by Brondos, Pam
“They took me and a whole bunch of others to the Nala.”
“Neas.” Soris crouched down so he was looking into the boy’s eyes. “You said the soldiers took two girls that weren’t like us. What do you mean?”
“No bites. They were like her.” He tapped Nat’s forearm. “But they got bitten later, and now they’re like the rest of us down here.” Annin and Nat exchanged glances. Nat felt a surge of revulsion.
“Mudug’s men are bringing the Nala unbitten children,” Nat whispered, horrified by the thought.
“Something feels off here,” Soris suddenly said and leaned over the rock, eyeing the path.
Nat tried to stay focused on what lay ahead and not her rage at Mudug and his guards. How can Mudug do such a thing? She glanced at the boy with dirt streaks covering most of his exposed skin, and she knew she couldn’t leave him behind. “Can you wait here for us? We’ll get you out.”
Neas shook his head. “I can’t leave my friends.” His long tangled hair brushed his shoulders.
“Friends?”
“There are lots of us here taking care of them.”
“Taking care of who?” Annin’s brow creased.
“The Nala,” the boy replied.
“Nat.” Soris’ voice sounded strained.
“Hold on, Soris.” She kept her attention focused on the boy. “Neas, what do you mean you’re taking care of them?” This whole situation was worse than she could ever have imagined.
“We wash them, clean their wounds . . .”
“Nat.” Soris tapped her shoulder. She looked away from Neas to see a Nala emerging from one of the slits in the rock directly in front of her. The creature rolled its head as if it were an infant unable to control its neck muscles. A puckered cut ran down its sternum, but no blood spilled from the wound. Nat grasped her sword and lunged toward it. The Nala didn’t flinch when the blade struck its leg. It wobbled across the onyx-colored rock as if it didn’t notice the stream of pale-blue blood pouring from its upper thigh. She swung her blade again and severed the creature’s head from its body. The Nala stumbled back and landed with its feet sticking out of the slit in the wall. Its head rolled to a stop by Annin’s feet. Neas held tightly to Soris’ arm as he stared at the headless Nala.
“Why didn’t it attack?” Nat lowered her blade and took a cautious step toward the creature.
“They’re all like that.” Neas picked up his bowl and held it in front of him like a shield. “It takes them a few days to wake up and get nasty when they come out of those caves.” He gestured to the slit in the rock.
“Help me pull it back inside.” Annin grabbed the Nala’s feet. Nat stepped over the body and through the narrow slit. An electric shock of pain stabbed her shoulder, and she clutched her old wound. In the darkness, she fumbled with the Nala’s arms, then pulled it inside the small cavern using her good arm. Annin came next, lifting the legs, followed by Neas, then Soris, holding the Nala’s head in an outstretched hand.
Nat backed into a rock wall and released her grip on the Nala’s slippery skin.
“Nat?” Annin whispered in the darkness.
“I’m okay, hold on.” Her orb appeared and light filled the room.
“Oh no . . . no,” Annin moaned and dropped to the ground.
The body of a duozi girl was sprawled across a crudely carved alcove. Her thin blue arms stuck out at an awkward angle from her shredded sleeves. Her eyes were open and empty of life.
Nat reached for her hand, her fingers brushing against the girl’s cool skin. “She’s dead.” She gently folded the girl’s arms near her chest. The tip of a deep cut was visible above the collar of her tunic. Nat brought her hand over the girl’s eyes, closing the lids. Her foot knocked against a basin similar to the one Neas had held tight to his chest. Water sloshed to the ground, pooling around the Nala.
“It must have killed the girl . . .” Soris trailed off. His hands shook, and he threw the Nala’s head to the stone floor.
“Neas, look at me.” Nat grabbed the boy’s shoulder, pulling him out from where he was hiding behind Soris. His eyes were locked on the girl. Nat gently slapped his cheek and he snapped to attention. “How many more duozi are here?”
“Bunches, bunches, and bunches,” he whispered. Annin glanced at Nat as she knelt in front of the boy.
“Neas, can you get word to as many of them as you can that we’ll help you escape? They need to be prepared to run hard and fast out of this cavern.” Nat could never leave a child behind in this nightmare.
He nodded. “Most of them are by the pool.” He glanced toward the opening of the tomblike cave.
“We have to find a Nala first, and then we’ll help all of you get out. Understand?” The boy nodded again. Nat glanced up. Soris’ eyes were closed, and his jaw muscles twitched. Annin bounced on the balls of her feet, her gaze flitting around the room. Both looked unhinged.
“Hey,” Nat said sharply. Soris’ eyes flew open and Annin settled on her feet. “Stay with me.” She turned to Neas. “Are there more Nala here?” she asked, satisfied that she had everyone’s attention.
“Mostly sleeping ones.” He looked at the body of the Nala at his feet. “Only a few awake ones. The big one left this morning. She took most of the awake ones with her.” He trembled when Nat released her grip and immediately grabbed Soris’ sleeve. He pressed his face into Soris’ stomach. Soris’ hand shook as he smoothed Neas’ tangled hair.
She? Is there a single female Nala? Nat wondered. She glanced around the small tomb and thought of the other slits they’d passed. Is this den like a hive?
“I think we should go now,” Annin said and ducked her head through the slit in the rock. She checked the passage for more Nala, then motioned for the others to follow. Nat gently touched the dead girl’s cheek, then exited the tomb.
Nat’s feeling of déjà vu grew stronger as they followed the path deeper into the cavern. Neas ran in front and gestured when the way was clear. They all stopped when they heard the sound of shuffling and hissing. Soris moved close to Nat, and Annin pressed in behind him with her dagger drawn. Nat peered around the corner of a craggy rock and brought her hand to her mouth in horror.
Dozens of duozi children, some younger and smaller than Neas, circled the base of a naturally formed amphitheater. Their bleeding bare feet shuffled over the ground. Some of them were naked and bruised; others wore nothing but burlap sacks with openings cut for the necks and arms. The mass of hollow eyes and emaciated bodies moved together as if each child’s feet were propelled forward by some unseen force. An eerie blue light reflected off the basins clutched in their hands. A few children glanced nervously toward the two Nala guards positioned near a pool ringed by rocks in the center of the amphitheater. Most walked around in circles dead-eyed until it was their turn to approach the pool and fill their basins.
Nat choked on the smell rising from the open cavern. It reeked of the sickly-sweet smell of decay. She watched, unable to move, as the children filled their basins. A few climbed a rough path cut into the rock, while others disappeared into shadowy openings dotting the curved rockface. She dropped her hand away from her mouth and clutched her sword’s hilt. Whatever I have to do, I am not leaving any child in this hellhole. Nat turned around. Annin’s and Soris’ expressions told her they were of a single mind.
“The Nala first, then the children,” Nat said. Soris lowered his chin in agreement, but he had a gray pallor, and Nat noticed the tremor in his hand had become a serious shake. She swallowed her concern and turned her attention back to the cavern. “There.” She pointed in the direction of an opening in the rocky wall above the amphitheater, recognizing the gap from her dream. She felt an odd pulling sensation, but brushed it off and looked squarely at Annin. “We need to take out the two Nala guards.”
Annin slid in beside Nat. “Soris and I will take the guard on the left, you take the one on the right.”
“I’ll take mine out first,” Nat added. “I think I can work my way a
round the children without the Nala noticing.” Her shoulder burned as if a thousand tiny pins were stabbing the muscle over and over. If only we had Andris or Oberfisk as backup, she thought. She glanced at Soris. Sweat trickled down the side of his face. “Do you think he can do this?” she whispered to Annin.
Annin frowned. “I can feel him struggling against something . . .”
“What about the other Nala? Can they feel you?” Nat glanced nervously at the guards.
“I doubt it, since there are so many duozi in here. I can feel Soris because he’s close and I know him. The rest of the Nala, the other duozi . . . They’re all mixed-up senses in my head. There is something, though. Something above the duozi and Nala.” Annin dug her fingers into her palms. “But I can’t tell what it is.” She looked up, lifting her head slowly as if it were heavy.
Nat motioned for Soris to join them. Neas crept closer, too. “Stay put,” she ordered. Neas nodded and wedged himself behind a rock. Keeping low to the ground, the three of them rounded the chunk of rock separating the path from the amphitheater. Nat joined the flow of the duozi and almost broke down when she saw the gashes and cuts on their bare arms and legs. A few of the children looked curiously at her, but most pretended not to notice. They clutched their basins with rigid hands and shuffled forward.
Nat wove through the ring of children, breathing through her mouth to avoid the overpowering smell of rotting flesh that hung heavy in the air. She paused and peered over a child’s head to check the guard’s location. A boy stepped too close to her and tripped on her cloak. His basin fell to the ground and rolled end on end, making a tinny sound. A barklike hiss echoed through the cavern. The children froze.
Crouching low, Nat watched the Nala pivot, then rise on tiptoe. The sharp ends of its limbs made no noise as the creature drew silently closer to her hiding spot. A warm puddle appeared next to Nat as the child next to her urinated down his leg. What have they done to them? Her anger erupting, she released her orb and rose amid the quivering children.
“Looking for me?” The sphere of white light slammed into the Nala’s head, then shot into the air and descended with furious speed, crashing into the creature’s face. Hissing echoed across the chamber. The children scattered like leaves in the wind, screaming and clearing the floor. Nat lifted the hilt of her sword chest high and swung the blade. Her shoulder screamed in pain, but she brought her sword across the Nala’s neck. Its head toppled to the ground and rolled toward the pool.
Nat sprinted through the fleeing children toward Soris and Annin. Cries bounced off the walls. The body of the other Nala crumpled to the ground, revealing Annin clutching her bloodied dagger behind it.
“Up the path!” Nat cried, gesturing to the narrow walkway cut into the cavern wall.
Annin severed the creature’s head and followed Nat, pulling Soris up the walkway with her. The children’s confused cries echoed up the wall. Nat glanced over the edge of the path. The children milled about the edge of the amphitheater, still clutching their basins.
“Neas!” she called out. The boy popped out from his hiding place. “Get them moving. Now!” Nat gestured to the children. Neas nodded, then waved his arms wildly in the air and yelled at the other children. They dropped the basins and ran toward him. A few stood frozen in place, looking at the pool. The water churned with flashes of blue light. Nat turned her attention back to the narrow walkway, hoping Neas would convince the rest of the children to follow him out.
“In here,” Nat directed. Her orb disappeared into a slit in the rock a few paces in front of them. She took a deep breath and stepped through the opening.
The orb emitted a dim light, and it took a moment for Nat to see the dead Nala. The rigid corpse was draped over a rocky bed cut into a wall of the tomb. The pulling sensation in her shoulder intensified until it felt like sharp claws were digging into her flesh, tugging her toward the creature she thought she’d killed months ago.
Nat heard coughing behind her. Annin bent over and vomited from the stench. Soris lurched past Nat toward the Nala, his eyes completely glazed over. She reached out to stop him, but he wrestled free of her grip, dropping to his knee before the dead creature. His movements were stilted, as if he were a puppet. He dipped his fingers into a basin lying on the floor and brought them to the rubbery lips of the corpse. Drops of water fell from his fingers and trickled down its chin. He bent to repeat the movement, but Nat wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him to the side. Her orb spun frantically above them, sending pieces of stone showering onto her head when it struck the ceiling.
“Finish it, Natalie!” Annin called out, struggling to hold herself up against the wall. Nat’s arms felt like lead, and Soris broke free. The room grew dim and her orb flickered. Water spilled again from Soris’ hands, falling haphazardly over the seeping tissue of the Nala’s wound. “Natalie, sever it!” Annin cried.
Her sword felt so heavy. Its tip scraped across the floor as she lifted it in what felt like slow motion before dropping the blade across the creature’s neck. The pain in her shoulder exploded when the blade sliced through the Nala’s neck. She fell to her knees next to the beheaded corpse and sucked in a deep breath.
The pain subsided, and she sighed in relief. She swallowed and leaned against the damp wall to steady herself. Soris’ eyes flickered toward her. His glazed look faded into a look of confusion when he glanced at his damp hands.
A tremor ran through the wall. The ground quaked and a dark crack opened near the Nala’s head.
“Annin, Soris, out—now!” Nat yelled in fright as the rock split apart. She grabbed her sword and pushed them to the opening. When Nat exited the tomb, the shaking intensified. Tremors shook the cavern, sending showers of dust and rock into the pool in the center of the amphitheater.
“Help me! I can’t carry him,” Annin called out. She knelt next to Soris at the edge of the path. Nat lifted his arm and draped it over Annin’s shoulder while Soris muttered a string of incoherent words. The women carried him to the base of the walkway.
“I’ll find Neas and the other children. You get Soris out,” Nat ordered.
Annin hesitated, clinging to Soris’ arm.
“Go!” Nat yelled.
Soris lifted his head and pushed his feet erratically against the stone floor. Annin dragged him to the path leading to the entrance. They disappeared behind the rocks, and Nat turned her attention to the quaking amphitheater. She scanned the deserted space as rocks tumbled from the ceiling high above her head. A few small faces peered over the rocks that encircled the open room.
Nat sprinted toward the children hiding among the rocks. The floor shook and water splashed out of the pool. She yelled and motioned wildly for the children to come toward her. Half a dozen ragged duozi jumped from their hiding spots. They ran in her direction, giving the pool a wide berth. Nat jogged behind them and noticed Neas standing near the edge of the amphitheater.
“Annin told me to wait for you!” he yelled over the rumbling. A stalactite crashed to the ground behind him, shattering into hundreds of pieces.
“Lead them out,” Nat ordered. Neas grabbed a child’s hand and pulled her up the path. The others ran behind like lemmings. Nat sent her orb out into the cavern. It flashed around the space, looking for any more children. The ball narrowly missed a falling spray of rock and returned to her hands.
She was swaying on the quaking ground and had rotated toward the path when a flash caught her attention. The water in the pool bubbled. A white curve breached the surface, and the room filled with a deafening hiss. Two blue Nala shot out of the pool and scrambled toward her on all fours. Their mouths hung open and venom trailed behind them. Nat steadied her sword.
A Nala landed with a thud in front of her. She twisted her hips and kicked the creature, sending it sprawling into the center of the amphitheater, where it hit its head on the floor. Nat edged away as the second Nala approached. The quaking dislodged a huge rock from the ceiling that crashed onto it, knocking it
out. Nat exhaled in relief and turned to follow the children, but a sudden gushing noise caused her to whip around.
A stream of water spurted from the pool, and a long white arm slammed against the rocky rim. An enormous gleaming white head with silvery-black eyes broke the surface and locked its hateful glare on Nat. She slashed her sword in the air in warning. Her sleeve rolled down, revealing her markings.
The monstrous creature froze. Its eyes locked onto Nat’s markings. Nat watched in horrified fascination as a look of disbelief seemed to cross the creature’s face. “Noooo Sisssssssster,” it hissed then slithered out of the pool to reveal a huge white body.
Fear gripped Nat and she fled up the path. The creature’s hissing echoed around her as she sprinted up the passage, dodging falling rocks. She spotted the light coming in through the cavern entrance and ran even faster. She burst out of the darkness into the blinding daylight and nearly toppled off the ledge into the sea.
Cries sounded above her. Children scrambled up the stairs onto the narrow ledge. Nat jumped onto the steps and lifted the remaining children to the rocky shelf above, yelling for them to move quickly. The cliff face trembled. Nat grabbed the blue arm of a girl stumbling toward the edge. She glanced over her shoulder and watched rocks pour down below them, filling the entrance of the cavern.
“Run!” she cried, knowing rocks would not stop the nightmarish monster she’d seen inside. The dozens of children scurried up the path toward the forest, little hands helping each other. Nat glimpsed Annin’s wild hair at the front of the group and looked frantically for Soris.
“Nat!” Soris stood at the tree line, beckoning to her. Relief pushed away her fear and she ran toward him. He grabbed her hand, and they crashed through the woods behind the children.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Nat shivered against the chill of the night. She surveyed the field covered with meldon flowers and the little bodies curled against each other for warmth. She wrapped her cloak around the girl standing in front of her. Hair as black as a starless night hung in dirty clumps around her soft face. Nat took her to be older than the other children. The girl had been in the cavern so long, she barely remembered that her name was Tally and had forgotten her age.
