The Bones of Makaidos

by Bryan Davis

  With the rising moon breaking through the thinning snow clouds, Acacia raised her hands. Two balls of blue fire appeared in her palms, though not as bright and sparkling as they were during the previous ceremony. They had been effervescent and alive. Now they seemed dull by comparison.

  Ruth hummed as she and Acacia walked single file along one of the garden rows, stepping carefully to avoid the scattered bones of Makaidos. The blue glow spread out from Acacia’s hands and enveloped them both. When it reached their feet, the radiance crawled along the ground, instantly devouring the snow. As it touched the bones, each one burst with a glow of its own, whiter, like luminous frost. Soon, the entire garden, the soil, the plants, and the two women, pulsed with an eerie light.

  Acacia waved her arms in a circle, though not as fast as usual. The balls of fire narrowed into spinning cylinders of blue flames. With a grunt, she threw them farther into the garden. They splattered into hundreds of dots of blue light that sat on the soil like glowing marbles.

  Unlike last time, the flames crawling along the ground didn’t rise up into a dome over the plants. The glowing bones sizzled and popped as before, and the fire ate away their white coats, but the entire scene was dimmer than last month’s spectacle, less vibrant.

  Her brow furrowing, Acacia turned and left the garden, leaving Ruth alone as she stood in the midst of the sparkling dots of blue. Ruth raised her hands again and sang, her voice resonant as it passed like a wave across the hushed crowd.

  When phantoms knock on doors of light

  To open paths to worlds beyond,

  A friend replies, “Insert the key

  To leave the dark and greet the dawn.

  “The key is light, the words of truth;

  No lie can break the chains of death.

  A whispered word of love avails

  To bring new life, the spirit’s breath.”

  So now I sing a key for you,

  The phantom waiting at the door;

  We call for you, a doctor who

  Will join us now in holy war.

  As she lowered her hands, she kept her gaze on the garden, quiet and still. Like glittering gems, the blue lights continued to twinkle, but nothing else happened, certainly nothing similar to last month’s events, no earth-shaking rise of a shadow in the midst of the plants.

  A low murmur ran through the onlookers. Elam looked for the reason and found Hunter and Semiramis standing at the garden’s edge, Semiramis holding something in her closed hand.

  Elam stormed toward her. “What are you doing?”

  Still cupping her hand, she turned his way, trembling. “I most humbly beg your pardon, Elam. The people are whispering that the Oracle’s fire is lacking power. We all want the doctor to come and rescue Listener, so I offer my services to bring increase to her energy.”

  Elam looked up at Pegasus. In a few minutes it would rise above the line of trees that shaded the garden. As he looked into Semiramis’s eyes, a hundred thoughts blazed through his mind. Acacia lacked energy because he had authorized her attempt to heal Listener, but without that try, Listener would probably be dead already. Had he made the wrong decision? Had God wanted him to let Listener die and call for Makaidos after all? But how could that be? And now with only moments remaining, he had to make another decision that might save or destroy the entire population. Would it hurt just to listen to this woman’s idea, the same woman who insisted that he couldn’t cross the bridge that provided the key to Heaven’s Gate?

  Glancing at Pegasus again, he gave her a quick nod. “Let’s hear it, and make it fast.”

  She opened her hand, revealing a small rectangular box, tied with twine and sealed with wax. “This morning, while I was out walking in the launching field, the dragon I told you about came to me and offered me this box. At first I refused to take it, knowing him to be a crafty deceiver, but he said that it would help energize the garden during the ceremony, that I need not open it unless the power to resurrect runs dry. If it is opened and the gem is placed in the garden, the energy will increase tenfold.”

  “The gem?” Elam took the box and looked it over. The wax bore an insignia that looked like a dragon. Apparently Semiramis hadn’t opened it, or so she would have him believe.

  He untied the twine, broke the seal, and lifted the lid. Inside, a severed finger rested in a bed of bloody cotton, a gold ring with a red gem still in place around it.

  Elam’s stomach knotted. Heat flashed across his skin. Backpedaling, he nearly fell, but Billy caught him just in time.

  “What is it?” Billy asked.

  When Elam showed it to him, Billy’s mouth dropped open. “That’s … that’s evil!”

  Rebekah, sitting on a blanket, pulled Billy’s sleeve. As they whispered to each other, Elam thrust the box toward Semiramis. “Did the dragon say who owned this finger?”

  Semiramis looked inside. Her face turned pale as she backed away, holding a hand against her chest. “My lord! I hope you do not think that I did this thing!”

  Barely able to keep from gagging, Elam put the lid back in place and shouted, “I repeat! Did the dragon say who owned this finger?”

  Her eyes darting back and forth between Elam and the box, Semiramis spoke as one begging for forgiveness. “His words were cryptic, my lord. He said that the energizing gem would be familiar to the dragon boy, the son of Clefspeare.”

  “Is that all? Nothing more?”

  Heaving fast breaths, Semiramis’s eyes grew wider. “Now that I perceive his malice, I hesitate to repeat his foul words.”

  Elam gripped the hilt of his sword. “Tell me! You must!”

  She gulped before continuing. “He said that if the dragons and their offspring continued to ally themselves with the residents of Second Eden, this gift would be accompanied by more of the precious puzzle at a later time.”

  “Precious puzzle!” Elam gritted his teeth. “How dare you bring this serpent’s poisonous words here!”

  Semiramis trembled. “His words sounded gracious, an act of surrender to our noble cause. I had no idea that the gift was a cruel gesture designed to mock my lord and his valiant army. I see now that the dragon desires to weaken your spines through an instrument of terror.” Steeling her body, she clenched her fist. “But I assume you will fight back. This mad dragon cannot be allowed to use fear to make you cower in submission.”

  “On that, we can agree.” Taking the lid off again, Elam turned toward Billy. “Do you recognize the gem?”

  His face twisting in pain, Billy nodded. “It looks just like Bonnie’s ring.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of.” Elam studied the contents again. Something besides cotton lay under the finger. Was it hair? Careful not to touch the finger, he pulled out a two-inch lock of light brown hair. “Do you recognize this?” he asked.

  Billy stared at it. As he tightened his jaw, he nodded again but said nothing.

  Rebekah jumped up. “The finger is probably not Bonnie’s.”

  “What makes you think that?” Billy asked.

  “When some people came to kidnap Bonnie, they mistakenly took Shiloh instead. She pretended to be Bonnie.”

  “But Bonnie was gone when I got there. How do you know they didn’t get her, too?”

  Lowering her chin, Rebekah shook her head. “I don’t.”

  “And does it really matter?” Elam asked. “Whether the finger was Bonnie’s or Shiloh’s, will it cause us to alter our course? Will we submit to this wicked beast who taunts us, who believes that we can be shaken by threats? We cannot allow ourselves to be diverted from the path God has set before us.”

  Hunter stepped up and pointed at his face, still oozing from the dragon’s blast. As his companion floated near his chin, flashing red, he spoke with a firm tone. “Do not doubt that Arramos will chop that girl to pieces, and he will do so in a way that will prolong her suffering. First her fingers and toes, then her hands and feet, then her eyes and tongue. She will be nothing but a writhing head and torso with no e
yes left by which to weep and no tongue remaining by which to cry out to God for the mercy of death.”

  “Are you saying that we should appease this devil?” Elam asked. “That we should allow his minions to rule Second Eden by the edge of a sword?”

  “I say that when this girl’s body parts arrive one piece at a time, the sympathetic hearts of these people will melt. When the wall of fire dies away, they will be unable to fight the onslaught of Nephilim, Vacants, and shadow people that will swarm into the village by night and slaughter them without mercy or pity.”

  “Hunter!” Semiramis snapped. “Do not speak from faithlessness! Such cowardice is not becoming of a son of mine.” She clasped her hands together. “My lord, if I see the dragon again, allow me to spy out his secrets. Since I have stupidly followed his will in the past, it will be easy to feign allegiance to him and learn where he holds the girl captive, whoever she may be.”

  Elam looked at Valiant. He stood with his arms crossed over his muscular chest. As if summoned by his glance, Valiant stepped closer to Elam and whispered, “If she is a spy for the evil dragon, her pretense is against us, not him. I say that it will do no harm to send her to him, but we should keep our counsel away from her ears.”

  Elam nodded. “Agreed. But what of energizing the field?”

  “Perhaps this so-called gift would help,” Valiant said. “If she is a deceiver and the gem fails or causes a disaster, she would not want to stay in our presence. Give her leave to go to the dragon, but only after the gem has proven its value. If it causes us pain, then she will suffer as well. Yet, you know her better than I, so I leave the decision in the warrior chief’s capable hands.”

  Elam glared at the box. This was just too much. He couldn’t afford to make another mistake and thereby erode the villagers’ trust in him further.

  He looked at the people, each one staring at him as they waited for something to happen. The moon’s light spread across the snow, sparkling as it crawled toward the garden. When it illuminated Semiramis’s face, his mind flashed back to the time she stood at the foot of the bridge as he dangled from its ropes.

  “Oh, the folly!” she had shouted. “The folly of those who think themselves holier and wiser than the sages who went before them!”

  Elam winced as the words echoed in his mind. Was she right? How could he make such important decisions for these people he barely knew? Should he risk everyone’s safety for the sake of a dying little girl? Yet, two truths kept echoing in his brain. One—he wasn’t ready to trust Semiramis, and two—Valiant’s idea was sound.

  Finally, he reached into the box and carefully slid the ring off the withered finger. “If this gem energizes the resurrection garden and all is well, then you may go and spy out Arramos’s secrets. But you will remain with us for tonight and tomorrow so we can make sure nothing evil befalls us because of this choice. If it becomes clear that this is an instrument designed to bring us harm, then you will suffer the same fate as the owner of this finger.”

  She bowed her head. “You are wise not to trust me, for I have doubted you and tried to dissuade you from crossing the bridge. Arramos sent me here to plant seeds of evil, but when he burned my son’s face, I rebelled against him, and I am now in your service. God has provided the power to energize this garden, and I hope you will trust in it though it was delivered by a hand you are not willing to trust. Surely you know that the ring and the finger that wore it are holy.” She fell to her knees and pressed her wrists together. “Lock me in chains until my worth is proven. I trust you to make the right decision.”

  Now shaking, Elam glanced at Ruth, still waiting patiently in the midst of the garden’s blue gems. He then checked the moon’s encroaching light, only inches from the garden. Clenching his fist around the ring, he nodded at Valiant. “Have your men take her to the triage hut and bind her hand and foot. It’s warm there, and Sir Patrick and Cliffside will keep an eye on her.”

  “Very well.” Valiant gestured for a trio of men to follow Elam’s instructions. As they led Semiramis away, Elam grabbed Hunter’s wrist and pushed the ring into his hand. “You will take the gem out to Ruth. If there is harm in this, you and your mother will suffer the consequences.”

  Hunter bowed his head. “I trust that your faith in us will soon be restored.” He marched into the garden and handed the gem to Ruth. Stooping, she placed it on the ground next to one of the bones.

  When Hunter spun back toward the field, he lost his balance and toppled over. As the garden’s radiance crawled over his body, he pawed at the soil with one hand and reached out with the other. “Help me!” he called.

  Elam ran into the garden, still arguing with himself. Of course this “accident” might be a ruse, but he didn’t have any choice. He couldn’t let a wounded man flounder in the mud.

  As he followed one of the furrows, new sparks erupted around Ruth and spread out, like fire on oily water. Feeling a stinging sensation through his trousers, Elam broke into a trot. When he arrived, he grabbed Hunter’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” Hunter said as he brushed off his clothes. “I think so.”

  Billy pointed from the edge of the garden. “Elam! Look!”

  Elam turned toward Ruth. As the newly energized light dressed the garden in a dawnlike aura, a human-shaped shadow rose from the ground just a few feet beyond her.

  “Can you tell what it is?” Elam waded toward her through the rising flood of radiance.

  “A man,” Ruth said. “At least, I think it’s a man.”

  Elam stood at her side. Rebekah had said that the doctor was one of the former dragons. Shouldn’t a woman appear?

  As the shadow took on a distinct masculine shape, Elam set his hand on the hilt of his sword again and shouted. “Who are you?”

  The man, still more ghost than human, laid a hand on his forehead. “I am …”

  Suddenly, he solidified and collapsed. Elam charged ahead and helped him up, taking an arm and hoisting him to his feet. Since the newcomer’s legs remained unsteady, Elam had to keep a shoulder under his arm. “What’s your name?”

  Wearing a long-sleeved dress shirt and khaki pants, the man shivered in the snowy breeze. “Conner. Matthew Conner.”

  Elam pulled off his cloak and helped the man put it on. “Are you a doctor?”

  “Yes. … Well, I was one.” Dr. Conner looked at Elam curiously. “How did you know?”

  “We called for a doctor, so we were expecting you. … Well, not exactly you, but …”

  “Oh, yes. I remember now.” He firmed his stance and looked around. “Who needs me?”

  “A little girl.”

  Dr. Conner’s eyebrows shot upward. “He was right!”

  “Who was right?”

  As if dizzied by the sparkling lights, Dr. Conner’s eyes darted all around before settling. “Never mind. I think I was dreaming.”

  Elam took him by the arm. “Come on. You’ll need to do surgery right away.”

  “Surgery?” He followed along, though staggering somewhat through the fading radiance.

  Ruth trailed them by a few steps. “Shall we try it again and call for Makaidos?”

  “The moonlight is already touching the garden,” Elam said, “so we’ll have to wait for the next eclipse. Just pray that we have enough warriors and that Acacia is healthy by then.”

  Chapter 16

  The Physician

  Bonnie and Sapphira approached the hologram that floated over the book. Keeping her flaming hands away from the wooden table, Bonnie bent over to get as close as she could. With her vision so sharp, every detail was clear, and since they were inside a portal, Sapphira likely could see just as well.

  In the image, two females walked into a garden, the shorter one a white-haired teenager.

  “Acacia,” Sapphira whispered.

  “I guessed that. She looks just like you.”

  Acacia created a ball of fire in each hand, and the radiance spilled to the soil
and spread out. Something sparkled near her feet, something white and luminescent. She threw the balls into the garden. The flames crawled along the ground and spread a shimmering radiance. Acacia then walked away, leaving the other female alone.

  “That’s Ruth,” Sapphira said, pointing. “She was once Paili, an underborn.”

  A rushing wind blew through the resurrection chamber. Like a wave catching a sandcastle, the gust picked up the hologram and spread it around the room, repainting it as if everyone in the image had grown to life size.

  The air seemed charged with electricity. The garden radiance danced at their flaming feet. Soon fire swirled in the air until it created a cylinder that spun slowly in place.

  “The portal is opening,” Sapphira said. “But it looks kind of weak.”

  Bonnie walked close to the image of Billy and looked into his eyes. She felt his emotions streaming into her mind—confusion, distrust, fear. Yet, something wonderful colored every feeling. What was it? Love?

  She passed her hand, orange and flickering, across his eyes, then tried to hold his hand. Yes, that was it. Love. That was the truth that kept him from despair.

  “Keep trusting, Billy,” she whispered. Now her own emotions blazed, almost overwhelming her. “I hope to be there soon.”

  With her hands raised and her head tilted upward, Ruth seemed to be singing. As with most of this vision, they couldn’t hear the words, but after a few seconds, a woman’s lovely voice broke through, as if spoken from a loudspeaker above.

  “We call for you, a doctor who will join us now in holy war.”

  The ovulum holding Bonnie’s father floated upward and hovered about six feet from the floor. Inside, still glowing orange, he pressed his palms against the glass, obviously confused.

  When Ruth finished, she stood in the midst of the radiance, as if in a trance, and no further sounds broke through the portal barrier.