Ruled Read Online Free PDF

dress. “Forty-three minutes ago.”
    “Excellent,” the woman said. “You must remember to verify the mother’s name and address in the quadrangle tomorrow morning to be sure she gets her compensation.”
    “I will,” Gaia said, slipping the watch back into her dress.
    The woman started to reach for the baby, but then her gaze flicked up to Gaia and she paused. “Let me see your face, child,” the woman said gently.
    Gaia lifted her chin slightly and reluctantly smoothed her hair behind her left ear. She turned fully into the light of the lamp that shone over the great gate. As if their sightlines were made of fine, invisible arrows, the gaze of six eyes zeroed in on her scar and lingered there in speechless curiosity. She forced herself to stay still and bear their scrutiny.
    The taller guard cleared his throat and brought his fist to his lips in a little cough.
    “You’ve done well, Gaia Stone,” the woman said finally, giving her a wise smile. “Your mother will be proud.”
    “Thank you, Masister,” Gaia said.
    “I’m Masister Khol. Say hello to her for me.”
    “I will, Masister.”
    Gaia let the hair fall free from behind her left ear again. It didn’t surprise her that the Enclave woman knew her name. Too often before, Gaia had met someone for the first time only to discover they’d already heard of her, Bonnie and Jasper Stone’s daughter, the one with the burned face. The recognition no longer surprised her, but she didn’t much like it. Masister Khol was holding out her hands in an expectant manner, and Gaia gently leaned the infant away from the warmth of her left side to pass her carefully over. For a moment, her palms felt light, empty, and cold.
    “She’s called Priscilla,” Gaia said.
    Masister Khol looked at her curiously. “Thank you. That’s good to know,” she said.
    “You’re going to have a busy time ahead,” the tall soldier said. “And what, you’re only seventeen, isn’t that right?”
    “Sixteen,” Gaia said.
    She felt suddenly, inexplicably ill, like she might throw up. She gave a quick smile, switched her satchel to her other shoulder, and turned.
    “Good-bye,” Masister Khol said. “I’ll send your compensation to your mother’s place in Western Sector Three, shall I?”
    “Yes,” Gaia called. She was already walking down the hill again, her legs not quite steady. She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and touched her fingers against the dim building beside her for balance.
    The moon’s light seemed less powerful now than it had before she stepped into the glow of the lantern, and blink as she might, she could not instantly make her eyes adjust to the darkness. She had to stand, waiting, just around the corner from the gate with its gleaming lantern. In the stillness, she could hear crying from somewhere near, a soft, lonely crying. Her heart stopped. For a moment she was certain that Priscilla’s mother was close by in the shadows, ready to plead with her again, or accuse her. But no one appeared, and in another moment, when the crying subsided, Gaia was able to continue down the hill, away from the wall, toward home.