The First

by A. Claire Everward

  The elderly proprietor of the restaurant proudly served them a meal, insisting that they try the local dishes that, he happily bragged, were made by his son, the restaurant's cook. They listened politely as he told them in broken English about the history of the place, which his own grandfather had started and which had served the locals for decades. They steered him gently toward giving them more information about the area—and whatever might be reminiscent of the name Aeterna—several times, but the word only drew silence from him, as it did from other locals they spoke to as they strolled through the quiet streets. Even those who Kyle spoke to in fluent Italian, making them instantly comfortable, were of no help.

  They returned to the fountain, and Kyle hurried forward to help a woman whose grocery bag fell apart, sending fresh produce rolling.

  “Are you all right?” Aelia asked her.

  The woman looked at them both with no understanding in her eyes. Kyle tried to speak to her in Italian, but when he asked her about Aeterna she reacted by hurriedly picking up her belongings and scurrying away.

  Shaking his head, Kyle was about to lead Aelia back to the car, thinking they would find nothing here, when they heard behind them, in stammering English, “You, eh, you ask Aeterna.”

  They turned to find an old man sitting at the edge of the fountain. “You help her, I see. She good woman. You help her,” he repeated, nodding.

  Aelia walked over to him, Kyle behind her.

  “You ask Aeterna,” the man said again, still nodding.

  “Yes, Aeterna. Do you know this name? Could you tell us who this woman is?” Aelia said.

  The man looked at her. “Aeterna.”

  “Yes.”

  “No,” the man said, and Aelia felt disappointment, but then he added, “No, no woman Aeterna. Aeterna is place.”

  “A place?” Kyle stepped forward.

  “Yes.” The man nodded happily and pointed up the mountains. “Big house, Aeterna. We not hear name much here, not many know name, know place but not name. I know. My father told me, I was a child, he told me. Aeterna.”

  Aelia and Kyle exchanged a look. “How do we get there?” Kyle asked the old man.

  “No, no.” He nodded vigorously. “No one goes there.”

  “You've never been there?” Aelia asked.

  “No, no one goes. House and mountains around it closed, always closed. No one goes unless they are invited.”

  They thanked him and walked back to the car, leaving him still happily nodding at the edge of the fountain.

  “Right. Aeterna house it is,” Kyle said resolutely, and they drove out of the village.

  Up the mountains, that's where the man had indicated, and that's where they headed. For a while all they had around them were fields and the scattered houses of the village, increasingly far apart, but before long they found themselves in rocky terrain, huge boulders that seemed impassable except for precarious roads that stubbornly wound around them. They quickly lost track of where they were, only the narrow road they were on guiding them. They pushed on carefully until finally, coming around yet another boulder, they found themselves in a narrow pass with steep rocky walls on both sides.

  The pass was blocked by a black SUV. Kyle recognized immediately that this was a reinforced car, but its tinted windows prevented him from seeing who was inside, and the car’s low beam lights weren’t helping either. Instinct kicked in and he began to back up, but an identical car came up slowly behind them, stopping bumper to bumper against their four-by-four. Two men approached from both sides, appearing as if from nowhere, formidable men with assault rifles, their eyes impenetrable. They approached unhurriedly, yet the intimidation was clear.

  “Stay inside.” Kyle got out of the car, his hand on his gun, but the audible cocking of a rifle a mere foot to his side added to the realization that these people meant business. His hand tightened on his weapon and he instinctively turned back toward Aelia, prepared to do all it took to protect her, when the passenger side door of the vehicle facing them opened. A man in his late forties, Kyle guessed, got out of the car and walked toward them with the confidence of someone who knew nothing could hurt him here. This was his turf.

  “There is no need for that,” he said, speaking quietly in Italian. “You are on private property. Go on your way and you will not be harmed.”

  Kyle was about to respond when Aelia moved. His eyes shifted back to her in surprise as she opened the car door, got out, then calmly shut the door behind her. She walked forward several steps, and the two armed guards raised their weapons. But she didn't seem to care, didn’t even look at them. Instead, her eyes were intent on the man she was walking toward. Kyle began to move when the man raised his hand to stop the guards, never taking his eyes off this young woman who was fearlessly walking toward him. As she came closer he suddenly staggered back in surprise, opened his mouth to say something, and then stopped, visibly shaken. Aelia halted a few steps away from him and just stood there, looking at him quietly. Their eyes remained locked for what seemed longer than the mere moments it took before the man collected himself, and to Kyle's astonishment he bowed his head.

  “Ma'am, I do apologize. Please, allow us to escort you,” he said in fluent English, with a distinct accent that Kyle placed in Australia, maybe New Zealand. He glanced inquisitively at Kyle, then nodded. “Sir, may I join you in your car?”

  Kyle hesitated, but Aelia nodded to him and he let it go. Whatever had gone on between her and this man just then, he couldn't argue with that. A couple of days ago it probably would have left him full of questions, but not now. Not with what he'd already seen her do. His eyes followed her as she returned to the car. She met his eyes, and what he saw there convinced him. She knew this was the way to go.

  Beyond her, Kyle saw one of the armed men move back and disappear between the boulders, as did the one who'd been behind him. Their boss spoke briefly—and rather urgently, Kyle couldn't help but notice—to his driver, and then got into the back seat of Kyle and Aelia’s car. As soon as Kyle himself got behind the wheel the vehicle before them began to move, as did their escort behind them.

  The lead car reversed expertly until it reached the end of the narrow road and could turn, then continued ahead. Kyle followed. He wouldn't normally be this compliant, but these men didn't feel like attackers anymore. He didn’t question how he knew this. He already knew that this was something he was picking up from Aelia, something she was telling him, their own way. She apparently didn't think they were in any danger. And the way that guy had reacted to her, it wasn't that much different from how he himself had. She seemed to be operating on a whole different level than anyone else he'd ever known, in a way he couldn’t begin to understand.

  He focused on the road and on the car ahead. I guess we'll see soon enough, he thought.

  The road took them deeper between the boulders, then along a cliff, where the magnificent sea stretched far into the horizon on their right, shimmering gold and blue in the setting sun. A short distance farther they swerved off the road into a tunnel built into the mountain, and exited into a landscape of low hills and plains, wild grass and woods, hidden deep beyond the reach of outsiders, breathtaking even in the last light of the day. There were no signs of people anywhere, and, in answer to Kyle's question, their escort, who had introduced himself as Rolly Andrews, said that the entire area for miles around had always been owned by them, but did not elaborate.

  They drove deep into the hills, until finally the cars rounded a low rise and a lake stretched before them, winding out of sight to their left. A sprawling mansion—far from what could be described as simply a house, perhaps what Rolly called it, the great house of Aeterna, was a better fit—loomed on its wider edge. It was awe-inspiring, an ancient, solid structure covered in places with vines that softened it up, as if trying to hide the fact that the place was built like a fortress.

  At the sight of the house itself, Kyle suddenly realized what was missing until now. “I haven't seen any gat
es or guards anywhere,” he remarked. “I thought this place was protected.”

  Rolly chuckled. “Oh, this is one of the most protected places in the world.” At Kyle's skeptical look he simply added, “The fact that you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there.”

  They neared the great house and the escort cars continued down the winding path, while the car Aelia, Kyle and Rolly were in drove up to the main entrance. As they approached it, the doors opened, and a man and a woman, formally dressed, came down the wide stairs. House staff, Kyle guessed at their demeanor. Rolly jumped out before the car came to a full stop and opened the passenger side door for Aelia. As she got out, the two approached her in deference and guided her into the house. With a glance back at Kyle and a reassuring smile, she walked in.

  Kyle got out of the car and meant to follow her, but Rolly stopped him. “Let her. She needs to do this herself,” he said enigmatically. “My driver called ahead, I assure you She is awaited.”

  And as the younger man looked worriedly after her, he added, “She is protected here.”

  Kyle glanced at him, his brow raised, and Rolly nodded. “Yes, I wouldn't believe me either after all you two must have been through. But there’s a reason you found your way here. Please, trust me on this. She is safe here. You saw it, She feels it, too.” And then he said, strangely, “This is Her place.”

  He then turned in a different direction and beckoned to Kyle. “Come, I'll explain.”

  But Kyle was rooted to where he was. He looked around him, at the lake, at the vast grounds beyond. At the massive structure that was the great house of Aeterna. Something nagged at him, something he couldn't quite place. A feeling. No, not a feeling. An elusive, too distant memory.

  “What is this place?” The question escaped him involuntarily. He wasn't like Aelia. She felt she was wanted here, that she could trust. She sensed, he knew, with whatever it was that he had seen in her. But he couldn’t do that, and who he was, who he was trained to be, for him the impossibility of the situation was too much. And he could finally allow it to show, now that Aelia and him were here, in this place that seemed to await them.

  To know them.

  “Mr. Rhys. Kyle.”

  He turned to Rolly, who was walking back toward him.

  Rolly placed himself squarely before him. “You have questions. I understand that. I assure you there is much we can clarify for you here, just as I suppose there is much you can clarify for us. Now that you are here, both of you, we can finally make sense of it all.” His eyes were honest. “I’m asking you to trust me, as I would trust you.”

  Kyle nodded.

  Aelia stepped inside. The feeling that had awakened in her just out of the village and that had grown stronger as she approached Aeterna was now clear and focused, as was the knowledge that they were in the right place, that this was where she should be, although she had no idea why. In that place deep within her, she focused on Kyle. She could feel him always now, knew that he was close, that he was worried because he wasn't with her. But he was safe, as safe as she was.

  Returning to where she was, she looked around her with growing curiosity, and the two who had escorted her in fell back and waited patiently. The great house did justice to its name. Where she stood in the huge entry hall, high-ceilinged corridors opened on either side of her, stretching far. Before her, two staircases wound high up, leading to more hidden passageways, and along them hung finely painted pictures of women. Elegant women, older, serene, all with a hint of sadness in their eyes, and all dressed the same. She stepped closer to the painting nearest her, a bit farther up on the staircase to her left, and scrutinized the woman it showed.

  “The latest Keeper,” a quiet voice behind her said.

  Aelia whirled around and saw an old woman not far from her, wearing the same robes each of the women in the paintings did. As she moved, the colored band at the edges of the white garment seemed to catch the light of the many lamps around them, almost giving the illusion of a halo around her.

  “Latest before me, that is.” The woman tilted her head lightly, scrutinizing Aelia, but not unkindly. Her eyes were smiling, and her face was alight with happiness and, yes, relief, Aelia could see immense relief.

  “Who are you?” And it wasn't just this woman she meant.

  “I am the Keeper,” the old woman answered with unhidden pride. “But you can call me Neora.”

  “Keeper? Keeper of what?” Aelia asked, glancing from Neora to the paintings along the stairs.

  “The keeper of your memory. The living symbol of your faith.”

  Aelia’s gaze shot back to her, and Neora was taken aback by the intensity of the young woman’s eyes, the paleness of her face. “But, I’m sorry. You’ve been through so much, you must be so tired.”

  “No, please. Help me.” Aelia took a step toward her. “Please. Tell me what's happening to me. Tell me who I am.”

  Neora walked up to her, and put a gentle hand on her cheek. “It's all right, child. It's all right. Come, I will explain.”

  And she linked her arm with Aelia's and led her away from the stairs to the corridor on their right, and through a set of double doors to a comfortable looking drawing room, where an old-fashioned tea service was already laid out.

  Behind them unseen hands closed the doors, leaving the two women alone.

  As she poured the tea, Neora began.

  “Humans, child, are not the first intelligent inhabitants of this world. There was another species here long before them.”

  Aelia shook her head in disbelief.

  Neora put her hand on the younger woman's, restraining her response. She needed to know this now, had to know the truth before anything else. What they had already learned of her had convinced the old woman of that.

  “Ages ago, long before homo sapiens as you have learned of them, before anything that would even resemble human civilization in all its past and present forms, another species lived on this very planet. They looked considerably like the humans you know, although in essence there were marked differences. They lived here alone for a long time, developing, advancing. Evolving.” She paused. “We call them the Firsts. And I am one of them, as is everyone else here at Aeterna, and a great many others worldwide.”

  Aelia's mind reeled and she tried to anchor herself in logic, the only logic she had ever known and that the events of the past days, and this woman here, now, were taking from her. “No, I don't understand. This can't be, we were the only ones, humans are the only ones. There was no one here before us.” She kept shaking her head. “And you're telling me there were others, and without us knowing? All those archeologists and anthropologists and historians, none have identified any trace of another species that lived here before us, and you're saying that they are all wrong?”

  “I imagine this goes against everything you've ever learned about the history and origins of humanity, and yet that is exactly how it is. We are, and always have been, an unknown element, because we hid, and still hide even today, all signs of ourselves. And we can and do this rather effectively, because we are still here to do this, to actively protect ourselves, our very existence and origins, from being discovered. Sometimes a sign is found that would otherwise be attributed to us, but so far human scholars have infallibly concluded that human civilization has simply begun earlier than they had thought, and so we remain safe.”

  Neora continued. “According to the stories of our ancestors, they saw the humans appear, watched them grow. At the beginning, and for tens of thousands of years, in fact, this was very easy to do without their knowing of us. We were so much more advanced than they, you see. And as humans finally progressed to where we might be discovered, we fell back, hid. Lived apart. And continued to watch. Eventually we made ourselves look like them, over a number of carefully engineered generations. This made hiding in plain sight easier.”

  She halted, biding her words. She wanted to say so much, teach this young woman so much. But considering what Aelia had been thr
ough, and how tired she must be, Neora knew it would be best not to overwhelm her. She forced herself to choose what she would say now and what she would leave for later. The most important thing was to let her know that she belonged here, that she must stay. And that what she had been experiencing was meant to be.

  “It is impossible for me to tell you our story all at once. There will be plenty of time for that. For now, it is important that you understand who we are, who we always were.” Neora spread her hands, her words eager. “We were nothing like humanity. For one, compared to them we were ancient, far more advanced, light years ahead in so many ways even of today's humans. From the beginning, our beginning, we progressed faster, and our perceptions were different. We were highly intelligent, highly efficient. We were also extremely aware of the roads that should be taken and those that must be avoided for us to thrive and prosper. And we were highly attuned to both our own needs and those of the world we have always seen ourselves as guests in—we must, we have always believed, be respectful of our surroundings, of this planet and its welfare.” Her smile was sad. “As I said, we were, still are, different from the humans.”

  She contemplated her next words. “But that is not the only way we were different. You see, over the years, there were among us those who were more attuned to all that is around us. The culture you grew up in would call them spiritual, I believe. With time we became worried that our emphasis on progress and striving to enhance certain, more practical, parts of our intelligence would be our end, lead to the demise of what we held important in our core. And by then the humans were advanced enough for us to realize just how different they were from us, and we worried about what they would do to the world. And to us, if we were discovered. From the beginning they were more aggressive, more territorial in nature than we were.