Spirits of the Earth: The Complete Series: (A Post-Apocalyptic Series Box Set: Books 1-3) by Milo Fowler (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📕

“He’s not my lord.” The youth draws himself up to his fullest height. “I’m my own man.”

Granger chuckles to himself. “I think I like this kid.”

“He certainly is sure of himself,” Sinclair allows.

“You’re welcome to join us, but the choice is yours, of course,” Margo says.

He thinks for a moment. “You got any food?”

“If you like protein packs, we’ve got plenty where we’re headed,” Milton says.

“Hallelujah!” Granger can’t contain his excitement. His stomach growls as if on cue.

Lemuel’s bony shoulders shift upward and drop. “I could probably eat a goblyn, I’m so hungry.” He packed every weapon he could carry, but he didn’t bring anything to eat? He must have left in a real hurry.

Margo resumes her position at the wheel as Lemuel tentatively climbs in beside her. Milton lingers at her door.

“If you’ve got everything under control here, I’ll go ahead and let them know you’re on your way.” He looks eastward. “Another hour or so until dawn. You’ll make it by first light.”

Margo nods, revving the engine as Milton steps back and waves. Then with the greatest of ease, he takes to the sky. I won’t be getting over that trick anytime soon. Lemuel cranes his neck to watch as Milton disappears into the night.

“Gaia has indeed blessed him,” he murmurs, awestruck.

“Tell me about Gaia,” Margo says. “Is she a member of your bunker?”

Lemuel frowns. “You don’t know Gaia? How can that be?”

Harris looks ready to interrupt with something irate or belligerent, but I seize his weapon and pin him against the rear hatch, staring him down. The vehicle crosses a rough patch of terrain, rocking and lurching. No one seems to notice our commotion.

“We need to learn all that we can here, Doc,” I tell him. “We’re still on mission, make no mistake. But we’re not running the show right now. We’ll leave that to the folks busy saving our asses. So why don’t you do your profession a service and start taking notes. Seems to me you’ve sure as hell forgotten what you were preaching earlier.”

“That was before I knew they wanted to kill us!” Harris’s eyes bulge.

“Observe now, report later. As soon as the opportunity arises, I’ll let Mutegi know what’s going on. Until then, we sit tight. Got it?”

Harris nods reluctantly. “Glad to see you back on track, Sergeant. I had my doubts.”

I would have rather knocked him out cold. But the way things stand, I can only hope Harris will take it down a notch and pay close attention to what’s going on.

“You’re the United World scouts from the Argonaus.” Lemuel turns in his seat to face Sinclair and Granger. “Cain said you would be coming.”

“Tell us about him—your leader?” Margo focuses his attention on what we need to know. She’s good about it, keeping that friendly, curious tone intact, the kind that inflates a young man’s pride and makes him eager to share.

Her telepathic abilities might also be in play.

“Cain thinks he’s Gaia’s chosen one, just because he’s the only person she speaks to,” Lemuel says. “He’s the biggest and the strongest, and he throws his weight around all the time.”

“He’s a bully,” Margo observes.

“And he’s got more wives than anybody—four. Can you believe that?”

“No, I—” She appears flustered for the first time during their interchange.

“He’s got them all with child, even Victoria—his fourth wife. She isn’t much older than me. Hell, we grew up together in the bunker!”

“They’re able to reproduce,” Harris whispers on comms, gripping my arm.

“You guys get in trouble or something?” Lemuel looks at me.

“They were in a hurry,” Sinclair explains. “They didn’t have time to find a seat.”

Lemuel nods, assessing my threat level.

“That’s our team leader and our doctor.” Granger points at each of us in turn. “I’m the engineer on this expedition, and she’s our science officer. We had one more, but we lost—”

“Do you have a designation, Lemuel?” Sinclair interjects. Best not to mention our weapons officer’s demise.

“A rank or something, you mean?” He frowns. “No. We’re not military.”

“Yet they’re armed to the teeth,” Harris says on internal comms. “And notice he said we—he still identifies with the group that exiled him. That could pose a problem later on, should we cross paths with that hunting party.”

“I’m a warrior. Staked thirty-four goblyns all by myself.” Lemuel’s chin rises with pride as he speaks. “I would’ve gotten my own wife next year, but Cain would have taken her for himself first. He does that, you know. He’s the only one with any seed to sow.”

“The alpha male,” Harris comments.

“You and Victoria are close,” Margo continues. “Will she leave Cain to join you?”

The youth shakes his head, eyes downcast. “Cain won’t let her live, once she’s had his baby.” He faces Margo with sudden hope in his voice. “But he does need her, you know. She’s his eyes and ears out here. She can send her mind long-distance. That’s how she contacted you, right?” He watches Margo nod. “So you’re like her, then. You have the gift of far-thought?”

Margo glances at me in the rearview before she replies, “I was able to hear her thoughts as if they were my own. She guided us to you.”

Lemuel nods, his eyes distant. “Yeah, that’s what she said.” He gestures at the vehicle, changing the topic. “Somehow I don’t think you’re part of Luther’s nomads. They don’t have a single set of wheels to their name.”

First Cain, now Luther—tribal leaders of some kind? And who is this Gaia the kid mentioned? Some sort of queen over them all?

“Where do you think I’m from?” Margo almost smiles.

He shrugs. “Eden, probably.” He stares hard at the terrain ahead.

“Good guess. What do you know about Eden?”

“Not much. Only that you still live under the ground. You didn’t come up to the surface with the rest of us after All-Clear.” He pauses. “Cain says you rejected Gaia’s blessing and have been cursed because of it, that you can never leave your bunker. But that can’t be