by C B Samet
He had joined me at the kitchen table, as I munched some celery and bean paste. I opened my Introduction to History textbook and began reading the third chapter. It was about the Hundred-Year War.
He peered over at my book, scanning its contents. “Did you know shullby was invented eight thousand years ago during the Hundred- Year War? It was played during sporadic times of peace to keep physical activity and stamina up.”
Looking up, I raised my eyebrows and narrowed my eyes at him, then dipped my celery into the salty mashed bean and sardine mix.
“Good things come in times of war,” he added.
He knew our opinions differed in the productivity of war, so I didn’t think it merited further conversation. I crunched my celery with excessive noise and resumed reading my book.
“For example,” he continued, “our water treatment system only became as purified as it is today because it was initiated by an engineer within the Ellipsos’ sieged castle. The engineer had to design a waste disposal system within the walls.
“Ballik ore,” he continued despite my lack of participation in the conversation, “was not yet harvested until times of war and it was need- ed for weaponry. Shortly after that they used it to build the strongest bridges that still stand today—seven thousand years later.
“Mariner exploration was at an all-time high during the Golden Empress’s reign. During this era, the most impressive, massive ships were created and fleets of hundreds sailed the seas. Also, desalinization methods were discovered to remove the salt from the water, providing drinks for the animals on those long journeys.”
He had finally goaded me into the conversation. “Do you really think all of that is worth the price in lost human lives that was paid during wartime?”
“How does one measure such things?” he postulated. “How many lives were saved when a vaccine for the Jau virus was discovered to break the biological warfare waged against him by Lomax?”
“If there was no war, they would not have had to come up with a vaccine to counter the diseased bodies that were catapulted over castle walls,” I argued.
“Jau was killing people long before war was. Now, it’s almost obsolete. The vaccine that was discovered in wartime saves lives in peace- time—ten-fold or more. I would say that outweighs the number of lives lost in that battle.”
I realized I had lost my appetite. I wasn’t sure which was more infuriating. The fact that he was probably right, or that he knew more than I did about history. I was a science major, which required only one history course, so I had not delved further into the subject.
When did Joshua have time to study history? He was a jock, only interested in sports, or so I had thought.
Sitting in the quiet morning light in Karnelik, I stared at the book in my hands, with its weather-beaten leather binder, dusty oak smell and curled, discolored pages.
What would I have done if I had seen such devastation in my lifetime? What would I have done if such evil could have been contained? The very same thing I was hoping to accomplish now—send evil back to the confines of its molten volcano, stick a cork in it, and let it rot in there for the next millennium. I slammed the book shut.
8
The house stirred awake and we all convened over a breakfast of fresh eggs and salty ham.
After breakfast, Inok and Allis restocked our food and water sup- plies. I fed and watered the animals, while Joshua hitched the ox back to the carriage. The Queen and Vonik loaded our supplies back onto the carriage. Vonik gave each of us a Ballik blade, belt and sheath.
I stroked Phobus tenderly. “We’re almost done, boy,” I whispered. “Once we reach Marrin Beach, the war is as good as won.” He lowered his head, and I moved my hand up to rub around his ears. He bowed low enough for me to slip onto his back, then stood again. I patted his side. I could not have asked for a better companion. He anticipated my every move without a bridle and kept his motions so fluid that riding without a saddle was a breeze.
Even though Unis was a beautiful, intelligent white horse, he could not be ridden without a bridle for course correction and stopping. Joshua also preferred the additional support a saddle provided. I had saddled and bridled Unis for him, and Joshua mounted the tall stead with ease. He gave me a warm, white smile and wink that made my knees weak.
The Queen entered her carriage, and Allis and Baird sat in the front. Inok, of course, preferred to walk.
With heartfelt thanks we parted ways and began the final leg of our journey.
We kept a steady pace, which wore out the animals by late afternoon. Stopping at an opening beyond a forest, we made camp.
Having all three objects now in our possession, I felt a weight lifting. We were nearing the end of the journey. Raising the Avant Guard couldn’t be as difficult as surviving perilous rapids, pitch-black caves, enormous mud snakes, steep mountains, freezing fog and Muglik aggressors. The Champion would be summoned in a few days, wipe out the Malanook, and the world balance would be restored.
In my wandering thoughts, the feed bucket slipped and cut my palm.
“Ouch,” I cried, slightly startling the horses who soon resumed eating.
I stared at blood oozing down my arm. I decided to head back to camp and have Joshua heal it for me. He wasn’t near the wagon. I walked through the sparse forest where I could see the Queen’s blue gown in the distance.
“I won’t accept it. I can’t.” Joshua’s voice resonated with an anger I had never heard before. I was astonished by the tone he used in speak- ing to the Queen.
Reflexively, I knelt to the ground then found myself creeping over quietly.
She was standing above in a dominant stance as he knelt before her. Despite his subjugated position, his eye contact and body language were otherwise not those of obedience.
The Queen spoke clearly but cryptically. “There are aspects of this life as inflexible and unchangeable as the icy mountains of Karnelik and other aspects that are malleable and can be shaped like the ore lying deep within the mountains. The great challenge in life is figuring out how to accept those inflexible aspects and mold those malleable ones ... and which is which.”
“How many stories about the Champion and Malanook are true?” He stared at the ground as though he didn’t really want to hear the answer to his question.
“All of it,” she said flatly. “Did it occur to you that this is too much to ask of one person? Too much to ask of Abbey? Hasn’t she been through enough? She’s lost her entire family.” His voice was harsh, but there was an undertone of pleading that gripped my heart.
“I am aware of the burden she has had to bear and the one to come,” the Queen replied. She walked a few steps away and with her back still turned added, “She has free will to decline to continue at any point.”
“Does she know that?” he asked, standing. I was reminded of what an imposing figure he could be. The set- ting sun created a large, elongated silhouette.
“Of course she does,” she retorted, clearly not intimidated by him. She turned slowly around. “Abigail continues the quest because in all her purity she knows what is right.”
“I don’t want to lose her.” He was back to pleading again.
“The decision is not yours,” she said curtly. In a moment, her face softened, and she spoke quietly. “Your love for Abigail must support her through this.” She paused, placing a hand on his shoulder. “And do not make her reconsider her position for your own selfishness.”
His shoulders sagged. His posture of such despair tugged at my heart.
The Queen left him distraught and walked away, back toward camp.
I watched Joshua standing in solitude for a moment, wanting to comfort him. I didn’t understand their enigmatic conversation or Joshua’s unsubstantiated fear of losing me. We had survived the worst already. Perhaps he was just tired and irrational after this long trip. I wanted to run up to him and reassure him that everything would be okay.
Hesitating, I was afraid of intruding on him
during a moment of weakness. He had been so strong and impervious to dispirited thought this entire trip that it was clear he would never want me to know there was a vulnerable man underneath his unflappable calm. Since he hadn’t chosen to show me his fears and worries on his own, and I had learned them through spying, I didn’t feel I should force him to share it with me. He would share when he was ready.
Rather than move and risk him hearing me, I sat quietly, still bleeding, and waited for him to go back to camp. Eventually, he moved and walked slowly away with his troubled thoughts. Knowing that I couldn’t return from the same direction, I made a tedious loop back to the open campground. My side-tracking led me to discover a beautiful recess with a distant, tranquil lake.
I lingered in its serenity, watching the last of the sun set. I then stared at the moons, nearing each other. I thought of Sebastian Slade’s mythology book. “The Champion is not chosen so much for his brute strength as for his commitment to humankind.” I had a sudden urge to see the former Champions. Closing my eyes, I felt the ground shift beneath me.
I walked through the quiet, moonlit inner ward of Marrington Castle. It was more awe-inspiring than I remembered. I was surrounded by larger-than-life, pure white sculptures of mythological figures. Except that they weren’t mythological figures; they were former Avant Guards. They had defended the kingdom and won. There was a different victor each time—all six of them had won.
I stared at the plaque beneath Marc Stallik the Brave. He was the Champion almost five thousand years ago. I looked up at his muscular build and cloak blowing in the wind. With a bow in one hand, quiver on his back, and elephant tusk in his other hand, his face was fixed, determined, yet calm.
To his left was Mary Quigley the Audacious, a tall, thin woman with elegant features and a narrow nose. She wore a leather corset and gripped a fierce-looking spear. Her lips were parted slightly as though she were about to send Malos to his grave with some clever words of victory.
To Stallik’s right was Ipso Kon the Fearless, whose beard was as long and straight as his coattails. With a scowl so menacing, his ferociousness seemed to match the evil he was battling.
Opposite these heroes was Candice Ntaca the Courageous, a short, dark-skinned warrior armed with a sai in each hand; Julius Clark the Daring, dressed in metal armor and wielding a sword; and Kal Plonk the Reckless, a barbarian with a sharply spiked morning star. Six Champions. What would the seventh look like?
“You still think you are on the winning team,” Malos sneered, slithering into the courtyard.
I turned to see him entering the courtyard from the north egress. His round body floated and his sunken dark eyes stood in contrast to his pale skin. My legs felt watery and fought to stay upright.
“These Champions defeated you. So will the next one.” He shook his head and lowered his gaze as though I was somehow simple, ignorant, and pitiable.
“There are still many obstacles; and of course, there is the problem of human free will,” he said, nonchalantly, stroking Ispo’s beard.
“What do you mean?” I asked, fairly certain I didn’t actually want to hear the answer.
“Well, the Champion has to be summoned and can always choose not to rise to the occasion. I can be ... intimidating,” he added. “You see the statues of the warriors who won, but these men and woman were not always the first Chosen Ones.” He tapped the elephant tusk held by Stallik. “They don’t memorialize the failures,” he said, cold and pointedly.
I tried not to let my surprise show at that sour bit of news. “But you have always eventually been defeated, and the cycle will continue.”
I noticed moving shadows as the menacing Swallowers emerged from between the statues. I could see they intended to encircle me.
“But at what cost to life?” Malos asked.
I suddenly remembered how I had ended up here. There was no misinterpreting this as a dream. I had used my Traveler’s Star to return to this place. Sucking in a breath of terror, I closed my eyes and crossed back to our camp. The last thing I saw was Malos raising his amber scepter.
I hurried to the campfire. Joshua was sitting, waiting for me.
Joshua, Inok, and Allis stood as I walked toward Joshua.
“Abbey!” Joshua’s voice was filled with concern. “You’re pale. What happened? Where did you go?”
“To the castle,” I stammered.
He grasped my arms. “Are you elliptical?” he demanded.
I had never seen him so angry with me, and it made me tremble.
“I’m sorry,” I said meekly.
He pulled me to him. “Why would you go into the lion’s den? What happened?”
I felt his warmth and strength in the embrace as it steadied me. He sat me down by the fire. “I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go. Then, I thought how inspirational it would be to see the former Champions. Suddenly, I was in the courtyard looking at them. They were magnificent, but then Malos appeared.” I shuddered. “He doesn’t think we can succeed.”
Joshua rubbed my arms soothingly. “Of course he’s going to say that. He wants you to lose faith and give up. You’ve done a remarkable job, Abbey. We’re almost done. We’ve nearly won.” His words were sincere but somewhat forced.
I nodded. Then, I showed him my hand.
He looked more alarmed.
“I injured it when I was feeding the horses; it’s not from Malos,” I explained.
He nodded, then healed my cut, the gentle touch of his hand sending shivers down my spine.
I leaned against him. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
He relaxed. “Well, I don’t mind sharing some credit.”
The Queen emerged from her carriage and surveyed the scene. A brief look of relief at seeing me changed to annoyance. I looked away from her. I hadn’t intended to cause anyone to worry, but I could see that I should not have come back so late. If I wasn’t still angry with the Queen, I might have considered apologizing.
We all retired to bed. I lay on Joshua’s chest, absentmindedly tangling and untangling my fingers with his, thinking about his conversation with the Queen. Then, I thought about our first kiss and the taste of his lips. I wanted that smooth sensation again, but how did I initiate it? Didn’t I have an open invitation? Suddenly, I realized by his slower breathing pattern that he had fallen asleep, and I missed the opportunity in my hesitation.
Then next morning I had questions for Baird about the Traveler’s Star.
“How did you discover what your star was?” I asked, sipping my rice milk and eating a handful of almonds.
Baird drank tea and reflected. “It came on gradually, almost like I was dreaming. I would travel to different places. Each dream seemed more real and tangible until I became in control of when I would star cross.”
I nodded, thinking that my visits with Malos had grown increasingly perceptible.
“I crossed back to where I had gotten the star, to the house of a strange oracle. He explained in cryptic terms that someday I would take part in all of this.” His eyes traced across our camp.
I thought of the plump man in his blue room. “Raising the Champion?” I asked.
Baird nodded.
When love is lost, you will find the way to save us all.
I finished my breakfast while rubbing at my blue star tattoo.
When everyone had finished breakfast and the group started cleaning and packing, I led Joshua back to the lake I had discovered, vast and blue, with a pebble beach leading to its shore. Lake water did not have the same frightening effect on me as the ocean. Lakes were tranquil and welcoming, not temperamental and subject to sudden storms and violent, swelling tides. Lakes didn’t swallow entire ships or grind them to bits on a rocky shore.
I released the horses and ox at the water’s edge, and Joshua brought a pile of clothes to scrub. Inok and Allis were back at camp packing up, and Baird was cleaning up the pots and pans after breakfast. After the animals drank and we restocked our portable water
supply, we scrubbed the clothes on some rugged rocks. Joshua was down to his undergarments and I in my cloak by the time we finished hanging everything.
I couldn’t help but stare at his perfect body and formed muscles. I hadn’t seen him shirtless very often, and as distracted as I was now, it was probably better that I seldom did. My eyes wandered up his smooth chest to his jawline. He was smiling playfully. The look swept away my breath.
Turning suddenly, he slid off his undershorts and waded into the water. With soap in hand and water up to his waist, he started to wash himself. He motioned an invitation with a nod of his head.
Unwrapping the cloak, I let it fall to the ground. I took a few steps into the shallow water, then dove under. The water was biting cold at first and then tolerable. I emerged in front of him, but kept my chest and torso invisible under the water. Watching him wash his hair and rinse his body created a swell of desire within me. My hands wanted to touch everything my eyes were seeing, and more.
When he was finished, he held out the soap for me, but just high enough that I would have to stand to retrieve it. I looked around, ensuring that we were still alone, then reached up to hastily grab the soap. But Joshua grasped my wrist and pulled me closer to him. He met no resistance.
I felt the warmth of his body and breathed in the smell of pine soap. We were so close that my breasts touched the taut skin on his abdomen. Slowly, delicately, he ran the soap and his hands over my shoulders and back. He worked lather into my hair, and I closed my eyes. This was the most sensual thing I had ever experienced.
When he traced his silky hands under my breasts, I couldn’t restrain any longer. Gasping, I pressed my body against his and stood on my toes, aching for a kiss. He wrapped one hand around the small of my back and with the other hand he wound his fingers into my hair. At last, he leaned down and met my lips with his.
