by J F Mehentee
That’s why I rushed the fritting translation. Too busy thinking about having a translation ready for Pak the next morning, I worked through the scroll sequentially to save time. I ignored standard procedure, and I ignored the translation’s content until it was too late.
Pak had goaded Biyu just as Yahata had baited his pet into doing something with potentially dire consequences. Biyu had recognised her own folly.
I’d always been jealous of Pak, of how Biyu had spent so much time with him, either at the University or away on field trips. And there’d been the photograph of the two of them I’d found. They’d looked happy together, not as a supervisor and his student but more like a couple. My jealousy towards the man blackened and became hate. Pak had used Biyu, and she—not him—lived with the consequences.
Biyu’s mind remained shielded from me. She had shared an insight, but now she wanted to absorb it.
My fingertips had become numb. So, I placed the qi tablet back in its box and pulled on my mittens. The blankets had slid from my legs during take-off. I rearranged them and pulled my parka’s hood over my head.
Master Lee’s approval had been paramount to me. I respected his ability as a healer and as a teacher. And he was also the father of the woman I loved. What he thought of me mattered a lot. I found myself preoccupied with finding ways to impress him. Although her father was never one for mind games, I empathised with Biyu’s plight.
I removed the tablet from the box and, ignoring the cold, used the exposed heels of my hands to roll the qi tablet.
Time and distance passed.
I can see Kazera, Biyu said.
The qi tablet had rolled inside my right mitten. I must have fallen asleep. After I’d returned the tablet to the pillbox, I yanked the rope with the grey handkerchief tied to the knot at its end. The pyramid of canvas furled. An icy wind burned my cheeks.
Biyu circled a tear-shaped island. Mountain ranges trailed along its length, north to south. Moonlight penetrated its valleys to reflect off several rivers and a lake. It was too dark to tell what kind of ground filled the dry valleys.
There, Biyu said, at twelve o’clock.
Unsure of what I was searching for, I then noticed how moonlight silvered one side of the mountain and its triple peaks.
We started to lose altitude. At our current rate of descent, we would land before we reached the three peaks. Worse, we’d end up on the wrong side of another mountain range in front them.
What’s wrong? I said, having already guessed the problem.
I’m tired, Biyu replied. My shoulders are killing me.
The range ahead of us grew and resembled an impregnable wall.
Do you think you could make it over those mountains in front of us?
The basket shook as Biyu fought to gain altitude.
I shouted my encouragement. ‘That’s it. Keep going.’
The basket shuddered. Our rapid descent buckled my knees.
Hold on, Biyu said.
I rolled to my left as Biyu banked in the same direction. She turned for what seemed a full one hundred and eighty degrees, the deceleration pressing my body against the basket’s side. Its lower front edge struck something solid. I pitched forward and narrowly avoided bumping my head on the basket’s rim.
‘Sh-i-i-i,’ I yelled as Biyu bounced the basket over uneven ground.
The basket ground to a halt and righted itself.
Biyu landed with a loud swoop and the crunch of talons gripping dirt. I climbed out of the basket panting, my hands shaking and my spine slick with sweat.
I took several deep breaths before surveying our surroundings. Moonlight cast shadows behind the rocks and pebbles of a dried riverbed. Biyu’s body had shrunk, her snout shortening until it resembled a nose—a giant one that needed to lose some pounds. I cringed at how her knee joints cracked as her hindlimbs bent forwards and no longer backwards.
I grabbed the rucksack and a canteen and then raced over to her.
‘Here,’ I said, handing her the canteen. I unpacked her clothes before she caught a chill. I helped her pull on her trousers and then slipped a jumper over her head. She shivered, her shaking hands fumbling with her belt buckle. I fished out the qi tablet I’d rolled that morning and held it out for her.
The effects after swallowing the tablet were instant. The shivering stopped and Biyu had no difficulty pulling on her walking boots and lacing them. Only after she had dressed did I hug her.
‘I should have given you that tablet earlier,’ I said.
Biyu pointed.
‘If it weren’t for those fritting Leyakians at the University, I’d have cleared those mountains.’ She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘It’ll be an hour before I can fly.’
I stared at the stretch of mountains on both sides of us. The light made it difficult to locate a path through them. Had it been a mistake coming here? Before I could ask her, Biyu set off. I strode after her. Her night vision was better than mine.
‘Have you found a way through?’ I said, catching up with her.
She shook her head.
‘Not yet.’
8
After thirty minutes of hiking, the mountains ahead of us still looked uncrossable, and Biyu hadn’t yet felt the full effects of the qi tablet. I swore at the chill breeze that penetrated the spaces between my clothes and skin.
‘We’ll stay warm if we keep going,’ Biyu said.
I rolled my eyes at not shielding my thoughts from her.
‘And the ground here is more even,’ I said, attempting to sound upbeat.
‘What the—’ Biyu cried. She stopped walking.
I slid to a halt.
‘I was trying to be cheerful,’ I said. ‘There’s no need for that.’
‘No, you idiot,’ she said, pointing at the ground. ‘That.’
A four-legged creature, its stubby tail wagging, stood on its hindlimbs and butted Biyu’s shin.
‘Tuki,’ called a young woman’s voice. ‘Where are you?’
Whoever she was, she sounded concerned and out of patience. When I looked at Biyu, she’d pulled the hood of her coat over her head. While most of the islanders on Bagh-e-Khuda had heard of Biyu and her accident, the rest of the archipelago’s inhabitants weren’t so familiar with her story.
A lamp cleared the rise to our left. The staff it hung from was next. A shrouded figure holding the staff dashed towards us.
‘Come on, Tuki,’ the figure said. ‘Your mother’s going spare with worry. If you don’t come now, I’ll leave you to the wolves.’
I gazed down at the creature. It peered up at me and bleated, its whirling tail reminding me of an airship’s propeller.
That’s a goat, a kid, I said.
I waved a hand at the approaching figure, a goatherd.
‘Excuse me,’ I said, pointing at Biyu. The kid had returned to bouncing its head off Biyu’s shin. ‘Is this Tuki?’
‘Oh, there you are, you naughty girl,’ the figure said, relief deepening her tone. She strode towards the kid and halted. She likely wondered what we were doing out here in the middle of nowhere.
I opened my mouth to introduce myself, but my voice hitched in my throat.
The light from her lamp revealed a round young face, the rest of her swaddled by homespun to keep the cold out. A water bottle hung over one hip and a sheathed knife over the other. I’d seen this young woman before.
Biyu stood a step behind me, away from the lamplight, her head bowed.
‘I’m Biyu, and this is Sanjay.’
The young woman’s lamp brightened.
‘Are you with the others?’ she said.
I shivered, though not from the cold.
‘Others?’
Lines appeared at the corners of her eyes and the centre of her brow.
When she didn’t reply, I pointed and said, ‘We’re trying to get to the mountains beyond these.’
The goatherd squinted, darkening her frown lines.
‘That’s wher
e the others are,’ she said. ‘They arrived yesterday. Are you one of them? What are you doing here? Where are you from?’
The kid’s persistent butting had tried Biyu’s patience. She bent down to pick up the baby goat. A gust blew back her hood.
The young woman’s eyes widened, and her jaw fell. For a moment, I thought she’d run.
‘Don’t eat him,’ she said. She took a step forward, thought better of it and then retreated. ‘Please, don’t eat Tuki. I’ve already lost three kids to wolves this week. If I lose another one, I’ll lose my job, and there aren’t any jobs on Kazera except for tending goats and sheep.’
Wolves? I said to Biyu. I don’t remember reading anything about wolves on Kazera.
Biyu lifted the kid and pressed it to her chest. Tuki licked her chin.
‘I won’t eat her on one condition,’ Biyu said. ‘Help us. Then I’ll give her back.’
Biyu!
Tuki stopped her licking and regarded the goatherd.
The young woman scowled.
‘What do you want?’
Biyu rubbed a talon beneath Tuki’s throat.
You’re overdoing it, Biyu.
By all means, spend the night out here with the wolves. Otherwise, shut up.
Her hands full, Biyu gestured at the mountains with her chin. ‘You know about the others, which means you know a shortcut through those mountains.’
I rarely questioned Biyu’s logic. She was faster at making connections than me.
The goatherd nodded.
‘I do—a tunnel. It leads through the mountains.’
Biyu continued to stroke Tuki’s throat.
‘Then you’ll show us?’ I said.
The goatherd’s gaze never left the kid. She nodded.
‘It’ll take an hour to reach the entrance,’ she said, ‘and another to pass through the mountain.’
Are you sure about this? I said. Those others could be Leyakians. They must have beaten us to the egg.
Biyu began to walk.
‘Show us,’ she said to the goatherd. Without turning to face me, she added, If they have it, Toojan would have told us to do something else instead of coming here.
She had a point. I trudged after her and the goatherd.
We walked in silence, the goatherd miffed we’d trapped her into helping us. Biyu maintained her act as a goat-eating humanoid dragon. I, meanwhile, replayed our meeting with Toojan. Something felt off about our situation.
You remember what Toojan said?
Biyu didn’t turn and didn’t stop.
About what?
My mouth dried.
That someone will help us, I said. That they can’t be trusted, but we’ll have to accept their help.
As if Tuki had become too heavy to carry, Biyu adjusted her shoulders.
You think it’s this goatherd?
Unsure if my wife would think me crazy, I swallowed.
I’ve met her before—I know I have. Only, I can’t think where.
Biyu snatched a glance at our guide.
She’s a goatherd. Probably lived here all her life. And neither of us have set foot on Kazera until tonight.
The goatherd stopped and pointed. We had reached the foot of the mountains. I saw a cave. Whether a trick of the limited light, the edges of its entrance appeared smooth, manmade.
‘A tunnel runs through the mountain,’ the goatherd said. ‘Follow it and you’ll find the others.’
The goatherd thumped the end of her staff against the ground and her lamp went out.
9
After some around in my rucksack, I found the torch.
‘Where did the goatherd go?’ I said.
Biyu stood with her empty arms pressed to her chest.
I turned a full circle. Biyu sniffed the air.
We stared at each other, waiting for one of us to speak.
‘What just happened?’ Biyu said, ending the silence.
I traced the cave entrance with torchlight.
‘Whatever magic she used,’ I said, ‘we shouldn’t go in there.’
Biyu sniffed her hands before holding them under the torch.
‘That kid was real. Look, some of its hairs got caught between my scales.’
‘Real or not, it doesn’t explain why they disappeared like that.’
‘I threatened to eat Tuki. That’s reason enough.’
I aimed the torch at the entrance again.
‘How do we know it’s safe to go inside?’
Biyu pushed back her hood. She took several steps towards the semicircular entrance. Her dragon’s sense of smell, hearing and vision were all better than mine. She waved me over.
‘There’s the sound of dripping water further in. It isn’t a trap. That goatherd—if that’s what she was—could have used her magic on us long before we arrived here. She knew I’d never eat that cute little goat.’
I shook my head.
‘Then why bring us here when she could have vanished an hour ago? This has to be a trap.’ Biyu set off for the cave. I reached out to stop her, but she twisted away from my hand. ‘What are you doing?’
Biyu waved away the light I shone in her face.
‘I reckon she tricked us into coming here for benign reasons. She’d have brought us here with or without my threatening to eat the kid—she played along. If this is a trap, Sanjay, why did she tell us about the others?’ She turned back to the opening. ‘Chop-chop, Chopra.’
Her explanation had more holes in it than a colander. But then I’d also failed to come up with an alternative reason for the goatherd’s behaviour. I hurried after Biyu before she entered the cave.
A river had once flowed through this mountain. The crystalline walls, shaped and smoothed by erosion, shone bright orange in the torchlight. They had to be porous because, like Biyu had said, I heard dripping water.
Preoccupied with finding the source of the sound, I bumped into Biyu.
Turn off the torch, she said. She pointed at a light farther ahead.
Had we already reached the far side of the mountain? I glanced over my shoulder and saw darkness. There was no sign of moonlight and the entrance that, minutes ago, we’d stepped through.
My nostrils twitched at the ferric odour.
Magic, I said. We passed through a portal.
Biyu took my hand and led me over to the tunnel’s exit. A gentle scree slope led down to another dry, narrow riverbed. Across from us, at the foot of the opposite mountain, a carved portico jutted from the rock face. Searchlights lit the outermost pillars and made lazy sweeps of the area ahead of them.
Those operating the searchlights wore conical helmets and close-fitting, off-white armour. Black visors attached to their helmets hid the top half of the Leyakians’ faces.
Khuda, I thought and followed the word with a sigh. Now we know who the others are.
‘Frit,’ Biyu hissed. She clamped a hand to her mouth. Sorry. I didn’t want to believe those bastards beat us to the egg.
Including the two Leyakians working the searchlights, two other soldiers stood on guard.
If they found the egg, why do you suppose they’re still here?
I wish I hadn’t posed the question. It might explain Susilo Tarigan’s eagerness for us to chase after it. Did the Shani know the Leyakians were on Kazera but hadn’t found the egg?
If they don’t have it, what are you proposing we do? Biyu said. She nodded at the crossed beams of light. How do we get past those?
The temptation to suggest we return to Bagh-e-Khuda tugged at me. But we hadn’t come here as relic hunters. With Leyakian agents roaming one of the westernmost islands of the archipelago—and the capital, no less—we were also here on behalf of the Resistance. A Leyakian sword dangled over Rahmat, its leader. To return empty-handed was unacceptable.
I shrugged off my rucksack, bent down and pulled out a glass orb.
If we walk right up to them, Biyu said, the orb’s magic won’t be enough against those searchlights. We’ll be invisibl
e, but the guards will see our shadows.
I swallowed a groan. A weariness crept through my bones. I wanted to curl up and sleep. Our encounter with the Leyakian agents at the University, having to roll a qi tablet for Biyu and our coming so far for nothing had left me drained. I returned the orb to my rucksack
Biyu studied me, her hands resting on her hips.
What are you putting that away for?
Had I missed something?
You said the orb won’t hide our shadows.
Biyu’s hands fell from her hips, and she crouched beside me. She touched the side of my face.
I know you’re tired, but we have to try something before turning back. She gazed heavenward. If they’re still searching for the egg, it’s because they’re thinking like Leyakians and not a god. She opened her mouth to smile. Or an anzu.
I followed her index finger, which pointed at the mountain’s three peaks.
There’s another entrance up there?
Biyu nodded, her mouth still open.
An anzu is half lion and half eagle. It can fly.
My aching joints reminded me of Biyu’s own lack of energy.
The qi tablet’s done its job, she said. Use the orb to hide us. I’ll fly us up to the top and find a way in.
10
Together, Biyu and I slid down the scree slope. The orb hid our progress as we skirted the dried riverbed west. We waited in an alcove that was sufficiently tall and wide for Biyu to increase her size by up to five times. After she had undressed, and I’d packed away most of her clothes—I held her parka next to the orb—Biyu began to grow. Her body lengthened as did her face and the horns above her temples. Her scales turned a dark grey, helping her to blend into the darkness.
Biyu never complained of pain when she transformed. The rapid change in size disorientated her and took her a few seconds to recover from. Which was why I didn’t doubt she’d be gentle. Nevertheless, I tensed when she cradled me against her underside. She held me with her front foot, her talons forming a protective cage I could lean against. I understood how the baby goat, Tuki, must have felt.
Don’t lick her face, I thought, then swallowed a giggle.
