Ancient Hunter

The next few days passed agonisingly slow. The dig crawled at a snails pace. I was beginning to feel the weight of the world on my shoulders.

“There has to be a breakthrough soon?” I complained.

“Be patient,” Joyce responded as she stood beside me a cup of coffee in her hand she took a sip and watched the scene in front of us.

“I can’t be, I’m no closer to locating the Keepers.” Jennifer had put the weight there by revealing something here would lead me to the Keepers.

“You won’t be any help in the state you are in?” Joyce said. “Sure you don’t want a coffee?”

I shook my head she was talking sense. “Ok I’m getting it. I’m going to take a walk.”

“To the Joining Pool,” Joyce said.

“Yes,” I replied with a sigh.

“I’ll let the Elafi know where you are. We managed to remove the remains. That was a hard job since every skeleton turned to dust.”

I heard the frustration in her voice it matched my thoughts on the matter.

“I have images of the flutist and the mother with child,” she assured me.

I merely nodded keeping my thoughts to myself.

“We all have said prayers for the dead,” Joyce assured me.

“Thanks.” I appreciated her efforts.

“Just go Gwen.”

The passage was lighter Joyce’s team had rigged up a light system. Light glinted off the crystals in the walls and roof the floor was smooth. It must have looked this was so long ago. Then I remembered what Running Deer had told me. This part was supposed to travelled in complete darkness. I closed my thoughts and walked down the passage it seemed Joyce had removed all traces of the Janari here. It felt as if it had regained some of its original purpose. I was glad to exit feeling the spray from the waterfall on my face the chill of it seemed to revitalise me. It looked as if the clean up had carried on out here. The bushes had been removed to reveal the mosaic pattern of the floor tiles. Alien yet familiar symbols were etched onto the tiles. It was a serene place had it not been for what had been in the passage. I looked up to see a clear blue sky while a gentle breeze blew around me. I inhaled and breathed out to centre myself. I wanted to talk to the Keepers without interruptions.

“Moon Shadow?” I called out with my mind.

Moon Shadow responded instantly appearing in person. I hadn’t expected her to do that. In truth I would have rather spoken to her face to face.

“Mother.”

“Are you ok?” Not what I wanted to ask but it seemed appropriate. “I mean about what was found in the passage? So many of your Janari people senselessly slaughtered.”

“They’re not our Janari anymore. We lost that right when we stole from you. We harvested your essence and remade ourselves.” Moon Shadow dropped to knees. “Forgive us Mother we resisted to the end and we can’t repay the debt we owe you. We, in that I mean those, of us chose to remain didn’t want to take your form. But we had to, to help you.”

I felt touched to my heart with what she was saying. “What was done was done.” I couldn’t change the past.

“Where are you now?” I recognised Running Deer’s voice.

“At the Joining Pool.”

Running Deer’s sudden appearance made me jump I shouldn’t have been so touchy. I should be used to that by now but the way they did that had me thinking.

“How can you do that?” I asked her. “Suddenly appear here it’s a long way from Saros?”

“I don’t know we just can,” Running Deer replied. “It was a gift from the First Ones only for those dedicated to peace.” Running Deer grimaced. “It didn’t stop us from getting outside help we didn’t need.” Running Deer sighed. “The exiles by their violent actions lost that right. They were doomed to travel by conventional means.”

I guess they had to take the slow way, which would account to why they turned up on Earth six thousand years ago. Although it didn’t explain why I was the only one to have Keeper DNA. Logically it meant everyone on Earth should have had the same DNA.

She glanced around. “This is more like it was.”

“About the remains?” I felt guilty we were not able to recover any intact bones.

“What about them?” Running Deer replied.

“Was there anything we need to do to give them a proper burial. Not that we could do anything the bones crumbled to dust.”

Running Deer stared at me. “Dust I see.” She said finally.

“See what, I don’t understand?”

“It is the ultimate erasure. To wipe what we were from the minds of those that succeeded us. To totally destroy a civilisation so no one could remember what we looked like. Wipe out the buildings let the bodies crumble like ash.” Running Deer was bitter.

“Millions upon Millions of Janari died and no one could and would have stopped it,” Moon Shadow said.

“I would have and what were the First Ones doing while this was happening?” I was sure they could have done something they were that powerful.

“We’re not omnipresent Gwen.”

I whirled around to see Jennifer standing behind me.

“We can’t be everywhere. We found out too late and paid dearly for that folly. When the T’Arni rose up against the Rho’xan we helped and paid the price. There has never been many of us to start with,” Jennifer said sadly.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Those that helped were cut off for the rest of the Collective.”

“Collective?” I started with a look at the two Keepers. They looked as surprised as I felt.

“It’s what we called ourselves, we were a collection of the First Ones still around. We pledged not to interfere with the younger races. When the others retreated back to the Core we had to remain locked out. There were a hundred of us, less now and the few that remain cannot be everywhere.” Jennifer looked directly at me. “There is much I cannot talk about. I just wanted to let you know that I’m doing my best to find your children. I am beginning to suspect that whoever took them have the same power we have.”

I shivered at that it wasn’t an encouraging thought. “Who does?” I had to ask.

“That is the question we need to answer. What I am sure of is that the answer lies with you. My precog is telling me you are close.”

That didn’t give me much to go on. “You’re putting a heavy burden on my shoulders.”

“I know Gwen I know,” she sighed. “Whoever is behind this does not know you are the key. It is a heavy burden I have placed upon you. My precog is certain of you. You will find that answer.”

With that she vanished leaving me standing there staring at the spot she had been. I turned to the Keepers somewhat relieved to see they were still here.

“What do you make of that?” I asked them.

“The First Ones have always been cryptic,” Running Deer snorted. “It frustrates me. I, we have faith in you and we’ll be there when you call.”

“Only we can’t fight or anything like that.” Moon Shadow added.

“I’m not asking you to do that,” I replied gently. “What were the Janari like?”

“You want to know what we were once like?” Running Deer said.

“Yes,” I replied.

“No,” Running Deer said sharply.

I blinked at her rebuttal. “What?”

“No! Our past is too tragic. It’s a place we shouldn’t be visiting.”

I was taken aback by her vehemence. “Sorry,” I apologised. I really should have taken in what the Keepers had to deal with before asking the question.

“Don’t be Mother you weren’t responsible.”

“Running Deer?” Moon Shadow questioned the other Keeper.

Running Deer held up her hand to forestall Moon Shadow’s words. “No!” she said again her face hard. She looked down her face flushed. “There is something I could ask of you?”

“That is?” I looked at Running Deer she had bowed her head. I couldn’t see the expression on her face.

“We’d like… like to sing the song of purification now that the fallen have been removed?”

“If it helps you to move on,” I spoke directly to Running Deer. She needed closure I wished I had the same I kept seeing Solstrid’s face in my mind.

“It will for all of us?” Running Deer stated. “I will summon the others.”

I wasn’t sure what was going to happen so I stood to the side.

The rest of the remaining Keepers appeared and stretched out around the pool. Starting at the waterfall and passing the doorway. They stood there the wings folded waiting, I waited. A low hum started seeming to echo around the pool. I heard them sing in voices I couldn’t ever replicate. even to my untrained ears there was a simple harmony which was a mix of joy and sadness that moved me. They finished coming to a crescendo their arms above their heads and their wings outstretched. One by one the Keepers vanished as I wiped a tear out of my eye.

“Thank you Mother,” Running Deer said her words echoed by Moon Shadow.

“Thank you for letting me hear your song.” The sound of a shuttle’s engines halted what I was going to say next. “Best you get going.”

Both Keepers bowed to me and vanished just a shuttle roared overhead.