Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8
Luke’s next words pulled her from her reverie. “You may know this already,” he whispered, “but anyone who threatens Chaos and is deemed guilty of that crime by the Oracles, is instantly Banished.”
Eve frowned. She had heard of Banishment before but had only witnessed it once. It happened a little over a year ago, when she was 12 and had just begun her apprenticeship in the House of Eve. She had noticed that one of her charges, a toddler who would eventually belong to the Weaver House of Rebecca, had strange eyes. They were not the standard brown but an odd pale shade reminiscent of a spring sky. Excited by this rare oddity, Eve had pointed it out to one of the Mothers. The woman had gasped in horrified amazement and urgently called over the Grandmother Eves.
That was the last that Eve had seen of little sky-eyed Rebecca. It was my fault that she was Banished, she thought with a stab of guilt.
“I’m pretty sure that I know where the Banished end up, thanks to a map I found in the archives,” Luke continued.
“You do?” Eve felt a leap in her chest.
Luke nodded. “There’s a settlement beyond the forested Dusk Hills, where the sun sets each evening,” he said, his eyes gleaming. “It’s a very old map but still, it might be there. Do you want to go exploring there on our next day off?”
Eve’s skin prickled and her heart leaped. A part of her was terrified, wishing to just do the usual day off activities such as swimming and sunbathing. But the other part was curious. What did lie beyond the hills that formed New Eden’s boundaries? Eve had visited the library where the Lukes worked but the only books available to the public were about the pleasant lives of New Eden’s Citizens. Eve had grown bored with reading at an early age, figuring that, since she was already living such a life, she didn’t have to read about it.
“That’s just two days away.” Her voice sounded high, almost squeaky.
Luke grinned and nodded eagerly. “I know. It will be exciting. I don’t think any Citizen has ever done this before. At —“
“Well, those who have done this and been caught probably ended up Banished,” Eve reminded him.
“We just won’t get caught.” Luke winked at her. “How difficult can it be?”
Before Eve could respond, the sound of the Oracle Tower’s chimes filled the moon-shadowed valley with their eerie music. That was the call for all Citizens to gather in the Great Dining Hall for supper.
Eve’s mind was full as she joined the other Eves at their designated table in the Hall.
“How was your day?” the youngest Mother Eve asked her.
Eve could barely hear the question over the roar of voices and the clattering of dishes that filled the vast, crowded room.
“It was good,” she said, forcing a smile and gazing at the woman who was a slightly older version of her. The other Eves looked at her, as well, each one identical but progressively older than the last, up to the eldest Grandmother, whose hair was streaked with gray and face etched with wrinkles.
People were all different in the World Before, Eve thought, recalling Luke’s words and the secret pact they’d made to explore beyond New Eden. Nerves twittered in her stomach. What if they were caught? That alone would be grounds for Banishment, wouldn’t it? But just what did Banishment entail? Where did they go? Did some of them live in that settlement that Luke claimed was on that map?
About Donna Marie Robb
