by Helen Fields
‘No, Eve, it is I who must apologise. I underestimated you so badly that it must have felt insulting. So let me be direct now. No more games. You have come here and taken power in circumstances which can only mean the Vilya will reject you. It must have been painful, seeing the loathing in your mother’s eyes.’ I flinched and he sneered. ‘I tried to tell you that we were your true allies. If you had listened earlier, you could have been spared this.’
‘You told me she was dying,’ I bit back. ‘You lied to me for your own purposes. Don’t talk to me of alliances.’
‘It was for your own good, you needed a reason to come. Manitu has no real leadership, no real government. The world we know is being slowly eroded, humans are damaging this place from the outside in and we are not permitted to act against them. What our families need is a partnership, a union that will secure our future.’ His grip had loosened and I felt him press his body against mine. ‘You and I are equals, Eve. We know how to get what we want and how to use the gifts we have. Together we could shape a new world. You have the next five years to rule here and I shall have the five after that. Think what that could mean if we were bound together.’
I leaned my body into his and put my head into the fold of his neck, paused for a long time and then whispered to him.
‘I would sooner die than bind myself to you. You lost, Perun. Now go take your malice out on someone who will gratify you with fear. I will not.’ I stepped back as he pulled himself to his full height. In a heartbeat I picked up my skirt, did a passable curtsy before him and whirled round to take the arm of a passing Council member as I feigned tiredness. I left Perun still standing where we had stopped dancing, looking like an angry viper. It wasn’t shaping up to be the best of nights.
I was surrounded by people for the next few hours. Some I had real difficulty communicating with and finally found myself rescued by Serenta who took my arm and walked with me, pointing out different tribes and explaining their traditions. She told me that the partying would continue until dawn when everyone would go back to their camps ready for my reign’s first Council to convene after twenty-four hours of resting.
‘Come, let me show you where you can wash and change your clothes,’ she said, a little louder than was necessary, leading me into the trees where the Vilya had set up a smaller camp. We went into a dark tent and I collapsed gratefully onto the mossy floor. ‘We have had news of a landslide, a substantial one, in the mountain range where Ellette was heading on the other side of the river.’ I sat up again quickly.
‘Was anyone hurt? How did you hear about it?’
‘That is all we know,’ she said. ‘We haven’t heard from Ellette and there is no word of Zora. A small group of Polevoi were travelling that way to join the celebrations late and were talking about it. We have no way of knowing if it has anything to do with us.’
I thought it did. It had everything to do with us. If Zora was lost then everything I’d done had been for nothing and I was stuck here alone and out of my depth.
‘Does Anousk know?’ I asked. Serenta looked down at her hands. ‘Serenta, what is it? Tell me, please.’
‘She has gone,’ the girl said. ‘She left as soon as you two finished speaking. No one knows where she has gone. It is unusual. The matriarch of the ruling party should not leave the ceremony. We do not know what we should do.’ She was expecting me to have the answer and must have been disappointed. My own mother had run away because she thought I’d betrayed her and I was stranded in a foreign world with no idea what to do. Tears formed in my eyes and I forced them back so I didn’t alarm Serenta.
‘What am I supposed to be doing for the rest of the night?’ I asked.
‘You will be missed if you do not return to the Rock soon. Shortly there will be marriages for you to approve. Then everyone will be passed chimantra to drink and welcome the rising sun.’
‘What’s chimantra?’ I said, more concerned about what the Vilya should be told about Anousk’s disappearance.
‘It’s a drink,’ she said. ‘Very strong, I am told, although I have never tasted it. It is only drunk before everyone goes to rest and is supposed to send you visions of the spirit of nature. If you take too much it can be a little uncontrollable, I think.’
‘Sounds like one to avoid, for me at least. Listen, I must get back before anyone starts asking questions. I want you to send a party out to locate mother. If any of the Vilya is missed I’ll say I’ve sent you to prepare my tent. I don’t care what else happens tonight, just find Anousk and bring her back safely. Tell her this, Serenta. It is not what she thinks. Alright?’
She nodded then disappeared along the pathway into the forest and I made my way back to join the celebrations. As I walked back into the clearing several Council members approached, keen to take me to a grassy river bank where couples were gathering for marriage ceremonies. Each pair was brought to meet me and I was expected to join hands in a circle with them and announce that Manitu would bless their marriage. It took about an hour to get through all the couples. Serenta had told me that whilst people could marry at any time, except on the winter solstice, it was considered especially lucky to marry at an ascension so there was plenty to do. After I had done my part the official marriages took place and then the merry making took a much more serious turn. Various young females from different families arrived with huge pitchers and ladles. Lines began to form with people holding whatever cup, shell or bowl they could find and into each was poured a single measure of the liquor chimantra. People sipped it slowly and I could smell the bitter spices in the air. You could tell those trying it for the first time by the unexpected grimaces on their faces. It took half an hour before I really noticed anything happening but after a while more and more people began staring in awe at the trees and stars, some transfixed by the river, others exploring the faces of their loved ones as if they were seeing for the first time. Some started dancing with complete abandon to music only they could hear, others ran off into the forest howling like wild animals and many fell straight to sleep on the ground. It was good natured but wild and fascinating to watch although I was glad I’d been warned not to try it.
‘Will our new ruler not take a drink with her people, then?’ Perun’s voice shouted behind me. Everyone nearby turned to see what was happening.
‘I shall not, but thank you for thinking of me, Perun.’ I bowed my head to him and made to exit quietly before he could call more attention to us. It was clear from the glassiness of his eyes that he’d had more than his allocated single measure already and the effect was not making him any more pleasant. Faster than I could get away he was in front of me, blocking my way.
‘Oh come now, Eve of the Vilya, at least taste the drink by which we mark your blessed reunion with our world.’ He raised his glass and a chorus of cheers went up. There were calls for me to be given a cup and Perun didn’t hesitate, placing his own in my hand. I had no idea what effect it might have on me and how vulnerable I would be. I stared at the greenish liquid in the cup and wondered how to get out of this. If Perun was so desperate for me to drink it then I was anxious not to, even though I knew my refusal wouldn’t make me any more popular. I followed my first instinct.
‘Perun, I cannot drink this. I am recently returned to Manitu and would prefer to remember every second of this extraordinary night with a clear head.’ I watched him take another huge swig of chimantra and hoped that soon he would fall asleep. Instead he gained momentum, made braver by the hallucinogen. He stood on a boulder, raised his arms in the air and began shouting.
‘The Vilya refuse to keep our traditions. They sacrifice their first born in trade with humans and in return bring those with tainted blood into our world. They will not drink with us or join us in dance. I invite you, Eve, to dance through the night in my arms. As you said, it was me who brought you here. Are you finished with me so quickly now you have achieved your purpose?’ Perun had a grin on his face that made me feel nauseous. I looked around for an ally to bail me
out but saw only curiosity and drunkenness. I had sent most of the Vilya off to find Anousk. I was on my own.
‘Perun, enough. I will not drink or dance with you. I am most grateful to the Perelesnyk for bringing me here but now I am going to rest. I believe you would benefit from doing the same.’ I span on my heel to walk off, a mixture of fear, repulsion and exhaustion making the shadows more menacing now than they had a few minutes ago. His grip on my arm took me by surprise and I stumbled, landing at Perun’s feet.
‘At last you have found your proper place, human. You were never fit to come here, I see it now. You reject the hospitality of your people but give yourself to human men without a thought. You may have been appointed ruler by the Council but your dirty blood will never be accepted by the families.’ I looked up for something to pull myself up with but as I raised my face he spat at me. I could feel his saliva, slimy and stinking of the chimantra, across my eye and running down my cheek. I was raging and terrified at the same time. Before I could get to my feet I heard a slap ringing out across the shocked silence and saw Perun staggering backwards with onlookers stepping away to clear space around him.
As my vision cleared I saw Anousk standing in front of Perun and if she were not my own mother I would having been running terrified by what I saw in her face. Her eyes shone with a fury I have never witnessed and her lips were pulled back in a snarl. She looked like a lioness about to kill and I remained as still as I could. Perun recovered his balance in just a few seconds and walked up to put his face as close as he could to my mother’s, a good head taller than her.
‘It’s a little late, Anousk, to be playing the good mother to this piece of filth, is it not? That said, at least now I understand why you were so anxious to throw out your waste.’ Perun was enraged and the hatred between the two of them was palpable. ‘You should never have been allowed to continue as matriarch to the Vilya after what you did. And for what? Your love of a human? You have covered yourself in the stench of their world and dared to propose one of them as our ruler.’ He paused for her reaction and rather than allow herself to be intimidated she pushed her face even closer to his. I must have been the only person close enough to hear what she said next.
‘It would please me to kill you for spitting on my daughter. The only reason I will not do so is so that you can witness the failure of all your plans. Do not defile my blood again.’ His curiosity got the better of him and he stepped back to get a better look at her face to see what she was talking about. I watched her, ready to fight with her life for the insult done to me and when she met my eyes they were shining with love. Gasps and shouts behind me broke the spell and I turned to see what everyone was looking at.
Zora stood at the edge of the clearing, Ellette’s arm around her. She looked tired and a little battered, but generally unharmed. When she saw me she let out a squeal and ran forward in greeting. She threw her arms round me and I looked to my mother, knowing that embracing her adopted child was the closest I would ever get to holding her. Zora clung to me like a child, unashamed of the public show of affection. I stroked her hair and told her everything would be better now as she rocked in my arms. Over her shoulder I could see Ellette and, with my eyes, asked the question I couldn’t say out loud. She motioned with her head back into the cover of the trees and I breathed a sigh of relief. James was with them, safe.
‘This changes nothing,’ Perun shouted. ‘The dawn has passed. What is it you hope to achieve by bringing that human here?’
‘That is my daughter and she is a Vilya. You will stop this hatefulness right now or suffer the consequences.’ My mother’s voice rang out loud and clear.
Another figure joined the centre of the circle. ‘And what consequences would those be?’ Mandalina was very still and spoke quietly but there was no mistaking the menace in her. Anousk stared at her, unmoved. ‘My son is not alone in his opinions Anousk. You are blinded by misguided love. You have made a mockery of our traditions and our laws.’ She turned to the crowd and threw her head back. ‘Anousk willingly caused a child of Manitu to be sacrificed. Now that child is back amongst us, as our ruler no less. Manitu demands the scales be balanced. Zora must be returned to the human world. Anousk, embrace your true daughter and complete the circle. You cannot have them both.’ There was silence and I thought Mandalina must have been out of her mind. Then came the first cry of agreement from the back of the circle of watchers, riled and thirsty for excitement. Suddenly there came another and another. We had underestimated the Perelesnyk’s power fuelled by the effect of the chimantra. I knew I had to do something fast, before all reason was lost.
I ran back to the centre of the spiral of stones and stood on the plinth as I had earlier, yelling above the noise of the growing rabble.
‘I will have quiet!’ A thousand or so heads turned towards the sound of my voice and there was silence. ‘Zora will not be made your ruler. The Vilya know the laws, the dawn has passed and with it the chance to present her, as would have been her right, to the Council of Families. I am your ruler and you will listen to me. I recall the Councillors forward as my witnesses.’ One by one they reappeared, some taking their time to be summoned from tents and camps. When they were all present again I motioned for Zora to come to me at the centre of the spiral and she did so, Ellette at her side, ever protective. I kissed them both and as the Council seated themselves I asked Ellette where they had found her.
‘She had been left to wander the mountain passages, a maze that runs for miles. Only those who know their way can navigate them safely. James tracked her and we saw that the entrance to the passages had been loaded with a trap, a landslide. We found her and released the trap to make them think they had stopped us.’
‘So you’re sure it was the Perelesnyk. You have no doubt?’ Ellette shook her head. Seeing Zora’s smiling, beautiful face, the light within her undiminished by the scare she’d had, I knew I’d done the right thing in coming here.
‘Eve,’ Zora whispered and I bent my head to hear her. ‘I knew you were coming for me. I saw you in my dreams. It made me brave. James carried me through the mountain. You look pretty in that dress.’ I held her face in both my hands and didn’t try to hide the tears flowing down my cheeks. As I addressed the crowd I could look nowhere but into my mother’s eyes. I couldn’t have felt more a part of this family if I had spent every minute of my life here and I was sure that her pain on giving me away had been greater than mine ever was. I only wished I could have been given the time to ask why. But not now. Now I had to finish what I’d come here for.
‘Members of the Council. I have to be absent from Manitu for a time. I have accepted the rulership and I cannot pass it to another. According to your rules though, in my absence I can appoint one of my family to exercise power in my place. I appoint Zora as my ambassador whilst I am gone with the delegation of all my authority. She will command in my name fairly and with only love and goodness in her heart.’ I took the necklace of stones from round my own neck and put it on Zora. She took it without question, smiling serenely. In her eyes I saw more wisdom than anyone credited to her. She was, to all extents and purposes, restored to her proper place. Justice had been done.
‘Our traditions have been abused,’ Mandalina’s voice rang out. ‘I will not accept the human as our ruler. She has neither the right nor the capacity. I demand that the Council refuses to allow this.’
The Councillor at the edge of the circle stood. ‘Zora is not ruler, she will be acting in place of our ruler and our laws allow that. You cannot challenge this; it is within the creed that every family agreed centuries ago.’
‘Then the Perelesnyk will not recognise the authority of the Council or the laws it follows. We have been played, all of us. This was what they had planned all along, depriving us of the right to object to the human taking the throne at the proper time.’
‘Played?’ I choked. ‘Do you want me to tell the Council how Zora came to be found wandering the mountain passages on the far side of the ri
ver? A river which she could not have swum or crossed by herself?’
Mandalina stretched back her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. ‘Do you accuse me? I am a matriarch of one of the oldest families. Say whatever you will but understand this, child. There will be repercussions from such an accusation and you will not be here to protect your family. I suspect the child you leave wielding your authority might find herself out of her depth in dealing with the trouble you are stirring, don’t you?’
As I was steeling myself to reply a smaller voice intervened. ‘Please don’t fight, I’m not hurt. You were all happy before, I heard the dancing and singing from all the way across the valley. Please Eve, let’s not argue.’ I looked down at Zora, as eager to please as ever, and saw not a child but a woman who had just done her best to dampen a heightening argument. There were murmurs of agreement from the Council members, keen not to lose the opportunity to return to peace.
‘Of course, Zora, you’re right. It’s a night for celebration and we have so little time left before dawn,’ I bent down and hugged her again. ‘You’ll be an inspirational leader for Manitu.’
‘The Perelesnyk will be bloody corpses before she will hold authority over our people,’ came a voice and there was no mistaking the battle cry that followed it. The Council members leapt to their feet as the first rock landed. I grabbed Zora’s hand and pulled her to the ground shielding her body with my own. More rocks followed as Ellette shoved us out of the spiral of stones towards the base of the Rock of Ages. Behind us chaos was descending. The light was gloomy but I could make out bodies charging towards us through the crowds and the Vilya crossing the clearing to intervene. People were picking up makeshift weapons from all around them, branches, stones, some had spears already in their belts. Lamps were being knocked from the trees in the melee and you could see small groups lit from below as the flames hit on the ground. The ferocity of the fighting was sickening and it seemed that the word demon was closer to the truth than I’d wanted to believe. When the first body fell in front of us I stooped to see if I could help then saw the stake that had cracked the Polevoi’s ribcage in two. The violence was beyond anything I was prepared for. A dark figure on all fours was rushing towards Ellette and I saw her unsheathe a dagger from her belt and slit the creature’s throat without missing a step. All around us blood was starting to flow and the chimantra had given the fighting a frenzy that was chilling. In the distance behind us I could see a group of Vilya surrounded by Perelesnyk.
