Aisling Murphy's Arc

Chapter 11 of 12

Aisling kept her palm on the warm stone. The paint still held Zyx's shape, but she knew he could hear her. "You said the war already happened," she said. "Two thousand years ago. Tell me who won. Tell me all of it." The red figure pulled free of the rock again. His black eyes found hers. "You asked the hard question. Good." He raised one thin hand toward the gap in the trees. The sky there shifted. Aisling saw ships, hundreds of them, streaking across a burning sky. Lasers crossed and burst. The vision filled the clearing with noise, then faded. "Five peoples came for Earth," Zyx said. "My people were few. We could not fight that. One kind ruled above the rest. They called themselves the Anunnaki. They won the war. They decided humanity's fate." Aisling's hand shook. "Then Earth is already theirs." "Listen," Zyx said. The sky changed once more. A winged woman stood on a stepped stone pyramid, gold at her brow, a white robe pouring down. She held a small cross by a loop. "Her name is Isis," Zyx said. "She led the Anunnaki. But she did not want slaves. When she won, she made a law. Every people must leave humanity alone. No more ruling. No more hurting. Only watching." "They left?" Aisling asked. "Not at first." Zyx's voice went soft. "Before they left, all the peoples married into humankind. Their children ruled for a time. Each new child carried less of the old blood. The blood thinned. It thinned in you too." On the pyramid steps two small children played, red-skinned, bright with paint, laughing as they chased each other. "My own line," Zyx said. "Yours." Dr. Hartwell knelt in the dirt, pale, watching the visions she should not have been able to see. "Isis worked beside me," Zyx said. "I helped her ready the peoples to go. We agreed on one thing. Humans must grow on their own. We could guide, never force. Some of my kind wanted to lead humanity toward darkness. Isis and I chose the light." The visions dimmed. "That is the whole truth. The Anunnaki won. Then they let Earth go." Aisling pulled her hand from the stone. Her legs held this time. She looked up through the trees at the real sky, blue and empty and quiet. For the first time it did not feel like a warning. "So nobody is coming," she said. "Not to rule," Zyx said. "But the law bends. Some still whisper. You carry both bloods, Aisling. You can carry the light forward." He faded into paint. Dr. Hartwell stood and took Aisling's hand. "We should go back." Aisling nodded, but she did not look away from the sky. The old pull was still there. It had never been fear. It was a job waiting for her. She turned toward the orphanage, already carrying the weight of it.