Dwellers of the New World Chapter Fourteen ( Pt 8 ) Sign of a New World

Jay watched as the naked Liora entered the pool, he was captivated by this beautiful woman, her sylphlike figure and long slim legs gave him feelings he'd never felt before. She turned and requested that her men stay and wait until she returned.

“Come Jay!” She whispered giving him a wink of her eye. Her skin was a deep bronzed colour, with her long black hair now released from her plaits which hung like a cloak down her back in long waves.

Stepping into the warmth of the water, Jay could see a feathered tattoo on her left upper leg and wondered about it. “How did you get that mark?” He asked pointing and stepping into the pool.

“What this one?” She uttered, indicating with her finger at her leg.

“Yeah! It looks old.” He could see that it had been made a long time ago, because it was so slight.

As they dropped down into the water, she started to explain. “A long time ago another healer came here...he was very old and wise and said I had the gift of flying, I didn't quite understand what he meant at the time...but as the days went on, he put me into a trance with the aid of a special brew he concocted, I flew across the land and sea and saw many things. The old man's name was Kenna. He said I deserved a healers name and so called me Feathered One...then he marked me with the sign of the feather and that's how I came to get the tattoo.”

Jay was just about to speak, when there were a lot of Oohs! Coming from the other side of the waterfall.

“Quick!” Replied Liora. “We must go through the waterfall now.”

Liora dived underwater, her legs moving like the tail of a fish, while Jay found it hard to keep up with her. His swimming days were long gone, not having swam since he was a child, when his father had tried to teach him to fish, but it hadn't been in his blood to kill, unless he'd been starving.

Going through the waterfall was an experience in itself, the water hit his shoulders and back and he didn't want to leave, it was like a massage and cleansing all in one. He paddled there for a while on the spot, feeling his body relax under the shower. Closing his eyes it was as if he was rooted to the spot and couldn't move, like his life depended on staying in that one place.

Then he heard a voice and opened his eyes. “Jay...Jay!” voiced Liora tapping him on the shoulder. “Come on...there's so much more to see.”

Jay realised he'd been in a state of ecstasy, giving him an adrenaline rush, but also making him feel relaxed and ready for sleep. “I'm coming!” He announced following the woman.

As he came out the other side, he was overwhelmed by the beauty. The children were swimming in a lake and along the shore in the distance, were many tall shimmering crystal forms, that seemed to sprout out of the ground. Jay considered in his mind that they took the form of trees with branches, but instead of leaves, crystals hung from limbs, like the icicles that hung from the branches of trees in the depths of Winter.

“Well...what do you think?” Enquired Liora, smiling at Jay.

The man was awe struck and didn't know what to say, but after a short while he replied that he'd never in all his life seen anything as blissful. “It has a celestial feel to it, like we're in paradise,” he announced looking in all directions.

“That's exactly how I felt when I first set eyes on this place.” Replied Liora. “Come on we'll swim to the shore and I'll show you more, then me and my men will catch some fish to eat.”

Before Jay had time to reply, Liora was off and so he followed at a slower pace. When they reached the shore, the children wanted to know more about the forms that stood along the beach.

“Those are the Crystal Trees...well that's what I named them anyway.” She replied.

Beyond the standing crystals stood the mountains of Lepi with their tall peaks rising into the Summer sky. The two Golden Citrine birds flew down from the summit, coming to land on one of the crystal forms and again made a cawing sound, their red beaks pecked at their feathers, cleaning their wings, as they watched the visitors inquisitively.

Liora asked Jay to stay with the children while she and her men went fishing. “You all go and explore, but don't go far...I'll be back when we've got a fire going and some fish cooked.”

Jay didn't like the idea of being left with the children on his own. “Do you have to leave...can't your men hunt without you?”

“Of course they can,” she said turning to Jay. “But I want to get some of those Malobi crystals I was telling you about...you know the ones for the children.” She didn't want to say too much, as the youngsters were all staring and wondering what she meant.

“I'll be back before you know it and I'll bet you children are hungry by now.”

The youngsters began licking their lips in anticipation of a decent meal. Liora pointed to a path leading off the shore and started to speak. “I'll tell you what...follow that track up the mountains, just a little way and you'll come to a fork, take a right turn and the path will take you to a small opening, there are some fruit trees with apples and pears that are so juicy.”

The children's mouths watered, as they turned to Jay and started to pull on his arm telling him to hurry up. Liora smiled at Jay, he reminded her of her father who would always have all the children hypnotized by his presence.

Turning she watched as the sun was getting low and knew that it wouldn't be long before it was dark, so swimming back to the cave she arrived, her men had already built a fire and were ready for their next instructions.

Liora called to her men from the pool. “Come...we must go fishing, the children will be starving by the time they get back.”

Jomei – Avner and Daimhin stripped off and dived in, while Darroch – Derland and Dekel stayed behind and kept the fire going, from a stock of wood they already had stored in an alcove.

Fish were plentiful in the Lepi lake as were other water creatures that could not only live in water but also on land too, such as the large turtles with coral shells that had webbed feet and a long slender neck like a swan, but with a turtles head. There were also eels and snakes with legs and feet, but they were harmless and lived off the vegetation around the mountain sides.

Once they had collected enough fish they returned, the men prepared the fish ready to be cooked, while Liora stepped from the pool and went to another alcove and took a large wooden box from off a shelf. Inside there were black tumble stones that seemed quite dull to look at, but in fact were quite magical. She counted twenty children altogether and there was more than enough for each child to receive one.

Tomorrow she would need to return to the camp on her own and find out what had happened about Bracus and his men. She also hoped that the man they called Dawson would be found and that Bracus and his men would now be prisoners and taken back to the mainland.Tomorrow was another day, she would take some water with her just in case Dawson needed reviving, but for now they would eat and rest.

It was getting late by the time the fish was cooking over the hot ashes, so Liora returned to the shoreline of the lake to let the others know the food was almost ready. Making her way up the path to where the fruit trees grew, she was surprised to find nobody there when entering the clearing. Looking around she noticed there were footprints leading through the trees, so decided to follow them.

Noticing the Sun was almost down, she picked up speed, gathering all her energy and started to run between the trees. Now desperately worried that they'd wandered off and got lost, also angry that Jay should have known better.

Finally reaching another path leading up the mountain side, she made her way along a trail which was quite steep. Making her way up the twisting path was quite exhausting as it was quite narrow with boulders on either side, but eventually Liora reached one of the peaks which had a lookout point. Shading her eyes she stared out across the landscape, she was now higher than the sun, but there was still no sign of life, it was as if Jay and the children had just disappeared into thin air.

Dwellers of the New World Chapter Fourteen ( Pt 9 ) Mysterious Disappearances | ABCtales