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They repeated the step over and over on each table, like a synchronized dance, and it was kind of fun to see them.
“Sorry to interrupt.” They all turned towards me, stopping their motion. “The chief sent me here.”
They grunted like I was inconveniencing them, and then one of them walked to the corner, pulling an empty bucket out of the closet nook. The man pressed it against my chest. “Puke in the bucket,” he ordered, and pointed me to another door.
Sighing, I walked through it and instantly began to shake from the freezing cold. The walls were made of solid, continuous ice, so thick and tall that there was no way they were made by any kind of machinery. The floor was also ice, and I was forced to stop when my boots began to slide on it. I realized the room was their version of a meat refrigerator, probably one of the tasks the Ice Dragon helped us with.
Rows of dead animals hung from the ceiling racks across from me. A few goats and a couple of large pigs, while a table in the corner was lined with chickens.
The animals were all clean and skinned already, no heads to be seen—and for that, I was grateful—so I imagined that my job was to help the men separate the different cuts of meat. That wasn’t so bad.
“Wait outside.”
“We’ll be right out.”
Enix and Lais instructed at the sight of me there, and I glanced to the back to see the large twins hanging a cow onto the iron racks. They were about Kingston’s size, but like, twice as buff. Especially, since cows weighed over thirteen hundred pounds and they were lifting it like it was a water balloon.
“Okay,” I mumbled, and stepped out again, grateful for getting out of the cold. I kind of wondered if it would be one of the pigs or goats we would be tackling, but I decided to wait for them to bring out the animal.
I watched them hang another cow they had waiting on the ice floor, and as I did, I had yet another chance to appreciate the diversity our people represented. What I loved the most about Caelisium, was that we had no specified races here, everyone was Soulris regardless of the color of their skin, or the shape of their faces. They were all family even though to the naked eye, they were a rainbow of beautiful colors.
Kingston, for example, was a beautiful representation of an African man. Evie almost seemed Norwegian with her pale white skin and blond hair, while the twins before me reminded me of the Hawaiian people. Asher seemed Italian, while Willow might as well live in the Swiss Alps. Finn reminded me of a young sensei, and Penelope looked just like that famous actress of the same name from Spain. Sometimes, I imagined Harper was secretly Mexican, but there were also many with striking combinations, like Harrison, Islay, and Imogen to name a few.
When I looked at my face in the mirror, I could see traces of several of them—Greek, Middle Eastern, British, maybe even Spanish for all I knew. It was exciting to think I was part of so many races evolving together through time.
Our ancestors might have been from different parts of Caelisium before becoming slaves—the wetlands, the desertlands, the greenlands, and many others—but we were all the same.
“Hey.” Enix’s voice cut my reverence short, and I blinked out of the thought to see him standing before me… with empty hands. He took one look at the bucket I carried and snorted, leading me through yet another hallway. His brother, Lais, was already walking ahead of us, and I had totally missed him.
“Where is the animal?” I asked, coming out of the back to an open part of the cave.
Three “sleeping” cows lay on the ground, one already placed on a huge, ancient-looking station that was still stained with blood. Several types of knives and horrifying tools were spread on the butcher block to the right, and I watched Lais take the cleaver knife and grip it firmly, walking towards the top of the cow.
My eyes widened.
No. No, no, no!
“Put that on.” Enix motioned to a thick apron hanging from a hook on the wall, and took the skinner tool, walking towards his brother.
Resigned to my fate, I attempted to reach for the apron, just as a loud thud came from the table. Blood sprayed all over me. Whirling around, I plunged my head inside the bucket.
I guess I was a puker.
Needless to say, by the time we were done removing the hide, cleaning the cow, chopping it, and storing all the cuts of meat, I thought I might never eat again—for the rest of my life.
After bathing for the second time that day, and getting all the unwanted “things” off me, I debated whether or not to go see Evie. I was exhausted to say the least, and I was not looking forward to climbing the side of the castle. Kingston’s light was on when I came in, so I knew he was still awake, and trying to sneak up the stairs was not an option.
Also, it was really late, way past Evie’s usual bedtime, and I wasn’t sure if I should even try. If she was already asleep, I didn’t want to disturb her. Today had been a particularly difficult day for everyone.
Sighing, I headed for the window. I wanted to see her even if all I got to do was leave a kiss on her cheek.
When I approached her floor, I noticed the light shining through her window. She was waiting up for me. The thought spurred me on, making me smile, I needed something good to happen today. Anything.
Gripping the windowsill, I pulled myself up, and finally landed inside her room. “Hey, Mrs. Skyburrito,” I teased with a grin, noticing too late that Evie sat on a chair right in front of me, arms folded rigidly over her chest.
A storm appeared to rage in her eyes.
“What happened today?” she asked in a cold, steely voice.
