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PROLOGUE
SERENA STOOD ON THE rock ledge twenty feet above the lake, singing in a voice known to bring tears to the eyes of everyone who heard it. Everyone except me.
"For God's sake, Seri," I said, "just dive already."
Serena stuck out her tongue and shifted closer to the edge, toes wrapping around it. She bounced there, blond ponytail bobbing, cheeks puffing. Then she dove. It was, as usual, an effort worthy of the Olympics, and she sliced into the water so smoothly that barely a ripple pinged across the glassy surface.
She popped back up, sleek as a seal. "Your turn, Maya!"
I flipped her the finger. She laughed and dove again.
Serena was the swimmer--captain of the school team. It's not my thing, really. This was the part I liked, just sitting on the rock ledge, bare feet dangling. I basked in the morning sun, drinking in the rich, late-summer air and the perfect view of the crystal-clear lake, the distant snow-capped mountains, the endless evergreens.
As Serena swam to the middle of the lake, I squinted over at the path, looking for a familiar blond head. Daniel was supposed to join us.
Daniel and I had been friends since I'd moved to Salmon Creek when I was five. Then, last year, there'd been a school dance where the girls were supposed to invite the guys, and Serena thought we should draw straws to see who asked Daniel. I liked him, but not the way Serena did, so I'd fixed the game so she'd win. They'd been together ever since.
As Serena swam back toward me, I stripped to my bra and panties, dropping my clothes into the bushes below.
"Ooh la la," she called. "Check out the new undies. Did some amazing friend finally take pity and buy you grown-up stuff?"
"Yes, and she'd better be right about them not going see-through when they get wet. Otherwise her boyfriend is going to see a lot more of me than she'd like."
Serena laughed. "They'll be fine. White's your color. Shows off your tan."
I shook my head at her and plaited my long black hair. I don't have a tan. I'm Native. Navajo, maybe. I'd been adopted as a baby and my mother hadn't been around to fill in any background forms.
I climbed farther up the rocks and stopped at one overhanging the lake.
As I balanced there, Serena called, "Hey, those low riders show off your birthmark. Did you ask your parents about getting that tattoo?"
My fingers dropped to the mark on my hip. It looked like a faded paw print, and I wanted to get it tattooed so it would show up better.
"Mom says maybe when I'm sixteen. Dad says when I'm sixty."
"He'll come around." She flipped onto her back and floated. "He always does. You should do it for your sixteenth birthday next year. We'll get your mom to take us over to Vancouver, make a weekend of it. I'll get one, too. I want a nightingale, right over my boob, so when I get up on stage in my sexy dress, cut down to--"
She flailed suddenly. "Maya!"
She went under. Disappeared completely, like a hook had dragged her down.
I jumped into the water, and I hit it wrong. Pain smacked me so hard I gasped. Water filled my mouth and my nose.
I swam out in a frantic dog paddle. I could see the rings where Serena had gone under. They seemed to get farther away with every clumsy stroke I took.
I treaded water, looking around. "Serena?"
No answer.
"If this is a prank to get me in the lake, it worked," I said, my voice quavering.
