The Tower 31

“Sareanne despaired that they would never succeed and be forced to remain on the island until they died. Mehean immediately set out to build a shelter and find food. Mehean kept watch that night and Sareanne slept fitfully. In the middle of the night she heard noises outside the shelter. It was like the monsters had found a way to reach the island.

“Sareanne was paralyzed with fear and she was certain Mehean would be dead in the morning, but come sunrise he was outside the shelter as if nothing had happened. Encircling the tent was a fine line of sand. She asked Mehean what it was and he described how the tiny flowers had grown around the shelter and the chant she had murmured in her sleep.

“She couldn’t remember any of it, but she was grateful it was there. Mehean looked weary and she asked about the sounds she had heard. Mehean didn’t know what she had heard for he had been undisturbed during the night. She told him to rest while she searched for food.

“Each day and night went the same and Mehean appeared exhausted each day. Sareanne worried, but didn’t know what to do. Finally Mehean suggested they build a more permanent shelter since there was no possible way they could cross the chasm without help.”

“What about the bridge?” I asked surprised.

“The bridge didn’t exist back then.”

“Who built the bridge?”

Antheus blushed ever so slightly. “I did. It took many years.” His eyes glazed a bit and I could see the memories washing over his face.

“It is a beautiful bridge. I have never seen the like in architecture or construction,” I complimented.

“Thank you,” he replied humbly.

“So how long did it take Mehean and Sareanne to build the tower?” I asked.

“They didn’t build the whole tower, just the main floor and that took them just over a year and a half. Mehean had been raised in the northern part of Anderosea and he had learned many skills that helped them complete the tower.  Together they scoured the island for rocks and even began digging later on in the eastern edge.

“During that time they grew close and when the tower was completed they performed the marriage ritual. It was right around the two year mark when Sareanne began to notice some marked differences in Mehean’s behavior and even his looks. He wasn’t quite as tall as she from the beginning, but he had shrunk several inches. His eyes had sunken ever so slowly and he acted tired all the time, but the biggest difference was his nightly behavior.

“When they first married he had stayed with her in the tower during the night, but as time progressed he began staying up later and later until he almost never slept with her. On the second anniversary of the battle that formed the island she convinced him to come to bed early. That night she discovered something that made her blood run cold.

“His attentions were almost ferocious and when he had fallen off to sleep she lay restlessly next to him. It was then that she noticed a mark on his back, a long, jagged scar that ran across his body from his ribs to his hip. It was at least two years old, but the texture of the scar is what frightened her. It had the same scaly look as the skin of the monsters.”