The War for Mare (The Fall of Man Book 3)

by Jacqueline Druga

  “How can it be cold?” I asked. “The sun is blazing.”

  “Ice.”

  “Ice?”

  “Oh, that’s right, you don’t know,” Snake said. “Ice.”

  “What the heck is ice?”

  “Frozen water shaped like little cubes or dice. They keep your drinks cold.” Snake again extended the drink me. “Try some. You'll like it."

  Since snake wasn’t dead on the pavement already from some poisonous drink, I tried the concoction. Just a sip, though. Though I hated to admit it, he was right. The drink was delicious. I rushed back to the vendor and grabbed one for myself.

  Snake laughed. “It may have been decades since I’ve been here, but I am surprised that not much has changed.”

  “You’ve been here before?”

  “Yep, lots of times. I love this place. They used call it Sin City. People would come here to gamble, have fun, and even get married.”

  “Well, that part hasn’t changed,” I snapped.

  “Come on,” Snake said. “Finish that drink, and I bet you’ll feel better afterwards. Then we'll head over and talk to Vala again.”

  “Should I?”

  “Yeah, you should.”

  “I didn’t behave very well last time. I stormed away.”

  “With good reason. That was your girl. But I’m sure she has good reason too.” He paused. “Now, finish that drink.”

  I knew I would finish it, mostly because it was really good, though I wasn’t quite sure how the big drink was going to make me feel better. I finished every drop, quickly too, because I wanted to get to that ice before it melted.

  SIX – NITO

  There’s one thing that I will never get used to: the amount and the force in which fluid and other disturbing substances are expelled from the human body. I will never understand why the human body wastes so much of what it takes in. It makes no sense.

  Why would the body consume so much nourishment it is only going to pass with a vengeance? Perhaps as time goes on I will get used to it, though hopefully I will not be in a human body for all that long.

  While waiting to leave the battleground I felt the sense of urgency hit me and I excused myself from the view of others to partake in the vulgar expulsion ritual.

  Finally, we left for Angeles City. I was anxious to see it, though was shocked at what I witnessed. We, as Ancients, kept our city bright and shiny. We restored it to its original valor. The humans had let nature grow beneath their structures, encasing them like a jungle, causing most structures to crumble to the ground. There is a folklore that I am reminded of, Ancients of science swear by it. They say that the human race was originally a simian race. Primitive beings with fur and a tail. They evolved into human beings, however, evolution was jumpstarted when one of our explorers visited Earth and mated with a primitive being. Of course, that is just a tale. If I did not believe in the gods and their ability to create beings, provide us with such a lush food source, I would believe the story from science, especially after seeing their current habitat. When I pursued Vala and visited Angeles City before, I did not notice how they lived.

  It wasn’t all humans though. I thought of Burt and the others at Hopeland. How the underground habitat was clean and pristine. Perhaps it was how the rebels lived so they could beat whoever it was they fought. Apparently living in squalor does wonders for one’s physical being and ability to battle.

  I shuddered to think of what my sleeping arrangements would be. I would only hope that they would be more comfortable, considering the fact that the humans, like with their elimination rituals, slumbered often. What I wanted to do was head back to the City of the Ancients, throw myself on the mercy of the court, and beg my father for forgiveness, even offering my own human blood as a food source. If I wanted to reclaim my rightful position in the City of the Ancients, I had to prove myself. I had to earn that back.I would.

  SEVEN – VALA

  The night before my wedding to Iry, during a dream that I didn’t recall, my fingernail snagged against the skin on my wrist. It bled some, and was an odd injury to find upon waking. I did not think too much about it, except that it kept bleeding, showing no signs of healing. It worried me, causing me to believe that I had an illness inhibiting me from healing from a minor wound.

  A few hours after our marriage ceremony, and into the celebration, I felt the injury burning. I tried not to pay much attention to it. I teetered between looking out the window, waiting for Tanner’s return, and watching Sophie dancing happily on the floor. Everyone seemed to be celebrating with dance, and men were creating songs. Never had I heard such beautiful music.

  While I was watching my sister, he encouraged me to enjoy it. “Try not to look so glum, Vala, this is a celebration. Enjoy the band.”

  “Band?”

  “Yes, those four people with the instruments making the music. They are called a band.”

  “Like Davis,” I said. “He was in a country western band.”

  Iry laughed. “Country Western music is funny.”

  “Are you making fun of Davis?”

  “Not at all. But it is very different from this. This is more what the humans call classical.”

  “Is this the type of music you like?” “Personally, I like the music from the eighties. Bon Jovi.”

  I gasped. I knew that name. “He is a God,” I said.

  “Yeah, well,” Iry sipped his wine then lifted his glass, “I’m sure many women of that era felt that way.”

  “What of the men? Did they not find favor in him?”

  “Vala, what are you…” Iry stopped cold and looked down, then grabbed my arm. “Why are you bleeding?”

  I glanced down to see the entire edge of my dress was covered in blood. “I don’t know. It is where I scratched myself in my sleep.”

  “You woke with that and it still is bleeding?”

  “Yes. It is odd.”

  “No, not really. Come with me.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me with him.

  “Where are we going?” I asked. “Where are you taking me?”

  “To get answers.”

  Iry moved with determination, stopping before a gentleman wearing a golden suit and sipping wine. The gentleman was scholarly looking and oddly large for an Ancient.

  “Yaku,” Iry said to him. “Do you have a moment?”

  “Yes, what is it?”

  “Please, come with me.” Iry then led me into the hall outside the celebration room.

  I pulled my hand away. “Iry, what is going on?”

  “You’re bleeding.”

  Suddenly, it struck me and I gasped. “Oh, you want to steal some?”

  “Yeah, Vala, right away. I’ll just lick it off the sleeve of your dress. Give me a break.” He turned his head, disgusted.

  Yaku stepped into the hall. “What’s going on?”

  “I need you to take a look at her wrist,” Iry said.

  “Is he a medicine man?” I questioned.

  “No, a seer,” Iry answered. He lifted my arm and pulled back my sleeve for Yaku to view.

  “It’s seeping. Get me a moist cloth,” he said.

  Iry raced off. I said nothing to the ‘seer’.

  Iry returned and handed him the cloth. Gently, the seer cleaned the blood away. After he did, he looked at Iry.

  “Would it be the sister?” Iry asked. “Isn’t she far too young? Instincts to do this would not have kicked in.”

  The seer shook his head. “These are throng marks. Notice the distance between both marks. They aren’t healing, which tells me it is a throng.”

  “That’s a very ancient means,” Iry said. “An elder?”

  “Just because the means are ancient, doesn’t mean it’s an elder, merely someone who got their hands on one. They are available. Many use them for their private house—”

  “Stop,” I said. “What are you talking about? What is a throng?”

  “It is a tiny box, no bigger than your little finger,” Iry explained. “It’s
made of gold. At the bottom are two needles that, when inserted, create a suction.”

  Yaku added, “It collects just enough, and the potion placed on the needles keeps the wound open for ease.”

  “Ease of what?” I asked.

  “Ease in taking your blood on a regular basis,” Iry said.

  I grabbed the cloth and covered my wrist. “Who would do that?”

  “You are a Mare,” Iry answered. “Anyone would want to. We just need to figure out who.”

  I felt violated and vulnerable. Being a strong female, it wasn’t something I was used to. It was an insane thought. Was someone sneaking into my room and stealing my blood?

  “We say nothing,” Yaku stated. “Keep this between us.”

  “Why?” Iry asked.

  “Because the blood of the Mare isn’t a one dose wonder. Whoever did this, knows this, and intends to keep the wound open to get more. They are counting on her ignorance and yours. Just wait and trap them, because they’ll be back for more.”

  EIGHT – TANNER

  Snake called himself a tourist, although I wasn’t really sure what that meant. Another one of those terms that were around before I was old enough to know what it meant. I learned a lot of them in our stroll.

  He said a tourist is someone who visits different places to look around.

  What was the point in that? Aside from terms, I learned that people did a lot of strange things for no good reason.

  Like walking.

  What the heck? How big was the City of the Ancients? Nine miles? And that wasn’t including what Snake called Down Town, although one of the Civies overheard us and said that was where a lot of the human housemen lived and to go there at our own risk.

  That made me curious.

  We walked, nine miles up a concrete road and back down again. My shoes nearly melted, and that wasn’t an exaggeration. We didn’t go in any of the buildings. We did see a volcano; it wasn’t real. I think the best reaction from Snake was when he saw the triangular building. He laughed and said it figured. A pyramid.

  The pyramid building was sandwiched between the princess castle and the place they told us we could stay. I hated to admit it, but it was pretty awesome. Like being somewhere far away, a beach resort that only existed in pictures at the museum. A place in the world that was never touched by war or plague.

  By the time we made our way back to the king’s palace, I had consumed two of the fruit beverages. Snake was right, the drinks gave me courage.

  “I think we should take them up on their offer,” Snake said. “Stay another day or two before we head back.”

  “So you can be a tourist?” I asked.

  “That, and see what all we have to take on. We’re here, Tanner. We are in the City of the Ancients. We didn’t know where this place was and now we do. Which means there is no reason for Vala to stay.”

  “So we can take her?”

  “If she wants to go.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Look around.” Snake held out his hand. “This place is clean, beautiful, and buzzing with life. Nothing like Angeles City or the Straits. Would you leave here?”

  “It’s not what I imagined,” I admitted.

  “Me either. I kind of thought the Ancients would live dark and sinister.”

  “I thought it would be sandy.”

  Snake looked at me curiously.

  “Seriously. The pyramids, their past...”

  “Well they did return to the desert,” Snake said. “They hate large bodies of water. Funny considering…”

  “What?”

  “Holy crap.” Snake smacked himself in the head. “Holy crap!”

  “What!”

  “The city has power. You’ll see tonight. It gets its power from the Hoover Dam.”

  “Alright.”

  “A dam, bright boy, is a huge concrete wall that holds back a huge body of water. They live one explosion away from being flooded into oblivion.”

  “This place could be flooded?”

  “Well, not flooded, but the pressure of the water would crush them."

  “So we can win the war against the Ancients without losing a human life. Why don’t we blow this dam up now?”

  “Because it’s not that simple, and there are people here, lots of humans. We don’t want to risk their lives. Flooding the Ancients will come after we remove the Savages. That is our bigger threat. These people aren’t.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “They live in comfort. They like the pampered life. More than just flooding them must occur, we just have to starve them. To do that, history must repeat itself.”

  “How do we do that?”

  “Get Vala to be what she is supposed to be. She is the new Moses, and we will have her lead the people out of this place. Then maybe we’ll flood it.”

  “Maybe?”

  “Maybe. This could very well be a great new home. For now.” He peered ahead. “Right now we have a party to get to, Vala to speak with, and more drinks to be had. We shouldn't dawdle.”

  He placed a firm hand on my back and we started walking toward the palace. The fruit drinks had calmed me, and it was time to face Vala again. Only this time more rational.

  NINE – NITO

  If the leader Davis had been an Ancient, I would have guessed him to be a mature four thousand years old. It took a little over a hundred Earth years for an Ancient to show a year’s worth of aging. An Ancient could be either born or made. On Earth, many Ancients raised human children, watching them grow up much faster, and then turned them when they reached an age of maturity, and never before.

  Unlike Ancients, once a human was turned, they did not age. Ever. Turning them before maturity cursed them or damned them to live in youth.

  However, there was a way out, and it was one of the reasons I felt my punishment was far too harsh. Just as easily as my father banished me, he could return the child to her human form if she didn’t die in the turning process. Vala’s sister didn’t. I supposed keeping her that way, as a child, kept the Mare with them. He should have been thanking me.

  So until that time I could earn my return passage to the City I was stuck with peasants.

  None of them dressed in attire that was presentable. They were only mildly clean, which was unnerving. The people of Hopeland spoiled my vision of what humans were like outside the Straits.

  When I returned to power, Hopeland would be my pet secret. Burt would be my main houseman. Although, Davis was strikingly handsome for a human. As pleasing to the eye as he appeared, I quickly learned he was a ruthless leader, a tyrant who commanded his way. Once I arrived in Angeles City, to my surprise, he told another man with regards to me, “Give me a second to get things situated then bring her in to me.”

  After he left, I asked the man, “Why are you taking me to him?”

  “He needs to know whether or not to bunker you.”

  I wasn’t familiar with the term, ‘bunker’, but I was certain, knowing human men, it wasn’t a pleasant experience. In fact, I was convinced that he wanted me alone to have his way with me. Even with an aging human appearance, according to Burt, I was desirable.

  Being led to the chambers of Davis worried me some, but I would stay firm. He was seated behind a desk when I walked in, and held out his hand, pointing to a chair. “Have a seat.”

  I sat apprehensively.

  “You know why I wanted to see you, right?” he asked.

  “I think so.”

  “Good. This will be easier as long as you fully cooperate. It will be done quickly.”

  I gasped.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I know what you want from me.”

  “And how is that a bad thing?”

  “Arrogance does not become you.”

  “How is getting all I can from you arrogant?”

  “You would think that.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “No, I will not.”

  He toss
ed up his writing utensil. “What am I missing?”

  “Manners.”

  “You want me to ask you for it. I am.”

  “No, you are not. You are demanding. It shouldn’t be an option.”

  “Look, toots,” he said, “It’s not an option. Either you give it to me, or you don’t. Everyone goes through this process.”

  “Even men?”

  “Men, women, doesn’t matter. Everyone has to—”

  “Beast. I came here to help the cause. Not bow down subserviently to your primal needs.”

  “What?”

  I sat up in the chair boldly. “I am spoken for. Burt would not like it.”

  “What the hell…?” He held up his hand. “Wait. Do you think you have to be… intimate with me?”

  “Isn’t that what you want from me?”

  “No. I want your background story, not your body.”

  “So it is only male bodies?” I asked.

  “No! What is wrong with you, lady? Geez.” He shook his head. “Why would you even think that?”

  “I was told you would be deciding whether or not to bunker me.”

  “Bunker you. Not bunk with you. Bunker you means to put you in a bunker and process you. Some people need to learn what it is like to be human again. Be reintroduced to civilization. You know, the old world before it all went to pot, and to the Sybaris.”

  I cringed. Sybaris was such an ugly word. I had to pretend it didn’t bother me. Plus, he was wasting his time. While I wasn’t ‘truly’ human, I was very in tune with the humans.

  “Well,” I told him with confidence, “I am quite sure you will find I do not need to be bunkered.”

  “Good. Let’s see.” He grabbed his pen. “Will you answer questions now, or is there another type of misunderstanding we need to go through first?”

  “Ask away.”

  “What is your name?”

  I couldn’t blurt out ‘Nito’, certainly. “Madge,” I said. “I think I told you that.”

  “You did. Okay, Madge what?”