Free The Song of Eloh Saga by Megg Jensen

Raises suspicions.”
    “I didn’t want you to feel the same pain I did,” Ivy said. “It was the worst thing I’ve ever been through. I couldn’t imagine putting you through it too, when I knew I could stop it.”
    Ivy bumped me with her hip, nudging me to the side to make room on the chair. Flinging her arms around me, she smothered me in another tight hug. It was surreal.
    “Who’s this we?” I asked Tania, trying to process all of the new information. “Where are the others?”
    “Well, in Wendak it’s just my husband Jon and I. There’s at least one couple in every town. We’re the only free gifted here.”
    “Gifted?” My tea slipped down the wrong pipe. I coughed, bent over and Ivy clapped my back.
    “It’s true, Reychel. Tania and Jon are gifted,” Ivy said.
    “And free?” I asked. “I didn’t think there were any free gifted people. You’re supposed to be slaves.”
    “Some were slaves and some were born that way. Born gifted out of captivity. Some from gifted parents and others, well, others are born to parents who don’t have the spark,” Tania explained.
    “How is that possible? I thought only the gifted could give birth to gifted children,” I said. “At least that’s what we’ve always been taught.”
    “It’s not true, sweetie.” Tania stroked my bald head. “All it takes is two parents and little blessing from Eloh.”
    I took another sip of her tea, not because I was thirsty, though I was, but because I needed a moment to think. Ivy joined Tania at the sink, washing dishes. Menial work, but voluntary; so different than the life we lived at Kandek’s castle.
    The cottage was nothing like I had ever seen, but it was everything I had imagined in my stories. Unlike Kandek’s castle, Tania’s wooden cottage was one level with walls covered by a tough mixture of clay and water. The dirt floor was punctuated by flagstones. A small sleeping loft tucked in to one corner of the ceiling. This house was held together by love, not by slavery.
    Tania turned to us with a grim look.
    “The hard part of this is that we have to say goodbye so quickly.” Tania wiped her damp hands on her apron. Ivy dried the last bowl and nested it with the other bowls on the shelf.
    I looked to Ivy and she returned my glance with a tiny smile and a shrug.
    “You have to leave. Everyone here knows that Jon and I have no children. If we suddenly have two fifteen-year-olds living with us there will be too many questions. Everyone will figure it out quickly and we can’t afford to be discovered. Ivy has been hiding in our sleeping loft today, but many people drop by unannounced. It’s too risky.”
    “When do we have to go?” I stood up and washed my mug in the sink.
    “Tomorrow. In fact you must be gone before first light so I suggest you both go to bed early tonight. I know you have a lot to talk about, but you need as much sleep as possible. You’ve got a long journey ahead of you.”
    “But everyone will know. We’re both bald,” I smiled giving Ivy a little rub on her head. Fine golden stubble sprouted from her scalp, tickling my fingers.
    Tania laughed. “I have plenty of wigs in storage.” She pointed to a rug on the floor. I looked at the rug, wondering how it would become a wig.
    “Trapdoor.” Tania smiled. “I’ll get an early dinner for the two of you and then you really should go to the loft and sleep.”
    “But I have so many questions,” I said.
    “I know you do,” she said placing a small kiss on my forehead. “I can’t explain everything to you, but after you arrive in Keree my friend Johna will tell you more. She’ll give you specific directions on where to settle and start your new life.”
    Ivy grasped my hand and tugged.
    “Let’s go up.” She pointed to the ladder. “There’s something I want to show you.”
    I smiled at Tania as I turned and followed Ivy up the ladder to the loft.
    “I just can’t believe all this,” I said.
    “Wait until you see this,”