"Here," Le'ha stated flatly, "we will sleep here."
"You’ll sleep," Kathy said, "and we’ll pull guard duty."
"This is a good place, because the dead keep the animals and bugs away."
"The what?" Zolna was quick to ask.
"You call them ghosts or spirits. Many of my people who were killed stay here and do not travel on to…onellametsa…you would say, the forest of great joy. This place is onellametsa Porr tie, the gate to the forest of great joy, and built here by the ancient Cea Ahnato E'meset before spoken words were put to stone."
They climbed up the three massive sets of stairs and entered the structure.
The building contained a large number of rooms and galleries arranged around four courtyards. The walls held the remains of decorations: murals, paintings, and several carved stone slabs. But what instantly grabbed the attention of anyone who ventured in were the skeletons. Everywhere they looked were skeletons. Obviously, these had been E'meset. All the remains were tall and the skulls were designed to accommodate very large eyes.
"What happened here?" Zolna asked.
"Many of the Ukse from the great fish came here and killed. These people were the caretakers of the gate, holy people in the service of Lu'aya. None of these people had ever known killing until that day." Le'ah turned and walked up to Zolna to look into his eyes. "Zolna," she asked, "do you know killing?"
"Yes…I know of it. I've never killed anyone, though."
"You killed the T'Pu Iya."
Kathy walked forward and interrupted. "He means he has never killed another person, never killed with premeditation or with deliberate vindictiveness. He's trying to tell you he is not like those who killed here."
"And what about you, Kathee? Have you killed with…deliberate vindictiveness?"
Kathy paused a second and was about to respond when Dave stepped up, "Yes, yes, Le'ha she and I both have. Where we come from, there is a war being fought to stop the kinds of people who do evil like this."
"So, if you find the evil kind of Ukse here…you will make war on them?"
Kathy and Dave looked at each other. Kathy replied. "We are the soldiers of a good people, Le'ha. We will do all that we can to stop anything like this from happening again."
Le'ha walked up very close to Kathy, and looked down at her. "Gotcha," she said.
Without hesitation Kathy said, "Good."
Chapter 15
In the Belly of the Fish
Everyone stood silent for a moment watching the two women. Le'ha raised her chin while still looking down on Kathy. After a moment, she said, "I will bathe in the pool of tears, eat, drink, then sleep. You three will keep the eyes."
"Keep the eyes, you mean guard duty?" Zolna asked, "I thought the ghosts keep the animals away?"
"Small animals and bugs only, my little Zolna. The big night hunters will come in to feast on fresh meat. I am the only meat here. Should they smell you, they will have no interest, but…you are warm, so they may wish to bite you and see. Please watch for me, my little Zolna."
Zolna looked uncomfortably at the others. "Okay." He replied meekly.
"Can you make fire, Zolna?" Le'ha asked.
"Yes."
"Make a large one there.” She pointed out into the courtyard. "I will be back." Le'ha turned and started out of the room.
"Where do I get the wood?" Zolna called after her.
Without looking back, she slowly lifted her right arm and pointed with all four fingers. "In the woods, my little Zolna." She kept on walking, slowly. Dave and Zolna watched as she walked, slowly, away.
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Kathy turned away in the other direction. "Dave, I'm going to find a way up into that tower. I want you with me. And Zolna, don't go into the woods. Stay in the clearing where we can see you."
Within the hour, it had grown dark and Dave and Kathy had walked completely around the interior of the first building, exploring. They found no way to ascend into the tower, but did conclude that sixty of these gate keepers had died here. In one room, it was obvious that fifteen of them had been sitting on the floor in a circle holding hands when they were killed. The weapons used to kill them were not unlike Earth weapons, in that they launched a projectile. Dave found one in what was once the chest cavity of a keeper. It was still bright as if new. The projectile was void of ballistic marks—the effects of lands and groves found inside the barrels of Earth weapons. And they were large, about fifty-two caliber.
It was totally dark, and the sky partially overcast, when Kathy and Dave returned to where they had started. Zolna had a good sized fire going and was just returning from the forest with another large arm full of firewood. Just then, Le'ha came walking into the circle of light…naked. She was carrying her few clothing items with her. She sat them down and began to dance before the fire. Kathy noticed Dave's eyes transfixed on the silhouette of the tall woman. Kathy followed his gaze and she, too, watched the E'meset woman dance. Despite her height and her multi-colored skin, she was quite beautiful. Her long legs and arms made her motions before the fire look fluid, she was very graceful. Kathy noted that Zolna, too, was mesmerized. She looked back at Dave who must have felt her eyes on him and he slowly turned his back.
Le'ha stopped her dance and put her few clothes back on.
"Le'ha." Kathy advanced toward her. "What was that all about?"
Le'ha looked down on Kathy, then squatted by the fire and opened her pack. "That was my thanks to Lu'aya for water and fire. There is no life without both."
"Le'ah, do you remember our talk about being naked in front of the men?"
"Coola...Yes, I remember."
"Look at Dave and Zolna. Your dancing without clothes on has affected them in a—"
"Affected them?" Le'ha repeated, standing. "I would not want to affect my poor little Zolna." Kathy did not fail to take note of that response.
Le'ha extended her hand toward Kathy. In her palm, she held a large leaf she had removed from her pack and unwrapped. In it were three pieces of what looked like raw meat; blood still covered them and the leaf they had been wrapped in. "Koh haka?" she asked, offering some to Kathy.
Kathy looked into the leaf and wrinkled her nose. "Ah, no thanks, we don't eat." She turned and walked away, and as she did, murmured, "Thank God."
Kathy had not gone two meters when La'ha leapt to her feet and grabbed her weapons. She was crouching low and held her head upward. Her sudden movement caused everyone to look toward her. She tapped her left foot twice rapidly. When no one reacted, she looked at Kathy and again tapped her foot. Kathy looked at her and shrugged. Le'ha's eyes grew large and she held her weapon up as if to say "Be armed, be ready!"
Kathy readied her spear; Dave his club. Zolna set down the rest of his bundle of wood and picked up his large and heavy war ax.
Kathy whispered toward Le'ha, "What is it?"
"Ol heleea!" Le'ha shot back angrily holding up her hand, fingers spread. She listened intently and sniffed the air. Then she indicated they should come to her. "Stand as close to the fire as you can," she told them. "Do not move or speak. With the fire behind us, they will not see. They will smell me, but there is no help for that."
In the dancing light of the flames, they saw the first creature enter the yard. It looked like a really large Komodo dragon. It was twice the size of its Earth cousin, and it had no tail to speak of. Its teeth were like those of a canine with large sharp fangs for the kill, sharp smaller teeth for ripping flesh and large, flat bone-crushing teeth in the back. Its nostrils were atop its head and its huge claws were webbed. This was an amphibian. It was looking around and sniffing at the air. It seemed to be slowly making its way toward Le'ha.
Another of these things appeared through another large, arched doorway, then another and another. They circled around sniffing the air. When they got close to each other, they bared their teeth and hissed.
The largest of the four was moving closer to Le'ha, it was within four meters when…Dave moved. He was going
to stand in front of and defend Le'ha.
"Ey Dave, ey!" Le'ha shouted, but it was too late. The instant Dave moved his foot, the heads of all four beasts snapped in his direction. Dave froze, but they already knew where he was. The large one hissed and lowered its head as it moved toward Dave. Then it leapt. Dave struck it in the snout with his club. Kathy threw her spear and it lodged in the creature's left side, just behind its front leg. Le'ha also threw her spear, hitting the thing in its right side, her spear sank in deep. But it was Zolna's ax that inflicted the fatal blow. With all the strength his SUB's body could muster, Zolna jumped over four meters and struck the beast behind the head, Zola's ax nearly cleaving the thing's head from its body.
"Ula lavat, come!" Le'ha shouted and started running. The rest followed. Kathy looked over her shoulder. The three remaining beasts were fighting over the carcass of the dead one.
Once inside a building, the SUBs adjusted their vision to see in the nearly total darkness. They followed Le'ha down the long, internal corridor until she stopped in a small chamber. Le'ha stood in the middle of the room, held her hands out toward Kathy and urgently commanded, "Ula lavat." Kathy advanced toward her. The tall woman grabbed her under her arms and lifted her straight up. Looking above her head, Kathy saw a dark square opening in the ceiling; she grabbed its edge and pulled herself up. One at a time, Le'ha lifted the others up, then she jumped up, grabbed the edge of the opening, and effortlessly pulled herself into the room above.
They were in the lower portion of the tower. Looking out the large opening, down into the courtyard where they could see two of the creatures still fighting, the other was already tearing into the flesh of Zolna's victim.
Le'ha sat against the other side of the opening and watched as the three creatures fought and fed. Then she looked up at Zolna. "You have killed twice now," she observed. "First, a great T'Pu Iya, and now, a very much feared U'won Kowana…you would make a great hunter among my people."
Kathy walked up to Le'ha, who remained sitting and leaning against the opening of the window. "I take it those things see warmth in the night."
"Yes," Le'ha replied.
"Yet, you had Zolna build a fire. Isn't that like putting out an 'all you can eat' sign?"
"You think I called them to us?"
"Did you?"
"The U'won Kowana can smell blood better than they see. They would have smelled me, no matter. The fire blinded their eyes to you, until Dave moved."
"It was closing in on you!" Dave protested.
"Lu'aya was with us tonight and allowed us to live. Perhaps we are part of a greater plan."
"What about those guys down there?" Kathy asked, clearly annoyed. "Won't they smell you up here?"
"They will eat the dead one till dawn. You will see, they will leave before the light comes. They hate Ourinco. We will leave then. Now, I will sleep." She moved to a corner, laid down, and effortlessly fell asleep.
Kathy joined Dave on the other side of the opening and together they watched the U'won Kowana feed.
After several minutes, Kathy noticed Dave looking at Le'ha.
"She's pretty, don't you think?" Kathy asked sarcastically.
Dave seemed not the least bit flustered as he slowly turned his head to look at her. "I'll tell you what I was thinking. There lies an alien life form. Think about that fact. Growing up, I used to look up at the skies and wonder if we were alone. I watched all those UFO, close contact, little green men movies, and I was sure they were out there somewhere. Now, here I am watching one sleep, and guess what, they aren't little, they aren't green, at least not all over, and this one's not a man. And, to top it all off…I am the alien."
Kathy felt a twinge of embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Dave, I thought—"
"You know, in most of those little green men movies, the aliens were monsters. I'm not a monster, Kathy." Then he turned to face her. "I'm not Klaatu, either."
"You're not who?"
"Klaatu. He was an alien robot in a very old movie. I am not a robot, despite this body. I'm a man."
"Hell, Dave…you don't have to tell me that—me—of all people."
"I know,” Dave said softly, “because I am aware you're a woman."
Kathy paused before responding, "Dave, I'm sorry, you lost me. I don't understand."
There was a moment of silence then Dave replied, "No, I'm sorry. I'd lost my professional bearing, and forgotten my military discipline. I beg your pardon, ma'am." Dave saluted and moved to the other side of the tower.
Kathy had not gotten lost, and she had understood. An involuntary defense had kicked in. A defense she had carefully nurtured for years. And now, it seemed to have achieved exactly the goal it was designed for.
Kathy leaned against the wall and watched as the bloody feeding frenzy in the courtyard continued. She snuck a peek at Dave. He had his back to her, looking out the opposite opening toward the hills and the two moons in the night sky.
Her mind was blank for a minute, then that little voice returned, sounding like a teenage girl, and spoke to her from the back of her head: Well, good job Kathy, I think he's done with us.
I hope not, she responded. I kinda like him.
You kinda like him, really? The voice sounded angry now. You damn sure know how to express it. Listen dummy, it's time to be honest, with me, if with no one else. You don't just like this guy…you really like this guy. You were hoping to get closer to him after this is over. But you know as well as I do, after this, there will be another mission, and then another, and you'll never get any closer to him than this. So, as think about it…maybe it's better this way. Stop right now, so you don't hurt the poor guy.
"Oh, shut up!" Kathy spoke those words aloud, causing Dave and Zolna to look at her. She quickly looked down into the courtyard and added, "You…three…monsters!"
○O○
About an hour before dawn, Le'ha rose and checked to ensure the beasts in the courtyard had gone. Then, after aiding the others down from the tower, she went to collect her belongings she'd left by the fire. Before they departed, Le'ha placed a piece of Koh haka meat in a small bowl and poured water over it. On top, she placed a flower. She then bid the others to remain at the base of the tower and she went into that part of the temple that entered the mountain. She approached a solid wall illuminated by two large Volessa stones. On the wall was carved the image of a wide door or gate. All about the base of this wall, were a myriad of small bowls. Le'ha set her little gift down, then she knelt, and held her hands out to her sides, palms up, and chanted a prayer, “Oh, my Hondar, you know I will always love you. But the time has come―I ask for release.”
The sun was well up when La'ha returned, and then she, Dave, Kathy, and Zolna left the gateway monastery. Le'ha led them along the bank of the raging river toward the waterfalls they had seen when they descended into this valley.
Dave walked some distance behind Le'ha, Zolna was right behind him approximately three meters, and Kathy brought up the rear. Zolna and Le'ha noticed how quiet Dave and Kathy were. Neither had yet spoken to the other.
Ahead, they heard a constant roaring sound. Le'ha was not worried, so the others seemed to cue on her.
Le'ha wove her way through a small thicket of the large, blue palm trees. On the other side, she stopped and waited for all to gather. She then pointed up. They were at the base of the huge cliff they had scaled down the day before, but now they were looking up at the southernmost and largest of the four cataracts. From the top of the cliff, it fell four times. At the first drop, the waters struck a huge ledge on the top of which were several massive boulders.
Le'ha pointed at the ledge, "The great fish is there, do you see it?"
The Ukse stood silently gazing up through the dense mist.
"No, all I see are rocks," Dave replied. The other three echoed his response. Le'ha looked at the three, displaying her frustration with them. "We will climb up. Then, you will see."
They crossed the river Hau over a huge suspension bridge made
from living vines as the three-rope bridge had been. But here, thousands of vines were employed. The floor of the bridge was laid with large, thin slate-like stones. Dave noted the bridge was in good repair. Indeed, recent work had been done to it. It must have taken generations to grow and nurse these vines into this bizarre configuration. No wonder its caretakers continued to prevent its decay.
The climb up the cliff on the opposite bank was a challenge for the SUBs because the well-concealed hand and footholds carved into the cliff were built by and for the E'meset.
The ledge upon which the boiling waters of the cataract first impacted was a much larger place than it appeared from below. The ledge was, perhaps, twelve kilometers long and five deep. The waterfall itself was all of five kilometers wide. Where the cascading water encountered the heavily eroded ledge, it exploded, creating a heavy mist that rose high into the sky.
The ledge was covered with massive stones that resembled river rocks; they were smooth, generally flat, and mostly round or oval in shape. On the exact spot where the river impacted the ledge, there were no rocks at all, as the tremendous power of the water had washed the giants off the ledge centuries ago.
There existed a path at the side where the cliff face met the ledge floor. This path took them safely behind the monster rocks and continued behind the plummeting wall of water. The spray soaked them all to the skin, and the roar was tantamount to a continuous explosion.
Ahead, they saw a gap opened in the curtain of water, and here Le'ha led them all up onto a large rock. Once all were standing together on the stone, Le'ha pointed out into the mist. It took them a minute to distinguish what it was she was pointing out to them. It was difficult to identify it from the boulders laying all about it, but at last, their eyes made it out.
The Vampires of Antyllus Page 21
