Jade Moon (Celestial War Book 1) by Julia Richards Read Free Book Online Page A

forcing her to dance from her emerald plumage. Finally, Rabbit found Deer at the top of Rainbow Falls, and played his drum, forcing Deer to dance his antlers off.
    “With all five pelts, Rabbit called down Mother Moon who looked on in horror. ‘You have done as I asked, gathering the skin of Falcon, Jaguar, Snake, Turkey, and Deer. To fill your own belly, you have left them to die,’ she said. ‘But it’s what you asked of me!’ Mayor Rabbit insisted. ‘Yes, with the hope that you would refuse, for what I asked you to do was cruel and selfish. As punishment, I will take you with me. I can no longer trust you to remain here without supervision.’ And so, Mother Moon took Rabbit with her to the sky, which is why you can see the rabbit in the moon to this day.”
    Ek looked into my eyes. “By being selfish, Rabbit hurt everyone, and no one got what they needed.”
    I laughed at the memory. Clever Rabbit stories were not exactly subtle, but the ideas were very powerful — make sure your actions are for the good of everyone, not just yourself. The Rabbit Sky was the term people used for the sky during a drought, selfish and cruel. Rains from a rabbit sky are useless, barely dampen the earth when a deluge is needed. A selfish rain.
    The last bell rang, breaking me from my reverie. I missed home with a longing that rode in my heart like a stone.
    ***
    I stood up, stiff and bored out of my mind.
    Heading out to the busses, my heart did a little cha cha at the sight of Raf on the curb waiting for me.
    I meandered over and sat down next to him, knowing I would miss the bus.  Not really caring.
    “Heard you got in trouble.” He stared out at nothing, chewed on his lower lip for a second.
    “Yeah, suspended.”
    “For the shed? Trespassing?” he seemed confused.
    “Nope, someone trashed the library last night. Sounds like someone was searching for something. Tore down walls even.”
    “Whoa, crazy,” he said. “Think it had to do with what you heard?”
    “Hard for me not to connect them. I hear someone being hurt. A few weeks later someone is searching the place.”
    The busses pulled away leaving us alone in the parking lot.
    I realized maybe he’d come to find out if he was next on their list. “They didn’t see you on the security footage.”
    “Yeah, I figured if they didn’t haul me in, they must’ve missed me. I mostly just came to see if you were okay.”
    “You did?” I knew I should be calm about his concern, but the fact that someone actually cared felt damn good. “Thanks, Raf. It’s been a really crappy few months.”
    “Sure. You know, I never asked what the hell you were doing on the roof last night.”
    I blushed a little. “You’re gonna laugh.”
    “Try me.” He stared out at the traffic passing the school.
    “I was going to break in because I forgot a book in my locker.”
    Raf turned and looked directly at me, grey eyes crinkling, corners of his mouth trembling. I watched him fight it, but the laugh could not be contained. He let out a breathy chuckle.
    “You were right. I laughed,” he smiled.
    I punched him on the shoulder.
    “You want to go get some dinner? There’s a place a few miles away that has great Thai food.”
    I looked straight down at my chest to make sure my heart hadn’t leapt right out. I wanted say ‘Yes, I want to get dinner with you so much!’ then maybe jump up and down a little bit. Instead, as casually as possible, I said, “Sure, sounds good.”
    My teeth were already chattering a little in the cold and I didn’t have the heart to admit I’d never even really heard of Thai food before. I also only had twelve dollars in my pocket and sincerely hoped I could find something on the menu for less. But what the hell.
    “Bee’s nuts it’s cold. I don’t suppose you have a car?” I looked out at the almost empty parking lot.
    He looked embarrassed, “I do, but I lost my driving privileges.”
    “What’d you do?”
    “That’s just it, I didn’t do