Burnt Read Online Free Page B

Lemme’s eyes or something. The family will find a way to accept it. They have to. After what she said, about him fulfilling the oath, they have to.”
    He desperately wanted to believe Amorette. He wanted to go to his father, the Keeper of the Old World, and speak of everything that happened. If she was right he would know. It was his job to remember everything from the long ago and the old magics. Lodan would know if what he experienced was the power they already knew was in him. The whole tribe was waiting for that power to manifest. If Lodan told them that was all the images were, that Amorette was right, there would be no reason to fear Kosa. But he knew better. If she was wrong, if he was a seer, his father would be bound by oaths and duty to tell the tribe. Being his son, Lodan would hesitate. But in the end he would not be able to hide it.
    And Sojun was right. The things the Lemme said, they separated him. There were no murders in the tribe, not in over four centuries. There were no armies to lead, no battles to be fought. The Zetowan tribe fought with their words and their faith. They only took lives of animals to feed the tribe, offering thanks to the spirit of the fallen after each kill. Any who wished it to be otherwise were not of th e family. They were driven away to protect the peace and for the sake of the spirits of the people. Kaie didn’t want war, didn’t want death. But if there was a chance he was a seer, his wants would not be enough to change what was needed. They would drive him out.
    With despair he dropped his gaze from Amorette. He loved her and wished her ferocity was enough to make her words true. But she was wrong and if he followed her path he would find himself alone the next time the Finders came to the woods.
    “What do I do, Jun?”
    Sojun hugged him hard enough to hurt. Kaie nearly took the excuse to sob, realizing that this might be the last gesture of kinship he would receive from anyone. Being the one destined for the oath meant nothing if he was not of the family.
    “You will stay in your home, heart’s brother. You’ll think on your destiny. I will sit with you today. Together… together we’ll find the meaning that won’t turn the minds of the fa mily to fear. And then tomorrow Amorette will sit with you. She’ll hear what we have found and will say it’s the truth of things.”
    Meaning they would lie. On the morning of the third day, before the ceremony, Amorette and Sojun would be called separately to speak on what the Lemme foretold. Each was to give their understanding of her words. They were allowed to discuss it during the day they shared togethe r but only for the purpose of helping him understand his destiny. They weren’t supposed to allow his interpretation to impact their own. What Sojun was suggesting was more than forbidden. There weren’t rules to cover such a thing. The Lemme’s visions were the foundation of the tribe. To alter them, even to soften them… It was unfathomable.
    He looked back to Amorette. She wouldn’t agree to it. She couldn’t. She was always extreme in her reactions, but this was just crazy. He didn’t want her to agree. It was bad enough that his future was already changing Jun so much.
    Her pale eyes flashed with emotions he couldn’t name. Her lips were pressed so tightly into a thin line they lost their color. She glanced over to Sojun, no doubt trying to figure out how they could both become so corrupted in such a short time. He waited for her to refuse, to shun them both as they deserved. Anyone who could harbor such thoughts could not be family.
    Slowly, tears sliding down her cheek, Amorette nodded. Then, just like she was supposed to, she walked out the door. He and Sojun were alone for their day together.

Four
    “I figure,” Sojun began as he helped Kaie gather wood from the pile his father left and arrange it in the fire pit, “the most important thing to speak on is the oath.”
    Kaie pressed the dried grass in