Page 5 of The Scattered Bones

“I’m pledged to the house of Varas,” he continued.

“God of Thieves,” I whispered.

“Yes.” He smiled. He needed to stop smiling.

“If you belong to the Thief, why are you here?”

“To join his cult, his acolytes train under the masters for cycles. For our final test, we must steal an object from one of the other gods and bring it to his altar. He rejects your offering if you’re caught, but if you are successful, he welcomes you into his guild.”

“You’re here to rob Hreinasta… do you plan to kidnap me?” My panic flooded back tenfold.

He chuckled, and I involuntarily leaned into the sound as if I might capture it whole and save it for eternity.

“I suspect Varas would be highly displeased if I brought you as my offering.” He raised an eyebrow teasingly. “You were asleep, so I planned to hide here until the guards stopped their search. There was a slight wrinkle in my plan downstairs. The greater the god, the higher the honor the Thief gifts us, so while looting the other temples is a far easier feat, stealing from Hreinasta reaps the greatest reward. No one has ever attempted to plunder her sanctuary. The punishment inflicted on a man caught within her walls is unspeakable, but alas, what good is life without challenge? I intend to be the first to lay an object from the Pure One’s inner sanctum at my god’s feet. Then I’ll be the greatest thief Varas has ever blessed.”

“But you’ve been caught.” I gestured to my chest.

“Have I?” The twinkle in his dark eyes lit up his beautiful face. The shadows cloaked him in mystery, but what little I saw convinced me that nothing in this world would ever compare to this intruder.

We drifted back into silence as I studied him. He remained pressed against the furthest wall to assure me he had no intentions of disrespecting my vows, and perhaps it was my naivety, but I trusted him. I was still terrified of breathing the same air as a man, but I knew the thief wouldn’t harm me.

Realizing sleep wasn’t in my future until he completed his mission, I threw my legs off the mattress. Careful to wrap my robe securely around my body so that my skin remained hidden, I walked to the chest at the foot of the bed. My anxiety flared at being so close to him, but I pushed down the rising sickness and lifted the lid, removing one of my robes. All Hreinasta’s priestesses and acolytes wore white to signify their purity, but the potential vessels’ dresses were inlaid with pure gold threads. White for virtue. Gold for priceless. The fabric was spun luxury, each dress tailored perfectly to the vessel, but their coloring was unmistakable. White and gold. Hreinasta’s chosen.

I turned toward him, careful to keep out of reach, and set the garment on the floor. I retreated slowly, never turning my back to him, and when my calves hit the mattress, I sat, curling my legs beneath me so that not even my feet were on display.

“Offer that to your Thief,” I said with an experimental smile, and as a reward, his entire face lit up. The room was dark, but his expression was the sun, bathing the winter air with its warmth. “No one will doubt where it came from.” I shrugged as if it wasn’t the most terrifying yet exhilarating encounter of my life.

“You won’t get in trouble if it goes missing?”

“It’s an old dress.” I shook my head. “It no longer fits.” He couldn’t see the details of my frame with my outer robe wrapped tight, but my childhood beauty had morphed into the garden of womanhood. With every passing season, the current vessel watched me with more and more hunger. I knew it was Hreinasta anxiously awaiting my twenty-first birthday when she could finally inhabit my body. I grew tall and lean. My hips curved enticingly. The priestesses had designed new garments to protect my modesty after my breasts spilled out of the old ones. My pink lips were full, my blue eyes like priceless jewels, contrasting my midnight black hair. My food was carefully monitored, and my bathing rituals endless. For a goddess who devoted her life to purity and lived eternally as a virgin, Hreinasta certainly craved elegance and sensuality. Her vessels were only the most exquisite women the realm had to offer, and as I grew more and more beautiful with each cycle, it became painfully obvious I was her next host. She was merely biding her time until I was ripe for the taking. She’d set the law herself, declaring she would possess no woman before the age of twenty-one, and I was twenty. One more cycle until I was no longer myself but divinity bound in human flesh.

“Thank you.” The thief stood, breaking my reverie, and I gasped, flinching involuntarily. “It’s all right.” He instantly recoiled. “I simply meant to accept your gift.” He pointed at the gown I set too far for him to reach sitting down.

“I…” My cheeks flushed crimson, and I thanked Hreinasta for the darkness. “I know. It’s just… it’s nothing.” Embarrassment flooded my veins. I hoped it would drown me.

“Go on. Say it.” He pushed as he stepped forward to grab the garment. “Don’t be shy on my account.” His words only made my blush deepen.

“You’re the tallest person I’ve ever seen,” I said, his kind presence inspiring my bravery.

He threw his head back and laughed, and I wanted to live inside that sound. I hoped it followed me all the days of my life.

“Yes, I’m tall,” he said. “Varas’ priests almost turned me away when I first arrived. They claimed a boy my height could never work as a thief. I’ve spent the last fifteen cycles proving them wrong.”

“So, you’re good?”

“The best.” The pride in his smile bloomed so strongly that I felt proud of him. “Well, I will be once I lay this offering upon the altar.”

“I’m glad to have helped.” I longed to step closer and get a better look at his face.

“Thank you, dear priestess.” He bowed with an exaggerated flourish before turning to leave, and I was suddenly desperate to make him stay. It was foolish. It was a sin, but that mysterious man with the gravel deep voice had captivated me. As long as I didn’t touch him, my vow was safe.

“How did you get in here?” I blurted before he reached the window, and he turned to meet my gaze. In the moon’s light, I finally saw him in clear definition, and the sight ruined me. His face obliterated my heart. His eyes destroyed my spirit, and in an instant, the thief re-wrote my future. He stole my life and twisted it to his will. He was tall and broad, and his black hair was shaved close on the sides but left longer on the top. Flecks of gold swam in his brown eyes, and a long scar ran through the left side of his lips, top to bottom, as if someone tried to sever the corner of his mouth. It was unsettling to look at, and most people probably found it off-putting, but I had the sudden urge to feel the uneven skin beneath my fingers. None of the vessels had scars. We were locked away in velvet cages to keep our bodies flawless. I’d never seen someone with such a pronounced deformity, and it called my name like forbidden fruit.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he winked, and it took me a moment to remember I’d asked a question. I frowned at him, and he leaned against the wall, staring at me with a curious smirk.

“So, you’re one of the vessels?” he asked, and I couldn’t tell if he’d decided to linger for my sake or his. Either way, a giddy surge of electricity ignited my nervous system. I’d been locked away from my siblings as a child, sequestered inside this temple throughout my adolescence. I’d never glimpsed the outside world, and now that it had come to me, I hated letting it disappear.

“Yes.” I didn’t tell him I wasthevessel. The chosen one.

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