Enchantress Sacrifice

by Denice Hughes Lewis

  “I am yours to command, Enchantress.”

  “Do not kneel before me.”

  He rises. “How can you save the island with healing power?”

  If anyone talks about me saving the island again, I will scream.

  Steam furls from Bryntar’s nose. “She has greater power than any.”

  Kydaka cleans the blood off his knife and drops it near the fire.

  “You’re going to need that,” Daniel says.

  Kydaka shakes his head. “A warrior does not leave his weapon unless he is dead.”

  Bryntar scowls at him. “You still earn trust.” She throws the rope over her shoulders.

  He watches her stride off and I sense the interest he has in her.

  I remove my boots and wipe off the caked swamp. Soft blades of grass cool my feet. Unexpected longing for home flutters through me. Oh Taroc, how I miss our gardens. I shut off my mind, preferring to concentrate on following Bryntar. I do not know whether I am getting better at controlling my thoughts or if I am too tired to care.

  We travel over flat land and reach a meadow with fruit-bearing trees. Bryntar shakes one and we have our fill.

  “Better than soggy tubers,” Daniel says. He smiles at me.

  Confused by my feelings, I do not smile back.

  We travel through the night. I plod along, weariness heavy in every step. Shadowed hills poke up in the distance. The Ice Mountains lure my eyes. Especially when our travels take us toward them.

  “When can we sleep?” I ask.

  “Daylight. We hide in Sunken City,” Bryntar says.

  I long to talk to Kydaka about my mother, but the darkness holds me apart. I look for any resemblance to her but see only her eyes and her courage in him. Perhaps that is enough.

  The night grows blacker as storm clouds track us. Thunder splits the air. My skin prickles and energy swirls through me.

  “Get away from me!” I scream.

  I run from my companions as fast as I can.

  Bryntar stops Daniel and Kydaka from following me.

  Safely away from them, I raise my arms as small flashes of lightning shoot toward me.

  Daniel yells. “Watch out!”

  Jagged bolts explode in a shattering crack over my head. White-hot shafts of power sear through my body. Again. Again. Again. I burn, until I feel the need to accept my oneness with the light. Love overpowers me and I relax. More energy strikes, but the heat cools to a delicious tingle. I open my eyes to a halo of brilliance that illuminates me and turns the entire sky a deep blue.

  A drop of rain sizzles on my skin. Then another. My light fades as sheets of rain flow over me. I drink in huge gulps and relish the cleansing.

  Bryntar and Kydaka rush toward me. My chest tightens to see Daniel remain apart.

  Kydaka kneels. “Oh, magnificent Enchantress. I am your humble servant.”

  I pull him up. “Never.”

  “As you wish.” His words do not reflect his feelings.

  I am more concerned with how Daniel feels as I walk toward him.

  “I can’t believe it. You should be dead. You’re something else.”

  “I did not choose this. I want a different life.”

  “If you really can save this island . . .”

  “Would you like this burden?”

  He looks down. “I don’t know.”

  “That answer is an excuse for not thinking.”

  “At least our trail washed away,” he says.

  I give up trying to understand him and trudge toward a silhouette of angular hills.

  Much later, the night changes to muted rays of rose, lavender and gold. The colors spread across a flat expanse of land sparse with patches of vegetation. A bright creature with three green and yellow striped tails scuttles into a hole. The hills become distinct architectural forms. Soon the sun brightens huge chunks of iridescent gray stones protruding from the ground like living beings. Smoothed by centuries of wind, hundreds of sharp-angled pillars reach to the sky or lean against each other, crossing, crisscrossing, and creating an intricate maze of dark rooms in the forgotten city.

  “Looks like an abstract sculpture,” Daniel says. “Who built it?”

  “The creators of the Sunken City are not known,” Kydaka says.

  Bryntar leads us down a narrow path under fantastic arches.

  Fleeting impressions of foreign life flick through my senses, too faint to capture.

  “We rest before reaching the ocean,” Bryntar says. She climbs up the crenellated sides of an eight-sided pillar and disappears.

  “Forest Spirit is amazing,” Kydaka says.

  “Her name is Bryntar.”

  Kydaka scales the slanted column quickly.

  Bryntar peers over the edge. “Climb. No wild animals in here.”

  Overcome by the massive structures, I have missed the feelings now gnawing at my nerves. I gaze around and see indistinct shadows hiding in the multitude of dark alcoves. My body quivers. This ancient city is home to hundreds of jaguarats.

  Chapter Twenty-Two: The Watching

  “Hurry,” I say. The fear in my eyes spurs Daniel up the pillar. My boots slip on the dry sand that covers the surface.

  Daniel leans over and reaches for me. I take his hand and he pulls me up and into a high, six-sided room.

  “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.”

  I ignore the confusion his smile causes and confront Bryntar. “You could have warned me about the jaguarats. We cannot kill hundreds of them to keep everyone safe.”

  “What’s a jaguarat?” Daniel asks.

  Kydaka points across the overlapping shafts of stone. “Look there.”

  Daniel stares at the animals and whistles. “I suppose they’re meat-eaters?”

  His unguarded fear slithers through me. “Why did you bring us here, Bryntar?”

  “Kepyr not expect us here. Also quick way to canoe.”

  “If we survive.” I look at Kydaka. “You hunt here alone?”

  “When a hunter knows his prey, he knows how to kill it,” he says. “They hunt at night

  and the young ones are overconfident.”

  “You and Daniel have no weapons to protect yourselves.”

  Daniel pulls his knife out of his pants. “I have this.”

  I laugh. “Their claws are longer than that.”

  His face reddens. “How would I know? Dumb island is crawling with monsters.”

  “You have no monsters in your world?” Kydaka asks.

  “Our monsters are the human kind. We have advanced weapons that can kill anything.”

  “You must tell me of these weapons.”

  “Enough talk about killing.” I stomp to the back of the dust-layered room. The bleached bones of the long dead crunch underfoot and I kick them away. Darkness cools my anger. It does not help to know that anger covers my fear. Longing for my safe childhood clashes with the danger of my quest to become normal. I stride to a corner and lie down to rest, shuddering with horror for what faces us when we try to escape this city.

  . . .

  I awake from images of blazing fire and colliding ice. Daniel scrapes a long bone with his knife.

  “That is a good sharp point,” Kydaka says. He pats Daniel’s shoulder and lifts his own spear. “Now we have protection from the jaguarat. I will show you how to use it.”

  I stand up and sweep past them. “Take care. They hunt together.”

  Daniel hefts the spear in his hand, trying to ignore his nervousness.

  I move to the edge of the room and sit next to Bryntar. The sandy floor warms my fingers. I blink in the intense sunlight striking the maze of stone pillars.

  “It is time,” she says.

  I study the structures. Jaguarats lie in rooms, large white shadows stretched out in sleep. Some prowl the rims of the columns. The younger cubs emit tiny growls and hisses in tumbling play. Why does anything have to die?

  Daniel moves beside me. He stares at the jaguarats, then at his sp
ear and sighs.

  A huge male jaguarat jumps to the top of a wider pillar across from us. Power flows

  from his golden eyes, eyes that stop at Bryntar and then stare at me.

  “He is their leader,” she says.

  “Do we have to kill him?” My stomach clenches waiting for her answer.

  “No,” she says. “Leader protects us.”

  “Yeah, right,” Daniel says.

  Bryntar glares at him. “Jaguarats fear-share.”

  “You’re kidding,” Daniel says.

  “For continuation of species.”

  I stand up and brush off the sand, wanting this day to be over. “They know we killed some of their kind?”

  “Let me get this straight,” Daniel says. “One jaguarat is going to keep the others from killing us? I don’t believe it.”

  Kydaka moves toward Bryntar. “How can we use this to our advantage?”

  “Stay close together. Elandra leads. Then Daniel, you, me.”

  I cannot lead us. The jaguarats are ready to tear us apart. “There are too many for me to kill. You will all die.”

  I stare into the leader’s eyes and feel his confidence.

  Bryntar turns me to face her. “We protect Kydaka and Daniel between us. Watch females.”

  “I agree,” Kydaka says. “They might disobey the leader to prove their worth for mating.” He lifts his spear. “I am ready.”

  Daniel squeezes my hand. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  I do not know whether to laugh or cry. Somehow his words reassure me. I take a deep breath of sunlight. “Do I need to know anything else?”

  Bryntar warns, “Do not run or slow pace. Do not speak.”

  “Don’t get eaten,” Daniel says.

  We slide down the pillar. Daniel and Kydaka stay so close that I can hear their breaths in the deathly silence. If I make one mistake and the leader loses control, some of us cannot hope to survive. I step onto a footpath that twists through the broken city. Opening my feelings, I reel in the wave of anger, ferociousness and curiosity that surround me. There is no more time to be a girl at the whim of my emotions. With unwavering resolve, I think about Taroc, his calm, but sturdy discipline. His power was as strong and unwavering as that of the jaguarat. I hope the creature senses my intent. Light suddenly radiates from my body in every direction.

  Snarls, hisses and yowls echo off the stone hills. The uneasy pacing of many paws slams into my senses. I dare to lift my head. The leader bounds from pillar to column to stone arch. Along the way, he bats an overeager youngster, snarls at a male who challenges him and ignores the nervousness of the older jaguarats. He stays on the edge of the city heights next to us. There is comfort in his steady heartbeat.

  I focus on the next step, the rock in the path, the unexpected curve, keeping firm control over my feelings. Sweat trickles down my face and neck. The dry day stretches on and on. At last, the sun sinks lower in the sky. Shadows deepen the Sunken City, making visibility difficult.

  A sudden wind gusts through the pillars blinding us in a cloud of dust. Daniel grabs the back of my jacket and I hope the others connect to him. I shield my eyes and search the path with my boot to move forward. Terror knots in my chest. I feel bloodlust. Hidden nearby are three, hungry jaguarats.

  “Spears ready,” I whisper. Dust dries my mouth. An annoying tickle rises in my throat. I swallow hard, refusing to cough.

  The fast heartbeat of the jaguarat leader thumps next to mine. I see the shadow of his massive body jump the arch over our heads. Terrifying growls and screams split the air as he fights for domination.

  “Go.” Bryntar pushes us forward.

  Daniel grabs my hand. We stumble over the path. Trip, bump and scrape stone blindly. My heart races faster than my feet. The dust whirls away revealing the edge of the city. Kydaka and Bryntar drive us on. I spit sand and cough, not believing that we are almost through.

  A deafening screech shatters the silence. A huge female jaguarat jumps in front of us, fur ridging her back in warning. Her ominous growl displays her long fangs. Her tail flicks back and forth, muscles tense, ready to spring and tear us apart.

  Chapter Twenty-Three: The Parting

  Daniel drags me behind him. He and Kydaka raise their spears.

  “Wait,” I say.

  In a tremendous leap from a tower, the jaguarat leader crashes into the female. They roll across the rock-strewn ground. Relief surges through me to know the leader is alive, even with a gash down his side. Growls and screeches soften to moans and purrs.

  I avoid eye contact with the female jaguarat, but glance at the leader. Thank you. Then I run, the others by my side, without stopping until my sides heave and my muscles weaken in exhaustion.

  The sun fades below the horizon, the waning rays sending scraggly shadows of scrub brush and dry grass over the ground. The shadows soon succumb to darkness. Even the sliver of moon and sprinkling of stars do little to light our way. In the deepest part of the night, I drop onto the sand.

  “I thought you’d never stop,” Daniel says. He stretches out on the ground and I avoid looking at his muscular body.

  Kydaka uses the end of his spear and topples a thorny plant. He slices off the juicy leaf pads. “Remove the skin before you eat it.”

  Daniel uses his knife to peel the prickly skin from the pads and hands one to me.

  “Thank you.” Why does Daniel think of me before himself? He has made it quite clear that the kiss we shared means nothing. Confused, I take a bite of the thick leaf. My nose tightens with the tart odor. The sour flesh refreshes my dry throat, although I am almost too tired to chew.

  “I guard first,” Bryntar says.

  Kydaka nods. “I will relieve you.”

  “How much farther do we have to go?” I ask.

  “We reach ocean tomorrow,” Bryntar says.

  I have lived a lifetime of tomorrows and wonder what another will bring. The sand is cool and smooth, the tiny grains molding to my curves. The metallic shirt itches and I long to remove it, to be free from its weight and its meaning. I imagine Aru deep underground, waiting for me, and swallow bitterness.

  Bryntar’s dark form etches the midnight sky. Kydaka rests next to me. Somehow, they offer safety. The warm summer breeze wraps around me like a blanket. I close my eyes and the world disappears.

  . . .

  A rodent chatters in my ear and I jump, instantly awake. It skitters away, spotted tail held high. The sunrise encircles Daniel in rays of rose and gold as he stands on the hilltop. The Western Seas sparkle in the distance. Oh Daniel. My body cannot forget the feeling of your arms.

  I join him and he turns to me, a faraway look in his eyes. “Home is across the ocean. I hope.”

  Because there are no words to comfort him I say, “You did not awaken me for my turn.”

  “You needed the rest.”

  “You did, too.”

  “I didn’t face what you had to.”

  I touch his arm and thrills course through me. “You saved my life. The snake—”

  “Forget it.”

  What? The event? Your feelings for me? I wish I could ask what you mean.

  “I have not been on the water,” I say. “Only in it.”

  “I was born on a boat. My mom insisted on going with my dad on his last race.”

  He heaves a great sigh. “This canoe Bryntar talks about isn’t exactly my choice for an ocean-going vessel. Tides and currents can be treacherous.”

  “You stay close to shore,” Bryntar says as she moves behind us.

  Kydaka offers me another leafy pad to eat. “We can be seen easily on this open plain. We must go quickly.”

  I feel Bryntar’s grudging respect for my uncle. She takes off down the hill toward a stand of trees, their mottled bark and silver-green leaves brilliant against blue sky.

  I eat while running after her.

  Our journey is uneventful, which makes me more nervous as I search for hidden danger behind every tree and rock. When
we reach a rocky bluff overlooking the wide expanse of ocean, the sun already blazes high overhead. It turns the water into a rippling reflection of light. Wind tiptoes across it in white froth.

  “This way,” Bryntar says. She leads us down a narrow animal trail between gray and black boulders washed smooth by sand and water. She reaches into a long cleft above the waterline and drags out the log canoe, the paddles and our supplies.

  Starving, I immediately grab a sack of food inside the canoe and distribute some.

  “I don’t suppose you have any meat?” Daniel asks.

  “I will hunt on the trail,” Kydaka says.

  “Here are some clothes,” I say and throw the bundle to Daniel.

  “Thanks.” He takes it and changes behind a large rock.

  “I am sorry we have no warm clothes for you, Kydaka,” I say.

  “I will manage.”

  Bryntar turns to me. “You and Daniel rest. Leave when dark.”

  “You are coming with us,” I say.

  Daniel laughs. “That canoe only holds two people.”

  Nausea knots my stomach. “I cannot go without you.”

  “I travel inland,” she says.

  I cannot imagine ever being away from Bryntar again. “Not without me.”

  “No. You slow me. Terrain is rough.”

  I hold down panic. “There must be another way.”

  “Only way for you.”

  I know by the stubborn tilt of her head that she will not change her mind.

  Kydaka places a gentle hand on my arm. “She is right. I will travel with her to ensure her safety.”

  Smoke furls from her nose as she glares at him. “You cannot keep up.”

  Kydaka smiles at her.

  The sun sets in fire. A damp and salty wind breathes down my neck. I hunch behind a boulder in silence and ignore the conversation between Daniel and Bryntar about how to reach our destination. I only want to get to the lagoon and become normal. When they finish, Daniel gives her his spear. He repacks the canoe and secures everything with the rope. He and Kydaka carry it to the beach.

  Bryntar does not have to tell me how she feels.

  “I know the dangers in the sea,” I say.