Read The Star-Fire Prophecy for Free Online Page A

hair had always made her stand out and many times had been a burden rather than a pleasure. Galt moved his hand toward her and her breath caught as she wondered if he meant to touch her hair as Amy had. The idea of this man touching her was unsettling.
    Then the door banged open and Galt stood up as Melantha swept into the kitchen.
    “You can’t have that red-haired girl here,” Melantha said, speaking directly to Galt, ignoring Danica. “She’s a Sagittarius and that’s a fire sign. I consider the combination a bad omen.”
    “Melantha…” Galt began, but she cut him off.
    “She’s a destroyer, not a builder,” Melantha said in her husky voice, “and she will bring chaos to Star-Fire.”

Chapter Five
    “Melantha,” Galt said, “come and have some coffee. Surely you haven’t had time to erect a complete horoscope for Danica. So why the intense reaction?”
    Melantha sat at the table with them. “I have no particular feeling against you as a person,” she said to Danica. “But I don’t think you belong here. Haven’t you felt it yourself?”
    “Oh, come now,” Galt said. “She’s barely arrived at Star-Fire.”
    Danica looked at Melantha’s dark beauty. Should I tell her I do have a feeling ? she wondered. A feeling that neither she nor Evan wants me here. Should I ask why ?
    “I have a partial horoscope,” Melantha said. “She has her moon in Libra. You know that makes her wishy-washy, too eager to please. At the same time, with Mercury in Scorpio she’s suspicious and tends to be critical. Those characteristics added together suggest a troublemaker. Plus the typical unstable, hasty Sagittarian nature…”
    “I’m not like that!” Danica cried.
    Melantha shrugged. “At any rate, that’s not what I based my recommendation on.” She looked at Danica. “When you flare up like you did just now, flames leap around you. I don’t know why and I don’t like it. The suggestion of fire is there all the time. Even if you are a fire sign, I shouldn’t be able to sense the flames so strongly.”
    Danica shrank back into her chair and dropped her eyes. No , she thought, not here, too .
    “Galt, look at her… She knows something…”
    “Bring me the completed horoscope, Melantha. I’ll go over it. But you haven’t shown me enough reason not to add Danica to the staff. As I certainly shouldn’t have to remind you, Sagittarians are also cheerful, hard workers. And don’t I remember the moon in Libra as indicating a fondness for children? The other business about the fire is too nebulous.”
    “Even her hair…” Melantha began.
    “Amy likes her hair; she’s already reached out to Danica. That’s reason enough right there to keep her with us.”
    “You’re overriding me?”
    “I think of it as a disagreement in interpretation. Bring me the horoscope when it’s finished and we’ll go over each item together. Meanwhile, I’ll add Danica to the Star-Fire staff.”
    Melantha stared at Galt, then rose abruptly and swept out of the kitchen. Danica heard the door open and close. “I wonder why she doesn’t like me?” Danica said.
    “You mustn’t feel that way,” Galt said. “Melantha is totally devoted to Star-Fire and sometimes I think she goes overboard—like now, with you—in her desire to have us all fit together.” He frowned. “I’ve wondered if that might be bringing us toward a certain sterility.”
    “Thank you for believing in me,” Danica said. “I’m eager to get started. But—but there is something you should know.” She took a deep breath and forced herself to meet Galt’s eyes. “The place where I last worked—a child died in a fire and I—I believe it was my fault.”
    There was a momentary silence. “Didn’t Evan say you worked with disabled children in Los Angeles?” Galt asked at last.
    “Yes. I’m an RN and I was in charge of the hospital on the evening shift. Kevin…” She bit her lip. “One of the boys I had been using the light-fire