Free Tremors: A Stone Braide Chronicles Story by Bonnie S. Calhoun Page B

the slope. Sinking into the sand with every urgent footfall, she darted to the beach.
    “Stop!” she screamed as she charged their position and slid to a stop at the edge of the surf. He was going to ruin the catch.
    She made eye contact with Raza. He grinned, almost sadistic, thenturned and plunged his long knife into the gossamer film covering the boat’s surface. He ripped the knife back. The film billowed up as though caught on a breeze and evaporated in a sparkling cloud of mist.
    She had only recently spotted the spider web covering from her lookout high on the dunes. From the ground she could never see it on the boat, and it dissolved once the boats crashed and broke open. It must be some foreign high-tech way to keep the Landers from getting sunburned on the long journey across the ocean, because none of them were ever lobster-red after such a long time at sea.
    “You shouldn’t be on the beach. This is a man’s job, not something for little girls,” Raza said with a sneer. He glanced over the side of the boat, then replaced the long knife in its sheath on his hip.
    Selah screamed again and charged into the surf to pummel him. He had a male ego as large as that boat. Just because he was the oldest son did not mean he was her boss.
    “You call yourself a hunter. You just cost the family a whole lot of credits!” she yelled.
    Cleon caught her around the waist, lifting her feet from the ground and swinging her around. Her legs were still moving, creating a windmill that slammed Cleon in the shins. The effect could have been funny at any other time, but at five feet nine and 160 pounds, Cleon had a muscular farm-boy build that outweighed Selah by enough to hold her in the air without breaking a sweat, despite his pain.
    “Whoa, girl. Take it easy. You’re going to drown yourself that way.” Cleon laughed, holding tight.
    Selah struggled to get free. “That was so stupid, Raza. You know better than to break the covering. Now you’ve killed the Lander. You should have let it crash to the rocks and disgorge him alive. There’s no bounty on dead bodies. Father is going to be mad.”
    Raza, six feet tall and 190 pounds of muscle, hauled the boat to shore behind him. He continued to ignore Selah, which only succeeded in making her angrier.
    Her arms and legs continued to thrash as she struggled to find release from Cleon’s grasp. “You’re stupid! Do you hear me? I’d make a better hunter than you. I don’t know why I’m not allowed, but I know I could do a better job than—”
    “Selah! Be quiet, girl!” Father’s voice boomed. He strolled around a rock outcropping, shovel in hand. “What are you doing here onthe beach? I thought I told you to stay away until after your Birth Remembrance.”
    Cleon released his hold and Selah pushed away from him. She pointed at the boat beached on the sand. “Raza ruined that catch. I could have—”
    “You didn’t answer my question!” Father yelled as he moved closer and stabbed the shovel deep into the sand. He towered over her at six feet. His blond hair waved in her face as he bent to stare her in the eyes. He was an ordinary-looking man, but the scowl changed his face to sinister.
    Selah cringed. When he was this angry, no answer other than complete submission would defuse him.
    She lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Father. I forgot.” But that was a lie. She hadn’t forgotten. She hoped he couldn’t sense the deception in her voice. “But the catch—”
    “That’s not your problem, girl. You should be at home right now, watching your brother, so Pasha can do her weaving.” Father turned to Cleon. “Take her home. Now.”
    Cleon grumbled his displeasure and motioned Selah to his Sand Run. The four-wheeled beach machine had overly large tires that would easily hold two of them for the half-mile ride to the house. But it would be half that distance if Selah walked her favorite shortcut.
    She stood beside the vehicle as he revved it and motioned her