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The entire room became so deathly silent, you could hear people breathing. An anticipatory pall hung over the room as Ambrose waited for his moment to begin.
“When my mother first came to this country it was called New Holland,” he began. “She was a prisoner from England, one of the first shipped here in 1788, just after this great land became a dumping ground for the less desirable. She was the first of our bloodline to come to this country, followed soon after by others who sought sanctuary, anonymity, and safety. I was born two years later in 1880. She may have been the first of our bloodline to come to this land, but not the last.
“This is the story of our beginning, the history of our Colony, which I have the great pleasure of passing on,” He paused, pacing for dramatic effect.
“The land here is harsh, very little water, and only the toughest survive. But it was safe for our kind. In Europe, the Venandi sought to find and eradicate us from the Earth. And so, along with my mother, others of our kind chose to call New Holland home. Here we were safe from the hunters.
“The indigenous people of this land welcomed us and in return, we welcomed them, accepting their culture, their ways, and their customs. We became a family and formed the Colony, the Council, and the rules for our society.
“Garkain blood flows through our veins. But we are all descended from the first Garkain immortal. Some legends say that we were created at the same time as humans, other cultures claim to be responsible for our creation. The truth is, that the story has been lost to time. However, stories of our kind do exist in each and every culture around the world. As for me, I can only tell you how we, the Uluru Colony were created.
“The Unbinding ritual is still performed as it was eons ago, passed down from generation to generation. And in two days, some of you will join the Colony, our family, for eternity.”
Ambrose finished with a bow, and the roaring applause of his crowd.
“What exactly is the ritual?” Amelia asked. “No one’s told me yet.”
Michelle sighed. “It’s not that complicated. But it’s also not fun, from what I’ve heard, and seen. The Garkain breakfast you saw me give this morning is part of it. Only you’ll drink the blood of our mother, a direct bloodline link first,” She paused, thinking.
“I’m guessing the next part is the bad part,” Amelia said.
“Well, you kind of have to die,” She said with a grimace.
“Wait, what do you mean, I have to die!” Amelia shouted a little too loudly.
Michelle put her finger to her lips, imploring Amelia to lower her voice. She stood and waved her sister toward the tent, so they could talk in a more secluded place.
“Hey, you two, I was wondering where you went, you left in such a hurry,” Their mother caught them, following them inside the tent and lowering her voice. “I heard you two talking. We all did,” She said with obvious disappointment.
“She asked about the ritual, and I was trying to explain it as gently as I could,” Michelle tried to assure her. “Look, I’ve seen it happen hundreds of times, and it’s not that bad,” She said to Amelia, who had started to hyperventilate.
“Shhh, darling calm down. Calm down. Just breathe with me. Breathe with me,” Her mother said clasping her hands around Amelia’s, breathing slowly, until both of their patterns matched, slow and steady.
“Yes, you will have to Unbind from your mortality, which means you’ll have to give it up first. When you awaken, you’ll be one of us, Garkain. Everyone dies once in this life. You just have to do it once when you’re young, then you have forever to live.”
Amelia thought as her mother spoke. The way she explained it, it made a strange kind of sense. She had a way of explaining things that were crazy, making them sound nearly normal. Acceptable.
All things died eventually, but if she chose to die now, she would come back, and live for hundreds or even thousands of years. It still didn’t make the prospect of dying any less scary.
“How does it happen?” Amelia asked fearfully.
“You saw Michelle this morning. We’ll do the same for you. Once you take my blood, you will be drained of all your human blood. My Garkain blood inside you will start to seep into your heart, restarting it. When you awaken, you’ll take more and more human blood until you’re fully back on your feet. I’ve already given several liters over these few days for the three of you.”
“I’m scared,” Amelia admitted, not at all adjusting to the biggest piece of the puzzle being pushed into place.
“I know my darling. And you can still change your mind. We wouldn’t force you to do anything you didn’t want to.”
“Does it hurt?” Amelia asked her mother, tears threatening her eyes.
“Not at all. At first, you’ll feel drowsy, and then you’ll fall asleep. We’ll be there the whole time,” Her mother assured her, glancing between her daughters.
“Take the day today to think about it. This time, we’re doing things a little differently. We have more that will undergo the ritual this Celebration, so we’ll be starting tomorrow. You can watch then and decide,” Her mother said.
Amelia nodded, thinking. “Okay, okay. That I can do.”
“I’ll leave you two to talk. And your children are driving me crazy,” She said to Michelle.
“You always say that! And you were the one who offered to watch them while I stayed with Amelia,” Michelle shot back.
So she was right, Michelle had been assigned to her. She wondered if she was also tasked with talking her into Unbinding.
As their mother excused herself, leaving the two of them alone again. Amelia decided to be upfront with her sister.
“Are you supposed to talk me into the ritual, into Unbinding?”
Michelle looked shocked for a moment, and then a bit saddened. “They did ask me to try and persuade you. But I’m trying to help you lean that way because now that I have a sister, I don’t want to lose you,” She said.
Amelia believed her. Could feel her honesty, and her guilt. “I don’t like being misled,” Amelia said with conviction, the slightest bit of betrayal creeping into her heart.
“I can’t blame you for being pissed. But just know that what I said about not wanting to lose you is true. And I want you to ask some other Garkain. About their experience, about why they chose to Unbind, and if it was worth it. I’m on your side. I want you to make the choice that you want to make. Let me introduce you to a couple of my friends. It’s been just me and you this whole time anyway. Hear about it from someone outside the immediate family, okay? Someone unbiased,” She said.
Michelle peeked out of the tent and within minutes two other girls were inside with them.
“Amelia, this is Claire and Marilyn. Guys, this is my sister Amelia,” Michelle introduced them.
“The famous Amelia,” Claire said. “We finally meet.”
“Why does everyone say that, acting like I’m something so special?”
“Because you are. Larougo and Garkain? You’re literally the first of your kind,” Marilyn jumped in.
“Enough guys, she’s worried about the Unbinding. And I wanted to give her the chance to ask someone besides me and my mother. Someone who’s been through the process before. And as two of the most viscously honest people I know, I thought you could tell her. Give her the straight scoop.”
“Kind of freaking out about the whole having to die thing. You know, not something you usually volunteer to do,” Amelia said.
“Believe me, I was the same way. But it’s not that bad honestly. I’ve been Unbound for only about six years now, but I remember going through the ritual clearly. I think the worst part is having to choke down the blood at first. After you’re Unbound you can’t get enough. But at first, it’s pretty gross,” Marilyn said with a face.
“But after that it’s amazing. The strength, the speed, the gift, not to mention you never have to die again!” Claire jumped in.
“And no, it doesn’t hurt. It feels like you’re falling asleep and then you wake up starving. Getting used to all the perks is a process, and you’ll have someone like a mentor to help you get used to feeding, and using the gift, how to blend in, things like that,” Marilyn continued.
“And how long have you been Unbound?” Amelia asked Claire.
“Seventy-two years, and still looking good, yet another perk,” She smiled as she twirled.
“What are the downsides? There has to be some bad to go with the good,” Amelia fished.
Claire sighed, thinking. “Having to blend in, to take time in the sun, to let your skin protect itself. Not being able to enjoy your favorite foods anymore, because they don’t taste the same. And having to constantly keep reinventing yourself. Going dark for a decade or so, living off the grid so people don’t start getting suspicious because you don’t age,” Claire explained.
Amelia tried to keep track of all the information that was flying by her so fast. Of course, she’d expected some downsides. But the benefits, so far, seemed to outweigh the cons. At least she was attempting to see it that way.
“There’s one thing though that’s tough for almost everyone, but probably tougher for you. Cutting ties with your previous life. Friends, family, boyfriend if you have one. Anyone that would know you too well not to notice things,” Marilyn said. “We’re all from the Colony, so we never needed to worry about that, but you would. If you did Unbind.”
“I have a foster family. I was adopted, but I was never that close with them. Still not that close with them honestly. Really the only thing about my life back home I might miss is my job, and some of the people I work with,” Amelia admitted.
“Then you’ll do fine. I really do hope you decide to join us tomorrow. You could move to Australia. We could hang out. It would be super cool and awesome!” Marilyn said.
“Okay guys, you’re getting a little too overworked. Let’s get out of here and walk around for a bit. It’s getting close to dinner anyway,” Michelle offered, sensing that Amelia had had about enough conversation for one afternoon.
Marilyn and Claire suddenly spun their heads toward the flap of the tent. Amelia noticed that the sounds of conversation had died down a bit outside as well. The two girls jumped to their feet and flew out of the tent with lightning speed, leaving Amelia and Michelle alone.
A general unease had settled among the room outside.
“What’s going on?” Amelia asked.
“I don’t know,” Michelle said as they both stood and cautiously walked out into the open. A quiet whispering chatter filled the room. Low and with a sense of something wrong. Amelia was on edge, and she could tell Michelle was too.
Their mother came running to them, along with Michelle’s children.
“What’s going on?” Michelle asked. Their mother was definitely on guard, and edgy, just as they all were.
“I don’t know. Someone is banging on the door to the outside. Ambrose is going through the tunnels now,” Their mother moving to stand in front of them.
The entire group stood together, a solid wall of Garkain and human, while the four of them stayed near the tent behind them, waiting.
Over the silence, Ambrose’s voice loudly sounded, bouncing off the rock walls. “Amelia!”
Amelia looked from Michelle to her mother, seeing confusion cross both of their faces. The crowd in front of them parted. Ambrose and another man stood at the opening to the tunnel.
“Anatole,” Her mother said softly. “The leader of Lachlean’s pack.”
“Larougo?” Amelia whispered.
Her mother simply nodded as she took her daughter's hand and led her through the middle of the crowd to meet the son of the man who had killed her father.