“Every Amazon heed me.” She lifted her voice over the roar of thunder. “Blood River.” She spoke the name as a curse. “Every word you’ve heard stands true. Keep your eyes
wide and alert. Be watchful. I know no one wishes to cross this river. I fear it myself, but there is no other way. We cross it, or Queen Perseathea is lost.” The company stood silent with wide eyes, gesturing an apprehensive, but collective nod.
With Hippolyta at her side, Laidea slipped a foot down the moss slimed slope and into the black waters. Wading out to her knees, she turned back to us.
“Warriors, shepherd a brave.”
I stood frozen, staring as Hippolyta helped Belsiphiny down the slope. The brave waded out into the blackness, almost disappearing into it before my eyes. Holding my breath, I glanced to Hippolyta.
“Ready?” She asked me.
I swallowed, fear clenching my jaw. With a nod, I took the warrior’s hand, easing a foot into the cold, black water. An icy tingle pricked up my leg as I sunk a foot into the sludge of unseen mud. Wading in, I tried to concentrate on the quest, rather than my childhood fears.
Water rushed my hips as I took step after heavy step, my boots sinking into thick mud. Turning back, I offered my hands to Kia-Maie. The brave slipped loose of Hippolyta, her innocent eyes fixed on me. I watched the girl, her breath shaking, and the tales I had heard as a child scratched back into my mind, forcing their gruesome images.
Watching Kia-Maie wade out, I couldn‘t help but envision the brave suddenly screaming, her eyes wide and panicked as she ripped beneath the surface. Gone. The Caiman lurking Blood River were twice the size of those in GarTaynia‘s waters. They sprawled the length of two men stacked, their demon eyes bulging just above the dark surface, their jaws ready to spring like a trap. I had seen it before as boars would drink at the river‘s edge. One of the mammoth reptiles would burst from the calm in a sudden spray, clamping jagged teeth, grinding the howling pig into bloody chunks. My mother had told me to never sit unaware at the river’s edge, for fear the same thing might happen to me.
The rest of the company slipped into the water behind me, every head tilted toward the bruise colored sky spider webbing with white flames. The winds were rushing now, thrashing the clutter of trees surrounding us. Pulling into the wind, the current twisted even more forceful, wrapping me with watery fingers, threatening to suck me under. Heavy drops plopped against the river, splashing in sporadic dots before pouring into a loud and drenching multitude.
Partway in, at Laidea’s example, we took the braves onto our backs. Violent winds throttled the jungle, raging through the dark trees. Billowing clouds thundered above, hazing the night sky into an ominous purple. The other side of the river stood black and unseen, invisible, all but for the chaotic flashes of lightning. There was no way of knowing how close the other side loomed.
I fought the black current, chest burning as Kia-Maie weighed me deeper into the cold and sloshing waves. Whipping my feet, I prayed to go unnoticed by the flesh eating fish. If the spike toothed horde had fed in the past days, we would be safe. If not, the scaly meat eaters would shred us of our skin within moments. The entire company would be nothing more than a red puddle of bones in the water.
There is nothing in the water. There is nothing in the water. Just get to the bank.
Lightening exploded, shining against the heavy sheet of rain swelling the river over its’ mossy banks. Flashes of Laidea and Belsiphiny shimmered in the dark waters in front of me. The sound of booming thunder splashed in and out of my ears, my muscles burning as I swam. Gasping, I choked on the salty water, and glancing at the distant and dark bank, all my mind’s eye could conjure was the Pottage Man. The worst of all my fears.
The story went that once a local villager ventured into Blood River to prove himself a man to his clan. The Sookurie, a giant anaconda stretching three times the length of the caiman, yanked him under the waters. When he burst back through the surface, wide eyed and screaming, the serpent had twisted all the way up to his neck. His terrified friends watched as the snake tightened, crushing him till his scream sputtered into a merge of splintering bones and bloody gurgles.
His tribe thought him lost and grieved, but days after his son walked the banks. Through his tears, the boy spotted a foul pottage, swarming with flies, oozing in the moss. As he neared the mush, a stench like he had never known before clouded him. Pinching his nose, he knelt down to observe the oddity. There, mangled in strands of bloody hair and fleshy vomit, were fragments of teeth… and his father’s medallion. The Sookurie had coughed up portions of the man, giving up only what it could not digest.
Lightning cracked, flooding the jungle with light, ripping me out of my thoughts. I looked around, a chill freezing my wet skin.
“We’re in deep, Askca!” Kia-Maie’s cherub voice shrieked over the storm. I thrashed my arms, fighting to keep my head above water.
“That… that’s good.” I bobbed for breaths, the child weighing heavy on my back. “It means… we’re half… halfway there.”
“Isn’t this where-”
“Don’t speak it.” I spat. Kia-Maie went silent, tightening her grip on my neck. Suddenly, a wide slither grazed my belly. My chest tightened, stopping my heart. I felt the color drain from my face. Flailing into a panic, I turned back to the others, shouting.
“Sookurie!” Adrenalin blazed my body, charging me into a frantic swim.
“Get out of the water!” Came Laidea’s distant shout. “Now!”
“I can swim, Askca!” Kia-Maie dove off before I had the chance to stop her, and I felt myself bob up in the water.
“Hold my hand!” I grabbed after the brave.
Another slither slimed by my ankle. Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods! I thrashed my feet. Lightning sparked, booming across the water. The bank! I dropped my foot, searching the river floor, only to find more bottomless water. I squeezed into Kia-Maie’s hand, pulling the brave against the current, choking and coughing. Lungs burning. A scream rang out. I whipped around, wading the water.
The anaconda’s tail, broad as a tree trunk, split the water in front of Kelius and Tilliandre. Lightning gleamed against Kelius’ axe as she slashed her blade through the foam of rushing river, searching the evading tail. Tilliandre held tight to her sister’s neck, desperate to hold on.
My eyes met with Kia-Maie’s and both of us surged into a swim. Just ahead, Laidea ran waist deep, pulling Belsiphiny behind. I bolted ahead, out of breath, chest burning, dragging Kia-Maie.
Kelius, giving up her fight, also charged into a swim. But stopped short. In flashes of lightning, muscular scales glinted around the warrior’s waist.
Kia-Maie and I scrambled up the bank, joining Laidea and Belsiphiny. We turned just in time to watch Kelius charge a heavy slice at her hip, cutting into the mammoth serpent. It loosened, dipping beneath the black surface. Without slowing to look, Kelius swam until her feet reached mud. She bolted into a run, pushing as fast as she could through the water with Tilliandre bouncing on her back. Sliding the brave around, she tossed Tilliandre up the bank. I stared out over the water. Another bolt of lighting sparked, revealing several bobbing heads.
Hippolyta could hear the others screaming. The roar of the driving rain. And faintly, she could hear Valasca choking against her ear. But she couldn’t see the serpent. It had dropped off Kelius and disappeared just feet from where she swam with Valasca. Then, Valasca ripped from her back.
“Valasca!” She screamed, fighting the current while searching for the brave. The water was blacker than Hell. The night rumbled with thunder, but the lightning hid. Hippolyta dove under. Underneath, the water loomed the color of dark green nightfall. A crack of lightning mumbled above. In that slash of light, Hippolyta saw branches reaching up like claws from below. Chest burning, she shot back up through the surface. Gasp! She swiveled in the water, eyes whirling, searching.
“Valasca!” Rapids rushed the warrior, twisting across her legs. The branches below scratched a
t her feet.
Distant voices begged. The company silhouetted on the bank, screaming, begging her to swim. “Get out of the water!”
Hippolyta ignored their collective plea, dipping back under. Black water churned past, muffling her ears, deep green swallowing her into the belly of this beast. Fighting, she swam against the flow. Her eyes wide, she stared into the brush below. A glimpse of hair floated. Pushing through the water, she swam closer. Valasca tangled in the branches. Racing to the girl, Hippolyta grabbed the girl’s floating arm. She shook Valasca, but only to the reply of a white face… gaping stare. Yanking Valasca, she fought to pull the brave free. Her chest blazed, burning for air. She ignored it, desperately pulling. The air trapped in her chest felt like a block of mud. Heavy.
She yanked Valasca, snapping branches. It was black where she floated. Flashes of Valasca’s pale face and white eyes sparked in and out. Hippolyta felt herself going dizzy. The black closed in, suffocating. Looking to the surface, then glancing back to Valasca, she knew she had to leave the girl for air. Then lightning sparked. In its flash, the Sookurie darted up from behind Valasca, glaring at Hippolyta. Warning her. Protecting it’s prey. Eyes bulging, she let out a bubbled shriek, salty water choking her chest. Heart thrashing, she burned her muscles against the water to bust through the surface. Gasp! Gasp!
Thunderous lightning boomed loud and violent. Angry winds throttled the trees. On the bank, Kia-Maie, Lathenia, and Tilliandre screamed like terrified children. Kelius and Malaia held Belsiphiny, crying and crazed, back from the water where her best friend had disappeared. I couldn’t watch any longer. And neither could Saratiese or Laidea. Jumping back down the bank, all three of us dove back in.
Hippolyta ripped the axe from her hip, dunking back under. She clawed at the water, forcing it to her sides until she saw the floating hair again. Lightning glinted above. Valasca, ghost faced, floated helplessly as the colossal serpent slithered around her.
Driving through the water, Hippolyta tangled into the sharp fingered branches, thrashing her axe. Her blade barely pressed forward, her power lost in the heavy water. Putting the sharp edge to the snake’s belly, Hippolyta sawed into the scales. She cut and sliced, her forearm tensing with veins as she held her burning breath. Blood clouds floated up from the snake’s belly, staining the black water red. Lightning flickered through the deep green, blurring Laidea into sight.
Saratiese and I broke into the branches as Laidea anchored herself to the limbs. Hippolyta went back to her slicing, the snake’s muscles hardening like iron under her touch. The power in the serpent grew crippling. Even if she did kill it, Hippolyta wasn’t sure they could pry it loose of Valasca. Another flash. Laidea held her bow taut, ready to drive the arrow through water and beast. If the arrow went as intended, it would run the snake through and leave Valasca unscathed. If it sped wrong, it would skewer the two together. Squinting an eye, Laidea plucked. It bolted through the short foot of water, streaming a path straight into the serpent. Blood fogged the water and the snake loosened, whipping back into the depths of black to disappear. Saratiese pulled Valasca loose, darting to the surface.
Gasping for breath, the warriors fought to get Valasca to the banks before the fresh blood summoned the piranha. Saratiese waded the water with a run, fighting the river with Valasca in her arms, until Malaia and Kelius met them, pulling the brave from her. Laidea came in after, locking Hippolyta’s arm around her neck to make certain the faint woman didn’t pass under.
I clawed my way up the mossy banks with the others, lying in the mud, exhausted and sucking in heavy breaths. Malaia laid Valasca in the mud, kneeling over her. “Valasca!” She held the girl’s chin in her hand, whipping it back and forth.
Belsiphiny rushed to her friend’s side. “Valasca, wake up!”
Kelius dropped her ear to the brave’s chest. “She’s not breathing.”
“What?” Belsiphiny shrieked.
Laidea looked up, pulling to her knees. All the sisters circled around.
“Valasca!” Hippolyta took hold of the girl’s shoulder, pounding at her chest. “There’s water inside of her. We have to get it out!”
Belsiphiny pushed passed Hippolyta, grabbing her friend. Shaking her. “Valasca! Wake up!”
Belsiphiny jiggled the girl violently, pounding her against the ground. A few moments later, water spewed from Valasca’s mouth in a wet cough. Choking, she leaned to her side, dribbling river water and saliva over her lips.
We sat in the night, drying before a warm fire, waiting for the rains to pass. We had been close as a company, but this far into the journey, now, we were much more. We were family. Sisters. The braves were no longer just children to the women. They were friends. Sitting in front of the fire, silent with the others, my mind wrapped around this. It was getting harder and harder to think of loosing any one of us, and as fate played out, it was probable… we’d loose half our number.
As the sound of rain faded, replaced by the hum of a jungle night, we stared into the last glow of embers, meditating with the Goddess. The quiet lasted a while.
At last, Laidea spoke. “The Goddess has cleared the sky. We have a bright moon to guide us. It’s time we go.”
The Commander arranged her things, still deep in silence, but her thoughts dwelled more on Perseathea than the goddess. No matter the hardships of the journey, Laidea knew Perseathea would be fairing worse. Tortures unspeakable were certain. Gragore would put Perseathea through many in the hopes of persuading her words, and Laidea knew the Queen well. She would die before telling him. Gragore would go too far, as he always did. His soldiers were likely to end up killing Perseathea, pleasuring too much in the pain of an Amazon.
Laidea’s mind ached with worry. She was the only Amazon left alive who knew the truth behind the Queen’s capture. She cringed at Gragore‘s motives. And she missed Perseathea. Her stomach went bitter at the thought of life without the woman.
I strapped my axe to my hip, securing the blade, glancing at Saratiese. The dark haired girl stood with her foot propped against a rock, strapping her own weapon. I took a breath of cool night air, calming my thoughts. I hated the confusion twirling my gut. Saratiese made me so mad, yet I couldn’t bear to be this close to her and not take notice of her. Anyone breathing had to take notice. Why was I like this? Even in the cycle of seasons I spent away from Saratiese, avoiding her as best I could, I still thought on her every day. My anger and affection for her seemed to measure at equal amounts. I couldn’t forgive, or forget her. Which left me puzzled as to what I to do. Or not do. So, drawn to her as always, I gave in. My stomach swirling with butterflies, I approached.
"Guard with me again?"
Saratiese lifted surprised eyes.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I can’t make sense of it. These are just… confusing times.”
“Most times are, for one reason or another.”
Easing into our conversation, now no longer tense, but somehow natural, I felt myself smiling. “I’m beginning to see that.”
“Then we’ve no cause to question it.” Saratiese gazed at me, and in her blue eyes I found forgiveness washing over every cutting word I had hurt her with. That was her real beauty. The beauty that shined far brighter than her features. Saratiese could hold anger for no one. Her spirit was too kind. Too gentle.
“Sara… I,” I stopped, lost, uncertain of what words might heal her heart. “I don’t know how to say this but-”
"We’re guarding together again.” She cut me off, smiling. “That says enough.”
Chapter 16
The humid cell swallowed Queen Perseathea into its hot belly. Black. Sweltering blackness. Boiling sweat trickled her body. She hadn’t seen daylight since being thrown into the cell. She didn’t know how long she had been in the chamber, time passing like a slug, but she knew well where she was. The dank and putrid stink of mold, mud, and urine flooded her over with memories. The looming death and decay haunted every chamber in this hell. The stench of her own
urine soaked legs amalgamated into the stagnant air. This stink was a stink she had never forgotten. The deafening silence plugged her ears. She swallowed, hunger squeezing her stomach as dehydration wrung her sore and beaten body.
She sat, bound to a wooden throne of pain that dwarfed her in its arms. Her blood trickled with sweat to sting her eyes. Splinters dug into her, tormenting her with an agonizing itch, stinging her flesh with infection. Tight chains strapped her captive to the contraption, pinching her skin purple with bruises. Bound from neck to ankles, she could barely move.
Goddess protect her. Protect them both. I know you have watched over me and given me strength during these tortures, but I need your favor. Help me escape this chair, help me forget my hunger, my thirst… this pain. Goddess, help me before it‘s too late.
The cell door swung open with a howling creak, flooding the chamber with cutting light and cool wind. Perseathea squinted against the glare. Two guards holding torches stepped in, closing the heavy door behind them as the Queen desperately sucked in the last of the fresh air. Why are they here during the day? They’ve only come at night.
The two men mounted the torches, the flames bouncing a flicker across the slime strewn walls. Perseathea balled her hands into fists, staring the soldiers down, daring their beating. The larger of the two men, a corpulent soldier with a mousy brown beard and a belly that hung over his belt, fixed cold eyes on her.
"I am Belgar of the Gragorian army.” His deep voice bellowed. “A Commander under Gragore himself. I am-"
"I have no concern for your titles.” Queen Perseathea cut into the man’s announcement. “You are just one of his many to me."
"Take concern, woman!” Belgar grabbed her, wrapping plump knuckles in her hair. “I am lord and master to you. You are my slave and concubine if I so choose."
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