Cover

Title Page

REFRACTION

NAOMI HUGHES

Copyright Notice

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Dedication

For the One who believed in me
when all I could see were the shadows

CHAPTER ONE

THE COPS START TAILING ME ON BANYAN LANE. I should be worried about the contraband sewn into the bill of my baseball cap, but all I can think about is whether or not I remembered to lock my loft before I left this morning.

“Marty Callahan,” calls one of the officers in an easy voice, like I’m an old friend he’s spotted at a party. But his eyes are trained on me like I’m a dangerous animal, and whatever Cisco Island is nowadays, it’s definitely no party.

I give the cops a faux-surprised grin and a middle-finger wave—carefully measuring the amount of disrespect in the gesture, enough to seem normal for me but not enough to piss them off more than necessary—then speed up a little.

I did lock the loft, I’m sure of it. I can almost hear the way that final, biggest dead bolt clunked heavily when I slid it into place, can almost feel how the rusted padlock flaked in my hand when I pulled the key out. But the need to go back and check just in case tugs at me anyway, even though I should be way more worried about the two jokers behind me.

“We’re talking to you, Callahan,” says another voice. It’s the other officer, the younger one. He sounds a lot less casual than his partner. Which probably means he intends to stop me, pat me down, do a “random” search for the dangerous illegal goods they suspect—but haven’t yet managed to prove—I sell. Any other day, that would be no problem for me. I haven’t moved any goods in weeks. But today, the desperation got a little too strong, and I managed to convince myself the heat had died down enough for me to venture back out. A decision I’m cursing myself for now.

There’s a small crowd ahead of me, weaving in and out of the early-afternoon shadows cast by the gnarled trees that line this street. The islanders must be headed to the ration dispensary for weekly distribution. Maybe I can merge with them, buy myself some time while I figure out an escape route. I step off the sidewalk and onto the cracked asphalt of the road.