Rise of the Mare (Fall of Man Book 2) (12 page)

“They are.”

“My friend Davis said before the
world went bad, he was ripping charts in country music. I don’t
know what that means.”

“Tearing up the charts?” she quizzed.
“Davis. Davis McCall?”

My eyes widened. “You are his friend?
You know him? Oh, how happy he would be to know a friend is
alive.”

Samantha laughed. “I didn’t
know him. I know
of
him. Davis McCall was a huge country music star. He’s
in Angeles City?”

“Yes. He is the leader.”

“Wow.” She sat back. “I didn’t know
that.”

“Now, you do. And you can go with me
when I return.”

Iry’s voice surprised me. “When will
that be?”

Immediately Samantha stood and
nervously backed up. This caught my attention and I watched her
reaction.

“I apologize. I must begin my workday
now.” She grabbed her towel and scooted away.

Suddenly she went from having the
demeanor of someone in Angeles City to being subservient in the
presence of Iry.

“Aren’t you afraid your skin will
burn?” I asked him.

“I am wearing sunscreen, Vala. It is
a lotion you put on your skin that protects it from the sun.”

“So you use magic.”

Iry laughed. “Man invented it. I’ll
get you some to put on Sophie so she can come outside.” He sat down
and looked at my cup. “I wish I could drink that. It smells so
good.”

“Why can’t you? I thought you were
able to consume anything that came from the ground?”

“We can.”

“Coffee is Mother Nature’s speed,
whatever that means. Davis said that. What happens if you drink
it?”

“I… I don’t know.”

I pushed my cup to him. “Go on. Take
a sip. If you get ill, I will call for a medicine person and have
your maidens at your beck and call.”

“I’ll try it if you tell me what your
issue with me is today?”

“Deal.”

Iry lifted the cup. “I hope it
doesn’t have the same effect as horse blood. We don’t need another
plague.”

I reached out and gripped his
arm.

“Vala, I’m touched you’re concerned,”
he said with a grin.

“No, I’m curious. I know horse blood
is deadly to you, but how can it cause a plague?”

“You don’t know?”

I shook my head.

“It causes a parasite, or virus, in
us that is highly contagious and deadly.”

“That is good to know.”

“Gee, thanks. Here goes.” He took a
sip. “Hot.” He cringed. “Bitter.” Then he took another sip. “Okay,
this is good.”

“How long until we know if it will
make you ill?”

He set down the cup. Tapping his
fingers in anticipation, he looked up to the sky as if waiting. “A
minute.” He paused. “All good. I have a new drink.” He took another
and I grabbed for my cup.

“Get your own please, thank you.”

“Your turn. What’s up with you?”

“Samantha.”

“You don’t like her? Then she will
not—”

“No. No. See, it was how she reacted
to you that made me realize you aren’t as nice as you try to
act.”

“Oh, please.”

“Iry, she was scared of you.”

“You were talking about taking her
away. Of course, she was worried, that situation never came up. I’m
a nice Ancient.”

“You put off that Ancients are
basically good.”

“We are,” he said.

“Then why do you kill our
elders?”

“What?” He laughed and twitched his
head. “We do not kill your elders.”

“You round them up like cattle, those
who have reached a certain age, and take them. We never see them
again.”

“Okay, you got me. We hang them,
drain them, and enjoy their blood like aged fine wine.”

My mouth dropped open and I
gasped.

“I’m joking, Vala. Bad joke?” Iry
then started talking fast, really fast. “We don’t kill your elders.
Honestly we don’t. Why would you think we do? That is absurd.”

“Why are you talking so fast?”

“
I’m not. I’ll prove it. Not
that I’m talking too fast, I can’t prove that. I
can
prove we don’t
kill your elders. Wanna see?” He stood up quickly. “I’ll show you.”
He sat back down. “You aren’t moving, you don’t want to
see?”

“I do want—”

He jumped up. “Let’s go, I’ll show
you.” He darted in the house, ran back out. “Vala, are you coming?
I thought you wanted to see?”

I hurriedly finished my coffee and
followed him. It was a difficult task, because for some reason, Iry
had moved into a hyper mode.

*

We went by motorized vehicle, leaving
Sophie behind in the care of Samantha. I trusted her, she knew
Davis. Iry kept talking fast and rambling and then just as we
arrived and the car stopped, he exhaled and said, “I feel kind of
drained. I may need to eat.”

“Don’t look at me.”

“I wouldn’t dare. I’m still not
convinced you aren’t a bitter meal.” He opened the door and stepped
out.

When I stepped from the car, I
thought at first we had gone to another one of the Ancients’ huge
homes. There was a gate and a wall set before a huge concrete
walkway. The building was set back and it was huge.

“What is this place?”

“You wanted to know what we did with
your elders,” Iry replied.

There was a rusted old sign, which I
imagine was perfect at one time. The grounds surrounding the
building were clean and beautiful. The sign read, “Acria Springs
Retirement Resort.”

“What is this place?”

Iry didn’t answer, he just led the
way.

The moment I stepped inside, I knew
it wasn’t a slaughterhouse for human elders. There were flowers
everywhere, although there was an odd scent, almost like a cleaning
solution. Elder humans were walking, sitting, all around.

“This is where we bring your elders,”
Iry said. “They each have clean rooms, meals, the clothing that was
left behind, and clothing that they wore before they lived in the
Straits. But only those elders who lived in the Straits get this
opportunity.”

“You don’t kill them?”

“No, Vala, we do not.” He walked down
the hall. Following the sounds of voices and laughter, we stepped
into a large room. Many elders sat in chairs and they were watching
a television.

“
I Love
Lucy
.”

“They have their lives back.” Iry
folded his arms and leaned against the doorway.

A part of me didn’t believe it. It
was a ruse. But it had to be an elaborate one. Then I heard someone
call my name.

“Vala,” the voice was bright and I
looked for where it came from.

“Miss Marilyn!” I said, shocked. I
remember not many years before when she had left, happily waving to
us as she rode off. I had thought we were saying goodbye
forever.

She gripped my hands gently. Her skin
was soft, and the folds and lines around her face reminded me of
Marie. She wore a bright, flowered ensemble and even showed the
lower portion of her legs.

“So good to see you,” she said. “How
is your mother?”

“My mother has passed.”

Her brow crinkled and eyes filled
with compassion. “I am so sorry. Lovely woman.” She clenched my
hand once more. “Good to see you. It is. Stop by and sit by the
pool with me one day.”

“I will.”

Another shake of my hands and a
smile, then Marilyn returned to her chair next to her friend to
watch the television.

“Did you feel fear from her?” asked
Iry.

“No. I felt peace.”

“Exactly.”

“And all of these humans, you don’t
feed from them?”

“No. The only time what we are comes
into play is when they are ready to leave the Earth. We give them
the option to leave or to turn and live on. Most say they’ve had
enough.”

“Why, Iry?” I asked. “Why do you do
this?”

“They are elders. All elders, no
matter what species, should be respected for the life they have
lived. A long life enriched with knowledge. They should be
treasured, never discarded. They are responsible for continuing the
human race, for teaching, we allow them to live the rest of their
lives in comfort.”

Another eruption of laughter rang out
and I looked around the room. They were happy and seemed content.
My mind believed that every one of them were a meal, when in fact,
they were having a much better life than anyone else.

It was an illusion I had created that
was shattered. How much more would be? How wrong was I? For the
first time in my life, I was truly confused about the Sybaris.

Why I would think that the Savages would only go to the mountains
is beyond me. I truly thought for sure they’d take refuge during
the daylight hours where they were protected by nature. But the
world had become nothing but a wilderness with only pockets of
civilization, so the Savages could go anywhere.

I followed the Savages and the closer
I drew to the unnamed town, the more Savages I saw. It got to a
point where the road ended and I couldn’t go any further. Not by
way of the Creeper.

It was not the mountains or woods, it
was an overgrown city not far from Angeles City. The buildings were
completely encompassed by trees and vines. There was a building
with a domed roof and that was untouched. That told me it was the
entrance and exit of the Savages. There were breaks in the trees,
and I watched the Savages dip down into that area. Maybe that was
their meeting place.

My stopping point was close enough to
see I had found their home.

Then they found me.

Within minutes the Creeper was
swarmed. It rocked back and forth and the noise was unbearable,
even for me, and I was used to it.

Had they been smart enough, they
would have realized that a group of them together could have lifted
the Creeper and dropped it.

They didn’t; they continued to attack
the metal as if they could break through. Then the sun rose and
they pulled away.

I was debating whether or not I
should step out. The scope gave me an ‘all clear’ view. I had to
stay in the streaks of the sun to be safe and I opened the hatch,
holding tight to my weapon and my crossbow on my back.

The second I did, I was bombarded by
the most horrendous smell. It was sour and rotten, and I knew what
it was.

Human remains.

I walked down the sunlit area
of the trees and it brought me to the clearing. I actually
heard
the clearing
before I saw it, because one thing always survived in this
godforsaken world, and that was flies.

They were everywhere. The buzz was
loud and they swarmed like a thick black cloud.

Pulling my shirt over my nose and
trying not to inhale the smell, I moved forward. My foot sank into
some substance and I glanced down. Lifting my boot, I saw strands
of Savage salvia mixed with blood and I had made a footprint on
what was left of a human head. Only one eye remained and the skull
had been broken. The Savages took great care not to turn their
meals into Day Stalkers.

I had seen a lot, and had the head
been the only thing I saw, I would have been fine. But as soon as I
looked away, the sight was overwhelming. The entire clearing, as
big as a city block, was nothing but bones and rotting flesh. A
garbage dumb for their leftovers.

It was too much, sight, sound, and
smell, and I backed up, turned, and ran. I didn’t make it too far.
My glands filled with spit, my eyes watered, and about twenty feet
into my escape, I heaved forward and vomited.

I couldn’t stop. Not for a long
time.

I embraced the silence to sink
into thought on the way back from Acria. Iry knew it affected me,
though remained silent. Had it not been for Marilyn I would have
been convinced it was all a big show.

Upon arriving back home, I embraced
Sophie, even though she did not respond. Her arms just dangled
there. She showed no reaction to my hug or my declaration of love
for her. I wanted my sister back.

Samantha assured me she would be
back, that she knew many people who were transformed and in several
days the only thing that separated them from what they were was the
food they ate.

Speaking of food, I was extremely
hungry and the kitchen maiden was preparing lunch.

After oddly asking permission from
Iry, Samantha said that I was welcome to join her and others on
days when they go to the retirement resort to visit our human
elders and get enriched.

I would do that. I felt guilty that
the Sybaris were treating our elders with more respect than we did.
It was a crime.

Before the meal, I retreated to my
room with the full intention of projecting. I had to tell Davis
that I was fine. I had to tell him where I was, and more
importantly, I had to get across to them that Nito had been
banished.

I was besieged with guilt all the way
around. Yes, it was true I could not lie, however, I was able to
withhold truth. I withheld the truth from Iry about what I was
doing and when I made partial connection, I didn’t give all the
truth either.

Perhaps I would have had the chance
to convey more. I sought out Tanner, and found him doubled over in
unfamiliar woods, vomiting. Worried about him, I asked if he had
eaten something he shouldn’t have.

“No, I saw something. Vala…”

“I don’t have much time. I’m fine.
Things have happened.”

“Here too. It’s a game changer.”

“I don’t know what that means,” I
told him. “I do know the name of the City of the Ancients. And Nito
has been banished. She is no longer around. Sent to the abyss, I
suppose.”

His eyes widened. “Then the whole
thing is a game changer. Vala, there’s no—”

A knock on my door drew me from the
projection. Certain I was fading before his eyes, I blurted out
that I had to go and gasped for breath at my sudden withdraw.