Dawn of Man (Thanos Book 1) (34 page)

“No, we need those,” Ahnon answered as he bent down, cutting organs out, and Kenna dropped to her knees, expecting her feet to come out of her mouth. When she looked up, she saw Ahnon making Jedek cut out organs that he pointed out. Then he came over to her and did the same.

As she sat inside the gargoyle’s chest and continued the gruesome task, Ahnon walked away then came back, carrying a hatchet and two jars. “I’m doing it, Ahnon,” she said, standing up inside the gargoyle, throwing organs in jars sitting beside the body.

“I know,” he said, kneeling down by the head of the one she was working on. She froze as he went to work on the skull with a hatchet. He held up a massive eye that took both of his hands to hold. He put the jiggling globe in a wooden pail with half the eye sticking out. Unable to stop, Kenna heaved again.

When she stopped, Ahnon pulled her out of the gargoyle up to him, showing her how to take the eye out without rupturing it. Caught up in the task, Kenna’s stomach settled down. The globe was so massive she had trouble controlling it. “Don’t let it break, whatever you do,” Ahnon said as she eased it into a pail.

Ahnon told her to go to work on the last one as he showed Jedek the new task. The two blood-soaked kids stood when they finished. “They’re out, Ahnon,” Kenna said as he chopped away on one of the gargoyles with the hatchet.

“Start getting the containers into the cellar. We have to be done before sunrise,” Ahnon said, glancing east, then continued his task.

“Ahnon, those barrels are almost as tall as me. I barely got them out here when they were empty; now, they’re full,” Jedek complained, looking at the rows of barrels.

“I will do those. Now move,” he said, holding up a bone. The kids took off running and found Minos hiding under a bed. Well, behind a bed on its side.

“I’ll be good,” he whimpered.

Jedek just shook his head. “Minos, not now,” he said, carrying an armload down to the cellar. They ran back, feeling the urgency from Ahnon, and filled their arms then ran back to the cellar.

Neither kept track of how many times they ran back and forth. When they came back from one trip, they saw Ahnon carrying three barrels tied together over his head, and Jedek slapped a blood-covered hand to his bloody face. “Double and half,” he said, reaching for his spell pouch.

“No!” Ahnon bellowed, scaring him to death. “Don’t cast a spell covered in gargoyle blood. You might explode if you’re lucky,” Ahnon said, turning around and jogging inside.

The two filled their arms up again, seeing Ahnon come back out and picking up more barrels. “Get soap and towels and move fast,” he said, jogging back inside. The kids moved as fast as they could, carrying the pails with the massive eyeballs as Ahnon passed them twice carrying barrels. As they were coming up the stairs, Ahnon was coming down with the last barrels. “Run to the stream,” he told them, and they took off.

They reached the stream, dropping the towels and soap as they started to get undressed. Jedek threw his shirt down just as Ahnon pushed both of them in. Kenna was still working on her shirt when she hit to water. They turned around to yell at Ahnon, but he too was in the water with clothes on.

“Wash!” he yelled, and they started scrubbing. They watched Ahnon scrubbing with urgency and moved faster.

“What is it, Ahnon?” Jedek asked.

“Gargoyles turn to stone in sunlight, as their blood will,” Ahnon said as he started running the soap over his hair.

“Let’s go hide in the cellar,” Kenna yelled, looking at the east sky getting pink.

“Sometimes, if the body turns, the blood will also, even if it’s in a dark place,” he said, throwing his shirt on the bank. “I’ve had it happen once and barely got out of my clothes when they turned to stone. Thankfully, I was wearing my negtro leather, so it didn’t soak into my skin.”

The kids shucked off clothes and scrubbed down skin, watching the sky get brighter. With fear driving him, Jedek never even said anything about Kenna being beside him. Ahnon threw his boots to shore and soaped his hair then noticed Kenna hadn’t done hers yet. He pushed her under the water then pulled her up, and she started coughing. Getting her hair soapy, he lathered it up then dunked her again, repeating the process.

“At least tell me before you try to drown me!” she yelled, throwing her boots on the bank and scrubbing her legs.

Jedek threw his boots to shore and scrubbed harder, watching the sky get really bright. “I really don’t want to be a statue,” he mumbled, scrubbing real hard.

“Get out and dry off,” Ahnon shouted after dunking Kenna under the water. Too scared to question, Jedek moved to the bank. Coughing, Kenna was trying to get the water out of her lungs as she crawled onto the bank. They dried and wrapped towels around them as the first sun rose over the mountains.

In sick fascination, they watched what was left of the bodies harden as the sunlight hit them. Kenna looked down at her hand, giving a sigh of relief upon seeing her skin. Looking back at the bodies, she moved closer. It looked like a mad stone mason chiseled a macabre slaughter. Fascinated, Kenna examined the scene and spotted a hatchet they had forgotten stuck in one’s thigh. Like the gargoyles, it was stone. As the sunlight became brighter, the stone continued to harden, creaking and popping.

“That is going to be so gross looking at every day,” Jedek said, opening and closing his hand.

“Unless it rains today, we won’t see it after sunrise tomorrow. It will turn to powder,” Ahnon told him and watched Jedek open and close his hand. “Skin feels tight, huh?” Ahnon asked with a grin.

“Yeah,” Jedek said.

“Your skin is tougher now after having gargoyle blood on it and exposed to sunlight. Let’s get our clothes and get some sleep,” Ahnon said, walking back and grabbing his stuff. Jedek bent down and found his shirt was stone.

Kenna and Ahnon laughed as Jedek struggled to pick it up. Giving up, Jedek dropped it as they all walked back to the house. Ahnon went downstairs to see the blood and body parts weren’t stone. Giving a sigh of relief, he headed back upstairs to get some sleep. The next morning, the bodies turned to dust like Ahnon told them they would. The rest of the day, Kenna and Jedek shoveled the powder into burlap bags.

Chapter 27

Finishing her plate, Kenna looked over at Ahnon. “Ahnon, what are we going to do with all that powder we put in bags yesterday?” she asked.

“I’ll show you later,” he said, setting a jar of blood on the table.

“It’s daylight!” she yelled, throwing her body over it, trying to block the sunlight from hitting it.

Ahnon laughed. “Kenna, we don’t have to worry after the first day.”

“Why?” she asked.

Shrugging, he said, “I have no idea.”

“Magic?” she asked.

“I’m sure, but any science you don’t understand is magic,” he said.

“What?” Jedek asked, totally lost.

“Magic and science are the same thing, Jedek. Magic is just a part of science we haven’t figured out how or why it works,” Ahnon said. Seeing both had confused faces, Ahnon sat down. “The flowing ink well I use. If I took it into some villages, they would think it was magic, but it’s not. We know how it works, replacing a quill and ink well to write with.”

“Ahnon, I can combine naztyl and gacnius, creating an orb shield. That’s just magic,” Jedek said.

Ahnon shook his head. “No, you don’t understand how the two components interact with each other when you combine them and direct your energy into them. If you did, it would be science.”

Jedek thought about it for a second. “Do you know?” he asked.

“No, it’s magic to me as well,” Ahnon admitted. “We know it will happen and, for the most part, control the reaction, getting an orb shield.”

Kenna leaned over the table. “That’s all good, but why did you drain, chop up, and mutilate the bodies?” she asked.

“Gargoyles are very magical,” he said, chuckling. “These are components for light.” He laid two packets on the table and opened them up, exposing the powder. Taking a slender, glass rod, he dipped it into the jar of gargoyle blood then dropped a tiny drop on each packet of powder. Putting the rod in the jar, he refolded the paper.

“Let’s take this outside now,” he said, handing each one a packet.

Kenna looked at the jar. “Won’t it dry out?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “No matter how hard you try, you can’t make gargoyle blood dry out. Most of the powders I have were solids or liquids at one time. I made them powders to save weight, and it doesn’t affect the spells much. If it does, I leave them as they were.”

They stepped outside, and Ahnon looked at Jedek. “I want you to cast a light spell like you always do, but I want you to put the ball of light there,” Ahnon said, pointing high above the yard. “Thirty feet above the ground at least,” Ahnon said, putting on his hunter glasses.

Jedek gave him a puzzled look. “Okay,” he said, holding out his hand. When he finished the spell, the packet vanished, and a ball of light appeared above the yard. Unlike any of the others Jedek did, this one was so bright he couldn’t look at it, and the heat it was putting out was making him sweat.

“Make it go away,” Ahnon said. Jedek waved his hand, and the light disappeared. Jedek was scared at first because his eyes couldn’t see anything but light. He continued to blink, and his sight slowly returned.

“Blessed cow,” he said, shaking his head.

“Kenna, do the same thing,” Ahnon said. Like Jedek’s, the ball of light was beyond bright, and the heat was starting to burn their skin. Kenna waved her hand, and the light disappeared.

“That’s from one drop!” Kenna shouted with awe.

“Yes, that is why I didn’t want you to use magic covered in gargoyle blood. If you aren’t perfect in your spell, the blood on you becomes the spell. But do you notice anything else?” Ahnon asked, leading them back inside.

Jedek stopped in the doorway. “It didn’t take anywhere near the normal amount of energy to do,” he said. “I could probably do twenty light spells, but with that drop of blood, I could do a hundred,” he said in wonderment.

“That’s the power of gargoyle blood,” Ahnon said and held up a tiny perfume bottle. “This is thirty drops of gargoyle blood you can buy at reputable magic shops. It runs around a full silver crown.”

Jedek dropped to the floor. “Ahnon, we—” he stopped, at a loss.

Nodding, Ahnon said, “Yes, we have more than I have ever heard about someone collecting. First, rogue males are rare, and rarer still are a group of them. Then to have a place to protect it from the first sunrise just doesn’t happen on this scale. Next, you really don’t want to attack a tribe. I have found groups of hunters killed in Nazar that tried that,” Ahnon said.

“Groups?” Jedek asked.

“Yes. At one site, I found eleven hats,” Ahnon said. “In case you’re wondering, the tribe they attacked was about the same size.”

“You made it look so easy,” Jedek mumbled.

Ahnon cringed a little. “Well, that’s because of Talon. I was attacked by a rogue male in Fantshu, and it was doing a pretty good job of kicking my butt until Talon flew down. He shoved his claw in the rogue, and you saw what his poison does to them.”

“What about the adult?” Jedek asked.

“I’m sure it works on them, but they won’t attack you unless you cross them, and they move really fast.”

“And they can fly,” Jedek pointed out.

“No, they can glide; that’s why you find them in mountains,” Ahnon said. Having not heard Kenna, Ahnon turned around to find her sitting at the table in a daze. “Kenna, are you okay?”

“We could have got some more,” she muttered.

“No, we risked a lot getting what we got,” Ahnon said, sitting down.

“What about the eyes?” Jedek asked, sitting down.

“Put just a small drop in your eye, and the darkest night is just like day,” Ahnon answered. “All the organs are for different components.”

“How long does the sight last?” Jedek asked.

“Not long. About half an hour.”

Kenna shook out of her daze. “Why?” she asked.

“Your eye washes it off,” Ahnon told her.

Kenna thought about it. “You still have to use magic, right? Like say the spell?” she asked.

Ahnon started to laugh. “Yes, Kenna, there are very few things on Thanos that just give up its magic.” Kenna narrowed her eyes, thinking.

“Ahnon,” Jedek asked, “what about the eyes?”

“I told you; you can see in the dark,” Ahnon said.

“No, how much does the liquid sell for?” he asked.

“Triple the blood on average, but if it’s scarce, I’ve seen it ten times.” Jedek became pale. “Yes, we could buy a kingdom with what we have in the cellar now, Jedek,” Ahnon said, grinning.

Kenna pointed at his hunter glasses. “Ahnon, you made those, didn’t you?” she asked.

“Of course I did, and you will learn how—” he stopped when she raised her hand. Ahnon had the sudden feeling of being tied around a little finger.

“Can you make them clear and not dark?” she asked.

“Yes, I have some. I use them to work when I’m blacksmithing,” he answered just as the hand was coming up to stop him again.

“What if you put a drop of the eye jelly—” she stopped as Ahnon busted out laughing.

“Eye jelly!” he shouted out, laughing.

“Ahnon!” Kenna shouted, and he stopped. “I’m serious. Listen,” she commanded. “What if you rubbed the jelly over the glass and put another piece of glass over it to hold it? Then cast the spell. What would happen?” she asked, leaning over the table.

The smile on Ahnon’s face fell off as he thought about what she said. “I don’t know,” Ahnon admitted but thought about the possibilities. “It might need contact—” he stopped thinking about it. “Kenna, that’s a great idea,” he said in awe.

Kenna beamed and grinned. “Thank you,” she said.

“If it works, we will go after a cankle,” he said.

“Why?” Kenna asked.

“They see in heat,” Ahnon said. “Most don’t like using it because it’s hard for humans to adjust seeing the world through shades of red and black,” Ahnon said.

“When can we try my idea?” Kenna asked.

“We have a lot to do but soon,” Ahnon promised. He stood up. “Get your stuff,” he said, heading for the door. Ahnon led two horses down to the river. “These are kanfal trees, or what others call hollow trees.”

Jedek looked at the trees. They were only about two inches around but shot up twenty feet. “Why is it hollow?” he asked, swinging his axe. He hit the tree and was flooded with water.

“They hold water,” Ahnon said, looking at a soaked Jedek. Ahnon took the axe from him and went around making small cuts, letting the water out. “If you would’ve waited, you wouldn’t be wet,” Ahnon told him, handing the axe back. “Get us a hundred of them,” Ahnon said, walking around, chopping down saplings with his sword.

When they were done, Ahnon had a bundle of saplings over his shoulder. “Let’s drop this stuff off and start some stew. Then, it’s time for more.”

As they followed Ahnon back, Jedek asked, “You think everyone knows we are okay?”

“Yes, they know or will in the next few weeks,” Ahnon said.

“You sent them letters, didn’t you?” he asked.

“To a few people,” Ahnon admitted when they reached the house. Starting the stew, Ahnon left and got the wagon hitched up then rode back down to the river. “I want you to fill the wagon up with rocks about the size of your head. Then I want a wagonload of rocks half the size of your fist,” he said, walking away.

The kids filled the wagon with the rocks, and Ahnon told them where to dump them. Before dusk, they were emptying out the small rocks in a pile in front of the cottage beside the last hundred logs that Ahnon didn’t let them saw and chop up.

Then the next morning, as they ate breakfast, they heard, “Ahnon, we’re home.”

Kenna looked at them. “I’m not crazy; I know you heard it to,” she said.

Ahnon laughed, touching the half a rock in the center of the table. “Hello, Ava. Did you have any trouble?” he asked.

“No, but when we went inside the house, Delmuth’s spare boots and belt were chewed up,” she said, and all three looked at Minos.

“What?” Minos asked, trying to look innocent.

“I hope you followed my advice and bought a lot of clothes and boots?” Ahnon asked.

“Oh, we did. Whole wagonloads,” Ava said.

Ahnon smiled. “How many families did you bring back?” he asked.

“Nineteen families plus ten male workers and eleven women,” she answered.

“Food?” he asked.

“Ahnon, we have three dozen wagons full of stuff,” she said, stopping his questions.

“Okay, I can take a hint, but you have a lot to do,” he said.

“We got back yesterday afternoon and set up the tents for now. We already have the eating hall’s foundation dug out,” she said.

“Good luck, and if you need us, let us know.”

“You too, Ahnon,” she said, and Ahnon reached out, touching the stone.

Kenna nodded. “You touch it to turn it on then touch it to turn it off. Nice,” she said.

“You are a quick one,” Ahnon said. “You two ready for the day?” he asked.

“I am,” Jedek said, standing up.

“Not really, but I’m going to do it anyway,” Kenna said as Ahnon headed to the door.

When Jedek and Kenna got outside, Ahnon handed them two fat vests. The kids dropped them, not expecting the weight. “Cow patties, that’s heavy,” Kenna said, grunting as she picked it up.

“Put those on,” Ahnon said then pointed to a tree on the hill past the stream. “Run up and touch that tree then run back and touch the well. Do it twenty times,” Ahnon said as he left and started working on the hollow trees.

Ahnon watched them as he stripped the trees down, and Talon flew out of the barn, circling overhead. Minos thought it was a game, so he joined in. The second time the kids did it, he understood the goal. He darted from the well to the tree on the steep slope and sat beside it. Just before the kids would reach it, he would take off to the well.

It was noon, and Ahnon had food waiting on them. “Kenna, leave the vest on,” Ahnon said as she was in the act of taking it off. They ate, and Ahnon took them outside, making them do repetitive, mundane tasks as he started laying out the hollow trees.

When the first sun hit the horizon, he called them in. “The only time you take those vests off is to sleep and bathe until instructed,” he told them, and they nodded.

When they dropped the vests to bathe, Kenna almost felt like she could fly. Jedek fell down, losing his sense of balance. For the next two weeks, that was how the days went with the only breaks coming every three days when Ahnon let them take the vests off for a few hours. They had to do six spells that Ahnon chose every morning. Ahnon would work on projects as the two did hundreds of repetitive tasks, and each night, unknown to the kids, the vests got just a little bit heavier.

Kenna opened her eyes, hearing banging in the house. She wanted to jump up, but her body told her, “NO!” Slowly easing up, she looked at the vest on the floor, really hating it. She looked at the chalkboard by the beds, seeing she had been wearing the monstrosity for two weeks. Then she noticed four new things by her vest. Hearing the banging again, she looked up and saw Ahnon on the other side of the cottage, building something.