Rise of the Mare (Fall of Man Book 2) (15 page)

I was sure I could manipulate Burt to
get me there, or at least help. However, there was no way I could
incorporate his assistance until I got used to being a human, acted
like one. Getting used to the body that made uncontrollable noises
and leaked with very little warning would take some time. I would
draw upon my knowledge of human children and babies. They leaked
often.

Once I was convincing that I was
surely a rebel as well, that Angeles City was my place, I would go
there.

The rebels had always only been a
minor inconvenience, always planning but never implementing. The
arrival of the Mare changed all that. Now, I was going to make a
difference as well.

Even if my being human wasn’t an
intentional plot of my father’s, I would use it to my advantage. It
would be my ticket to getting back into my kingdom’s good graces. I
wouldn’t destroy the rebels. No. I would do better. I would lead
the rebels to the kingdom, but only to be our replenished food
supply.

*

Burt waited a distance from me,
actually by the door of the main shack, and I was positive he did
not watch me dress. He would not be able to see much anyhow. I
carried the housedress over my arm as I walked to him.

“Since this is a treasured item of
your mother…” I handed it back.

“Uh, thanks.” He leaned back opened
the shack door and tossed it in.

I was aghast, I had thought it was a
treasure.

“Ready?”

“For?”

“To meet everyone.”

I looked around. “Are they part of
your imagination?”

He laughed and shook his head. “I
wonder what you were like before you got in the Straits. Come
on.”

Once again I was following Burt. This
time he took me to the other shack.

“There are people in this small
building?”

“Sort of.” He opened the door. “After
you.”

Apprehensively, I stepped
through.

“I have to tell you, those clothes
look good on you.”

“This shirt shows my feeble arms and
they flap.”

“Real women have movement to their
flesh. Never liked them hardcore workout or stick thin gals.”

“Thank you.”

Burt winked.

“You are a very nice person,
Burt.”

“Thanks, Madge.”

I did like him. There was something
about Burt. Perhaps I’d experiment with this body and have my way
with him. I didn’t want to tell him that in case he frightened like
most human men at the prospect of physical connection.

A light came on as soon as he shut
the door to a room smaller than my dressing room back home. He
pulled me back and I heard a humming sound. Within seconds a metal
box emerged from the floor and doors slid open.

“This is very different,” I said
walking into the box with Burt. The doors closed and the box
jolted. I held on.

“Been a while I take it.”

“I believe so, not sure.”

“Well, we know the Sybaris brainwash
you folks.”

“They do not. They …. they just
shelter hum… us.” I forced a smile. “And I did hit my head.
Everything is fuzzy.” I caught my reflection in the shiny doors.
Had I not known who I was, I wouldn’t recognize me. I had truly
been humanized, and I looked to be a human somewhere in their
forties.

“I figured.”

“It feels like we are going
down.”

“We are.”

“Below the Earth’s surface. To
what?”

“Home.”

The box stopped moving and the doors
opened.

Immediately I hesitated. The noise of
civilization flowed to me. We stepped out into a large room. Tables
were set up, people moved about. Lots of people.

“This is where we gather. We have
rooms where we sleep. I’ll find you one.”

“How many are here?”

Burt scratched his head. “Five
hundred maybe. Probably more since people keep having kids.”

“How do you live down here without
the sun?”

“We go up,” Burt explained. “We farm
down here using a system called hydroponics. Had a scientist from
the Old World join us. We have a doctor as well if you want him to
look at your head.”

“I’ll be fine with rest.” I was
amazed at how many humans there were, all dressed in clothing
similar to the clothing I was wearing. Everyone looked different,
unlike the humans in the Straits.

“We live quite well down here. We’re
safe. We like it.”

“Is this… is this Angeles City?”

“Um no.” He laughed. “Not at all, and
not even close. Is that where you were headed?”

“I think. Not sure. I’d like to go
and be a rebel.”

“Up to you. Personally, I think we
have it better here. It’s cleaner and safer.”

“Then why have they not joined
you?”

Burt stopped walking and stood before
a door. “Couple of reasons, I suppose. We aren’t rebels. We just
want to live, and I don’t think they know about us.”

“If this is not Angeles City, what is
it called?”

“We call it Hopeland. But some say it
was Area 51. To me, it was an abandoned underground base. We got
here ten years ago and we’ve thrived.” He opened the door. “The
best part is that the Sybaris don’t even know about us.”

I nodded and followed. The Ancients
did not know. I smiled. Little did Burt realize, they would know
very soon.

Sophie smiled, and while she still said no words, I knew by the
look in her eyes she was coming back. Until then, she was still
like a doll that I posed and dressed. I placed her in bed, covered
her, and asked that Samantha find someone to watch her door just in
case.

It had been a long day of looking at
dresses and trying them on. I retreated to my bedroom, a room
bigger than the entire first floor of my home in Akana. My bed was
across the room, and I sat on the sofa in the sitting area.

I sipped on a warm beverage called
tea, while curled up with a book I had found in the room. The book
was odd. It was big and thick and had names with numbers next to
it. I couldn’t figure it out and wondered if it was some sort of
code.

My mind was already too crowded to
break the code of the big book. I had only a couple of days until I
was to marry Iry. Not long to devise a plan to get back to Angeles
City or bring down the Sybaris.

One problem remained. Sophie. She was
a Sybaris; she was also my responsibility. If I made one wrong move
she would die and so would I.

The large book barely fit in my lap
and when there was a knock at my door, I jumped and the book fell
with a hard ‘thump’.

Iry stepped in. “Are you alright? I
heard a bang.”

“It was the secret book.”

“The secret book?” he asked.

“Yes, I found it in the closet. It
has yellow pages and numbers.”

“Ah,” Iry bent down and grabbed it.
“This is a phone book. Back in the day humans communicated using
telephones.”

“Yes, I know what they are. Alf got
himself in trouble using it.”

“Exactly, and this was a reference
for people to find numbers of people they were trying to
reach.”

“Silly me, and here I thought I was
uncovering something.”

“You know, perfect timing then if you
are looking for something to read,” Iry said. “I brought you a
pre-wedding gift.” He extended his hand and in it was a book. “Do
not let this be found.”

“A book?”

“Yes,” he said. “Enjoy.”

I looked at the cover.
“
Twilight
?”

“It’s a love story.”

“Oh, will I like it?”

“I hope. It’s about a young girl who
falls in love with a vampire.”

Immediately my eyes shot to his. “Is
this a mind game?”

“What?” he laughed. “No. It is my way
to show you that not all are bad. Even though I’m not a
vampire.”

“I will read it, thank you.”

“
Sure. I have to do
something
to get you
to like me. We
are
getting married.”

“If it helps,” I said, walking back
to sit on my sofa, “I do not dislike you.”

“That’s a start.” Iry sat down next
to me. “I am nice, Vala. The maidens all like me.”

“Hmmm…”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Why do they all like you so much?
Although Samantha fears you.”

“Samantha does not fear me.”

“I heard stories back in Akana. I
didn’t understand what they meant then. I do now since I have been
educated in Angeles City. They say the Sybaris men take human
women.”

“Take them where?”

“Take them,” I repeated. “They choose
them just to… take. What is that word? Seduction.”

“Ah, I get it. Yes.”

“I see. Did you chose a human woman
to take.”

“You’re my first choice, Vala. And I
didn’t chose you to take. Remember I just became old enough.”

“So you have not taken any human
women?”

“I…uh …” Iry cringed, “would rather
not say.”

“You have!” I gasped. “The women
here?”

“Vala...”

“You have! Do you make them pleasure
you, Iry?”

“I would like to think I pleasure
them in return.”

My mouth formed a circle as I fought
back my disgust. “You are blinded by your own arrogance if you
think that it is pleasure to them.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Well…” my chin dipped to my chest as
I sought the right words, “I am informed. Marie explained the act.
It sounds violating. A woman is placed in a very vulnerable
position.” Feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed by the subject, I
stood quickly.

“You have it all wrong. It’s not a
violation if both people agree, and it’s hardly torturous. There is
more to it all, Vala, you just don’t know.”

As he spoke I heard his voice getting
closer and softer.

“It’s more than the act,” Iry spoke
near a whisper, so close behind me. “It’s every aspect of it.”

I felt his finger trail softly up my
arm. Then he moved to my shoulder and trickled his fingers down
across the front of my chest.

“And with the right person…” his
breath was close as his hand made its way from my shoulder to my
neck. The tips of his fingers tickled lightly up to my chin and his
hand then extended across my face, “…it can be unbelievable.”

My heart beat fast, why was that? Why
was I breathing so heavily? A flutter hit my stomach as I felt him
move behind me, his body against mine. I let him touch me.

“You don’t know what you are missing,
Vala.”

On his last word his breath hit my
ear and a shiver shot through my body. I couldn’t move.

Iry stepped in front of me. His hand
remained on the side of my face. His eyes locked on mine.

I was caught up and then I snapped
from it. “You cast a spell on me.”

“When?”

“Right now. You used a Sybaris spell.
Right here I was almost drawn into your seduction ways.”

“You weren’t caught in a spell,
Vala,” Iry said. “You were caught in a moment.” He paused. “And so
was I.”

Before I could respond, Iry widened
his hand on my face, pulled me closer. He stepped to me and his
lips met mine.

The second they did, he pressed
against me and I felt something, a shock rippled up my chest and
when he widened his lips in connection with mine, my body felt
numb.

My first kiss. My very first kiss in
my life was from a Sybaris and my body and mouth responded with
enjoyment. His lips were soft, they moved in a sweeping motion, not
too wide and not too fast.

It was as if he paced his
affection, and I found myself wanting more. More intensity, more of
what he had. My head knew it was wrong, but why didn’t it
feel
wrong?

It felt good.

No
, I told myself.
Stop. Just stop. He is the enemy. He is
… My hands reached to him, pulling him against me. Feeling his
chest to mine, his hips against mine.

My breathing intensified, quickened
and he lifted his lips from my mouth and glided them to my neck. As
he kissed me there, my eyes rolled and my head flung back and then
Iry stopped.

When he did, I pulled from the moment
and was speechless.

“See?” he said softly. “It’s not all
that bad.” Iry darted a quick kiss to me, then turned and walked to
the door. “Goodnight, Vala.”

I believed and hoped the second the
door closed that the magic he used on me would go away and I would
stand repulsed at my actions.

But I didn’t.

The touch of his lips was still
strong on my mind and thinking of it caused my stomach to flip.
Instead of being disgusted, I found myself wanting him to kiss me
again, touch me again. I longed for it.

What was wrong with me?

I heard Marie’s voice in my head. I
needed it because I was human, but Iry was not. So why did I like
it so much with him?

In the after moment, I searched for
answers. Was it the sensation of being touched for the first time
or was there something about Iry I was attracted to more than I
cared to admit?

We buttoned down the proverbial hatch before the sun went down. We
made great time getting to Fred’s Bait Shop and , if we left early
enough, I was certain we could arrive at the gates of the Straits
before the next dangerous time.

Snake was a “go with the flow” sort
of guy and continuously carried on a conversation with me, and I
found myself glad he came along. He sat in the chair, whittling a
piece of wood, something he was quite good at, while spitting out
tobacco into an old cup.

“Have you give much thought to what
you’re gonna do when you get to the gate?” he asked.

“Tell them I want in.”

“I see. And what is your Rite of
Passage?”

“Excuse me?”

“Everyone has to present a gift to
get Rite of Passage. How are you gonna get it?”