Free Bind Our Loving Souls by April Marcom Page B

yellow building, leaning slightly to the left and covered with
vines.
    “Long ago, the Halvandors had wonderful
dinner parties here every Monday evening. People who lived nearby
would come dressed in their finest clothes,” Helena said as we
climbed eight gigantic stairs to the veranda, lined with
skyscraper-tall columns.
    “People used to live around here?” I
asked.
    “They did. The earliest Halvandors that
settled here loved humans. They thought they could learn to live
among them and be part of our world like anyone else.”
    We reached the two front doors and each
grabbed a rusty old handle to pull. Even though the doors were at
least twice the size of the ones in the manor, they were still a
lot easier to open. We stepped into a giant empty room, lined with
cracked and broken windows that provided enough light to see
everything. Covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs, tables,
chairs, vases, and pedestals had been pushed against the side
walls.
    “So, why’d you want me to come here?” I
asked.
    “To help you understand. When the Halvandors
first came here, this was the most extravagant building they had
constructed. It was their favorite place. But one of the Halvandor
women and a human fell in love, and the woman told him her secrets.
He accused her of being insane, so she changed right in front of
him. Thinking she was a demon, he drove a knife through her heart
and left her in the woods to die. Then he raced into this very
room, where every living soul for miles around had gathered,
screaming about the monster he’d just slain. The girl’s parents ran
to find her dead. They took the man and saw through his eyes all
that had happened. Enraged that the humans they’d befriended had
killed one of them only for what they were, the Halvandors went
from house to house, killing everyone they found. By morning, they
had wiped out every human who lived within a day’s journey of here,
and they’d laid the plans for the isolation that exists today. In
one night, everything changed.”
    “So…Halvandors and humans can’t be together
because of one incident?”
    “I think it’s never been acceptable, but
that’s what the Halvandors think of whenever the idea of one of
them falling for a human is brought up. This is what happens when
our races mix.”
    “But there are humans living with them right
now that know all about them and don’t care. Does that not count
for anything?”
    “No, it doesn’t. The Halvandors realized they
would have to live with humans if they wanted to have servants. The
first humans brought here were hypnotized so that they lived only
to serve the Halvandors, and so were their children for many
generations. Over time, the masters of the house decided to let us
live normal lives as long as we never left the grounds. But all
Halvandors are raised to think less of humans than themselves, and
never to mix with them in this way.”
    I let out a sigh as I gazed around the room,
imagining people dancing and laughing centuries ago. “The ones on
their planet weren’t raised to think like that,” I said quietly,
gratefully.
    “How could you know that?” Helena asked,
bringing me back to reality.
    “I don’t know. They don’t have humans on
their planet, do they? So why would they teach them that?”
    “I don’t know what they have on their planet.
No one does.” She stared at me suspiciously for a moment. “I’m not
saying you are the Earth girl Enock won’t leave behind, but if you
are, I’m saying it’s not a good idea. If anyone found out, you
could end up dead. People brought here aren’t even supposed to know
about the Anvilayans. If they told any one, it would ruin
everything.”
    “I would never do that, Helena, I
promise.”
    She sighed and put a hand on my arm. “I’m not
saying you would. I’m just afraid that you’re treading in very
dangerous waters here, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    “I appreciate that.”
But Enock won’t let
that