Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 32716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Rising, I brushed the blades of grass and flecks of dirt from my dress. Nessa, a servant in my grandmother’s household, was my only friend. The other villagers, taking their cue from my grandmother, looked upon me with cold indifference. It was why, though past marrying age, no one had ever offered for my hand. Despite my family’s wealth and position, the men of the village knew there would be no benefit to marrying the Elder Reithaube’s outcast granddaughter. Since there was no life beyond the walls of the village, it seemed I was destined to find my happiness in books and daydreams only.
Nessa took hold of my hand and dragged me along. “The Selection is about to begin.”
“I don’t understand why we have to be there,” I protested. “This barbaric custom is for the elders and the men of the village to decide.”
“You know it is decreed that everyone in the village must bear witness to The Selection,” tossed Nessa over her shoulder, her eagerness shown in her quick step toward the town square.
I found the entire spectacle abhorrent. The elders should be trying to find a way to free those men from the curse, not giving in to it. Once, many years ago, I’d accused my grandmother and the other elders of glorifying the curse of the wolves because even hundreds of years later, it gave them power over the villagers. The power of fear…of life and death. My punishment had been cruel and severe. I’d learned never to speak ill of the elders again.
The town square was paved with gray flagstones and flanked on all sides by large, dark gray stone buildings. I hated it. The ominous, unrelenting stone made me feel trapped, as if I couldn’t breathe. I much preferred the grotto with its freshwater spring, wild flowers, and old oak trees. Preferred the sweet, musty smell of the soil to the stale, perfumed scents of village.
A dais had been erected in the village center under the watchful gaze of a large, bronze statue commemorating the bravery of our ancestral elders who’d fought back the dark force. Seeing the stern visage and dramatic flowing robes frozen in bronze, I wondered…where was the statue thanking the men who had been turned into wolves?
“All must settle. The Selection is about to begin.”
This from my grandmother, looking regal in her purple robes laden with brocade and gold badges. She was in her element, I thought with a sneer. The Selection was supposed to be destined by the fates, but that did not stop the villagers from assuming she and the other elders had a hand in the final decision.
“As the sun sets, the eldest, unmarried child from each household must step forward.”
A ripple of unease swept over the crowd. While it had been a hundred years since the last Selection, we had all been taught the ancient texts. The text clearly stated that it was the duty of the eldest, unmarried male of each household to step forward, never a female. In all the generations since the curse began, they had never sent a female.
“With all respect, Elder Reithaube, you mean for the males to step forward, do you not?” asked one brave man from the crowd.
“Do not question me!” shouted my grandmother.
I could feel Nessa let go of my hand. Turning, I watched as she lowered her eyes and took a step back, distancing herself from me.
I was the eldest, unmarried child of my grandmother’s household.
Swaying, I tried to hear past the pounding rush in my ears. Rough hands pulled on the sleeves of my dress as others pushed me from behind. Their touch became more insistent as my feet refused to move. Harsh hands gave me a shove. I stumbled forward. The crowd slowly parted. All I could see were hideously distorted faces as they swirled and danced before my eyes. Still, the hands pushed and pulled me forward. Finally, I was at the dais steps. I looked up to see my grandmother standing over me, a knowing smile on her thin lips.
A cold certainty fell over me.
She had finally found a way to truly punish me for my innocent sin.
Refusing to give her the pleasure of seeing me cower, I straightened my shoulders and held my head high as I ascended the staircase.
Several men with anxious faces joined me before I realized I was the only female to be judged for The Selection.
I watched in stunned silence as each man, one by one, was called upon by name to step forward and be judged.
Placed in the center of the dais was a massive white marble disk with the carved image of a fierce wolf with open jaws and polished pieces of amber for eyes. The chosen few must place their hand within the mouth of the wolf. If you felt the bite, then you were the selected one.