by Cully Mack
Amidst her choking, Zeev dashed across the courtyard.
‘What the bidu are you doing?’ he roared.
‘Teaching her a lesson,’ Nate answered, his tone calm but forceful. ‘One, I hope will one day save her life.’
‘Are you all right?’ Neviah asked, rubbing her palm over Mirah’s shoulders.
‘I’ll be fine,’ Mirah reassured her. ‘I just need to catch my breath.’ She glared at Nate through her hair.
He glared right back before turning towards the fountain. ‘Three laps around the courtyard when you’re ready.’
‘We don’t have to listen to him,’ Neviah said.
‘Yes, we do.’
She didn’t understand why he’d become so driven to get his point across but she’d understood it perfectly well. If she had any hope of surviving, she’d take his lesson and learn from it. If he wanted three laps, she’d give him four.
Her lungs burned and so did his gaze as she lapped around the courtyard. He watched her every step, analyzing the way she moved, how he would shape and improve her performance. Whatever Zeev was cursing in his ear, he ignored. By the time she’d run the third lap he had her weighed up, and they both knew it.
On completing the final lap, he crossed her path as she neared.
His smile affirmed his confidence. ‘I knew if there was any fight in you I’d find it. Drink.’
Mirah guzzled down the water.
‘Today you were to begin your Taphas training. I’ll tell them it’s cancelled until tomorrow.’
If he expected her to ask him why he didn’t show it and she had no intention of giving him the satisfaction of refusing to answer. Whatever fight he’d thought he’d seen in her was wrong. She had no desire to fight. The only desire she had was not to let him win.
❊
‘Quick get dressed,’ Sumer said.
Mirah rested against the chamber wall absorbing its coolness against the evening heat. She watched Sumer rummaging through the garments, favouring a long white gown that clasped over one shoulder.
‘What does bidu mean?’
‘Where did you hear that?’
She would have missed Sumer’s alarm if she hadn’t been paying attention. Caution drove her, whatever bidu meant Sumer didn’t appreciate hearing it and betraying Zeev for saying it seemed like the wrong thing to do.
‘Sometimes men coming out of the barracks mutter it.’
Recognition bloomed on Sumer’s face. ‘They say Bidu is the name of the gatekeeper of the netherworld.’
Mirah pushed off the wall and came closer.
‘People forget the gatekeeper but no one forgets the netherworld. Makes no difference, either way no one wants to go there.’
‘Where?’
‘The place of the dead, a tormenting pit within the bowels of the earth.’
That there was a place where the dead went was no surprise to her, her clan had called it Maon, a beautiful place of eternal rest high above the waters in the heavens. She wondered at these peoples’ morbid thoughts of the afterlife and considered if this was why Nate had been so determined to save Jabril.
‘Let’s not speak of such evil things. Put this on,’ she said, rushing back to the recess to get a pair of silver sandals.
Mirah lay the gown across her bed and took off her robe.
‘Why, what’s happening?’
‘You’ll see.’
Sumer helped her into the dress, clicking the silver clasp on her shoulder into place.
‘Your hair is still damp. I’ll have to braid it.’
When she’d finished, Sumer left Mirah standing in the middle of her chamber wondering what on earth was about to happen. She contemplated going to find Neviah when a knock on her door made her jump.
The first thing she noticed was the lack of weapons as Nate stood before her. She had never seen him without his daggers and sword.
‘Please come with me, I have something to show you,’ he said, and turned down the tunnel.
‘What’s going on?’ she asked as she followed.
‘You’ll see.’
Why does everyone keep saying that and where was he taking her? The prospect of being presented before Shemyaza made her heart shudder.
He strode through tunnel after tunnel and she lost her bearings.
Without stopping, he said, ‘I didn’t mean to be so tough on you this morning.’
If this was supposed to be his attempt at an apology, he wasn’t doing very well. She considered letting him stew but that would be pointless and besides, she needed him on her side.
‘I get it.’
He stopped. ‘You do?’
‘You seem surprised?’
‘I thought…’ He picked up his pace. ‘Never mind.’
The network of tunnels was so vast, she wondered if he was leading her in circles but then he paused by an entrance.
‘After you,’ he offered, his hand outstretched to guide her in.
Intricate obsidian glass sculptures filled the chamber. All kinds of glass flowers, trees and shrubs arranged into a splendid garden. She went to the closest flower. In its delicate petals, tiny pink particles glittered. The engravings in the glass so finely detailed. She touched a leaf and its prominent veins graced her finger.
The chamber was circular, and a pathway spread around a magnificent fountain stood in the centre. She studied the amazing masterpiece, with its passion flowers and vines rising up from its base, entwining with larger tubular flowers from which babbling water cascaded.
Mirah circled around the fountain taking everything in. She leaned over and examined the little glass gerbils, mongoose and lizards sat serene between the flowers and vines.
‘This is beautiful.’
She gasped, noticing a hummingbird hovering in mid-air. She couldn’t see what kept the bird in place or how it was even possible.
Nate stood as motionless as the obsidian glass.
‘Why am I here?’ He didn’t move and his gaze disarmed her. ‘Nate?’
‘Sumer told me it is your birthday.’
She was speechless. With all that had happened he’d brought her to this beautiful glass garden filled with flowers. He still wasn’t moving, his gaze making her self-conscious. She stepped closer to the fountain and turned away from him, letting the water trickle over her hand.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
She sensed his presence close behind her. Did he want to reach out and hold her? Did she want him to?
For a moment the world fell away and part of her old self rose to the surface, the part untainted by fear and loss. In that moment he wasn’t a cruel deliverer, just a man who’d had the sense to do something nice for her.
He was a man, filled with masculinity who enthralled her and enticed her as much as he made her shy away. What did she really know about him? If she believed his repentance, then shouldn’t she forgive him? Could she?
He had secrets more than she could number. He often spoke in what she considered half truths or said nothing at all.
Why? Why were Zeev and him arguing over her? If she asked Zeev would he tell her? She hadn’t seen Nate kill any of her clan in Barakel. He’d kept her and the others safe from harm on his ship, been angered to the point of fury at the loss of Huldah, arranged Abela’s healing from the Shaaph and secured safety for the girl who replaced Huldah. Even after her arrival, he still had a vested interest in her welfare. Was he truly trying to keep her safe and if so what was his agenda?
She sensed the pull and desired to lean back into him to feel the warmth of his safety, to test its truth but if she did what would he do?
‘Look up.’
With the beauty of the chamber, she hadn’t noticed it had no roof. The stars twinkled in the night sky.
‘Do you remember when I showed you the Star of Dignity? It’s the brightest one over there,’ he said, pointing it out. ‘Out of all the stars in the heavens that one reminds me of you.’
His words held in the air and
she couldn’t help wonder how things might have been different if he’d been part of her clan.
‘I have something for you,’ he said, cutting through her confusion.
He reached over her head and she saw a golden star hanging from a chain as he lowered it. His hands brush against her skin and his breathing stirred the tiny hairs on the nape of her neck as he fixed its clasping.
‘I hope you don’t mind.’
She sensed his caution, his waiting for her to respond. She held up the exquisite star turning it in her hand. The star was small, simple and beautifully fashioned. He was making it impossible not to like him.
She swayed against the pulsing push and pull of space between them which compelled her to lean back. She wondered if it pushed him towards her. If they connected would he ask for what she was too afraid to give? She needed to get away, to put distance between them.
‘I need to go.’
His breath on her neck was warm and heavy as he sighed.
‘I’ll show you back then.’
She hadn’t dared take the chance to gauge his reaction as they strolled towards to her chamber though she suspected he was taking his time.
On reaching her door he said, ‘I’ll see you in the morning for training.’
She braved a quick peek and found him smiling. That victorious grin told her all she needed to know. He knew how he’d made her feel and enjoyed it.
‘Thank you for my gift it’s perfect.’
Her words came out faster than she intended, a faltering mess of confusion. She hurried into the safety of her chamber, rested her head against the door and listened as his footsteps padded away.
❊
After their sparring, Nate once again postponed their Taphas training, and she hadn’t decided if the delay should alarm or relieve her. She’d hardly finished eating when Neviah tapped on her door.
‘Ready?’ Neviah asked.
‘Are you sure about this?’
‘Of course, I’m sure. We’ll never find a way out of here sat in our rooms and besides you heard what Sumer said.’
‘We can go anywhere except where it’s guarded,’ Mirah conceded.
They trekked through the winding tunnels becoming more familiar with the layout. Mirah could feel the little golden star against her chest with each step. Now and then they arrived at rounded intersections with four exits. Each exit led into a long tunnel with other tunnels branching off of that. The network was a maze. They paused by an intersection near one of the tunnel entrances.
‘What do you think that is?’ Neviah asked, pointing to a small blue star painted on the wall.
Mirah brushed her hand over it. ‘Let’s go this way and see if there are any more.’
They followed the blue stars leading them deeper into the tunnel system. They noticed at each of the tunnel entrances other symbols painted on the walls. A sun, a leaf, three rippled lines, two vertical lines one black the other red, a winged beast and so many others.
The blue stars eventually led them to the lapis lazuli chamber filled with the golden stars. To their relief, Shemyaza’s throne room stood empty.
‘I think they are showing the way to places within the mountain,’ Mirah said. ‘If I’m right, then maybe one of the vertical lines will lead to the shaft.’
They tracked back to an intersection and found the black and red vertical lines.
‘Shall we try the black?’ Neviah asked, pushing off into the tunnel.
Soon they stood at the top of the shaft leading to the warriors’ courtyard peering down into the darkness.
Neviah quickened her steps as she swept back to the nearest intersection. ‘I wonder where the red one leads?’
Mirah rushed to keep pace. ‘Maybe we should explore the lower level?’
Part of her, she realised, as she followed Neviah, hoped she might bump into Nate. He’d never mentioned her birthday gift or her rapid retreat from the obsidian glass garden during their predawn training.
Numerous times she considered bringing it up but how could she explain her feelings when she didn’t understand them herself. Somehow she had to get a grasp on her emotions. He has secrets, she reminded herself and agendas. He is smart, he is handsome, he is dangerous. More than ever she understood she needed to escape.
Neviah twisted and turned through intersections and tunnels until they spotted guards standing in front of a shaft rising higher into the mountain.
‘Great,’ Neviah grumbled.
‘Let’s go back.’ She realised neither of them knew which symbol led to their rooms. ‘If we return to the first shaft, I might find the way to our chambers.’
They returned by another route. Up ahead sunlight filtered across the tunnel floor. On nearing, they found a veranda which looked over a distant desert plain.
‘We must be on another side of the mountain,’ Neviah said.
Ripened oranges dangled from potted fruits trees and perfumed periwinkles adorned the veranda. Under a matching green canopy, a bench layered with enticing watermelon green cushions rested in the shade.
‘Let’s sit for a moment,’ Mirah said. ‘There’s not a part of my body which doesn’t ache.’
‘Mine too.’ Neviah sighed as she slumped onto the soft cushions.
They sat in silence enjoying the summery breeze, watching sand being teased from sand dunes into a swirling dance by the wind.
‘We tried,’ Mirah said, folding her knees and raising her legs up onto the bench.
‘You give up too easy.’
‘Well, even if we had found a way to escape what about Dara and the others? I would never leave without them.’
‘We don’t even know where Dara is. She may never return,’ Neviah said, her eyes staring over the desert to some far off unseen place which held the mystery of the Chashmalim.
Mirah fiddled with a cushion, her finger tracing over its embroidered vines. ‘There’s nothing to go back to.’
Neviah’s head snapped away from the sand dunes and she turned to Mirah. ‘I can’t believe you would say such a thing. What about—well you know?’
Mirah picked up the cushion, rested her chin on top of it and hugged it to her chest. She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Gabe could be anywhere by now. Only death remained for him at Barakel.’
Neviah shifted around further in her seat to get a better view of her. ‘You would forget him that easily?’
‘Of course not. But what we did in the Taphas chamber, don’t you want to find out more about wielding?’
‘Not for the same reason you do,’ Neviah snapped.
Mirah’s head shot up. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I saw the way Esha, and the other Taphas women stared at you like you’d done something they’d never seen.’
‘I threw ice. Like they showed us.’
‘The ice didn’t shatter against the wall though did it?’ She glared at Mirah and then huffed. ‘Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough, Zeev said we begin training tomorrow.’
Mirah leaned over to scratch an itch on her ankle. The golden star slipped out of her tunic, dangling in the air.
‘What is that?’ Neviah asked, staring at the swinging pendant.
She tucked the star inside her tunic. ‘It’s nothing, it’s just a birthday gift.’
‘From who?’
Mirah didn’t answer.
Neviah’s eyes widened, and she jumped up and fled across the veranda. Face red and welling with tears.
‘You’ll never leave,’ she cried out, before rushing off back into the tunnels.
Stunned, Mirah sat contemplating why Neviah thought her ice impaling the wall was abnormal. How could she know?
Guilt descended on her like a dark creeping shadow. It threatened to reveal unspoken reasons why she desired to stay. No, Neviah was wrong. She leaped off the seat and sprinted through the tunnels following the black painted vertical lines towards the shaft. Neviah was nowhere in sight.
She turned a corner to find Shay
la dead ahead of her. She considered turning back but something inside her screamed no. I won’t let her stand in my way. Shayla, dressed in a pearl green, skin-hugging fabric sauntered towards her like a cat about to pounce on a butterfly.
‘Have you seen Nev?’
‘Maybe she’s gone to make out with that guard,’ she answered, adjusting the strap over her shoulder. She dropped her hand and teased her finger along the low cut line of her garment which exposed the curve of her breasts. ‘I’m touched someone of her breeding doesn’t try to rise above her station. I heard they gave such a public display.’ She smirked and her wickedness spread across her face with a cat-like smile.
Mirah leaned in closer and snapped out, ‘So you spread gossip about things you know nothing about?’
‘Oh no, I don’t have time for gossip.’ Unfazed by the narrow distance between them, her haughty eyes stared at Mirah. ‘I’m off to the garden to meet Nate.’
❊ 10 ❊
Silence lingered beside them as they made their way to the courtyard. Mirah had made several attempts to talk to her but Neviah refused to acknowledge her presence.
It had taken them two weeks to travel up the river, and that was with many oarsmen pushing them against its flow. On the other side of the mountain, desert plains expanded like a golden sea. How far did Neviah think they would get before capture or worse? No, she was being unreasonable and if silent sulking was all she’d offer, then Mirah would wait her out.
‘What’s wrong with you two?’ Zeev asked, rolling up his sleeves.
Neviah wound her hair in a tight bun as though preparing for war. ‘Nothing,’ she hissed. She was spoiling for a fight, daring him to push her further.
He weighed up the distance between them and fixed his eyes on her. ‘I’ve seen ice brinicles warmer than you,’ he declared.
At the mention of ice Mirah winced.
‘Well anyway, I’ll soon have your blood pumping.’ He winked, willing her to attack him, ‘Maybe the heat will take out your sting.’
Nate emerged through the gatehouse, his cloak billowing out behind him. Dawn was still an hour away and something about his athletic movement made Mirah wonder if he was just returning.
