“It’s not just the size and strength thing, it’s everything now. It’s like I can see things better, focus better. Even my sense of smell is better, which is not as awesome as it seems in a world where we can only bathe twice a week. If I visualize something, I can do it. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like my brain figures out how to do whatever I want to do. That was the first time I’ve ever carved something out of wood.” Hope sat down and started carving her name into the staff with a pocket knife.
Renee inspected her staff. “You’re kidding me. Other than needing a good sanding and finishing, this thing is perfect. What has Benjy been able to come up with on your condition so far?”
“It’s been over a month since we got here and he started running the tests. He hasn’t told me much, other than he has a few hunches. But until he can get all the facts, he doesn’t want to tell me anything.”
Renee looked around, then whispered, “What about the other thing, you know, with Benjy?”
“I’m still freaked out about the whole vampire thing. But he’s always been good to us, and David seems to trust him a lot. I also think David’s still in shock from the loss of Christi and Dad. I’m not sure he’s always thinking clearly. What do we do, huh? We have no home to go to. There are monsters out there trying to eat us. We are living with something that could one day want to drink our blood. This is not something we were ever supposed to have to deal with.”
“I know what you mean. Ever since you told me in secrecy about Benjy, I’ve kept my distance without trying to show I know the truth. It does make me wonder, though, what else about the world we don’t know about. Just a year and a half ago, everything was normal, and in just that short amount of time, we have zombies and vampires. What’s next? God, there better not be wer—” Renee tried to finish, but was cut off mid-sentence by Hope’s hand going over her mouth.
“Shhh. Be quiet for a second,” Hope whispered into Renee’s ear as she gently guided her into the tree line. “I’m hearing something coming through the woods.”
“Could be Scooby coming back to graze some more,” Renee answered, muffled by Hope’s hand.
“No, it’s coming from everywhere—all directions,” Hope said as she took to one knee, dragging Renee down with her.
As the girls hid and listened, they both heard a loud crashing through the woods on the opposite side of the field where Scooby had run into. As the sound got louder, Hope pulled out the knife strapped to her thigh and steadied herself. Then they saw Scooby explode out of the woods in a full sprint, heading straight at them. In a matter of seconds, the young deer cleared the open field and made it to Hope and Renee’s location. With almost no effort, the deer leapt over the bush the girls were hiding behind and narrowly missed hitting them before it disappeared into the thick brush.
“See, I told you it was just Scooby,” Renee said as she tried to stand up.
Hope snatched Renee back down and pointed into the field. “Yeah, but look why he was running.”
Renee looked and saw over a dozen slabs coming out of the woods in hot pursuit of the deer. “We gotta go—now.” She started to look for the path back to camp.
“I can hear them. They’re coming from every direction. Give me a second to figure out where we can run.” Hope started to look for an escape. “There. That way!” She pointed in the direction of the approaching group across the field.
“But they’re that way,” Renee said.
“Follow me. We will go straight into them. I will clear a path, and then we can pick up the back trail to camp. There’s no more behind them; but I hear a lot of other ones coming from every other direction. Trust me. I will keep you safe.” Hope gave her sister a look of confidence and again whipped out her machete. “Just remember what I did to the tree.”
Renee nodded and tried to ready herself. But Hope launched out from behind the bush before she could get to her feet. She jumped up and tried to keep up with her sister, who was already ten yards ahead of her, but by the time she made it to the middle of the field, Hope was already engaging the slabs and had created a hole for them to run through. She heard her sister yelling for her to go as she continued to hold back the remaining slabs. Renee cleared the gap her sister had opened and made it to the other side of the field before stopping. She turned to find Hope dealing with a few that had tried to follow her. As she scanned the field, she then spotted more slabs appearing from all sides of the woods. It looked as if they had given up on chasing the deer and had decided that the sisters were the better meal.
Renee screamed for her to come on, but Hope kept hacking at the first group until the last one was down. “Come on! We’ve got to go!”
“Go on ahead. I’ll catch up. Warn the camp, and tell them we have visitors coming, if you beat me there.” Hope turned to face the now dozens coming out of the woods.
Renee hesitated for a second before she realized Hope was right. She took off towards the camp, but not before taking one last look at her sister, who was now wielding her machete in one hand and her Marine Ka-Bar in the other, looking like a true warrior going into battle. Knowing her sister could take care of herself made it easier for Renee to turn and run, but she remained worried just the same, all the way back to Benjy’s camp.
Chapter 3
Tovas and Eva exited their carriage and approached the main door of the cathedral. It had been three nights since their master had left them, and they were eager to find and notify him that the cleanup in the valley had been successfully completed.
As they entered, they were greeted by Petrus and Petronella. As usual, Petrus was dressed in the finest clothes available. He looked as if he had just stepped out of the king’s court, which, with his diplomatic skills, was a possibility.
Petronella, never one to be caught underdressed, either, was standing before a mirror, admiring herself in the long flowing black dress that looked as if it had just been made. They both turned as the doors opened and found the unclean and underdressed Tovas and Eva walking in.
“We were told to bring you to the main cathedral as soon as you arrived.” Petrus held a thumb to his chin and slightly shook his head at the sight of his fellow consorts. “But I see that you … you will first be requiring a few minutes to prepare yourselves.”
“We didn’t have the luxury of changing clothes before we left, and our master didn’t send anything for us to change into on our way,” Eva barked back at the perceived insult. “However, if we are to go immediately, our attire will have to suffice.”
“No, this … thisthisthis will not do,” Petronella exclaimed waving her hand at the pair. “Come with me right away. I have some clothes that will fit you, my dear, and I’m sure Petrus can rustle up something for Tovas. We have a higher standard to hold ourselves up to, and besides, you’ve arrived a bit earlier than expected.” Petronella took Eva by the arm and led her to the rear of the cathedral.
Tovas looked over at Eva and waved her to go with Petronella, knowing they wouldn’t win the argument. “Lead on, Petrus. I would love to get out of these clothes and into something more appropriate.” Tovas followed behind Petronella and Eva.
As they moved down the long corridor skirting the main cathedral, the voices of their masters could be heard talking and laughing, echoing through the large chamber until it was drowned out by the boisterous voice of Petronella summoning her servants to come and take care of the new arrivals.
A short while later, Eva and Tovas finally walked through the large doors into the main church cathedral, now dressed for the occasion, to find a large configuration of tables set up where the church pews would normally be. The tables were run in a large circle, with only a small gap breaking the formation to allow entry into the middle. There, in the center of the tables was a large iron pole driven into the ground, with two iron rings welded into it on opposite sides.
Kane, the first to witness their arrival, immediately called out for them to join him at his side. They made their way around the
table, nodding and greeting the other masters and the few other consorts present. As they took a chair on either side of Kane, they both bowed, and received the standard greeting from their master, with his hand placed on the back of their heads. Courtesies observed, Eva spoke first, “Everything has been taken care of, master. Have we missed anything?”
“Just the standard indulgences, and a few insignificant meetings among us masters discussing plans for the future. We wanted the whole of the Council for the reading of the charges against the accused, so we were waiting for you and Tovas to arrive, as well as Mercer and his consorts.”
“I see Ramis and Olivia are here,” Tovas chimed in. “I assume so is Mercer. Are we ready to begin?”
“It seems Mercer’s not going to make it, but he has sent word for Ramis to act as his proxy. Apparently, there has been a problem with his cure, and he’s taken it upon himself to fix it, so we can put this ugly situation behind us. Get yourself some wine and I will have the remaining members summoned, and we will begin.” Kane motioned to Byron to ring the bell.
Tovas and Eva engaged in a little small talk with a few of the other consorts as the summoning bell was rung, and the few missing members of the Neteru entered and took their seats.
The last to arrive was Donavon, their current leader, clad in the traditional long red robe with the crest of the yellow star circled by a snake with the Eye of Ra protecting it. As he walked to his seat, all the masters stood and looked his way, watching him take his place between Petrus and Petronella as the consorts all bowed their heads, and kept them bowed till he sat down.
Donavan lifted a cup of wine for a quick sip. “My brothers and our children, it’s with great sadness that we’re brought here today to bring judgment on two of our own. They have broken themselves against our most sacred rule: the unauthorized creation of fourth generation akhu.
Silence.
“Yes,” Donavan finally continued, “let it weigh. There is no more somber an event, no darker a warning, no more terrible a lament, than when we have to let the sword of Damocles drop.” Silence, again, for several moments. “Fortunately, occasions such as this, extreme as they are, are also extremely rare—as they should be. Still, for some, a gamble must be made, choices pondered. Perhaps hubris is the true villain, or—and maybe this is even more frightful, even as it is disappointing—it is merely boredom.” A long pause, as Donavan’s eyes slowly took in the room, connecting with every master, with every consort. “When all’s said and done, when the Fates are sorely tempted, there must be an accounting. And with this most grievous assault against this most august body, there can be only one consequence: dentem atque russam pulvis.
In unison, all the masters and consorts answered in kind: dentem atque russam pulvis … teeth and dust … teeth and dust.
“Now,” Donavan commanded, “bring out the damned.”
Six masters got up and made their way to a locked room to the rear of the cathedral, only to return moments later with two men tightly bound in chains to a large wooden log, hoods covering their heads. They were lead to the iron pole in the center of the tables and chained to opposite sides. The hoods were removed and before them stood Jeffery and Henry, consorts of the master Benedictus.
Donavan stood and waited for the other masters to return to their seats, the whole while keeping a careful eye on Benedictus, who looked as if he might lash out at any moment. Benedictus slowly made his way back to his seat, but remained on edge at the sight of the betrayers. “You two are before us to answer for the crime of high treason. Do you have anything to say before we begin?” Donavan asked, but received only silence. “Kane, if you will, please read the charges, the finding, and the penance that must be paid.”
“The accused have been charged with violating the most sacred rule: the creation of fourth generation akhu. And with this charge, they have been found guilty. Penance must be paid, and paid in full—teeth and dust.”
“Thank you, brother Kane,” Donavan said, now standing. “The rule banning this abominable action was set in place long before even we masters were created, dating back to when our fathers first learned of the dangers inherent in allowing our kind to spawn out so far from our creator. The gradual thinning of our bloodline leads to the dangerous and uncontrollable offspring created, of the kind which vexes us today. We masters are the last of our kind allowed to create other akhu, and any that we create are forever to be the last generation of our kind to walk this existence.”
Donavan looked to the accused. “Is there any humility left within you? Do either of you have anything to say?”
The two consorts chained in the middle of the room just stared angrily at the headmaster addressing them.
“This is your last opportunity, your last chance to leave behind some kind of legacy, before you must make your final accounting.”
Henry, who was on the left side of the iron bar facing away from Donavan, took a deep breath to speak, but was cut off by Jeffery before he could get a word out. “You know this is a memory we have, so move on to your judgment. But before you do, know that what we did was to the benefit of this group. We should not be hiding in the shadows of this world just indulging ourselves and our most carnal and whimsical desires. We should be running this world with our power. We are gods among the sheep we feed on to survive. While you’re letting them grow in population, we are doing nothing to secure our own future among them. They will one day number far too many for us to control, and when the fear of what we are becomes known, they will set out to strike us down and remove all trace of our existence. So, go ahead and punish us, knowing that in doing so you will be joining us one day, sooner rather than later, because of your desire to hide and do nothing but play with the humans.”
Donavan slammed his hand on the table with a thunderous echo across the room. “Then let it be done—teeth and dust.”
Benedictus stood, produced a large pair of iron pliers, and moved to the center of the tables where his consorts were chained. As he approached, he was joined by Rowland and Xavier, who grabbed ahold of Jeffery’s head and then pried open his mouth. Benedictus reached into the mouth of Jeffery and extracted each of his large fanged feeding teeth. As they were ripped from their moorings, thick black blood poured from the open wound in such a large quantity that Jeffery almost immediately turned pale. Then, as Benedictus went around the pole to the other side, he found Heng and Christo already holding Henry’s mouth open. Henry tried to speak, but Benedictus gave him no chance before he again let loose with his pliers.
With screams of agony to his back, he walked over to Donavan and handed him the four teeth and received a large bowl of salt in return. He walked back over to the ever-paler accused and proceeded to pour the salt into their mouths and down their throats. The five masters then stepped back and watched as the bodies of the guilty slowly started to dry out from the rapid dehydration of their bodies. Within a minute, each of the consorts were completely dried up, their bodies petrified.
At this point, Donavan walked over to the statue-like bodies of the executed consorts and raised the iron pliers into the air before bringing them down, completely shattering them into dust and gravel. “This is the way it will be, the way it must be, when any us violate this most sacred law. Centuries of loyal service will mean nothing if one cannot abide by this one most important rule. Now tell me true, are we united?”
The whole of the room acknowledged with a resounding aye.
“With this deed now done, and may we never have to meet under such circumstances again, we still have one more action to address.” Donavan made his way back to his seat. “Benedictus, will you please remain standing?”
Benedictus looked surprised at the request, but kept to his feet with stoic dignity.
“You have not been completely without stain. Your brothers and I have discussed your consorts’ betrayal and have decided that had you a tighter leash, this might all have been avoided. Therefore, for your part in this, it has been decided you will
not replace your consorts for a time no less than four hundred years. This is but a fraction of the lives we have lived, and will live, but will still serve as a reminder to us all the responsibility we have in keeping an eye on our charges. Is there anything you would like to say?”
“No, that is fair, if that is what you all have agreed upon,” Benedictus replied.
“Then once again, we are all united,” Donavan stated as he turned to leave.
The room slowly emptied, one by one, until there was only Kane and Rowland left at the table.
After a few minutes of silence, Kane said, “I must say, Benedictus took his surprise punishment better than I was expecting.”
“Yes,” Rowland answered. “I was ready for more of a fight, but he’s always been more of a loner than most of us, and I don’t think his time alone, even for the span sentenced, will be much of a bother.”
“You are the most trusted among my brothers, so I must ask you something. Do you think there is any truth to Henry’s warning?”
“I find it odd having you ask the same question also stewing in my mind.”
“This is something I will have to ponder for a while myself. We have been alive a long time and, hopefully, will be even longer. He was right, though. The population of the world is ever-growing, and eventually it will be a danger to us. These humans are not very open-minded when it comes to something different. Maybe we should think about taking a more proactive approach to leading them in the way we need them to be, so we are not in any danger. Counsel them, if you will, to a more manageable state.”
“This will be something we will need to think out thoroughly before we advance any further on it. For now, I will excuse myself to get ready for tonight’s festivities. I have been told this will be a celebration to wash away all the ugliness we have had to deal with today. I, for one, am looking forward to revealing my true form tonight with my brothers at my side. I just wish Mercer could be here, too. He always entertains me with his stories.” Rowland stood up and left Kane alone with his thoughts.
Humanity's Hope (Book 2): Juggernaut Page 2
