Times of the Immortals

Chapter 6 Leo

    On Liberty Street, in the heart of the abandoned amusement park - where reminders of a bygone era are scattered here and there in the form of mangled rides - a huge bonfire was already burning. Individual groups of people have scattered around the fire, as if offering sacrifices to long-forgotten gods, but everyone is frozen with excitement, waiting for the Council to begin. The Council is only held in emergencies where the existence of the Mortals as a separate class is in question. Unlike Byzantium and other immortal cities, we have never elected our own leaders; our culture is characterized by the notion of collective choice, and everyone's voice can be heard in such an assembly.

The only ones who have influence over public opinion - but not power - are the elders, the people whose life experience can positively influence a decision. It is to them that I am heading.

I pass the row of rusty cabins that used to ride the rails, pass the half-underground Ferris wheel, and find myself fifty paces from a huge fire whose flames threaten to set the sky ablaze.

The heat hit me immediately and my face and hands, not covered by my clothes, became sweaty. I shuddered at the unpleasant sensation.

Gaius, Philip, and Gregory, the most important elders on the Council, sit silently on the right side of the fire. I am surprised to see that the elders do not look uncomfortable around a huge bonfire. Their wrinkled, sagging faces are thoughtful and focused on some kind of reflection, but there is something else... It's as if the older men are sad.

I have never seen a single member of the Council succumb to despondency; everyone on the outskirts has been taught since childhood to fight to the last breath for survival and not to succumb to the destructive power of negative emotions. So I slow my pace as I approach the men, hoping to read a little more from their sad faces. But as soon as I pass another group of people, a cloud of gossip and whispers follows me. The elders look up at me.

The flickering orange-red light of the fire clearly reflects the pain and desperation in the eyes of the three men who were called to tell the people not to give in to despondency. Even though I have a real fire giant behind me, I feel cold inside. Gaius, Gregory and Philip must know about Ruth's disappearance, and are they so desperate that it pains them to offer me advice and words of encouragement? What do they know that I don't? More bad news?

- I questioned one of the Immortals and it was inconclusive. - I tell him as I leave, forgetting to be polite and not mention Spartacus. The Elders and others in the Outlands do not trust his family.

Philip, an old man with a shaved head, slowly rises from his seat and puts his hand on my shoulder, without meeting my eyes, as a sign of support. I feel my hands start to shake; first my fingertips, then the shaking goes higher, causing weakness in my whole body.

What the hell is going on?

I don't ask the question aloud, respectfully waiting for the elders to explain, even though my heart is pounding like a maniac.

- "Leonard..." My name sounded heavy as Philip said it, as if the words threatened to crush my entire life. - Your mother and father are gone... So are the others. Savannah is on the same list.

I stand in my seat, motionless and unblinking, holding my breath as I digest what I've heard. I'm not panicking, I'm calculating and thinking about what I can do for my loved ones. My family... Ruth, my mother, my father - all gone. Did I know this would happen? Yes, I did. But there was nothing I could do about it. Half an hour later, I'd have a chance to do something about it...

Philip and the others do not know that Savannah was not kidnapped along with the rest of the mortals, do not know that things are far more complicated than they can imagine, do not know that the quiet times they used to live in no longer exist.