattern
.
After
the mother and child
left
the hospital,
he’d
watched the house for days, s
afely out of sight
. This evening
, t
he
parents
had
show
n
off the
infant
to their guests,
then
put her down in
the
n
ursery.
He saw no activity at the house
next door.
Another perfect moment
.
Bushes hid the low wind
ow
. He
donned latex gloves,
pushed up the screen
,
and inserted a pry bar into the sliver between the window sash and the outer sill
on the right, then
on
the left.
A
lternat
ing
sides
,
he pried
upward
until he’d exerted
enough force to break the latch
. He
raised the window
and
ho
isted himself
inside
.
The little
treasure
slept soundly, making those sweet baby noises he loved.
H
e plucked a
small
plastic bag from
the padded satchel
slung over his shoulder
,
unzipped it
,
and extracted a square of gauze soaked with sweet wine
. He
touched
it
to
the baby’s lips
, and s
he drew on her natural instincts to suck. Not too much, he cautioned himself
―j
ust enough to act as an anesthesia,
a
technique rabbis used during a Jewish boy’s circumcisio
n. He
gingerly placed her inside
the satchel
and
cooed, “Sleep, beautiful one.”