beneath the sea many thousands of years ago.”
“That really happened?”
He nodded. “It did. I was
still a child when the end came, but I remember our lives before, playing on
the beautiful beaches, swimming in the sea. The island continent of Lemuria was
a wonderful place to be a child.”
“Wait a minute. You said it
happened thousands of years ago. So how could you remember? You’re what? Maybe thirty? Thirty-five?”
He got an odd, uncomfortable
look on his face. Then he slowly shook his head and sat up, grabbed a comb out
of his bag, and began running it through his long hair, tugging roughly at the
wet tangles. After a moment he stopped. His shoulders rose and fell with the
deep breath he inhaled and then exhaled.
He raised his head and smiled
sadly at her. “I told you I was an immortal, Ginny. My world sank beneath the
sea around twelve thousand years ago. I have existed, since my birth, for
almost fifteen thousand of your years. Among my people, I am a young man. My
father, who is much older than I am, remembers a time when we traded with the
people of Atlantis, when our older members traveled among the stars.”
He stared down at the tangles
he’d snagged with his comb and sighed. When he raised his head, Ginny was
almost certain there were tears in his eyes. “I’ve lived through the birth of
your civilization, through wars and climate changes, earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions. But never, in all my long years, have I seen a threat as terrifying
as the one our worlds face now. Demons have always existed, but not like this.
Not with the strength to actually offset the balance between good and evil. The strength to destroy your people. To
end mine.”
His pain arced between them,
so powerful it was almost tangible. Ginny stood up and crossed the small distance
between the two beds. She took the comb out of his hands. “Turn around, Alton.”
He gazed at her a moment, and
then he turned and sat in the middle of the bed with his legs crossed. She
knelt behind him and worked the comb slowly through the long, silky strands of
his hair, carefully removing the tangles one by one.
“You said Eddy and Dax went to
Lemuria to see if your people would help fight. What happened with that? Why’d
they end up in jail?”
He sighed. “It’s a long, sad
story. Lemurians were once great fighters. Your legends say we almost destroyed
ourselves with thermonuclear war, but that’s not true. We were a people of
honor, armed with our sentient swords, and our fight wasn’t with Atlantis or
any other humanoid peoples. We fought demons and we kept balance between the
worlds. Then, shortly before my birth, when Lemurians had the demon threat
under control, my people began to fight among themselves. They came very close
to destroying Lemurian civilization. By the time I was born, level heads had prevailed
and our soldiers had become philosophers instead of fighting men.
“No one realized, though, that
when our swords stopped speaking to us, it meant we had gone too far in our
quest for peace through philosophical discourse. We had lost something important.
Something that we, as a people, still needed—our strength in battle and our
honor. When Dax and Eddy asked for Lemuria’s help to fight demons, they were
imprisoned. I think it’s because the senators of the Council of Nine were
embarrassed by their request. Embarrassed to admit they’ve lost not only the
will, but the ability to fight.”
Ginny finished combing out one
section of his hair and went to work on another. “So why are you different?
What made you decide to help total strangers?”
“I had been talking with my
friend Taron. You would like Taron. He’s like a brother to me, only Taron’s a
lot smarter.” He laughed. “I was telling him how dissatisfied I was with my
life. How I sensed there should be more, that our lives within the mountain
were meaningless because we accomplished nothing. Essentially, I complained
that we had nothing to
“That really happened?”
He nodded. “It did. I was
still a child when the end came, but I remember our lives before, playing on
the beautiful beaches, swimming in the sea. The island continent of Lemuria was
a wonderful place to be a child.”
“Wait a minute. You said it
happened thousands of years ago. So how could you remember? You’re what? Maybe thirty? Thirty-five?”
He got an odd, uncomfortable
look on his face. Then he slowly shook his head and sat up, grabbed a comb out
of his bag, and began running it through his long hair, tugging roughly at the
wet tangles. After a moment he stopped. His shoulders rose and fell with the
deep breath he inhaled and then exhaled.
He raised his head and smiled
sadly at her. “I told you I was an immortal, Ginny. My world sank beneath the
sea around twelve thousand years ago. I have existed, since my birth, for
almost fifteen thousand of your years. Among my people, I am a young man. My
father, who is much older than I am, remembers a time when we traded with the
people of Atlantis, when our older members traveled among the stars.”
He stared down at the tangles
he’d snagged with his comb and sighed. When he raised his head, Ginny was
almost certain there were tears in his eyes. “I’ve lived through the birth of
your civilization, through wars and climate changes, earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions. But never, in all my long years, have I seen a threat as terrifying
as the one our worlds face now. Demons have always existed, but not like this.
Not with the strength to actually offset the balance between good and evil. The strength to destroy your people. To
end mine.”
His pain arced between them,
so powerful it was almost tangible. Ginny stood up and crossed the small distance
between the two beds. She took the comb out of his hands. “Turn around, Alton.”
He gazed at her a moment, and
then he turned and sat in the middle of the bed with his legs crossed. She
knelt behind him and worked the comb slowly through the long, silky strands of
his hair, carefully removing the tangles one by one.
“You said Eddy and Dax went to
Lemuria to see if your people would help fight. What happened with that? Why’d
they end up in jail?”
He sighed. “It’s a long, sad
story. Lemurians were once great fighters. Your legends say we almost destroyed
ourselves with thermonuclear war, but that’s not true. We were a people of
honor, armed with our sentient swords, and our fight wasn’t with Atlantis or
any other humanoid peoples. We fought demons and we kept balance between the
worlds. Then, shortly before my birth, when Lemurians had the demon threat
under control, my people began to fight among themselves. They came very close
to destroying Lemurian civilization. By the time I was born, level heads had prevailed
and our soldiers had become philosophers instead of fighting men.
“No one realized, though, that
when our swords stopped speaking to us, it meant we had gone too far in our
quest for peace through philosophical discourse. We had lost something important.
Something that we, as a people, still needed—our strength in battle and our
honor. When Dax and Eddy asked for Lemuria’s help to fight demons, they were
imprisoned. I think it’s because the senators of the Council of Nine were
embarrassed by their request. Embarrassed to admit they’ve lost not only the
will, but the ability to fight.”
Ginny finished combing out one
section of his hair and went to work on another. “So why are you different?
What made you decide to help total strangers?”
“I had been talking with my
friend Taron. You would like Taron. He’s like a brother to me, only Taron’s a
lot smarter.” He laughed. “I was telling him how dissatisfied I was with my
life. How I sensed there should be more, that our lives within the mountain
were meaningless because we accomplished nothing. Essentially, I complained
that we had nothing to
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