Read Anathema - The Song of Eloh Saga, Book 2 for Free Online Page A

were
calming down.
    “Isn’t it crazy?” Ivy yelled, jumping up and
down around the modest room, barely missing hitting her head on a
ceiling beam. My mouth twitched and I couldn’t help but smile. I’d
never seen Ivy so excited about anything.
    “Ivy wouldn’t leave without you,” Tania
handed me a cup of tea. “We approached her three days ago in the
market, offering to free her. She immediately accepted, but swore
she couldn’t leave without her best friend.”
    “ Didn’t I tell you that I
would never leave without you?” Ivy grinned at me.
    “Unfortunately we can only free one person
at a time,” said Tania. “There are only two cloaks here in Wendak.
The rest are scattered throughout the realm. We can’t spare any
more than that for each major town. We had to wait a few hours
until after your birthday party.” She rolled her eyes at the word
party. “It’s risky taking more than one slave at a time. Raises
suspicions.”
    “I didn’t want you to feel the same pain I
did,” Ivy said. “It was the worst thing I’ve ever been through. I
couldn’t imagine putting you through it too, when I knew I could
stop it.”
    Ivy bumped me with her hip, nudging me to
the side to make room on the chair. Flinging her arms around me,
she smothered me in another tight hug. It was surreal.
    “Who’s this we?” I asked Tania, trying to
process all of the new information. “Where are the others?”
    “Well, in Wendak it’s just my husband Jon
and I. There’s at least one couple in every town. We’re the only
free gifted here.”
    “Gifted?” My tea slipped down the wrong
pipe. I coughed, bent over and Ivy clapped my back.
    “It’s true, Reychel. Tania and Jon are
gifted,” Ivy said.
    “And free?” I asked. “I didn’t think there
were any free gifted people. You’re supposed to be slaves.”
    “Some were slaves and some were born that
way. Born gifted out of captivity. Some from gifted parents and
others, well, others are born to parents who don’t have the spark,”
Tania explained.
    “How is that possible? I thought only the
gifted could give birth to gifted children,” I said. “At least
that’s what we’ve always been taught.”
    “It’s not true, sweetie.” Tania stroked my
bald head. “All it takes is two parents and little blessing from
Eloh.”
    I took another sip of her tea, not because I
was thirsty, though I was, but because I needed a moment to think.
Ivy joined Tania at the sink, washing dishes. Menial work, but
voluntary; so different than the life we lived at Kandek’s
castle.
    The cottage was nothing like I had ever
seen, but it was everything I had imagined in my stories. Unlike
Kandek’s castle, Tania’s wooden cottage was one level with walls
covered by a tough mixture of clay and water. The dirt floor was
punctuated by flagstones. A small sleeping loft tucked in to one
corner of the ceiling. This house was held together by love, not by
slavery.
    Tania turned to us with a grim look.
    “The hard part of this is that we have to
say goodbye so quickly.” Tania wiped her damp hands on her apron.
Ivy dried the last bowl and nested it with the other bowls on the
shelf.
    I looked to Ivy and she returned my glance
with a tiny smile and a shrug.
    “You have to leave. Everyone here knows that
Jon and I have no children. If we suddenly have two
fifteen-year-olds living with us there will be too many questions.
Everyone will figure it out quickly and we can’t afford to be
discovered. Ivy has been hiding in our sleeping loft today, but
many people drop by unannounced. It’s too risky.”
    “When do we have to go?” I stood up and
washed my mug in the sink.
    “Tomorrow. In fact you must be gone before
first light so I suggest you both go to bed early tonight. I know
you have a lot to talk about, but you need as much sleep as
possible. You’ve got a long journey ahead of you.”
    “But everyone will know. We’re both bald,” I
smiled giving Ivy a little rub on her