by C Lee Tocci
“Lilibit!” Todd called out. “I need to free my arm. You’ll have to climb up and hold on to my back.”
Lilibit wrenched her eyes from the chasm floor and Todd saw her face pale with fear and vertigo. She nodded, then threw up her free hand to grasp Todd’s arm. Then she grabbed at his belt and crawled onto his back, clinging to his shoulders.
With both hands now free, Todd regained his grip on the cliff face. The extra weight of Lilibit on his back did not bother him as much as the crippling pain in his hands. Finally finding some sound footholds, he rested for a moment, pressing his cheek against the rock face, allowing the coolness of the stone to relieve the worst of his aches.
Gingerly, he flexed the fingers of his left hand. They were weak and unresponsive but the top of the ridge was close. Girding himself against the pain, Todd reached for the next handhold.
Suddenly, something cold and hard gripped his wrist. Without warning, Todd felt himself heaved upwards, Lilibit still clinging to his back. They sailed through the air only to fall in a heap on the crest of the Sienna Sentries.
Todd scrambled to his feet, pulling his staff out as he rolled. Brandishing his weapon, he turned to face this latest attacker.
The figure of Keotak-se stood stonily before him. His face revealed little, but as Todd slumped with relief, he thought he saw a thread of respect in the ancient warrior’s eyes. Todd’s face warmed and he collapsed back on to the ground, allowing exhaustion to overtake him.
Peering through the fog of his pain, Todd barely noticed the other travelers hiking towards them. He closed his eyes for a moment as a wave of relief bathed his damaged hands. He opened them again to see Nita gently stroking his bleeding fingers.
Yet there was little that Nita could do for Lilibit. The worst of her wounds were fear and memories. Marla sat down next to her and hugged her against her chest while the others huddled in a ring around them.
Keotak-se raised an eyebrow. His wonder at the boy’s achievement scarcely eclipsed his esteem. For a boy this young to have met the Deceiver in battle and to have defeated him was a feat that would be documented in the Annals of Kiva. It would become part of their history to be related for centuries to come.
Despite the crushing efforts of the Enemy, the Infant Stone Voice survived. Looking around him at the seven children clustered together, he knew that it was due to their bravery and strength that the child still lived. He also perceived something greater, the bond of love that united these children had created a potent force. Their combined might was greater than the strength of the individuals. So long as they remained united, they would always be a power to be reckoned with.
Keotak-se allowed himself the smallest smile.
They sat for several minutes, recovering and watching the sky lighten. Finally, Keotak-se spoke.
“Stand. There will be time to rest when you reach Kiva. Now is the time to walk.”
Todd grimaced as he pulled himself to his feet. The others followed, but Lilibit was still in a daze and stumbled as she walked. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Todd handed his pack to Donny and hoisted Lilibit onto his back. He rolled his eyes at Donny, who grinned back and wordlessly shouldered the extra burden.
The sky was blue and clear as the travelers hiked along a path atop the Sienna Sentries. Rounding a bend in the trail, they looked down into the valley and caught their first glimpse of Kiva. Lilibit pushed herself off Todd’s back and stood beside him. Nobody spoke as they absorbed the panorama below.
A waterfall flowed from the tallest mountain in the north. It crashed against a huge stone of white crystal that split the waterfall into two rivers, running along the outer perimeters of the valley. Bridges spanned the rapids: some looked like natural arches formed by the earth and erosion, while others were ornate and intricate as if wrought in silver lace.
A huge domed building stood several hundred yards south of the waterfall, its perfectly rounded terracotta roof looked like a massive bubble of frozen red mud. In time Todd would study and admire the intricate glyphs and paintings that decorated every inch of the Hall of the Flame Voice. The southern entrance to the Hall opened on to a raised pedestal, which overlooked a huge semi-circular courtyard. Sixteen avenues fanned out from the pedestal, leading to sixteen multi-tiered adobe buildings that lined the courtyard in a perfect crescent.
But terraced farmlands, lush orchards, dense forests and the warren of adobe cottages that littered the basin all dimmed into shadows by the majesty of the tower that loomed several hundred feet over the valley.
A perfect unbroken iridescent spiral, like a mother of pearl trochus seashell, the Tower of Quapan glistened pink as it reflected the first light of dawn. Rising seven levels, the first ring appeared to be some forty feet tall with the rest tapering until the top ring was no more than twelve feet high. Was it a trick of the light, or did the tower pulse and glitter from within? Although nothing could be seen through the opaque walls, Todd’s eyes were riveted, as if he might see something of great importance in the shadows that hinted through that shimmering shell.
Donny nudged Jeff’s arm. “That is Kiva,” he informed with great authority.
“Thank you, Donny,” Jeff replied. “I might have missed it.”
Donny grinned proudly.
The path that led down to the valley floor was smooth, sloping gently between pine trees and flowering brush. At the head of the path, a tall wooden pole stood, gleaming in the morning sun. At the top, offshoots branched out like wooden wings. As they got closer, they realized that they were, indeed, wooden wings and that the pole was carved with figures.
On the bottom, what looked like a bear stood sleeping, its arms folded over its chest and its eyes closed. On the top was a huge eagle-like bird, its wings spread out and its beak pointing toward the pass where they had just come through. In the middle, was a figure that looked like an owl with huge black eyes and wings that were folded tight against its body.
“Todd!” Devon whispered. “I think that totem pole just moved!”
Todd’s first thought was to tell Devon not to be silly, but when he saw Lilibit and Nita walk up to it to get a closer look, he moved quickly. Stepping in front of them, he looked up, froze and then pushed them back.
The owl blinked.
Amazed, Todd watched as its head moved slowly, looking them over one by one.
“You’re late.” The owl sounded like a woman. Actually, she sounded very much like Ms. Gritsavage, his seventh grade math teacher.
“Sorry.” Todd answered instinctively and pointed behind him, towards the crest. “We got held up…”
“The other neophytes all arrived a week ago,” she snapped. “What kept you?”
“Other neophytes?” Todd didn’t know what was more surprising, that he was a neophyte, whatever that was, or that there were more of them.
“Neophytes? More neophytes?” Suddenly the huge bird on top of the totem pole began to whip its head back and forth. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Oh hush, Wacky.” The owl sounded more annoyed with the bird than she had with Todd.
“The name is Wakinyan.” Brimming with self-importance, the bird lifted its beak. When he caught sight of the seven travelers huddled together on the path, he eyed them unblinkingly, then began to flex his wooden wings. They clickered like a box of pencils shaking. He stretched his neck and, with a sonorous boom, bawled down to the valley below. “NEOPHYTES ARRIVING! PREPARE FOR THE PLEDGES OF THE STONE!”
They all held their ears. The bird’s bellow was so loud, the bones quaked inside their heads. The Owl rolled her eyes and looked annoyed, while the bear on the bottom grumbled sleepily.
“This way.” Keotak-se had ignored the totem as he walked past and he now was disappearing around a bend in the path. “The People of the Valley will be waiting.”
They hurried to follow Keotak-se, glancing back to see the totem pole return to its statue-like pose. Weathered and still, it once more looked just like a carved shaft of wood.
Except for the owl. Her eye winked once before she again froze, unblinking.
Of all the legs of their journey, that last trek over Red Rabbit Ridge and down into the Valley of Kiva was the one that Todd thought was much too short. They passed small bungalows and huge temple-like structures. Some were made of earth and wood, some looked like they’d been hewn out of a single stone, and some were embellished with intricate silverwork that framed the windows and balconies, but Todd preferred the simple beauty of the adobe homes and buildings. He slowed as they passed a tiny mud-walled cottage huddled under some trees.
In his mind he imagined a toddler, happily playing in the sand in front of the home under the attentive eyes of a pair of loving parents. He stopped and stood staring at the cottage.
“What is it?” asked Marla. The others were ahead of them on the trail, following Keotak-se. Only she and Lilibit hung back and watched him, puzzled.
“I remember this place,” Todd whispered. “I’ve been here before. I think.”
“You’ve been to Kiva before?” Marla sounded skeptical. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t know.” Todd headed for the doorless entrance. “Maybe I just dreamt about a place like this.”
Marla and Lilibit followed Todd into the cottage. The main room had an adobe fireplace in the corner, mud walls and a dirt floor. There was nothing else in the room except dust and cobwebs.
“There’d have been blankets, on the walls and covering the door and windows. And a carpet of woven grass on the floor.” Todd didn’t sound very certain, even to himself.
“Well.” Marla was already heading back out the door. “If I were going to dream about something, I think I’d dream for a less dusty place.”
“What’s that?” Lilibit’s question drew Marla back into the room.
Placed high on the wall, in the corner opposite the fireplace, was a shelf. On the shelf, a heap of sticks were clustered in a huge knot.
“It’s a nest.” There was nothing in the room to climb on, so Todd jumped up and grabbed it, pulling it down gently so the contents wouldn’t spill out. He placed it gently on the floor.
“Cool!” Lilibit plopped herself down and began pulling out the bits and pieces that filled the nest.
Most of it was trash, but very shiny trash. Silver gum wrappers, aluminum soda can tops, even a couple of glittering stones which Lilibit pulled out, held against her cheek and then pocketed with a giggle.
“Hey!” Todd pulled a wristwatch out from under a scrap of tin foil. “This look’s like Ben’s old watch!” Ben’s watch had had a gold band set with plastic gems, just like this one. He turned it over and looked at the backside where Ben had scratched his initials. “It is! Look! It is Ben’s watch!”
“Who’s Ben?” asked Lilibit as she fished through the debris, looking for more stones.
“He used to live at Dalton Point. He got pushed out to Hardwell about two years ago.” Marla took the watch from Todd and looked at it closely, her brow furrowed. “I wonder how it got here?”
“Maybe Grey Feather brought it,” said Lilibit. “Maybe this is his nest.”
“I doubt it.” Marla shook her head. “We’re hundreds of miles from Dalton Point.”
“Well, then how did Uncle Mesa’s stone get here?” asked Lilibit, picking up a small glittering rock.
Todd wouldn’t touch it, but he looked at it as closely as he dared. “Are you sure it’s the same stone?”
Lilibit held it against her cheek. “Yup!” she said with a nod. “It’s sleeping now, but it’s definitely the same one I gave Uncle Mesa before we left.”
“Weird.” Marla said as she headed to the door. She looked anxiously down the path to where the others had disappeared. “C’mon. Let’s go. The others aren’t in sight anymore.”
Todd raked his fingers over the bottom of the nest one last time. “You sure you don’t want this?”
Peeking out between the woven twigs, a familiar glint of silver caught Todd’s eye. He pulled out a small silver heart-shaped charm, a scrap of chain still threaded through its eye.
“My locket!” Marla squealed, rushing back into the cottage. “My grandmother’s locket!”
Todd stared down at the nest while Marla examined the locket, her eyes getting all wet and teary.
“It must be Grey Feather’s nest,” he said, almost to himself.
“But if his nest was here,” asked Marla, “what was he doing at Dalton Point?”
“I don’t know,” said Todd as he picked up the nest and dropped Ben’s watch back into it. “But I don’t think he was your typical bird.”
“I suppose,” said Marla. “I wonder what happened to him. I haven’t seen him for days.”
Todd reached up to put the nest back on its shelf, hiding his face from the two girls. He didn’t want to tell them what he suspected.
“You want to put this back too?” asked Lilibit, holding out a shiny trinket. “It was in the nest.”
Todd didn’t move for a long minute as he looked down into Lilibit’s hand. In her dirty palm was a round silver hoop draped with silver lacing like a spider web. Eight tiny colored stones nested in the webbing and two small feathers hung from one side.
He’d seen this ornament before. Or at least one that looked like it. A long time ago he’d seen a charm like this on his father, hanging at the end of a grey braid that stood out against his black hair. He took the charm from Lilibit and squeezed it, almost crushing it.
“What is it?” Lilibit asked, her head cocked to one side.
“Nothing,” Todd whispered. What he thought, he didn’t want to share. At least not just now. Not until he had more time to think about it.
“C’mon!” Marla yelled from outside. “They’re way ahead of us.”
They left the cottage without a backward glance. Running down the path, Todd tried to outrun the questions in his head. What was Grey Feather?
Or maybe the question should be, who?
The others were stopped on the path in front of them. At first, Todd thought they were waiting for them, but then he realized that they’d stopped to greet an old man who stood before them, eying them up and down.
Like Keotak-se, the old man wore a leather tunic and leggings, but his tunic was covered with silver beads and colored gemstones, sewn in intricate patterns. There was no hair on the top of his head, but a long grey braid fell down his back. He shot a glance as the three of them ran into sight, but quickly went back to glaring at Keotak-se.
“So, Keotak-se,” the old man rasped, “more pledges? And what use are neophytes with no Stone Voice to serve? Eh?”
Todd glanced down at Lilibit, who was far more interested in the old man’s tunic than his words. Jeff started to say something, but a bump from Marla cut him off. Nita, cupping her mouth to Devon’s ear, whispered something. Devon nodded.
Keotak-se faced the old man, but Todd thought that he was very aware of their reactions.
“When the Stone Voice rises, Hihomay,” Keotak-se mildly chastised the old man, “the neophytes must be ready. That is our duty. It is not for us to question the stars.”
Hihomay hurumped and waddled away muttering angrily, his back bent under the weight of his bejeweled tunic.
They followed Keotak-se down a path that ended abruptly at a crescent shaped courtyard.
Since the travelers were not done gaping at the wonders of Kiva, it seemed only fair for the residents of Kiva to stare back. People drifted down from the hillsides, walked out from the woods and stepped out of houses and buildings. Todd straightened his shoulders, hoping that he did not look as bedraggled as he felt.
As they stepped onto the red pavestones, Todd saw that the sixteen buildings that lined the courtyard were all originally adobe and wood with rounded archways for doors. Each had an entry in the center and on the upper levels, openings led to balconies that looked down onto the courtyard. But that’s where their similarities ended. Some buildings were two levels high, while others were three or four levels. So
me had plain adobe facades, while the others were inlaid with silver and turquoise. Balcony railings and cornices might be silver filigree with glittering gemstone accents, while others were ornately carved wood, painted in earth tones and pastels. Yet several were simple rough-hewn wood, weathered into muted hues.
Another totem pole, very similar to the one they had passed on the trail, stood at the entrance to the earthen dome. While the carvings stood quite still and looked very wooden, Todd could see their eyes move as they watched their arrival. The owl blinked occasionally, the thunderbird sniffed once or twice and even the bear opened a sleepy eye, just a crack, to check out the goings on.
Groups of young people stood around in bunches and eyed them, some warily, some welcoming. Todd was startled to see that, unlike all the people they had seen so far, a lot of the younger people didn’t appear to be native. While a lot of them had the dark hair and dark eyes of the People of the Land, more than half were obviously from elsewhere around the world.
Todd saw the grin of a tall black teenager directed towards Marla and noticed a small shy smile in return. She rarely spoke of it in the past, but Todd knew that being the only black student in their small elementary school always made her feel “a little weird.” Todd leaned over to tease her, but stopped when all the chatter suddenly hushed. A figure emerged from the darkened archway of the earthen dome.
She was not the tallest women that Todd had ever seen, though she had a towering presence. Her jet black hair, twined with metallic silver cords and streaks of grey, was braided into two long plaits that fell over her shoulders, down to her knees. Todd couldn’t guess her age, she might have been thirty, she might have been eighty. Her face beamed with strength and wisdom. Looking into her eyes, Todd was reminded of his stone Tai-Kwee and the vision of the universe that he glimpsed when he allowed himself to lose himself in its depths.
“I am Gil-Salla, and I welcome you. Enter the Hall of the Flame Voice and take your place among the other Neophytes of the Stones.”
Her voice was low and resonant. Todd shot a quick glance over his shoulder. It sounded like her words were repeated by the crowd, but it was just the echo off the buildings.
