Book of Glitch - Chapter 1

Part I

The tale of the glitch outbreak was fresh in my mind as I drifted in and out of consciousness. A soft melody swam into my ears and wafted through my thoughts as I realized my eyes were shut tightly. I tugged at the melodic tones floating through my mind, which seemed to grow louder the harder I fought to open my eyelids. Finally I blinked and was confronted by harsh, bright lights and forced to shut them again until my vision could adjust.

That soft, sweet humming eventually drew me out of my lethargy and I felt relief once I peeked a look at my surroundings again. Through my blurry vision I could see the gentle glow of sparkling, white fabric occupying the seat next to me. I stared on until my sight steadied and I could better make out the figure of the young lady who had patiently coaxed me to sleep with her lullaby.

I had been in the midst of retelling my darling Syena the history of the glitch outbreak as we departed from Providence’s warm and welcoming lights to fly across the Atlantic for the king’s funeral in London. She and I were inseparable since she could walk, so naturally we sat together on the aeroplane as we always did on every family excursion. And like always, she had asked me to tell her tales of my life before I became Grand Duke Elder Abraham and came to owe my life to her Stonie family.

Despite her demure silk gown, such delicate fabric could not conceal the definition of her immensely dense and firm physique. Her crossed legs made the white material resemble miniature mountain peaks declining into perfectly sharp slopes down to her toes. Even with her hands folded casually in her lap the muscular peaks of her biceps seemed to dip in and out of the shadows with each heave of her solid chest. The lights inside the craft had pained my eyes, but seeing the way they made her wavy, carbon fiber-like hair glitter as it fell over her shoulder was delightful.

Although she sat facing the window, I could see the reflection of her gentle face in the glass thanks to the contrasting darkness of the morning sky. Her cheeks were usually high, plump mounds whenever she smiled but were smooth, subtle curves leading into her jawline as she hummed to herself. The way her soft brow line tapered into the bridge of her broad nose was as enchanting and adorable then as it was when she first looked up as a toddler over sixty years ago.

As she continued her melodic reverie, the sensation of needles pricked at my spine as I shifted on the harsh, metal-coated, concrete bench that I merely padded with a few cushions in order to sit beside the young lady. Honestly, no matter how many or how thick the cushions were prepared for me, my soft Elder body simply could not adapt to the Stonie-specific furnishings. My companion remained so comfortably unmoved on her massive cinderblock that I almost felt ashamed when I emitted a pained groan.

“Oh! Abraham, you’re awake,” she said with a bright smile.

“Apologies, dear one,” I grumbled. “Did I doze off in the middle of the story?”

She shot me a playful look from the corner of her eye before returning to grinning as my remorseful gaze met her own.

“You know I love hearing about ninth great-uncle Glitch and the final human history, but you always go on such tangents...” she muttered. “And then you fall asleep before even getting to the parts about how ninth great-grandfather David rescued you.”

I reclined further back into my cushioned seat to allow the steady up and down sway of the aeroplane to massage my aching flesh. I stared past Syena and through the window beside her as we flew further east. The sun had begun to brighten the horizon enough so that the clouds appeared blue against the white light of that glowing orb. By the time the sky was bright blue from its refracting light, we began to descend and flying beneath them.

In her sixty-eight years of life, my dear Syena had always been oddly yet shrewdly perceptive. Thus, I was sure she knew that I had purposefully stalled in reliving my unhappy memory of encountering the vile Shaman my oldest friend David had saved me from.

 “She was a demon,” I barked as the mere thought of that day infuriated me. “There wasn’t even a name for those creatures back then because she was the first of her kind we had learned of. But she was a truly heartless witch!”

I’m ashamed to say that whenever I got reflected on that dark stain on my past, I simply couldn’t stop myself from ranting.

“I’ve related to you all the pleasures I enjoyed in the early days of the outbreak, my dear. That was indeed a golden time since we Elders were regarded as gods to the humans. I was particularly thrilled by all the men and women willing to serve me since you know I came from humble beginnings. But even I had never encountered such an unbridled beauty as that Sham...

“I admit I overindulged in that celebrity to the point of losing sight of what dangers other variants still posed, but may Glitch serve as my witness that I only dropped my guard because that sorceress still seemed to be human! Not only that, but recent news of two much biologically younger Elders mysteriously dying prior to the day I met that harpy seemed wholly irrelevant. After all, getting into trouble has always been a hallmark of you young folks.

“Anyhow, it was thanks to my unfortunate run-in with that harlot that we finally deduced that other hapless Elder victims had fallen prey to other Shamans’ accursed enthrall. I’m willing to wager my 1,276 years that the wench would have burst my heart right here in my chest had it not been for David’s arrival. I suspect you and your father inherited his sharp sense for danger because he had the good sense to follow me and catch that would-be murderer in the act!

“You can’t imagine how terrified I was as that wickedly gorgeous creature straddled my gr—”

Suddenly, I felt a pair of cool, slender hands slide down my shoulders until long, firm fingers gently curled into my flesh like steel hooks.

“Now, Abraham... Surely you aren’t tarnishing my darling daughter’s innocent mind with more stories from your salacious youth,” the eloquent voice attached to the hands scolded.

I gulped before raising my eyes to see her mother towering over the back of my seat.

Granita was truly a gem of a woman. No matter the circumstances, she was always gentle and kind to any who crossed her path, yet she never shied away from keeping those closest to her heart in line. That’s why seeing her radiant motherly smile, was both lovely and bone-chilling. I could sense the patient constraint she was exercising as she cast her sharp gaze down her perfectly straight nose at me.

The Stonie mother was not so much hinting that she desired I stop talking as she was silently commanding me to. In truth, I would have just as soon obliged had she done nothing more than sit down across from us. Just the sight of her moving to stand over her daughter’s seat next, overwhelmed me with the vision of a six-foot-tall raven guarding its nest.

“My dear Granita, I would never dream of defiling your precious Syena’s mind with my sordid past.”

But her warning evidently had no effect on Syena because she shook off her mother’s cool grasp.

“What’re you talking about, Abraham? It’s not like this is the first you’ve told me about your early Elder escapades.”

In that moment, I swear I could feel Granita’s hook-like fingers at my throat as I watched them run through her daughter’s shimmering hair. The mother’s already firm cheekbones became taut as she proceeded to plait Syena’s locks down the side of her scalp to weave a single, stiff braid. To my horror, my dearest companion continued to elaborate on just how much she knew of my lecherous exploits despite Granita audibly clenching her jaw.

“You already told me about your countless nights indulging in libations. And the few times you attempted to fornicate with the remaining homo-sapien females before giving up. Even how some of the males tried to seduce you in hopes of gaining status...”

I assure you I’m not exaggerating when I say I thought my heart had actually beaten twice in that moment from fear that Granita would send me hurling straight through the aeroplane window to plummet through the heavens and into the Atlantic below us. However, when I chanced a peek in her direction, I saw that she was busy affixing a white orchid garland to Syena’s wavy locks. Still, it was evident she was listening in calm fury as her youngest spoke of drugs, prostitution, and orgies.

“S-Syena... I think that is unrelated to the story I was just telling you,” I squeaked.

“Yes, I know. I simply wanted mother to see that there’s no reason for me to shy away from such topics. I mean, I am almost twenty-three Stonie...”

I could practically feel her eyes roll over her mother’s habit of babying her.

“Anyway, please get to the part where Great David burst in and flung that Shaman off you!”

Her eyes twinkled as she peered at me with the same intensity she often had whenever she trained with her older brothers. And as if the young men could sense their sister’s heightened spirits, the titan-sized young Stonies strolled over from their seats at the back of the aircraft to stand in the aisle beside us.

“Will you ever get sick of this story, Sye?” Phit asked. The younger twin sounded exasperated but proceeded to say, “Wait! Did you already mention the most important part, Abe?!”

His sister shrugged as she looked between me and her brothers. The oldest Gray patted my shoulder as he seconded his twin’s enthusiasm.

“Yeah, you can’t leave out the part where Great David hurled that Shaman through the wall then carried you to safety in one arm like a baby,” he said with a peevish chuckle. “Our Grand Duke Elder wouldn’t be here today if he hadn’t stormed in when he did, right?”

“Exactly!” Phit exclaimed. “Talk about stumbling upon the discovery of the era! Just think how things would have been if he hadn’t caught that Sham in the act of using her enthrall. I mean, old Abe here would’ve been a thing of the past just like the humans.”

“Yes, yes, all right. Thank you, boys. I think we all know that story quite well,” I interjected since those memories truly were an unwelcomed reminder of how close to death I had come. “Clearly, the moral of the story is never trust a Sham under any circumstances. And especially never leave one alone with one of us Elders. Unlike the other useful Incantare, those variants aren’t good for anything but being opportunists and murderers!”

“That’s quite enough, Abraham,” a stern yet relaxed voice scolded.