Luna Reyes and the Emperor of Light by Daniel Pagan Murphy

Author:Daniel Pagan Murphy [Pagan Murphy, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2021-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

THE SECRET WHISTLE

Luna shivered slightly under her clothes and brushed her hair off her glasses. It seemed to be growing a lot faster since she had arrived in Iluvia, and was well overdue for a cut. They had been walking for what felt like a lifetime now, and the rapidly fading light was casting shadows on the twisted mass of trunks and branches that made up the Greattree, giving her the impression that they were alive and moving. That wasn’t the only thing making her uncomfortable; she also had a nagging feeling that they were being watched, reminiscent of the sensation she had had right before they met Tala. She shook her head to take the thoughts from her mind, but the truth was she couldn’t wait to put as much distance as she could between the forest and herself.

The others trudged along in silence. The initial excitement of the morning, when they had discovered that Alevos's wound had improved, had quickly been replaced with boredom caused by the monotony of the journey. Nobuo, who Luna was surprised to find had a remarkably good singing voice, had sung some songs at first, but even he had eventually fallen silent, beaten into submission by the repetitive sound of their boots on the leaves. Far ahead of the rest, Tala walked along with a spring in her step, the only one who seemed to be enjoying the trek.

Just when Luna thought that her legs wouldn’t be able to carry her a single step further, Tala stopped in a clearing ahead of them. As Luna stepped into it, she was struck by how strange it felt that there were no trunks or roots in this small circular patch of land.

‘We’ll take a rest and eat here,’ said Tala. She immediately set about gathering nuts.

The others nodded, doing their best to help her. Luna found a clump of mushrooms next to a thick root at the edge of the clearing. She pointed at them and looked at Ahote, who smiled and nodded. Bending her knees, she plucked them gently from the ground. As she stood up again, she noticed something strange about the root next to which the mushrooms had been growing. It was hollow, but the hole did not appear to be the result of an accident; there were slight teeth marks around the edge and it was wide enough for her to comfortably put her arm in. She had no intention of doing so, however, since it was dark and looked as if it continued for the whole length of the root, running deep into the ground. Clutching the mushrooms close to her chest, Luna resolved to ask Tala about it.

They sat and ate in silence, their chewing cutting through the sound of unseen insects chirping somewhere in the forest. Luna thought it sounded like crickets, but she wasn't completely sure. When everyone was almost finished, Luna finally asked Tala the question that had been on her mind.

‘Tala, why is there a

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