Chosen (21 page)
Max smiled. ‘Tell me a little
about what happens,’ she said, ‘from what your father has told me
there will be thousands of people.’
‘I was six the last time a
celebration of Isis was held so I do not remember much, but I have
heard stories. All the clans gather together for trade and to
discuss other matters like hunting grounds, where the best camping
areas are and all sorts of other boring matters,’ she said
laughing, ‘but there is also lots of drinking, eating and
entertainment when the meetings are over. It’s a time when
marriages are organised and children born since the last meeting
are welcomed officially into the clan. We are the largest clan, but
we get to meet all the smaller clans and have huge parties to
reacquaint ourselves with each other, my favourite clan is Clan
Prey.’
‘It sounds really exciting,’
said Max, ‘I can’t wait to get there.’
‘I noticed that you have taken
to wearing our clothes,’ said Elkeira changing the subject.
‘Tallon gave them to me before
we left, I find them very comfortable,’ said Max, ‘and I think
Tallon likes to see me in them,’ she added shyly.
Elkeira smiled. ‘I think he
does too.’
Suddenly Max clutched her
belly, her eyes wide with shock.
‘What is it,’ said Elkeira
alarmed, ‘is it the baby, shall I go and get the birthing
women?’
‘I think my waters just broke,’
said Max, her breath coming in gasps.
Elkeira leapt off the bed. ‘I
will be back soon, don’t worry,’ she said, ‘everything will be
fine.’
‘Hurry,’ panted Max, in the
grip of another contraction.
Tallon, who was never far away
from Max, grabbed Elkeira as she came running from the tent.
‘What has happened, is Max
hurt?’
‘The baby is coming, I must
find the women to help her,’ she said breaking from his grasp.
Tallon entered the tent,
knowing he shouldn’t but wanting desperately to be with Max,
believing she would be frightened all on her own. Max sat on the
bed, sweat beading on her face from the pain of a contraction. She
looked up, ‘I don’t think it’s supposed to happen quite this
quick,’ she said, with fear in her eyes.
‘What can I do to help?’ he
asked.
‘Nothing,’ she said through
gritted teeth, ‘just hold me.’
He did as she asked, rubbing
her back gently. ‘My precious, precious one,’ he said softly,
‘don’t be afraid.’
Elkeira soon arrived back at
the tent, birthing women in tow.
‘This is no place for a man,
you will have to leave,’ said one, ushering Tallon from the
tent.
torturous for all involved. Haven, Gilster and Tallon paced outside
the tent, listening to Max screaming and moaning in pain. They felt
helpless knowing there was nothing any of them could do; only Max
herself could push this baby into the world. The sun was peeking
over the horizon, a pink wash indicating a storm was imminent,
when, finally a small cry was heard. Max’s child was born. The
three men waiting outside tensed.
One of the birthing women
stepped outside, ‘you can go in now, but please be quiet, Max’s is
very tired. I will go and inform Roki,’ she said as she walked away
towards the clan leader’s tent.
The three men entered the tent.
The first thing they noticed was Elkeira holding a tiny bundle, a
huge smile on her face, ‘it’s a girl,’ she said happily.
‘Is Max alright,’ asked
Haven.
‘Yes . . . yes, see for
yourselves, she is fine, just a little tired, so do not tax her too
much.’
The three men turned as one.
Max looked so small in bed surrounded by furs and blankets and she
looked exhausted, her hair plastered to her face.
‘I did it,’ she said huskily,
‘have you seen her yet, she is beautiful.’
Neither Tallon nor Haven moved,
both too frightened to look at the baby and see their worst fears
confirmed. It was Gilster who walked over to Elkeira and looked
down at the tiny child in her arms.
‘May I?’ he said holding out
his arms.
Elkeira placed the tiny bundle
gently in his arms. He walked over to the two men and stood between
them. Reluctantly, they both looked at the baby girl. She was
beautiful; with pink cheeks and cherubic lips, her tiny hands
scrunched into little fists, her eyes tightly closed. Gilster
pulled back the wrapping from around the baby’s head.
‘I can’t believe it,’ breathed
Haven.
Tallon walked over to Max. ‘You
have done well little one,’ he said. He leaned forward kissing
Max’s on the lips, ‘rest now.’ He left the tent.
‘Her hair,’ said Haven, ‘look
at her hair.’
‘I know,’ said Gilster, ‘it’s
the same colour as her father’s . . . silver.’
‘Here,’ he said, passing the
baby girl to Haven, ‘say hello to your new daughter.’ Tears of joy
rolled down Haven’s cheeks.
Nobody except Elkeira saw
Tallon leave; the devastation etched on his face broke her
heart.
A huge storm hit that
afternoon, the sky became leaden, lightening streak across the
heavens and thunder constantly boomed overhead. The torrential
downpour that followed caused Roki to make the decision to delay
their journey. Tallon had gone missing and Elkeira--worried for his
safety-- had gone to look for him. Gilster decided to spend some
time with the camp woman he had met, knowing their time together
was short.
With Max’s permission, Haven
had moved some of his things into her tent so they could start
working on their relationship again. Since the baby had been born,
memories of their time together before Naturine had started to
resurface and Haven was desperate for this to continue. Max was
remembering more and more, but her feelings for Tallon did not
disappear with her returning memory.
Haven was sitting on the end of
the bed cradling his baby daughter. ‘She looks so tiny in Haven’s
arms,’ thought Max smiling. Haven happened to look up just at that
moment.
‘It’s good to see you smiling
again,’ he said, ‘have you remembered something else?’
‘No,’ said Max, ‘I was just
thinking how much the proud father you look.’
‘I am proud,’ said Haven
seriously, ‘I’m proud of you both. You will never know the pain I
went through when I thought I’d lost you Max. It was like someone
had ripped the heart from my chest. Every time I saw you and Tallon
together I wanted to kill him. If it wasn’t for Gilster I may have.
The anger I felt scared me, I didn’t know what I might be capable
of.’ At the mention of Tallon’s name, Max dropped her gaze. Haven
continued, ‘I know you still have feelings for him and I won’t lie
to you, it hurts, but we have to continue on and he will be coming
with us. I’ll handle it in my own way. I have to because we have to
get all the Chosen to the end of the journey or all this will have
been for nothing. We have a child now and we must secure a future
for her.’
‘I think I remember why I fell
in love with you now,’ smiled Max. ‘Changing the subject entirely,
have you got a name for our child?’
‘Well . . . I wanted to talk to
you about it first,’ said Haven, ‘but how about Ti Athra.’
‘That’s beautiful,’ said Max,
‘does it mean anything?’
‘It means silver wing, in the
old language of my world.’
‘Ti Athra it is,’ she said
happily.
Elkeira was having trouble
finding Tallon and the pouring rain wasn’t improving her temper.
‘TALLON,’ she screamed over the thunder, ‘TALLON WHERE ARE YOU?’
Finally she saw him in one of the flashes of lightning, he was
sitting at the edge of the forest leaning against a tree. ‘Where
have you been, you must have heard me yelling?’ She was greeted by
silence. After trudging throw the mud and getting soaked she was in
no mood for his brooding.
‘Get up,’ she yelled at him,
‘get up now, so you’ve lost Max, so what! There will be other
women.’
He stood, his hair plastered to
his face, water dripping from his beard, the rain running in
rivulets down his body.
‘It’s her I want,’ he yelled
over the thunder, ‘not some other woman.’
eyes. ‘I’m so sorry little sister,’ he said, ‘I have let you down.
I have been thinking only of myself, please forgive me.’ He opened
his arms and she ran, throwing herself at his body, hugging him
fiercely. ‘Things will be different now,’ he whispered in her ear,
‘I promise.’
Elkeira was riding next to Max.
‘Not long now,’ she said, ‘I am getting quite excited. The meeting
place is so beautiful, the river runs around the edge and there are
waterfalls that fall a hundred feet from the cliff tops, the noise
is unbelievable, and at this time of year all the wild flowers are
blooming, the scent is almost overpowering, it is known as one of
the prettiest places in my world, I cannot wait to show
everything.’
‘I can’t wait to see it all,’
said Max happily, ‘it sounds amazing.’
Arriving at the meeting place
four days late, due to Max giving birth and the huge storm, they
were met with scenes of utter destruction and devastation. Tents
had been shredded and thrown around the camp-site, travois were
upturned and their contents strewn all over the place. Dead and
dying horses lay everywhere and the sound of buzzing flies was
sickening. It looked like a tornado had ripped through the whole
place.
Bodies floated in the river
which ran red with blood. Dead bodies of many types of animals and
birds lay amongst the devastation; it was obvious many people had
tried to escape by shape shifting. When they reached the centre of
the meeting place the worst possible scene greeted them; piles and
piles of dead bodies still smouldering after being set alight. The
carrion crows were busy about their disgusting work and rose in a
black swarm as the group approached. Roki and his people walked
silently through the ruins of the camp.
Tallon took charge, ‘we must
look for survivors,’ he said, already organising the warriors into
search parties. ‘There must be someone alive who can tell us what
happened here.’
‘It’s Anubians,’ said Gilster,
‘they must have been looking for the Chosen.’
‘But why did they have to kill
everyone,’ said Tallon, shocked, ‘once they realised the Chosen
were not here, they could have just left. Why cause all this death
and destruction?’
‘Because it’s their way,’ said
Gilster, ‘this is what we’re up against. They want the Chosen and
they will do anything to get them, they won’t allow anyone or
anything to stand in their way.’
Haven helped Max from her
horse, she held the sleeping Ti Athra tight to her chest.
‘I want this to be over,
Haven,’ she sobbed, ‘there has been so much death and in the end,
what is it all for?’
‘So we can survive,’ he said
grimly.
She laughed bitterly, ‘well if
this is living then give me death any day.’
‘Don’t say that, don’t ever say
that,’ said Haven holding tightly to her and the baby. ‘You must
survive for all this to end, it doesn’t matter about me or Gilster
or Tallon or any of the others, as long as you, Daria, Elkeira and
the next Chosen survive to finish it.’
‘I don’t think I can.’
‘Yes, you can and you will,
nothing short of our deaths will stop any of us from helping you
reach your goal.’
‘Please don’t talk about dying,
please don’t leave me.’
‘I won’t, ever,’ he said with
conviction. ‘Now come, let’s go and find Gilster and see what we’re
going to do.’
They found Gilster talking to
Roki and a large man who they hadn’t seen before. The three were
standing in the middle of the carnage. Roki turned at their
approach.
‘Haven! Max! This is Droog from
Clan Bird, he has just been telling us what happened here.’
Droog was a stocky, well built
man of about fifty, with a ruddy complexion and a thick red beard
reaching down his chest. He was wearing the skin of a deer draped
across his shoulders and the usual leather jerkin and pants with
fur boots.
‘I’m sorry we could not meet
under more happier circumstances,’ he said grimly. Haven nodded.
‘You are the Chosen?’ He said addressing Max.
‘Yes I am,’ she replied.
‘Then thank the gods you were
not here, it must have been providence that caused you to be
late.’
‘No,’ said Haven, ‘not
providence, a baby.’
Droog laughed despite himself.
‘Well . . . yes,’ he said, ‘they are known for that. But come, let
us not stand here surrounded by all this death, I have managed to
salvage a tent which I have erected over there,’ he pointed off
towards some trees on the edge of the encampment, ‘we can talk more
comfortably.’
‘Where is Elkeira,’ asked Droog
as they walked towards the tent, ‘are you not worried about
her.’
‘She is looking for survivors
with Tallon, he will protect her,’ said Roki. At the mention of
Tallon’s name Max felt a familiar shiver.
‘Ah, Tallon,’ said Droog, ‘I
saw him before with his warriors, he’s grown into a fine young man,
you must be very proud of him.’
Roki smiled, ‘I am proud of
both my children,’ he said.
They reached the tent and
entered, it was not the luxurious surroundings Max had become
accustomed to, the floor was bare dirt and a few barrels and logs
served as seats, some salvaged candles flickered grimly, giving the
tent a tomb like atmosphere.
about what happens,’ she said, ‘from what your father has told me
there will be thousands of people.’
‘I was six the last time a
celebration of Isis was held so I do not remember much, but I have
heard stories. All the clans gather together for trade and to
discuss other matters like hunting grounds, where the best camping
areas are and all sorts of other boring matters,’ she said
laughing, ‘but there is also lots of drinking, eating and
entertainment when the meetings are over. It’s a time when
marriages are organised and children born since the last meeting
are welcomed officially into the clan. We are the largest clan, but
we get to meet all the smaller clans and have huge parties to
reacquaint ourselves with each other, my favourite clan is Clan
Prey.’
‘It sounds really exciting,’
said Max, ‘I can’t wait to get there.’
‘I noticed that you have taken
to wearing our clothes,’ said Elkeira changing the subject.
‘Tallon gave them to me before
we left, I find them very comfortable,’ said Max, ‘and I think
Tallon likes to see me in them,’ she added shyly.
Elkeira smiled. ‘I think he
does too.’
Suddenly Max clutched her
belly, her eyes wide with shock.
‘What is it,’ said Elkeira
alarmed, ‘is it the baby, shall I go and get the birthing
women?’
‘I think my waters just broke,’
said Max, her breath coming in gasps.
Elkeira leapt off the bed. ‘I
will be back soon, don’t worry,’ she said, ‘everything will be
fine.’
‘Hurry,’ panted Max, in the
grip of another contraction.
Tallon, who was never far away
from Max, grabbed Elkeira as she came running from the tent.
‘What has happened, is Max
hurt?’
‘The baby is coming, I must
find the women to help her,’ she said breaking from his grasp.
Tallon entered the tent,
knowing he shouldn’t but wanting desperately to be with Max,
believing she would be frightened all on her own. Max sat on the
bed, sweat beading on her face from the pain of a contraction. She
looked up, ‘I don’t think it’s supposed to happen quite this
quick,’ she said, with fear in her eyes.
‘What can I do to help?’ he
asked.
‘Nothing,’ she said through
gritted teeth, ‘just hold me.’
He did as she asked, rubbing
her back gently. ‘My precious, precious one,’ he said softly,
‘don’t be afraid.’
Elkeira soon arrived back at
the tent, birthing women in tow.
‘This is no place for a man,
you will have to leave,’ said one, ushering Tallon from the
tent.
torturous for all involved. Haven, Gilster and Tallon paced outside
the tent, listening to Max screaming and moaning in pain. They felt
helpless knowing there was nothing any of them could do; only Max
herself could push this baby into the world. The sun was peeking
over the horizon, a pink wash indicating a storm was imminent,
when, finally a small cry was heard. Max’s child was born. The
three men waiting outside tensed.
One of the birthing women
stepped outside, ‘you can go in now, but please be quiet, Max’s is
very tired. I will go and inform Roki,’ she said as she walked away
towards the clan leader’s tent.
The three men entered the tent.
The first thing they noticed was Elkeira holding a tiny bundle, a
huge smile on her face, ‘it’s a girl,’ she said happily.
‘Is Max alright,’ asked
Haven.
‘Yes . . . yes, see for
yourselves, she is fine, just a little tired, so do not tax her too
much.’
The three men turned as one.
Max looked so small in bed surrounded by furs and blankets and she
looked exhausted, her hair plastered to her face.
‘I did it,’ she said huskily,
‘have you seen her yet, she is beautiful.’
Neither Tallon nor Haven moved,
both too frightened to look at the baby and see their worst fears
confirmed. It was Gilster who walked over to Elkeira and looked
down at the tiny child in her arms.
‘May I?’ he said holding out
his arms.
Elkeira placed the tiny bundle
gently in his arms. He walked over to the two men and stood between
them. Reluctantly, they both looked at the baby girl. She was
beautiful; with pink cheeks and cherubic lips, her tiny hands
scrunched into little fists, her eyes tightly closed. Gilster
pulled back the wrapping from around the baby’s head.
‘I can’t believe it,’ breathed
Haven.
Tallon walked over to Max. ‘You
have done well little one,’ he said. He leaned forward kissing
Max’s on the lips, ‘rest now.’ He left the tent.
‘Her hair,’ said Haven, ‘look
at her hair.’
‘I know,’ said Gilster, ‘it’s
the same colour as her father’s . . . silver.’
‘Here,’ he said, passing the
baby girl to Haven, ‘say hello to your new daughter.’ Tears of joy
rolled down Haven’s cheeks.
Nobody except Elkeira saw
Tallon leave; the devastation etched on his face broke her
heart.
A huge storm hit that
afternoon, the sky became leaden, lightening streak across the
heavens and thunder constantly boomed overhead. The torrential
downpour that followed caused Roki to make the decision to delay
their journey. Tallon had gone missing and Elkeira--worried for his
safety-- had gone to look for him. Gilster decided to spend some
time with the camp woman he had met, knowing their time together
was short.
With Max’s permission, Haven
had moved some of his things into her tent so they could start
working on their relationship again. Since the baby had been born,
memories of their time together before Naturine had started to
resurface and Haven was desperate for this to continue. Max was
remembering more and more, but her feelings for Tallon did not
disappear with her returning memory.
Haven was sitting on the end of
the bed cradling his baby daughter. ‘She looks so tiny in Haven’s
arms,’ thought Max smiling. Haven happened to look up just at that
moment.
‘It’s good to see you smiling
again,’ he said, ‘have you remembered something else?’
‘No,’ said Max, ‘I was just
thinking how much the proud father you look.’
‘I am proud,’ said Haven
seriously, ‘I’m proud of you both. You will never know the pain I
went through when I thought I’d lost you Max. It was like someone
had ripped the heart from my chest. Every time I saw you and Tallon
together I wanted to kill him. If it wasn’t for Gilster I may have.
The anger I felt scared me, I didn’t know what I might be capable
of.’ At the mention of Tallon’s name, Max dropped her gaze. Haven
continued, ‘I know you still have feelings for him and I won’t lie
to you, it hurts, but we have to continue on and he will be coming
with us. I’ll handle it in my own way. I have to because we have to
get all the Chosen to the end of the journey or all this will have
been for nothing. We have a child now and we must secure a future
for her.’
‘I think I remember why I fell
in love with you now,’ smiled Max. ‘Changing the subject entirely,
have you got a name for our child?’
‘Well . . . I wanted to talk to
you about it first,’ said Haven, ‘but how about Ti Athra.’
‘That’s beautiful,’ said Max,
‘does it mean anything?’
‘It means silver wing, in the
old language of my world.’
‘Ti Athra it is,’ she said
happily.
Elkeira was having trouble
finding Tallon and the pouring rain wasn’t improving her temper.
‘TALLON,’ she screamed over the thunder, ‘TALLON WHERE ARE YOU?’
Finally she saw him in one of the flashes of lightning, he was
sitting at the edge of the forest leaning against a tree. ‘Where
have you been, you must have heard me yelling?’ She was greeted by
silence. After trudging throw the mud and getting soaked she was in
no mood for his brooding.
‘Get up,’ she yelled at him,
‘get up now, so you’ve lost Max, so what! There will be other
women.’
He stood, his hair plastered to
his face, water dripping from his beard, the rain running in
rivulets down his body.
‘It’s her I want,’ he yelled
over the thunder, ‘not some other woman.’
‘Well, you’ll
just have to be a man and face it, you can’t have her, she is with
Haven now; they have a child together. But
I
still need you, I need your strength
to help me get through what is to come, it will be very dangerous
and some of us might die. I might die. You think I’m not
frightened? I’m scared to death.’
eyes. ‘I’m so sorry little sister,’ he said, ‘I have let you down.
I have been thinking only of myself, please forgive me.’ He opened
his arms and she ran, throwing herself at his body, hugging him
fiercely. ‘Things will be different now,’ he whispered in her ear,
‘I promise.’
Elkeira was riding next to Max.
‘Not long now,’ she said, ‘I am getting quite excited. The meeting
place is so beautiful, the river runs around the edge and there are
waterfalls that fall a hundred feet from the cliff tops, the noise
is unbelievable, and at this time of year all the wild flowers are
blooming, the scent is almost overpowering, it is known as one of
the prettiest places in my world, I cannot wait to show
everything.’
‘I can’t wait to see it all,’
said Max happily, ‘it sounds amazing.’
Arriving at the meeting place
four days late, due to Max giving birth and the huge storm, they
were met with scenes of utter destruction and devastation. Tents
had been shredded and thrown around the camp-site, travois were
upturned and their contents strewn all over the place. Dead and
dying horses lay everywhere and the sound of buzzing flies was
sickening. It looked like a tornado had ripped through the whole
place.
Bodies floated in the river
which ran red with blood. Dead bodies of many types of animals and
birds lay amongst the devastation; it was obvious many people had
tried to escape by shape shifting. When they reached the centre of
the meeting place the worst possible scene greeted them; piles and
piles of dead bodies still smouldering after being set alight. The
carrion crows were busy about their disgusting work and rose in a
black swarm as the group approached. Roki and his people walked
silently through the ruins of the camp.
Tallon took charge, ‘we must
look for survivors,’ he said, already organising the warriors into
search parties. ‘There must be someone alive who can tell us what
happened here.’
‘It’s Anubians,’ said Gilster,
‘they must have been looking for the Chosen.’
‘But why did they have to kill
everyone,’ said Tallon, shocked, ‘once they realised the Chosen
were not here, they could have just left. Why cause all this death
and destruction?’
‘Because it’s their way,’ said
Gilster, ‘this is what we’re up against. They want the Chosen and
they will do anything to get them, they won’t allow anyone or
anything to stand in their way.’
Haven helped Max from her
horse, she held the sleeping Ti Athra tight to her chest.
‘I want this to be over,
Haven,’ she sobbed, ‘there has been so much death and in the end,
what is it all for?’
‘So we can survive,’ he said
grimly.
She laughed bitterly, ‘well if
this is living then give me death any day.’
‘Don’t say that, don’t ever say
that,’ said Haven holding tightly to her and the baby. ‘You must
survive for all this to end, it doesn’t matter about me or Gilster
or Tallon or any of the others, as long as you, Daria, Elkeira and
the next Chosen survive to finish it.’
‘I don’t think I can.’
‘Yes, you can and you will,
nothing short of our deaths will stop any of us from helping you
reach your goal.’
‘Please don’t talk about dying,
please don’t leave me.’
‘I won’t, ever,’ he said with
conviction. ‘Now come, let’s go and find Gilster and see what we’re
going to do.’
They found Gilster talking to
Roki and a large man who they hadn’t seen before. The three were
standing in the middle of the carnage. Roki turned at their
approach.
‘Haven! Max! This is Droog from
Clan Bird, he has just been telling us what happened here.’
Droog was a stocky, well built
man of about fifty, with a ruddy complexion and a thick red beard
reaching down his chest. He was wearing the skin of a deer draped
across his shoulders and the usual leather jerkin and pants with
fur boots.
‘I’m sorry we could not meet
under more happier circumstances,’ he said grimly. Haven nodded.
‘You are the Chosen?’ He said addressing Max.
‘Yes I am,’ she replied.
‘Then thank the gods you were
not here, it must have been providence that caused you to be
late.’
‘No,’ said Haven, ‘not
providence, a baby.’
Droog laughed despite himself.
‘Well . . . yes,’ he said, ‘they are known for that. But come, let
us not stand here surrounded by all this death, I have managed to
salvage a tent which I have erected over there,’ he pointed off
towards some trees on the edge of the encampment, ‘we can talk more
comfortably.’
‘Where is Elkeira,’ asked Droog
as they walked towards the tent, ‘are you not worried about
her.’
‘She is looking for survivors
with Tallon, he will protect her,’ said Roki. At the mention of
Tallon’s name Max felt a familiar shiver.
‘Ah, Tallon,’ said Droog, ‘I
saw him before with his warriors, he’s grown into a fine young man,
you must be very proud of him.’
Roki smiled, ‘I am proud of
both my children,’ he said.
They reached the tent and
entered, it was not the luxurious surroundings Max had become
accustomed to, the floor was bare dirt and a few barrels and logs
served as seats, some salvaged candles flickered grimly, giving the
tent a tomb like atmosphere.
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