The Braided Path #03 - The Ascendancy Veil by Chris Wooding
Author:Chris Wooding [Wooding, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-02-26T03:00:00+00:00
‘Asara,’ Kaiku snapped, impatient. ‘You have followed me this far. Do not fool yourself into thinking you are making a choice; you made it some time ago. You have shadowed my footsteps too long. What do you want?’
‘I want a child,’ Asara hissed.
There was silence between them. Asara retreated, spent by the effort of the admission. Kaiku stared.
‘I want a child,’ she said again, quieter. ‘But I cannot bear one.’
‘Why not?’ Kaiku asked, slightly dazed. This was her secret longing?
‘I do not know why not,’ Asara replied. ‘I can . . . change myself, but only to an extent. I can take on the forms of men and women, but not of beasts, nor of birds. I can alter my skin and my shape, but I have limits. What I can do, I do by instinct. I do not know how it happens. I cannot see inside myself. I cannot fix myself.’
It made sense to Kaiku then. ‘You want me to make you fertile.’
‘You can do this!’ Asara said, and there was naked hunger in her voice. ‘I have heard of the deeds you and your kind are capable of. I have seen Sisters bring men back from the brink of death, healing with their hands. I watched you save that Tkiurathi woman’s life just hours ago! You have the power to repair whatever is wrong with me.’
‘Perhaps,’ said Kaiku.
‘ Perhaps?’ Asara cried.
‘I am not a god, Asara,’ Kaiku said. ‘I cannot create what is not there. I do not know what kind of changes Aberrancy has wreaked in you. What if you have no womb? I cannot give you one.’
‘Then look! Look inside! You can tell me!’ Asara was desperate now; her hopes had been vested in this for so long that the possibility of them being dashed was too much for her to take. For so long, lonely and empty; ever outcast, ever unable to fill the void that yawned inside her. There were none like she was, even among the Aberrants. In all ninety of her years, she had never found another. And it was Shintu’s cruellest trick indeed to make her ageless and yet rob her of the power to procreate.
But Kaiku’s brow was creased in a frown. ‘I will have to think on this, Asara.’
‘You owe me,’ Asara spat, her fear turning to fury. ‘I gave you a life; now you give me one!’
‘And what would you do with it, Asara?’ Kaiku asked. Her hair hung across one eye, but the other one regarded Asara steadily. ‘What would I be unleashing if I allowed more creatures like you into the world?’
‘It is the right of every woman! I was denied!’
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Fantasy | Gaming |
Science Fiction | Writing |
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry(34046)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt(18261)
Norse Mythology by Gaiman Neil(12878)
Crooked Kingdom: Book 2 (Six of Crows) by Bardugo Leigh(11994)
The Betrayed by Igor Ljubuncic(11638)
The Betrayed by Matthew Dickerson(11442)
Caraval Series, Book 1 by Stephanie Garber(9941)
Year One by Nora Roberts(9341)
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson(9222)
Twilight Siege: A Dark Fantasy Novel (The Fae Games Book 2) by Jill Ramsower(9072)
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon(8650)
The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty(8537)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown(8303)
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire(7680)
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng(6891)
Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop(6668)
Storm and Silence by Robert Thier(6510)
This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz(6475)
Shadows Of The Apt [01] - Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky(6430)
