Children of the Gods - A Chosen Novel Read online

  Children of the Gods

  A Chosen Novel

  By Monica Millard

  Smashwords Edition

  Children of the Gods

  Copyright 2011 Monica Millard

  All rights reserved.

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  http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MonicaMillard.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  About the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  ~ For Mom, who read to me and made me believe. Thanks for feeding my imagination.~

  Chapter 1

  Helena’s long skirt brushed the ground as she fell into line, stopping directly in front of me. She was the last of the girls. It was the boys’ turn now and I watched as they filed out, finding their place in line. My breath caught as Niko headed for his position in the front line. I sent up a silent offer of gratitude for Niko and a plea that he would be spared.

  Niko was nearly nineteen and this was likely the last Choosing he would have to endure. This stirred mixed emotions in me. I was hopeful he would not be Chosen, but fearful he would not wait the year for me. Once he turned nineteen it would be a full year before I was no longer of Choosing age. A year was an eternity once you were free of the Choosing. Pairing was nearly immediate. The reasons that seemed so obvious, love or lust, to me were less likely than the reality. Like everything in our lives, it is fear that is the true driving factor.

  I had offered congratulations at many pairing ceremonies only to watch a husband or wife’s misery months or years later as the one they truly wanted was free of the Choosing and available, but not to them. Pairing was a life-long commitment even if it brought the pair misery.

  Everyone was afraid to wait, though. Fearing that they might draw the attention of one of the Haloran, who would be so tempted they might raise the age limit again.

  It was not an irrational fear. When the Halorans first came, they only selected from those who were seventeen. Now the choice fell on those who were sixteen and ended on our nineteenth birthday.

  Niko and I were born on the same day, one year apart. There was never a question that we were meant to be together. It was understood but never spoken. That kind of talk was forbidden.

  To even think it was foolish and could lead to destruction, because though we were The Children of the Gods and were supposed to live a life of luxury and indulgence, wanting for nothing. The thing we wanted most – freedom – we could never have.

  It may seem from the outside that we, the Chosen ones, were really living a perfect life, but inside The City of the Gods was a life of fear. Even if you were not Chosen it was this fear that led to irrational and unwise pairings.

  Every Unchosen remained in the City living out a life of fear. Fear of the ever changing rules. We never knew when something normal, something we took for granted would be taken away, like what music we could listen to, certain foods, or who we could associate with before we became an Unchosen. Though there was one delicate safety that prompted unwise pairings. No one who had been paired was ever Chosen.

  Niko settled into his place in line across the courtyard from me. He glanced up, his dark eyes searching mine. “Reka.” My name was on his lips.

  I felt heat flood my cheeks. I was not normally so irresponsible, but as I watched him the previous night, weaving through the tangle of bodies surrounding the fire, it was not fear of being Chosen that drove me. It was fear of not being chosen by him.

  With his nineteenth birthday just over two months away, I had little time to secure a place in his heart that would sustain him when the fear of drawing unwanted attention set in. Once he became an Unchosen, the Haloran were free to interact with him on a personal level. He was, however, forbidden to see those of us still available for selection, except on Choosing days and only then, from a distance, as a spectator. At least until he was paired.

  So the night before, I did what I swore I would never do.

  I could tell he knew I was watching him making his rounds. It was safer in the forest. The Halorans would not venture there in the dark, not even with their guards but it still was not safe.

  There were those who gained the favor of the Gods by snitching. Being favored meant never being Chosen, or saving a child from the Choosing.

  There were secret ways to talk without speaking, skin language, it was called. I was not any good at it so I rarely tried, but watching Niko move, always remaining in my vision, his dark hair kissing his neck just above where his shoulders met it. I knew this would be my only chance.

  He finally looked up and his gaze connected with mine. I felt it then, the tingle against my skin, his body feeling mine. I thought of all the things I wanted to say to him. He took a step forward and I dropped my head so I was looking at him through my hair. I smiled at him then, blinking to break the connection.

  It was only a fraction of a second exchange, but it was enough to arouse suspicion. I turned and walked toward a woman passing out flowers. I reached for a white one, a lily. They were my favorite, so fragrant, so pure.

  A hand reached for it at the same time and we touched. I looked up into Niko’s soft brown eyes. What I saw there was everything I wanted, desire, defiance, fear but most of all hope.

  He took the lily between his fingers. “May I?” he asked with a shy smile.

  “If you would be so kind.”

  Tilting my head so that my ear was exposed, I held my breath. He brushed the hair away, softly laying a hand on my neck and slipped the flower behind my ear. My skin tingled under his touch. He stepped back.

  “Beautiful.”

  I let out my breath finally. “What do you think?” I asked the woman.

  “The gentleman did not do you justice with his reserve.”

  I flushed and curtsied, nearly forgetting myself. “Thank you.” I turned to him. “Thank you.”

  Finding myself lost again in his eyes, the woman cleared her throat. I flushed again, curtsied and stepped away, hoping he would follow. I was not disappointed.

  Musicians always gathered in the forest. In the City music was strictly monitored. It promoted impu
re thoughts. That is what the Halorans told us.

  As the flute was joined by low drumming, I felt something building in me. I turned to face Niko. He froze. In his eyes I thought I could see something building also. In that moment, I thought, this one time the Gods might be right.

  There were those of us that lived in the City who had gained special gifts. Unnatural abilities we attributed to living so close to the Gods. Most were as simple as having exceptional culinary skills or always knowing which seeds would bring the most flavorful crops. Some could see the truth of things even when you, yourself could not. Rarer still were the gifts such as my own and my mother’s.

  My mother’s gift was the ability to influence a person’s will through simple gestures and eye contact made while dancing, bending their will to her own. It was similar to skin language, only instead of sharing thoughts and desires, she was able to plant them. Planted ones were more powerful than a person’s own thoughts or desires. Mother believed it was the mix of music and her gift that allowed it. Music opened the mind to suggestion. I often wondered if the Gods agreed with her. My gift was the same, only stronger.

  “Dance with me Niko.” I only mouthed the words, but that was not what I knew he would respond to. Looking him in the eyes, seeing what I had done, I almost wished I could take it back as his hips began to sway in time with mine, his will bending to my own.

  “Reka?” he mouthed my name. There was uncertainty in his eyes.

  He gingerly took my hand in his, leading me to an open space where others, those who were paired, already danced. Turning to face me, he rested his hands against the rise of my hips. His eyes were hesitant, his touch questioning.

  I looked up through the golden-brown veil my hair created and smiled. His grip firmed, there were no longer questions in his touch, only answers.

  A hush fell over the crowd, but that was not what jarred me back into the present. I felt it when the Halorans stepped from their glowing pedestal onto our soil. It was like the earth was warning me, sending a current of energy up through my feet. It had never happened before.

  I wiped this and all other thoughts from my mind. I imagined dried corn, sterile fields, and barren deserts. Then I tried to become one; unwelcoming and inhospitable as I could be.

  The Halorans had come to us hundreds of years before, when our City was just a village. They promised life free of hunger and poverty to a starving people. In exchange, the offering of a few healthy teens every twenty or thirty years, so a God might inhabit and co-exist inside their body, did not seem such a high price. Back then, they thought starvation was the worst thing anyone ever had to endure.

  In the years before the first Choosing, under the protection and care of the Halorans, our meager village blossomed into a thriving city, their city. It became known to all as The City of the Gods, and anyone who lived within came to be known as The Children of the Gods.

  After the first Choosing, the Halorans closed our borders. Generations later, we are captives of a choice we ourselves did not get to make.

  I am not sure who I was more angry with, our elders for bartering their children’s and our lives so easily or the Halorans themselves.

  Quickly, I forced my mind to return to the images of the desert and my skin being covered over by the hostile winds of my own private sand storm. No one would choose such an unfavorable host body. I hoped.

  I looked at my bare toes as they approached. After a long moment, I could feel the tension of every held breath. Not even the wind seemed to be blowing. I looked up to see that the Halorans were stopped in front of my row, the Sari looking expectant. A smile teased the corners of his lips as he made eye contact. In anyone else, his actions might seem flirtatious. But he was not anyone else.

  With his guards not standing next to him, I was struck by just how tall this Sari really was. His young features belied his extensive years. If I did not know better, I could believe he belonged in line next to Niko. The innocence associated with their perpetually youthful appearance may also have been what led to our ancestor’s easy trust of them.

  When they began to move again, I did not let the breath I was holding free. I was not safe. In fact I was probably in more danger than before. The Halorans thrived on the dramatic. They also chose each of their mates new hosts. If the Sari was choosing, and it appeared he was, then it was no longer Niko I had to worry about.

  My head began to swim. It would do me no good to faint. Fainting would not stop them if I was Chosen. It had happened before. The guard just collected the girl, tossed her over his shoulder and carried her to the pedestal.

  My breath was like the wind, dancing in the hair of the girl before me as I exhaled. Oddly, her swirling golden hair sounded like wind chimes. It took me a moment to realize the chimes I was hearing were from the decision bell.

  I knew before I looked up.

  A single finger pointed in my direction. The guard stood by the girl in front of me. The Sari shook his head and the guard brushed her aside. The Sari’s white teeth gleamed in the sunlight as a smile spread across his horrid face.

  “This one?” The guard gestured at me.

  He nodded.

  The Luna, his mate, looked almost sympathetic. It could not be. She must be too sick to smile. They felt no sympathy for the lives they stole. If anything, the Choosing was high entertainment for them.

  Several guards came close, surrounding me. I bowed my head, showing my acceptance. The Sari turned and walked away. The guards all tensed. The Halorans no longer turned their backs on us after choosing. Not since a girl plunged a dagger in the back of her Sari.

  We all knew they were not really gods as they claimed. In the beginning, everyone was eager to be Chosen. They were told, by allowing a god to inhabit their body, they would also become gods. After the first generation of Chosen came back to choose, the truth was obvious. But it was not until a generation ago, when a girl, Lennie, stabbed the Sari who chose her, that we knew they could die.

  The guards took a step forward. I held my hands out to show I did not have any weapons. I was searched thoroughly before entering the courtyard, but if a person wanted it enough, they could find a way to bring a weapon in.

  The guards relaxed, but not by much. I took a step forward, my eyes searched for Niko as I turned to make the walk. He caught my eye and raised his hand like he was reaching out for me. Mercifully, those around him restrained him.

  It was an unfair thing I had done to him.

  Chapter 2

  Their ship, my new home, was massive. The purple tint caused by the pale opalescent skin made it almost seem beautiful. With its impressive spires and grand size, it did look like it would house a God, but today, to me, it looked like doom.

  As we approached, a slit appeared near the surface. It continued to expand until it was a large opening. There was movement at the base and a high keening noise. We stopped and I could see, the movement was actually the ship’s surface expanding at the base, extending out to form a ramp.

  It continued to extend till it reached us and stopped, resting on the earth at our feet. A wave of terror overtook me as I realized no one was going to save me. I did not recognize that I had been hoping, deep down, until the ramp settled in front of me.

  My knees buckled and I sank toward the earth. I never reached it though. Thick arms encircled my waist and lifted me. Instead of tossing me over his shoulder, the guard held me in his arms like a baby. He had a tender look on his face. Sympathy maybe?

  “Just look at me, Reka.” His soft voice promised comfort and his arms offered safety. I wanted to believe them but it was probably his job to keep me calm. It was working. I was calm as long as I only looked at him. Maybe he was special too, maybe that was his gift. He looked human, as all the guards did, though he was larger than all the rest.

  “What is your name?” I asked.

  “I am Griff.” He smiled that warm smile that offered false security.

  We stopped in a round room with beds lining the pe
rimeter in pairs. There were straps with buckles laced across each bed. My face felt hot and my breath came fast and heavy. Each breath caused my face to burn hotter.

  “Do you think you can stand?” Griff’s voice felt like an anchor pulling me back into reality. His eyes widened and his pupils grew till there was almost none of the earthy brown color remaining. The effect was dizzying, but my breathing slowed and I shook my head.

  “Okay.” He squeezed me gently.

  “Is she sick?” the Sari asked.

  “No, she is just overwhelmed.”

  “Good.”

  I was glad Griff did not say scared. I had never been more frightened in my life, but I did not want the Sari to know that.

  “We will be using these ones.” The Sari motioned to a pair of beds close to him. Griff set me gently on the cushion and stepped back but remained close.

  I had never noticed just how big the guards were, but with him standing so close, Griff looked immense, a wall of muscle and armor. The Sari was far from insubstantial but even he was eclipsed by the giant man. I examined his head piece. It was silver, tinted black along the curves. There was a shoot of stiff black hair that ran front to back. Horse hair maybe?

  His head never moved, held at perfect attention, but his eyes strayed, finding mine. The blood racing through my veins felt like it slowed when I looked in his eyes.

  “Get her changed!” a high pitched voice demanded. The Luna descended upon us. “I am not waking up in that!” She turned her nose up at me. A moment of hope betrayed me. Maybe I wasn’t what she wanted.

  “Your dress,” Griff clarified.

  I felt like I might be sick. Griff took my hand and led me to another, smaller room. He pulled an airy looking white slip dress from a wardrobe and held it out to me.

  I took it, and he turned to give me privacy. My dress was simple, the kind you wear when trying to blend with your surroundings. This dress was simple also, with no ornate embroidery or patterns but with a startlingly different effect.