by Lee Morgan
Connor ran his fingers through his hair and smiled down at her. “It was just a pair of Immortal Guards just following behind us.”
“What did you do to them?” She raised an eyebrow.
“You know me so well.” She smiled his private smile and about this time everyone was close by. “I just picked them up by the backs of their necks like little dolls and let them go after hearing who they were.”
Mark and Jack started laughing. Kara then changed the atmosphere by saying “I don’t know about you, but I want to go see what is inside before we freeze to death!”
“Inside what?” Connor had to ask. Kara pointed to her right and he had to look twice at what laid before him.
There were pillars of white stone paired up and a flaming torch is placed in the crown of each pole. Twenty pillars were counted to each side and they were separated every ten feet apart. It was designed as a walkway, he quickly guessed. The pillars led all the way to the side of the mountain wall. There was a massive cave entrance that too was lined with torches. The front of the cave had an arch that was lined with intricate symbols Connor had never seen and carvings that he didn’t yet understand. The ground was covered with snow, but he knew the floor itself was a perfectly flat stone that has been leveled for comfort. In the mouth of the cave sat a large, stone, podium desk and in that podium sat a Keeper who was looking right at all of them.
“Ready?” Connor glanced down at Sarah who asked. He took a steadying breath, sighed, collected himself and nodded.
Together the six of them began walking between the pillars that lined the outside of the entrance. He looked again and clearly understood what the pillars were actually for. They were a landing strip for those that had the capability for flight.
Silently they stepped in front of the Keeper who waited patiently at the front entrance for he is what they’ve been drawn to these past several days. He eyed them all as they made their approach. This Keeper had the same black, smooth and glossy scales that Veronica had. His head was somewhat larger and so were his upper body muscles. His chest and shoulder muscles were more defined even through his grey robe. Off to the side of his desk Connor saw his tail move. It was twice as thick as Veronica’s and looked much more lethal. His eyes were a brown color and Connor could tell he was very old because of his ageless eyes and cool demeanor. He guessed the reptile to be about two million years old, comparing him to those immortals he’s met thus far.
Connor felt his mind seeking access he blocked everything that was important. “Good evening, Hatchlings.” Connor followed everyone in a courteous bow to him. His mental voice came out calm and rugged. “Before I remove my bond, are any of you unfamiliar with this place?”
“The three of us are.” Connor said and the Keeper’s brown eyes locked onto his as he began pointing to Kara and his mate.
“I have never seen two of you, but I do remember you. It is a joy for me to see that you have found someone to love after so long, little one.” His eyes stopped on Sarah and she bowed again to the polite Keeper. Then his eyes sat back on Connor’s. “I guess you are her new mate?” The old one teased with a wicked smile and he smiled back. “I hope that this will be a pleasant experience for you.” His eyes shifted to his sister. “Same goes to you too, Hatchling.”
He sat up straighter, more refined as he pulled out two scrolls from his desk. He leaned forward to hand Connor and his sister the papers. The scroll he handed down was about two feet long and has been well aged. “These are the maps to each level of the meeting. Return it to an Immortal Guard later when you’ve memorized it… Now each person step closer, one at a time, so that I may remove the bond I have placed upon you.”
Jillian stepped forward and Connor had a crazy idea. He focused his energy to his eyes and looked at this Keeper. He placed a clawed hand over Jillian’s head. His aura was brown and so very small. It must have been maybe two feet around him. Suddenly the size of his aura grew and became slightly bigger after he said “It is done. Next.” Jack came forth and the Keeper’s aura slightly increased again.
At that point Connor understood that when he sent off his Keeper’s Call he severely dropped his power to establish the link to all immortals across the globe. And with each person who get’s their bond removed makes his power return. It made sense once he saw this with his very own eyes.
Next came Mark, then Kara, then Sarah and finally himself. Connor stood before his desk. His clawed hand hovered over the top of his head. Then Connor felt the secondary bond move inside his gut and suddenly it disappeared. It felt great to only feel the singular bond with Sarah. He took a step back and stopped when he said “Wait.” He handed over six large tickets. Each paper ticket had large numbers printed and each ticket sheet was about a foot long and six inches wide. “Pass those out for me. Do not lose those tickets. You will need them for your lodging and getting your seat during the council meeting that will begin next week.” Connor handed them out with himself getting number 132, Sarah got 133, Jillian and Jack received 136 and 137, his friend and sister clamed 135 and 136. “Have a pleasant stay.” The Keeper finally and pleasantly smiled, showing his great teeth.
The six of them walked around the occupied desk and into the tunnel. About halfway down the fire lit tunnel Connor folded his ticket in half and put it in a pocket and opened up the scroll. He held the paper flap with his left hand and unfurled the scroll by rolling the paper to the right.
The first picture held a side diagram of the mountain that showed five levels placed one atop the other. The top picture, outside the mountain showed two hands shaking and that meant greeting and next to it looked like some kind of game ball that he’s never seen before. Connor guessed that they are on the top level. The picture down from that one had a picture of a hut or a house, he couldn’t really decide what the shelter really was, but understood it to be lodging. Number three was a picture of music symbols and two chicken drumsticks and he knew that to be food and entertainment. The forth level held three desks and Jack explained that to be the meeting level. The final level’s picture looked to be marked over in ink. Connor asked Mark what it meant and he said “That was where the tournaments were held, but there hasn’t been a tournament held in over a thousand years.”
Connor opened the scroll even more to reveal a single dot above the layout and that correlated meaning that it was a map of level one. It looked like at the end of the this tunnel, showed several open spaces, like a simple grid. But in the center of the room was a circle and around the inner circle held lines. It was guessed to be the main stairwell. On the second level diagram held the same circle in the middle. And same on all the remaining diagrams reinforced the guess.
He quickly rolled the scroll back up when Sarah said “Connor, let’s get our rooms and then go and get something to eat.”
“Sounds like a plan, Princess.” Connor put the scroll in his pack and said “I wonder if they have any apples?”
“They’d better!” Sarah said and everyone laughed as they continued walking down the shaft.
Sarah felt excited about this meeting. They walked down a long tunnel, which made everything seem so very dramatic and mysterious. They all walked side by side down the wide tunnel while passing a flame lit torch after torch, casting amazing shadows. Connor took the end with her to his right. Jillian walked to her right and looked excited. Jack held a faint, but playful smile. Kara’s silver eyes were bouncing all over the place, but Mark seemed very calm as he walked. Connor’s walk was pure precision and his predatory hazel eyes took everything in.
At the end of the tunnel they could all see bright lights. It was odd because she’s never been to a meeting with this level of brightness before. Sarah looked to her right and from the look of her parents, they noticed the change too.
The six of them entered the first level of the mountain and stopped to see what lay before their eyes. The temperature in the room was so very comfortable, compared to the outside frigid conditions. It was the perfect tempe
rature for her which was a shock because Sarah thought that the mountain would be chilly. The room was cut into a large rectangle as were the walls that came up to about forty to fifty feet. The ceiling above them was a squared dome and it reminded her of the birthday present Connor made for her. The only differences between the two were that this room was at least a thousand times larger and the walls weren’t melted into glass that sparkled. Seven large circular support beams, made of stone, allowed the room to be secure. Each beam was the size of their cottage and were all placed strategically within the enormous room. Three lined each side of the room and the last beam was in the very center of the room. The central beam was by far the largest and thickest; it went all the way up to the stone ceiling and held the very center of the dome up. That beam was where the staircase to the lower levels would be. That much is obvious.
Sarah then knew why the room seemed so bright. On each of the seven stone pillars held four bright lights aiming at four sides. She could barely see the wires, but they lined the roof and led to a power box on the far wall. She could see everything in the room and it was beautiful.
Off to the left was a large field of fake grass. The field itself was set up like a Baseball field. Off to each side of the field held a metal bleacher stadium that were all large enough to seat Keeper’s and anyone else who wanted to watch. Off to the right sat another field, but this one had been designated for both Football and Soccer matches. Behind the central pillar laid another field that had been raised above the ground and made completely out of stone. It was a circular and rather large, a place for people and Keepers to wrestle. Sarah remembered the rules even though she never participated; ‘No killing during a match!’ and whoever the referee was made sure everyone followed the rules.
There were four buildings. One building was a restroom for men while the other was for women. Both were large enough to allow Keepers to use the facilities. A third building was smaller and looked like a recreation shed and the last building had a moderate line of people waiting.
Sarah scanned the room again and this time she saw everyone who made it here before they did. She counted thirty Keepers on this level and some were walking on their hind legs, but most were comfortable moving on all fours. She had to learn to avoid their tails because if they whack you, you’ll feel it for a very long time in the future. They all wore different robes, but they all looked about the same. The only way she could ever differentiate between Keepers were by their eye color and if they were male or female. Other than that they all resembled each other. Two Keepers over on the wrestling area were trying their best to win. When one did, he roared and everyone on this level heard it, but few paid any attention to the victor.
She looked to her right and saw over at the football field both Balancers and Changers having a friendly match. There were six members on each side. The Changers were easy to spot because they were all transformed. One male had applied the attributes of a Cheetah. He was skinny, had a long tail, yellow fur with black spots, big rounded ears, long arms and legs. Two of his team mates simply sported white wings on their backs. Two looked almost like horses and the last one was bearlike. The Balancer team held the ball and was played by six mated pairs. The three women spread out behind their mates.
The ball went into play and two of the women went into the air using their control over Pressure. The two winged Changers took off after them. The two men tripped up the chargers with small stones using Terra. The last man and the woman blended Fire and Liquid to make a steam screen.
Sarah couldn’t finish watching the play because Connor captured her attention. He started grinning from ear to ear. “I think we should play some of these games later.” He looked down at her with playful eyes. “What do you think, Princess?” His excitement seemed too much until she realized that he was never allowed to play with other because of his size. Here at the Mélange he could fit in.
He looked at the others and they were all mesmerized by how amazing the first room actually is. It was every major leaguer’s dream. Sarah turned to look back at her mate and couldn’t resist hiding her own playful smile. “We can tomorrow morning.” His smile weakened, but wasn’t entirely crushed. “We need to get our rooms, take a bath, change clothes and get something to eat.”
“Alright.” Connor raised his voice and everyone was pulled out from their own worlds. “Come on. We need to get settled in.” No one said anything, but she could tell that they were displeased in some certain way.
Jillian and Jack led the way to the central support beam. As they approached the stone pillar Jack said “You guys are lucky.” He was referring to Connor and Kara. “We have never had the luxury of electricity in a meeting before. They’ve broken centuries of tradition… I wonder what they are using as a power supply?” His voice began to trail off as he started contemplating.
Arriving at the pillar Sarah saw three hand rails. One lined each side of the decent down to the lower levels and the third rail took the middle as a divider. The descending staircase was really large. Three Keepers could walk to either side all the way down and not touch the other’s shoulders, it is that wide. Two thin rows of lights lined the upper corners and illuminated the stairwell which made things much more convenient. At least we won’t need to worry about winding our way down in total darkness.
Jack and Jillian took their first steps down into the second level. Mark and Kara were next and they followed them soon after. The stairs not only went down, but also spiraled along down the central stone pillar. She counted stepping down two hundred steps until the mouth eventually reopened. She looked over the rail as they kept going down.
Six large buildings stood inside the second level, but compared to level one, this room was slightly larger. Three of the buildings were smaller than the two on the other side of the room and the last building in the middle was slightly larger than all of them. She knew that the three smaller buildings would be their lodging. The two larger and wider buildings are for the Keepers, because of their bulk. The last building was for the bath house. It also serves as a place to do laundry during the afternoon hours. The three buildings were all built of wood and it looked newly constructed and painted. They were all painted a light blue as a contrast for the dark earth that surrounded them. The three buildings were three stories tall, but the Keepers showed four stories and reached the ceiling. The Keeper’s lodging was also new and coated with green paint. The bath house was made of wood as were the others, but the house was painted a calm yellow. Each of the lodges were all placed against one wall with two pillars separating them. Even the pillars in here also held the lights to keep darkness at bay for the whole room. The Keeper’s place was on the other side of the room. The bath house was on a wall that was between both clusters. Steam kept escaping the entrance as someone left or entered through the front door.
Yes! We actually get hot water for our baths.
“Were you expecting something else?” Connor asked telepathically, entering Sarah’s mind. He looked over at the bath house and smiled, but it seemed bittersweet. “It looks like a public bath. I’ve read in old history books that many ancient peoples bathed together.”
She reached out and grabbed his hand. “Is there going to be any problems in doing that?” She asked because his emotions turned into jealousy.
His penetrating hazel eyes were now aimed at her. “Yes.” He said in surprising honesty. “How will I hide my chest? My other problem will be that everyone will see you naked.” He now offered a sly smile.
She squeezed his fingers gently and then resumed walking down the stairwell. “The bath houses are split between men and women. No other man can enter our side. There were too many complaints and fights in the past. Plus if someone uses their sonar, they will be immediately kicked out. As for your chest, they always give you a towel that is always extremely large and can cover even your overdeveloped torso. Whoever finances these meetings always supplies the very best for all who come.”
“At least that
is some comfort.”
About two minutes later they finally reached the bottom and turned to their right to get off on level two. The stairwell kept on going down to the lower sections, but they needed to get off on this one first.
They continued walking behind her parents as they traveled down the stone road. Each building was three stories tall and had numbers written over the tops of the doors. The one to the far right had a sign that numbered 1-8,000. The middle held numbers 8,001-14,000 and the last building held numbers 14,001-20,000. Connor spoke up saying “It looks like we need to take the right one.” Connor pulled his ticket from his pocket and opened it. “Yep, that’s where we’ll need to go.”
Following Jillian’s lead, they walked up to the front door. The door wasn’t painted blue like the building, but the wood door was beautiful by itself. Jillian opened the door and they all followed in behind her footsteps.
Connor shut the door behind them and walked up to Sarah. She then heard a loud yet feminine voice. “Welcome! May I see your tickets?” A young looking woman sat behind a desk and behind her was a wall covered with keys. She had short spiky black hair and a beautiful, tan complexion. Sarah knew she was a Changer because of her liquid silver eyes. She has full and plump lips, a straight nose and high arched eyebrows. She was wearing a violet top and Sarah couldn’t see what her bottoms looked like.
Sarah pulled out her ticket, as did everyone else. Connor and Sarah went forward first because their numbers were the lowest. They showed her the large numbered ticket and she leaned back to grab some keys. “Together or separate?” Sarah told her ‘together’ and she handed them a room key. “Take the left hall down until you reach room number seventy three. If you need any help my name is Ilizia, Liz for short.” She sounded sort of bored.
Connor grabbed Sarah’s hand gently and silently led her down the long hall. Once they were out of sight they waited in the well lit corridor. He said quietly “We need to distance ourselves for my sister’s protection when we can, but also stay close.”
