by Gene Curtis
* * *
About an hour before sunset, a group of men began setting up for the contest in a raised garden that was currently fallow. Ropes were strung between barrels defining a contest area about twenty feet square. Torches were set up all over the place and an area was roped off for musicians.
Shimishon walked up behind Samantha, grabbed her shoulders and growled. Before he could respond, she spun around while ducking under his left arm and flicked his nose.
She said, “You’ll get your chance. Be patient.”
Holding his nose and grinning, he answered, “Trying to knock the snot out of me before the contest, uh.”
“Yep, I’m a bugger.”
Ray said, “Knock it off guys, now snot the time.”
Almost at the same time, Rudy said to Samantha, “Trying to pick one, uh.”
Mark pointed off to the side and said, “There she is.” LeOmi was jogging toward them.
When she got close she said, “I would have told you I was going back to the mountain to do a little research, but you were doing your Buddha thing.”
“That’s okay. Is this Naomi?” He brought to the front of his mind the face of the thief.
She nodded, “That’s her. Is she the thief?”
“I believe so. I haven’t found the sword yet.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’d just like to get the sword back. Searching for it seems like the best option.”
“Maybe not. If Naomi is a sorcerer, Pei-Pei is most likely her master. If not, it’s still Chinese magic. Chinese sorcerers are afraid of spirits. Naomi will have adopted the same beliefs. If she knows the most evil spirit of all is trying to find the sword; that might be all it takes.”
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s have a conversation about it between ourselves when we get back to her house tonight. I’m pretty sure the walls have ears there.”
Music began playing. They looked to where it was coming from and saw the musicians walking toward their roped off area. Men began dancing, popping their chests in and out, slowly shuffling their feet to turn in a circle and their shoulders alternately popping up and down. Women began joining them. It was definitely the strangest dance he’d ever seen. The people that weren’t dancing were walking around carrying plates and eating.
When the musicians were seated, the style of the music changed and so did the dance. It became more like a square dance with the women going first, then the men, then all together.
About half an hour later, men began lighting the torches. Shimishon went to the center of the ring and motioned for Samantha to join him. When she was beside him he called, “Let me warn you, if you think knocking this lady down is going to be easy, you should abstain from this contest. I personally think there is going to be no winner. If you insist on being humiliated, then line up here.” He pointed. “Those of you wishing to laugh hard, gather around.” He pointed all around the ring.
“The rules are easy. The first one to knock this lady down will win the prize and the contest will be over. Knocking down means being on your backside or otherwise laying on the ground.”
The first contestant was easy. He ran at her. She sidestepped at the last instance and clotheslined him with her arm. The next contestant was a bit more cautious. He feigned a bear hug and changed to trying to grab her legs. While he was bent over, she leapt on his back. He lost his balance and went down.
The next twenty contestants were even more cautious. It took more time, but they all went down.
Pei-Pei stepped into the ring. Putting her right fist into her left palm, she bowed slightly. Samantha returned the salute.
Pei-Pei leapt into the air toward her, poised to deliver a flying side-kick. At the last instance she spun, changing the attack to a reverse roundhouse kick. Samantha leapt up and back out of range.
Pei-Pei landed into a forward roll. When she came to her feet, she leapt straight up, just as Samantha was touching down. Her out stretched leg was positioned to come straight down on Samantha’s shoulder. Samantha sidestepped, waited for Pei-Pei to miss and did a leg sweep. Pei-Pei jumped over it easily but evidently didn’t anticipate Samantha grabbing her leg with her hand. Samantha pulled and Pei-Pei went over, catching herself from hitting the ground with the outstretched arm. Pei-Pei did some fancy footwork to remove Samantha’s hand from her leg, bent her arm and then flipped herself to a standing position.
The fighting continued for several minutes with neither gaining the advantage. They had maneuvered apart from each other and Pei-Pei executed a series of leg sweeps, each pass’s momentum bringing her substantially closer to Samantha very quickly. When Samantha jumped over the pass that would have connected, Pei-Pei used her arms to flip herself up, attempted a high roundhouse kick, which Samantha blocked. She used the leverage of Samantha’s arm against her leg to attempt another roundhouse which Samantha also blocked, leaving Pei-Pei suspended in the air. Samantha wrapped her hands around Pei-Pei’s ankles and forced her to the ground, winning the contest.
Pei-Pei got to her feet, placed her right fist into her left palm and bowed deeply. Samantha bowed back, not quite as deeply.
After that, the line of people waiting to compete walked away.
* * *
Ray pushed the drape to the side to enter Naomi’s house. Naomi was sitting in the front room and rose to her feet when they entered.
She bowed slightly and said, “Honored guest, LeOmi, you were looking for me earlier.”
“Um, yes, I want to get you a wedding gift and wished to inquire what you’d like.”
“You brought Shimishon Dr. Pepper. I have a fondness for Orange Crush.”
“Orange Crush, what an odd thing for a wedding gift.”
“I am hoping there will be no wedding, but if it must be then that will help me cope for a time.”
“If you don’t want to get married, you shouldn’t.”
“I wish it were so. My father has chosen my husband. To refuse would dishonor him and my family.”
“You don’t like who he chose?”
“I do not know who he chose. I will not know until the wedding.”
“I should find out who he is for you.”
“It doesn’t matter who he is. I love another.”
LeOmi nodded, “I understand. You have to choose: do what is expected of you or do what is right for you. I faced that choice when I was ten. My mother left us and I was devastated. My father expected me to put it behind me and get on with my life. I didn’t want to. My father sent me to live with my grandmother. She expected the same thing. I didn’t comply; I went looking for her. I found her right after she was murdered. I also discovered why they were trying to shield me. My mother was deeply involved with some evil people and was essentially a prostitute. I ended up killing her killer. It affected me deeply. When you make your choice, understand that there is likely more going on than you are aware of.”
“What I understand is that I love Michelei. I too was ten. We were traveling across the desert in a caravan to attend a wedding. Pei-Pei and I were riding in a small carriage because it was covered. Elimelech’s great granddaughter is treated like a princess, as you can see.” She waved her arm indicating the house.
“Our caravan was beset by marauders... It was The Sand Spider’s gang. I knew we were all going to die. Pei-Pei, even with her skills, could not save us. There were too many. It still brings fear to my heart.”
She sat down and motioned for the others to sit too.
“Pei-Pei told me to get down. She put a blanket over me and then sat on me as if I was a piece of baggage. I could see what was happening through the cracks in the boards. When one of the marauders started riding toward us, a boy, just a little older than I was, ran up between the rider and us. He only had a stick. The rider had a big sword.
“The boy ran toward the rider, fell down, rolled and hit the horse’s legs with the stick. The horse stumbled and threw the rider. The boy didn’t run away. He faced the rider and scre
amed, ‘Leave her alone.’”
“The rider laughed and said, ‘You are a boy with a stick. I am The Sand Spider. I have a sword. You cannot win.’ The boy ran at the man.”
“The man did not kill him. He grabbed him and threw him to the ground. He put his foot on the boy’s neck and said, ‘Tell me boy, what is here worth risking your life for?’”
“Just a girl, but I will marry her one day.”
“What is your name, boy?”
“Michelei.”
“Well, Michelei, you are brave. Join me and I will spare the girl.”
“What good is the girl without her family?”
“Very well, I will spare her and her family.”
“And the servants?”
“I will spare everyone if they abandon the caravan and leave on foot.”
“Allow them water.”
“Agreed.”
“I will join your gang.”
“I had never seen him before, but how could I not love one so brave? I stood and threw him my headband. ‘It may be a long time before I can marry you. Return this to me so that I may remember you.’ You should have seen the joy in his face. My heart said I would marry none other and my heart has not changed.”
LeOmi said, “You haven’t seen him since.”
Naomi shook her head.
“Then I will find him for you, or what has happened to him. Where can I find this Sand Spider?”
“East of Berber, near to the mountains.”
Mark said, “Not to change the subject, but I need to ask, do you have any idea who it was that stole my sword? I have to get it back.”
She shook her head, “Just get another one.”
“I wish it was that simple. That sword is special. There is none like it. It can’t be replaced and the worst part is Benrah wants it. You know who he is, don’t you?”
“The son of Satan. Why would he want it?”
“He wants to keep it away from me. It has special powers in my hand. He will kill anyone to get it, or worse.”
“Why would you put my grandfather in such danger?”
“Well, if he were the only one that knew it was here, there wouldn’t be much danger. As it is, I’ll have to hide it somewhere else. You might want to spread the word. I only want the sword back, nothing else.”
Naomi didn’t say anything.
“Well then, on another matter, I have a craving for a hamburger with all the fixings. Do you mind if we have a picnic on your roof?”
LeOmi asked, “Jamal’s Kitchen, what kind?”
“Cheese burger, all the way.” He turned to Naomi, “Would you like to join us?”
“I have never had one. What are they like?”
“It’s a sandwich made with ground beef. I think you’ll like it. How many servants do you have? I’ll get them all one too.”
“Only Pei-Pei, but the house has four.”
He said to LeOmi, “Get a couple dozen cheese burgers, all the way and a case of Orange Crush if you can.”
“Got it.” She stood and walked outside.
On the roof, the major said to the guards, “Check the area for threats.”
Mark sat down and the guards sat around him before entering Spirit Sight.
Mark said, “There is so much I do not know about your culture. Please forgive me if I seem rude, but I’d like to know why families choose who their children will marry.”
“I think it is tradition. Nazarites are a closed society. We can only marry Nazarites. Otherwise, we have to renounce our vows. If we do that we are exiled.”
The guards around him disappeared.
“Something’s up; we need to go!” He stood and held his hand out to her. She took his hand and he remanifested them to the horse corrals.
She asked, “What is wrong?”
He sat beside her and said, “My guards must have found something, a threat of some kind.”
“What kind of threat?”
“I don’t know yet. Stay with me here until I find out.” He entered Spirit Sight.
It took him a few minutes to find them on the side of the south mountain. They had three men bound hand and foot on the ground. There was a telescope on a tripod.
He recognized one of the men: Monsieur Fontaine, the investigator from The First Mountain he’d crossed paths with a couple of years ago. He didn’t particularly like the man, but he understood how he thought. There had to be some very logical reason for him to be here.
Fontaine struggled against his bonds and said, “You’re making a grave mistake. I am Inspector Pierre Fontaine from The First Mountain. I am on a very important case.”
The major answered, “You could be High Elder Grob himself and it wouldn’t matter. Why were you spying on Mark?”
“Mark is incidental. I am on the trail of The Jade Swan.”
“Never heard of him.”
“Her, The Jade Swan is a woman.”
“And why are you chasing this Jade Swan?”
“She killed my wife.”
“Let me get this straight, you’re saying this Jade Swan killed your wife and escaped from The First Mountain? How did she get there in the first place?”
“No, no, no. I was on a case in China. My wife was with me.”
“China, uh? Your jurisdiction is at the mountains.”
“You imbecile! I was investigating the theft of an ancient manuscript. As a special favor, a copy was being made at a Shaolin temple. The Jade Swan stole it from there, the original, not the copy.”
“How did this Jade Swan manage to do that?”
“She is a sorcerer.”
“I’ll tell you what; let’s see what Mark has to say about this?”
Mark remanifested there. “I believe him. You can release them.”
He asked Fontaine, “What does this woman look like?”
Ray cut the wire tie from his wrists and he produced a wanted poster with Chinese characters: Dead or Alive, 1,000C, about $150 US dollars. The hand-drawn image was definitely Pei-Pei, although a bit younger.
“That’s Pei-Pei. She is Naomi’s servant. Come with us and you can talk to their ruler about taking her into custody.”
“I don’t need to talk to the ruler. There is an Interpol paper for her arrest.”
“You might want to rethink that. This is a society that has separated themselves from the world and they have given her sanctuary.”
“Just take me to her.”
“Major, take them into custody,” Mark said.
The inspector’s sword was out in an instant. “Stand away!”
Mark said, “Mr. Fontaine, we are dealing with a larger issue here. I will not allow you to jeopardize the goodwill we have built up so far. Put your sword away. You’ll get your culprit. You know who I am. Trust me.”
It took a moment, but he lowered his sword. “We will do it your way, but be informed; I will not leave here without her.”
“Consider that a guarantee. Now, will you join us for dinner?”
He looked flustered before relaxing and shrugging. “Why not, what else have I to do?”
Mark reentered Spirit Sight and went back to the corrals. Naomi was not where he left her. He went back to her home and she wasn’t there either. LeOmi was sitting on the roof with their meals and drinking an Orange Crush. His guards, along with Mr. Fontaine and his subordinates remanifested to the rooftop and he did the same.
He asked LeOmi, “Did Naomi come back here?”
“I haven’t seen here since I got back. I thought she was with you.”
“We had a bit of an incident.” He motioned to Mr. Fontaine. “I left her with the horses. She wasn’t there when I got back.”
“She’s most likely heading back.”
Mr. Fontaine’s hand flew up in front of his face. He’d caught a blowgun dart in his fingers an inch from his forehead.
Everyone looked in the direction the projectile had obviously come from. No one was anywhere to be seen.
Mark said, “I thin
k she knows you’re here.”
Mr. Fontaine examined the dart. It appeared to be an Oriental design. He found a small piece of paper wrapped around its shaft. He unrolled it, squinted and read it. “The Jade Swan says she will return the manuscript in the morning on the mountain just below the third tallest peak. Come alone an hour before sunrise.”
After a search of the area using Spirit Sight and finding no threat, they sat down to eat.
LeOmi said, “My apologies for starting all this mess.”
Mark chuckled, “The whole point was to create a false trail. You did fine. It’s just that we didn’t expect the mystique about the sword to begin so quickly. Besides, I’m pretty sure this entire thing is a node that had to happen sooner or later.”
“Thanks.”
“No need for thanks. If this hadn’t happened, we’d have been hard put to find a place to hide a billion people when the time comes. What I’ve seen here has given me some ideas. The Nazarites will be a small part of the plan, but much more will be needed.”
“Do you want to tell me what you’re thinking?”
“The walls have ears. The roof probably does too.”
Shimishon’s voice came from below. “I am here to visit our guests.”
Mark and LeOmi leaned over the edge.
LeOmi said, “We’re up here.”
Shimishon stepped back from the door and looked up. “What are you doing up there?”
“We’re having a picnic, care for a hamburger? We’ve got plenty.”
He stepped back, took two steps toward the house and leapt up. He grabbed something below the edge of the roof and flipped himself up beside her.
She sat back up and gave him a burger and drink.
He looked at the can and said, “I have never had one of these.”
“Naomi likes them.”
He took a swig and said, “It is good.
“The reason I was looking for you is it has been decided to erect a statue of Samantha. She won the contest. The statue will be a constant reminder for humility.”
Samantha piped up, “Did you actually see the fight with Pei-Pei? She was holding back. She could have won if she’d wanted to.”
