Silo Saga: The Choosing (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Silo 13) by David Macinnis Gill

Author:David Macinnis Gill [Gill, David Macinnis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kindle Worlds
Published: 2014-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

4

Théo had no more than planted his feet on the ground than the girl in the yellow overalls shoved past the other priests. Her feet were bare, and they made almost no sound on the metal risers. Finally, she reached him and threw her arms around his neck. Before he really knew what was happening, she lifted her head to him and closed her, eyes turning her head just so.

Théo cupped her hand in his palm and ran his thumb along the line of her jaw, his lips meeting hers. She was warm and tasted of citrus, her lips soft and vibrating with a new kind of light.

"My name is Jubilee," she said. "I am so glad that you are not the chosen one."

"I am very happy about that, too."

They both laughed, and he took her hand. All of the months that he had watched her from afar. He had watched her move, doing her duty in silence, gliding down the spiral staircase like a dancer. He had never dared speak her name, and now here she was, wrapped in his arms, the whisper of her kiss still on his lips.

He turned to Trinidad and formed a question in his eyes. In reply, Trinidad simply bowed. He touched his middle fingers to his forehead and then lowered his arm. It was a sign of respect, a signal that the shadow had indeed become the keeper.

A murmur swept through the priests. There was a great cry, followed by the sound of shouts and orders. Someone started pushing through the line of priests on the staircase, knocking them aside.

"Théo!" Lejeune screened.

He broke through the line of yellow and red clad priests and launched himself into the air. He landed crouched, a hook bladed comb knife in his right hand. He swiped the blade back and forth, cutting the air with it.

"You have stolen my birthright, and I want it back."

For a few seconds, Théo was unable to move. His mind had been reeling already, and the sight of his brother behaving like a wild animal, yielding a lethal weapon only two yards away did not make thinking any easier.

He was not the only, it seemed, that his mother had been whispering to.

"Lejeune," Théo said slowly. "Be calm. I have stolen nothing from you. The bees have chosen."

"To hell with the bees!" he shouted. "They stung me! Almost killed me!"

"They healed you, as well."

"Let's see what they do for you, after I gut you with my knife!"

The priests gasped and backed away.

"Sacrilege!" the head priest said.

"Shut up!" Lejeune yelled. "Or you'll be next!"

Behind them, the mechanics in blue overalls broke through the line. They pushed ahead of the priests and spread out along the floor. In their hands they carried spanner wrenches, long flathead screwdrivers, and heavy chains.

"What," the head priest cried, "is the meaning of this intrusion?"

"Sorry, but it's time to finish the ritual." The mechanic's leader, Petros, stepped from the circle. His blue overalls are stained with thick layers of Greece and sweat.

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