Eden's Children (Earth Exiles Book 2) Read Free Page B

excuse was that it would slow him down.
    They walked over the cobblestones of the courtyard.  Past the courtyard, the small valley opened up.  The little valley was a bowl, a natural pocket surrounded by cliffs on all sides.  The area in back of the gateway was large, about twenty acres.  To Mike’s right, along the cliff, was a small lake fed by a small waterfall.  The water used to flow out through the opening that the compound wall now occupied.  They’d diverted the water flow to pipes to bring them fresh water, with overflow directed through pipes under the new wall to drain.
    The waterfall was a spring that came out of the rock wall about a hundred feet above the lake.  Above the waterfall, there was still about six hundred feet of rock before you found the lowest point of the cliff edge.  To the left, the cliff across from the waterfall looked like it had been sliced by a huge butter knife.  The tall, thin openings were small box canyons that led back into the mountainside.  Some of them ran for miles.  Every one ended in a high cliff wall, with no access to the outside.
    There was some industry in the valley.  They had a smokehouse to smoke and prepare meat.  Terror bird was being smoked, and the smell made Mike’s mouth water.  There were others making soap, washing clothes, and some of the fabricators had rigged up a blacksmith forge and anvil to experiment with.
    Mitchem, Mike’s old nemesis, spent his time there.  The people that worked with him swore that Mitchem was doing good things.  Mike had a hard time believing that.  Mitchem mainly worked at the smokehouse, his backyard grill time helping somewhat.  He was a decent facilitator as well.  If someone needed something, he would ask around until he was able to find it, or find someone who knew how to make it.  Mike and Mitchem spent their time avoiding each other.
    Mike looked out across the valley and he saw Ben Davis working in the garden.  Ben saw them, and waved.  They waved back.  Close to the lake, land had been leveled to plant food and herbs.  Ben was a nice guy and a hard worker, but Mike didn’t have faith in his efforts.  Ben swore that he had a green thumb, but that capability was not readily apparent, though.
    The garden was Ben’s big project.  It was a good idea, but, even with other ‘gardeners’ and ‘horticulturists’ helping, it hadn’t yielded much in the way of food.  Ben nourished it with love and tenderness, and like most abusive relationships, that love was neither appreciated nor returned.  The garden was a straggle of weeds that was hard to discern from the surrounding vegetation.  Ben wasn’t able to fend off starvation for the compound yet, but he was able to grow enough herbs to make food interesting.  The spices weren’t what everyone was used to, but they added flavor to the food.
    Matki walked past the courtyard, walked out onto the grass, and stopped where there was a bare patch of dirt.  He squatted down, and motioned for them to join him.
    Everett got there first, and sat straight down, cross legged on the ground.  Mike and Tom joined him.
    Maria Roberts, one of the techs, yelled over at them, “We have some chairs up here if you want them.”
    Mike waved at her, “It’s okay, Maria, we’ll be fine.”
    “What’s up, Matki?” Mike asked.
    “Nothing good, Mike,” Matki replied, still a little bit breathless.
    Mike’s head cocked, “What’s up?”
    “The Ancient.  I don’t know what he’s up to, but things are strange out there,” Matki answered.
    “Strange how?” Everett asked.
    “He has three brooding females in the valley.”
    Mike was dumbfounded, “Three?  Are you kidding me?  I thought you couldn’t get three brooding females that close without violence and death.”
    Matki nodded, “Yes, ordinarily, that is true.  But, I don’t think anything about that big dragon is ordinary.”
    They waited, but Matki wasn’t forthcoming.  Tom was the first to