Reclamation (The Ravening #3)(51)
Author: Erica Stevens

There were three tapestries of earth within the mix of thirty or more. They depicted sparkling blue oceans, rolling fields, animals, the pyramids, Big Ben, what I assumed was the Grand Canyon, and one of people gathered before a fire with their heads bowed as if in prayer. A tug of longing pulled at my heart as my thoughts turned to Bethany. At least she was safe right now, and if we were successful she would continue to be so, for what I hoped was a very long life.

"This is not what I was expecting," Jessica whispered from beside me.

"None of this was what I was expecting," I told her. "Let’s go."

These stairs didn’t move but were more what we were used to as they wound down to the bottom in a twisting design that was beginning to annoy me by the time we were a quarter of the way down. Grabbing hold of the banister I kicked my feet up and propelled myself over the side. It was a fifty foot drop, but I barely felt the impact as one of my knees bent to rest on the ground.

Rising, I raced across the floor as I narrowed in on the tree and pond. I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, blow it up or poison it, but I had the driving urge to get to it soon. Behind me, I heard the muted sound of the others shoes hitting the hard floor. Climbing onto the lip of the small wall surrounding the pool of water, I couldn’t help but feel repulsed as I saw what the wall surrounding The Fountain had hidden.

The roots of the tree were fibrous and crimson in color as they moved like eels seeking a meal in the water. The fine hairs covering the roots rippled over and all pointed toward me as they seemed to sense me standing on the ledge. As one, the roots rushed forward and I swore I could almost hear eager chatter amongst them as they crashed against the wall beneath my feet.

"This is the source of their immortality?" Becky inquired in a low whisper from behind me.

"I don’t know what this is, but it’s awful," Jessica murmured.

"Is it the water or the tree?" Craig asked.

"It doesn’t matter, we’re going to destroy it all," I said as one of the roots began to slide up the wall toward me. I didn’t move away from it as it broke free of the water. The fact that it was out of the water didn’t slow it as it slithered upward and that odd sound of excitement continued to resonate in my ears.

"They feed it too," Jessica whispered. "They feed it humans."

"No," I said as I stepped off the ledge. "They feed it us. Our vitality, our life source runs this thing and in turn it runs them."

Betty inhaled sharply as Jessica’s face scrunched up. Craig and Steve took an abrupt step back as the tip of the root thrust over top of the ledge and began to poke around. "That’s disturbing," Craig said.

"And right, I believe he’s right," Jessica croaked.

"They must have been crazy to drink or eat from this originally," Steve muttered as he eyed the fruit like it was going to bite him, which I wasn’t entirely sure that it wouldn’t.

"They’re not exactly sane," I replied.

"Well that’s not very nice." A cold chill ran down my spine as I froze in the act of pulling out another pipe bomb from within my shirt. My head came up as from behind the tree eight Tintagelians began to emerge. I hadn’t seen them in years but I knew immediately that The Ancients had just arrived.

The pipe slid back into place as I released it and lowered my hand back to my side. I hadn’t seen my parents since I was born but I knew immediately who my mother and father were. I don’t know how I recognized them, but my gaze focused on them as they moved to the front of the group.

"Welcome," greeted the tall slender woman I recognized as my mother. She appeared to be in her mid to late thirties, her pitch black hair was cut just beneath her ears in a sleek bob that emphasized her angular features. Her cheekbones were high; her almond shaped eyes were the same hue as mine. The complexion of her skin was a faint olive that was a little lighter in color than mine. She wasn’t stunningly beautiful but she was strangely mesmerizing as a smile spread across her full lips.

"And he was right." She was staring at me as if she expected me to say something but I remained mute as my gaze ran over the gathering of Ancients only thirty feet away. Their ages appeared to run from their late twenties to maybe early fifties, but there was an air of wisdom and age far beyond what their faces revealed surrounding them as their eyes ran over us. "About the tree, what it feeds on, what it will feed on."

My teeth clenched, my shoulders thrust back as I didn’t miss the meaning behind her words. I’d blow us all up before I ever allowed her to feed me to that thing.

"You shouldn’t be here." I remained focused on my mother; apparently she was the spokesperson for the group. The Ancients didn’t look at each other but there was some strange rippling between them that I sensed was some form of communication. "But since you are, I think our friend will appreciate your presence, or should I say essence."

"The children Isis," another said. His skin was pale and there was a hunch to his shoulders that made me think of old men, fragile bones and death. I’d never seen one of our kind look like this, even in old age we tended to hold up well and more often than not we just passed away in our sleep.

"We will make more children Forseti. These two are too pathetic for us to even consider as leaders, or as our own. Feed them to the tree; let their life force nourish it," my mother replied with a dismissive wave of her hand.

I felt my gaze slide to the fiber still poking out over top of the wall. More roots had climbed up to join it now.

"Such a shame, the boy showed promise." My eyes slid back to them as the older looking man standing beside my mother raked me from head to toe with his charcoal eyes. Osiris, I recalled, my father.

"The boy is a waste of our time and effort," another woman stated. She reminded me of a pencil as there was little to her shape and her black hair had been pulled into a harsh bun.

"He is Kali," my mother agreed. "But he was strong."

I wasn’t offended by these words; in fact I was as indifferent to them as these creatures were to me. "Sedna, Raijin why don’t you grab your daughter?" my mother suggested. Sedna, a short, plump woman with ample breasts and her long hair pulled into a loose braid stepped forward. Raijin, a taller man with a hawkish nose moved to join her. I took a step to the side so that I was standing in front of Jessica.

"Oh let’s not pretend that our offspring is the reason you’re here," Raijin drawled.

My hands fisted at my sides as my teeth clenched savagely. There was no way they could know about Bethany but even so my anger prickled as a cruel smile twisted Isis’s mouth. "Yes we’re aware that some of you are faulty," another man said. He looked to be the youngest out of them all, barely twenty-one. I vaguely remembered him as Segomo and only because he had once yelled at me to get out of his way. "That the humans can affect you in some strange way, that they can ruin you."