“Gawonii? What is it you want me to do?” Tsiyi asked, still cupping my head in his lap.
“Get her home. Make sure she’s safe. I need to make sure that ‘thing’ is gone.”
Tsiyi smiled down over me. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ll get you safely home.”
Gawonii nodded his approval. “Adsila, come with me.” He stood up, and both spirits headed back into the forest.
Tsiyi lifted me up into his arms and carried me back through the forest protectively in his arms while Kasey followed behind.
Chapter 4
Gvnega galv’lati
I dozed off on the ride home, my body exhausted. Inside, Tsiyi laid me down on the couch and covered me with one of the soft throws that was folded over the back of the chair.
“I’ll wait outside until Gawonii returns. You’re safe; nothing will get past me.” He left to stand watch, as promised. Yawning, I looked around the empty room, wondering when Gawonii would come back. It’d most likely be late. He still had to find Ahyoka, and now he had to find out what attacked us.
Yawning again, exhaustion won over. My eyes got harder to keep open. Closing them, I let myself rest for the time being.
I shivered and reached for the throw that Tsiyi covered me with before he left. I opened my eyes when I came up empty handed and froze. I then shot up to a sitting position on the couch, pulling my legs into my chest, unable to make sense of where I was.
Nothing but darkness surrounded me. I couldn’t even see my hands in front of my face. I reached out to find Gawonii in my head but there was a void.
“Tsiyi?” I hoped he would hear me, but my voice shook.
No answer.
“Tsiyi! I need you! Please. Kasey!” I yelled even louder.
Still no answer.
“Gawonii,” I whispered, hoping he would hear me, fighting back tears.
There was no answer.
“I’m sorry.” The words came out barely audible this time as I prayed he would hear me.
Were they punishing me? I couldn’t help what happened with Adsila and Kasey. I couldn’t stop it.
I felt a breeze suddenly rustle through my hair.
“Hello!” I called out.
“Ama! Is that you?”
I nearly jumped off what I thought was still the couch. “Ahyoka!” I cried out. “Ahyoka! It’s me! I’m here! Where are you? It’s too dark! I can’t see anything.”
Taking a deep breath, I lowered my feet to what seemed like an endless black abyss under me. Holding onto the air I breathed in, I sprung up out of my sitting position, expecting the worst, but nothing happened. It didn’t feel like I was falling anyway.
Taking a step, I remained grounded.
“Ahyoka! I’m coming! Where are you?”
Then I caught something out the corner of my eye. Peering into the darkness, a speck of light broke through the obscurity, in front of me, giving me bit of optimism. Still hesitant, I took steps towards it, the blood pumping through my veins as my heart pounded excitedly. Soon, I took off at a run, seeing the light growing brighter. Gawonii came to mind as I ran towards the beacon. It had to be him trying to help me. I pumped my arms harder, trying to move my legs faster to get to him. When the glare nearly blinded my eyes, I stopped, shielding them.
I looked up at the beam of light as far as my eyes would let me see, and it shone, breaking the blackness in a single linear path. On each side was more black empty space. Taking my hand, I slowly reached out to it. My hand disappeared. Snatching it back, I turned my hand over, noticing that it was okay. I took another breath and stepped forward into the light. The walls on each side of the beam peeled away as I stepped into it.
“Ew,” I wrinkled up my nose, my feet squishing into a sticky, murky mess. They made a sloshing noise as I worked to lift my foot up out of the disgusting crap that made my feet feel like they were weighed down with weights. Wrapping my arms around me to keep warm, I took a good look at the depressing place I’d landed in. Trees hung over with bare limbs along the swampy ground. This place was so decrepit I couldn’t find any signs of life or anything green, much less any color other than gloomy grey. But for some reason, this place looked oddly familiar. Stepping out of the bog, I shook my leg, trying to get some of the gook off before going any further.
Where the heck was I? And how did I get here?
Walking, I quickly realized I was having trouble breathing. The lack of air in this place made it hard to take more than a few steps without wanting to fall over; I found myself catching my breath every few yards. Leaning up against a tree, I wiped sweat from my brow due to the strength required to get from one spot to the next in this dreadful climate. I finally came to a clearing and paused. My mouth hung open when I saw the cabin up ahead. I turned to look back behind me realizing why everything looked so familiar. That was the little brook I enjoyed so much. But what had happened to it?
I took off running for the cabin, almost fainting when I reached the steps, my lungs on fire. Resting on the porch and trying to get my breathing under control, I sniffed the air.
This place smelled like decaying flesh.
It was the only way I could describe the foul smell permeating the atmosphere.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was Gawonii’s home but yet …
Talking about Twilight Zone!
The hairs on my body stood straight up, and the necklace began glowing a little too bright for my comfort. Pulling my body onto the porch, I lowered myself flat onto the floorboards and peeked through the wooden railing.
I didn’t know how long I laid there, but I was starting to think I was being paranoid when a loud crash came from the trees. Trying to calm myself, I waited, fearing that whatever it was could hear the beating of my heart. With another crash, a hideous creature burst through the trees. Teeth protruded from its snout, and it stood about eight feet tall with white hair trailing behind it.
A Yracs … that is what Ahyoka called them.
Damn! I really hated those things. The small and the big ones—and especially the big ones.
Okay, Lailah, now what? I briefly closed my eyes, praying that it stayed away from the cabin. But of course, no such luck. Hoping the air was thin enough that it couldn’t smell me, I pushed my body away from the porch steps.
I hid behind Gawonii’s work bench, where I’d watched him make his weapons those days I was confined to the cabin. Peeking around the frame, the Yracs was almost at the front of the cabin now. Taking a deep breath, I pulled my body in tight under the bench and concentrated on keeping my heart rate down and my breathing steady.
I could hear the Yracs panting above me.
Keep going … Keep going! I repeated in my head.
I cringed when I saw a ghostly tendril pass in front of me being used as feelers. They soon disappeared, but I stayed where I hid, too afraid that it waited for me on the other side. Finally, I heard footsteps walking away from the cabin and then the crunching of dead twigs and leaves.
Not taking any chances, I looked around the bench on both sides, making sure that it was clear before crawling out from my hiding space.
Jumping up, I went to try the door for the cabin, only to find it locked.
What was I supposed to do now?
A scream pierced through the shallow night, making my blood run cold.
I looked over at my hiding place and back in the direction I’d heard the scream, debating on saving my own ass or doing what my gut was telling me to do, which was to go help.
I started to curse, mad that I was going with my gut, and took off sprinting down the stairs. I ran as much as my lungs would allow in the direction where I thought I’d heard the scream. I heard a horrific cry of a large animal and stopped.
This wasn’t my best idea, but I kept going forward until I spotted a Yracs ripping apart a dead tree log. It lifted the log over its head and threw it, slamming it against a large rock. I heard the scream again. A person rolled out o
f the log and scrambled to get out of the way. I’d recognize that little imp anywhere.
“Ahyoka!” I cried, drawing not only the attention of the Angeni but also the Yracs. “Oh, shit!”
It barreled towards me, shifting into its eerie vapor-like cloud as it got closer.
“Ama! Run!” Ahyoka yelled.
I ignored her, knowing that I’d defeated Yracs before, and I was confident I could do it again. I tried to stop its charge, but it continued at full speed towards me. The closer it got, the more I began to panic. I couldn’t stop it!
Ahyoka kept screaming at me in the distance. “Run! Ama, find a hiding place! It won’t work here!”
I was now able to hear its labored breathing; it was so close. Searching for any ounce of moisture anywhere—even inside the Yracs, I held my ground, but there was next to none. Not enough water that would sustain me. I was powerless! None of my powers worked here!
I only had mere seconds to evade the creature now. Tumbling out of its reach, Ahyoka waved for me to come with her.
Taking off in her direction, I caught up with her and we high-tailed it through the dying forest with the Yracs right behind us getting closer with every step.
Running was brutal with the thin air here. If I didn’t get oxygen soon, I was going to collapse.
We soon came to what looked like what was once the waterfall where I’d first had my awakening. Except now it was completely run over by the same thick slough I stepped in when I showed up here. It even slowly crept over the mountain, replacing all signs of water.
“What is this place?” I coughed, barely able to get the words out.
Ahyoka didn’t have time to answer before the Yracs charged at a break-neck speed, shifting in and out of its solid form.
“Sit. Hurry,” she urged, sitting in the icky mess. Holding all questions and disgust for later, I sat down beside her and mimicked what she did next.
She pushed off the side of the cliff.
We slipped down that crappy waterfall, putting some distance between us and the Yracs. I tilted my head back to see if we were safe before I saw the familiar greyish cloud of Yracs weaving its way down the slope as well. Something shot out of its mouth right just as we reached the bottom. That’s when we fell through the slough and hit solid rock.
Ahyoka jumped up, grabbing my arm and interrupting my need to replace the oxygen I had lost.
“Quickly! Get in the slime,” she ordered. I watched her completely cover herself in the slime and press herself against the wall. I copied every movement she did.
Just in time, it seemed, for a long tendril came through the wall of slow falling slough right before the Yracs appeared. It crept inside the hole we fell into and searched the tiny area. Its tongue slid out of its snout and slithered along the ground. I cringed, my heart trying to burst through my chest when it was mere inches away from Ahyoka and me, taking its time to search us out.
It felt like an eternity until it withdrew through the slough and was gone.
Ahyoka stumbled out of the mess and onto the hard ground. “Ama, how did you get here?”
I shook my head and shrugged. “I don’t know. I fell asleep on the couch in the cabin, and I woke up … somewhere else. Where are we and how do we get out of here?”
“You’re not really here,” she said. “And I don’t know how you’re doing it.”
We both sat down. “Okay, where are we then? Why didn’t my powers work?”
“We’re in a cave behind the waterfall. Well, what is the waterfall in our world, that is. You have awakened in one of Iswali’s dimensional worlds. He has the power to shift in and out of space and dimensions, as well as to create them. This is his own personal one, as you can tell, Yracs and all. Our powers don’t exist here because he designed it to destroy us.”
I jumped up, moving over to the wall of crap that dripped into the cave we were in. “So, how do we get out of here?”
I waited for an answer. When I didn’t receive one right away, I turned to see Ahyoka slumped over, motionless.
I dropped down beside her. “Ahyoka? What’s wrong?” I turned her over, removing matted hair out of her eyes and mouth.
“We get back the way we came in,” she mumbled.
“We didn’t come in the same … Ahyoka? Please, I’m trying to help you.”
Her eyes rolled shut. Laying her down, I thought about what she said.
I fell asleep. That is how I got here.
I just needed to wake up!
Maybe I could pull her through with me, I thought. But that was stupid. I wasn’t really here with her. I took her hand in mine and tried anyway. Shutting my eyes, I willed myself to wake up.
Wake up, Lailah …
Wake up!
I jumped up from where I was napping on the couch, frantically searching the cabin. Ahyoka didn’t come through. I bolted out of the cabin and passed Tsiyi and Onacona.
In seconds, Tsiyi projected in front of me, blocking me from entering the forest.
“Tsiyi, move!” I yelled. I try to go around him, but he blocked me again.
“Your Highness, what’s wrong?”
Onacona finally caught up to him, still carrying that annoyed expression on his face. I turned to him, taking him by the arm. He flinched at my touch but stayed in his spot.
“Onacona! You can see for miles. Can you see in another realm like Kas—I mean Chitsa?”
He nodded his head.
“If I gave a location to where Ahyoka will be, do you think you could look in that dimension and see her?”
Onacona looked at Tsiyi questionably, then answered, “Yes, Your Highness.”
“She is in Iswali’s home, and she needs help. We were running from a Yracs, and she was hurt. I left her behind the waterfall, and I don’t know how much longer we have.”
Onacona stared at me for a few moments before facing in the direction of the waterfall and growing very still. He rapidly shook his head when he came back, a confused look on his face.
“I’m unable to see through whatever is blocking the cave behind the waterfall. Are you certain, Angeni?”
“Yes!” I answered.
“Then contact our chief and tell him to meet me at the waterfall.” With that, he started to leave.
“I’m going too,” I added. The stern glare on his face said otherwise.
“No, Gawonii won’t agree to that. Tsiyi will get Chitsa to stay here with you and meet me at the falls.”
I huffed walking away from them. “I’m not staying. I’m going with you. We can waste time here fighting over it and wasting precious moments getting to Ahyoka, or you can just let me have my way for once and let me help. Either way, I’m going.”
I didn’t know how far I’d gotten before both Tsiyi and Onacona caught up with me, but I sighed in relief when I saw them pass me.
I reached inside of my mind and searched for Gawonii. It was so strange, but I could feel him like he was next to me when I finally found him.
What are you doing, Ama? Where is Tsiyi?
I’ve found Ahyoka, Gawonii.
Where?
We’re heading towards the waterfall where I pulled Utsi out—
What do you mean we? Go back to the cabin now.
No, I know where she is, and I’m going. There’s nothing you can say or do this time.
He didn’t say anything else, and that made me very nervous. He wasn’t going to be happy if Ahyoka wasn’t there. I could only hope I was right.
We made it to the waterfall, and I stopped on the man-made ledge, recalling the last time I was here. It was the first time I had discovered my powers. Slipping down the slope and following Onacona and Tsiyi, we made our way to where the water merged with the pool below the falls. It was in that moment that Gawonii jumped down from above, followed by the still naked Adsila. He glared at me but remained silent, turning to the mouth of the cave behind the falls.
“Ama,” I heard Gawonii say. “Divide the water.”
“
What?” I asked, shocked at his request.
He turned his head to look at me, then repeated, “Part the water.”
Biting my bottom lip, I stepped forward, looking up at how magnificent the falls were and wondering if I was able do what he asked. Placing my hand in the falling water, I let the cool drops splash over it. I looked behind me at Gawonii to see him nod his head. Holding my breath, I walked towards the falls. The power of the water falling over the cliff bended around me, creating an archway to allow access into the cave. Gawonii followed close behind along with the rest.
Inside, the cave was empty, and my heart sank. I was wrong, and I had failed.
“There!” Onacona pointed to a portion of the damp cave. Gawonii quickly moved past me and knelt down on the cool ground staring at something indiscernible to the naked eye. Tsiyi and Onacona joined him, their expressions dire.
“She’s been poisoned.” Adsila stood beside Gawonii. “She needs help fast.”
I stood at the mouth of the cave, unable to see Ahyoka and feeling helpless. I couldn’t see Ahyoka like they could, and it was frustrating.
“I was hoping he would have sent her somewhere other than his home. No wonder we weren’t able to find her. The question now is how are we going to get her out of there? This is not the spirit realm; this is Iswali’s domain,” Gawonii said, staring down at the empty spot before him. “Ama, how were you able to find her?”
All curious eyes turned to me. I shrugged, not quite certain myself.
“I was sleeping, and I woke up not in the cabin.”
Coming over to me with eyes narrowed into thin slits, Adsila looked down at me.
“You’re a liar. No one can just enter Iswali’s realm unless he allows you to enter.”
“I’m not lying,” I argued, moving away from her.
Adsila turned to Gawonii. “She’s lying,” she insisted. “Can’t you tell? You know as well as I that what I say is true. She has been conversing with her old lover, Gawonii. This proves it. How else would she have entered his domain and returned?”
The Ageni Series: Queen Page 5
