The Broken Destiny

By Carlyle Labuschagne

Her Destiny is to rise above her fall.
You cannot know what light is, if you have not experienced darkness.
Ava and her people have been exiled to the planet Poseidon for reasons she can’t fathom.
Upon meeting a boy from a different sector, her life turns into beautiful chaos. She begins to feel things she isn’t allowed to, this motivating her to find out the truth about why her kind are so different, and why the Council are so interested in her.
Once her mind is freed, with it comes a terrible power that could either save her kind, or destroy them all.
But Eva is not the perfect heroine. She will become what she hates to save the ones she loves, and the cost of such a burden is deadly at best.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fire Quill Publishing
• Release date: Aug 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9780994653680

Carlyle Labuschagne

Carlyle is an South African award winning author, with a flair for mixing genres and adding loads of drama to every story she creates. For now she is happy to take over the world and convert non Sci-fi believers.Her goal as an author is to touch people's lives, and help others love their differences and one another by delivering strong messages of faith, love and hope within every outrageous world she writes about."I love to swim, fight for the trees, and am a food lover who is driven by my passion for life. I dream that one day my stories will change the lives of countless teenagers and have them obsess over the world literacy can offer them instead of worrying about fitting in. Never sacrifice who you are, it’s in the dark times that the light comes to life."Carlyle used writing as a healing tool and that is why she started her very own writers support event - SAIR bookfestival."To be a helping hand for those who strive to become full times writers, editors, bloggers, readers and cover artists - it’s a crazy world out there you don’t have to go it alone!"

Book preview

The Broken Destiny: The Broken Trilogy

By Carlyle Labuschagne

Copyright © Carlyle Labuschagne 2012

Cover Illustration Copyright © 2012 by.Regina Wamba

Published by Fire Quill Publishing

Names, characters and incidents in this novel are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

All rights reseved. No part of this book may be repoduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever, including photocopying, recoding or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher and/or author. Contact Fire Quill Publisher

5 Karee Place, Klippoortje Park

Germiston, 1404

Printed in South Africa and USA

Fire Quill Publishing

www.firequillpublishing.com

Copyright © 2012 by Carlyle Labuschagne

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

All graphics and text associated with Fire Quill Publishing.

Formatting by www.firequillpublishing.com

Manufactured in South Africa.

First Fire Quill publishing edition August 2015

ISBN: 978-0-9946536-8-0

I Acknowledge and Dedicate

Part One: Trace

Prologue

Chapter One: Oh Star

Chapter Two: First Attack

Chapter Three: Pieces of a Falling Star

Chapter Four: Neverending Cry

Chapter Five: The Traveler

Chapter Six: Breaking Out

Chapter Seven: Wanting

Part Two: Closer to the Edge

Chapter Eight: Blindness

Chapter Nine: The Fall

Chapter Ten: The Perfect Lies and Beautiful Denials

Part Three Unfold

Chapter Eleven: Supernova

Chapter Twelve: Revelation

Chapter Thirteen:Uprising

Chapter Fourteen: Evolve

Chapter Fifteen: Motionless

Epilogue

About the Author

I have combined the acknowledgements and dedications in one, because this is to all of you.

All the glory to God…

This book goes out to the most supportive parents in the world. They have given their lives for their children, and gave me any and every opportunity my heart desired. This book also goes out to my husband who immediately saw the satisfaction writing brought me. For his patience, while I obsess over every detail the literary world brings me, I will always be grateful, for he has always believed in me and pushed me to go farther when I wanted to give up.

I have received nothing but love from everyone, so I wish to further dedicate this book to the powerful force that is love; and to God, who has shown me the way and kept me sane during my internal battles. This book is dedicated to everyone who has enriched my life or who has done me wrong, because without you none of this would be possible. My book especially goes out to my kids and all children around the world. You are strong and beautiful. Don’t ever let the world take that away from you. Believe in yourself and know that it is your differences that make you who you are.

I dedicate this book to the memory of my nanny, who played a very important part in how these tales came about. My nanny, Sarah, was my caregiver. She sheltered me from the Apartheid era in South Africa. One thing I never saw was color and prejudice. South Africa is a beautiful, talented country with rich cultures and diverse beliefs. The scars of our past make us stronger.

Thank you to my friends and family for being excited with me, and to my first fan―my sister―I love you with all I have. A huge thank you and dedication goes to Sandra Valente, my proofreader, editor, and angel. Sandra, you have changed my life; I will never forget what you did for me; my friend, my mentor and savior. I love you always. You have helped transform my manuscript into exactly what I envisioned.

Most importantly, thank you to the great South African Band, ‘Prime Circle’, who has honored me by granting me permission to use their lyrics in this book.

Thank you to my readers; I appreciate your interest and support. This means the world to me. I hope I do not disappoint you, and I hope your dreams come true, as you have made mine become a reality. Happy reading.

I’ve left my thanks to my publisher for last because without Fire Quill and Erika Bester I have no voice.

Don’t be crippled by fear, let love give you wings.

~ Carlyle Labuschagne

"All I thought I’d be

All I thought I’d find

Staring back at me

And I‘m blind

It’s like it isn’t there

It’s like it never was

I‘m right in the middle between

What I thought was real

Stand back, take a look at myself

To reveal

It’s just what I’ve become

Can’t believe that it’s come to this

A shame, it’s a damn shame

Insides looking out

Outsides calling in

Struggling to see

When you don’t know where you’ve been

Wish I could have seen it

Seen it all before

I’m in the middle between

What I thought was real

Step back, take a look at myself

To reveal

Which is what I’ve become

Can’t believe it has come to this

Try to see a different side of me

Try to redefine it all.

Try to see what I must do

To break my fall.

Which is what I have become

Can’t believe that it’s come to this

My worst enemy is me!"

~ Prime Circle lyrics ~

‘What I’ve Become.

Trace

A trace of a life that had collapsed;

entombed within a destiny of the rise,

above a very dangerous fall.

All my life, I had searched for something, something I thought I ought to be. I felt like I was living someone else’s life, waiting for the awakening of my own. That was, until the day I lay dying in the prince’s chambers. I could no longer feel the pain from the tear in my gut. The only sensation left was a hollowed-out feeling that I had made a huge mistake in assuming that sacrificing my own life, would have stopped the ancestors’ spirit from raging out. I had given up, not wanting to see myself kill the ones I loved - so I had to become the very thing I despised. Very far from the legacy that the prophecy had foretold, as The Chosen One I had failed in every way. I realized then that things like me were not meant to exist. Truth be told, these mistakes were the only way for me to find my true purpose and fulfill my destiny.

In the irony of it all, to find myself, I had to lose myself in the worst possible way. The consequences of my actions became the legend of ‘The Broken’.

CHAPTER ONE

I wasn’t sure why they called us ‘The Broken’, but what I did know for certain was that we were different from the other ‘human’ inhabitants of this planet. We were the third generation of our kind, with a huge―some would say, cursed―destiny. We are also the last of our kind, a dying race. I used to believe that the reason we were exiled to Planet Poseidon was because we were a lot different from the humans on Earth. They tell us at assembly every morning that we are what survived of Earth because of those differences.

Global warming, war and evil undertakings were said to have contributed to Earth’s destruction in the late twentieth century. Greed stripped Earth of its ‘magic’ and caused the planet to turn on itself. A way of getting rid of the ‘virus’, so to speak. Did I buy into those lies anymore – No. I believed that there was a lot more to the story behind our origins and that our extradition to a long forgotten sector within the Titan galaxy was no accident. I could feel it in the cold burn of my legs as I walked the hollow halls of our institutions, and I could see it on the eerie motionless faces of my peers every day. Little by little, small things started changing and I started believing in the signs my mother wrote about in her secret journals.

A haunting feeling stared back at me as I looked upon my reflection in the monitor every morning, clearly remembering as a young child my irises were a lot bluer. At first I thought it was the effect of the changeover from mirror to monitor. I used to think that maybe the mirror was the lie. That it was evil and that that was the reason it had been outlawed. But so many new laws had been put into place over the last few years, I was beginning to doubt our perfect Utopia really existed – that beneath the surface something deceivingly dark was brewing, and the nightmares my biological mother wrote about were real events the council had stripped from her memories. Keeping it on paper was the only way she could decipher real memories from the planted ones.

Perched high upon a tower among the ancient ruins overlooking the lake that bordered the northern base of Mount Inja, I familiarized myself with the bright, white glow over the surface of the rippling navy waters as it reflected the moons’ ghostly beauty.

A burst of wind suddenly made its way through the canyon and over the water, curling up against the tower and playfully touching our faces. The smell of the cold, stale air kept reminding me of the stagnant weather we had been experiencing on Poseidon. It had been too long since spring had tickled at our noses through its sprinkle of blossoming flowers, and much too long since the warm summer haze had left its tanned glow on our cheeks and shoulders.

Below my dangling feet, small waves crashed against the white stone of the tower echoing throughout the canyon in a loud whispering song that took me to a place inside me where I could be free to think without being monitored. Sam and I escaped to this isolated part of the island often. Our little secret getaway. When surrounded by the untouched scene we felt a million miles away, sometimes wondering if this is what Earth was like before the invasion of humans and their greed. The chilly breeze slicing through the late afternoon air licked at Sam’s ginger locks, fanning them over her gorgeous face as she laid spread out on the rooftop of the ruins. Her ivory skin pale in contrast to her dark coat, looked strikingly beautiful against the bleak background of yet another late winter afternoon. Gray clouds rose above the canyon, intensifying the purple sky that was quickly darkening into early evening. Curfew would hit soon, but I didn’t care―breaking rules was part of who I had become; I would try anything just to feel alive, to feel free from a fading planet, from the bounds of a dying race. The water beneath me shimmered in an array of pinks and purples in the diminishing light, stark beautiful against the pale green mountain that swallowed up the bulk of the dusty, dark sky. Just five more minutes, I thought to myself.

Once more, I glanced at Sam, her fiery locks still rested lightly across her face. With her eyes shut and her long, dark, thick lashes sweeping over the top of her rosy cheeks, she looked just like one of those pictures of a doll I had seen in one of our Earth study slides. Her coat was tucked tightly into the nape of her neck to ward off the cold, and a faint smile curled the edges of her mouth.

Not a care in the world, I thought to myself, as I looked thoughtfully at Sam snuggled in silent reverie.

As I turned my gaze back to the distant horizon where nightfall was quickly creeping toward us from over Mount Inja, a shimmer of an early star set against the amethyst sky caught my eye―so silver, so sparkling, so high and so serene that I could only dream of ever reaching it. I closed my eyes tight, fighting the pang in my chest, and I wished for that star to fall down on me; to take me away from the hallow promises of our ruling Council. I wished it would close the emptiness within my chest and fill it with the kind of peace that would make me the person I was meant to be…not the girl I was. The girl who was constantly poked fun at, never once left alone to just be herself; the girl who envied everyone else, and the girl with the huge inheritance that meant nothing to her. I felt belittled every day because of it. I looked harder into the glimmer of the star and wished to be envied, just once.

Fall down on me, I whispered to the star, like some crazed teenager bent on misery.

Hmm? Sam murmured.

Oh, just thinking out loud again, I replied.

My legs dangled over the edge of the roof, my petite white feet contrasting with the dark, vast body of water below.

Sam suddenly sat up and yawned loudly, stretching her long arms over her head. Her eyes flung open and she yelled, Oh, crap! Her raspy voice boomed throughout the valley, scaring the birds that flew away with a flutter of wings to their cozy nests between the bleak branches, calling out their anger at being disturbed. Hurriedly, she reached for her shoes, stumbling slightly forward when she jumped up to extend an arm toward me.

Come on! We’re late! she exclaimed, suddenly out of breath, as if she had just swam a few laps in the cold lake.

I grinned at her, grabbed my shoes from beside me, stuffed them into the deep pockets of my coat, and rose with a hard tug from Sam. I glanced over the scene one last time, while Sam carefully made her way down the tower, allowing her feet to rest on the jagged edges of the broken stone statues that hung on the cornices of what had once been an arched window. Dropping down the side of the tower, I grabbed the ledge and carefully swung my legs into the opening, landing gracefully inside its shadows in a low crouch. I heaved a deep sigh of relief. It was much warmer inside, away from the nasty breeze. I stood proud after my almost perfect dismount―I was an acrobat every chance I got.

Sam cleared her throat, and from her rigid outline I could tell she was annoyed. With her hands resting on her hips she slowly tapped one foot against the stone floor, the tapping echoing loudly throughout the emptiness of the tower. I was staring down at the floor, hardly able to make out the patterns of the ancient symbols etched into the white stone.

You’re going to get hurt real bad one day, and then I’m going to have to tell you, I told you so, she blurted out.

I smiled at her with a shrug, put my shoes on and started for the narrow stairs that spiraled down into the tunnel below.

Oh no, you don’t! Sam’s voice boomed from behind me as she pushed me aside playfully while she made her way past. Her legs and strides were longer than mine, so she ran with a kind of grace that made running look so easy. I, on the other hand, was a much better swimmer.

The faint light toward the entrance of the tunnel was barely visible as we crawled through. Sam giggled nervously as we hurried down the narrow passage on all fours, night was falling fast and we were in big trouble. As each knee hit the ground I could feel the bruises starting to form. Sam was still giggling up ahead.

What’s so damn funny? I was starting to get annoyed at this life I had made for myself - always having to hide and rush.

We slowed down as we rose to a low crouch, the tunnel opening up to a small entrance. Sam held out her hands, her fingers laced together. I gingerly slid a foot into them as she pushed me up toward the entrance at the base of a huge, silverwood tree. We had accidentally found the entrance while playing hide and seek when we were kids. It had become our secret hideaway ever since. We visited our hideaway almost every afternoon to get away from the severity that the institute held for me.

I couldn’t help but wonder if I would still have been treated as an outsider, had my grandfather not been our founder. I thought they all held a grudge against me for our existence. Experiments―that’s all we were to the Council. As I pulled Sam through from the other side, a faint light from behind her caused a long shadow to hide her expression, but by the easy set of her shoulders, I could tell that she was still smiling.

"What is it with you? I asked her, somewhat irritated.

She stroked her chin. I can hear Sonja right now, she said. You just do whatever you want, don’t you? she mimicked, her finger waving in front of my face, her head bouncing from side to side.

She’ll be furious, I said. We’ll get detention for this, or worse. We’ll be imprisoned for the weekend. I rolled my eyes.

Oh, no! I don’t want to have to stay indoors and stare at her pudgy face the whole weekend when I could be staring into François’ hazel eyes instead,

I knew it! You kept it from me, you cow! I shouted, punching her on the arm full force, making her take a step back.

Let’s go, Sam whined, rubbing her arm. Stop procrastinating. I don’t want to go back any more than you do, she added petulantly, heading for the path between the overgrown bushes.

The stars were shining through a gap in the clouds, and the three moons had risen high up in the velvet sky by the time we scrambled over our apartment wall. I scraped my elbow as I jumped down, but landed softly in our back garden. We made our way to the narrow bathroom window. Sam slowly pulled the window open and listened for movement.

Clear, she whispered, and pushed me through.

Turning my hips sideways, I slid through the metal frame and landed gently on the wooden floor of the small, downstairs bathroom, with Sam right behind me. We pat the dirt off our clothes, shook the grime from our shoes and gradually crept out of the bathroom, heading upstairs to our bedroom. My heart began to race as I realized that the apartment was unusually quiet. My eyes widened with shock when I remembered that it was indeed rewards evening. I shot Sam a look of panic, and swore.

I know, she replied with identical panic in her voice. There’s no way that they won’t―

Sam stopped dead in her tracks.

I quickly followed her gaze into our room expecting to see Sonja sitting there, but it was worse than that, much worse. Sitting with her arms folded across her chest was Kim, one of the Keepers and an important doctor on the Council. With her shoulders squared and her lips drawn into a thin, tense line she sat in front of our homemade dresser, which sloped a little to the left. Her brilliant, brunette hair was twirled into a bun that had been pulled high up on top of her head, and her long, thin turquoise earrings swayed over her collarbone as she turned her head to face us.

She stood up; her dark, pencil skirt spotlighted her slender hips.

You look nice, I said with confidence, knowing full well she had a soft spot for me.

She hadn’t had a choice in the matter. I was the infamous Founder’s granddaughter, but I also knew that Kim had grown fond of me, and of Sam, over time. She said we reminded her of herself when she was our age. Kim sighed heavily, and from the expression on her face, I could tell she was here as an enforcer tonight, not as my mentor. The Council was serious about a lot of things, but it was most serious when it came to our mental stability. There had been a few subjects that had not taken well to the transition from Earth to Poseidon. Our founders never intended to ‘breed’ us in the dangerous conditions of outer space, but because we had to flee Earth desperately, they had no choice but to save and ‘treat’ us on our travels here. Kim uncrossed her arms and made her way toward us. Thank you, she said, a polite gesture to my compliment about the earrings. But the reason I had brought it up was because they were Minoan made, and humans and Minoans were not meant to interact. She brushed her overgrown fringe out of her eyes. Sam. She nodded, before staring me down.

My stomach twisted with anxiety. She was never like this with me – something had changed. With hands behind my back, I braced for what was coming. Sam and I stood close to each other. She squeezed hard on my hand, and I knew if she could say something then, she would probably be swearing.

Kim looked down at her own hands, her blue eyes softening. You know what this means, don’t you, Ava? She swallowed audibly.

I bit down on my lip. I didn’t want to hear what she had to say next, because I knew it would probably hurt. Nervously pulling away from Sam, I dropped my clammy and frozen hands at my sides, and swallowed hard against the fear.

Kim cleared her throat. The dean wants the two of you to be separated, she said sternly.

I felt my stomach drop. Kim, nooo! My voice broke as I tried to swallow past the tight sensation in my throat.

I have no choice, Ava. You should have listened, she said as she made her way back to the dresser.

Sam pushed past me. You know what it will do to her, don’t you? she spat.

Yes, Kim answered, picking up her dark blue purse from the dresser. She placed her arms firmly against her sides and, looking past Sam, stared at me hard and cold. "What do you want me to do? Lie? Again?"

I looked down at my hands and felt anger spike inside of me. How am I always able to ruin everything?

Yes, I pleaded, as my eyes started to well up with tears.

"I don’t know if I can lie for you anymore. I push and push and try to help you as much as I can, but Ava…I fear you don’t want any help. You don’t want to accept your responsibilities as founding family member. You rebel against all our efforts to train you into your inheritance! So now, I must force my hand for your own good."

Stomping to my bed, I crossed over the thick, woven rug in front of Sage’s empty area, wondering if it was the council who was responsible for her going missing and not our enemies I’m sorry, I said, suddenly feeling the weight of my breeding contempt.

Kim made her way to the door. I have no other choice.

Sam rushed over to her. Please, Kim, one last chance, she begged.

She had her last chance, six chances ago. The Council is unsettled. She is a bad influence on everyone in this institute.

Why? Because of who I am? I raised my voice in anger, immediately regretting it.

Yes, it’s precisely because of who you are, Ava―you know that. Kim’s lips pulled into a tight thin line, her eyes lowering to the floor.

I saw her shoulders drop, and I felt guilt boil up inside me.

I know it’s unfair, but the Council feels that you are untrainable, that now―. She started, but was interrupted. Someone on the other side of the door cleared their throat. It was clearly a man. I have to go. I’m sorry, Ava. I’ll make an excuse for your late arrival.

I’m not going, I spat my response as quickly as an angry cobra would shoot its venom.

As you wish, Kim replied with such sorrow it made me feel hollow and cold from within, like I had just lost something special. She turned her back on us, and I heard two pairs of footsteps making their way toward the dark, wooden stairs. The door slammed shut behind them, their voices echoing throughout the garden. The gate creaked open and I swore I heard a male say: You’re doing the right thing before the gate shut and their footsteps disappeared into the distance.

Sam let out a loud sigh and sat down beside me, her hand gently rubbing the small of my back, perhaps hoping it would comfort me in some way. Although, I believe it was comforting to her, to comfort me.

She’s given up on me, I said softly, my eyes lingering on my nervous fumbling fingers.

On us, Sam made a quiet correction, and the room fell silent.

Late that night, Sam and I lay quietly in our beds. The moons beamed pale light through our window, but the stars seemed cold and distant once more, as we thought about what punishment lay ahead for us both.

Do you think they’ll get someone to replace Sage now that one of us is leaving? I asked, resigned to the answer I already knew within my heart.

I don’t know, Sam said softly.

Sage had disappeared almost four weeks earlier―with no witnesses to her disappearance. The nature of her disappearance pointed to a great ‘scheme’ in the works. I had read enough detective novels to know what planning a successful kidnapping and leaving no forensic evidence behind entailed.

If it had been the Zulu people, they would have left their victim behind either barely alive or dead, with body parts missing, such as eyes, tongue, or mouth. They were well-known for their muti attacks, taking those various parts of their victims which were then used to produce muti, their form of medicine, or potions. We knew very little about their black magic, but we did know that the body parts were taken when the victim was fully awake and aware of what was happening. The organ or body part had to be full of adrenaline for the ancestors’ magic to work. The entire ritual was strange and terroristic in nature. And I wouldn’t spend another thought on my friend being treated that way.

Who was that guy with Kim tonight? Her auditor? I asked Sam. Do you think she is being monitored?

Maybe, Sam said through a yawn.

He’s from the English Institute of Science, right?

I suppose.

Oh, Sam, wake up! I yelled, and threw a pillow at her.

She turned her face away. Took a huge gulp of water, and answered.

Don’t want to. Got a game tomorrow, remember? her muffled voice tired and void of emotion. I dismissed her lack of tenacity on the mere fact that she was tired.

Fine, goodnight, then! I said heatedly.

I lay there for a while, staring into the subtle darkness of the night. The treetops rocked gently from side to side over the glass ceiling. I wondered if it would ever rain again, when I would see dark, fierce clouds gathering and bolts of lightning livening up the sky. It had been almost three years since the seasons had changed. We were stuck in the limberness of mid-autumn, just like I was stuck on this damn planet, bored out of my troubled mind without a glimmer of faith…wallowing in a dark abyss of hopelessness.

I longed to live in a place where everyone got along and no prejudice existed. I dreamed of a land full of diverse cultures where everyone was free to be themselves, not mindless sheep like at our Institute. We had been carefully shaped into something of their design and given the persona they wanted us to have. We were beings, not only experiments bred to bring back the human race. How was I the only one with these feelings?

I felt my anxiety turning numb as I struggled to keep my eyes open. I was deep in dreamland, in another world altogether, when something brought me back…

I froze, listening carefully. I couldn’t hear anything, but I definitely felt a presence outside our window on the second floor.

The glass slid open and a bright, orange torch lit the room. My body stiffened as I tried to call for Sam, but the dark presence had a paralyzing effect over me. The black figures were inside the room in a matter of seconds. They were too fast to be anything near human. My heart pounded inside my chest, my arms stiff against my sides as my body sank deep into the mattress. I felt myself slip away as they neared. I tried with everything I had to shake my spirit free and to save it from being sucked into the unknown, but I was caught in some odd state. My lips wouldn’t move. My whole body was slipping away from me. I didn’t know if I would be able to escape by letting myself fall into the darkness of unconsciousness.

The two tall, dark figures made their way past Sam’s bed. I felt myself shake violently inside of my own body as I fought to stay awake. It was a strain to pull myself free from the darkness that threatened my soul in a desperate attempt to grab Sam. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t scream.

Ava! I heard Sam shriek as one of the figures held a pillow over her face.

I need to get free, I thought, as I struggled against my invisible restraints.

Damn it, Ava! she yelled, and I finally felt myself snap out of it.

Sam’s thumbs burrowed into my shoulders as she shook me. She stood inches away