Racing the Dark Read Free

she pushed him away. She was a woman now, after all. Her left hand was balled in a tight fist, which she made an effort to distract from by holding out the normal jewel in her right hand.
    "How ... long was I under?" Lana asked her father as they walked toward Okilani. Her mother was standing next to the elder, with wet sand stains visible on the knees of her leibo.
    He looked down at her, with a small smile, and she saw the relief in his tense face. "Nearly six minutes," he said.
    Six minutes? She pushed the shock from her mind; she had reached Okilani. She allowed her father to step away from her, and then she bowed slightly to the elder.
    "I have passed the test, honorable elders. I return with this jewel, taken from the mouth of a sacred mandagah." She thought of the ancient creature and the way it had stared at her, how it had given her its jewels as a gift. It was probably dead by now, she realized.
    Okilani took the jewel and stared hard at Lana. She cringed inwardly under Okilani's gaze but managed to keep her face calm. The elder glanced at Lana's tightly closed left fist and then at her eyes. Blood was rushing in Lana's ears, but she met Okilani's stare. She could not let Okilani discover the red jewel. The elder could suspect all she wanted, but Lana would not betray that secret. To Lana's relief, Okilani looked away from her and toward the other six elders.
    "She has passed the test. Do any object?"
    There was silence.
    "Very well. Iolana bei'Leilani, you have passed the rite of womanhood. You are now, and for the rest of your life, a diver for the sacred fish and a disciple of the water spirit."

    There was a cheering on the beach, but it seemed like an insignificant buzz in her ears. She had passed the test. She had become a diver-like every woman in her family had been for generations. She should be happy, or at least relieved. But all she could think about was finding some excuse to get away and hide the red jewel in her left hand before it was discovered.
    Her mother came up to her and hugged her tightly. Lana was shocked to feel the sudden wetness of a tear on her forehead. Was her mother crying?
    "I'm ... I'm so proud of you, Lana," she said.
    Lana realized suddenly how long those almost six minutes must have been for her mother. She hugged her back just as tightly.
    "Don't worry, Mama. I'm fine."
    Her mother broke away and smiled, wiping her eyes.
    "This is an incredible specimen," Lana heard, and she turned to see Aya, one of the other elders, reaching out to hand her blue jewel back to her. "Larger than normal, and such beautiful swirls of color. I imagine it will be even more breathtaking once it's cured. Such a good omen-don't you agree, Okilani?"
    Okilani looked speculatively at Lana and at her jewel. "Perhaps"
    "Honorable elders," Lana said, and bowed again, "I'm afraid I am a little strained from my dive. If it would be permissible ..."
    Okilani smiled slightly. "Of course, Lana. You may go rest." She raised her voice so it could be heard further away. "Tonight we celebrate Iolana's passage to womanhood with a feast."
    Back home with her parents, Lana ran to her room as soon as they'd climbed the stairs and quickly placed the red jewel under her straw pillow. She would have to cure both jewels soon. She paused, her hand hovering in the air above the hidden jewel. For the first time, she was struck by the implications of her deception. The sacred fish had marked her as one for the spirits. Her mother would be horrified to learn that she would subvert her destiny like this. Leilani would turn it into a privilege, an honor, but Lana already knew the honor cost too much. Maybe she was irresponsible, maybe she was selfish, but even now the thought of going back to Okilani and admitting what she had found was untenable. She wanted her life to be her own, not the spirits'. She wanted to make her own decisions. She wanted ... for a moment, the face of Kohaku, her teacher from the outer islands, flashed