Black Jaquar

by Vijaya Schartz

  Mardock, second in line for the throne, swarthy and auburn-haired like his father, rushed inside, panting, silhouetted in the monumental doorway by the bright summer sunlight. “They are here!”

  “Terek, it's time!” Galya brushed an imaginary speck from her pale blue silk dress and adjusted the elegant sword that never left her hip.

  Terek in regal attire of russet and gold, hurried towards her, struggling with the collar of his tunic. “I hate dressing up like this.”

  Galya met his eyes and smiled as she straightened his collar. “You never liked fancy occasions, dear.”

  Terek smiled back and adjusted his baldric. He wore the fine sword she'd given him so long ago. Over the years, despite their involvement in affairs of state, he'd remained devoted to her and his family. But even in silk finery, the high leather boots over the trousers accentuated his strong thighs and gave him that virile, savage look that marked a true Zerker. That wild look had seduced Galya some thirty-five years ago and still made her heart melt.

  Taking Terek's arm, Galya walked at his side with pride to meet their royal visitors, who just now entered the Great Hall.

  King Dragomir, a tall, handsome Mutant with straight Black hair, copper skin, and light hazel eyes, stood a head taller than his queen. But Tora looked fierce, in white silk, with her wide trousers, riding boots and a sword at her belt. She had been Terek's first swordsmaster long ago. Yet, the royals of Kassouk looked half Terek and Galya's age, due to their strong Mutant genes.

  Galya, despite her Goddian Father and six-fingered hands, had not inherited the health and longevity of most Mutants. But it gave her a chance to live on an equal plane with her beloved Human king... Terek.

  She welcomed Queen Tora with a strong embrace, from warrior to warrior. “I'm so glad the Council agreed to fly you here, so we can be together when we learn of our children's fate.”

  King Dragomir winked, and a smile brightened his copper face and made his hazel eyes sparkle. “Once in a while, Brother Kohl knows what's best for him.”

  Galya smiled. “I so hope our children are all right.”

  “We shall soon find out.” Tora smiled and glanced at the table. “You prepared a feast.”

  “We are optimistic.” Galya hoped her cheery attitude would help lighten the mood.

  Terek fidgeted. “Shall we?”

  Servants pulled back the chairs for the King and Queen of Kassouk to sit at the U-shaped table. Galya and Terek followed, then sons, daughters, and their families sat as well, including the oldest grandchildren, warned to be on their best behavior.

  Terek shook his head. “How I regret teasing Kahuel about his carefree love life.”

  Mardock shook his head sadly. “To think he sailed on that boat to start anew and change his ways.”

  The black gem on Galya's chest buzzed softly and she pressed the silver setting. Queen Tora and King Dragomir did the same as their blue crystal chimed, and Terek answered the call on the Blood Tear of Yalta, while Mardock and his siblings consulted their red crystal.

  “The flyer is approaching the Eastern Continent,” the transmitters broadcast in unison.

  King Dragomir spoke. “Transmit directly to our coordinates.”

  In the space inside the U-shaped table, a 3D hologram of the Eastern Continent's coast appeared in full color. It looked like a sunny day, with a blue sky, a deep cerulean ocean and soft white breakers rolling on a wide sand beach, long and straight as far as the eye could see. All traces of the typhoon had vanished.

  The pilot's voice rose in the silent hall. “As you can see, all is calm now. At this point, my instruments detect only plants and animals. No Human or Mutant life signs.”

  “None?” Galya couldn't believe fate could be so cruel.

  Queen Tora stared intently at the holographic image. “Could their life signs be masked by the deep jungle vegetation?”

  “Keep scanning.” King Dragomir rubbed his smooth chin. “My updated scanners should be able to detect something.”

  “Yes, My Liege,” came the pilot's disembodied voice.

  Queen Tora still stared. “I thought the archives mentioned a lost Human tribe that emigrated to the East many centuries ago.”

  King Dragomir's hazel eyes focused far away. “There must have been a Human population, once.” He turned to his queen with slight surprise in his copper face. “I thought these records had been sealed.”

  Queen Tora shrugged. “I have my sources.”

  Terek played nervously with the rim of his empty plate. “Without the benefit of technology, the population could have died from natural disasters or plagues.”

  King Dragomir's brow knitted in concentration. “There has to be survivors down there.”

  “None that I can see, My Liege,” the pilot interjected. “At least none that the scanners can pick up.”

  King Dragomir didn't look convinced. “Why don't you fly lower, or land on that beach to see for yourself.”

  “Yes, My Liege.”

  The 3D scan appeared closer and larger for a while, then the image scrambled and phased in and out of focus.

  “What's happening?” Galya feared they would lose contact.

  The static transmission sounded incoherent, then the image resumed, from a higher altitude, and the pilot's voice came back online. “As soon as I dropped lower, my instruments went berserk. I dare not fly blind or risk crashing and not being able to take off again. I suspect some magnetism, possibly from metallic residue in the ground, is causing the interference.”

  “Did you patrol the whole coast and the swath of ocean following the predicted route of the Galleon?”

  “Yes, My Liege.”

  “Try again.” King Dragomir glanced at Terek then pressed his lips together. “Let us know when you detect anything at all.”

  “Yes, My Liege.”

  Galya signaled the servants to start offering food, determined to keep hope alive. The conversation turned to family matters. No one mentioned the lost Galleon. Toward the end of the meal, the transmitters buzzed again, and Galya's chest filled with hope.

  “Sorry, My Liege. No signs of Human or Mutant life detected anywhere.”

  King Dragomir's shoulders sagged. It took him a long time to finally say the words. “Make a last sweep, then return to Kassouk.”

  Galya could hardly breathe. “That's it? There is no more we can do?”

  “I'm afraid the Council may have been right for once.” King Dragomir sighed heavily.

  Galya's throat clenched and she heard muffled sobs coming from her children's throats. Queen Tora discreetly wiped a tear.

  Terek straightened in his chair. “I cannot accept the death of my sons without tangible proof. We have to keep looking.”

  King Dragomir nodded. He pressed his transmitter and said in a soft voice. “Keep searching until nightfall.”

  “May the Great Engineer protect them all.” Galya gripped Terek's hand on the white linen of the tablecloth and burst into uncontrollable sobs.

  Chapter Five

  Talina hid behind the ferns as she approached the tree line, to observe the foreigners’ camp. A group of Humans on horseback were leaving, hugging the coast, toward the cliffs. Painfully aware that she defied the Star People, and her brother Vanaru, she wanted to find out more about them before forming her own opinion. If they traveled with the Lost Daughter of the prophecy, and the animals loved them, they couldn't be all bad.

  Upon spotting the sentries, she mentally asked a macaque to give a performance nearby. Guards and their large cats went to investigate the monkey's noisy antics, dodging the coconuts he was throwing at them from above.

  Talina chuckled, thanking the macaque in her head. She picked a lush tree further down the edge of the cove and climbed it, then she hid among the thick foliage.

  Her heart quickened as she observed spotted the man she had encountered by the waterfall. His people saluted him with respect. Was he the leader of his clan? She'd guessed at first glance he was no o
rdinary man. His resolve alone made him special.

  But she also felt the presence of the Lost Daughter inside a white cloth shelter at the end of the cove, surrounded by tall sentinels in gray, stiff as tree stumps. Was she a prisoner? The original Lost Daughter might have died long ago, as the Star People said, but she could have given birth to daughters and transferred her gifts.

  Closing her eyes, Talina focused her mind on the woman in the white tent, the only person here receptive to mind-talk. “Are you a descendant of the Lost Daughter? Why have you come back?”

  The picture of a woman, with long flaxen hair falling straight on each side of her face, surged into Talina's mind eye. Her smile illuminated large hazel eyes.

  “I came to learn about my people.” The mind voice sounded strange, foreign and somewhat hesitant.

  Talina rejoiced at this contact nevertheless. “We missed you all these years. The clan is not complete without your life force.”

  “I feel incomplete without you as well.”

  “I understand.” Talina could never live without her clan, her brother, the loving presence of her people in her mind and around her. They constituted her home, not the ground she walked.

  Encouraged by this first contact, Talina ventured deeper into the mind of the Lost Daughter, but she recoiled when an invisible wall prevented her from probing further. A mental shield? Vanaru would consider such a thing utterly evil. So would the Star People.

  Living among the foreigners had no doubt affected this Lost Daughter. She'd forgotten the ways of the Chosen. Like the foreigners, she sent contradicting messages that confused the mind, but Talina refused to judge anyone hastily.

  She opened her eyes and returned her attention to the camp. She quickly spotted the dark stranger again. He stood closer now, inspecting a trench, and his jaguar friend had joined him.

  A young woman walked up to him, proudly flaunting three large white fish on a spear. “Black Jaguar, look what I caught.”

  “Great catch.” The stranger smiled warmly.

  Something pinched Talina's heart. The woman was young and healthy, with dark skin like him. As she focused on the woman's mind, Talina discovered she liked her leader, she admired him. Were they life mates? Shameful envy filled Talina.

  Since no suitable royal mate existed on Chosen land for her, Talina would never be allowed to mate... neither would her brother. Taking a consort of lesser blood would mean banishment. The rules of her clan were strict on that point. The Star People might even punish her in horrible ways. Cut off from the collective minds of her clan, from those she loved, she would certainly die a miserable, lonely death.

  How strange that the woman with the fish identified the foreigner with his feline companion. Black Jaguar. It did fit him, though, dark, slick, dangerous, with gleaming white teeth, and the same deep emerald eyes as his cat.

  Then Talina realized they had spoken aloud, and she understood their language. The accent seemed curt and rough compared to the fluid speech of her clan, but she recognized the basic words and speech pattern. Not only were the foreigners Human, but they spoke the same language. They couldn't be that different if they came from the same original tribe.

  But the Star People had gifted her clan with mind-talk centuries ago. Now the gift was transmitted from parents to children. And except for this Lost Daughter, she realized the foreigners didn't have that ability.

  Talina admired their resilience. She'd spied the remnants of their sunken ship at low tide. But even stranded far from home, they went about their camp like the people of her own clan, working together to insure everyone's survival. They had the same concerns and behaved just like her people.

  A distressed cry from a wild boar pulled on Talina's mind. She felt cold metal slicing its heart and she filled with sadness at the sudden death of the giant swine. What could have killed it in such an unnatural manner? Then she saw in her mind's eye the sharp arrowhead. A man-made weapon! She cringed at the sacrilege.

  Troubled by such cruelty, Talina could not focus. May the Star People forgive the foreigners for their sin and welcome the spirit of the swine in their animal paradise.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. Only then did she truly understand why her brother Vanaru and the rest of the clan had condemned the strangers so quickly. But they couldn't all be bad. Struggling to calm the panic of her heart, Talina took deep, cleansing breaths and cleared her mind of the brutal image.

  She had to keep watch. She promised herself she would give the foreigners a fair chance. So, she observed the activities of the camp but saw no other reprehensible acts.

  Cheers erupted among the foreigners when the hunters returned with the carcass of the boar hanging by the feet on a bamboo pole they carried on their shoulders. Talina's anger heated her cheeks. Humans had no right to kill other mammals. What a depraved way to feed! She would not tolerate such blasphemous behavior.

  She had to warn Black Jaguar about such practices. But she didn't want to attract attention, so she would lure him aside. Closing her eyes, she called in her mind, “Diablo, would you like to play?” She sent the black feline happy images of frolicking in high grass.

  The black cat trotted toward the tree line. With the sentries distracted by the arrival of the hunters carrying the boar, Talina scrambled down the tree and ran into a thicket, where Diablo came to meet her.

  When Diablo licked her face, Talina formed an image in her mind of the waterfall and the young panther he liked so much, along with his master. “Bring your Human friend alone to the glade where we met.”

  The jaguar sneezed and coughed, as if resisting the suggestion. He had obviously been trained to follow orders, but this order did not come from his master.

  Talina concentrated harder on her gift. The recent enhancement during the meeting with the Star People should make the command impossible for the great cat to resist. As she refined her focus, an intangible wall fell away, allowing her to see clearly into the feline's head and bypass his obedience training.

  Diablo emitted a happy snort of agreement and trotted back to the beach, tail straight up in the air. Talina watched from the tall ferns as the smart cat gently nipped at his Human friend's ankles through the thick leather boots. She refrained from laughing when the man danced to avoid the sharp white teeth. Finally, he gave in to the feline's insistence and followed Diablo toward the tree line.

  Light as the wind Talina ran, visualizing the young panther and sending her images of Diablo by the waterfall. Once there, she sat on her favorite tree stump and waited. Soon the panther appeared and lay down at her feet. Then sounds of approaching visitors filled the sudden quiet of the forest. The panther stood up in alert, sniffing the air, ears turning to locate the sound. Clumsy boots cracked dead wood, and slapping branches sprang back, disturbed by the rough intrusion.

  “Where are you taking me?” The stranger's deep voice caressed Talina's ears. “I hope it's important. This forest is dangerous.”

  Diablo grunted and came straight for Talina and the young panther he fancied.

  When the tall, dark man emerged from the thick vegetation, so close, Talina thought her heart would stop. He paused and stared at her with deep emerald eyes.

  Sitting on her favorite stump, Talina stiffened and averted her gaze to the waterfall beyond him. “I called you here, Black Jaguar.”

  “You speak our language?” His eyes rounded in surprise. He looked pleased. A light touch on his mind told her he was pleased to see her... and more. “How do you know my name?”

  “That's what your people call you, isn't it?” She didn't dare meet his striking green gaze.

  “Indeed.” He strode closer, the scabbard on his hip clicking against high leather boots. He wore short blades on his belt as well... forbidden blades. Up close, he smelled of sea spray.

  Talina jumped off her stump and took a step back, keeping the stump safely between them. “I saw your people bring you the boar they killed.”

  Black Jaguar grinned, revealing str
ong white teeth. “It's a great way to start the day, knowing that we won't starve.”

  “Killing land animals for food is cruel and cowardly.” Talina detected no shame in his mind. He was proud of what he was, and that scared her. “They have no defense against your metal blades.”

  “Believe me, the boar had a fighting chance.” Black Jaguar chuckled. “Have you seen his tusks?”

  Talina shuddered. How could anyone be so mean? “You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

  “We have to eat, and meat is best for a warrior's strength.” He straightened his back, exulting pride. “We Zerkers are hunters and warriors.”

  “Hunters? Warriors?” Talina understood the words, but the implications were too odious to comprehend.

  “It's easier to fight on a full stomach.” Black Jaguar exuded a lusty happiness.

  “Fight? Fight what? Fight whom?” All Talina believed to be good in this world would be trampled by a people who glorified fighting.

  Black Jaguar froze and frowned at her. “Why are you looking at me as if I'd killed your best friend?”

  “That boar was my friend.” Talina choked on the words. “All the animals in this jungle are my friends.” Anger clouded her mind. “Your people are truly evil, like my brother said, like the Star People said.”

  “The Star People?” His eyes narrowed as if he struggled to understand. But of course, he didn't. He couldn't read her mind.

  Talina steeled herself. “I didn't want to believe them, but now I see why they want you and your people dead. You do not deserve to live.”

  Black Jaguar's dark face hardened, and his jaw clenched. “Only the Great Engineer decides who lives and who dies.”

  “So why do you kill? Are you the Great Engineer?”

  “No.” He chuckled and looked down at his boots. When he glanced up at her again his face had softened. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.”