The tall woman stood and flourished into a perfect, eloquent bow. “I am Shantis Sondere, High Priestess of the crytons,” she said as she raised her yellow eyes with purpose towards Eric. “Or the undead, as some of your kind refer to us.” Eric squirmed a bit at that last comment but held his gaze to hers nonetheless. “Please have a seat, both of you,” she said as she gestured gracefully to the open seats. She clapped her hands twice as a handful of servers entered the room, each holding covered silver trays which they began to place around the table.
Eric had no idea how Jacob could be so relaxed right now, and he found himself wishing some of that would rub off on him. Sure, they knew what they’d been looking for, that the crytons existed, and even what they looked like. But now that he was sitting at the table with the high priestess, the whole thing seemed so surreal. How does he do it? The servers began uncovering the trays, revealing different types of meats and stews along with brightly colored vegetables. Shiny silver water goblets with tiny colored jewels encrusted around the rims were set in front of each person.
“Now then, Eric Aethello,” Shantis said as she raised the water cup to her lips. “Try to help me understand why I’m to believe you are the Gate Keeper.” Eric’s blood chilled at the directness of her question. “What I’m sssaying is, over the last ten years we have had sssseven humans sssstumble across our private existence and claim to be the Gate Keeper. Sssseven times we have performed the ancient ritual to see if his claims were true.” She took a long gulp of water as the servants filled everyone’s plates with healthy portions. She was so nonchalant about the subject, it seemed as if she were talking about the weather.
“Wait a minute!” said Jade as she jumped up, cutting off Eric before he could voice his obvious concern. “Seven people have already made the same claim? What happened to those seven?”
“Why, they died, of course,” Shantis stated, sounding almost bored. “Only the Gate Keeper could actually sssssurvive the trials. They obviously...were not him.” The sudden reality smacked Eric right in the face. This is why they weren’t that spooked by humans walking the streets. They had seen them several times before! They were perfectly aware of the prophecies; this much was true, but they had been through this enough times already to have more than enough suspicion of yet another human making the same claim. Their doubts had sprung from several counterfeits showing up before he did. “Sssso I ask you again, Eric Aethello, why am I to believe you are the one?”
A heated spark began to burn inside him, which only seemed to gain heat with every passing second. He stood up as Jacob slid his chair back at the same time. Jacob was starting to recognize that look and wanted to be ready in case things escalated.
“I can’t think of a single reason, Priestess,” Eric said in a soft, dangerous growl. “Because I sure wasn’t him when I was blacksmithing in my home town of Bryer, nor when I watched people I had known my entire life die before my very eyes. I wasn’t him when the only father I had ever known told me I wasn’t really his son as he slammed the door in my face!”
The tiny spark became a roaring forest fire as it burned deep within his chest. The fire flared in his eyes as his deep voice boomed through the chamber. “I wasn’t him when the only life I had ever known was stolen from me. I denied it every step of the way!” Then his voice softened back into a deadly hiss as he took three steps toward her. “Make no mistake, Shantis Sondere, High Priestess of the crytons. I would take your life where you stand for it not to be true.”
Shantis’s yellow eyes were the size of moons as she drew herself back with every word. “I ssssee,” she said, seeming very interested for the first time. “It’s been years sssssince I’ve ssssaid this, but...I look forward to tomorrow!” Just like that, her queenly demeanor seemed to return as she sat back down in her chair of bone. Her powerful presence was unmistakable. She made the high-backed chair seem like a throne. “Enjoy your meal,” she said with a wicked smile.
They ate in silence before being shown to their rooms. Each one was given a separate room filled with the same white bone furniture, which included the bed frames. At least the mattresses were not made of bone! Eric sat at the edge of his bed as his mind swirled with doubts. If all the others had died during this ritual, what’s to say his fate would be any different? Did he even want to survive? Could death really be worse than having the fate of the world pressed into your hands? It didn’t seem possible.