Chapter 18

Before me, inlaid into the white rock face, was the most beautiful and ornate building that I had ever laid eyes upon. It was three stories tall but looked as if it was built for giants, the doorway in the centre of the building front was at least ten feet tall, and then another 50 feet before the face of the building met the roof of the cavern. There really was now other way to describe it, it was ginormous. Each of the windows glowed softly from the bluish light emitting from the frames which were inlaid with crystals. It made the whole thing look otherworldly and as I stared up at it I couldn’t help but gape with wide eyed wonder.

“Whoa,” I murmured stumbling after Lucius as he tugged me along by my hand. As my breathing picked up slightly, I was strangely aware of the air down here as we walked, it was strange, cleaner and purer than any air I had breathed before in my life and as I inhaled deeply through my nose I smelt the scent of roses.

Opening my mouth to question the others, I stopped abruptly when I saw movement in the giant doorway and then there, standing at the top of the three steps leading up to the gaping hole called a door was a person. I squinted my eyes as we got closer only to realise that person wasn’t quite an accurate description of the being that was standing there proudly, her luminous metallic green eyes boring into us as we came to a halt at the bottom of the flight of stairs. In place of hair were thick green vines that curled over their shoulder like ringlets before cutting off around the waist. At first I thought it might be a wig but as I leant forwards slightly I could see that it was actually growing from the person’s head. Blossoming on the vine just above where her ear should be was a blue rose. As the person’s startling eyes dropped to me I gave a small smile and a nervous wave of the hand, unsure what to say or do but when the earth being looked back at me, I saw that her green lips had curled up in a smile too.

With a beckoning hand she waved our motley group up the steps and I hurried just as fast as the boys, completely bewitched by the beautiful presence before me. Her beauty was so striking that I couldn’t help myself as I reached the top step; I smiled at the woman and let out a breathy sigh as I took in all of her.

“You’re beautiful.” I whispered, taking note of her thick green eyelashes that looked like they were made from thin blades of grass. Her skin was brown, the colour of rich brown earth, and her cheeks held a slight rosy blush. It was strange to gaze upon because to me she was the epitome of natural beauty in both meaning of the words. She was a perfect combination of human and earth.

The earth woman smiled at me before looking up at the boys who were completely unfazed by her presence. “Hello boys, long time no see. I like your new friend, she’s good for my considerably large ego, can’t say the same for you three, you all look like you’ve been hit around the face with a wet fish.” She crinkled her face so that her nostrils flared slightly before she turned on her heel and walked into the building. “Come.” Her lofty voice called back to us so the four of us stepped forwards, Lucius still holding onto Danny.

I didn’t know whether to be concerned or happy about the fact that the bloody devil is so attached to my son. There would definitely be questions when all of this was over but strangely enough, even though I heard all of the bad things about him and I’ve seen his sex crazed ways, I trusted him. If it makes me a fool, then so be it, but I’m glad that at least if I don’t survive then there is someone to care for him.

As we passed through the doorway into the building I was even more awed. The building was larger on the inside and it was incredible. Marble floors and with veins of gold and platinum running through them, the architecture inside was so strange, it wasn’t built for convenience like our buildings but rather it was created for beauty. A natural spring bubbled in the centre of the room, the water washing down little grooves in the floor that as I stepped further into the room, I noticed that they formed a strange and intricate pattern, no sign of where one end began and the other ended.

I stared entranced at all of the strange beauty around me until  someone elbowed me in the ribs and as my head shot up I saw the earthen woman staring at me, her raised green brows showing that she was waiting for me to say or do something. I caught sight of Gabriel miming for me to nod so dumbly I nodded along too, not quite sure what I had just agreed to but I shook it off when the strange woman clapped her hands and smiled brightly before turning on her heel and padding barefooted across the marble. Shivering at the thought of being barefooted on something so cold, I huddled tighter in on myself and started walked closer to Gabriel who did the most surprising thing and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

Smiling at him I turned my head just as we entered what Gabriel informed me in a low whisper, was the council chambers. The thing that caught my attention was the paintings that covered all four walls. They told tales of great adventures, some from the creatures that were in them suggested that they had been done before man was even on this planet. I felt my eyes widen slightly, I knew they were the earth but never did I imagine this civilisation to be that old, I had secretly thought that they had evolved like man from a dumb beast to one that could communicate through language. From these murals though, I found myself proven wrong, these people had had intelligence beyond us since before man could even walk upright.

A groan issued from the opposite end of the great room and the mural opened up, the door cleverly concealed within the painting as soon as it was shut behind those who had entered. As my eyes fell upon those who had joined us, I felt myself sucking in a deep breath of air. If the woman was beautiful, I didn’t know how to describe these new occupants of the room. They were not what you would call normal beauty but there was something ethereal about them and they had me enraptured. They were more earth than human in comparison to the woman who led us in, one man’s skin completely made of bark and his beard ford of curly tendrils of vines with leafs sprouting here and there. It was then that I took note of the clothing, or lack of it. I hadn’t really realised it before but all of them were completely naked but because of their strange species, to me it looked as if they were in full regalia.

The sound of someone clearing their throat drew the attention of all of us as an exceptionally tall man and woman stepped into the room whilst holding hands. I thought what I had seen already was incredible but this was beyond. These two were definitely more earth than human, I could swear there were also animalistic features to them, the woman’s eyes having a pupil not unlike that of a cat. They seemed to pierce deep into me even with the vast amount of space between her and me.

Gabriel grabbed my hand and tugged me to the centre of the room where chairs were literally growing out of the floor. I eyed furniture, dubious that it would actually hold my weight but when everyone else took seats and sat there waiting, I scurried to sit down so that they didn’t look at me oddly, well not any odder than they already were. I was surprised at how comfortable the chair was considering it was made of stone. Yet somehow it was really comfortable and felt warm, like it was heated or something. I seriously need to get me one of these chairs.

“I would like to call order to this council session.” A lofty voice issued forth from the other end of a long table in which there were now twenty people sat around including myself and the guys. It was as I glanced at Lucius that I noticed that Danny was no longer in the room but he gave me a reassuring smile and nodded to the woman who had shown us in and was now living the room whilst cooing to my gurgling son.

I still felt uneasy that someone else was with my son but if Lucius trusted her then so would I, no matter how much I didn’t like it.

“Now it has come to our attention that the Book has been discovered. The very earth is trembling, and my bones are shuddering from the foolishness of these people and for once we feel that we cannot stand by and let the human race do as they wish.”  My attention was drawn to a man. Well he was more tree than man, I could not see where his mouth was and where he was speaking from but, as he continued with his speech, I realised that I was hearing the beautiful baritone inside of my own head.

“Yes, humans as loveable as they are have gone too far this time. Your father promised that the book would never get in to the wrong hands, that it would be protected from those of ill intent. We agreed to allow his creations cohabitate on this earth but this is just going too far. Some think we should leave the humans to their own destruction, you should think yourselves lucky that I am not of the same mind.” The baritone halted for a moment as the treelike being rested his branchlike arms on the table and proceeded to scratch his fingers against his chin. “I think that we will help you this time, but mark our words, after this we cannot interfere with humans, our existence is best kept secret. To start, I will personally travel to where the key is kept and will put it somewhere for safekeeping, there is no way I will allow it to fall into human hands, that will be the end of us all. As for you, you can use our quarters for now, but tomorrow Aurelia will take you to where the book was hidden and you can see if there are any clues. From now on, we prepare for war.” Several of the earth people brandished a hand and roared whilst I just sat there white faced as I exchanged glances with the guys.

“By key, does he mean the one that if they get it then they will control even you?”  I asked in a whisper, feeling the reality of the situation weighing down on my shoulders. This wasn’t really a council session; it was just them telling us what would happen. Not that I care, I like the fact that someone else is taking charge but I know that in the end it is just going to be me, for some reason I know that in my heart there is nothing I can do to avoid this fate.

Ezekiel who had been keeping silent for most of it gave a nod of his head whilst his brow furrowed. “Why didn’t He ever tell us that it was on earth?” He murmured staring across the room though is the glazed over look in his eyes was anything to go by, he wasn’t really seeing.

“So what do we do now?” I bit my lip as I waited for this reply, I saw one option that sounded brilliant to me, leave the people on the surface to deal with it and I can stay down here with Danny and the guys. Pushing that thought as soon as it came, I chastised myself for being so selfish. I may not have asked for this destiny of mine but it’s what was given and I should be grateful that I have been entrusted with the future of the earth.

Gabriel looked down at me and smiled as if he was talking to a little child. “We do as they say, we rest up, eat and tomorrow we go to war.” I closed my eyes and nodded in defeat. I knew it was coming but never did I imagine that it would happen this soon.

“Okay…”

Let me know what you think about the chappy. Wasn't too sure about it but there wil be a some more of these strange earth people.