Salt of The Earth: The Fall of Barcelona

by Vlada Asta

  And humans… everything was so confusing about them! Even on the primitive level there was a thing that could rival hunger in them – lust. Then there were complex feelings topped by love, and that was something Aeterni had no idea about.

  Sebastian denied accompanying her to the changing room. She decided not to push it, he was already unnerved. They needed time to get used to each other! So after choosing the things she liked Aeterni agreed to leave the store.

  “Don’t you think you’re abusing the city’s trust?” Sebastian asked. “You were provided with money so you could feel like our equal, not to buy anything you see!”

  “I need those things!”

  “I saw what you bought. You don’t need at least half of it.”

  “You’re saying it now, but wait till you see those things on me!” Aeterni winked at him.

  “Don’t even joke about it. It’s a sin – you should learn what it is. You must act like the city’s guardian, not a dissolute girl!”

  “Hey!”

  “That’s what everyone is thinking!”

  “So far you’re the only one who thinks so,” she objected.

  “People are observing you all the time!”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Where are you going now?!”

  “Wherever I want.”

  She passed the department selling long dresses without giving it a second look. She had enough of those thanks to the Church! She needed something that didn’t constrain her movements, something comfortable – and not easily torn.

  She chose the department full of such clothes. But Sebastian wasn’t happy about it.

  “You can’t walk the streets wearing that!”

  “Why not?”

  “These clothes were designed especially for sport. People wear them only in places where it’s suitable. A decent woman will never wear something like this outside!”

  “Can a decent woman fight Hente? Look at those shorts!”

  “The problem is, you’re not fighting Hente either! And the shorts are too revealing.”

  “That’s why they’re called shorts, not pants!” Aeterni commented. “How do you know I’m not hunting right now?”

  “Doesn’t look like it!” he noted skeptically.

  “That’s because you’re judging through the standards of the hunt you’re used to. You go outside – find Hente – win. Or you die, but not like you can tell anyone about it. It works with Tsiara’s Clan, because they use the same strategy. But the ones who came here to spy on humans are good at hiding. You think they’ll start acting differently only because I’m here?”

  “You’re just looking for an excuse for not working.”

  Now that was a blow to her dignity! Which was also knew, and she enjoyed those complicated feelings too much to be really offended.

  “I’m not looking for an excuse for anything. There are Hente in this city that hunt humans. They’re trying to hide it, but people don’t go missing for no reason. There are also the ones who simply observe. They changed their bodies, creating a perfect disguise: they don’t move and thus don’t need to eat. Should I get rid of them too?”

  “Of course!” he exclaimed. “You don’t know what they’re going to do with the information they steal here! You must destroy all Hente in this city, that’s the deal!”

  “As you wish.”

  Before he had the time to react, she hugged him tightly. Sebastian was fast for a human, but he could never reach her speed. Judging by a new flash of anger in his system, he decided it was another joke of hers. But Aeterni needed that proximity only to take a throwing knife off his belt.

  She hated that weapon. She knew it wouldn’t harm her, but her instincts were still against touching it. She hurried to use it.

  The knife flew across the hall and hit its target – the chest of a mannequin standing there. The thing that looked like plastic just a minute ago twisted with a horrified howl, and black blood soaked the t-shirt it was wearing. Its agony didn’t last long: a few more moments – and the only thing reminding about it were the jaws lying on the pile of dirty clothes.

  Aeterni smiled to her partner who was speechless with shock.

  “And you’re saying I’m not hunting here! By the way, there are three more of those creatures in the mall.”

  Chapter 7

  She wanted to believe it was just a nightmare, and she could wake up any minute now. But this hope was slowly fading, and she learned to accept the new reality.

  There was a Hente living among them – that alone was bad enough. Such monsters must be killed, and yet the entire city was admiring her. What could be worse? Well, only the fact Sebastian was chosen to keep an eye on that beast.

  When Gabriella first learned about it, she barely managed to hide her tears from the rest of the teachers. She was afraid, horrified even! She was asking other warriors about him, and was dreading the day she’d hear the news about this mutant cutting his throat and abandoning Barcelona…

  But weeks were passing by, and nothing close to that happened. Those two were slowly starting to like each other! Gabriella knew him too well to miss this. At first Sebastian remained gloomy beside that abomination, and now he was smiling at it!

  And the worst part was that the number of people who shared Gabriella’s opinion decreased rapidly. The Hente was killing its own kind in the city, and that earned it the glory it didn’t deserve. But the city was blind to that, as if all of them had lost their mind at the same time! Aeterni was simply gaining their trust, and then…

  Gabriella had no idea what would happen then. But it was going to be something scary! It had to be connected to politics or economy, and she knew nothing about those things. She just remembered the main rule of the game: nothing good could come from Hente.

  She was trying to warn Ulmanas about it, but he didn’t understand her. He lied that he agreed, though Gabriella could see he actually didn’t. He just ignored her concern! And Sebastian… she didn’t dare to approach him. The monster remained by his side all the time, so there wasn’t a chance for a normal talk.

  She simply turned into a shadow. She worked at school during the day, just like her profession demanded. But during the night she was wandering around the city without thoughts and goals. She was killing time, making her body so tired it would have to go to sleep eventually.

  Any news about the damn Hente only angered Gabriella. That couldn’t last forever! She started thinking about abandoning this city – although she wasn’t ready for this now.

  During one of her average evening walks Gabriella wasn’t expecting anything special, she wasn’t even looking around, but she still managed to see something truly weird in one of the windows. Passing by an expensive restaurant, she looked inside – and froze on the spot.

  One of the tables way occupied by Lady Laas herself. She must’ve just returned to the city, because she wasn’t in Barcelona last week. She was accompanied by a man, and that definitely wasn’t Lord Laas! That man was attractive, with fair hair and green eyes; Gabriella was positive she had never seen him before.

  Those two could be friends, but… they looked at each other as lovers do. He was holding her hand gently, and she was smiling at him. That didn’t concern Gabriella directly, and yet it was a clear violation of the rules. It was almost as bad as Sebastian’s friendship with that Hente!

  Without fully realizing what she was doing, she walked into the restaurant, half empty because of the high prices, and took one of the tables. Gabriella wasn’t rich, but she didn’t need much, and her modest teacher’s salary was accumulating. Now it became useful, because she could afford to order something here.

  Lady Laas didn’t pay any attention to her. This family believed the whole city to be something like their private residence, and people around them meant less than their furniture. So in spite of the fact Gabriella took the table next to hers and could hear everything, Lady Laas continued talking.

  “It’s so great you came with me! I’v
e heard there was a new breach in the border. A large pack again!”

  “Not again,” the man objected. “That is, if you’re comparing it to the pack that attacked Barcelona before you came to Madrid.”

  “Yes. What’s the difference?”

  “I’ve already contacted my friends in Toulouse. It looks like a pack of Slayers went for an aggressive breakthrough – around twenty beasts, not more. Half of them was destroyed by the security system, some were killed by the warriors. Even if part of them managed to get deeper into the peninsula, I doubt there are more than four of them.”

  “Why are you making it sound like it’s no big deal?”

  “Because it’s not. Such things happen all the time, that’s why the warriors have to patrol the roads. The Slayers aren’t too smart, they can’t hide among humans, so they choose brutal force instead. They sacrifice their numbers so that some of them can get here.”

  That man knew what he was talking about! Gabriella was aware of that too, but she learned it from the warriors. And who told him?...

  He wasn’t a church warrior, since he was talking to a woman like this. He probably wasn’t a police officer either, those guys rarely appeared in the city without their uniform. How could he know about the problems at the border?

  “I don’t like this,” Lady Laas sighed. “I’ve been hearing about this border way too often lately!”

  “No, nothing has changed, you simply started to pay more attention to it.”

  “I’m scared to stay here! Maybe we should return to Madrid?”

  “You think Madrid is safer?” the man laughed. “Not at all. The house where you live might be the safest place on the entire peninsula! You don’t need to go anywhere, everything is fine.”

  “Go on, tell me the Hente tamed by the Church is going to save me!”

  “Why not?”

  The mentioning of this creature made Gabriella cringe. Even the Laas family accepted its presence in Barcelona!

  But Lady Laas demonstrated she wasn’t too enthusiastic about it:

  “Don’t talk to me about this animal!”

  “Why?” the man was surprised.

  “I’m afraid of it!”

  “What, of it too?”

  “Don’t mock me! I’m scared.”

  “And what does your husband think?”

  “He doesn’t know about it yet!” Lady Laas chuckled. “Don’t you get it? He lives in his imaginary world, he doesn’t care what’s happening outside!”

  “I think he’d want to know about her. She might be interesting to him.”

  “He’ll know sooner or later. But he won’t know about us – and that’s for the better!”

  There was no doubt about it: two lovers sat behind Gabriella’s back. This knowledge was more serious than most people could imagine. Infidelity in the Laas family, a horrible sin that could bring problems with the Church…. if someone told the Church about it. But Gabriella wasn’t sure she should tell.

  First of all, she didn’t have any proof. They weren’t doing anything prohibited, and her words meant nothing against the words of the wife of the most influential man in the city. Besides, people were saying that Alberta Laas was known for her bad temper and vindictiveness. What if she learned who uncovered her romance? She could kill for this!

  Why should Gabriella do this anyway? The city’s moral was shaken the day Aeterni came here. Soon all laws would stop working, and Barcelona would drown in chaos. What did some infidelity mean in comparison to that?

  Gabriella left the restaurant without even touching her order. She felt empty. Two lovers were enjoying each other’s company behind her, and she was thinking about Sebastian again.

  She decided she had to save him.

  ***

  Ulmanas had no idea what he should do, he was completely out of his element, and he was afraid his mistake would hurt someone. If Gabriella was wrong, Sebastian would be outraged! So far the Hente was keeping her word – killing her brothers without regret. Though… were they really her brothers? The Church and the police were happy with her too. Scaring Aeterni off would be suicidal for him!

  But Gabriella seemed very confident in her words, and if she was truly right, Sebastian was in grave danger. Not his body, perhaps, but his soul: spending so much time with pure evil could affect him in the worst way possible.

  Gabriella didn’t have any valid arguments. She was using the fact they were family, and thus they were supposed to keep an eye on each other. But did Sebastian really need that? She was confident, and Ulmanas became confused. Sebastian was much braver than him, that was why he always ended up on the frontline. Which of them had more chances of evaluating this situation correctly?

  “Why are you here?”

  Ulmanas was so lost in his thoughts he wasn’t even hiding his presence. His eyes were locked on the dark windows of the house where Sebastian and Aeterni were supposedly sleeping. He was standing in the middle of the city street alone, and he believed he was safe.

  She changed that. Aeterni got to him quietly – like a gust of wind, and she was now just a few steps away from him. He didn’t want to stay with her alone – and yet it was happening. A single look into her black eyes made chills go down his spine.

  She wasn’t dressed like one of the city women – just like Gabriella had warned him. Aeterni was wearing short pants reaching down to her knee, police boots laced up to her shin and a black t-shirt opening a line of her flat stomach. It wasn’t openly sexual, because prostitutes dressed differently, it was just… against the rules.

  “Why are you here?” Aeterni repeated patiently.

  “I… I was simply on patrol!”

  He wanted to tell her the truth, but didn’t dare to. If Gabriella was seeing evil everywhere, she should deal with it herself, without dragging him into this mess!

  “You’re lying,” Aeterni commented. “When you’re lying, your heart skips a beat. This won’t work with me. Have you come to see Sebastian?”

  He wanted to lie again, but she already made it clear such tricks were useless. He cursed his luck and Gabriella’s nosy nature and answered:

  “No, I… I came to see you!”

  “That’s funny,” Aeterni looked at him the way a child studies a new toy. “You’re the first person who came to see me with such fear in your soul. Why? You didn’t have to.”

  “I was sent by a common friend… That friend believes Sebastian is in danger because of you.”

  Despite his anger, he didn’t want to give Gabriella away. Fortunately, Aeterni didn’t ask about her, she was interested in something else:

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re filling his soul with evil…”

  “I don’t even know how to do that!”

  “But you’re a Hente… It’s considered that Hente are pure evil!”

  “That’s a bit too stereotypical,” Aeterni shrugged. “I’ve already heard about things humans do to each other. And I haven’t even killed anyone yet! Any human, that is. So who’s evil? Well, if you came to talk to me, let’s go for a walk.”

  “Where to?”

  “Just down the street. It’s a warm night and we can enjoy the weather.”

  “But what about Sebastian?” Ulmanas asked. He was worried about his friend – and afraid to go anywhere with that creature.

  But Aeterni seemed completely peaceful:

  “He’s asleep and I see no sense in waking him up. You didn’t come to him. You won’t be able to stay honest with him around.”

  “Why aren’t you asleep?”

  “Hente don’t sleep. You should know that.”

  Ulmanas still didn’t want to go with her, but he couldn’t find a reason to avoid it. They started moving, and he made sure to keep a safe distance between himself and the Hente.

  And she was relaxed. She was walking slowly, her hands in her pockets, and smiling at the starry sky above them. She didn’t look half as monstrous as Gabriella had described, and she certainly didn’t remi
nd him of other Hente. Ulmanas was starting to get used to her.

  Aeterni noticed that.

  “Are you finally calm? About time, talking to you while you’re near panic wasn’t too inspiring. I’m not going to hurt you, okay? No reason to. I’m not offended by your fear, by the way. I am as dangerous as you think. But not to you – and not to him.”

  “Why have you chosen him?”

  “He’s smarter than most of your kind, and in spite of acting all tough, he’s kind. That’s a rare quality these days, and in the wild lands it just doesn’t exist. He’s not like me, that’s why I like him. Since I’ve answered your question, I think you should answer mine. How long have you and Sebastian known each other?”

  “Since childhood. We met in the orphanage…”

  “Tell me about him. About how you met him. It’s important to me.”

  That information was secret by all means and standards – for anyone, but especially for their enemy. Although… was she truly an enemy? Aeterni wasn’t ordering him or trying to blackmail him, she simply asked him about it. She waited patiently without trying to hurry him up.

  Sebastian was going to work with her in any case. Maybe her interest was for the better – less chances she’d kill him in the end!

  “He’s from Munich. It’s part of the wild lands now, but back then it still belonged to humans. It was too hard for such cities to survive… Weapons, tall walls – none of that helps if there’s no source of salt water around. When it became clear that the city was going to fall any day, Sebastian’s family joined the refugees. Only large groups of people could get to safety, and the more strong men there were in those groups, the better. Kids and old people were in the middle, while young men and women guarded them, and the whole group moved through the wild lands to safety.”

  He knew all the details; Aeterni didn’t ask him how he learned that, and he was grateful to her. He hated going back to the days he was part of such a group. She must’ve understood that.

  “His father was a great warrior from what I’ve heard,” he continued. “He died during the second half of the journey. In such cases the relatives of the fallen warrior are left to die too, because the weak ones only slow the whole group down, and there’s no-one to protect them. If you’re weak – end of the line for you, no money can change that. But Sebastian and his mother were allowed to continue the journey, because his father was truly respected by everyone. Then his group finally arrived to the control point in Vaduz… But no-one was going to welcome them to New Vatican. Back then people were horrified by the idea of epidemic. There wasn’t any proof that humans could catch something from Hente – but the opposite wasn’t proved either. Besides, it was a lean year, and the amount of food was very poor. So a few groups of refugees were forced to wait at the control point. They made a camp just outside the hydro protection.”