by C B Samet
I thought about the canyon layers. If we only lived on the lime- stone layer and never explored the canyon, then we would never know it was composed of layer upon layer, each supporting the next. Now I knew about layers to our world, of which I had been blind. Although each layer supported the one above it, one could live on the surface and never know of the other layers.
“Perhaps you’re right,” I conceded. I turned to Joshua who was riding to my opposite side and listening quietly.
“Do you plan to finish?” I asked him. He nodded. “One more quarter and I can sit for final exams.”
As the ground turned to withered scales that had long passed hoping for rainfall and the trees became barren, petrified, twisted figures, suffering for an eternity, I knew that we had entered Optato. Harsh wind picked up pace in an ominous howl. Toward nightfall, the land beneath our feet dried to a crisp. We stopped to make camp with no shelter in sight.
Fire was futile with the brisk wind, so we divided fruit and nuts amongst ourselves.
The Queen slept in the carriage, a great gray wooden box with closed shutters. Allis cheerfully lay on the driver’s box under a tented blanket, and Joshua and I dropped the bottom canvas and crawled under the carriage. The ox, impassive against the dry, whipping sand, stood in the open wind. Phobus and Unis lay with their heads inside the undercarriage near Joshua and me.
We ate oranges and almonds and drank rice milk.
“What do you think, Abbey, two days to burn elephant bones, three days to Karnelik, two days to retrieve the Warrior Stone and three days to Marrin Beach?”
I sipped my cup of milk. I was finding it challenging to eat while lying on my side, propped up on my elbow. Also, everything tasted a little like gritty sand. “That’s optimistic, but I like it.” Then I added, “Can we locate the graveyard tomorrow?”
He nodded, swallowing a bite of orange. “Locating it won’t be the problem.”
I looked at him quizzically.
“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s not a lot of kindle around here. Our carriage has the most wood for miles, and burning it is not an option.”
I frowned. He was right. We would need an enormous fire and plenty of wood to feed it. Carrying an elephant corpse out of Optato was also not feasible.
“I was thinking,” he continued, “when I went spelunking southeast of here, they had pockets of lignite. I remember because we avoided them, since our lamplight could potentially ignite it.”
Lignite, I recalled from geology, was a volatile brown coal. “It’s perfect.” I’d finished eating and lay down beside Joshua. I traced his fingers with mine.
“You’re perfect, Abbey.”
I shook my head. “You know, you and Paul are the only ones who call me Abbey.”
“I like Abbey,” he replied. “Is there something else you’d prefer?”
“You could show me the highest respect and call me Abigail the Horse Lover,” I said haughtily.
“But then I wouldn’t be showing you my highest affection as I do when I call you Abbey,” he explained.
I blushed, relieved it was too dark for him to notice. “Well, then, Abbey will do nicely.”
We talked about Paul and laughed and joked until sleep swept us into each other’s arms.
The screeching wind turned to screeching Scouters in my dream. Their red eyes glowed and broad wings soared above me as I walked across the familiar castle grounds. Opening the ballroom door, I walked through the foyer and onto the vacant dance floor. It was no longer as beautiful and clean as we had made it for the V-Day ball. Litter was strewn about and large, muddy humanoid feet had trampled flowers from the garden on to the floor of the ballroom.
In the distance, the Queen’s purple throw was in disarray. Floating above the mess was Malos with a metal scepter in his hand.
When I approached, he was startled to see me.
“You again,” he snapped. “When will you surrender your futile efforts?”
He adjusted the scepter with its sharp tip pointed at me. After drawing back, he hurled it directly at my heart. The scar on my chest burned ferociously.
I awoke, bolting upright.
Smack!
Pain shot through my head as I suddenly was reminded that I was sleeping beneath a carriage. Joshua, startled by the sound of my head smacking against wood, sat upright and woke to the same painful sensation that I did.
“Oh, Abbey!” He rubbed his head.
“Sorry.”
“If I’m going to suffer from your nightmares, too, I’ve a right to know what they’re about.”
I lay back. Daylight showed against the surrounding canvas, and the horses’ heads were gone from under the carriage.
“What does Malos look like?” I asked, still rubbing my sore forehead.
He lay beside me and turned on his side to face me. “Well, the mythology book shows him in different forms over the years, but always with human resemblance. The common feature seems to be dark eyes, black clothes and pale skin. He holds a bladed scepter with a central stone.”
“I dream about him,” I explained. “Without having met him except as a distant blob, I know exactly what he looks like face-to-face. I can sense his anger and his lust for power. And he’s always surprised to see me and it’s like ...” I hesitated, fumbling my fingers in my red cloak.
Joshua took my hand as if to say “Go on.”
“It’s as if he’s a little afraid of me. Maybe, afraid I might succeed.”
“He knows what you’re doing?” he asked, alarmed. “In your dreams?”
“He knows I’m up to something—something that could ruin his plans.”
He scratched at some stubble on his jawline. “Well, his fear is encouraging,” he offered.
I nodded weakly.
The blustering, howling wind had subsided, replaced by a rising sun whose warmth promised to scorch us by midday. The animals eagerly drank from our water stores and ate dried oats. After reloading the wagon, we pressed on to the southeast toward the elephant graves.
By late morning, the forbidding grave could be seen in the distance. Enormous bones lay on maroon soil and lifted themselves toward the sweltering sky in a perpetual prayer. Some vertebrae and rib cages were still intact, bleached white by the sun. Other bones lay strewn apart.
There were fresh carcasses with some remaining strands of decaying flesh not yet picked off by scavengers, and there were dried, brittle, ancient bones. There were few tusks. The Caballus ventured to Optato, took the sacred tusks, and buried them with their own dead as a sign of reverence.
Dismounting Phobus, I turned to Allis. “Let’s make camp just out- side the graveyard.” I didn’t want to be disrespectful and linger within its boundaries. “Joshua and I will go further south to the caves and bring back lignite to burn the carcass. Can you separate the bones and make one elephant out of all those pieces and set them up for a bonfire?”
Allis nodded with a smile.
I grabbed an empty oat sack to fill with lignite and then refilled my water pouch from the barrel of water on the wagon. Joshua followed my lead.
“It’s an hour’s walk further south,” he explained.
The Queen exited the carriage. She gazed in silence at the awe- inspiring graveyard. With dark circles beneath her eyes and gray hair falling in long curls about her shoulders and back, she looked weary. I wondered if it was the travel or the worry or both.
“Joshua and I are leaving for the caves to gather coal. Allis is going to select an elephant,” I explained.
She looked down from the carriage and seemed to look through me. Nodding solemnly, she stepped out of the carriage and walked toward the graveyard, staring intently at the bones, mesmerized.
As the sun rose to mid-sky, Joshua, Phobus, and I began our detour into the flatlands toward the caves. The air was so dry that sweat dissipated before we even felt it soaking into our clothes. Grateful for my straw hat from Laos, I hoped it would keep the sun from blinding me. Heat ri
ppled up from the ground, and I occasionally stopped and checked the horses’ feet to make sure they were not suffering because of it. I would have liked to give Phobus a rest at the camp, but we were going to need him to carry the coal back for us. I didn’t ride Phobus this time, which was the only reprieve I had to offer him.
When the ground turned to coarse gravel, Joshua declared that we were getting closer to the caves. As the gravel turned to rock, the land- scape began a slow descent in front of us. It jutted down until a small watering hole appeared. We avoided the soft, muddy ground. There were animal tracks, but no animals. Unlike us, they had the good sense not to be roaming about in the midafternoon heat. By nightfall, the place would be alive with all manner of desert creatures.
We walked beside the muddy trench of water until the cave en- trance came into sight.
“I hope you’re not claustrophobic,” Joshua commented as we crossed the threshold into the black mouth of the cave.
We left Phobus at the entrance under the shade.
The cramped space and darkness didn’t bother me. What worried me most was the thought of what other creatures were taking refuge in the cool cave. Snakes, spiders, salamanders, scorpions... A shiver ran down my spine. I was completely unarmed. The most I could do was throw an empty sack at any attackers. Joshua at least had Allis’s spear on loan. It was of some comfort that Joshua could heal whatever wounds creatures may inflict, but that would only work if they didn’t get him first.
As we walked deeper into the cave, we were enveloped in darkness.
“I don’t suppose you know these caves well enough to navigate them in the dark?”
Joshua’s clothes ruffled, but he said nothing.
“We need a torch,” I added.
“I’ve something better,” he said, “and it won’t catch the walls on fire.” He pulled his Che stone out of his pocket and set it aglow. It cast enough light that we could see a few feet in every direction.
“Well, that’s useful.” I must have been sunburned and dehydrated, because the Che stone was somehow making me feel revived.
“How do you activate it?”
“I just think that I want it to work and it does,” he replied.
“Does it ever run out of energy?”
Joshua shrugged and continued deeper into the cave.
Looking at the walls around us, I could see where they had been marked with decades of graffiti from tourists. There were ink writings, paintings and carvings of names and pictures, some simple outlines and other more elaborate works of art. As the markings thinned out, the cave narrowed.
We were crouching, then crawling, then snaking our way on our stomachs. The cave reverberated clicking, scurrying, and slithering sounds; as though just beyond the reach of our light, hordes of cave-dwelling creatures were being disturbed from their resting place, possibly fleeing from the unwelcomed guests.
As I crawled on my forearms and thighs, Joshua’s Che stone was so far ahead that I could only discern the bottom of his feet. He inadvertently stirred up dust in my face so that I had to turn my head to the side and close my eyes. I decided to follow behind him by sound.
After what seemed like an hour since we entered the cave, I felt moisture strike my face. I breathed it in, letting it coat my dry nose and mouth. With loud scuffling, Joshua hit the ground with a thunk. The next thing I saw, he was standing and facing me. He had set the spear aside. We had reached a large chamber where it was high enough to stand.
I swung my legs around, and Joshua helped me stand up in the chamber. He held the stone up high, casting light around the room. I could see areas of moisture along the walls, but not where they drained. The sound of trickling water filled the cave. Olive-colored stalactites jutted down in the center of the room circled by golden draperies.
“Stay to the edge,” Joshua cautioned. “I fear if you slide down into the river, you won’t be able to get out.”
My eyes followed where he directed the light, and we could see the slope of rock beneath us down to the underground mint-colored river. Flowstone and rock jutted out from the opposite side, nearly concealing the river. The rocks leading down to the water were so smooth that there was nothing to grab hold of to steady one’s footing.
I snagged Joshua’s shirt and walked in his footsteps. The ground leveled and a brown and dull copper-colored wall appeared. Lignite. Joshua stopped and picked up a pointed rock to dislodge the coal. He looked at the rock, then the cave wall and then at me. I held open the bag and waited.
Since the Che stone would only shine as long as he was holding it, the one-handed dislodgement effort was tedious. I picked up the shards and chunks of lignite as they fell. By the end of our work, we were covered in bronze dust, and I was sure I’d be coughing up muddy sputum for a week. The minty river looked less dangerous and more inviting now, but we had to get back to camp before dark.
Joshua took the heavy sack of coal and led the way back to the crawlspace. He entered the crevice with the sack and spear in one hand and the glowing Chevorik Ambria in the other. The pace was slower going back, since Joshua had to push the sack in front of him with every slithering movement. More dust was stirred, and I tasted the fine, bland grit on my lips.
As we advanced, we crawled, then crouched, and finally could stand once again. When faint light emitted from the end of the cave, a wave of relief swept over me.
Suddenly, a horrible, high-pitched screaming was audible in the distance. My heart raced. It was the sound of painful neighing.
“Phobus!” I cried. I pushed past Joshua and ran toward the cave entrance.
With such agonizing whinnying, he sounded in dire pain. I picked up a rock as I exited the mouth of the cave, ready to defend my horse.
My eyes were shocked by the blinding sunlight, but, once adjusted, I could see Phobus in the distance on his knees. He was near the edge of the trench and half covered in mud. A great black belt circled his neck as he thrashed his head. As I ran toward him, I could see that an enormous snake with black scales and a pink underbelly had wrapped his thick serpentine body around Phobus’s neck. The mud snake was squeezing and strangling him.
I struck the body of the snake repeatedly with my rock, trying not to be knocked aside by Phobus’s thrashings. It was not until Joshua arrived and skillfully thrust Allis’s spear through the open mouth of the mud snake and up into its skull that it finally released its deadly grip. It wriggled in pain and distress, hissing with menace. Joshua then de- capitated the slithering creature to ensure its death.
Phobus struggled to stand until I placed a hand on his head and implored him to lie down. He complied with a soft neigh. Joshua on cue produced the Che stone and healed the horse’s bruises, cuts and internal injuries. After several minutes, when he was cured, Phobus stood and trotted indignantly away from the edge of the water.
I turned toward the flaccid mud snake, my heart slowing as my fight reaction subsided. They were not a poisonous species but obviously quite dangerous and powerful. It was nearly three meters long with thick black scales interrupted by juts of pink emerging from its underbelly. By no means the largest snake in the world, it was certainly a formidable size. I grabbed it by the tail and laid it straight to truly appreciate its size.
Joshua was loading the coal on Phobus when he turned to me. “Are you done playing with that thing?”
I looked at the creature then back at Joshua. “Have you ever eaten snake?”
“Never,” he replied curiously.
And I had never eaten nor cooked snake. Deciding that it would be worth a try to have a fresh meal, I rolled the snake back into a coil, tied it and with some effort, hoisted it on my shoulder. It must have weighed fifteen kilograms and would be a chore to tote for the next hour.
“Why don’t you tie it on Phobus’s back,” Joshua suggested.
I scoffed. “Would you want to carry this thing after it was wrapped around your neck?”
Phobus snorted indignantly then side-stepped away, keeping
his distance from the snake and me.
Joshua chuckled. “Very well. Give me the snake.” He took the dead mud snake off my shoulder with ease as though it was nothing more than a dried branch. He handed me Allis’s spear in exchange.
After rehydrating, we headed back toward the elephant graveyard. The relentless wind picked up pace. Though not as brisk as yesterday, it still presented an extra obstacle to getting back expeditiously. I thought if the wind would divide its efforts over the course of the day, it would provide a nice breeze to cool the scorching day and a gentle breeze to lull the night to sleep. Instead, it seemed to hide out from the day heat like a desert animal conserving its energy, only to emerge with full howling force at sunset.
We forged through, knowing if we didn’t get back before dark, nocturnal desert predators would emerge. Notably, desert wolves hunted in ferocious packs. Since we were closer to water and caves, we would be closer to their hunting ground. We needed the safety of our group and fire. My muscles burned with the speed of our walk, and I was grateful to not be carrying the dead snake.
Through the falling dusk and slowing wind, I saw the light of our campfire with relief.
Allis met us with a smile. He looked with interest at the bulk over Joshua’s shoulder.
“Oh, snake, wonderful!” he declared. With that, he took the mud snake from Joshua, pulled out his knife and skinned the animal with precision.
I was relieved he took over the culinary preparations.
Joshua unloaded the coal from Phobus and then reunited him with Unis near a pile of dried grass. They stared at it longingly as though trying to wish it into something desirable, like sweet feed. After a moment, Phobus pawed at it with one hoof.
“I have a wonderful elephant for you, Abigail the Horse Lover,” Allis said, nearly done skinning the snake.
“Thank you,” I said, though what I wanted more than an elephant was a bath.
I used a scant amount of water and a cloth to at least wipe my hands and face. With four people and three animals, we couldn’t afford to waste drinking water on bathing.
