EMBERS (Of the Earth Series, Book Two)

19.3

I sat back, my mind reeling as Ragger's words washed over me. The rest of my human companions wore expressions of shock and disbelief, while the Turncoats and Changelings nodded along, offering insights into the origins of various legends.

I don't know how we'd overlooked it, or how I was the only one that caught it - he had even said as much when he had spoken to us at the town assembly. Pointed out some of the creatures he was aware of in our myth and legend that sprung from his stories. No wonder he'd been so irritated with my questions.

Every creature I'd ever heard of, every movie monster that had haunted my nightmares, was tied to the Visharath. All derived from stories Ragger had told throughout the millennia. Alien species, each and every one, different Turned, from different worlds, in different forms, with different strengths, different castes of their society. Amalgamations and experimental genetic horrors brought to bear against countless civilizations.

Some connections were obvious. I'd already made the vampiric link. Banshees were unmistakable too - we called them that because of their paralyzing screams. They'd also inspired Medusa and Sirens, since combined with their paralytic effects, they could also enter and control the minds of Visharath troops on the battlefield. A Kanata, a creature I'd heard whispered about on the coasts, ten stories tall and covered in tentacles, was the basis for the Kraken.

Other details splintered their way into familiar myths - zombies, infection via bites, best killed by being shot in the head. Werewolves' aversion to silver stemmed from the Visharath's use of retroviral cells to alter their hosts. Silver interfered with the process, not fatally, but lodging it in their heart certainly slowed their healing, and enough silver in their system would keep them from healing.

Ragger described the Vorhekt, a process by which several Visharath creatures could combine to create new ones. These were the Chimeras of old. Skinwalkers were Changelings. Their robotic forces, which neither I nor anyone else in the group had encountered, became Golems in human lore.

He claimed that once, at the height of his power, he had held a host from an ancient world called a Darakata, a huge, powerful, winged animal which spat acid strong enough to dissolve steel. My breath caught in my throat as I realized - in a literal sense, Ragger had once been a dragon.

Lilly's voice cut through my daze, sharp with anger and frustration. "Jesus Christ, Ragger, for an ancient, wise, intelligent being - you are a dumbfuck of epic proportions. Why did you never tell us any of this?"

Ragger swung towards her, his eyes glinting humorously in the firelight. "Perhaps I overestimated your intelligence," he snapped back. "It isn't my fault you've never tried any of this. As I said, there's plenty of myths and legends at your disposal. I was certain that someone, somewhere would have tried these things. If it was not now suddenly common knowledge to use fire and silver, well, perhaps in my time away, they fixed that problem."

I snorted, the sound harsh in the tense quiet that had fallen over the camp. "Yeah, cause we're just out here making silver bullets. So what, we rig up big ass blacklights to carry around?" The idea was absurd, almost laughable.

Ragger shook his head, the motion sending ripples through his shaggy fur. "We actually need a lot of UV light. However, our species - and most species, in fact, do not evolve around such bright stars. We just don't care for bright light."

"Fuckin' wild, man," Nolan said.

Ragger looked back at me. "I trust I have answered all your questions satisfactorily?"

"Um, yeah... I guess so," I mumbled. Made an omelet of my brains, more like.

Kendall picked at his teeth, unimpressed. "Alright, so, gonna be honest here, I am not sure how that all helps us. Like... Silver is cool, I guess. Heavy metal poisoning... Bullets are already made of lead and don't seem to do a ton."