Chapter 44
The horses trotted eagerly down the narrow deer trail and headed straight for the closest patch of grass. Soon, they were standing knee-deep in blue vervain and emerald grass eating as if tomorrow wasn’t coming. I stepped foot on the paved lane into town and marveled anew at the sheer beauty of the city.
It wasn’t a large place – maybe twenty streets in all leading to the central courtyard of a four-story mansion or hotel. In the center played an ornate fountain that was artistry in pink, marble horses leaping gracefully into airs above the ground. The front façade of the mansion was white marble with broad steps, a portico and a colonnade. A dozen pillars stood in front of the home and rose some 50 feet over my head. There were carved figures on the pediment – horses pulling a chariot and a young boy driving with one hand on the reins and the other holding a bow. He was dressed in a flowing robe and the carving of the drapery was amazing. When I stared at the face, I nearly fell over in shock. His face looked like mine.
I looked back at the horses; they were too busy eating to care what I did so I had to go physically lead them into a small park inside the city environs to hide them. Grass inside the small 4-acre plot was knee high and bordered by trees loaded with flowers and seedpods that looked like thin sausages. I saw roses gone wild but just as lovely and daffodils as large as a dinner plate in patches that were huge as if it had been spreading for years. It smelled so heavy that it made my senses swoon and I had to force myself to retreat to the White House although it was more mansion than any mere house.
I dragged my weary body up the twelve marble precision cut steps and barely managed to marvel at the smoothness of the polished stone before I entered the portico and dim coolness. The interior was quiet, not a bug, or warble or creak disturbed my passage and my feet did not stir up dust or echo in the vastness.
I traveled down a long corridor through the open doorway and from there, came to a great stone staircase that went up several flights before turning onto twin landings heading off in two different directions and different floors. I didn’t check any higher than the first floor and the first room I came to; I was exhausted, hungry and simply trusted my infrared sense to tell me the building was empty.
The first room I entered was a library. With thousands of books neatly arranged in tiers of wooden shelves stacked floor to ceiling and the top shelves accessible by a rolling ladder. The stacks were easily three times my height and the room was as big as my father’s entire cottage.
In the center was a fireplace opened on all four sides that must have heated the whole room and in front on one side was a couch covered in leather. Scattered around the room were chairs and benches with small tables next to them. The floor was polished cherry and rugs had once covered the spots near the furniture but something had made nests in them or they had simply fallen apart times decay.
I aimed for the couch and sank into it raising a cloud of dust that made me sneeze. Despite the pangs of hunger, I was asleep in minutes and didn’t remember falling under or any dreams.
Hunger woke me. A burning in my gut and a need for it so piercing I thought I would go mad. I exploded off the bed and was running before I realized where I was. As soon as I did, I stopped and looked around – the only thing I could see for food were the two horses and I would not go there.
I used my glamour to pull out what animal life I could find and what answered my summons was again, the small creatures of the night – rabbits, foxes, feral cats. This time, I took small sips from the larger, not draining them to death but took only small amounts. In my craving need, it was harder to stop but the more I used this method, the easier it was to ration each bite. It still lacked the enrichment of human blood but I was determined not to fall back in that horror.
Once I had enough to satisfy my hunger and quiet the pain in my belly, I went first to check on the horses. They were standing on the trees hipshot, dozing and swishing their tails idly at the flies. I called and both Diomed and Beau turned their heads around to stare at me. Beau nickered and I told them to relax as I was going exploring.
I searched the mansion top to bottom. It was empty of nearly everything, the library the only room that still held furniture and books. All the rest---bedroom and offices, kitchen and laundry were empty with only a few clues scattered to tell me what the rooms’ uses had been.
Surprisingly, the bathrooms still worked and I was amazed that after 5000 years, water still gushed through the pipes and sprouted from the showerhead. Even more amazing, the water was blissfully hot so I indulged in a long nearly scalding shower scrubbing with my nails until every trace of filth was gone.
I stood on the tiled floor shivering as my naked body dealt with the sudden drastic temperature difference. That’s when I received the next shock of my life. I turned around and a voice over my shoulder spoke in my ear. I whirled around, slipped and fell through a man dressed in soft shirt and loose trousers. He was fair haired, smoothed skinned and blue eyed. Yet, he looked solid. He stepped back and asked again. “Do you require assistance, Sir Tifnaren?”
I could only gape at the thing.