Eve of Man (The Harvest Book 2)

by Ferretti, Anne

  Eve folded her hands together as if in prayer. “When I was in Russia looking for Agra, I came upon a tomb built deep inside the mountain. I don’t know the importance of the tomb or why I was lead there. But before I could explore further, Za and several guard arrived. Za had Caleb. I had no choice. I had to surrender. Za’s plan was to return later to kill me.”

  Austin sat up. The remaining memories flooded back. “Caleb. They took him?” Austin got up from the bed. “After he brought us back from Germany, I sent him to find you. It was Luke. Luke had been shot. It was too late to save him, but I sent him off to find you anyway. I was out of mind. He said he knew where you were, but he never came back. I couldn’t reach him.”

  She went to Austin and took his hand. “He’s no longer on Earth. I think Agra has taken him somewhere far into the seventh universe.”

  Austin didn’t ask if she was certain. “How long before I’m fully recovered?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never changed anyone before.” She laid her hand on his chest over his heart. “You’re very strong. Maybe two days, maybe less.”

  “Tomorrow we’ll go to Paru.”

  “He’s not on Paru and neither is Za.”

  “I know, but the answers are,” Austin replied. “Someone there knows where Caleb is. I can feel this, or, or...I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like I see it in my mind.” He recalled the white haired man. “A man, or a male, he was Adita, he helped me find you. And rescue you. I don’t know who he was, but he has the answers. And I’m certain he’s on Paru.”

  The description of the man rang familiar to Eve. She saw him in her mind, as if looking at an old out of focus photo. His presence was significant, indicating his powers must be many and his position high.

  “Does anyone know we’re back?” Austin asked.

  “No.”

  Austin got up from the bed and went into the bathroom to look in the mirror. The image of an Adita male stared back at him; solid black eyes, hair short and black, skin pale.

  “You can change how they see you.” Eve came up behind him placing her hand on his back. His appearance altered between old and new, from human to Adita. “It’s a projection of what they remember, or what they expect to see.”

  “I think it’s best no one knows about this.” Austin turned to her. “I’m not ashamed and I don’t regret my decision. But they won’t understand. Especially the younger ones.” He turned back to the mirror, not thinking about the bunker residents or becoming an Adita. It was Agra who occupied his thoughts. Agra who was responsible for Caleb’s absence. Agra who would pay if Caleb was harmed in anyway.

  Feeling Austin’s unease added to her own sense of foreboding. “Things are changing rapidly on Paru,” she said. “Agra’s presence fades and shifts so often I can no longer hold on to him,” she said. “We should leave as soon as you are ready. And you won’t be ready until you nourish your body. You will need the strength.”

  Austin didn’t shudder at the thought or find her words difficult to hear. This was part of the deal, something he would have to accept or die a slow death of starvation.

  27 Eve of Man

  The temple was quiet. Not a whisper, not a breath was heard as Eve and Austin traveled the dim halls. They passed through the judging chambers on to Agra’s quarters, but Eve knew before pushing open the door that her father was gone. They were all gone. She’d come full circle, abandoned again by her people, her family. However, this time was different. This time she knew who was responsible and that knowledge cut deep, searing in her mind thoughts of revenge. A fissure began to take form.

  A fissure was seldom noticed until too late. Eve’s thoughts engulfed her and she fell to her knees holding her head, digging her nails into her skin. Why, she screamed inside her head and slammed her fist on the ground, cracking the stone underfoot. The rage was almost uncontrollable, and she didn’t know how to release these feelings, to subside the ebb. She ran from the temple out onto the steps, releasing a primal yell of rage into the night. The sound shook the temple to its foundation. Turning to face the temple, she raised her hands into the air. The rage boiled up inside her body, exploding in a wave of energy directed at the temple, at Agra, at all Adita. Austin didn’t try to stop her, he understood, he felt her pain.

  The temple, a structure perhaps older than Eve, began to cave in upon itself. From the top a large section crashed down a few feet from where Austin stood. He stepped aside in time, an afterthought. The first felled stone released the raging demon inside of her. She continued tearing the temple down, down to its knees, just as Agra’s actions had brought her to her knees. Each broken piece suffocated her, each piece broke her spirit. Why? This was the single question running through her mind. Why had he done this to her again? And worse, how had she so grossly underestimated Agra? When nothing to destroy remained, Eve sank onto an upturned stone, feeling ruined. Weariness overcame her and she wished for sleep, like a human. Respite from living belonged to humans, but never before had the consequences of the day impacted her so that she desired to be human.

  Austin knelt in front of her, taking her hand into his. “We’ll find Caleb,” he said and believed it.

  Eve didn’t have the strength to even shake her head, or to argue. Agra had left no traces of where he’d gone, where he’d taken their son. When Eve listened the silence was deafening. Her future was never more uncertain than now and Austin would also suffer her fate. He knew nothing of hunger, but soon he would understand and hate her for the curse she bestowed upon him. The curse of being an Adita.

  Austin heard this and grasped her by the shoulders. “Don’t think that. It was my decision to become part of your world. I’m gonna be fine.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do know,” he replied. “And I know we’ll find Caleb.”

  “We have to,” Eve said, “before it’s too late.”

  Austin held her close to him, passing his strength to her as she’d done so many times for him. They sat amidst the rubble until night turned to day and the sun began to find its way through the jungle’s canopy. A single ray fell upon Eve’s arm, warming her skin. She lifted her face to that ray of light and opened her eyes. She looked through the sun out into the cold dark universe beyond, out to where the planet Kaja existed alone in the dark matter on the edge of the universes. That was where she belonged. A lone being, on a lone planet, with no people to call her own.

  “You’re not alone,” Austin said, tilting her head to look at him. “You’ve walked alongside man for a very long time. You have more memories of my world than you do of the Adita’s. You even have a child that is part human. I think that qualifies you as a member of my family, more so than of the Adita.”

  “Eve of man,” she whispered, although doubting the humans would accept her as one of their own. Not as long as she was Adita and needed them for her very existence. A feather of a warning danced down her spine taking her mind off her woes. She motioned to Austin, who was already scanning the tree line for movement. They walked down the steps, over the rubble, and across the clearing, stopping a few feet from the jungle’s edge. Shadows shifted in and out of view, words were whispered, too soft to understand.

  “Who’s there?” Austin demanded.

  A large shadow moved forward, stepping out from the dense undercover into the clearing. A Svan, darker skinned than most, stood before them. He wore a type of battle dress upon his breast. Soon another and then another stepped out, until Eve and Austin were surrounded on all sides. The dark skinned Svan bowed down on one knee in front of Eve and the others followed suit.

  “Rise. I’m not your master,” Eve ordered them.

  They stood tall. The dark skinned Svan spoke a greeting and to Austin’s surprise he understood their language.

  “My name is Pala. I am the commanding officer of the Elder’s guard,” the dark skinned Svan said.

  “I am Eve, daughter of Agra,” she replied using the Svan’s native tongue. “And this is C
aptain Austin Reynolds.”

  Pala turned to Austin and bowed to him. “I am honored to meet you Captain Reynolds. Your name is spoken in high regard amongst the Svan.”

  Austin looked up at Pala, who stood at least three feet taller than he. “I would like to say the same about you, about the Svan, but I would be telling lies.”

  “And I would hear nothing less than the truth Captain Reynolds. I do not pretend that we are friends now, but I think after in time we might not be adversaries.”

  “I’ll keep an open mind,” Austin replied.

  Pala turned to Eve. “The Elders request an audience.”

  Having been unaware of their presence, Eve paused before responding, “Of course we will see them.”

  Pala stepped aside. From out of the shadows the white haired man from Austin’s dreams stepped into the sunlight. He was followed by eleven more; male and female, dark skin, white hair, some bent over, most frail in appearance.

  “Do you know who I am?” the man from Austin’s dream asked Eve, using the Adita’s ancient tongue.

  Eve came forward for a closer look. He was familiar, from a time long ago, but she could not put a name to the memory. “I know you. I know you from my father’s memories of long ago, when the Adita lived on Earth.”

  “I am Sattya. Your great-great-grandfather. And this is Matri, your great-great-grandmother.” A female Elder stepped forward.

  “Hello granddaughter. It is a pleasure to see you again. I know you don’t remember me, but in time your mind will find the missing pieces.”

  Some experiences were amazing, others were truly humbling, and Eve was humbled to be in their presence, in the presence of her great-great-grandparents and the other Elders. She had Agra’s memories of them, had heard the tales and legends about them, but none were hers to claim. Now here they were, here they all stood. Her ancestors. The beginning of civilization. Eve bowed her head to them. Austin, who had Adita blood coursing through his veins, blood that held Eve’s memories, bowed his head in reverence as well.

  “Raise your heads, we are not your masters.” Sattya responded, his voice warm and tender. “We are an aged and feeble bunch, having outlived our usefulness.”

  Eve raised her head to look at her grandfather. “Why are you all still here grandfather? On Paru?”

  “I’m afraid Agra gave us little choice when he left. We could join him in his quest or stay here to die. We chose to stay. We chose honor.”

  “Does he have Caleb? Do you know where he took our son?” Eve asked.

  Sattya nodded. “He took him to the trade colonies.”

  Austin stiffened. “The trade colonies on Vazya?”

  “Yes on Vazya,” Sattya replied. “A planet built on the backs of slaves and fueled by the suffering of many. It sits at the edge of life’s very existence, beyond it there is nothing.”

  Austin recalled what Eve had told him of the first humans brought to Earth, and felt a knot forming in his stomach. “Do they still trade humans?”

  “There are those who buy or trade them from time to time for,” he paused, “for various uses, but the demand has decreased greatly over the past century. Other species have become more desirable.”

  “I thought the Adita weren’t welcome in the colonies. Why would he go there?” Eve interrupted.

  “There is much you do not know about Agra. I feel I must tell you, so you will understand. The words I have to say will not be easy to hear, but if you wish to know the truth and if you wish to find your son, you will listen.”

  “We have to find our son,” Eve answered, her voice carrying more forcefulness than intended. “I’m sorry grandfather. I meant no disrespect.”

  “I know you didn’t,” he replied. “Shall we go inside?” He gestured behind them.

  They turned to find a new temple standing in place of the one Eve had destroyed. The new structure was built of blue glass, and where the former promised evil, the present offered warmth and hospitality. They rode a glass platform to the top of the temple where they entered a room made entirely of glass. They sat at a round glass table. Below the jungle’s canopy formed a thick green carpet, far off to the left and right the oceans sparkled like a million jewels, above them the sky was a brilliant blue. The views, although magnificent, only added to the surreal moment and a feeling of déjà vu for Eve. She turned her attention on Sattya, who was ready to tell them about the Adita, about her father. The truth this time.

  Sattya began to speak. “Much of what Agra told you about the beginning is true. We were the first on Earth, where we lived in our true form for many years. We’d regained our strength and grown in number. Plans for taking complete control of the seven universes were being laid out. Those were very exciting times.” Sattya sighed. “Of course everything changed in a moment, in a single chance encounter on that fateful night.” He paused.

  “It was you?” Eve asked. “You were the first to turn?”

  “That is correct. And it’s a moment I will forever regret,” Sattya replied and the other Elders nodded in agreement.

  “Did you wish to live as Svan? Do you wish to be Svan again?” Austin asked, gripping the edge of the table. “They murdered almost the entire human race. Is that what you wanted? Our annihilation?” Eve laid her hand on Austin’s arm, but he shook her off.

  “Let him have his say dear. He has every right to be angry,” Sattya said, turning to Austin. “Do not look down upon the Svan. They can be brutal, yes, but they are honest in who they are and aren’t reliant on humans for survival. They have no pretenses. They killed many humans, but this was done under Agra’s orders, based on the lies he wove.”

  Hearing that Agra was responsible didn’t make the genocide any more palatable. “Why? Why did he do it? If it wasn’t to cleanse the Earth, what was his reason?” Austin asked.

  “His reason was for his own purpose.”

  Eve shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “It is the story you do not know. The story I feel you must hear now.” Sattya lowered his head, and sighed. “Our wish was to become more human like, to evolve. The day you found Austin was a day of great celebration. Hope was ours once again. As he grew, we discussed the possibility of a union between an Adita female and a human male. We were blinded by our own desires, blinded by Agra’s well told lies. You were not the only one manipulated granddaughter.” He looked over at Austin. “I feel I in turn did the same to you, but Eve had to be saved and time was not on our side. Can you forgive me?”

  “My decision was made long before you came along,” Austin replied and felt Sattya knew this without him having to say so.

  “I thought my father wanted to advance the Adita, to provide a new way of life, one less dependent on humans?” Eve frowned, nothing was making sense. If he didn’t want Caleb for that, then what?

  “He lied to you. He lied to us. His intention was never to continue our evolution.”

  “What then? What is he planning to do? What is going to happen to our son?” Austin asked.

  “Perhaps you should start from the beginning dear,” Matri suggested.

  Sattya smiled in Matri’s direction and nodded. “Yes that would be best,” he replied, turning back to Eve. “Do you recall anything about the great purge?”

  “Very little and what I know was told to me by Agra.”

  “And I assume the same of your mother?”

  “Even less. Agra refused to talk about her.”

  Sattya and Matri exchanged a look. “Soon you will understand why.” Matri said, nodding to Sattya to continue.

  “As you know, a period in our history existed when Adita and humans formed unions and mixed offspring were born. Of those, the males went on to procreate with female human and Adita. By law only male Adita, as well as male Adita children, were allowed to mate with female humans. After many years of this cross breeding we realized the Adita line was being weakened and the human’s strengthened. A directive was sent out banning all further unions.”

>   Matri picked up the story at this point. “This new law was met with great resistance, but the penalty for disobeying was death. About the same time the law came to be, your mother had fallen in love with a human.”

  “Fell in love? I thought Adita didn’t feel love,” Eve interjected, glancing at Austin.

  “We feel love dear and your mother felt very strongly for the human. The human who was your real father.”

  Eve leaned forward, grasping the table. “What do you mean my real father? Agra is my father.”

  “No dear, Agra is your half-brother. His father was an Adita warrior who died in battle many years earlier. He is much older than you and in many ways more a father than a sibling. We never agreed with him not telling you who he was, but he insisted this was best for you and for the Adita. This is why no one outside our circle knows you have human ancestors.” Matri smiled, but nothing in her expression gave comfort to her words.

  Sattya took over again. “Adita law forbade your parent’s union. When Agra learned his mother was pregnant with you, he became enraged and thus his profound hatred for the human race was born. And being that he’d recently taken over as head of the Saciva and as ruler of the Adita he was now in command of our people. He ordered all half-breeds to be brought to him. The parents, both Adita and human, were made to watch their loved ones slaughtered and burned. Your mother fled, taking you with her. Agra spent the next several years hunting her. He was relentless in his search and he eventually found her in Russia. You were seven years old at the time. When he returned he’d only brought you back and refused to talk of your mother. We presumed her dead.”

  “Why didn’t he kill me as well? Why bring me back?”

  “You were the first of your kind and despite his hatred towards you, he sensed something unique in your blood. He wanted to wait, to see how you developed before deciding your fate,” Matri answered.

  “However, only a few weeks after his return, the Adita began dying. We realized, almost too late, the human’s DNA had altered over time and that change, although slight, acted like a lethal virus. Evacuations began immediately. Agra spared your life on the condition that you remain behind on Earth. We tried to persuade him otherwise, but he was adamant.”