by S. S. Segran
Tegan waited until both Aari and Kody had shown the youth some kind of acknowledgement, then said, “You mentioned ‘tribe’, Akol. Who are you guys?”
Akol seemed to perk up at her question. “This village, this tribe, has an amazing history. I will not go into detail now, but suffice to say that we are descendants of two groups of very different peoples who came together about two and half millennia ago. We have abilities that are unique to our people. It may seem miraculous to outsiders, but I can assure you that it is not magic. For example, you have noticed that Huyani and I are gifted with unusual linguistic ability; I believe the word in your language for this skill is ‘omnilinguism’. This is how we are able to communicate with you. Others in our village have different abilities.”
“But, again, these are not miracles or magic,” Huyani chipped in. “They are latent in each one of us.”
Akol finished his drink. “This is as much as we can share with you for now. I am certain that the Elders will enlighten you further. They are looking forward to meeting all of you very soon.”
“What?” Mariah tugged at her earlobe. “They’re going to—we’re going to meet them? When? Why?”
Akol appeared caught off guard by her queries. He looked intently at the friends, then said, “It would be wise to stay patient for now. In time, things will become clearer, I promise you.”
They nodded, uncertain. Tegan looked thoughtful for a moment, then ventured, “Really, who are you? And where are we?”
“My friends,” Akol said as he stood up and stretched his arms, smiling, “welcome to Dema-Ki, the Hidden Valley.”
9
The bright midday sun found the Elders outside their assembly neyra. Huyani had finished her briefing some while ago and left, and the Elders decided to step out to discuss what they had gathered from her observations.
“That was an interesting narrative from Huyani,” Tayoka said, scratching his red beard.
“It sounds like they are an amusing group,” Saiyu added. “Bold, too, to step out into unfamiliar surroundings during the night.”
Tikina shaded her eyes from the sun’s glare. “Huyani mentioned that the girls seemed rather guarded.”
“They have gone through a harrowing ordeal and being in a strange place is bound to be unsettling,” Saiyu pointed out.
Nageau started toward the riverbank. “Perhaps we should go see them. Huyani did say that she and Akol were planning to gather them at her home.” He cast a look at Saiyu, who was walking silently now. “You seem distracted. What is on your mind?”
“It was something Huyani said . . . about their eyes,” Saiyu muttered, then wandered back into deep thought.
“Strange,” Ashack said. “I felt that way too.”
“Do you two ever have any differing thoughts?” Tayoka teased.
“When you finally pick a mate, you will know what it is like,” Ashack shot back. “It is about time you found someone to share your life with.”
Tayoka snorted. “What? I am a happy man where I am, thank you very much. Do not try to drag me into the misery you call life-companionship.”
That drew laughter from Nageau, who shook his head. Noting that his mate was silent, he turned and saw Tikina beside him, her eyes closed. He lightly touched her shoulder and, before the others noticed, she snapped out of her brief meditative state with a mysterious smile.
“About their eyes—” she started.
Before she could finish, a young boy around ten years of age dashed up, crashing into Nageau. “Elder Nageau! Elder Nageau!” he gasped. “I am so glad I found you!”
Nageau steadied the boy. “What is it, Diyo?” he asked, alarmed.
“It is my father. He is sick!” The boy tried to catch his breath. “Our neighbors have brought him back—”
“Where is he?” Saiyu demanded.
“This way!” The boy dashed downriver. The Elders followed him quickly. As they reached the shelter, Diyo veered off to find his mother.
A dark-haired man in his late twenties sat hunched on a bed in a corner. His lips were chalk white, his face horribly pale. Two other men tended to him. As the Elders approached, his body tensed and convulsed, and he vomited into a bucket by his feet. He looked up at the newcomers with an agonized moan.
“Fiotez,” Tikina murmured. She sat beside him on his bed and wrapped a soothing arm around him.
The man groaned. “Elder Tikin—” He tensed as if he were about to retch again, then his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed in her arms, unconscious. Tikina inhaled sharply.
Nageau glanced back to the open door as he heard hurried footsteps. A moment later, Diyo burst in. He choked at the sight of his unconscious father. His mother ran in behind him and gasped.
Tayoka gently ushered them back out the door, saying kindly, “Keep Diyo away from his father for now.” He added more quietly, “I am sorry. It is better for you to stay with your son. Let us take care of Fiotez.”
He reluctantly shut the door on the distraught mother and son, and sidled over to stand beside his fellow Elders.
“What do you think happened to him?” Nageau asked no one in particular.
One of the men who had been tending to Fiotez before the Elders arrived looked up at Nageau. He was stocky with short, wavy hair that bobbed as he dipped his head at the Elder. In a gruff but respectful voice, he said, “Elder Nageau, we are Fiotez’s neighbors and are the ones responsible for bringing him back from our hunting trip.”
“When did he start showing signs of illness?” Tikina queried, picking up some herbs from the household. She flattened the leaves on a pumice slab before rolling them into a pellet, which she gently inserted under Fiotez’s tongue.
“When we were returning from our expedition to one of the mountains,” said the stocky neighbor. “He seemed fine at first, but the symptoms became worse as we got closer to the village.”
Tikina glanced up from scrutinizing her patient. “I think it is best if everyone vacates this shelter so we can have better air circulation. It will allow me to tend to him better.”
The other Elders and Fiotez’s neighbors headed outside silently, grabbing a quick look at Tikina as she continued to work on the sick man.
Outside, Ashack’s voice commanded the other Elders’ attention. “I pray that Fiotez’s condition does not worsen. I have not seen such affliction before. Our people are usually resistant to disease.”
Nageau didn’t reply. He possessed a keen sense of smell and was disturbed by the strange odor he had picked up in Fiotez’s home. Tayoka nudged him, bringing him out of his reflection, then said, “I hope so too, but something tells me . . .” He looked at the two neighbors. “You said you were with Fiotez when he started becoming sick. Please describe everything that happened during your trip.”
“Well, it had been some time since the three of us hunted together,” the taller neighbor began, “so we were eagerly anticipating this trip. Huyani had also asked us to collect some herbs she needed for her stock. Once she gave us a list of what was needed, we departed for Ekota.”
“Ekota?” Nageau repeated. “That mountain is quite a long way.”
“Yes, it is. It was supposed to have been a four-day trip. The weather held up nicely. We did not encounter any game until sundown on the second day, when some caribou were taking a drink from a small brook. We almost got one of the animals, but it was getting dark and we missed. The caribou escaped, leaving us to continue on our way. We camped by a lake and ate our food, then turned in for some rest. We departed early the following morning.” He looked at Tayoka, who motioned for him to continue.
“We followed some game trails that led us to a dead deer near a stream. It was a strange sight; the animal had not been brought down by any predator or by old age, and foam covered its muzzle.
“We continued our hunt down one of the trails. Fiotez slipped on some lichen at one point and nearly tumbled into a crevasse. He must have passed on his clumsiness to us, because a
few minutes later, we walked into some thorns.” The man chuckled tiredly, rubbing his bruised arm. “Besides that, nothing else strange happened.” He paused as his eyes followed a small insect in its erratic flight.
“Please, continue,” Saiyu urged. “There must be something more.”
His brows furrowed as he tried to recall. “Though our hunting expedition was unsuccessful, we managed to find the herbs Huyani needed. As we were heading back, Fiotez insisted on continuing the hunt. We reluctantly agreed, knowing what a passionate hunter he is. Late in the morning on our third day, he trekked to a nearby creek to refill his water pelt while we waited at the camp. We tried hunting for a while after that, but fortune was not on our side. We got nothing and sought to come back, but Fiotez wanted to continue. We coaxed him to give it up and he reluctantly agreed; not so much because we outnumbered him, but rather at this point it appeared that he was not feeling too well. So, that sundown we camped again around a good fire and made sure he was comfortably tucked in.”
The man scratched his forehead and sighed. “The next day as we hiked back, he seemed to weaken. He complained that his legs were not steady, and at first we thought perhaps he was just sore from the grueling trek. But when he started getting dizzy and nearly passed out while descending a mountain, we knew something was wrong.”
“We brought him back as quickly as we could, and it was then we called for help,” the shorter man finished.
Nageau pressed his lips into a flat line. There was silence for a while. “What do you make of this?” he finally asked the other Elders.
Stroking his short beard, Tayoka said, “I do not know. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary except for the dead deer.”
“It is hard to determine what is causing this right now, and we do not know the seriousness of Fiotez’s condition,” Ashack said, adding, “maybe we should give Tikina some more time to let her remedy take effect.”
Saiyu glanced at Nageau. “It is past midday now. We should adjourn. Let us have Huyani relieve her grandmother at sundown. That way, I will be able to take Huyani’s place tonight. One of us must watch over Fiotez until dawn.”
* * *
A tender hand shook Tikina’s arm. The Elder opened her eyes blearily and gazed up at the youthful face of her granddaughter. Huyani knelt beside her and asked softly, “How is Fiotez?”
Tikina stretched and shook her head. “I have tried every combination I know to heal him, but I see no effect whatsoever.”
Huyani squeezed the older woman’s hand and looked at Fiotez as he slept. “I will see to him,” she murmured. “You must go and rest.”
Tikina gave her an appreciative smile. “Thank you. You must keep him hydrated. Squeeze the juices from this”—she held up a fistful of jagged-edged leaves—“into his mouth every little while, and keep feeling for his temperature. At the slightest sign of spasm, call for me immediately.”
Huyani signaled that she understood. They sat together for a little while, talking softly about Huyani and Akol’s time with the five outsiders. “What did you do with them?” Tikina asked.
“We fed them some deer meat, which they consumed ardently. They said it was the best they had ever had. Then Akol and I decided that we needed to tell them a few things. We felt it was wrong to keep them in the dark for an extended time.”
Tikina pursed her lips. “What did you talk to them about, and how much did you reveal?”
“We told them how we found them, and informed them about the Guardians. We did not say what they were, but Jag had been in and out of consciousness during the period in which the Guardians had brought them to us, and he figured it out. We told them about you, the Elders. We also told them about the skills we carry within ourselves. Akol and I only shared our abilities, as we did not want to overwhelm them. We said our skills are not impossible. Lastly, we told them where they were.”
Tikina’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? And how did they take to that?”
“They looked at each other in confusion.” Huyani hummed, amused. “It means nothing to them. They have no idea where this place is.”
“Of course they would not know. As far as we are concerned, the outside world is not aware of us. I am pleased you did not give too much away.”
“We told them that you would like to meet them soon.”
Tikina smiled widely. “Could you perhaps arrange a time tomorrow where we may meet them?”
“I am sure I can.”
“Very good. Is that all that happened?”
Huyani twirled a lock of her straight hair with her index finger. “There is one other thing. They seem to be getting impatient. They want to know when they will be able to leave.”
“Mmh. It is only to be expected, I am afraid. As I have said before, I believe that these five are special.”
“You think they are the ones?”
“I cannot say for sure, but I must admit that their arrival here is quite intriguing.”
A moment of silence followed, broken by a guttural cough from Fiotez as he slept. Huyani made sure he was comfortable, then returned to Tikina. “Grandmother?”
“Yes?”
“Do you know anything about Kody’s father?”
“Father?”
“Yes. He kept asking, and when we told him we did not know what happened to him, he became forlorn. We tried to soothe him and take his mind off the uncertainty, and now it nags me. Did the Guardians indicate anything about his father?”
“Alas, they signaled absolutely nothing about this. If the boy’s father had been with them and something ill-fated happened, we would have known about it from the Guardians.” Tikina was quiet for a while. “I will see what I can do to find out more.”
The Elder bade her granddaughter good night and was about to exit when she turned around with a mischievous smile. “The two girls . . . one has gray eyes and the other has brown, am I correct?”
Startled, Huyani looked up at her. “How did you know?” She saw the playful look on Tikina’s face and groaned, “Oh—the eyes of Tyse.”
Tikina simply chuckled and left Fiotez’s neyra, leaving Huyani in wonder.
10
The next morning, the friends gathered in Huyani’s neyra, conversing noisily with the siblings, Kody naturally being the one with the best tales. Tegan watched her friends warmly but kept an especially close eye on their jokester. He seemed to be holding up okay, with the concern for his father temporarily at bay.
The group had just finished their breakfast when a voice outside called out in Akol and Huyani’s native tongue. The siblings chorused in like manner.
The door to the neyra opened inward, letting in a blast of sunlight. A tall figure clad in a black-and-silver cloak stepped in, silhouetted against the glare with four other forms falling in gracefully behind him. The smell of pine needles and mountain air tickled the friends’ noses as they stared at the newcomers in awe. There was something regal about them; the fine facial features and kindly demeanor radiated congeniality, while their intelligent eyes and stately posture commanded attention and respect.
One of the adults, a green-eyed woman with dark, wavy hair and light brown skin, turned to meet their gaze and flashed a disarming smile. There was a magnetic air about her that drew them in. In a melodiously accented voice, she murmured, “Do not fear, young ones.”
Akol and Huyani stepped in between their guests and the newcomers. “Jag, Aari, Kody, Mariah and Tegan,” Akol said in a reverent tone, “these are the Elders of Dema-Ki: Tikina, Nageau, Saiyu, Ashack, and Tayoka.” In his own language, he introduced the friends to the Elders.
Nageau took a step forward and gazed steadily into Jag’s eyes. The lanky teenager seemed unsure what to do and he dipped his head as gracefully as he could, mumbling, “Nice to meet you, sir.”
His friends bit their lips, trying not to smile at his self-consciousness. Nageau, on the other hand, lit up. He grasped Jag’s shoulders. “There is no need for that, young man,” he said. He spoke in English
but, like Tikina, he had a curious accent. He nodded approvingly at Jag, as if assessing the teenager’s build, then turned to look at the others. “Would it be a fair assumption to say that you are all around fifteen or sixteen years in age?”
“Yes, sir,” Jag said.
Huyani giggled, and the teenagers gave her a questioning look. “You need not call the Elders sir or madam,” she said. “You may address them simply as ‘Elder’.”
Saiyu spoke next, but in her native tongue. Tikina explained that out of the Elders, only she and Nageau had the special gift of omnilinguism, then translated Saiyu’s words: “I am relieved that you are all recovering from your terrible accident. I trust Akol and Huyani have been treating you well?”
“They definitely have,” Tegan said. “They looked after us, gave us warm clothes, and they even told us a bit about the village. We couldn’t have asked for better people to take care of us.”
“We are delighted to hear those kind words.” Tikina looked Tegan over. The expression on the Elder’s face was eerily familiar and had an almost feline quality to it.
Where have I seen that look before? Tegan wondered.
“Would you be more comfortable sitting?” Huyani offered, and when everyone nodded, she led them into the living quarters of her neyra. Once they’d settled, Nageau looked at the friends. “How long have all of you known each other?”
Tegan saw Jag’s eyes narrow and he responded instead with, “What we’d really like to know is where we are and how we can go back home.”
The Elders glanced at each other. Tayoka finally broke the odd silence by speaking and pointing at the teenagers, then turned to Ashack and added something with a snort of mirth. The villagers laughed as Huyani and Akol explained to the friends. “Elder Tayoka says that we have never ever had visitors, and now that we have five . . . all they want to do is get away from here!”
Nageau, chuckling, added, “He blames Ashack’s stern looks for scaring you away.” Noting the tentative expressions on the friends’ faces, he continued. “Worry not. Tayoka is always searching for someone to poke fun at.”
