Racing the Dark Read Free Page A

across her mind. She wanted love. She had enough defiance to hide this-even though she couldn't bring herself to destroy the mandagah's unwanted gift entirely. She heard her mother's soft footsteps outside her room.

    "Lana? Can I come in?"
    She made certain the red jewel was completely hidden, and then pulled back the curtains. Her mother was holding some rags that Lana was afraid she recognized.
    "Why don't we sit down?" her mother said, gesturing toward Lana's sleeping mat.
    Lana shook her head. "I'll just bleed all over it again."
    Her mother smiled. "All right. I just wanted to show you how to use these. And don't grimace like that. It's part of becoming a woman.
    Lana suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.
    "You have to face it sometime," Leilani said. Her reproving expression was ruined by the slight smile turning up the corners of her mouth.
    Lana laughed a little herself. "All right, Mama."
    She went outside to the pump to clean herself off after her mother had explained how to swaddle herself in the women's rags. Lana felt uncomfortable, but she supposed she would get used to it eventually. The sky had cleared since she had returned home, and even this early in the morning it felt like it would be one of the hotter days of the season. As she pumped water into a large bucket, she wondered if she should heat it, but the air was already too hot to take the trouble. She poured some of the water over her body, shivered with the icy shock of it, and then grabbed the half-used bar of soap set beside the bucket on the wooden platform. She scrubbed her entire body, making sure to clean the last of the dried blood from her thighs before she tackled her long, tangled hair. She left a good deal of it in the comb by the time she managed to get it into some semblance of order. She tugged at it more impatiently than normal, eager to get started on curing her jewels. She knew that she still had a little time, but was irrationally afraid that they would start rotting immediately.

    When she stepped outside, still moving uncomfortably in her swaddling, she noticed that her mother had laid some new clothes out for her on the porch. She smiled a little-finally, she would get to wear her own leibo, like the other divers on her island. She recognized this particular pair-they had belonged to her grandmother. Lana pulled them on and then fastened the buttons. They were a little long-reaching to her mid-calf instead of just below her knees-but they actually fit her in the hips. She checked to make sure that no one was watching and then twirled around quickly.
    When the women dove, they wore just their leibo without a shirt, but her mother had laid out something special for her celebration. It was a shirt of sheer fabric-cotton, she realized, which meant it must be quite expensive since it had to be importedhemmed by shiny bits of seashells. She put it on and then let down her hair.
    "You look beautiful, Lana."
    Lana whirled, her heart pounding. Her mother stood behind her on the stairs to the porch. Her arms were crossed, and she was laughing.
    "How ... how long have you been standing there?"
    Leilani smiled. "They're a little long for you, but I don't suppose you'll mind. Your grandmother was taller."
    Lana put her hands in the deep pockets and imagined filling them with mandagah jewels. The pants were that peculiar shade of white only achieved by constant use under the harsh island sun.
    "Thank you," she said.

    Her mother shrugged. "They're your birthright. Now, why don't you go and cure that jewel? If you do it now, it should be finished by tomorrow."
    Lana nodded and went back inside to get her shoes. She brushed some of the sand off her feet before she entered her room-sand tended to fill the room like floodwater unless she was careful. She shut her curtains and made absolutely sure her mother was still outside before moving her pillow and taking the red jewel from underneath it.
    Her hand trembled as she picked it up. She could hardly