“Beautiful.” Her accent was unidentifiable—her entirety was something unreadable. “You quiver.”
She moved from Charlie to Elinor. She studied her beauty, gently pushing loose strands of hair behind her ear. Her attention then focused on Joseph. The man closed his eyes as she stepped to him. “This creature…marvelous.” As she moved to Clark, her face came within inches. Her slender hand rested aside his cheek. Her lips rested passively to his—he visibly shook by the interaction. She seemed to be inhaling his breath. Witnessing the event was horrifying.
“Awe. Tyranny.” She gently kissed Clark’s cheek and then turned sharply to Irena. “Insidious.” Irena trembled as the cloaked woman approached. “Payment.” She reached for Irena’s arm.
“No! No…please...Andre. Andre, please!”
Andre motioned the group toward the tunnel behind the commotion. Irena screamed in fear as Charlie ran by.
“Don’t leave me with this! Please!”
The group darted past a screaming Irena—helpless in the clutches of her capturer.
They rushed into the violet ambiance—the tunnel tightened briefly and suddenly it was open and nearly as tall as it was wide and seemed to extend indefinitely. Here there was vegetation too, not trees, but thick vinery all about the walls. Smaller caves aligned this massive mother cave and no well-crafted homes existed here.
An odd scent hung heavy in the air—strange noises were all around them—Irena’s screams echoed in the back.
“I’m frightened, Andre.” Elinor cradled her face into Andre’s shoulder.
“They won’t harm you…you’re human. Cast your gaze forward—don’t look to them.”
Their hastened pace had the violet glow retreating—the screams and strange noises fading. Soon only the soft glow of Andre’s lantern was lighting the cave.
“Who are they? Have they always been below Evrastill?” Elinor’s words were chopped with fear.
“Perhaps, my love. They are wicked. Some ancients say it was the Mountain that poisoned them…others believe it was they who poisoned this part of the mountain. Legend says they were Society members…scattered thousands of years ago. They are rarely spoken of.”
“What will they do with Irena?” Elinor pulled on his sleeve.
Andre’s eyes saddened—his gaze diverted. “They will end her…cruelly and in a most macabre fashion. They despise our kind and feed from weakness and treachery. Irena will beg for her death before it is finally granted.”
“No! We gotta go back then. You said they won’t hurt humans. We can’t let them—”
“Charlie, that small township is saturated in dark magic. My power is trivial in comparison. There is nothing to do but run from her cries.”
“We could beg them. Maybe if we beg and—”
“They lack common feeling, empathy. They are truly monstrous beings, Charlie.”
“But they won’t hurt humans?”
“It is said they find beauty in humanity…they find beauty in the evil of humanity. They appreciate the cruelty and brutality displayed by mankind throughout the ages.”
“I keep hearing how cruel my kind is…but my whole life has been one big slice of shit-pie because of what your people did. Your people are just as cruel, you just don’t have the nuts to fess up to it! And now you’re just gonna walk away while that girl begs for us to help her?”
“What would you have me do, Charlie? Their numbers are staggering, their magic is ancient and comprised of an evil I can’t even begin to comprehend. There is nothing to do but spare ourselves from hearing her screams. Keep moving.”
Minutes later they found themselves walking parallel to a modest cave river. Andre’s light was fading, yet it appeared there was a soft glow from the further ahead, perhaps a small opening from the mountainside.
Charlie looked to Clark—the man appeared disturbed, saddened, and tired.
“So…what do you do if you get sick or something? Is there a doctor or something?”
Clark smiled. “There is no illness in Evrastill. The Mountain is constantly healing.”
“Oh…that must be nice. I can’t count how many doctors I had.”
“Charlie…” Andre looked back to him from in front. “Mankind as a whole has always attempted to distance themselves from nature. They demolish grand forests to construct grand buildings. They intoxicate themselves with manmade chemicals and call them cures. These cures are merely interventions to manmade conditions. The further man separates from nature, the greater the depletion of nature’s protection. The illnesses present in man today were not so prevalent even one hundred years ago. Their world is so vastly different from the human world I knew of.”
Charlie took a moment to absorb his words. “So…in all the thousands of years…only two of your members have ever had the idea to marry people from outside of Evrastill?”
Andre smiled. “Certainly not. Yet our Council was stringent, Charlie. Society members that violate Council law are at risk of being ended.”
“But humans are cruel.”
“I love your tenacity, my friend. You and Carrie share a common boldness.”
“What are we going to do? What’s the plan? We traveled all night to get to this place, and now I’m in some damn cave walking away from it…it’s cold as hell…I wanna see my girl, and I’m done with this situation.”
“Stop here.” Andre turned to the group. It was clear there was an exit further up as daylight worked its way in. “Tarik has many supporters. They must be stopped before we can return to Evrastill.”
“Why run? Why not fight, Andre?”
“Tarik is powerful, Charlie.”
“You’re not?”
“We are safe here for now. No one knows the tunnels as well as I. Tarik would be a fool to venture through the purple glow.”
Chapter 14
“I feel as though are world is glass…it’s fracturing around us. We’re helpless to watch it shatter.”
“No, Jerrek. Glass may shatter, yet in its state of integrity it is capable of holding something of substance. Our world is a thinly woven sheet of lies. We watch now as they become unwoven—exposing Council secrets and Society deceit.” Carrie was confident in her proclamation as she led the trio into the tunnels.
“What shall we do, Carrie? We have no plan.”
“My plan is simple, Nyrobie. I have what my father wants. He will follow me, I will destroy him.”
“How are you so confident?”
“I have waited seventy years to rescue Charlie…nothing, even a militia of mystical immortals, will keep me from him. Certainly, not the coward that ended my own mother. He will scream under my rage.”
“Do you hear that?” Jerrek rushed in front of Carrie.
“I feel Irena! She is horrified…in pain.”
The three began sprinting toward Irena’s cries of agony—into the violet violence.
They entered the oddness, taken completely aback by the ritualistic scene.
More than one hundred cloaked figures stood around a terrified Irena. She was hoisted high upon a stake—her arms bound above her head—her legs tied tightly as well—suspended above strategically placed firewood.
“Carrie! They plan to burn her alive!”
“They will do no such thing, Jerrek.”
The crowd parted as the three walked through the middle and toward a bound, bleeding, and naked Irena.
“Release her…now…you atrocities, or you will perish.” Carrie stood confidently in front of Irena as a woman appeared holding a torch boasting a purple flame.
“Shen-iv-oknek.” The solemn woman—eyes blackened and angered—raised her arms. “Take them.”
Seeing Irena in such turmoil had Carrie’s rage boiling. “Back!” Her voice sent the woman and several others falling backward and scrambling as she peered down upon them. “Jerrek, unbind her!”
The crowd of evil immortals stared blankly—many crouched and backed away while speaking the language of old.
“Go…I’ll be there briefly.”
“Carrie, they are evil—”
“Go now, Nyrobie!”
Jerrek carried Irena away—Nyrobie by his side. Carrie walked confidently back toward the cloaked crowd.
“Disgusting…worthless, sinister things. Meet me now. This is the price for your wickedness!”
Her scream had many figures slamming into the surrounding walls. Crystals and large boulders alike fell from all around—crushing the fleeing beings below. Carrie loosed yet another scream—it rattled every wall around her. Dust and screams filled the area in a deafening end. As it settled, Carrie stared at the gray splendor—speckled with fading bits of purple. All was silent. In a blanket of dust and debris, Carrie looked upon her work…her own magnificence. Her father was correct—she was a queen—an unstoppable weapon.
Walking to the edge of the scene, she removed a cloak from the bedlam. Turning from the carnage, she walked toward the cave opening and to her friends.
Approaching them, she was met by a shocked Nyrobie.
“Carrie! What have you done? You destroyed their entire people.”
“This is true. All that harm my friends shall perish.”
“We know nothing of them!”
“We know this, Nyrobie!” Carrie pointed toward a crying and shaking Irena. “They would have burned her alive had we not arrived when we did. What others have met their end in such cruel ways at their hands? Their end was justified and merciful. They should have perished in their own flames.”
She kneeled to Irena. “How severe are her injuries, Jerrek?”
“Physically…superficial.”
Irena hastily wrapped her arms around Carrie’s neck. “For…forgive me. Please forgive me. I never knew such cruelty could exist.”
“You are forgiven, my friend. Such cruelty still exists in the heart of my father and his followers. Solidify your stance now, Irena. War…large and small…has no room for disloyalty.”
“I’m with you, my friend. I…I do not agree with your views entirely, but I do not wish to inflict fear on the humans. I have never felt fear like I have today. I never want to impose that on another being. Please know you will not have to question my loyalty.”
“I know. Irena, how did they capture you?”
“They didn’t. Andre allowed them to take me as payment for passage. He gave me to them. The…the things they did to me.”
Carrie stood in shock. “He handed you to them?”
“Just before he fled.”
“Come…let us find our party.” Carrie wrapped the cloak around the distraught Irena; the four of them continued their journey toward the surface of the mountain.
Within a few minutes, the soft words of her human companions were entering Carrie’s ears. Carrie ran toward the party. Andre and the humans appeared shocked by her presence.
“Carrie!” Charlie leapt from the ground, rushing toward her. Grabbing either side of his cold face, she kissed his lips. His frigid fingertip traced her cheek as they separated.
“Charlie…you’re so cold.”
“Yea…it’s really chilly down here.” His teeth chattered as he spoke.
“Carrie, I am pleased you have joined us.” Andre approached cautiously with Elinor at his side.
“Indeed Councilman. My party of four joins you.” Her gaze set heavy on his as Jerrek, Nyrobie, and Irena appeared.
Charlie looked to Irena. “You’re okay! Holy shit!”
“Explain your actions, Andre.” Carrie’s command was clear and confident.
Andre stood firm and erect. “You would ask a Councilman for explanation?”
“What Council do you see here, Andre? What kingdom? I ask you to explain your actions as a man would.”
“There is nothing to explain! Irena and your foul father would lead my bride from the safety of her home and into what she thought to be her end? Irena suffered nothing at my hand. I merely turned my back on a traitorous creature. Had I not…I to might have perished by their cruelty.”
“Cruelty…Andre, they had her bound upon our arrival. They carried flames to the stake with the intention of setting her ablaze. Had we been but a moment later she would have burned to death.”
“Traitors of our Society suffered the same fate only several hundred years ago. I agree…their barbarism is despicable, but the fate of Irena is not what concerns me.”
“Were.”
“Were what, Carrie?”
“They were despicable. Once we rescued your sacrificial offering, I annihilated their entire community. They scrambled and died beneath my glory.”
“What? Carrie…their people are as ancient as our own. You ended them all?”
“I did. What were they, Andre…the truth. I want the truth of everything and I want it now. What were those people…did our society truly have a queen upon a throne…and what gift grows within me now? Speak only the truth, Andre.”
Andre, with Elinor by his side, turned from Carrie. “To end an entire people is monstrous. There was so much of them we were yet to learn and understand—”
“You just said the beings were ancient…yet you’d require time to study their maleficence?”
“They are us, Carrie—immortals of the mountain. Where we embrace an existence of purity and goodwill, they bathed in something entirely different. They are at one with their wickedness. Perhaps their existence brings about a balance. Perhaps they are necessary.”
“Their existence, it seems, would bring about torture and the death of my people. That is not necessary. That is not balance. That is deplorable and now it is no more.”
“Carrie—”
“The queen, Andre. Is this legend?”
Turning once more toward Carrie, his expression softened. “Come, let us sit and talk. There is much to discuss.”
In a circular form, next to the river of the poorly lit area, the group sat. Andre appeared nervous as he cleared his throat. “Before my beginning, Evrastill was ruled by a bloodline. The Council in place was there only for guidance…supportive in nature. The outside world was completely different and the humans above were nomadic and appreciative of our assistance. They shared our love of nature and took only from it what was needed. The Society thrived on assisting and caring for mankind. It is in our nature to guard and protect them.”
Andre took Elinor’s hand—inhaling deeply. “I’m not entirely sure how the Queen came to the throne—it is said her father, the King, lived during her rein. Much of the record of that time is no longer existent. It is said that when the King ruled…the guiding Council learned of his daughter’s gift and the power within it—the echo. The King was dethroned and Princess Iris was crowned Queen. As Queen, Iris was less than one century old. She was unfamiliar with her gift. The Society was unfamiliar with her gift. Her power only grew. The Council had a wayward agenda…Tarik was of this Council. Their ideas to leave Evrastill and take the world under the power of their Queen soon reached the ears of the former King. When he opposed…he was ended in silence.”
“My father’s treachery spans across thousands of years!”
“Perhaps, Carrie. Tales twist with age—just as roots and branches do. There is more to this tale. When the Queen learned of her father’s death—only then did the Council learn of the true destructive capability within her gift. Her rage was uncontrollable. Much of Evrastill fell to her wrath. Homes crumbled…innocents were crushed…hundreds fled to the tunnels—never to be seen again. Legend says once they settled, they’re immortal grief poisoned the crystals in that area of the mountain—turning them dark and wicked. Others say the unlucky settlers merely took root within the dark of the mountain—and the mountain poisoned them. Either way—they were once us.”
“And I ended them
.” Carrie felt her eyes well with tears.
“Your father, Tarik, nearly saved Queen Iris from her end. He attempted to escape with her into the tunnels as well. In her darkest grief, she was useless to raise defense. The all-mighty echo was silenced with a humanly dagger before Tarik could evacuate her.”
“Why…why would she leave with my father?”
“He was family. Carrie…Tarik was the King’s nephew. You are of the blood.”
“What? No!”
“It is true. The Council has worked diligently to protect the secret. A cousin of the King, Lady Lira, was found to possess the echo merely one thousand years ago. She identified her madness and inability to control her gift.”
“I know of Lira. I remember tales of her and her echo.”
“Before she ended her own life, she allowed the Council to explore the echo in a structured way. The echo is by far the most powerful gift a Society member can obtain. It develops early, matures rapidly, and is seemingly difficult, if not impossible, to control once its power reaches full force. Carrie, I fear your gift shall be your end.”
Carrie felt Charlie’s arm around her shoulder, his cold hand pulling her into him. He made her feel safe—solid—bonded. “No…that’s not going to happen to me. Andre…were Iris or Lira bonded?”
“No. There has never been mention of a bond or unification.”
“I am. I have all the reason in eternity to control my gift. I have Charlie.” She stood. “We will draw our enemies from our home. They will be brought to justice and a just and kind Council will be put in place. All will be as it should be.”
“Tell me, Carrie…how should it all be?” Andre stood. “Our Society…your Society is drenched in secrecy. There is much of your own history that is foreign to you.”
“Tell me of my mother, Andre. What do you know of her end?”
His gaze narrowed, his lips produced a tiny ‘o.’ “I know only of an accident within the tunnels, Carrie. This I promise. She heavily opposed your imprisonment but had to have known of the leniency behind it.”
“Leniency? I was imprisoned for—”
“I know well of your history, Carrie. I was there. Throughout the history or Evrastill, other Society members found guilty of the same crime were executed. An ulterior motive was behind your life being spared.”
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