Bloodlines: Everything That Glitters
Myunique C. Green
Bloodlines: Everything That Glitters
Book One
Copyright © 2012 by Myunique C. Green
Bloodlines: Everything That Glitters is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, 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 purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ISBN 978-1-300-39984-1
All laws are meant to be broken; especially those designed to separate and divide.
Prologue
I live a beautifully cursed life here at my home in the forest; a goddess among men, one whom no one was allowed to touch. As one of the few Genesis Sisters, it was my job to protect and aid any organic life here in the forest of Xyonthis. Because of the roll I played, I was never allowed near anyone aside from my own kind; but my sisters never came around much, going as far as to outcast me after finding out I was with child.
I stretched my arms wide in the center of the nest I’d found comfort in and smiled as the forest around me awoke from its slumber as well.
“Good morning everyone,” I said, sounding groggier than usual as I stared into the warm light of the sun.
I was delighted as Emerald vines lightly coiled themselves around my ankles and tickled the soles of my feet before coming up to mess around in my hair; I could hear their tiny energetic whispers as they helped me to my feet.
I spoke to the forest as I looked around. “I’m sure you all know what today is, but I’ll remind you anyways. Delouise, Celicia and Moe, the royals of Maunteria, will be sweeping through our sector today for the annual inspection, they are due to arrive this afternoon.”
Slowly bending over, I picked up a rogue twig sticking from the nest and tied my hair up with it as everyone tried to voice their opinions at once. “Now I know you all don’t like them but it has to be done.” I drifted silently down to the warm earth below the oak tree and planted my feet into the moist dirt.
Raising my voice slightly, I spoke into the top of the trees and clear up to the clouds. “Eagles, I’ll need you to plant three dozen Titan Arum’s at the entrance of the land. Make sure one dozen are original purple, another ruby and the rest gold. When you’re finished, spray them all with a brilliant sheen of diamond, I want to capture eternal beauty.” I blew through the land as the Eagles took off to do as I assigned and did a little inspection of my own, sprinkling everything with a calming mist of dew.
I paused briefly to help a small Tulip find its way to the stream of warm sunlight then continued through with orders and instructions for everyone. “Greg and Darra, take a few other Hawks with you and fly above, keep a sharp eye out for the three mistresses, also one of you please tell the monkey’s there are to be absolutely no practical jokes, I almost failed because of them last time.”
“Will there be anything else, Psenora?” Greg replied as he flew swiftly behind me.
“If something arises, you will be the first to know,” I smiled as I pulled the moss from a red wood tree and let it drift slowly from my hands and to the dirt where tiny worms eagerly awaited.
“You look more beautiful than ever this morning.”
I didn’t have to think twice about whom the voice belonged to as a dark cloud rolled in front of the suns warm light; bringing darkness to fall all over the land.
“Then why have you covered my light?”
Without showing himself, Hero moved gently through the shadows and hid behind a large tree. “They have been talking, Psenora.” He spoke lowly, the wind carrying his voice to my ears. “They speak of a girl, one born of gold that will present herself tonight.”
I touched my hand to my belly then kept moving. “What does that have to do with us?”
“It has everything to do with us. They say she will live forever, as one who rides through the clouds on a beast born from fire. Eventually she will overthrow the Temple of Zindra, freeing everyone from under Phlinx and Masaya.”
“Impossible, none of us will live forever. For centuries yes, but forever is unbelievable. One’s mortality is the only guarantee we have in this world.” I shook my head in disbelief as I uprooted a rosebush and threw it to the side so that the petals could be removed. “How long have they been saying these things?”
Seconds later a brown sack filled with several large scrolls flew from the darkness and landed face down in the dirt. “Long enough for the townsfolk to craft and distribute these scrolls from here to as far as Naim. Read it, Psenora, and tell me if you do not believe it could be her.”
I reached down hesitantly for the bag then opened it, taking out one of the larger rolls and laying it down upon the dirt to stretch out. I gasped as I looked upon the female warrior; her long light brown hair flew sharply in the wind as she sat on the back of a large red bird with the neck of a goose and the wings of a mighty Eagle. Both of them sat with a mixture of red, orange and purple fire blazing all around them and below townspeople cheered as they huddled around them. Only briefly reading a section of the story, I reached blindly for another scroll and after unraveling it I saw a woman lying in a nest much like mine, her aura bright gold like the sun itself; although the picture didn’t show her face, her amethyst hair was similar to mine. “It can’t be,” I breathed, trying hard to take it all in.
“Is it really so hard to believe, so unfathomable that by pure will alone you will refuse the prophecy from coming to fruition?”
Before I could form a protest, my stomach twisted and the girl moved inside of me. My knees buckled slightly but I regained my balance before I fell; the vines flew instantly out of the oak tree and steadied me. “The contractions have already begun,” I whispered as pain began to torment my body. After sitting down in the dirt to study the scroll once again, I read through it, stopping again at the picture of the warrior and the bird; in her hand she held a platinum staff and on it was engraved the word, Ikuista, meaning The Eternal One.
“Masaya has enforced a bounty for the girl, dead or alive. Anyone found harboring her are to be killed as well and the town is going mad. Which is the main reason your superiors are inspecting your land this quarter, they suspect you.”
Pain rose then subsided, I drifted up into my nest to get off of my feet and lay there motionlessly. “We should leave, run away to a place where they will never find us.”
“Will you really leave the things that rely on you here, a place you once killed for, to jump the portal into some random world we know nothing about? Masaya will surely follow you, it looks too suspicious.”
As I opened my mouth, my aura began to feel like it was being ripped apart, a sign that it was definitely time for the separation of the baby. “If what they say is true about the child, I want to get her out of here. Saving my baby is the only thing that matters,” I paused then looked around for him, “Our baby.” I corrected. Tears burned down my cheeks, it’d definitely hurt to go, but, if it meant saving our child, I would in a heartbeat. “You are going to have to leave,” I forced through clinched teeth.
“I will not leave you,” he replied as he appeared inside the nest beside me, no longer hiding from me.
I looked upon his smooth face and ran my fingers along his cheek. “Is this why you hid from me?” His eyes had turned the light amethyst of my hair, replacing the hard graphite color they’d once been, but also the tips of his ears were transforming, forming a small point. “I should have told you that would hap
pen,” I smiled faintly.
“What are we going to name her?”
I opened my mouth to answer but all that came out was an ear-piercing scream. “You have to get out of here!”
“I’ve told you once that I will not leave you,” he replied calmly, trying to sooth me.
“Then I suppose you know the proper way to separate this baby from me? I have to call for my sisters, you will have to leave,” I said through forced teeth. The pain was nearly unbearable as I curled over the large ball that was my stomach.
Without further protest Hero disappeared into the night, taking the darkness he’d cast along with him and I lay alone in the nest. A loud chirp flew from my mouth, signaling my sisters nearby. They did not delay in appearing from nowhere to assist me in bringing forth the child, “Thank you, for not taking our differences out on my baby,” I whispered as they surrounded me in the nest.
While the others hesitated, Felicia was the first to step forth and begin forming the circle before my other sister’s joined hands. Once the circle was locked and my sisters were united, golden light beamed forward from my belly; I saw the dense skeleton of the little girl flash from its rays of light as she rested peacefully within me. From the many circles I’d been in and Genesis births I’d been a witness to, their light was always a very light blue, almost the purest form of white. Something different was happening here, I wouldn’t be able to hide anything from them any longer. Hero was right, it truly was our daughter.
“I don’t believe it,” Gillie whispered, “A child born of Gold.”
I was tempted to pass out as the pain increased. Khalia summoned water from a nearby puddle; it twirled slowly around the tree as it made its way upward. She purified it before allowing it to splash over my face, refreshing me. “Hang in there, we are nearly done, you do not want to overheat.”
This was the final moment, the moment when the baby would be separated from me; the young soul I’d carried around for three months’ time, born into a world that didn’t accept her and felt she shouldn’t exist.
I braced myself for the separation as the light surrounded her in a bubble and levitated her upwards, allowing for all nine of my sisters assembled there to see her.
Centure grabbed the two-edged separation dagger from the pocket of her cloak and steadied it for a clean cut. Everything centered on this because you only had one chance when it came down to it and one of two things happened; life or death.
I inhaled a great wind and let my head roll backwards, not wanting to watch. With one swift motion of her arm, Centure released the baby’s final hold. It wasn’t until I heard the baby cry that I realized that she was alive. As she drifted down, Centure reached both arms out to cradle her and after wiping the thick white film from her eyes and face, she stared blankly into the baby’s eyes before handing it over so that I could embrace her in my own arms.
I looked upon the child’s face and was amazed at what I saw; her face was as smooth as marble and her soft hazel eyes were like nothing I had ever seen before, in them danced speckles of golden fire. Short brown curls stuck to her forehead and she smiled at me when I touched her face. Her skin illuminated as red fire escaped from her tiny body, covering the both of us.
“She is no ordinary Genesis, Psenora, look at her eyes, her skin! This is the one Masaya is looking for!” Bonnie exclaimed wildly.
I stared around meeting the eyes of three of my sisters, “Please, I beg only for your silence in this matter, don’t tell anyone,” I whispered as tears began to form in my eyes. “She is not full blooded.”
“Of that we are positive,” Centure said as she leaned in for a closer look of the baby. “What we are not sure about is what the other half may be?”
The rest of the women looked warily at me, only allowing a small portion of concern for me and the child to show through on their expressions. I could tell what they were all thinking just from reading the gaze on their faces.
Once again I inhaled deeply as I looked around to meet their eyes, “She is of a god, the last one.”
Centure shook her head softly then lifted the child from my hands, “I’ll tend to her while Felicia mends you.”
This must have been the worst part of the separation process- stitching the aura back together was even more painful than having it torn in the beginning. I watched Centure as she drifted away with my baby and was slightly tempted to stop her, but in my weakened state I couldn’t gather the strength to even move my mouth anymore. Somehow I knew I could trust her to not betray me; she’d never given me a reason not to, besides, she was my mother.
“We will keep your secret,” Gina said as she helped Felicia. “But this must be the end of your affair with the god.”
I looked up into the sunlight and slowly floated off into a light sleep. “I will no longer stay in this world,” I replied before completely shutting my eyes.
17 Years Later…
Chapter One
Alizarin
Sunday August 22, 2010
It was the middle of August when my family decided to move to New Market, Alabama. I can’t say I was totally against the idea of uprooting everything I had in Hot Springs and moving away. I welcomed the thought of having a fresh start.
“Come on, Alizarin!” my brother yelled from the passenger window of the new jet-black Lexus I’d gotten a few months earlier. Since my parents didn’t spend much time at home, they tried to make up for it materially.
“We’re already ridiculously behind schedule. A few more minutes won’t kill you!” I yelled back as I took a key from my pocket and locked the front door of the barren house. I sighed. I didn’t know when I’d return—if ever. My legs barely wanted to carry me to the car as I walked away, but that could have been attributed to the lack of sleep the night before.
I reflected on all of the memories and friends I would be leaving behind; breaking the news to May and Lee that I was moving nearly five hours away was the hardest thing I’d had to do. They had been my best friends since third grade. I smiled at our adventures; there would be no more sneaking out of windows and enjoying the late-night happenings, doing circles in empty parking lots, or even just relaxing by the pool. Not to mention the enjoyable dangers we’d managed to get into a number of those times, including attempting to pin Lee to the roof of the car with duct tape before we continued circling the parking lot.
“It’ll be alright, Alizarin; I'm sure you’ll make new friends, better ones,” my mom told me the day she and Dad broke the news. I had been more upset then than I was the day I left.
I stopped for a second and looked up at the grey-and-red, two-story house I was leaving for good. Every memory worth remembering took place right there in that town and in that very house: the first time I rode a bike, my sweet 16, and even losing my virginity. I cringed at the memory of the last thought; I hadn’t been even remotely prepared for that experience—first pain, then pleasure.
Although I’d told myself I wouldn’t reminisce, I couldn’t help but reflect on that day momentarily. Because my parents were off enjoying a four-day cruise, and Jasmine and Ash were staying with friends, Joseph had come over to help with homework and hang out for the next couple of days. I still remembered what he was wearing that night: a white-and-blue plaid shirt so tight I could see the imprint of his abs, and his blue jeans were slightly worn and ripped at the knees. I smiled as visions of his amazing green eyes and spiked blond hair danced across my brain.
But soon my smile faded when I remembered the part where after we’d done the deed he was suddenly in a rush to leave. I didn’t even have the chance to ask him where he was going or when he’d be back and, needless to say, that was the last time I saw Joseph. Not because I didn’t want to, he was just never at school anymore, and he never answered any of my phone calls. It was as if he had just disappeared off the face of the earth. After a while of thinking he’d run off with friends like he’d done countless of times before, his parents started a neighborhood search team in an effort
to find him. When he eventually returned home, things were never the same. The phrase ‘April Showers’ had developed a whole new meaning for me.
“Hey, Aliza, are you alright?”
I felt Ash’s warm hand touch my shoulder, then shook off my thoughts. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just taking a trip down memory lane, that’s all.” My heart skipped a beat as a cold chill blew across the driveway.
“We need to be taking another trip right now. Put some pep in your step and let’s get on the road.”
New beginnings, I thought. New house, new life, new friends.
“You could have left with Mom and Dad, you know?” I teased while opening the driver’s door.
“And listen to six hours of nonstop music from the nineteen hundreds? I don’t think so,” he replied as he got comfortable in the passenger seat.
I gave the house one last glance, staring up at the wide window on the second story where my room had once been. “It’s all for the best isn’t it, Ash?” I said in an almost a whisper, trying to cast the memories aside. The more I thought about it, my heart ached.
“Yeah, maybe. You might like it there more than here.”
I put the car in reverse and began backing out of the driveway; I looked up once more, shifted into drive and sped down the street. Leaves fell from the trees and stuck to the windshield as we traveled out of Hot Springs. I was surprised my parents had let Ash and I make the drive alone, since we’d never even seen the new house before. Lately though, they’d been letting us get away with more stuff than usual, including staying out after curfew. I guess it was their way of apologizing for moving us away from everything we knew and loved.
“So what are we going to do for the next six hours?” I said, turning the radio off and nudging Ash lightly.
“I know what I’m going to do,” he replied, pulling a small pillow from under the seat. “Wake me when we get there.”