Free Two Moons of Sera by Pavarti K. Tyler

closed in on me.
    “Ignore him,” the woman said, still staring at Tor. “It’s
his own fault he doesn’t take his medicine or do his exercises.”
    Despite his strange appearance, he didn’t seem threatening.
His breathing was shallow and his color faded, like someone had turned off the
pigment and allowed him to drift away. I crouched. His stout features lacked
definition, blending from one to the next.
    “I’m Serafay,” I said.
    With gray-blue eyes, he looked up and offered a weak smile. “Hi,
I’m Lock. That’s Lace.” He sucked in a deep breath. “She’s right you know—it’s
my own fault. I know I should take the meds. I just hate the taste.”
    “I’m just worried about you,” I said.
    “Don’t. It’ll pass and the shuttle will be here soon.”
    “You called them?” Lace asked, returning to her companion. “Good.
They’re going to want to know there are mountain hounds in this area.”
    “No,” Tor said. The darkness of worry shadowed his face.
When he strode across the opening toward the cliff wall, Elgon followed, never
more than a pace behind. “No one needs to know he’s here. You are safe. We’ll
go.”
    “What? Are you insane?” Lace demanded. “We have to report
everything we find, including you two.”
    Everything stopped and the oxygen seeped out of the sky into
space, leaving me breathless. She studied our clothes, looking from Tor’s bare
feet to my flimsy dress. I was covered in mud and grime. Another second and we
would be sucked into the void above, our lives and everything we knew would be
shattered.
    Elgon must have sensed the tension, because he growled and
Tor’s face tightened under Lace’s examination.
    “They’re just on an extended mission, Lace. Look at them.
They must be a Matched Pair from that Iaera survival expedition last year,”
Lock said.
    “That’s right,” I agreed, quickly moving in front of Tor to
block him from their view. “We’ve been learning how to survive out here.”
    “Where are the others?” Lace demanded.
    “We... we got separated. Haven’t seen them in a long time.”
    “You two have been out here all year?”
    “Yes,” Tor responded from behind me. The warmth of his body
reached out, protecting me. I knew he wanted to run, but we couldn’t: they’d
report finding us either way. If we ran now, they’d know was something wrong
and tell everyone about it.
    “All right.” Lace glared at Tor. “The shuttle will be here
when?”
    “Any minute now,” Lock said.
    “Good. You’ll come back to the camp with us.”
    “ No .” Tor’s voice was thick, the word seeping out
like venom.
    Lace glared and squared her shoulders. She looked dangerous
standing like that.. What would happen if they forced us to go, or if we
escaped and they hunted us down? I looked like an Erdlander, but I couldn’t
risk casting any doubt on my parentage.
    “Tor,” I said, feigning playfulness, “we’ve been out here a
long time. We’ve gotten used to being alone, but we need to go back to the
camp. We have to check in. All right?”
    I placed a hand on Tor’s arm as I spoke. My fingers tingled
from the contact. Was the electric feeling his skin sent through me normal for
everyone? Or was it him?
    At the touch, he twitched and scanned my eyes. “Elgon” he
said.
    “Will stay here.” I kept my hand on his arm, hoping the
contact would soothe the pain he likely felt at leaving his friend behind. “The
camp won’t be safe for him.”
    Tor nodded and stepped away, bowing his head. Elgon rose and
pushed against his leg until Tor scratched the animal’s head.
    “I don’t get how you control him,” Lock said, his breath
finally evening out.
    “I don’t,” Tor said.
    “Tor and Elgon just understand each other. They have a
connection, I guess. Elgon won’t hurt you. He’s just protecting us.”
    A disruption above shattered the peaceful sky. Its
reverberation was deafening. My mind screamed, warning me a whine like that
wasn’t