Return of the Matka-Zem (The Sorain Chronicles) Read Free Page B

occupied most of the second floor. In addition, five royal-looking bedroom suites made up the third level of the mansion. The grounds contained a huge greenhouse, where they grew their own food. In the back of the mansion sat a large hedge maze. At the center of the maze stood six stone statues of unknown people in a circle. A quarter-mile south was a sizable barn contained everything from hens to cows. Reaching the second flood, Jane peered out the window with a sigh. The pond at the edge of the property sparkled in the moonlight, and she strained her eyes to look past the dark water. Only wilderness, dense and foreboding lay beyond the grounds.
    Not wanting to travel such terrain at night, Jane sighed again and scurried down the stairs. Plopping into one of the sunroom 's lounge chairs, she closed her eyes. With her anger still boiling, she was not ready to tell the staff of the Keeper's passing. Although there were no plants in the octagon room, she still liked the glass enclosure, as it always seemed to calm her nerves. Due to her "Gift," the Keeper forbid plants inside the house. Jane opened her eyes to stare at the black sky and thought about the first time she realized she was different. Just a few months into her imprisonment, she first noticed her "Gift" with a single blade of grass. She remembered running to the lake after the Keeper had scolded her about something she could not now recall.
    ***
    "It's not fair!" Jane flopped onto the ground in misery and cried in sorrow. When her tears finally stopped, she felt something brush against her damp cheek. Thinking it could be a bug, she quickly glanced around the tiny clearing, yet she saw nothing crawling in the short grass. With a soft sniff of sadness, she lowered her head back to its resting place. Again, she felt the soft touch upon her skin. Jane turned her head, ever so slowly, to see what had caressed her. To her surprise, she spied a tiny blade of grass as it bent to brush her face. Stunned by the deliberate movement of the blade, yet not afraid, she timidly raised her hand and gently touched the thin, flat leaf.
    " Well, hello little thing," she said to the leaf. It quivered, excited by her attention. To her surprise, it wrapped around her little finger. She gasped in shock when she felt a rush of energy build deep inside her core. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as her skin flushed with heat. Her body tingled with raw power, power so strong she felt it could rip her apart. She felt fear and exhilaration at the same time. The urge to push the energy into the plant that hugged her was tremendous. With a moan of ecstasy, the strange current rushed through her little finger into the tiny leaf. As the energy surged into its veins, Jane watched the little blade quiver. Before her bewildered eyes, the blade unraveled from her digit and started to grow. The excess energy absorbed into the earth, and, to her astonishment, the surrounding foliage turned greener, healthier. To her right, she heard the snap of a twig, and glanced toward the sound to find the Keeper standing over her.
    " Look what I did!" Jane smiled at her caretaker about what she had done, but her smile quickly vanished when she realized the Keeper was not pleased.
    " You will never do that again!" The old woman spoke softly, yet her eyes were wild with fury. The sneer on her leathery face made Jane recoil in fear. With a snarl, the caretaker raised her wooden cane and beat her to the point that she was nearly senseless. Without another word, the Keeper dragged her back into the house and locked her inside her bedroom suite.
    " I did nothing wrong," Jane said to herself when the door slammed behind the Keeper. In her isolation, she realized the beautiful house and compound were nothing more than a gilded cage and she its prisoner. Two months later, Jane was release from her "cell."
    " You may leave this room, but only on these conditions," the Keeper said in a flat tone. "First, you will never draw