{"id":1209,"date":"2013-11-20T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2013-11-20T14:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestfantasynovel.com\/?p=1209"},"modified":"2013-11-20T06:00:06","modified_gmt":"2013-11-20T14:00:06","slug":"the-blemished-by-sarah-dalton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/2013\/11\/20\/the-blemished-by-sarah-dalton\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blemished by Sarah Dalton"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“It all comes down to one simple fact – the Children of the GEM are perfect. We are the ugly and imperfect. We are the Blemished.” In a world filled with stunning clones Mina Hart is Blemished. Her genes are worthless and that takes away her rights: her right to an Education, her right to a normal life and her right to have a child. Mina keeps a dangerous secret which she never thought she could share until she meets Angela on her first day at St Jude’s School. But their friendship is soon complicated by Angela’s adoptive brother Daniel. Mina finds herself drawn to his mysterious powers and impulsive nature. Then there is the gorgeous clone Sebastian who Mina is forbidden from even speaking to… The Blemished is a frightening take on a fractured future where the Genetic Enhancement Ministry have taken control of Britain. It will take you on a ride filled with adventure, romance and rebellion. A beautiful world comes at a price…<\/p>\n

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Download The Blemished<\/i>\u00a0on Amazon<\/a>, Amazon UK<\/a> and Smashwords<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Excerpt<\/h4>\n

I entered the classroom. It felt wrong. The chairs were arranged differently \u2013 pushed together into a circle. The rest of the Blemished girls stood around unsure of where to sit and why the strange arrangement. In the centre of the circle was a single chair as though one of us would be the focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone take a seat except Miss Hart.\u201d Mrs Murgatroyd\u2019s voice made me jump. There was a hard edge to it, even colder than usual. I shivered. \u201cMiss Hart, I believe there is a place for you in the middle of the circle.\u201d<\/p>\n

With shaking legs I stepped through a gap between two chairs and made my way to the centre. I turned and eyed each of my classmates in desperation while Mrs Murgatroyd looked down at me with a strangely tense smirk on her face. It was as though she was mentally battling with an inner conflict. It made her look frightened and cruel in equal measure. With my chest feeling tight and my breathing coming out in rasps I took my seat in the circle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Angela\u2019s concerned face.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor today\u2019s lesson I needed an example, which is why you see Miss Hart at the centre,\u201d said Mrs Murgatroyd as she slowly walked around the outside of the circle. \u201cToday\u2019s lesson is about boys. You see, there are some among you who seem to have had some experience in this area. Isn\u2019t that right, Miss Hart?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2026 I\u2026 suppose,\u201d I stuttered.<\/p>\n

I tried to rein in my emotions, to concentrate and be in control. I couldn\u2019t use my gift in front of all these people. It would be too obvious. I glanced down at my hands hoping that she wasn\u2019t going to beat me in front of the class. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Billie shaking her head and remembered what she had said in the garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngela Dixon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Miss,\u201d Angela replied with a shaky voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell the class how a good Blemished girl should behave around members of the opposite sex,\u201d Mrs Murgatroyd instructed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot to look at them directly. Modestly,\u201d Angela recited.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s correct.\u201d Mrs Murgatroyd never stopped her laps of the chairs with slow paces and her hands folded behind her back, the picture of control. \u201cAnd why is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, we don\u2019t want to give them the wrong idea,\u201d Angela replied quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s correct,\u201d said Mrs Murgatroyd. \u201cYou are not here to mate. Your genes have been proven unworthy. You are here as servants to the GEMs, which is your rightful place. And if you are lucky and behave appropriately for a Blemished then you may even get a job. Now Angela, could you tell me one more thing? How should a Blemished girl behave in the company of a male GEM?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cW\u2026 we shouldn\u2019t talk to them. Or look at them. Unless we are spoken to,\u201d she answered quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcellent,\u201d Mrs Murgatroyd said. \u201cNow, class. I would like you to answer together. Should you talk to a GEM boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d said the class in unison.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould you reveal your hair to a GEM boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t join in the chant. At this point the tears began to roll slowly down my cheeks and my lips trembled so badly I couldn\u2019t open them.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould you let a GEM boy touch you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd how about you, Miss Hart? Should you let any of these things happen?\u201d Mrs Murgatroyd moved into the centre of the circle and bent low to speak to me. I felt her hot breath on my cheek.<\/p>\n

I shook my head feebly in answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet you did. Didn\u2019t you?\u201d She yanked at my headscarf and began to unwrap my hair. Her pointed nails scraped on the back of my neck and her rough fingers pulled my head back and forth. \u201cDo you think you are better than everyone else in this room?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I said hoarsely. I could barely see through my tears now. I shut my eyes against the stares of my peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why do you act like it?\u201d she said cruelly. She grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. \u201cYou bring everything on yourself, Miss Hart. When will you learn your place?\u201d<\/p>\n

On the last word she yanked my head back even further and pulled a pair of scissors out of her jacket pocket. The rest of the class gasped. I stared at them \u2013 wide-eyed. For a horrible moment I thought she might stab me, but then she did something almost as awful. With a ghastly smile on her face Mrs Murgatroyd cut chunks out of my hair; big, uneven, ugly chunks. I watched in horror as the long strands fell to the floor.<\/p>\n

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Find more from Sarah on her website<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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“It all comes down to one simple fact – the Children of the GEM are perfect. We are the ugly and imperfect. We are the Blemished.” In a world filled with stunning clones Mina Hart is Blemished. Her genes are worthless and that takes away her rights: her right to an Education, her right to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[143,161,162,449,592,595,596],"tags":[630,701,730],"class_list":["post-1209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dystopian","category-excerpt","category-excerpts","category-science-fiction","category-ya","category-young-adult","category-young-adult-books","tag-dystopian","tag-science-fiction","tag-ya"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}