MALAKAI Stone Society Book 13 By Faith Gibson All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction. Copyright © 2020 by Faith Gibson Published by: Bramblerose Press LLC Editor: Jagged Rose Wordsmithing, Candice Royer First edition: June, 2020 Cover design: Jay Aheer, ©Simply Defined Art Cover photography: Adobe Stock Dedication For Lita. You’ve been with me throughout this journey. Thank you for your friendship. Acknowledgements To my tribe, Candy, Chris, Jen, Kendall, Kerstin, Nikki, and Riley – thanks for the encouragement even though you’re all dealing with your own struggles. I want to thank each member of my reader group, Faith Gibson’s Front Porch. Having readers who love what you write makes it all worth it. With this book, I asked my readers to offer suggestions as to who Josie would be. I took a little bit from both Gillian’s and Kerstin’s suggestions, and voila. I also borrowed her name from two of my readers, Josie Kerr and Dana Pierson, so thank you to everyone who contributed. My wonderful cover designer, Jay Aheer, has so much going on in her own life, but she never fails to come up with the perfect cover for me. I adore you. Thank you to Lani for the Samoan translations. As always, I have to give a shoutout to the man. Mostly because he looks to see if I do or not. ?? Table of Contents Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Epilogue A Note from The Author Coming Soon About the Author Other Works by Faith Gibson Samoan Words kiko’o – a type of surfboard tamu - father le masina – the moon le la – the sun uso – brother fiafia – celebration comparable to a luau paifala – pineapple filled half-moon pie Mālō - hello Laʻu tama teine – daughter-in-law Palusami – fish or corned beef and coconut wrapped in taro leaves Haka – synchronized war dance Lavalava – colorful sarong tanoa fai’ava – kava drinking bowl la Manuia – be happy Malo le soifua – good health keke fa’i – banana cake Auspice of Sevens – Prophetic marking of the chosen Prologue Manono, Samoa 1635 Manaia straddled his kiko’o, waiting for the sun to share its glow with the world as he did every morning. His brothers, Keemo and Taine, were with him on their own wave riders, silent in their contemplation. Being the youngest of seven, Manaia admired all his brothers, but he was closest to these two. Probably since they were nearer to his age. They didn’t worry about the curse the way Manaia did. They treated him as though he were a normal Gargoyle. They assured him he would grow to be a strong male like their father, who also bore the seven birthmark. The Auspice of Sevens was something he’d always known about. His father had told him the meaning of the special mark they shared for as long as he could remember. Their parents didn’t treat Manaia any differently because of it. Some of their Clan would mutter about fire when they saw him, but it was always with reverence, not fear. When he asked his father about it, his tamu would only say it was because Manaia had a special fire inside that burned brighter than it did in anyone else. Maybe it was the reason he was more drawn to the sun than the moon. Where others felt the call to le masina each time she glowed in the darkness, Manaia felt restless when le la shared her brightness after long hours of sleeping. With the first tendril of daylight, Manaia’s breath caught in his chest. He was fifteen years upon the earth, and never had the sunrise been anything other than peaceful. This morning, something was different. Wrong. Manaia rubbed at the birthmark, which burned from the inside out. He must have made a noise because his brothers were paddling toward him, disturbing the water. He tried to wave them off, but he couldn’t find his voice. “We need to get you home, Uso.” Keemo slid off his board, treading water next to Manaia’s knee. Taine had phased, his wings spread out behind him. Manaia didn’t understand what was happening until Keemo explained, “Your transition is upon you. We need to get you out of the water. I will carry you, but we must go quickly.” Keemo phased in the water, and using his powerful wings, surged from the ocean, plucking Manaia off his board at the same time. The pain was excruciating, yet Manaia couldn’t take his gaze off le la. His eyes burned as he stared into the orb, and when Keemo angled his body in such a way Manaia could no longer look, Manaia cried out. He needed the fire like he needed his next breath. The fire was his breath. Without it, he would suffocate. “Tamu!” Taine called out to their father. “Manaia, it’s his time!” He was cold. So cold. Where was his blessed sun? Where was the heat? Muttered words by too many voices filled
