by Casey Wyatt
He pressed his fingers to my lips. “Later. Not here.” His eyes darted to the door. Shadows passed under the door crack. Someone was listening. Ian feather kissed my nose. “Until tomorrow then.” He winked, flung open the door and walked down the empty corridor.
The spy had cleared out.
~ * * * ~
I stood outside the mess hall, stomach in knots. In the turmoil of the day before, I had forgotten “feeding day.” As the head of the family, I had the job of providing my blood to each member. Not a lot of it, but enough to sustain them. This would be my first time. The process freaked me out. Not only because of the physical proximity, but the intimacy: their minds would lay bare to me.
I damn near swooned every time I had taken Jonathan’s blood. Back then, I cared about how dependent it made me feel. Today, I would experience it from the other side.
Cripes. What if I enjoyed the power? The authority? Knots cramped my esophagus.
I stopped in front of the mess hall’s entrance. Conversations buzzed on the other side of the door. Excitement too. Then it hit me – the toe fetish. I could live a long happy life never knowing whose fantasy that was.
“Ready for your big debut?” Louis chirped behind me.
A small yelp escaped my lips. “Damn it! Do you have to be so cheerful?” To stall for more time, I decided learning about zombie feeding habits would be quite useful. “Tell me, Louis, do zombies have a similar family structure?”
Louis gave me a long hard stare. Nope, I wasn’t fooling him. “I’d be happy to discuss it later.” He held open the door. “After you.”
Every conversation stopped and attention fixed on me. Not really much different from performing on stage. Except on stage, the audience didn’t line up to drink from me.
Louis firmly closed the door behind me, remaining outside. This was a private, family affair. At the front of the room a portable screen had been set up where the podium once stood. Two chairs were placed behind the screen, a cross between a confessional and emergency room.
As I walked to the screen, I realized the family was seated in pecking order, oldest to youngest. Jonathan always fed me privately so I never partook in the ritual playing out before me. In fact I was ashamed I didn’t know who the oldest vampire even was.
Once I took my seat behind the screen, the first vampire approached me. Lemmy? Lemmy the quiet steadfast bouncer was the oldest?
Lemmy took the chair in front of me. “I’m guessin’ by the startled look on your face, you weren’t expecting me.”
“I’m sorry, Lemmy. I’m embarrassed by my ignorance.”
“That’s okay. I always reckoned you had a problem with the master. Weren’t right the way he acquired you. The Devil reached inta his heart that day.” Lemmy shook his head. Sadness seeped from his pores into mine. Tucked way back in the corner of my mind, a detail surfaced from that awful time. Lemmy, stone faced, attending to Jonathan. His cocoa skin reflected the yellow gas lamplight of the crowded salon. While the cards were dealt, his lips had pursed in disapproval.
I reached forward and squeezed his dark hand. “How do you want to do this?”
Turns out Lemmy, a wrist drinker did not have a toe fetish. Caves appeared in his mind as the feeding ended.
Lemmy waited until I had healed then sent the next vampire in. On and on it went. In each mind, I saw a variation of the caves. Pearl was the hardest to feed. Her hostility toward me had grown. She insisted on the neck. Her mind showed darkness. Curious.
The final vampires were Trent and his crew. No, Trent was not the toe sucker, even though, with his dead body fetish, he was the logical candidate. Visions of stars filled his mind. Not too strange given he was a pilot.
The remainder of the crew passed through. Cave images for all of them.
Duty fulfilled, I left the group to think. Louis, camped in the hallway, was speaking to Beckham. Not wanting to interrupt their animated, and no doubt geeky, discussion about plants, I slunk away and headed for my office.
Caves. Caves. What did it mean if most of us were having the same dream?
I pondered the question until my head hurt. When no answer was forthcoming, I completed my administrative duties and reviewed the colony’s progress report. During the short time since I had landed, damage from the storm notwithstanding, the colony had made stunning improvements. The most exciting – construction of a green house. Upon its completion, I’d be first in line to visit.
Not all my duties were performed in an office. Every day, I visited the work crew outside, listened to their concerns and suggestions, and jotted them down in a tiny spiral bond notebook for discussion at the daily briefing. Once I was satisfied the work assignments for the day were underway, I made an executive decision. Time to explore.
Under the pretense of searching for the remaining cargo containers, I commandeered a hover craft.
Easy peasy. GPS thingie on, engines fired up, supplies packed, I headed towards the open plains of Mars. Hell, most of the planet was an open plain. About an hour out, the bracelet flared to life, tugging my arm to the west.
“About time you were useful again,” I muttered.
Bang. The ship rocked. “Gadding about are we?” Ian took the passenger seat next to me. Thank goodness I was already dead or the shock induced heart attack would have killed me.
“Yes. Top secret Colony Director mission.”
“I see. All very hush, hush.” Ian flashed me a confident, secret agent grin.
“Have we re-established contact with the ship?” I asked, feeling like a starship captain.
“Yes, full communication has been restored. I extracted that nugget from Jay before I left.” He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Never seen such a miserable bloke in my life. Your beauties insisted Jay decide on the colors.” Ian gave a small shudder. “Only thing worse I can think of is handbag shopping.”
A smile filled my heart. Ian’s blond hair whipped in the wind, carefree like his spirit. Why was I still holding back with him? Was it Ian I didn’t trust or men in general? No, I trusted Jay with my life. Okay, maybe authority figures?
Part of my problem with Jonathan was the way he acquired me. Like a brood mare for his stable. A commodity to be used. Ian didn’t have that vibe. He genuinely seemed to like me.
“What ails you, darling?” Concern marred his handsome face. That it was for me loosened the worry.
“Jonathan married me before he vamped me. He took my virginity for my own good.” I blurted out like I was in a confessional. Now why in the hell did I say that?
“Excuse me?” Ian gaped. “He did what?”
Deep sorrows from my past bubbled to the surface. The stupid cuff bracelet burned into my skin. I wanted to tear it off. I jerked the ship to the southwest. The horizon blurred before me. Pale pink tears flooded my eyes. “He did it out of kindness. Too bad I realized it too late. Can you imagine having sex and re-healing every time? It would have been painful or at least uncomfortable.”
“I can’t exactly imagine it, but I see your meaning. Here, let me steer for a while.” Ian offered and I accepted.
“Jonathan was as gentle with me as he could be. I was scared shitless. I had no idea what to expect.” My first sexual encounter was probably no different than most women of the age. We were imprisoned by our Victorian ignorance.
Ian gave me a long hard stare. “Thank you trusting me with something so personal.”
I shrugged. I had no idea why I felt the need to dredge up that little tidbit. Funny, there was no lingering shame in the revelation. It was a relief to share it with Ian.
“Things were considerably more relaxed in my time.”
“Dancing naked under the full moon,” I asked with a smile, thinking of the blue tattoos on Ian’s rock hard body.
“Something like that,” he said with a wolfish grin. “Perhaps we can re-enact the ceremony some night.”
Heat suffused my cheeks. “Sounds fun.”
The bracelet tugged
forward when Ian changed direction to veer around a large boulder. “Hold your course. We’re almost there.”
“Good because there’s a bloody, large ravine approaching.”
Threads of excitement weaved up my arm. The bracelet seemed happy. Good for it.
“I’m stopping here. Your bangle, does it always glow?”
The runes were bright and pulsing. “Sometimes. In certain areas of the ship. This is the first time it’s reacted like this here.”
Ian and I jumped out of the hovercraft, backpacks in hand. When we were done securing the ship, we headed to the cliff’s edge.
“What exactly are we doing over here, Cherry?” Ian pulled up my sleeve exposing the cuff. “There are no cargo boxes out here. We weren’t following a transponder signal.”
I didn’t bother to point out to Ian that he’d seen the bracelet before when the queen bequeathed it to me and that night in the tent. Of course, he was busy . . . doing other things. Heat suffused my female parts at the thought of Ian’s weight above me. The slide of his skin over the small of my back. . .
“Hey, no distracting me,” Ian kissed my forehead. “Out with it. What are you really after?”
“I’m not sure. Honest.”
As soon as Ian released me, a desire to walk toward the ravine took hold. My limbs went watery. Yet, I marched forward, trusting the cuff wouldn’t yank me over the edge. If I was smashed to jelly, it wouldn’t be able to move around anymore.
“Wait. You are not thinking of walking off the cliff.” Ian held me back.
“No, I think the bracelet’s trying to lead me in a specific direction.” Symbols raced across the surface too fast to follow. “Slow down. I can’t understand. Could you use an arrow or something?”
“A compass?” Ian suggested.
The surface went blank. “Great, we’ve confused it.”
“Hold on. Patience,” Ian said. “Look here.”
Concentric rings appeared. A bobbing arrow floated in the center, pointed towards the ravine’s edge.
Ian tapped the dial. “I already told you mate, she’s not jumping over the side.”
“You could fly us over,” Inch by inch, knees knocking, I moved closer to the massive ravine. Sheer will prevented me from running back to the hover craft. Wind smacked me in the face, rebuffing me away from the edge. Grit stuck in my eyelashes. Not brave enough to look down, I tilted my head sideways. Then I saw it. A thin ribbon-like path along the side of the canyon.
“Ian, right there.” I pointed, arm trembling. “A narrow trail.”
“We don’t have to go down there.”
“I need to.” The caves haunted me and my family. They must mean something. Kasia thought they did too. I explained the dreams to Ian.
“I’ve had similar experiences since landing. And so have my rogues. And it’s not just the vampires. I’ve overheard zombies and revenants bemoaning their lack of sleep.”
“Down we go then,” I said with forced cheerfulness. I could do this. As long as I hugged the cliff side and didn’t look over the edge.
The wind kicked up and the sky darkened to a gloomy orange gray. Another dust storm loomed in our future.
“Will the hovercraft be okay?” I shouted over the screaming gusts whipping up the ravine.
“It’s secure,” Ian placed his hands on my shoulders, steadying me. “How much farther do you think?”
I flattened my back against the cliff face, then checked the bracelet. “I have no idea.”
We descended for what seemed like hours. Dust roiled over the ravine like thick fog, reducing visibility. If we didn’t find the caves soon, we’d lose sight of the path. We were too far from the ship to make it back safely. Ian wouldn’t be able to fly in such hazardous conditions.
The path curved sharply to the right. The bracelet yanked hard around the bend. I stumbled forward.
“I’ll be damned.” Ian said, clutching me around the waist.
The entrance, angled behind a cut in the rocks, would be missed by anyone concentrating on the path. The narrow opening would only accommodate one of us at a time.
“I’ll go first,” I hollered over the gale winds. I didn’t want to be the first one to pass into the darkness beyond. There could be a cliff on the other side. But, I doubted the bracelet would lead me this far only to hurt me.
Ian nodded and released me. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Points to him for not acting dominant. Points subtracted for not stopping me either. Poor guy. With my math, he couldn’t win. I squared my shoulder, turned sideways and slipped through the slim passage.
A cavernous space opened before me. The howling winds were silenced as if a switch had been flipped. And it wasn’t pitch dark either. Instead, the smooth rock walls glowed with soft phosphorescence.
“Incredible,” Ian said over my shoulder.
“Yes.” I walked forward, following the glowing arrow on the cuff. “To the left.”
At first the entranceway seemed limitless, like the grandest sized foyer ever made. Eventually a series of carved arches appeared, the rock polished like the shiny granite countertop I left behind on Earth. I traced my finger along ridges decorating the last arch to the left.
“Clearly, this was done by someone,” Ian observed. “Maybe LGM?”
“Little Green Men?” I snorted. I hoped not. The bracelet nudged me along. “Come on. The bossy bracelet wants us to keep moving.”
“Not sure I like the idea of sentient jewelry,” Ian grumbled.
Can’t say I disagreed with him. It’s probably prudent not to trust objects with a mind of their own. Funny, weeks earlier, I would’ve never believed settling Mars was even possible, let alone traveling to it. And here we were discussing the disadvantages of intelligent jewelry.
The arch led to a long, straight hallway. The walls and ceiling were tall and wide. Cool, fresh air tickled my cheeks. The faint scent of spice floated under my nose. The smell brought back pleasant memories of my time in India.
Ian sniffed, “The fragrance reminds me of home. Of the herbs the Druids used.”
“You too?” Interesting. “The odor’s tailored to each of us. I smell curry and sandalwood.”
We crossed a threshold and the plain stone walls changed. Elaborate carvings, reminiscent of hieroglyphs filled the walls from floor to ceiling. Broken out into sections, each picture told a story in golden leaf and vibrant pigments.
“Let me get out the torch,” Ian said, fumbling around in his backpack. Light illuminated the artwork, deepening the colors. “Amazing.”
“Look at the detail on the clothing.” I peered closer. “They look like us.” The figures were human or at least humanoid, with two legs, human shaped torsos and heads, the same number of digits on the toes and hands. “I wonder who they were.”
“And what happened to them?”
We continued walking, observing the story’s timeline. First there were primitive settlements. Agriculture and livestock followed, the animals, nothing like what we had on earth. Soft slug bodies, dragged what appeared to be plows. Manta Ray type creatures flew like birds.
The cities grew larger. Dwellings were carved into the cliffs and on the surface. Two moons floated over head. One shaped like a potato the other a dented ball. Deimos and Phobos.
“The society, it's progressing similarly to our own,” Ian said.
“And look, the surface had water and vegetation.” I pointed to a shimmering field of green plants and a sparkling teal lake. “The technology gets more sophisticated. They had flying cars.” A vehicle eerily similar to the hovercraft floated above a translucent city.
Ominous undertones appeared along the utopian vista. The landscape grew barren. The water dried up. The animals died. Famine. Riots. War. Death.
The last story showed, three groups, each climbing into a ship.
Ian picked out an eerie similarity. “Look at their skin, their faces. Vampire, zombie…”
“Revenant,” I finished in a
whisper.
We stood there for a long time, deep in our own thoughts and conclusions.
Whoever these people had been, they appeared to be us.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“When we get back, Jay is off decorating duty. He can study this. Isn’t one of our new vamps a Cultural Anthropologist? Joan, I think her name is.” At the time, I thought she was a total waste of space. The planner of this venture had a long range vision.
“I’d like to suggest one of my rogues. Garth is a historian.”
“Anyone who has a science background needs to come down here. Who knows what else we’ll find.” We continued down the hall, the murals long past us.
“How did the murals survive in such perfect condition?” Ian walked in front, lighting the way.
“I’m more worried about what it means. And the timing? It’s too convenient to be a coincidence.”
“Agree. When we return, it’s time for Prior to divulge what he knows,” Ian said.
I stumbled. Weariness pulled at me. We’d been on the move for hours and still the destination was unknown.
“Want to take a break?” Ian rubbed my shoulders as we walked, easing the knots.
“No.” I tapped the bracelet. “Either show us why we’re here or I’m leaving and not coming back.”
The magic words spoken, a portal appeared on the wall to my left. “Come on! Why didn’t you do this an hour ago?” Clasping Ian’s hand into mine, I walked through the doorway.
The space we entered made the front foyer look like a shoe box. The light beam was swallowed by the space.
“This place keeps getting stranger and stranger,” Ian said circling with the flashlight. “What was this used for?”
“Okay, Enkile’s Cuff, you’d better show me something worthwhile. Now.”
“The bauble has a name?” Ian said. “Care to explain?”
“Not really.” A new display appeared on the bracelet’s smooth surface. Grids and lines fanned out. “Ian, look at this. It’s some kind of floor plan.”
“Not very helpful. This whole area is empty. If there were rooms or buildings they’re gone now.” Ian crossed his arms. Frustration vibrated into my brain cells through our emotional link.
