House of Vultures - Maggie Claire (epub read online books .TXT) 📗

find suitable food for Antero.I search for nearly two hours but come back with a barely filledsack of leaves and six berries. Antero savors each meager bite,keeping one eye on me as he eats.

“What are you supposed tobe anyway?” He asks, motioning to my mask as he finishes his lastberry.

“It’s a mynah. That iswhat I am called,” I reply, hoping that if I share some detailsabout myself, maybe Antero will feel comfortable enough to do thesame.

“A what?”

I sigh in exasperation, this not beingthe first look of confusion I have ever faced in my time with thismask. “Before the windstorm ravaged Cassé, this land was not a badplace to live. We had gleaming cities bustling and writhing withpeople. While we may not have been the richest nation, we werecomfortable.” I clear my throat, desperate to keep breathing as Idredge through the murky images of my past innocence. “There was aplace in Omphalos that housed all different types of animals, allliving in harmony despite their differences. People could pay tosee these creatures housed in their recreated environments, and Ihad always wanted to go there. My parents took me once, and Iremember seeing a white, smooth feathered bird with piercing bluearound its eyes like a cerulean mask. I loved those feathers thatmatched my hair and the cunning, sleek look of the bird.Apparently, a white mynah is rare, for most are dark, solitarybirds. It is the last animal that I remember seeing before myparents….” I feel my shoulders tense as my memories fade, thehorrible images twisting through my thoughts like smoke. “I wasonly seven when the windstorm stole my parents from me.”

A hard scowl forms on Antero’s face ashe listens. “What did you do after they were gone?”

I hate telling my story, but it hashis interest, so I forge on despite the lump forming in my throat.“After Cassé was destroyed, the people decided that hiding ourfaces was the best method of maintaining objectivity. You mustunderstand, Cassé became a land of chaos and anarchy after thewindstorm. To survive, you would have to do terrible things to yourneighbors. You’d lie, cheat, steal, and murder just to have enoughfood for the night. The masks made it easier for the strongest tosurvive. In a sense, we wiped away our own humanity by givingourselves anonymity. At least, that’s what we told ourselves.” Itake a swig from the water skin on my hip, my throat dry from somuch talking. “On the day of the storm, after my parents were gone,I bolted from the city. My dad’s last words were to run, so I did.I hid in the grasslands, eating what I could find and eavesdroppingfor any information I could hear. I stayed out there half wild forabout a month. By then the new laws of Cassé had beenestablished.”

“What laws?” Anterointerrupts with a scoff. “What rules are you supposed to follow inthis chaos?”

The words that come to mind are rote,engrained in all members of any house. They were the first wordsthat I had to memorize when I was accepted into the House ofVultures. “Rule one: never take off the mask. It keeps you fromknowing if the person you hurt was once a loved one. It does nogood to dwell on past relationships in this land of brutality.” Iswallow a cry as my mind sees Lion’s broken body once more beforeme. For the first time, I understand the purpose of this law. If Ihad realized in time that Lion was family, I would surely havestayed Wolf’s attack. His past offenses would not have been enoughfor me to allow my uncle to die.

“Rule two: Never give yourtrue name, because it gives power to another person. This was theeasiest law for us to follow because it was already an observedpractice even before the windstorm. No one ever told me how itworks, but if you know another human being’s name, you have controlover that person. You can force him or her to do anything you wish.We choose our names in secret and share that knowledge with noone.” I smile as I watch Antero shift nervously in his seat,suddenly aware of the vulnerable position in which he has placedhimself by telling me his name.

“Rule three: survive.” Iadd more wood to the fire, relishing the fear that I see buildingin Antero’s eyes. “When the laws were established so were the majorHouses: the House of Vultures—my house—is close by in this forest.The House of Piranhas is by the sea, and it is probably the largestof them all. The House of Wolves keeps its main den somewhere inthe north; no one knows exactly where. They live as nomads,travelling through the forest most of the time. The House of Lionshas been destroyed today by Wolf, so his pack has grown in numberconsiderably.

“Those who are not a partof the major houses are called the nameless unchosen. They live inthe woods, hiding and observing the houses. We catch glimpses ofthem on occasion, especially if someone masked dies. They seem tothink that death creates an opening for them to join. It is folly.You only gain a mask in the houses anymore if you are born into it.Because resources are slim, any member of the major houses isexpected to kill a nameless unchosen on sight.”

“You’ve legalized murderin the name of survival? That’s barbaric!” Antero balks at theidea, horror widening his expressive eyes.

“I agree with you, and youcan be grateful that I do, because according to our laws, youshould be dead by now.” Antero’s face blanches at the thought, hismouth falling open. I continue with my explanation. “There areother minor houses with fewer than ten members that rise up everynow and again. These groups are often formed by the namelessunchosen who are trying to join one of the other houses. They donot typically last long.”

“What of the south? Inotice you did not say any houses lived there,” Antero asks, hiseyes nonchalantly searching the floor for any weapons he might useagainst me. I pity him, knowing that his attempts to protecthimself are wasted. I can snuff out the air in his lungs with asingle thought if