by K. A. Poe
I seethed with frustration. “If Paul got a hold of it…he could know where we are going,” I sighed and rearranged the importance of my concerns. “You and Mitch are safe, right? The Wrangler…was it gone?”
“It wasn’t here when either of us got home. I think he was just scouting the place in case you showed up or something.”
“Or he found the book and left…I’m just glad you’re safe. Keep an eye open for that book if you can, it’s really important. And call me if you see Paul so I know he isn’t following us, okay?”
“Yeah, no problem. Be careful, Alex.”
“I’ll be fine, just keep an eye out for Paul.”
Salem watched me as I began dialing another number: Hannah’s.
She was still trying to convince the strange man to show her the fountain without us but had still not succeeded. Thankfully we would be there soon. The Northeast Florida Regional Airport was only five miles from St. Augustine, maybe fifteen minutes by taxi.
After getting the exact address from Hannah we hurriedly exited the airport, caught the first cab we saw and climbed into the car. Our driver was a polite man with a very orange tan and blonde hair. He was a very curious and talkative person, but I somehow didn’t mind.
“Where are you kids headed?” he asked and glanced back at us for a minute. “The beach maybe? Sure looks like you two could use a little Vitamin D if ya know what I’m sayin’. No offense.”
Salem and I laughed. “We just need a ride to St. Augustine, please,” I replied. “Specifically near the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.”
“Sure thing,” he smiled and took off driving. “Been quite a few people headed that way lately it seems. The beach used to be all the rage and that museum was near empty all the time. Prefer the beach myself…but hey, what do I know?”
I shrugged, although the driver couldn’t see. “We’re just meeting a family member there.”
“Well honestly it is a nice place, but just don’t go believin’ in their stories. There never was a fountain, never will be. Can you believe some people think there is? Marketing gimmick in my opinion. Everything always boils down to money. Hell, if water could make you young I wouldn’t have these wrinkles!” He burst out laughing.
“Oh, don’t worry,” I said with a subtle smile.
My focus was turned to the idea of getting to that fountain. While I was excited to get there, I was also terrified. I would never be one hundred percent sure that this was what I wanted to do. All I wanted was to be with Salem, and this was how my life would ordinarily have been…so what difference did it make? I had less than a year of immortality; it wasn’t that big of a deal to give it up…right? No matter what I told myself, I knew I couldn’t convince myself that it was the right choice. Why be with Salem for a lifetime when we could be together forever? How didn’t he see this too…?
The car stopped suddenly and I realized we had arrived at our destination. Just as I had expected based on the map online, it wasn’t a very long trip from the airport. This was a huge relief – I was sick of being cooped up all the time. Salem paid the driver, said goodbye, and we both left the car and watched it zoom away down the street. Glancing around, I wasn’t sure where Hannah could possibly be. The only thing I could do was to call her again and have her direct us. My attention was instantly drawn to the archway reading ‘Fountain of Youth Park’. I was surprised by how many people were flooding through to see the fabled site.
After walking around the outside for a little bit I finally gave up and decided to give Hannah another call.
“Hey, it’s Alex…where are you?” I asked hastily as a group of children ran past, right under my nose. The smell was intoxicating but the instinct to feed quickly faded as the notion made me feel disgusted with myself.
“Ignore the ‘park’. John, that’s his name by the way, I finally got it out of him…even though he really doesn’t look like a John to me…”
“Just tell me where you two are.” I interrupted unintentionally, dwelling on the memory of Mr. Williams at the mentioning of his same name. The smell of all this blood racing through nearby people was becoming too intense. Each person who passed by reminded me of how long it had been since I had fed myself.
“Oh, right. Like I said just ignore the Park, John says it is nothing…just a tourist spot. Walk past it until you see the end of the gated off part, then keep going. There are a few little rocky hills, climb over them and you’ll be pretty close to the beach. Then look really far to your right…no, I mean left and you’ll see like this rocky cove looking area. It’s pretty plain, to be honest, but this is far as he said he will take me before you guys meet us. I’ll step out from the cove area and wave so you can see me. Just hurry up,” she instructed and hung up.
We walked past the park, despite my urge to go inside to see what all the fuss was about, through a few trees and some grass, and over the little hills – just as Hannah had said. As we came down the second of them I could see sand all around me, and the little cove in the distance. Even further to my left, I could see the faint shape of an old lighthouse. The further we walked, the more my shoes filled with tiny little specks of sand. I didn’t bother stopping to empty it out as I knew that once I had, even more would fill them up and I’d just have to stop again. Salem’s voice caught my attention when he pointed in front of us and said he could see Hannah.
He began running toward her, then paused suddenly. I caught up to him within seconds and discovered his hesitation. Hannah and John weren’t alone. There were three masked men in total, each of them cloaked in black and yellow robes that concealed their identities. After I emptied my shoes, we cautiously approached the group who spotted us immediately, their eyes never blinking or drifting from us.
“Hannah…?” Salem said slowly, glancing back and forth from one man to the others.
“Hi there, Salem,” she replied with a smile. “This is the man who informed me of the location of the fountain,” she gestured to one of the men. “The other two are friends of his, I guess.”
“…Are you sure we can trust them?” I asked skeptically.
“Sure. Well, John has been nothing but nice to me so far…despite his vagueness. I know they dress a little funny, but so does fancy boy there.” She smirked towards Salem.
Salem glared at her. “I dress perfectly normal in comparison to them, thank you very much.”
I ignored them and looked to the three men. “I am Alex, and this is Salem…who are you three?”
In a dull, monotone voice, they said in unison – “We do not share our names. You can refer to us as The Keepers of the Fountain.”
I side-glanced at Salem and he shrugged. “Hannah already told us one of you had a name, but whatever. Where is this fountain?” I asked, more than a little bit annoyed. This all seemed to be some sort of weird hoax to me.
“I gave her the name John, but that is not my name.”
Hopefully these people were not wasting our time. It seemed suspicious that Hannah had found them so easily, and they had been so forthcoming about this fountain on only the stipulation that we all come together. I glanced at Hannah, hoping she could read what was on my mind, but before she could acknowledge anything the three spoke in unison once more.
“Come, let us show you the way.”
I was already unsure of the situation – something seemed seriously off about it, but Hannah again insisted that they were trustworthy. Salem seemed just as hesitant as I was. They formed a straight line and began walking toward the edge of the shore, following along the side of it and letting the water lap at their bare feet. Salem, Hannah, and I stood a few feet away as we followed them along the curve of the water.
The sun was a bright, radiating orb in the sky, beaming down on us. The men must have been sweating profusely underneath their robes, yet they seemed unaffected by the heat. There was definitely something strange about them. There was a rock formation in the distance against the side of the land. Above it was the lightho
use I saw from earlier. It appeared vacant and unused for many years. I could clearly see a ‘No Trespassing’ sign hanging onto the side of the surrounding fence, even from so far away.
“How close are we?” I asked as I took my eyes off of the lighthouse.
“Close,” they said.
Salem grasped my hand and didn’t let go until we reached what appeared to be a barely distinguishable, thin crevice in the side of the rocky wall. It was just wide enough that someone could squeeze into it if they held their breath in and laid down on their belly. Had it not been for the pointing fingers of the three I would have thought nothing of the crack.
“Crawl through,” the men instructed and stood aside.
“What?” I asked, bewildered. “You expect us to go through there, without any idea what is waiting on the other end?!”
“The fountain is waiting on the other end.”
“Of course it is,” I said and rolled my eyes. “One of you go first, then maybe I will think about it.”
Without argument or hesitation one of the un-named members of the three stepped forward, lowered himself into a prone position and glided out of sight as easily as if he were a snake.
Knowing it was at least safe enough for one of them to voluntarily go first; I stepped forward for my turn. As I did I suddenly felt something strong grasp my shoulder. When I turned to give the robed figure a nasty look, I was surprised to see that it was Salem who had held me back.
“Let me go first,” he said despite my obvious hesitation. “I will be fine; you can follow in after me.”
“Okay,” I said reluctantly.
He gave me an alluring smile and kissed me tenderly. “I love you, little raven,” he whispered against my cheek.
“I love you, too, Salem…but if you’re so sure it is safe…” I started but his lips were against mine again before I could finish.
Stuck in somewhat of a daze, I scarcely noticed him move away and began entering the crevice in the rocks, scarcely wider than his shoulder width. When I did realize it, I began to panic a little. Salem had completely vanished from sight.
“You next,” one of the robed men said and pushed me forward. I was not comfortable with his forcefulness, but I was more desperate to make sure Salem was safe than to complain, besides…if it came down to it we could easily defend ourselves against these mortal men.
The entrance was barely large enough for me to slide through. How the first man slid through so easily eluded me. As I wiggled I could feel the scratchy edges of stones threatening to cut my torso and legs. Before I knew it however, I was out. With what little light from the hole shone through to this side, I could vaguely make out Salem and the first man who had entered. Without saying a word I stood and hugged Salem tightly. He was fine.
The cavern was far taller than I could have imagined. Rocks jutted here and there out of the high walls ahead of me and I could barely make out what seemed to be an old wooden ladder spiked into the stone, zigzagging its way to a faint slit of light high above us.
“Where does that go I wonder,” I whispered to Salem in a voice I thought was scarcely audible.
“Lighthouse,” John said unexpectedly.
Before I could inquire any further, Hannah and the other two men were inside the cavern, standing beside us and all thought of the old lighthouse and the precarious ladder faded. Before I had time to even ask where we went next, the men started walking in single file off into the blackness. Not wanting to get lost in what could potentially be a treacherous cave, the three of us filed in closely behind. It was beyond difficult to see. Before long we could only follow the sound of their footsteps, mere feet in front of us.
Without missing a beat in his methodical march, the leading robed figure grabbed something from the wall and continued onward. Moments later a blazing light appeared from his hands and I realized the object he had gotten was an old torch.
After what had seemed like a long time, I thought we had to be nearing our destination, but I was mistaken. We walked onward, through twists and turning passages, always leading downward. After a series of tunnels barely large enough to walk through without ducking, we came into a larger room. I hadn’t realized just how high the ceiling went here until a drop of moisture from a stalactite dripped down through the abyss and hit me on the shoulder, causing me to look up through the dimly lit air. As I looked back down to Salem’s back I could hear the distinct sound of distant roaring, but it couldn’t be that of an animal – it was a constant, unending growl.
Before I had time to take everything in, we were out of the room and heading deeper still. The light of the flame bounced around and I spotted the source of the sound that had been steadily growing as we had marched deeper. The giant waterfall stood before us, an ever flowing sentinel of this place which had undoubtedly ever been glanced by a few lucky souls. As we walked onward I could feel cool, moist air gently gusting passed us. When I looked behind me to ensure Hannah had not fallen behind, I was relieved to see her golden hair bouncing in the wind.
As we came closer to the falling water I saw something unexpected take shape - a stone stairway built directly into the cave wall, leading up and behind the falls. The men began to ascend. The limestone stairs were wet and slick; had it not been for the mats of moss carpeting them we would have undoubtedly fallen into the water or the rock floor below. Despite the fright of this dangerous place it was truly beautiful. After following the steps as they circled behind the deep cut in the rock the waterfall had made, we finally reached the top.
The beauty of what lay before us dwarfed that of the waterfall I had been admiring only moments before. A steady stream of crystal clear water, fierce and calm at the same time, fed the falls below. From the water’s edge was a series of stepping stones that led across to the center of the giant round circle of the pure liquid. There, centered with the waterfall stood some sort of large altar atop an island of smooth black rocks. It seemed to be one thick slab of white stone, contrasted sharply with the black at its base. Why there was an altar here, I did not know, and I wasn’t about to ask – perhaps these men had worshipped the power of the water here over the years.
Without realizing it, I started to follow the men across the stepping-stones, not being as cautious as I should have as I marveled at this place. As I stared into the water I noticed that there was something more to it than its crystalline clarity – it seemed to sparkle as if an endless amount of clear diamonds had been laid within. It was even more amazing than Ezra had described in his journal. Despite the majesty before us however, something about it made the hairs on my neck stand on end. This was definitely the fountain, it could be nothing else. If it were to be revealed as a hoax now I would applaud the elaborate measures and detail to what must have taken forever to build.
My attention was quickly averted from the resplendent water and my thoughts as I stepped from the last step and onto the smooth black island. The white alter now dominated my vision. There was something terrible in its splendor. Something that made me want to turn and leave this place forever. The closer I got to it the more I noticed that it was not solid white. Dull to the point of barely being visible, old red stains spread across the surface like veins.
While studying the stone and the before unseen tiny mote of dark water hugging against its base, I hardly noticed four new hooded figured approaching across the stepping-stones. When they arrived, silent as the water before the falls, each sat around the altar. The man holding the torch placed the flickering light in a sconce attached to the head of the white stone before joining the others seated on the smooth blackness.
“What is this?” I asked as the unmistakable scent of blood wafted off of the stone.
“This is the Sacrificial Stone,” the men replied.
Salem, Hannah, and I exchanged glances. “What is it that you intend to sacrifice?” Salem asked as he moved to stand in front of me.
I saw a wicked, foul grin spread across the men’s faces. “Blood is required to
replenish the water’s gift.” They said in unison, the last of their words reverberating off the cave walls.
“You’re joking, right?” Hannah said.
The one we knew as John spoke alone this time, “We have lived for centuries because of this water. Our leader instructed us long ago to bring who we could to this stone, spill their blood, and renew the water’s powers.”
I glanced around cautiously, straining to see the rest of the cave encircling the water. Towards the back of the cave, where the water first appeared from a long horizontal crack in the rock, I could vaguely make out objects piled on either side. As my eyes adjusted to the light and with a little help of the vampire powers now within me, things began to take shape. There, beside the ever-flowing water lay mounds of discarded bones and recently deceased. These men were murderers! They didn’t intend to help us at all, they wanted to make us their victims and steal our years for their own longevity.
“You are sickening!” I shouted, “How can you willingly kill these innocent people in order to keep yourselves alive!”
“Innocent?” an unfamiliar voice said. “There are few who are innocent, child. Do you want to hear what the last man thought who we brought here and bled dry? Do you want to hear the disgusting memories he held?”
“It doesn’t matter! It is murder!” I seethed.
The voice had come from a woman dressed in a black tattered dress and a veil over her head. A mane of silvery white hair was visible beneath, but nothing more could be seen of her as she slowly crossed the waters with her bare feet silently touching each stepping-stone.
“Who are you?” I asked, vaguely noting how the circle of the robed watchers began to bow their heads low to the ground.
“Who? Would you like a name? Ah…well, which one? Over the centuries I have gone by many. Names are not important, especially for you. You will not be alive long enough to utter it.”
“I’m so sorry …” Hannah whispered remorsefully. “I should have known this was a trap. I didn’t even think to look into his mind.”
