The messenger Rahel is a mystery on the Moth Plateau, wearing her plague mask everywhere. Her voice always hints at a song no one else hears, and her gait is awkward, but what childhood injury or strange event may have left her so, she doesn't say. Everyone on the Plateau has their own histories, in this land of cattle drives and cowpokes, bike-riding messengers and moths. The others don't pry, so no one pries into their pasts. Off the Plateau, though, Rahel's past is still trying to catch her. A city that did not willingly let her go, the corrupt forces of a world that refuses to sees her anything but a tool to own. As her past and present unspool, drawing the notice of bounty hunters, it becomes clear that only death will convince them to leave her alone. But whose death? Find out in this Weird Western fantasy.

Daniel Ausema grew up in West Michigan, surrounded by orchards, hay fields, glacial lakes, and stands of oak and maple trees. He earned his BA in English Literature and Spanish in 2000. After working in experiential and alternative education for a while, he moved to Colorado with his family and settled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. He is now a stay-at-home father. His fiction and poetry have appeared in dozens of publications including Strange Horizons and Daily Science Fiction.