Birthright (Residue Series #2) by Laury Falter Read Free Book Online Page B

warming me and distracting me from my thoughts, before allowing my attention to return to the page.
    “Yeyas,” Miss Mabelle stated, confidently . “I know’s about The Relicuum.” Having returned to her traditional southern dialect and preferred linguistics, she somehow comforted me. I didn’t want Miss Mabelle to change. She was a rock : strong, sturdy, and independent. Not only did I like her that way, I needed her to be that way.
    “Do you know what she’s expected to do?”
    “Save her people.” Her voice was blunt, emphasizing the weight of her statement. “But that ain’t gonna happen any time soon.”
    “Why?” I hesitantly asked .
    “The Relicuum’s a spoiled little girl right now. No idea’s what she possesses. No idea how ta use it. N’ no interest in learnin’. Wouldn’t trust her with an old brick.”
    Miss Mabelle knew I was fighting the possibility of being The Relicuum , so her words stung me.
    “Chil’ probably don’t even know what relicuum means…”
    “What does it mean?”
    “Residue,” she uttered flatly.
    “Oh…” I immediately felt humble d .
    My gaze dropped to the desk where Aunt Lizzy’s papers were scattered beneath the book I’d been reading. Ironically, Miss Mabelle had just given me more insight about The Relicuum than the book offered. What she said was simple.
    The Relicuum wasn’t prepared. Nor did she show any sign of wanting to be. If I was The Relicuum, this was absolutely correct.
    Miss Mabelle groaned, rolling her rotund body forward, and stood up. “She got to understand, to accept her fate. Only then can she learn. Can’t do nothin’ until that happens. Be like tryin’ to boil an egg without water. Just don’t work.” I wasn’t sure exactly how that applied , but I understood it as a southern woman’s analogy for being impossible.
    She swiped her hand at the handle of her cane so that it slapped loudly against her palm as she seized it. Then , she waddled toward the door.
    I watched her body sway from side to side, appearing larger than life to me in that moment. A moving statue : strong, resilient, and unyielding.
    “When it be time…Then we git ta work. Got to prepare fer yer birthright,” she said, her normally terse tone replaced with an unusually soft and calming inflection. “Ya don’t know it yet - no one in yer world does - but ya need ta prepare fer yer killin’.”
    “Killing?” I said , loud enough to jar her. “I’m not killing anyone.”
    Stopping midway through the door, she glanced back at me, and for the first time I saw sympathy in her eyes. “S’ part of yer birthright, Jocelyn. Can’t be denied. War ends with yer killin’ of The Nobilis.”
    She circled the edge of the door as if she were pivoting around and disappeared into the darkness . I heard her scuffle along the hardwood floors and back up the creaky stairs to her bedroom.
    Her final statement invaded my whole being , taking over my consciousness so forcefully I knew it would never be erased . S haking, I remained seated, unable to bring myself to move until her bedroom door clicked shut.
     
     

4   FIRST INTERACTION
     
    The next day, classes were uninspiring in comparison to all I’d learned the night before. It wasn’t the fault of my teachers . There was simply nothing they could have said that would deliver nearly as much impact. Calculating the light years from a star in a galaxy I’d never heard of and studying who ruled the empires of early Africa just didn’t measure up.
    Second period was especially agonizing as Ms. Wizner lectured on the structure and the function of state governments . There was, however, one bright spot in my day.
    From the moment Jameson and I saw each other, there was a noticeable release, lessening the pressure in each of us. He looked particularly tempting , glancing up from beneath strands of his sandy blonde hair and watching everyone as they entered the door. His shimmering agate family stone rested in the