Here's the next chapter of this series, one that continues to put a different, more unique Sci-Fi spin on the age-old vampire myth. By the way, as a reminder, the term 'vampire' is one of human construction and not in the lexicon of the Terrian language. Therefore, they don't call themselves vampires, regardless of any similarities in their abilities that the human may perceive.
Because this is science fiction there are aliens, good ones and bad ones, and yes, the good ones are here to stand against those who would suppress the more physically fragile human race. In this chapter, Maura learns more about her relationship with Jason and the village.
This chapter could be rated PG-13 for action, but I still like to caution my readers. I hope you enjoy it, leave a comment once you've read it. Good feedback is the lifeblood of any writer...dreamweaver594.
9-Recovery
Two days later Jason's feet finally touched the floor. He slowly got out of bed with a quiet groan. He moved like every muscle in his body ached. He slipped on his robe, grabbed a towel, and walked into the main room of his grandmother's cottage.
Vera stood in the kitchen frying eggs on the stove. "Good morning. I'm glad to see you're finally up."
"Where's Maura?" Jason mumbled as he headed for the back door.
"I sent her on a few errands, she'll be back shortly. She has become my ward Jason, and because of what happened in your apartment you share her blood now."
"I know," he said with a determined look, "she told me."
Lisa walked through the front door and dropped her coat on a nearby chair. "I just saw Yaol, he said he'd be waiting for you this morning at the practice grounds."
Vera smiled sweetly at her grandson. "Yaol is just what you need right now."
"I'll go find him after breakfast. I am still a bit tender so perhaps we can start slowly. But first I really need a shower. Phew! I reek! I don't know how Maura can stand to be near me."
The lines of determination that etched in Vera's face softened as Jason opened the kitchen door and walked outside. "I thank providence every day for that girl." Vera murmured as Jason gently closed the door. Outside, through the door, he heard his grandmother say. "He's finally come back to us." He still hoped the bathwater was at least warm as he hobbled across the path, his tender feet bruised by the occasional stone.
Several hours later, Jason leaned against the walkway gate that led to his grandmother's cottage. Maura moved in a blur across the lawn, her blade flashing in the mid-day sun like a jewel. "I doubt there's a swordsman in the next ten villages who could hold out against you, Maura, your blade work is spectacular. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't start teaching guardians soon."
Maura paused and turned to him, slightly out of breath. "How was training?"
"Exhausting." Jason walked through the gate towards the bench near the cottage door where Maura sat. "Have time for a walk? There's something I want to show you."
She nodded then sheathed her sword to set it aside.
They walked along a narrow grassy path. It meandered through the forest and the pathway seemed filled with life as birds chased bugs and butterflies and bees flit from flower to flower. The sunlight filtered through the tree boughs and a gentle wind tickled the leaves above making the sunlight sparkle and dance on the ferns along the way.
Ahead, a shaft of sunlight poured through a small opening in the forest canopy to reveal a glen nestled among ancient oaks in the middle of the forest. Near the center of the glen several large monolithic stones stood like sentinels guarding an ancient, sacred place. There was a hushed silence about the place, as if the place was sacred and all life knew it.
"It's beautiful." Maura walked out into the glen and spun around. "I can feel a tremendous energy here. Where are we?"
"It is the gathering place, or in our ancient tongue, 'Tayeel-Maele.' This is where my ancestors first set foot in this world, over ten thousand years ago."
Maura walked to the nearest monolith and ran her hand across the surface, which was covered in the same ancient runes that covered the archway of the portal in her world. "Is this another portal?"
Jason joined her. "Sort of, it's that and a lot more. I am only beginning to learn of its purpose. This is what your father was protecting."
Maura looked at Jason in shock. "What?"
"Lisa briefed me on the details of your escape. I'm sorry to hear about your father, he was a very brave man. He died trying to prevent something that would have become catastrophic for this and many other worlds. Soon his deeds will be entered here into the Akashic records. It's good that you will be here because you'll be able to witness the ceremony."
"Huh?" Maura looked up at Jason, stunned. "When I arrived the council was ready to kill me!"
"That's before they discovered who you were. The news spread like wildfire. All the Sirin villages from around the world will be sending representatives to gather here to honor him and to meet you. You've become quite famous."
Jason picked up a long slender tree branch and began to peel its bark. "You know Maura, nothing is a coincidence in this world or any other. What has happened to you, our meeting, your father's death, the fact that you are here to be part of this ceremony, it's all part of a larger plan that none of us can see clearly yet."
She stepped closer to Jason as the air was suddenly filled with a drumming of energy as a blue-white trace of a portal opening appeared in front of one of the monoliths. Jason held his arm out to protect Maura as two beings emerged from the frozen wall of water. They wore emerald robes of shimmering cloth faceted with jewels and crystals. Across their mantels the shape of a golden bird was draped, it's wings outstretched. They nodded to Jason, and then moved to another stone monolith. A second portal appeared and they stepped through it as the opening snapped shut.
Maura peaked out from behind his arm. "What was that?"
"Part of what I wanted to show you." Jason winked at her as he stepped closer to the massive stones. "We just witnessed delegates from one world moving to another. Tayeel-Maele is sort of like a transfer place where those from other worlds move between them. There are transfer points like this all over the galaxy."
Maura thought about what had happened. The two who emerged from the portal were strangely different; reptilian in nature with rough, scaly skin in patches of green and amber. Their eyes were large and almond shaped without lashes; their arms were long for their bodies, by human standards, and they ended in fingers with long claws. "Are they all humanoid in appearance?"
He continued to peel the bark off a tree branch. "Not really, humans wouldn't recognize most of them as sentient beings, but they are, remarkably so.
"It sure beats Buck Rodgers rocketing across the cosmos," she murmured. "I skimmed one of those books last month while on a lunch break."
Jason chuckled. "Yes, it does."
Maura turned and walked to a nearby stone bench to sit down. After a moment she turned to Jason. "What do you know about my father?"
"Grandmother told me that he was the gatekeeper in your world, the only one as far as we know. She told me that he kept his pledge to guard the portal with his life and that he was a very brave man."
