Chosen Read Online Free Page B

faces was priceless. Daria
would’ve laughed if she hadn’t felt so miserable.
‘Daria? --- my darling, are you
all right?’ said the dark haired man rising from his chair and
rushing to her side, ‘we didn’t expect you to come out in this
storm, are you mad, look at you; get out of those wet things and
I’ll go and get you a towel. Help her Haven.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Daria, ‘look
at me dripping all over the floor.’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ said
Haven, ‘just get those wet things off, you’ll catch a chill.’ He
helped her out of the sodden robes and Gilster wrapped her in a
large, warm towel. Leading her over to the fire, he made her sit
while he went to make a warm drink. Haven rubbed her arms briskly
through the towel trying to get the circulation going and dry her
at the same time. ‘You silly thing,’ he said smiling.
Gilster returned, handed her a
steaming cup and sat down opposite. ‘Whatever possessed you to come
out in this weather?’ he asked, ‘you could have got lost, or worse,
been killed.’
Daria looked from one concerned
face to the other, desperately trying to hold back the tears; these
were her best friends. She found it hard to make friends, it was in
her nature to be brusque and aloof but these two had seen through
her tough exterior to the soft heart beneath and they loved her
like a sister. And now she would repay their love by putting their
lives at risk. Daria knew nothing she could say would dissuade them
from coming with her, they considered themselves her big brothers,
they were a team.
Gilster was a tall, slender
man, elegant of dress, polite of manner and refined of speech. His
hair, the blue-black colour of a raven’s wing, hung down his back
with not a trace of a curl or wave; his eyes were the green of an
ancient forest with silver specks that sparkled when he was
angry—which was very rare—his features were sharp and defined, high
cheek bones and a thin nose; his complexion was pale and his lips
were quick to smile, exposing even, white teeth.
Haven was also tall, taller
than normal even for an Elaxi, he stood six foot six with broad
shoulders and a strong body. He had the craggy good looks of a man
used to spending his time outdoors; his eyes were pale blue chips
of arctic ice that twinkled when he laughed, but it was his hair
that was his most striking feature, it hung in thick waves, down
across his shoulders and was the silver colour of mercury.
Daria burst into tears; no
longer able to hold them in, her words came pouring forth in a
torrent, as if from a suddenly uncorked bottle, and once she
started she couldn’t stop until everything had been said. She told
them of Timus and his betrayal, of Minerva and Apollo and also of
Anubis, of the portals and the Chosen and of the journey they must
make together to find the other Chosen. She held nothing back and
when she was finished it felt like an almighty weight had been
lifted from her shoulders.
‘Are you sure of this?’ asked
Gilster, ‘I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but perhaps it’s not
quite as serious as you believe. Maybe if we go and see High Elder
Timus tomor . . . ’
‘No,’ shrieked Daria rising
from her chair in panic, ‘we must stay away from him, he mustn’t
know about our plans to leave. Please Gilster, I don’t want to go
back there.’
‘All right, all right, calm
down,’ said Gilster, gently pushing her back into the chair, ‘I
won’t make you do anything you don’t want to, just relax, you know
you’re safe here.’
Haven was standing with his
back to the fire, warming himself and listening to the
conversation. ‘Maybe we should sleep on it and decide in the
morning what’s best to do,’ he said, ‘ things always look better in
the light of day and you look exhausted Daria, I’m sure you could
do with a good night’s sleep.’
    She was exhausted, ‘all
right,’ she said wearily, ‘I am tired, but my story won’t change
with the passage of