by AA Lee
“No, it’s not that.” Tala blinked away her tears. She thought it might be better for the child to die young. Their situation could only get worse as the drought continued. It was a slave’s fate to die before her master. The baby wouldn’t have to endure too much suffering when it grew old as a slave if Tala didn’t heal her.
The child cracked her eyes open. She moved her clenched fists toward Tala like she was asking for help, then she squirmed and let out a soft cry.
“I can’t believe I’m lining up behind a slave,” someone said angrily. The woman wearing a rose-embroidered dress didn’t even bother to lower her voice. She coughed and covered her mouth with her hand as the woman behind her stepped back in disgust. “I mean, I do understand these priestesses aren’t supposed to care about status, but they could have at least made the slaves line up after us.”
The toddler’s mother lowered her head, obviously aware that she could get in trouble simply for making a noble angry.
“If you would perhaps keep quiet, I could concentrate on healing the baby and make it to you more quickly.”
The woman gasped in surprise. “How dare a…” Her face turned beet red in anger, and she fanned it with her hand.
“What seems to be the problem?”
Tala hadn’t noticed the high priestess coming. “Nothing, High Priestess.”
“Then start. Don’t let the child suffer any longer.” The high priestess winked. Tala was relieved at the high priestess’s help. The noble woman moved back and fell silent. She even covered her mouth with her hand when she coughed.
Perhaps the child will have a different future, like me, she thought. Perhaps she won’t grow up as a slave. She met the toddler’s eyes. Tala wanted to comfort her, not just heal her. In a low voice, she started her song like she was singing a lullaby. Slowly, the pain gripped her. First her stomach contracted in hunger, then she didn’t care about food anymore. All she wanted was to sleep, but she continued her song, reminding herself that the pain wasn’t hers. Finally, she felt numb. All she wished was to not exist.
When she finally finished her song, her hands shook so badly, she had to hold them together to appear strong in front of the child.
“Hungry…” the baby said.
The mother offered her saggy breast, bowed deeply, and left.
Tala couldn’t watch any longer. She made the excuse of exhaustion, left her post to one of the priestesses, and followed the mother.
At first, the slave was apprehensive. “My master said I should hurry. Permission for this trip here was already a miracle.”
“Your master won’t be angry if you take home some rice.”
The slave followed Tala quietly to the priestesses’ kitchen. With them all in the shrine, no one was going to say something, and she was willing to face the punishment to save the mother and daughter a few days of hunger. The woman sat patiently nursing her baby as Tala made rice porridge.
Before sending her home, Tala wrapped rice with heated banana leaves for the slave’s master. “Here, this will last longer,” she said, wrapping scorched rice separately. “Hide it from your master if you can.”
The slave repeated her words of gratitude again and again like a prayer. Tala knew it wouldn’t be enough, but even if she begged the high priestess for coins, the slave couldn’t use them. Her master would most likely take them away, or worse, she could be accused of stealing.
By the end of the third week, Tala was sure she wouldn’t use the healing song for the fourth trial. They were supposed to destroy their opponent’s weapon again, and if she was weak from using her spear with magic as well as healing herself, she wouldn’t survive.
She was paired with Diyosa, much to her delight. When the high priestess called their names, the crowd erupted with excitement. She tried to ignore the voices and concentrated on Diyosa’s movement. Besides, she knew most of the crowd wasn’t cheering for her.
Diyosa moved like a warrior, so sure of every twist and turn that Tala wished her own father had been a warrior who could’ve trained her. But it wasn’t the time for wishes. Diyosa was running toward her, holding her staff at her side like it was a long knife. Tala didn’t move. When Diyosa was only a few steps away, Tala sidestepped to avoid the staff.
Diyosa swung the staff up and brought it down. Tala blocked the blow with her spear and kicked Diyosa’s stomach. Diyosa quickly backed away before Tala could land another blow.
Tala was used to carrying heavy objects, but the spear’s weight made her sluggish and slow compared to Diyosa. In close combat, she thought Diyosa would have the upper hand, so she ran to increase the distance between them.
When they were meters apart, she prepared to throw the spear. “Find your target,” she whispered to her weapon.
Diyosa did not avoid the spear. Instead, she crouched low and held her staff in front of herself. When Tala threw her spear, Diyosa’s staff grew until it looked exactly like Tala’s spear. Tala’s spear connected with Diyosa’s, and the impact pushed the girl back. Diyosa planted her feet, but Tala’s spear forced her backward until her feet touched the end of the square.
“Diyosa! Diyosa!” a small girl cheered.
She looked to be around six or seven years old. The girl stomped her feet, and the crowd started to follow suit. As if their cheer gave Diyosa strength, she pushed against Tala’s spear. The point where Tala’s spear had connected with Diyosa’s sparked with light, and Tala’s spear fell to the ground. Diyosa hit Tala’s spear with her weapon, sending it out of sight.
Diyosa’s spear turned back into a staff. She stood straight, a smirk on her face. Tala opened her hand, but her spear did not return.
“I sent it far away, out of reach. What are you going to do now? I hate to fight someone who is clearly at a disadvantage. Would you like to surrender?”
“Not while I’m still alive.”
“I like your spirit. I’ve been waiting for this fight. I thought you were very strong, but I’m disappointed. You’re weak, and your spear is weak. But if you want to lose miserably, I will grant your wish.”
Diyosa ran toward Tala, fire in her eyes. Tala put her left foot forward, burrowed her right foot in the ground, and leaned toward Diyosa. When Diyosa’s staff came down on her, she did not avoid it. Instead, she caught it with her hands and directed her magic toward it. Diyosa’s eyes widened in surprise, then her countenance changed to anger. Diyosa stabbed her staff forward to throw Tala off, but Tala wouldn’t let go.
Diyosa struck Tala’s stomach with her knees, knocking the wind out of her. Tala held on to the staff like her life depended on it, but when Diyosa hit her stomach again, she lost her grip and dropped to her knees, waiting for her strength to return.
A blow to her head made her vision blur. Her head touched the ground in what seemed like a dream. She rolled to avoid getting hit again. She knew it was a futile attempt because she had no awareness of Diyosa’s location, but she moved anyway.
“Tala, you can do it!” The voice sounded like a whisper.
Who would cheer for a slave like me? She continued rolling. Her vision filled with sky, then feet, then the ground, then the sky again. Her body stopped rolling when she bumped into several feet.
Then the feet stepped back, giving her space again. “Tala! You can do it!” A headful of curly hair and concerned eyes replaced the feet in her vision.
“Nimfa,” she said weakly.
“Get up! Show them you’re strong. I know you are.”
“I think I’m part of the top fifteen now. I can surrender, right?”
“She’s coming. Stand up. You are no longer a slave, Tala. You are your own master. Now fight!”
Tala put her hands on the ground and pushed her body up. Her eyelids closed when dizziness swept over her, but Nimfa held her arms to steady her.
Diyosa walked slowly and held Tala’s gaze. She’d said she had sent the spear out of Tala’s reach. Tala couldn’t feel her connection to the spear, and even though she had only been con
nected to it for three weeks, she felt empty without it. Diyosa came with silent footsteps on the dry earth.
Earth? Soil was everywhere in the village. All she needed to do was communicate with the spear. Her toes curled against the dusty dirt. Nimfa had said it would be difficult to control bigger objects, so Tala closed her eyes and summoned in her mind the smallest bit of soil. Like meeting a new friend, she opened her mind to it without reservation.
I am soil. I am soil. I am soil, she chanted in her mind until she felt like she was part of the dry earth. She and the earth were one. She didn’t need to run or tell another part of her to find the spear because she already knew where it was. When she opened her hand, the spear landed in it like it had never left.
Tala opened her eyes to see Diyosa a few steps away from where she had been before Tala had closed her eyes. Diyosa shook her head in disbelief.
The spear shook in Tala’s hand like it was waiting to take its revenge. Tala felt the energy flowing from it, giving strength to her tired body.
Diyosa broke into a run, her staff held high above her head. Tala countered it with her spear and forced it to the ground. Tala struck Diyosa’s spear one more time with such force that it flew a few meters away. Then she pounded on the earth, imploring it to open and bury Diyosa’s staff. Diyosa ran at an impossible speed, grabbed her staff, and turned to Tala.
When Diyosa struck, Tala barely managed to move her head to the right. The staff connected with her spear, and it flew to the hole where she was supposed to bury Diyosa’s staff. Tala had no strength left to stop the earth from burying her spear.
Tala dug desperately at the dry soil with her hands. Dust clouded her vision, and her hands felt heavy, like they were no longer a part of her body.
“Thank you, contenders, for that great fight.”
It was the high priestess’s voice, but Tala refused to give up.
The fight isn’t over yet. I just need to get my spear back. But even as she continued with fierce determination, her body surrendered. The last thing she saw was Nimfa walking toward her before darkness enveloped her.
Chapter 26
Kisig
“There are two easy ways to enter Daa.” Head Warrior Bagsik unrolled the paper on the table. It wasn’t free and durable like bamboo strips but was perfect for drawing. Kisig and the high priestess leaned forward to get a better view as he put a stone to the east. “We already know the main way up from the river. We could easily be spotted with our numbers, so this should be used by our second troop, which will aid our main force when they spread from the south.”
The head warrior gently placed another stone to the south. “Here, to the south, is the hunting place where our main force should be.”
“How accurate is the map?” Kisig asked, eyes fixed on the paper.
“There are no mistakes. This has been cross-referenced with all our spies.” The head warrior’s finger moved to the west. “Now, here is their prison, to the west. Beyond is an arid land that stretches endlessly. Using this entry will provide us the element of surprise but will also wear our warriors down before they even attack. Aside from the fact that this is a long route, they would also need to climb a giant cliff.”
“We can help with the cliff,” the high priestess said. “Some priestesses are powerful enough to destroy walls and rocks.”
“That would be a good way for our enemy to know we’re coming.” Warrior Bagsik shook his head. “I chose a few men who are expert climbers to take this route.”
“But that would mean they would face certain death if there’s only a few of them. There will be guards.” Kisig scratched his head.
“Only two at the entrance, according to the latest report, because no prisoner has ever escaped before. They either die from the poisonous vines covering the walls or fall to their deaths down the cliff. Now, the last one, here to the north, is the land of the leeches.”
It was Kisig who shook his head this time. “We have to give that one up. We can only use it if we have enough tobacco to rub on our men’s bodies.”
“And they won’t use that route to escape. This helps us in herding them to the prison.” The head warrior nodded. “We have a thousand and twenty trained warriors, all equipped with new weapons from Gawa, but I believe Daa has five to seven hundred men. We still need the element of surprise to end this quickly.”
“We have the girl.”
“The girl may be good, but she’s unpredictable. A second option is necessary in the event that she fails. I propose that the climbers burn the two huts closest to the prison. These two huts are isolated, so the fire won’t likely spread. When the villagers arrive to put out the fire, our men will then feign an escape at the prison while some burn the cells to create urgency. No resources will be wasted, and any Daa warriors who pursue them will be trapped by our force from the south. Any fleeing villagers will be quelled by our forces from the west.”
The three of them deliberated more about their strategy. In every plan Head Warrior Bagsik proposed, one thing was certain—Kisig’s wish to prevent bloodshed was impossible.
“One thing has been bothering me. How do we know we’re not walking into a trap?”
The high priestess and Head Warrior Bagsik looked at each other. She then looked around the living room, as if searching for something. Kisig feared that someone was spying on them.
“You heard all that, didn’t you, old woman?” the high priestess called while still looking around her.
“All of it,” a disembodied voice answered right in front of Kisig.
Instinctually, his hand grabbed the hilt of the bolo knife at his side. His grip loosened as a familiar face morphed from the wall. Try as he might, her name was lost in his memory. The old woman hadn’t performed special tricks in ceremonies to grab his attention.
“Priestess…”
“Dula, Datu.” The priestess bowed. “I know what you’re thinking. ‘This old lady will slow us down,’” she said in a low voice, attempting to mimic his voice.
“She’s the best we have,” the high priestess said as Dula sat next to her.
Chapter 27
Tala
Tala made it to the last week of trials despite losing the fight to Diyosa. The judges deliberated and kept five contenders out of the ten who’d lost that they thought would do well in the final trial together with the ten who’d won. Tala felt no animosity toward Diyosa. If anything, she respected Diyosa even more for giving her a fair fight. The girl had even helped Tala dig her spear out of the soil when Tala had regained her strength.
They started the week by learning how to travel using their spirits. While easier than their previous lessons, the high priestess reiterated how dangerous it was because it sucked their life force faster than anything they’d learned so far. She said the most powerful priestesses’ spirits could stay outside their bodies for a long time, but the weaker ones could die.
“Got it!” Tala shouted as she returned to her body. She held the high priestess’s staff, which had been standing against the wall before her spirit had left her body. As she got up from the floor, her fellow contenders moaned as if that was all they could do.
The high priestess gave them a long break, and their lesson continued in the late afternoon with Priestess Dula and five other priestesses teaching them.
“I know you think we’re going too fast, but we have five days left before the final trial. Those of you who make it will get more practice, and the rest can join next year. Hopefully, we’ll have the same lessons.” Priestess Dula paced continuously as she spoke. “One month is too short to learn all you need.” She massaged her own lower back, not caring that fifteen pairs of eyes were fixed on her.
“This afternoon, you will learn to travel with your spirits without our help. We will not do a ceremony like we did this morning.” Priestess Dula’s hand disappeared in her pocket. “Instead, you will use this.”
Tala craned her neck to see what was on the priestess’s open palm. When s
he walked closer to Tala, a dried mushroom came into view.
The priestess went on about the dangers of eating the mushroom, which to Tala didn’t make sense. She had harvested mushrooms since she was young and knew that the priestess was holding the kind that was not supposed to be eaten. When she raised her hand to point it out, Priestess Dula ignored her and moved on to what they should expect after eating the mushroom.
After the mushrooms were distributed to all the contenders, more priestesses entered the shrine. Tala hesitated when they were instructed to eat it, worried that she would drop dead. After looking around and confirming that the other contenders were fine, she chewed the dry mushroom and grimaced at the nasty taste.
She lay down on the floor, trying to concentrate and imagine herself rising, but her surroundings didn’t change nor did she gain strength. Instead, her heart raced at the thought of dying from eating the mushroom her mistress had specifically told her not to pick. Her imagination ran wild, and when she couldn’t bear it any longer, she tried to sit up, but her arms felt like they were melting. They didn’t feel like hers.
“I’m going to die…”
“You’re fine.” Priestess Dula’s face filled her vision. The old woman seemed as big as a giant one moment and as small as a child the next. “Lie down. Remember what I told you earlier.”
Yes, the priestess warned us that things might look different. As Tala turned her head toward the candles, the blinding light assaulted her vision. It felt like the candles were brighter than the sun. She closed her eyes abruptly, but colors appeared as vividly as if she had her eyes open, not like the harsh candle lights but bright and dancing colors. Slowly, she breathed deep as the colors drowned her fears until all she could hear was her own breath.
She reached out, not with her weak hands but with her spirit. Freedom, she whispered. She looked at her own body lying on the floor as if she were sleeping. Her movement was fluid and in just one step, she reached Priestess Dula, who was at the other end of the shrine.
