title: The Smoke-Scented Girl
author:  Melissa McShane 
description: Melissa McShane grew up a nomad, following her family all over the United States, and ended up living in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains with her husband, four kids, and three very needy cats. Her love of reading was always a constant during those uncertain years, and her love of writing grew out of that. She wrote reviews and critical essays for many years before turning to fiction, and was surprised at how much she liked it. She loves the fantasy genre and how it stretches the imagination.
zlib_text: The
  
  Smoke-Scented Girl
  
    
  
    
  
  Melissa McShane
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
  Night Harbor Publishing
  
  Copyright © 2015 Melissa McShane ISBN-13 978-0692368497
  
  Published by Night Harbor Publishing All rights reserved
  
    
  
  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any way whatsoever without
  written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
  articles and reviews.
  
    
  
  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations,
  places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s
  imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living
  or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
  
    
  
  Cover design by Ronnell D. Porter
  
   **Prologue**
  
  Being reborn hurt more than dying did. She felt as if she were being sculpted
  by giant hands, molded like clay and forced back into human form. Skin grated
  on bone, bone crushed her lungs and stomach and the heart that never stopped
  beating, even when it was disintegrated