Godmaker (Jeweled Goddess Book 1)
Page 15
“No no no.” I try to move.
How?! How did he do it?
Pain explodes through my spine. My eyes roll into the back of my head. I wheeze out a breath that may be my last.
I’m sorry, Romer. Forgive me.
With my friend gone, the last of my strength slips away. Darkness folds over my eyes like a piece of dark cloth.
“No one ever gave me a chance. No one thought I could win.”
I struggle to open my eyes, but I barely have enough strength left, even for that. Through half-opened eyes, I make out Aristo’s looming shadow.
“That was everyone’s greatest mistake,” Aristo says. “I was always a step ahead of all of you. Fools! I knew Romer would make it to the end, so it was him I had to be able to kill easily. But you’re more ignorant than I thought and did my work for me. It was still a pleasure seeing that my plan would have worked to its last detail.”
Lash you, Aristo. I don’t care what you have to say.
“I can heal, grow and shape bones!” he says proudly. “But you fools never saw any potential in that. No one would ally with a weakling that could only do good. Well, guess what? My Godskill can be used for harm, too. I curved one of Romer’s ribs toward his heart. It took only minor coaxing. And guess what else? I can lie and connive just as well as any of you.” He tsks, tsks and adds in a singsong voice. “And on top of everything, you were cheating. Too bad you weren’t smart about that either.”
“Shut up,” I rasp.
“What?!” He cocks an ear closer.
“Shut up,” I manage a little louder and clearer.
He scoffs. “As you wish.”
Slowly, Aristo lifts a hand and grips the hilt of the sword that sticks from my stomach and, in one swift motion, pulls it out.
“I win!” he says.
A cold shiver starts in my spine and travels to the rest of my body, numbing and pushing the pain to a faraway phantom that is less intimidating as its previous reality.
The cloak of darkness returns, falling over my eyes.
Peace finally finds me.
Epilogue
Birds chirp.
A rustling sound accompanies their sweet tunes.
The scent of wet earth hangs thickly in the air.
I blink my eyes open and see green. Blades of grass, swaying slightly. I’m lying on my stomach, though I died on my side.
Chaos, I’m dead!
I scramble to my knees, pushing up with my hands.
My hands.
They’re both there! I stare at the left one as if hypnotized. It is perfect—not even the scar I inflicted by hiding the jewel remains. Tears spill down my cheeks as I flex my fingers, and they respond as if nothing ever happened.
Or did it?
I rub my forehead, my eyes. Was it all a dream?
Finally, I look around.
I’m in the middle of a field, a prairie covered in thick, tall grass. My armor is gone, and I’m wearing a green tunic that stops above my knees, tight leather leggings and tall boots. I still have the necklace with Delfos’s eagle around my neck. I clutch it, looking for strength. The wind blows gently, making the grass dance. Legs shaking from fear and doubt, I get to my feet. The wind blows hair into my eyes. I push it away and turn in a circle, trying to figure out exactly where I am. There are trees to one side and mountains to the other. The sky above is strewn with clouds, heavy with rain. Thunder rumbles in the distance.
I’m not in Joya d’Diosa anymore. I’m . . . I’m in the human lands.
But how?! I died. Aristo killed me in the last clash. He did not give me a chance to Descend. He showed no mercy.
Romer!
If I’m not dead, is he alive too? I walk a few tentative steps, searching the ground. Maybe he’s here, just waiting to wake up and find out he’s in my dream or perhaps . . . the afterlife.
After turning around in circles, I begin to run, calling out my friend’s name. He has to be here. He’ll materialize by the trees. I order him to do so as I run toward the forest. It’s my dream, after all. I can make it happen.
As I rush forward—arms and legs pumping as fast as they can—something flies out from a pocket in my tunic. It flutters white like a dove and rides away on the wind.
A piece of parchment.
I try to catch it. My hand grasps at nothing but air. It lands atop a bush. I grab for it again, but it flutters to the ground, spurred by another gust of wind. Cursing, I lunge forward and, finally, take hold of it. It crumples under my eager fingers. I sit on the ground and unfold it, working out the wrinkles I’ve inflicted on it, and begin to read.
Bia,
Forgive me for disrespecting your wishes, and for leaving you alone and with no guide. I do, however, trust that you will find your path without help. You are resilient and strong, even without the Godjewel.
You must have a million questions, but in my haste, I’m able to answer only one. You surely wonder how you’re still alive. It is my doing. I couldn’t bear the thought of your light being extinguished from the world. I’ve come to think of you as a daughter. I always try not to get attached to my charges, but you broke through all the barriers I carefully erected. As to the how—the tea you drank with me every night was no ordinary tea. It was meant to keep your body protected in the eventuality that you didn’t survive the trials.
The tea was infused with my power and allowed me to restore you to life and save you from the Mourning Godfire. You should know, however, that everyone thinks you are dead, even your mother.
That means you’re free. Truly. So go and live, be happy while—in the meantime—my heart smiles, knowing you are out there, being yourself to the fullest, making a difference somewhere, as I know you were born to do.
May the Diosa be with you wherever fate takes you,
Godmaster Neo.
PS. The Godmaker never touched you.
I crumple the letter in my fist and throw my head back, sobbing like a little girl. Emotions crash in my chest, trying to overpower each other. There is fear, relief, anger, doubt. They all mix in a whirlwind, making me feel as if I will burn from the inside out and turn to ashes for the wind to carry away to the ends of the world.
The last line in the letter echoes in my mind as if spoken in Godmaster Neo’s voice.
The Godmaker never touched you.
That means I am still a Potential. A latent Goddess.
My Godjewel is gone, but all I’d have to do is wrap my fingers around it, and I would have my strength back. Strength enough to destroy Albasino with my bare hands, to destroy my mother, and even Joya d’Diosa.
As I am, though, I’m little more than a weak, destitute human. A fate worse than Descension.
Or is it?
I search my tunic for more pockets until I find a hidden one. There, I find a necklace studded with small, perfect jewels. A fortune in these human lands.
Wiping tears off my face, I stand and take a deep breath. I look toward the mountains. If I return to Joya d’Diosa, they will kill me, and Godmaster Neo’s efforts to save me would have been in vain. I cannot do that. Returning is out of the question. At least for the foreseeable future.
I clench my fists, hatred coming to life inside my chest like the hottest of Godfires.
In millennia, how many before me have been treated like this? How many Potentials have suffered my fate, Romer’s fate, or worse?
From birth, we are taught that we’re better than humans and, yet, the Godleaders force us to kill each other, discarding us like garbage when we don’t meet their standards. What gives them the right? And why do we allow it? Why do we play along and suffer a childhood full of anguish? Why do our mothers and fathers give us up to this savagery?
Godmaster Neo thinks I’m destined for great things, and maybe I am. Because destroying the Godleaders and freeing all the Potentials would indeed be a worthy task, and maybe, that is exactly what I’ll do.
I turn toward the trees, toward Cima. I don’t know what I’ll f
ind there but, for now, it’s the only safe place for me.
Time. I need time to decide what to do and how to do it, and the anonymity the human city can offer will give me that. Lifting my chin defiantly, I make myself a promise.
I won’t always be silent.
Glossary
Ascend - when a god or goddess is given a sigil by the Godmaker
Cardinal Jewel - a Godjewel that unleashes great power
Cima - the closest human city to Joya d’Diosa
Clash - one of the battles in the trials
Descend - when a god or goddess is turn into a human by the Godmaker
Godfire - a fire created by a god. It doesn’t flicker or smoke and burns indefinitely
Godfounder - one of those who founded Joya d’Diosa
Godfruit - a fruit honed by a god or goddess. A blend between apple, orange, and grape
Godhoned - made by a god
Godjewel - a jewel that unleashes a Godskill
Godline - a family line. They are: Zafira, Amatista, Peridoto, Esmeralda, Topacio, Rubí, Opal, Jade, Onix, Citrina, Granate , Cuarzo, and Ambar
Godleader - one of the thirteen members of the Pantheon
Godmaker - the god with the ability to give and take away a Godskill
Godmaster - gods and goddesses who teach Potentials
Godskill - an ability or power (i.e. controlling the weather)
Human-seed - a human who provides his or her seed in order to breed with a god or goddess
Joya d’Diosa - the citadel where the gods and goddesses live
Original Mother - the first goddess
Pantheon Assembly - a meeting of the Pantheon of Godleaders
Pantheon of Godleaders - the thirteen leaders of Joya d’Diosa
Potential - the offspring of a god or goddess who must win the trials in order to stay in Joya d’Diosa
Sacred Diamond - a large diamond at the center of Joya d’Diosa
Sigil - a mark on the hand of a Joya d’Diosa resident. It includes name, Godline, and year of Ascension
Skillbarren - a Potential without a Godskill
Tier - a group of Potentials of a certain age (i.e the fifteen-year-old tier)
Trial Steward - a god or goddess in charge of organizing the trials
Trials - a set of three clashes or battles. The victor wins a place in Joya d’Diosa
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Published by PenDreams
Cover design by Ruxandra Tudorica
Manufactured in the United States of America
Copyright © 2018 by Ingrid Seymour
All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
means without permission in writing from the author, except for inclusions of brief
quotations in a review.
This is a work of fiction. All persons, locales, organizations, and incidents are
products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual persons, places, or events is purely coincidental.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
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
Epilogue
Glossary
Contact