Two Moons of Sera by Pavarti K. Tyler Page A

me, and so much movement made it difficult to keep my
vision from blurring. I pulled my awareness in, and with one hand on Elgon’s
back, I stepped away from the door.
    It clicked shut behind me.
    “The monster awakes,” someone said with a sneer.
    My heart clamped down inside my chest. Blurry vision
returned with my panic, and I saw small shimmers of light in the corners of my
eyes. The adrenaline pushed me too far. Woozy, I took in the silent faces
around me.
    “Shut up, Lace,” a familiar voice said. “Elgon is nice
enough. Like having a really big, really intense dog.” Lock appeared through
the crowd with a smile and approached me. “Sera, this is Pod Thirty-four.
Everyone, this is Serafay.”
    The crowd before me moved like a ripple of water—some
chuckling, some annoyed, some smiling, some bored.
    When my breathing returned to normal, I grinned and raised a
hand in greeting. Soon the noise returned, and everyone resumed their previous
tasks and conversations.
    So many bodies closing in on me became difficult to handle.
They didn’t smell bad, but now I saw what Mother had meant. Each had a distinct
scent, and in this enclosed space, the odor was pungent.
    “See, that wasn’t so bad,” Lock said, leading me farther
into the room. “I told them all to leave Elgon alone. They’re more scared than
curious, so hopefully they’ll just stay away.”
    “Thanks,” I told him. Elgon remained so close to my side
that I could feel the outline of his warmth against my leg. “Why does Lace do
that?” I turned to find her watching me, her blond hair pulled atop her head,
giving her the appearance of being stretched and tied off like a rag doll.
    “She sucks,” a new voice said from one of the low chairs
nearby.
    “What?” I turned to see a man stand up.
    He was tall but thin for an Erdlander, and broad in the
shoulders. His light brown hair was cut short on the sides, but the bangs hung
over one of his eyes. Small brown flecks spread across his face. The affect was
quite charming.
    “She sucks,” he repeated. “Anything she’s not in charge of
is dirt according to her, and generally we don’t let her be in charge of
anything.” His smile was wide and open. “I’m Ashrah. Ash.”
    He extended his hand to me, and I took it. The contact
disquieted me, crowding me with touch. The moment extended as he watched me,
holding my hand in his.
    “Nice to meet you, Sera,” he murmured at last, releasing me.
    The air against my palm was a welcome relief.
    “Um, hi, Ash.”
    “Your eyes are amazing,” he blurted, bending down to study
them.
    “Oh, thanks.”
    “No, really, what color are they?” He peered into my face,
sending me into a fit of itchy discomfort.
    As I was about to turn and run back to my room, Elgon’s low
rumble interrupted Ash’s study. With two steps, he pushed Ash away from me, his
dense bulk planted between us.
    “I guess we know you’ll always be safe,” Ash joked, looking
down at Elgon’s flat expression. “Is he really nice?”
    “As long as you don’t make him angry.”
    “I see that.” He laughed. Such easy acceptance of Elgon was
a relief. A few of the others had gathered closer, no longer afraid now that
they had seen Lock and Ash near the animal.
    “You must be hungry,” Lock said, pulling my attention back
to him. “Is Tor awake? Should we wait for him?”
    “No, he was still fast asleep when I came out.”
    “Oh, right. I heard you were Matched,” Ash commented, his
voice a touch cooler.
    “Finally.” A girl with curly hair said from behind me. Her
dark blond tresses shone in the artificial light of the pod.
    I stepped back, bumping into Elgon in the attempt to regain
some space.
    “I’m so glad to have another Matched Pair in the pod.” The
girl only came up to my shoulders but filled plenty of space with her personality.
She grinned, and the whole room brightened, like the light had been turned down
and everyone waited for her to appear before turning it