Stray (36 page)

He brings me close and presses his lips to mine, a kiss that softens and blurs and warms and unfolds. The taste of him is like a promise in my mouth, on my tongue. Slowly he draws the truth with his scent and heat, brings it rushing to the surface of my skin. In my head I hear the words of the sanction and I know what I believe.

I am grateful to my Heavenly Papa who is lavish with dreams and a giver of good gifts.

To Angela Van Den Belt and Sue Whiting and the passionate
Spark
-enthusiasts at Walker Books Australia, my heartfelt thanks for your ongoing support and encouragement in bringing this series to life. Thank you to my editor, Nicola Robinson, for being a devoted caretaker of this work, you know these characters and this story inside out and love it as much as I do; working with you is a gift. Thank you to editors Mary Verney and Nicola Santilli for loving
Stray
and helping me make it all shiny. Thank you to my publicist Claire Smith for promoting all things
Spark
and for being a reassuring presence when I’m pretending to be fancy at bookish events. Thank you to the ridiculously good-looking marketing team who put so much effort into getting my books into the best possible places.

Amy Daoud, WBA designer extraordinaire, gets her own paragraph as her awesomeness is a health and safety issue. I. Love. This. Cover. Thank you.

Thanks to my mentors and agents, Barbara and Chris Else for your wise counsel and delight in my progress. Thanks to Stella and the team at Page & Blackmore, Nelson’s and New Zealand’s finest independent bookstore, for their tremendous support. P&B is my favourite place to browse and chat and launch. Thanks also to Sheila and the team at the Children’s Bookshop in Christchurch and the many booksellers, librarians and teachers who have championed my work.

To Hayley George my love and gratitude for your prayers, time and encouragement, for reading endless versions of this book and not getting fed up with it or me.

A mighty roar of thanks to the #SparkArmy for the wonderful Tweets, Facebook comments, GIFs, artwork, reviews, blog-posts, interviews, emails, hugs and chats at events. Your generosity and passion have deeply inspired me. I feel so blessed that I get to share my imaginary world with people who love it as much as I do.

To my friends and family, especially my husband and daughters, who bear with my hermit ways and ask so little but give so much, thank you for sticking with me. I love you.

RACHAEL CRAW studied Classical Studies and Drama at the University of Canterbury, but became an English teacher after graduation. Working with teenagers has given her a natural bent towards Young Adult fiction and a desire to present a feisty female protagonist in her writing. Rachael was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand, and currently lives in Nelson with her family. Visit her online at www.rachaelcraw.com

Published in 2015

by Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd

Locked Bag 22, Newtown

NSW 2042 Australia

www.walkerbooks.com.au

This ebook edition published in 2015

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

Text © 2015 Rachael Craw

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Craw, Rachael, author.

Stray / Rachael Craw.

Series: Craw, Rachael. Spark.

For young adults.

Subjects: Genetic engineering – Fiction.

                 Science fiction.

                 Young adult fiction.

NZ823.4

ISBN: 978-1-925126-50-1 (ePub/mobi)

ISBN: 978-1-925126-49-5 (e-PDF)

Cover image (woman) © Roxana Gonzalez/Shutterstock.com; Cover image, p.432 (tree silhouette) © ksyproduktor/Shutterstock.com; Cover image (lightning bolt) © Hubis/Shutterstock.com.

To Ian, Sophie, Isabelle and Evangeline