Chosen (31 page)

Forka slowly made his way back down the hallway, his body so tired he could barely swim and yet his mind was churning. The death of one of the Chosen had shaken him, more so than he would ever admit. The undecipherable scrolls only added to his misgivings.
Perhaps Tess' death has irrevocably altered the future, rendering it unreadable by the oracles. Or worse, we are entering unchartered territory that is hidden from the prophets.
That last thought unnerved him. He and the other Masters counted on the predictions, especially when it came to the Mekan threat.
If we have no foreknowledge of future events, how can we prepare for them?

A
STRA

Brok led his Chosen at a quick pace. Just ahead a series of hills rose, looking out of place as they jutted from the ground like crooked teeth.

“Those are called the Stroh Hills. More giant masses of rock than hills, actually. They are most unusual. Their composition is very different from any of the other rocks in the area.” Brok settled into lecture mode. “Folks believe the Hills were placed here by the Spirits, for what reason no one knows.”

“Is that how they really came to be here?” Gwen asked. It seemed impossible but as they got closer and closer, and they could see the red rock jutting from the green plains, the notion seemed a little less ridiculous.

“Of course not, child!” Brok answered. “If we dug straight down, we would find red soil, clay, and bedrock. Forces the likes of which none of you have ever seen are responsible for the uplift of the rocks that you see.”

The red Stroh Hills grew larger as the group drew near. The sun was now behind the Hills, creating gigantic shadows that seemed to stretch for miles. There were also smaller rocks interspersed between the larger, creating dark shadowed pockets between them.

“What a peculiar place. And beautiful….” Kaelin loved the strange beauty of the red stone against the green grass, the sunlight from the setting sun as it shone between the Hills, creating dark shadows.

“Come.” Brok led them to a group of stones that had fallen over, creating a cavern of sorts.

As Brok neared the cave, his heart rate soared. Now that he was so near the portal, he could barely contain his emotions: fear, excitement, doubt, anxiety, joy, sadness.

“Incendia.”

Brok whispered the words and a pink, spherical ball of light appeared hovering above his hand. The others followed their teacher into the cave. Moira's eyes shone in the dark like two green saucers. He led them to the back of the cave and stopped in front of a red rock wall.

“Gather around, children.”

As they moved closer, the walls behind Brok shimmered and symbols appeared in a rectangular shape, outlining some strange door.

“Dear Spirits! What is happening?” Kaelin had one hand over her mouth, black eyes wide with fright. “Is that the portal you told us about?”

“Yes, child. And we will be passing through it to my home world.”

“How do these work exactly?” Saemus asked, pointing to the portal.

“The symbols represent different worlds. This one is the symbol for Astra.” He pointed to three connected rings.

“I have that same mark on my leg. Ma always said it was the mark of greatness.” Jon hiked up his trousers.

“I have one as well,” Gwen said, pulling up the sleeve of her shirt.

“You all have it. It marks you as Chosen,” Brok explained. “Touching a symbol activates the portal. Though the surface looks solid, it is more like molten rock, or the consistency of melted butter.”

“You said it changes a person's form. What will we be like when we come out?” Kaelin asked fearfully. The thought of coming out on the other side with a snaggle tooth, crooked nose, ungainly or unsightly figure terrified her.

“It depends on the world you travel to. Gentra is…rather difficult to explain. The dominant sentient life lives far beneath the oceans, in deepest dark, and high pressure. Our bodies are soft, like jelly and our eyes are very large, so we can see in the dark.

Brok looked at Kaelin. He had been dreading this moment since the little urgit had joined their group. “Kaelin, Moira must be left behind.”

Kaelin hugged the urgit close. “We can't leave her. She helped us! Jon,” She looked to Jon, tears in her eyes. “You would never have escaped if it hadn't been for Moira.”

“Non-sentient beings cannot go through. They wouldn't understand what was happening.” Brok explained gently. “It would be cruel to force an animal through the portal. The pain alone would drive Moira mad.”

“Pain? You didn't say anything about pain!” Keera said sharply.

“What will Moira do? Where will she go?” Kaelin fretted.

“She lived on her own before finding us. She will be alright,” Brok said.

“I can't! I might never see her again.” Kaelin glanced up at Master Brok, eyes red-rimmed, tears glistening on her cheeks. “
Will
I see her again? Are we ever coming back here? Will I see my parents again?” Her voice shook with emotion. “I won't go. You cannot force me to go.” Her voice sounded petulant and sullen.

“Kaelin, you must go. All of you must go.”

“Fate can just go and choose someone else for all I care. No one thought to ask
me
if this is what I wanted. No one thought to ask if this little destiny was something I was interested in participating in.” Going with Master Brok to rescue Jon had been frightening, but at the same time, exciting and liberating. She figured she would return to Heart Stone, complete the Mystic training, and go off in search of a wealthy husband. This new journey Master Brok proposed was something else entirely. She was being asked to leave her home world, travel through some strange contraption, to emerge on the other side completely changed on an alien planet, far from home.

Home.
It seemed so long since she had last seen her parents. Kaelin knew her training with Master Brok was almost over, which meant that she must soon embark on her life's journey.

None of her plans included leaving.
I could be gone for years and years and be an old maid when I return. What man will want me then?
Her next thought was a chilling one.
What if I never do return?

“Kae, we need you.
I
need you. I can't do this alone.” Saemus used his special name for her. “If you don't go, it could mean the death of all who live here. What if by refusing to go you are responsible for the deaths of Ma and Pa? Hue, Tad, and little Malory?” Speaking of their parents and siblings had the effect Saemus had hoped for. Ensuring their safety had been the reason he agreed to go. She would do what was right, in the end, he was sure of it.

“I don't want any part of this. I came to you to study to become a Mystic, not to go rushing off to save the galaxy.” Keera stood with her arms crossed, stubborn refusal on her face. “How can you ask us to leave without even telling our parents where we are going? Surely we have time to go back home and tell them
something.
” Keera's heart was racing as she fought to control her emotions. The thought of traveling through something resembling solid stone terrified her, as did the thought that she might not return from this journey.

“We
have
to go. It is the only way to protect those we love,” Gwen said softly. She was scared but trying to sound brave.

Keera looked down at her friend and sighed.
If she can be brave, then so can I.

Moira sat in Kaelin's hands listening to every word being spoken. Moira trilled softly and reached her chubby paw up to brush the tears from Kaelin's pale cheek. The distraught girl cradled the urgit and gazed into her large dark eyes.

Something seemed to pass between the two. Kaelin lost herself in Moira's eyes, forgot about her hopes and dreams. Time had no meaning; it did not exist in the portal cave at that moment. The only thing that mattered to Kaelin was the truth she saw in her little friend's eyes.

Moira broke the gaze and hugged the girl's neck tightly, trilling softly, sounding almost as if she were crying. Kaelin clung to the urgit, sobbing. After a few moments, Kaelin looked at Master Brok.

“I will never forgive you for this,” Kaelin said dully, anger smoldering in her eyes, voice raspy from her grief. “I will go and do what is needed, but I will
never
forgive you for ruining my life.”

Kaelin refused to be comforted by any of the Chosen, including her beloved twin. She stood to one side, all attention on Moira, refusing to even look at any of them.

Her words stung Brok. He had never considered how this would affect the Chosen. To him, nothing existed except his duty. In his mind, it was inevitable that they would accompany him to Gentra; fate had decided their paths long ago. It had never occurred to him that any of the five had such grandiose plans and would be so unwilling to lay those plans aside for the good of the galaxy.

I cannot let my feelings get in the way of my duty.
Still, he wished to comfort the girl and tell her of the hardships he himself had endured. He had not seen his sires since he was but a youngling of perhaps three or four. He doubted they still lived. The thought should have made him sad but he had been so young when the Masters came to take him away that he could not even recall what they looked like.

“I wish I could give you more time to adjust, but we must be leaving. The Masters will be awaiting our arrival. There is one other thing.” He paused here, finding himself becoming embarrassed. “We need to undress and leave our clothes and packs behind.”

“What?”

“You must be mad!”

“I am
not
undressing!”

A barrage of denials met Master Brok's words. He held up his hands for silence.

“We need to leave our clothing behind, so that it will be here when we return. Even if we were to enter the portal fully clothed, we would emerge on the other side naked. The portals do not re-animate nonliving things.”

The Chosen gaped and turned red, stammering and moving away from one another, boys to one side, and girls to the other, as if separation would cover what the clothing wouldn't be covering any longer. Since they could not undress and use their hands for the light spheres, Master Brok gathered some dry twigs and grass and started a fire.

Master Brok undressed first, surprised to find himself blushing.
I must have been on this planet far too long. Imagine being embarrassed by a little bare skin.
He folded his robes and placed them neatly on the ground next to his pack. His wrinkled, white skin pebbled in goose flesh, despite the heat from the fire.

The others followed suit, fumbling with ties and buttons. They rolled their garments and tossed them to the ground. They tried their best to cover themselves with arms and hands. Kaelin set Moira down gently on her pile of clothing, fresh tears falling.

Jon's breath caught in his throat as he gawked at Kaelin. He blushed as he found himself becoming visibly aroused at the sight of her porcelain skin glowing in the light of the fire.

Kaelin rolled her eyes and refused to even look Jon's direction. She turned her body slightly to one side, trying to hide as much of herself from his lecherous gaze as she possibly could.

Saemus noticed his sister's change of posture and her obvious discomfort. He placed himself between his sister and Jon's roaming eyes.

Gwen fought tears as she noticed Jon's obvious attraction to the nude Kaelin. A flash of jealousy made the girl clench her jaw to keep from tearing her perfect raven locks from her head. For the thousandth time, Gwen wished she could use the power to change her physical form. She tried to hide her flat chest with her stunted arms and wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow her up.

Brok spoke. “I will enter the portal first. The rest of you must follow, leaving a few moments between each of you. Before entering, touch this symbol.” He again pointed to the triangle with the circle inside.

“The five of you are not alone. There are others who have also been torn from their homes and families and their future plans.” Here he gave Kaelin a sympathetic look. “Alone, you are frightened and unsure. But together, all of the Chosen can accomplish what no one else can.”

He turned and touched the symbol for his home world. He felt a thrill of excitement as he saw it light up in yellow-red.

“Wait! You mentioned something about pain!”

Keera's voice sounded like it came from far away.
I am going home.
He took a deep breath and plunged into the portal.

* * *

Black onyx eyes, flat and lifeless as a doll's, stared from the entrance to the cave. The hold he had on the dark magic to conceal himself vanished the instant the last of the youngsters disappeared into the rock. The man could not believe what he had witnessed. He did not even notice as Moira scampered past him, terrified of the man who had entered the cave. Fa' Vel reached up to the now blank red rock wall. A tick began at the corner of his left eye and his hands began to shake uncontrollably. He backed away from the wall, hands to his mouth, mind devoid of any and all thought.

He exited the cave and wandered aimlessly, no particular destination in mind, just walking over hill and through valley, around trees and lakes. When morning came, he simply kept walking, black eyes staring straight ahead.