Shaylae of the Gentle Heart
by
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Shaylae Lucero looked at her watch. It was 2:45, almost time to go home. Not that she was a clock-watcher, far from it, she loved school. Historical Social Studies used to be one of those subjects she tolerated to meet the entrance requirements of the Dine’h Institute of Technology, but now it was her favorite. Ms. Cannon could bring even the most mundane topic to life; she could probably even make needlepoint fun. But today Shaylae was a little impatient; she was looking forward to tonight because her dad was taking her out for dinner to celebrate her fourteenth birthday. Ms. Cannon’s blonde hair hung below her shoulders making her look younger than she was, almost like one of her students. “So, class,” she asked. “Apart from being such a momentous advance in physics, why was harnessing of fusion power so important politically and socially?” Shaylae thought about putting up her hand, but decided to pass. She didn’t want to appear to be bragging. Everyone in the class knew that sixty-one years earlier her great-grandfather, White Cloud, or Dr. Asaas Martinez as the scientific world knew him, made the breakthrough discovery in controlled fusion while studying for his doctorate at MIT. It wouldn’t have made any difference anyway; her hand would have been lost amid a sea of raised arms. Shaylae’s mind wandered as thoughts of her great-grandfather filled her mind. She had hardly seen him since … “Ms. Cannon, could you please send Shaylae Lucero to the principal’s office?” Shaylae jumped, startled by the scratchy sound of Dr. Cohen’s secretary’s voice coming from Ms. Cannon’s PID. For a moment, she sat rooted in her seat, wondering why the principal would want to see her. Her heart raced in her chest as a cold unnerving feeling crept into her soul. “Shaylae ...” said Ms. Cannon kindly as she gestured toward the door. Shaylae stood up, almost falling over, picked up her PID and walked out of the classroom. Outside the sun shone brilliantly, still high in the clear blue sky, dispelling her anxiety for a moment. A sudden gust of wind caught her long black hair, blowing it behind her like the tail of a comet. A group of boys playing basketball stopped what they were doing and stared at her, leaving the ball rolling across the court like tumbleweed. Normally she would have been both flattered and embarrassed by the attention but still filled with inexplicable worry she simply lowered her head and strode across the manicured campus of Chamisa K-12, White Rock’s only school. Behind her, a hover car’s engine screamed as it came into a reckless landing on the grass. She whirled around. Two men jumped out of the sleek black vehicle and ran into the senior building she had just left. Fear stabbed at her heart. It’s nothing, she told herself, nothing to do with me. Nevertheless, she picked up her pace as she ran up the steps of the main building. Her heart was still pounding as she burst through the door and hurried down the corridor. It would be bustling with students and teachers in a few minutes, but now it was empty and echoed her lonely footsteps. Through an open door, the sound of laughter wafted over her. Ms. Carlton was reading from a large book, her kindergarten students gathered at her feet like chickens around a hen. Shaylae tried to smile, but it wouldn’t come, instead a terrible premonition almost overcame her. Nine years earlier, when she was in a class just like this, her father had picked her up from school. He’d been crying. She couldn’t believe it when he had told her that her mother had disappeared. Reycita Lucero, her mother, the center of her universe, the source of her joy and laughter, her bastion of safety, her Navajo princess and best friend had disappeared! She had cried every night for weeks, expecting at any moment that her mom would come into her bedroom and comfort her. It had taken most of the intervening nine years, but she had finally come to the sobering realization that she would never see her mother again. The terrible memory slammed home, bringing with it an awful premonition. She raised her hand to her mouth as she spoke a single word: “Daddy”.
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About the Book
A three-thousand-year old war between two distant planets has found a new battle ground: Earth. Shaylae Lucero, a beautiful fourteen-year-old Navajo girl, who has been isolated from her culture, finds herself thrust into the middle of this war. The Dark Ones, ancient enemies of the Navajo, have found her and have mistaken her for their mortal enemy, Changing Woman, the Sacred Mother of the Navajo. During Shaylae’s Kinaalda, the puberty ceremony for Navajo girls, Changing Woman visits her and charges her with resolving this conflict. Initially reluctant to accept this mission, she soon realizes that she has no choice—the Dark Ones have kidnapped her parents, top researchers in the area of hyperspace. Before destroying Earth, the Dark Ones first want access to this new technology. With the help of her two friends, Ayanna and Micah, she learns of the richness of her heritage and discovers she has access to the ancient powers of the Navajo. Using these new-found powers, twice she is able to thwart the Dark Ones efforts to capture her, but is she ready for the final, cataclysmic conflict aboard their interstellar ship?
About the Author
J. Antony Miller was born in Liverpool, England, but emigrated to the United States shortly after his marriage to Ellie Parry. After a few years in New Jersey he moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where he developed a passionate love of the desert Southwest. He became interested in everything Navajo, collecting pottery and other artifacts and reading about the culture, history, and philosophy of these fascinating people. Prompted by his fascination with the legend of Changing Woman, he decided to write this book, his debut novel. The Millers have nine children, and at the last count, nineteen grandchildren.