Eramane by Frankie Ash

Author:Frankie Ash
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781480801806
Publisher: ArchwayPublishing
Published: 2013-08-13T00:00:00+00:00

Adikiah looks out at the ocean; the moon, still round and luminous, shines onto the black ocean waters, making it appear as if silver snakes slither along its surface. He has held his beast form, apparently unable to decide whether he wants to go in search of his companion. “Where have you gone?” he asks aloud, eyes scanning the skies. A flutter from behind reaches his ears, and he turns toward it. “I did not expect you back so soon,” he says, relieved.

I hit the stone terrace top with such control that I feel as if I stepped onto it after walking down a flight of stairs. My grace impresses Adikiah and a faint smile bares his sharp teeth.

“Where else am I supposed to go?” I ask. “Out there, nothing is familiar, welcoming. This is the only place I feel I belong,” I say, in a tone of mild disgust. Adikiah remains where he is, but I see his muscles flinch as he fights the urge to approach me. “What are you? I ask.

“I am the gatekeeper. I harvest the souls of men.”

“Harvest—why?” I ask, unable to determine why a soul would need to be harvested.

“So that we may live,” he says, his voice still.

“I am alive!” I shout, relieving only a portion of my harnessed anger.

“For now, yes, but if you do not harvest, you will die,” he replies calmly.

“And what does that mean, to harvest?” I ask.

“To take the essence of a human and absorb it into your body. It nourishes us, Eramane.”

“This kills them?” My voice trembles at the thought of his reply being yes, and tears break forth when he confirms it.

“It does,” he says. I look away from him and walk to the edge of the terrace top. I will not kill to live; I would rather die. I look down at the waves as they crash against the rocks at the bottom of the mountain.

“I could jump,” I say.

“I would catch you before you reached the bottom,” Adikiah says softly, and I know he would.

“It is a brutal way to live,” I say, still looking down at the crashing waves.

“Is the lion brutal when it takes down its prey? I am an animal just the same. We are all animals, Eramane, are we not? Humans slaughter one another over power, greed, fear … is that not brutal? The variations of death do not matter. I did not choose to be a gatekeeper, but it is my fate and has been for centuries. If not for me, the Orders of the Reach would spew from this mountain like the hot molten rock from its belly. Life upon life would be consumed until nothing was left, yet humankind does not show me gratitude; instead they hunt me.” Adikiah falls silent and I reflect on his words, taking in all he has told me.

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