The Stars Down Under (43 page)

Alton crept closer to the stranger. The buzzing in Jodenny's ears grew worse. The green of the forest was blurring at the edges. She'd fainted only a few times in her life, but the warning signs were clear.

“Run and get the sheriff,” Jodenny said.

Alton poked at the man's arm. No reaction. He was probably dead.

“Go get the sheriff!” Jodenny snapped, fear and anger all mixed into it, because the child never listened and here she was going to faint like an old lady. She knew the man in the creek, knew the shape of his head and shoulders, knew him down to the withered fibers of her fading heart. Wasn't it bitter and horrible that he'd returned from death just as she was getting ready to embrace it?

Alton dashed off up the hill, yelling at the top of his lungs.

Jodenny's world grayed out and went silent.

 

TOR BOOKS BY SANDRA M
C
DONALD

The Outback Stars

The Stars Down Under

The Stars Blue Yonder

 

Praise for Sandra McDonald

“By turns gritty and lyrical—a thoughtful, well-imagined story with unique cultural elements, an innovative alien culture and technology, and characters that kept me involved and engaged.”

—Rachel Caine, author of the Weather Warden series, on
The Outback Stars

“McDonald shows intimate knowledge of the nuts and bolts of what really makes big ships tick—and the careful attention to the elements of Aboriginal culture makes this even more worthy of a reader's time.”

—Walter H. Hunt, author of
The Dark Crusade,
on
The Outback Stars

“She gets the petty politics, the sexual tension, even the reasons an officer will make a big deal out of badly shined shoes. It's that realism that makes her novels of a future space navy such absorbing reads.”

—James D. Macdonald, coauthor of
The Price of the Stars

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE STARS DOWN UNDER

Copyright © 2008 by Sandra McDonald

All rights reserved.

Edited by James D. Macdonald

A Tor Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

175 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10010

www.tor-forge.com

Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

ISBN 978-0-7653-5556-0

First Edition: March 2008

First Mass Market Edition: July 2009

eISBN 9781466845831

First eBook edition: April 2013