Luna's Arc

Chapter 6 of 29

Luke's hand shook in Luna's grip. His lips had gone blue. He shivered under his thin shirt, and his ribs pushed against the cloth. He had hidden in the graveyard too long with no food and no fire. Luna touched his forehead. Cold. She saw it plain: her brother would not last the night. She had to make him warm and fed, fast, or she would lose him before morning. She pulled him away from the open graves, into the trees. She gathered fallen branches and stacked them in a dome. Then she wove leaves through the gaps until the wind stopped biting. The cat slipped inside and curled in the dark. Luna pushed Luke in after it. The shelter held them both. "I'm cold," Luke whispered. "I know. I'm fixing it." Luke dug into his coat. He held out two things. A gold lighter, polished bright even in the gloom. And a red pocketknife with many folded tools. Luna took them and stared. On the knife's handle, a name was carved. Luke. His name, not hers. She pushed the questions down and worked. She scraped a pit in the dirt with the knife's blade. She heaped dry twigs and leaves inside. Then she flicked the lighter. A flame jumped up. She touched it to the leaves, and the fire caught. Warm light spread over Luke's pale face. Luna gutted the fish with the small blade. She spitted it on a green stick and held it over the flames. Fat dripped and hissed. When the flesh turned white, she pulled it apart. She fed the best pieces to Luke. He ate with both hands. She gave scraps to the cat, which licked them clean. For herself, Luna ate the last of the blackberries. She was full enough. Color came back to Luke's cheeks. He stopped shivering. He leaned against her side and his eyes grew heavy. The fire crackled. The cat purred. Her brother would live. But Luna could not rest. She turned the knife in the firelight and read the carved name again. Luke. She looked at the shining lighter in her palm. Their parents had left Luke tools to survive. A blade. A flame. His own name cut into the metal, like a gift meant for him alone. They had left her nothing. No knife. No fire. No name carved anywhere. She stared at the sleeping boy. How had their parents known she would find him here, in all these dark trees? If they knew, why split them apart at all? Why leave them in two places, then trust her to cross the woods and reach him? And the hardest question of all sat cold in her chest. Why give Luke everything, and give her nothing? Luna held the knife tight. Her brother was safe tonight. But someone had planned all of this. And she meant to find out why.