No Turning Back
Descendants of Ancients:
Volume 1
by Sharon T. Rose
Smashwords Edition
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Cover photo used in compliance with Creative Commons and credited to Rahim Sonawalla
To the One who chose to graft me into His family.
Prologue
Casserion of Ivrithan was a beautiful city. Founded twenty leagues up the Trivine River from the shores of the Salome Sea, it boasted a major port, a brand-new Rail-Road, and electrical lighting in all of the business sector. Even most of the housing districts now had gas lamps and indoor plumbing. The poorest sectors, of course, claimed no such luxuries, but they were still cleaner and neater than, say, the cities ruled by Shon Hondle, the lord of Amalrich.
There were many parks in Casserion, each kept trimmed, mowed, and planted by both city agronomists and those who lived near them. Children often played there under the supervision of nannies, governesses, and occasionally parents. Young lovers strolled along, shyly holding hands as gentle breezes stirred their clothes the way whispered words stirred their hearts. Old men and women sat on the sunny benches, watching beneficially over all.
Modern buildings had begun to rise over the time-grayed structures, casting long shadows both morning and night. Horse-drawn carriages shared the cobble-paved roadways with newer, noisier electrical carriages. Drivers change little, even with progress, and there was as much clamor for right-of-way as one could expect anywhere. The commodities exchange building just off the wharf hummed with activity; pallets of goods moved on and off ships, barges, and caravans. The securities exchange building in the heart of the city was louder, with bells, chimes, and frantic men rushing about with vital scraps of paper.
Out on the streets, grocer's boys called gaily to passers-by, proclaiming their wares. Cloth merchants and tailors dressed men, women, and children in fine fashion while the rag-booths provided serviceable garments to the working class. The pie shop stood next to the butchery, each trying to under-bid the other for the coin-conscious customers' favor. An elegant lady could exit from a fashionable electrical carriage and pass a businessman on the side-walk. He could turn the corner and dodge both a vagrant in an old army coat and cap and a line of giggling, round-faced school children with their teacher.
On the western hill was the great University, the cathedral of learning that drew students from around the world, even so far away as Tuvaul and Nieun, those poor countries on the other side of the oceans. Near the very heart of the Casserion was the great Sanctuary Dome, the largest worship hall of the Sacerdotists, who believed in serving the community and helping the poor.
Casserion was a growing, thriving, and vibrant city with much to offer anyone who walked her streets.
And like the rest of the planet Alluvia, it was also a war zone.
Chapter 1
The impact blows half the building out, blasting debris half a league into the air to fall as missiles on the screaming populace. Dust washes into the street, inflicting tears and coughing on scrambling by-standers.
Shapes flash through the haze, moving too quickly to track. Another explosion; this one takes out an entire grocery, dropping the upper floors of the building to the street. The strange humming that precedes the blasts brings cries of fear to the lips of many caught between the fighters.
The huge shadow that flashes past the fine lady and her e-car raises a gust that rips her hat from her head; she screams in terror. The smaller shape that dashes past the school children shoves them so roughly to the pavement that two of them will never rise again. A hum, a blast, an explosion of impact. Amid the screams of fear are screams of rage. Another hum, the whistling of a small object flying through the air. A tiny impact followed by a shriek of hatred.
Two more blasts without warning, crashing into the cobbled pavement near the last glimpse of the large figure. Bricks and mortar rain down on abandoned carriages, horses, and bodies. Feet pound the pavement erratically. Harsh breathing is now the primary sound. A small breeze lifts a corner of the dusty shroud on the now-quiet street. A hint of movement; more humming, more blasts. The breaths come now in pained gasps.
Another quiet whistle through the air ends in another tiny impact. Another scream rings out, this time in despair. The thud of body on pavement follows, then come sounds of weak movement.
The breeze, bolder now, parts the curtain of destruction, revealing both the standing and the fallen. The man on the ground still struggles, his face twisted in pain and desperation. He tries to rise, tries to grasp his chest, tries to get away from the approaching figure.
He glares up at the inhuman figure towering over him and spits.
"I know you, Alleathon Naichen. You will never win!"
Alleathon Naichen says nothing. He lifts a small, round object and flings it at his foe. The man flinches, unable to dodge. The metal ball strikes his head, and he screams again. He keeps screaming as the ball, fixed to his temple, begins glowing softly. After a moment, the scream fades to nothing as the man drops fully to the street. The ball rolls several paces away.
Alleathon reaches down to collect it. As he grasps it, movement erupts from behind a ruined carriage. His gaze snaps up, solid red eyes tracking. A second figure appears, a woman, glowing hands pressed to her chest, about to extend them outward. Humming fills the air. Alleathon shifts his weight, ready to leap.
Another figure bursts from hiding, plowing into the woman. She screams in rage, but the blast does not come. The small figure in its tattered coat slings the woman around, using the momentum of the charge to throw her into the alley-way just beyond. It follows her. A few more screams come from the woman. The last is one of terror.
~~~~
Alleathon Naichen stood slowly, gaze flicking between the now-silent alley-way and the man he'd overcome. Though in basic shape they were both human, the differences were marked. The unconscious man was of average height, average build, and average weight. He little differed from many of the men around him in the city.
The giant standing over him was very different from the men of Ivrithan, from any of the men of the whole world of Alluvia. Half again their height, he topped more than two and a half yards. He wore no clothing over his body, and his skin was hard and unmoving. He might have been wearing a form-fitted suit of armor, for his shell-like surface preserved his modesty and sharply defined his musculature. His breastbone protruded slightly in his chest, giving it an outward curve that ordinary men lacked.
While his face was clearly defined and well-built, it was slightly off-looking; something had been minutely changed without the permission of aesthetics. His eyes were large and deeply set, yet they were all one color, without white, iris, or pupil. That color was blood-red, which matched the swirls of pigment that streaked across his skin-armor, making undefined patters down his arms and legs.
His hands ended in long fingers with squared fingernails, yet his feet displayed no toes. He wore no boots, but one might imagine the skin-armor had fashioned them. His body was entirely hairless save for his thin, red eyebrows, which currently scrunched together across his forehead. He absently slipped the metal ball into the empty slot in the bandoleer slung across his torso.
As Alleathon considered, the citizens of Casserion began to emerge from hiding. Murmurs began, then louder calls, then cries of anguish. It was always the same.
"It's a Descendant!"
"Dam'd unnatural beast!"
"Hush; he just saved out lives!"
"And killed how many to do it?"
"You want to be a Drone, then?"
"He's naked!"
"Is it dead?"
"She's dead! Oh, God, she's dead!"
Yes. It was always the same.
Reaching a decision, Alleathon bent to grab the unconscious man, hefting him easily. Securing his hold of the man's waist, Alleathon walked toward the alley-way, senses alert for ambush. Sukkers generally weren't subtle, but caution was its own reward. Reaching the passage, he stopped, probing. Nothing. The woman and the coat-covered person were not in sight. He listened, opened his mouth slightly to help him smell.
So much dust! So much screaming from the street! It was hard to make anything out. Closing his pupil-less eyes, he reached into his blood, calling on his unique gift. After a brief pause, he could hear heartbeats. Dozens behind him, ranging from pounding to sluggish. The steady, weak pulse of the man under his arm. And one strong beat farther down the alley. Only one.
Reaching for his bandoleer, he pulled a small rectangular object from it and held it to his mouth. "Laillmen, Sonelion, Vyenthon, to my location. Bring a wagon."
Alleathon entered the alley-way, caution hand-in-hand with practiced confidence. Stashing the unconscious man out of view of the street, he moved forward, scanning each rubbish bin, each doorway, each brick. The beat grew louder but not faster. Strange; it was already fast. But not panicked. Quick, almost like an animal's. He paused again, taking another breath, gaze unfocused as he listened. There.
Up ahead, a single-story amid the three- and four-stories, a private patio on a roof. The heartbeat came from there. As he neared, he could smell the tang of blood. He could hear crunching and slurping. His mouth twisted slightly. He paused at the base of the building, listening. Someone ... or something was eating.
He tensed his legs and leapt lightly onto the roof-patio.
The woman was dead. Very dead. The coated person was eating her. Alleathon was fiercely glad that his suited form had no gorge, for he surely would have heaved otherwise. There was blood everywhere. The attacker (a girl, he could now see) had ripped the woman apart and begun chewing on her bones. In fact, it looked as though the girl was only interested in the bones, since Alleathon could see large chunks of flesh scattered on the patio floor.
The girl had been engrossed in her task, but Alleathon's landing caught her attention. Her head snapped up, bone clenched in her teeth in macabre comedy, eyes wide and feral. Alleathon flinched inside at what he saw there; the child was mad! Her mouth opened, bone falling to the tiles with a clatter. She stared at him, eyes widening further, jaw working randomly. Then she threw herself forward onto her face. Her muffled voice rasped out at him in the Ivrithan language.
"Master Tesselëan! Came back! Long time, couldn't, came back! Hunting! Hunting! Tesselëans command hunt; Hunt!"
Dear Lord above; the girl was insane.
She shuddered suddenly, drawing in on herself. Then she looked up at Alleathon.
Alleathon recoiled instinctively; he couldn't help it. Her gaze was no longer mad; it was tortured.
"Please," she whispered in a normal voice, tears spilling over her thin cheeks, "Oh, please. Just kill me before it makes me kill again!"
She shuddered again, twisting slightly. Her eyes closed halfway, then opened. The madness was there again. "Hunt!" she cried again.
She jabbed a finger at the mutilated corpse. "Hunt! As commanded! Gontozenel dead! Gontozenel not fight again!" More shuddering, then sanity.
"Please, sir Descendant. I-- I think it's trying to tell you that you are its master, and that it's-- it's killing the Sukkers for you. That-- that it's been making me kill the Sukkers because that's-- that's what it does." Her face screwed with pain and concentration.
"It makes me eat their bones. That's where the Sukkers are, inside the Drones they take. When I ... eat the bones, it can eat the Sukkers." Silent tears streaked down her filthy face, which she lowered.
Alleathon stared, mind racing. What had she called him? Tesselëan? Why did that word ring through his blood? He could still feel her heartbeat, and now he could feel something else. There was something there with her, sharing her body. It was the most bizarre sensation he'd ever known. Something in him knew the thing inside of her; It pulled at him.
And she claimed It was eating the Sukkers? How was that possible? Sukkers dematerialized as soon as the host was dead! Wait; she had called them something else. Gontozenels. That word also stroked a chord within him, one that jangled harshly on his senses. It was true.
This ... thing that hosted in the girl was hunting Sukkers, and It knew the old names. No-one remembered what the Ancients had called themselves or what the Sukkers still called themselves. This thing did. This thing that hunted Sukkers and bowed to the Descendants of those Ancients.
"Hunter!" he snapped quietly in Ivrithan. The girl's head whipped up. The creature used her eyes to stare at Alleathon.
"The energy of the Su--Gontozenels is in the bones of the humans they possess?"
"Yes, Master Tesselëan! Life of Gontozenel! Bones!" The creature's control was not perfect; the girl fought it.
"Then all you need is the energy? You don't need the bone itself, or the human Drone?"
"Feh! Hunt Gontozenel!"
Alleathon took that for a yes. He casually lifted one of the balls from his bandoleer. "I see. Had you told me this before you grabbed this Drone, we might have been able to simplify the process. This sphere contains Gontozenel energy, drained out of the Drone hosting it. Is this what you seek?" He pressed the side of the ball, at a specific part of the subtle engraving. It began to glow softly.
The girl hissed and lunged, barely stopping herself from leaping onto Alleathon. No. The Hunter lunged, and the girl barely stopped It. She fought to control It (or herself) for several moments. They compromised; she remained kneeling on the patio, and the Hunter spoke.
"HUNT."
The hunger in that word sent a slice of fear through Alleathon. He stared down at the girl, who shook with the effort of holding back the Hunter.
"Ah. That's good to know. Here." He flipped the containment ball to her; she neatly snatched it out of the air with both hands. No need for instructions, amazingly. Her hand immediately found the right section of engraving, releasing the stolen energy. Alleathon reflexively tensed; a Sukker was loose! But only for a second; the girl opened her mouth and shoved the ball as far in as it would go. Instead of dissipating and regenerating who-knew-where, the white energy slid back over the ball and into her mouth. She sucked on the ball frantically, fiercely.
In a short time, there was no more glow from the energy ball. The girl relaxed, and the ball fell from her mouth and clattered across the deck. She leaned back on her heels with an expression so worn, so defeated that Alleathon's heart nearly broke.
"Sir Descendant," she whispered with no trace of the Hunter, "Thank you. That's the first time ... It's so ... happy now." She leaned forward slowly, gently falling facedown onto the paving. Now her tears came with tiny cries.
"Wait here," Alleathon said as his gift alerted him. "My fellow Descendants have arrived, and I will speak with them. If you will stay, Hunter, you shall have many energy balls to drain, with no flesh in the way."
Not waiting for a reply, he jumped back down to the alley-way and ran hastily to the street.
~~~~
"Alleathon! There you are!"
Alleathon nodded curtly at his second-in-command as he strode out of the alley-way, toting the unconscious Drone. Laillmen Konieton walked toward him, bandoleer swinging from her hips and cropped brown-and-purple hair bouncing minutely on her head. Vyenthon Nenkthen followed closely behind her, hands held slightly away from his body and fingers lightly curled as he scanned for potential threats.
Vyenthon looked exactly like Alleathon, which was to say that he looked like every male Descendant since the War came to Alluvia. His distinctions were his coloring, which was several shades of green fading into each other across his skin, his eyes, which were a brighter red than Alleathon's, and his long green hair, which he normally wore in a tail high on his head.
Laillmen looked like every female Descendant, who were not so different from their Brothers. Their feminine shape was as exaggerated as the males' masculine shape, yet each had their own unique coloration.
"Reporting in, Alleathon," Laillmen said crisply. "The e-wagon will be a few moments yet. Sonelion and Kiemelen are with the constables, assisting with rescue and retrieval."
Alleathon nodded again, not trusting his voice. He lifted the Drone and dumped him into Vyenthon's arms. The junior Descendant took the hint and carried the man away, leaving his superiors to talk. Alleathon turned back to the alley-way, a chin-jerk ordering Laillmen to follow. They paused at the opening before Alleathon spoke.
Quietly and in Temple speech, he told Laillmen what had happened. Her Descendant face showed nothing, but he knew she felt every bit as disturbed as he did.
"This Hunter creature may be a key to unlocking more of the Ancients' secrets," he said, affecting a casual stance for the eyes of the people clearing the rubble-strewn road. "It knew words I'd never heard before, and I watched It ... swallow the energy from the ball."
"Tesselëan," Laillmen murmured. "It does sound ... right. Can that really be the name of the Ancients?"
"I think it is. And the Sukkers are really Gontozenels." Laillmen shivered as her leader uttered the word.
"Yes; you're right. That's their name, without question. What of the girl?" Her solid, teal-colored eyes glanced sharply at him.
"We cannot leave her," Alleathon answered calmly. "The hells she has been through since this thing took her ... and we need to have It under supervision. And contained. We can't let It travel around killing people, not when we can drain them and leave them alive."
"That would not improve our public image; this is certain," Laillmen agreed wryly, glancing over her shoulder. "The e-wagon is here; we can take her back in that with none the wiser. And then, we shall see.
"Ah! I've just recalled something; there have been reports of maulings in several cities and towns over the last few years. Constables have called it some kind of wild animal attack, since the victims were partially eaten. But there wasn't a pattern, and the attacks were moving around. Started in ... Berziny, I believe, moved through Tautona, and more recently here in Ivrithan. It could be this Hunter; all the victims were in the same state."
They stiffened in unison and turned with blinding speed. The shabby, emaciated, blood-covered girl stood in the alley-way behind them, just out of sight of the street. She held the chewed bones in her arms and hesitated, shuffling her feet.
"Please, sir and miss Descendant. It wants to go with you. It wants to hunt and feed and ... be with Its masters." Her face twisted bitterly. In the light from the street, she looked a bit older; perhaps late adolescence. Starvation had made her eyes huge, creating a false youth in the shadows of the alley-way.
"And what of the bones?" Laillmen asked, nodding toward the offending things. The girl glanced down at her burden.
"I thought that we should try to return them to the family. For burial."
Chapter 2
The bedraggled girl jumped quickly to the floor of the massive garage and crouched there, glancing around warily. The electrical wagon she had spent the last hour in shuddered, coughed, and fell silent behind her. Deciding that no-one was going to rush her, she stood slowly, wrapping the over-sized coat tightly around her thin body and tugging the frayed cap over her ratted hair.
Her head whipped to left as she detected movement; her knees bent reflexively as her hands left her pockets. The brown-colored Descendant, the woman, walked up to her. Laillmen Konieton; that was her name. A stocky man followed her.
"This is Len Geanopul," Laillmen informed the girl. "Len is one of the Temple guards. He'll show you around the Temple complex and take you to Merlene Dolay, the head chamberlain. She'll get you settled in."
The girl nodded cautiously.
"Be at ease, girl," Laillmen ordered firmly yet not unkindly. "You've endured a great ordeal, and we'll try to make things as gentle for you as possible. You're not a prisoner."
The girl nodded again with slightly less caution.
"Len will guide you now. Welcome to the Temple." Laillmen nodded to both of them and walked away.
Len and the girl looked each other over for several minutes. He was perhaps thirty years, of medium height and thickly built, and his uniform was clean, neatly pressed, and fitted him well. A small pistol rested in a holster on his right hip, but he made no move to unbutton the flap covering it. Len's dark brown hair lay flat on his head courtesy of some styling product. He had a well-fed, well-cared-for look to him.
The girl was small, underfed, and filthy. Her last "meal" stained the sleeves and front of her worn coat and the dark, button-down man's shirt she wore underneath. The over-sized trousers she wore hung from her middle by the tenacity of a cracked leather belt with a blackened buckle. The cuffs had been rolled up at one point, though the left one had fallen recently, revealing its shredded hem and partially covering the bare foot beneath it. Her hair color was impossible to define through the filth that caked it, as was her complexion. Her eyes, though, were hazel and seemed to burn in her face.
Len smiled hugely. "Well, then; shall we be off?" He stepped to the side and gestured politely to her. She nodded slowly and began shuffling, still slumped into her coat.
"By the by," Len said as they crossed the large, high-ceilinged garage, "I didn't catch your name. I don't want to call, 'Here, Girl!' like you were an animal, after all!" His easy grin drew a tiny response from the corners of the girl's mouth.
"I'm Sylenn," she replied quietly. She couldn't place his accent from any of the places she'd roamed over the years.
"Pretty name," Len complimented as he led her around the parked vehicles and to a set of large metal doors. "Well, Sylenn, let me give you the grand tour. This here is the garage, where we keep the big stuff. Mostly vehicles, but you can see some other things over there. I don't know what all it is; Ancients stuff. The Descendants use it sometimes, but for the most part it sits there. Most of the carriages and wagons you see here we use for moving goods: food, furniture, that sort. Temple's a big place, with a lot of people, so we need a lot of supplies. We actually grow a lot of our food; I'll show you that in a tick.
"This here is the main lift shaft; you ever seen one before? Good, good. We're actually underground right now. I'll explain more once we get up where you can see things. We won't use this shaft; it's too big and slow. This one over here is for just people. You've been in one before? Good, good. Lots of people haven't, so I make sure to ask. Alright, in we go; you can hold the rail there if you want. Let me just flip this ... and up we go."
The small chamber shuddered and lurched under their feet. Len balanced with the ease of practice; Sylenn balanced with animal grace as the lift hurtled upwards. As the guard continued talking, it occurred to Sylenn than while she understood his words clearly, there was something ... off about how he spoke. Or the way she heard him.
"The garage is about two leagues underground. No-one really knows why; that's just where the Ancients built it. This whole complex dates back the beginning of the War. At least, to the beginning of the War when it came to Alluvia. Nobody knows when they actually started fighting! Anyhow, we've added on and remodeled and the like over the years, made it more homey and such. Built the farms you'll see in a tick, added housing for the staff, some halls for various things. Oh, and the fishery; we do a lot of trade in fresh fish, actually. Not that anyone out there knows it's from us, of course. Wouldn't that be a right mess? Food from the Temple? Nah, they don't know where the fish comes from, so we can sell it with no problems.
"Alright, here we are. Watch your step, there, Sylenn; there's a girl." Len led her out of the lift and into a wide hall. A few people passed by them, each intent on some chore. One or two greeted Len as they hurried by, and one older boy gave Sylenn a cheerful wave, as well. They crossed the old, polished wood floor to a bank of windows set in the far wall, which let in brilliant sunlight. Sylenn ducked her head as they neared, letting the brim of her cap shade her face from the brilliant light. When she got to the windows and looked out, she froze. Len assumed a restful pose, hands lightly clasped behind his back.
"That's the Temple," he informed her quietly. Perhaps she needed the confirmation.
The sea of buildings below the windows seemed to glow in the warm sunlight. In the center of the valley stood a structure that must have been ten stories tall and built completely of snowy marble. Perfectly square, the Temple covered nearly half the available land. Its outer walls were actually columns, massive pillars five men with arms outstretched couldn't surround. Sylenn could just perceive people, dwarfed by both distance and the building, moving in its shadows.
A wide street separated the Temple from the buildings surrounding it. These constructions were of a more normal size and design, being a modest three or fewer levels with shake-shingle roofs, white-washed walls, and shutter-flanked windows. A gentle vibration from the glass in front of Sylenn told her that this small city was alive and well.
"So, this valley we're in is the crater of an old volcano," Len said, breaking the silence of the observation room. "Our best guess is that the Ancients wanted a protected place to put the Temple, so they redirected the lava flow from this island to the seas around it."
Sylenn glanced sharply at Len from under the brim of her cap.
"Heh! Yeah, the Ancients were a grand bunch, eh? Never did things by halves! So, this old volcano is on an island in the middle of the seas, more than a thousand leagues from the nearest continent. Any guesses where it is?" He grinned again.
Sylenn thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"We're in the middle of the Seraphac Ocean, if that helps," Len hinted.
Sylenn thought again. "The Sea of Mists?"
"That's it! The old Banewaters themselves! The Temple's the reason no-one can sail around here, why no areo-ships can fly through here, and why there are all those legends of lost sailors and what have you. See, the Ancients diverted all that lava, right? Well, it comes up under the ocean around here instead, and that's what creates all the mists and the odd smells. They also did something else, we don't know what, that keeps people who aren't afraid of superstition from getting in. Anyone who hasn't been given passage by a Descendant gets turned around or turned away and never finds the place. Used to call it magic; now we know it's science."
Sylenn nodded slowly and looked back out at the crater valley. Now she could see that the steep slopes had black patches gleaming through the sporadic grasses. That must be the old lava, cold and frozen into stone. The crater was perhaps one and a half leagues wide, half that in length, and mostly flat; the sides were nearly vertical, save at the edges, which were passable slopes dotted with tiny, moving shapes. The walls didn't rise very far, only about a quarter-league above the lowest portion of the valley.
"Over there," Len pointed to the left, "is the passage to the rest of the island. Big tunnel the Ancients dug, and the old doors they put on it still work, too. Good thing, since we get some bad storms in the spring. We're on the southern side of the world, below the equator, and still in the tropical zone. No bad winters here, which the old folks really like. Except for those storms, we've pretty good weather. Outside is where the farms are, but there are a few flocks of goats on the inside, on the rim up there. Oh, we call this the inside and the rest of the island outside; that makes sense? Good, good. Alright, Sylenn, let's get you cleaned up and give you a chance to rest a bit.
"We've got guest quarters down this way, so you've got your own place to sleep. Sometimes we have dignitaries and officials and the like come to talk with the Descendants, and this is where they stay. Nobody here right now, so you've got the run of the place. Later, we'll see about getting you someplace down in town. That's what we call the rest of the complex inside. People call the whole place here the 'Temple', but really, the only part that's the Temple is the big building where the Descendants live. The rest is Temple Island.
"Twanne! You getting our guest's room set up?" Len approached a bright-faced young woman who'd just emerged from one of the doorways lining the hall. She held a pile of linens in her arms but paused to grin at them.
"Sure am! Mom and I just finished freshening it up! You must be our guest! I'm Twanne Dolay; Mom's in there. She's Merlene Dolay, the Temple Chamberlain. You can call her Momma Merle, if you want; most folks do. I'm going to drop this down the chute, and I'll be right back! Oh, I'm sorry! What was your name?"
"Sylenn," came the guarded reply.
"Wow; that's a gorgeous name! Where are you from, Sylenn?" Twanne's eye's sparkled with lively interest, and her voice held the same curious accent as Len's.
"Twanne!" A woman's voice cracked through the air. Twanne and Len jumped as Sylenn dropped into a half-crouch; all three turned toward the room. A plump matron stood there, hands on her generous hips, frowning at the girl carrying linens. From the resemblance, this was Merlene.
"You get those sheets to the laundry quickly, now. Don't stand there jabbering all day."
"Yes, Mom! Be right back! See you in a tick, Sylenn!" Twanne dashed off with a guilty grin.
"Len, I'm sure you've work to do, then. We'll take care of Sylenn now; you get along. Thank you for your time and assistance."
Len grinned at Sylenn. "Don't worry about a thing, Sylenn. Momma Merle will take good care of you. I'm sure we'll bump into each other again." With a mock salute and half-bow, Len departed.
Sylenn looked the chamberlain over. A bit short, very round, slightly flushed, with very neat hair and clothes, Merlene was ripely middle-aged and wore her years with dignity. She stepped back and waved Sylenn in.
"Come now, child, let's get you cleaned up. Don't you mind Twanne; my daughter has a lot of learning to do yet in manners. You tell us what you want to, when you want to, and no more. Now, this is the sitting area, here's the bedchamber, and here's the bathing room. Have a hot bath ready for you, and fresh clothes. You want some help, child, perhaps with your hair? Going to take some combing, that will."
Sylenn shook her head, letting the cap's brim dip forward.
"That's fine, then. You go on and enjoy the bath. Don't rush yourself; take as long as you want. We've things to finish up out here, so call if you need us."
Cap still lowered, Sylenn nodded and slipped into the bathing room.
Chapter 3
Kylle Satherlin looked up from the news-paper he was reading when the door opened. Tad Badin, Kylle Canylle, and Clatyn Zeynz entered the common room with long, easy strides that Satherlin secretly envied. His stunted body would never be able to do that. But that was an old sadness and easily ignored.
"Good to see you," he greeted the newcomers, setting the paper aside. "We're just waiting on Mosin and Niel, then."
"Saw Niel in the hall, said he was just getting a snack first," Tad said, plopping into a over-stuffed chair and hand-combing his dark hair away from his face. "Mosin was doing something with Brodeck in the side gardens; not sure what. Shouldn't be too long."
Lyshunda Lehbraag snorted gently as she paced to Satherlin's side. "Does Niel ever stop eating? You'd think the man would grow out of it at some point!"
"Keeps you from being tempted, dear, so be glad of it!" Kyysha M'greph teased, eying Lyshunda's thickening middle. Lyshunda stuck her tongue out at Kyysha and eyed the other woman's own generous curves. Clatyn wisely held his tongue, but a grin split his tanned face as he levered his muscled body into a chair.
Niel Huether ducked into the room and shut the door behind himself, freeing one hand of its burden by stuffing the sandwich in his mouth, dusting his short beard with crumbs. Lyshunda sighed and looked at the ceiling as the round-faced man sheepishly greeted the others. Konyetta Colgazier cheerfully waved him over to sit by her at the long table and tried to steal part of his sandwich. Hae Cavey, the oldest in the group, smiled at their friendly squabbling as she found a place on a settee. Quiana Macebyo sat next to her and remained silent, watching the interactions.
Satherlin decided to forestall any more teasing. "We'll bring Mosin up to speed when he gets here; there won't be much, since he was there. Lyshunda and I will fill you in on what we found this morning. Have you all read the report?"
Nods came from the other eight people in the comfortable room. Satherlin glanced around at them as he spoke.
"This girl appears to be hosting a creature that originally served the Ancients. It lets her move a bit faster than average, though that could be training as much as enhancement. I wasn't expecting her, of course, so I didn't get a good look at first. The Drone woman was readying a blast when the girl--"
"Sylenn," Konyetta supplied helpfully. The youngest person in the room, she was usually the first to know any news on Temple Island. "And we think she's from Ivrithan, since that's the language she speaks."
"Sylenn," Satherlin nodded in appreciation. "When Sylenn grabbed her. Got her into the alley faster than a human ought to be able to move, so that's why I think the Hunter (which is what I'm calling It) is giving her some kind of boost. I waited about a minute before following them, and they'd gone a fair ways down the alley-way in that time. And up onto a roof patio, though I couldn't tell you how she managed that with a body. At any rate, the Hunter is able to do what It needs to, which is to consume the energy of the Sukkers. It forces the girl to kill the human Drones and eat their bones. That's where the Sukker is."
Several of the group blanched. Konyetta hid her face in her hands and shuddered; Niel put down his last half of a sandwich.
"But we don't yet know how It keeps the Sukker in the body long enough to actually consume it," Lyshunda added thoughtfully. "That must be another ability It has that the girl manifests. And we don't have any indication in the Records of this kind of servant to the Ancients. Whatever record there was, was lost in the Last Fight, when the Ancients vanished. Still, this creature may be what It says It is, and It may be able to help us recover lost information."
"And we can't just leave that poor girl to have to eat people!" Konyetta cried. Quiana and Kylle quickly seconded the sentiment.
"No argument there," Satherlin replied, "but we do have to be careful. She's been through a lot, and it's hurt her badly. She's more animal than human now. The look in her eyes is that of a cornered dog; she's as apt to bite as accept help. It will take her some time, perhaps much time, to get used to all of us."
"Which means that we'll have to keep Demney off her case," Clatyn added darkly. "He'll want to take her apart the minute he can; from what you're saying, that won't do any good."
"I might not have said it that way, Clat, but you are right about Dr. Demney's zeal. She might not act like it, but Sylenn is still a human. This Hunter appears eager to serve, but we shouldn't press It too hard. It could turn on us as easily."
The teleo-phone on the small table by the door clanged softly. Niel, swallowing a half-chewed bite hastily, jumped up and answered it.
"Momma's bringing Sylenn down," he told the others, replacing the receiver.
"Is it wise to bring her in here?" Tad asked. "I know that you want all of us to have a look at her, at the Hunter, but maybe we shouldn't do that here, in the Temple itself."
"I did think about it, Tad," Satherlin admitted, levering his short body out of the leather-bound chair. "We're not going to be able to hide anything from the Hunter, which means we won't be able to hide anything from Its host. She's still got all her wits ... well, most of them. She's not a Drone, is what I meant to say. She can think for herself, and she'll figure it out. Best to be up-front about it from the start. Can you think of a more neutral, more informal location that our common room?"
Tad reluctantly shook his head. Satherlin eased himself onto the floor, concealing a wince as his short legs took his weight. He'd been born a midget, a dwarf, and time had not eased the difficulty he had moving around. His head barely reached the waists of the rest of the people in the world, yet he rarely realized that he had to crane his neck to look someone in the eye. He limped over to the big table, where Quiana had pulled out a chair for him. No-one offered to help him as he hauled himself up onto it and stood leaning against the table, pretending he wasn't panting.
He'd just got his breath back when there was a knock at the door.
"Come!" Satherlin called out. The door opened, revealing Merlene Dolay. She walked into the room and stepped to one side, waving the small figure behind her to follow.
Sylenn slowly entered the room, her sharp gaze darting over every detail. She was hardly recognizable as the tattered hobo from the streets of Casserion. Her clean face was a deep caramel color featuring a broad nose and full lips. Her shaggy hair had been washed, combed, and restrained in a loose braid that began atop her head and ran down to her shoulders. Her hair was a rich brown and very curly, defying the braid's order. The old coat and cap were gone, replaced with a long-sleeved blouse of a creamy yellow color and a straight skirt in a dark gray. She now wore simple shoes and stockings and a pair of plain ear-studs.
Self-consciously, Sylenn grasped her right arm with her left hand, clenching both fists. Her action served to draw every eye to the boniness of her arms that the sleeves could not hide and the scabs and bruises that covered her hands.
"Good afternoon, Sylenn," Satherlin greeted her pleasantly. "Please, make yourself comfortable. Mrs. Dolay, thank you for taking care of her. We'll call you when we're done. Would you please leave the door open when you leave?"
Merlene raised an eyebrow at the request but nodded without hesitation. She left, making sure the hallway was empty of servants.
A few others gave Satherlin questioning looks, as well. He let them work it out on their own; the girl was in a strange place, surrounded by unfamiliar people.
Konyetta figured it out quickly and hopped up from the armchair she'd only recently claimed. "Here you go, Sylenn! This is one of the most comfortable chairs; have a seat!" She patted the back of the chair and moved over to the couch, giving Sylenn extra space. The girl nodded slightly, still darting glances around her.
The chair Sylenn perched on was the closest to the open door. It didn't match any of the other upholstery, but in fact, none of the furniture in the spacious room matched; every piece was in a different style, of a different period, and in a different condition. The table that Satherlin leaned against was possibly the oldest piece in the room and well worn. The unpadded chairs around it represented at least four different countries. The two couches were low and broken in, and the prim settees against the far wall showed their age, which was slightly less than the big table. Smaller tables protruded from the spaces between the seating, and a occasional footstool (or other object repurposed as a footstool) dotted the carpeted floor, the original color and design of which was impossible to determine.
Sylenn looked around at the group, her face slowly changing from wary to puzzled. Hers was not the only confused expression; several of the other glanced at each other with silent questions.
Satherlin began without preamble. "So, Sylenn. Do you have any questions for us just yet? I know there's probably a lot on your mind right now, and we will be explaining many things to you. But if there's anything you want to ask to start with, feel free to."
Sylenn darted several more glances around, then stared uncomfortably at her lap, where her hands gripped each other. After a few moments, she asked quietly, "You-- you're all Descendants, aren't you?"
Tad, Quiana, Niel, and Clatyn started at her question, and most of the others looked surprised. Satherlin did not. "Yes, Sylenn, we are. Did the Hunter tell you that?"
Sylenn shifted uncomfortably, head down, before answering in the same muted tone. "Sort of. It doesn't actually talk to me. It can't talk ... human. It tries to, and It gets mad when I don't understand It. It gets really mad."
"If It doesn't talk human, then how does It communicate with you?" Lyshunda probed.
"It ... thinks at me. I don't always understand Its thoughts, though. They're really bizarre. Don't make sense. So then It just makes me do whatever It wants." She blinked a few times.
"I see," Satherlin forestalled Lyshunda's next question. "To answer you more fully, yes, we are all Descendants. We don't like for others to know that we can change back to our human forms because we feel this would create more problems than are necessary. It also gives us a chance for some normalcy in our lives, a chance to remember that we are human still, despite being Descendants. Will you honor our secret?"
Sylenn's shoulders tensed suddenly. "Of course, Master Tesselëan! Of course!" she cried in a pained voice.
Konyetta half-rose from her seat before Satherlin waved her back.
"Was that the Hunter's reply?" he asked gently.
"Yes," Sylenn whispered harshly. "It ... wants to please you. It ... hates not pleasing you ... I-- It -- remembers-- It remembers-- AH!" Her head whipped back as she convulsed. "Pain! Oh, God! Pain! It hurts when It doesn't obey!"
Konyetta rushed to Sylenn's side, beating Kylle and Niel by half a second.
"Ah! Ah! It HATES YOU! Hates them!" Tears poured from her clamped eyes as she shook, struggling to hold herself still, trying to stifle the creature that had forced Its way into her body. "They took-- they stole-- Oh, God! The pain! They hurt It so much, so much!"
Niel stood behind Sylenn's chair, face creased in worry as Konyetta and Kylle spoke soothingly to her. He glanced over at Satherlin questioningly. Satherlin nodded quickly.
In an instant, a huge form stood in the plump man's place. The ocher-gold Descendant hovered his large hand over Sylenn's quivering head and sighed gently. Instantly, she stilled, her sobs trickling off into soft hiccups. After a moment, the Descendant pulled back his hand and Niel stood behind the chair again.
When Sylenn was calm again, Satherlin spoke. "It seems we have much to learn. I take it that the Hunter doesn't understand what you try to tell It, either?"
Sylenn shook her head, which was hidden in the handkerchief Konyetta had produced.
"Well, we'll do what we can, then. Do understand this, Sylenn: we do not want to hurt you or the Hunter any more. We want to help both of you."
"You can help me by killing me," Sylenn hissed, glancing up sharply from the handkerchief. Her eyes burned in her tear-streaked face. "I am dead already; a walking corpse. Kill me and end this damnation!"
"We won't do that, Sylenn," Satherlin replied compassionately. "I understand that you're going through something horrible, but I don't think that killing you will solve the problem. I won't pretend to know what your life has been like, but I won't authorize your execution, either."
Sylenn slumped in the chair. "So you'll just cage me up and make the beast do tricks, then?"
"No," Satherlin told her firmly, shifting his stance on the chair to ease his legs. "We're not going to cage you, and we're not going to force you or the Hunter to do anything. This whole War is about our freedom, about not being forced to be the pawns of aliens long dead and gone! We hope that you will cooperate with us, will allow us to study the Hunter so that we can understand what's going on, but we're not going to force you."
Sylenn stared into the handkerchief for several seconds before nodding reluctantly.
"Heyla, all! Sorry I'm late!" Mosin Jenfsen burst into the room with his customary abandon. Sylenn dove out of her chair and behind the nearest couch. Satherlin sighed as Lyshunda faced the late-comer.
"Mosin, can't you ever walk into a room like a normal person? You scared Sylenn out of her wits!" She jabbed a finger at the girl's hiding spot.
"I-- Who?" Mosin halted, bronze face going pale.
"Sylenn, our guest. The one we scheduled this meeting to talk with?" Satherlin raised his eyebrows reprovingly.
Konyetta and Kylle glanced quickly at each other; so did Quiana and Hae. Eyes flew toward Mosin's face and then toward the couch.
Mosin struggled for words. "S-- ah, Sylenn is ... an unusual name. I-- ah, could I meet her?"
A strangled cry came from behind the couch, then movement as the crouched girl scrambled further away.
"Sylenn?" Konyetta said, peering around the couch. "Sweetie? Mosin would like to say hello. Would you--"
"No!" Sylenn cried, hiding her face in her chest. "No!"
"Sylenn?" Mosin whispered, walking slowly forward.
"No!" she cried, huddling on the floor. "I'm not here! I'm not her!"
Mosin leapt around the edge of the couch and crouched down beside her. As he reached out to touch her arm, she jumped to the side and scuttled away.
"NO! Leave me alone! She's dead, do you hear me? Dead!" Tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Oh, God; Sylenn! We thought you were dead! We thought-- is it really you, Silly?" Mosin stood and crept toward her.
Sylenn half-stood and backed up into the wall. Pressing herself against it, she shook her head furiously.
"No, no," she whimpered. "Don't look at me, Momo! I'm a monster! I've got this thing inside me that makes me kill and EAT people! I'm not your little Silly anymore! She died back then! Do you hear me! She's dead!"
Mosin continued to walk carefully forward, arms extended.
"Sylenn, we don't care about any of that! We just want you back. We love you, Silly! I love you!"
Sylenn covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Mosin swiftly crossed the space between them and folded her into his arms.
The world turned white.
~~~~
Sylenn looked up from Mosin's arms and stared into the startled face of a Descendant. He was green, with long green hair bound by a wide blue band around his forehead. A quick glance around the common room showed ten other Descendants in various positions: sitting, standing, leaning against walls or furniture; one male Descendant stepped down from a chair. They all wore shocked expressions. Sylenn glanced back at the Descendant who'd taken Mosin's place, who was now staring at her with bright red eyes and backing away. Glancing down, Sylenn gasped loudly.
Her body had transformed. Gone were the thin arms, bony hips, bruises, scratches, blouse, and skirt. In their place was a powerful, well-developed figure wearing no clothing. The skin bore variegated shades of green and white gently swirling into one another. From her viewpoint, her breastbone stood out prominently in the center of her chest, which was considerably fuller than before. Below it, she could see healthy arms, large hands, a flat stomach, and long, long legs reaching down to a floor that was suddenly very far away.
"Impossible," someone murmured.
Sylenn fought to control her breathing. "What's happening?" she managed to ask. "What happened to me?" Her voice, so different, rose shrilly.
The Descendant who had taken Mosin's place regained his composure. "Welcome Sister. What is your name?"
"My-- my name? My name is Sylenn! What-- what--"
"Take ease, young Sister," the red-skinned Descendant said calmly, coming up to them. "It would seem that you are also a Descendant, Sylenn. It's nothing to be afraid of; we're all here to help you. You have just Awakened through the touch of your Brother Descendant, Vyenthon Nenkthen. You already know your own name; let it flow into your mind."
"I'm Sylenn!" she gasped, cradling her arms to her chest, looking around wildly at the bizarre, solid-colored eyes of the Descendants. "I'm--"
"Who was your father?" the red one demanded.
"Fulen!" The answer tumbled out of her mouth. "Wait, how did--"
"Who was your mother?"
"Ah, Soneli. Wait, I don't understand--"
An ocher-gold Descendant walked up to her other side and placed a hand on her shoulder. Calm washed over her as he said, "We welcome you, Sister Fulenthen Sonelion."
Fulenthen glanced from one to the other, fighting the calm.
The world turned black.
Chapter 4
"Silly? Silly, can you hear me? Sylenn, sweetie, come on, wake up now."
The gentle pleading slunk through the black haze, feebly poking at the temporary peace. Sylenn groaned and fought to stay in the blackness. It was quite, no beast clawing at her mind, forcing her body to move. She didn't want to wake up. Didn't want to go back to the hellish life she couldn't escape.
With a stifled shriek, Sylenn shot upright, arms flailing. Her right arm smacked Mosin across the jaw, her left hand punched Lyshunda in the neck. Another second of flapping, then she hugged her arms to her chest. Her normal, blouse-covered chest.
She stared at her body for several breaths before movement at her side caught her attention. The midget stood there, next to Mosin, who sat on the floor looking dazed. A muffled choking came from the other side of the couch.
"Glad to see you're back with us," the dwarf said wryly. "While we let our brother and sister compose themselves, let me bring you up to speed. You might want something to drink; this is going to be a long explanation."
He took his own advice, lifting a glass from a tray that one of the women, small and dark-haired, brought around. One of the men, the huge one, brought a padded footstool over, and the midget settled himself on it so that he was almost eye-to-eye with Sylenn.
"Now, before I begin, I'd like to clear up the confusion about you and Mosin. I take it that you are the long-lost sister he's occasionally mentioned?"
Sylenn took a swallow from her glass, looking at Mosin from under her lashes. "Yes," she finally replied. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you what happened.
"I was at natural science conservatory for a summer in Dathon; that's in Ivrithan over by the border with Tautona. I was eleven years old. We were out one night watching the meteor shower and mapping the stars. It-- one of the meteors actually hit near us, and we-- we were all excited to go see it. It was very hot, so we couldn't touch it, but we stayed for almost an hour, watching it glow. The tutors took us back to the cabins, but I couldn't sleep. It was too much, I guess. I was so excited to be at the conservatory, to have seen so much. I kept thinking about the meteor. Since I couldn't sleep, and everyone else was already asleep, I snuck out and went back to the field where it had landed. It was dark, so I thought it would be hard to find, but I knew right where it was.
"It wasn't very hot anymore, so I picked it up. When I did ..." Sylenn swallowed and lowered her head.
"We thought she was dead, but we weren't sure," Mosin whispered, reaching out to take his sister's hand. Sylenn flinched, but allowed the touch. "Three days without word, and someone went to the conservatory to check on things. Everyone there was dead. So many of them were unidentifiable, and only some of those were eventually named. No-one really could say what had happened, but ... people had been torn apart, walls knocked in, lots of things destroyed. No-one knew what to make of it. We thought she was dead." He swallowed and leaned forward to grip Sylenn in a fierce hug.
"So," Satherlin summarized, "the Hunter was in the rock somehow and latched onto you for a host. When It did so, the result was the destruction of the conservatory?"
Sylenn snorted from within Mosin's embrace. "It made me kill them, tear them apart, and eat them," she said, voice muffled by her brother's arm. She buried her head further into his hold. "I didn't know what was happening. It was months before I remembered my own name, and I had no idea where I was or what I was doing. After that ... I just started wandering. The beast would make me travel, always looking for big cities, always trying to find the things that stank."
"The Gontozenels?" Lyshunda asked, voice hoarse and raw. The others in the room shuddered.
"Yes, if that's what they're called. I only know that It could find them because of how they smelled; It doesn't like how they smell."
"So, the creature finds them by scent, and It hunts them down and eats them?" Clatyn asked, his voice thick with some familiar accent. Tautonan.
"Yes!" Sylenn snapped weakly. "It made me kill the person so It could kill the ... the Gontozenel." Another shudder flitted around the room.
"How did It keep the Sukkers from vanishing?" the big man pressed, leaning forward in his chair. "We've never been able to trap the energy once it leaves the Drone."
Sylenn sighed and leaned back. Mosin shifted so he could sit next to her on the couch, arms still surrounding her. "I don't know; It just ... did something. I could never tell. It made them freeze somehow, made them stay in the marrow until I could get to them." She closed her eyes and leaned against Mosin's shoulder.
"We'll get details later, Clat," Satherlin interrupted. "So, that's what's been happening to you these past ... eight years?" Sylenn and Mosin both nodded. "So, let me fill you in on what happened in the last half-hour.
"You're a Descendant, Sylenn; your name is Fulenthen Sonelion. In fact, you and Clatyn are 'cousins' of a sort because his mother was Soneli, too. So, how this works. You know that the touch of a Descendant is what Awakens a new Descendant, right? That's why we're careful to not touch people; they think we might make them into Descendants. That's not entirely true. You have to be a Descendant for our touch to do anything. Normal people don't change just because we touch them. There have never been more than about a dozen to fifteen Descendants at any one time before. And there have never been two Descendants from the same generation of the same family before.
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