Opals. Everything was connected. Kelsey had told him that. He had to always remember that because maybe he could use it somehow to help them.
Finley glanced at him sideways. “I’m sorry I took her from you like I did,” she said quietly.
He didn’t turn towards her, but kept walking. “I know, Finn. I know why you did it. You wanted to make sure I didn’t change my mind. But you could have explained it to me before you did it. Kelsey’s powerful. She might have been able to help us.”
“You love her, don’t you?”
At this he stopped and looked her in the eye. “With everything in my being. But I know my place here in Aihika. Even if I could go back to Earth right now, I wouldn’t. Not until this is finished. I just wish Kelsey was here with us. There are things she knows that other people don’t.” He shook his head. “Forget it for now. There’s nothing we can do.”
Finley stared at the bracelet on the child’s wrist. Had the Dwarves given the Aihikians this years ago, the war might have ended sooner because the Asuras would have been beaten back quickly. As a child, Finley had rarely encountered any of the retinues of the four great kings, but with the breaking down of this world, all the levels of this dimension were finally colliding.
Desmond and Finley made the two-day journey back to camp on foot, sheltering in ruined buildings and avoiding the hordes of Garudas that continually searched for them. Finley kept reapplying the herbs to their skin and they hid when the Garudas were close, but she wasn’t sure it was working. Something was wrong.
“Desmond, are you sure that opal bracelet is working?” They were hiding beneath the beams of a collapsed bridge and a sole Garuda circled above them. It uttered that incessant wail that made her skin crawl. “It’s as if it knows we’re here.”
“It will leave soon, Finn.” True to what he said, within ten minutes the Garuda abandoned its search and flew off towards the mountains. They continued their journey, passing through villages that appeared to be empty, but weren’t. Occasionally, another human emerged from the piles of debris, hidden from above by underground tunnels. They were offered food and drink and a tub of water to clean themselves. One man had been a doctor and set the child’s arm properly. Her shrieks of pain were drowned out by the thunder roaring above them.
They continued on.
#
On day two, they moved out of the woods and entered their camp, in what had once been a major farming community. Desmond could smell the dead before they could see the settlement. A few old barns and storehouses remained and other makeshift buildings had been erected as hospitals. He gagged at the unsettling stench of nauseatingly sweet, yet putrid corpses as they burned on the pyre. The burning of human bodies owned a singular pungent scent like nothing else in existence. As a cop, he’d encountered many murder scenes and been present for autopsies, so the smell was not unfamiliar to him. For his sister, however, her green sheen belied the brave front she showed to the rest of the world. But he knew the truth.
He could see the smoke curling upwards towards the morning sun. He wondered if the dead’s souls were in the wisps of smoke that rose towards the heavens.
The camp was alive with activity and the battle they missed on their search for the child must have been fierce. Soldiers lay sprawled across the ground and on palettes set up within the village. Medics and healers scuttled with a frenetic energy, stitching up gashes and wounds before their charges bled out and then hid them within the ruins of the old buildings. Desmond spied his mother, Catherine O’Dallaigh, tending to a soldier and walked over to her.
She glanced up. Her expression one of relief. “You found the child. I knew you both would. Excellent, I see her arm is set. Well done. Her mother is…” Catherine said, but then someone shrieked, cutting her off.
Desmond turned to see a young woman dodging through the camp towards them. She was rail thin and filthy, and looked as if she’d experienced the worst tragedy imaginable. She wore an expression of stunned disbelief. She nearly fell into his arms. “You found my little girl?”
She sobbed and leaned into her child, who started to cry and reached for her mother.
Desmond’s handed her the toddler and Catherine took over.
She put her arms around the mother’s shoulders and gently coaxed her further into camp. “Come, dear. Walk with me and we’ll get you both settled and something to eat.”
Shrieks suddenly filled the nighttime air and the entire camp flinched. The flock of Garudas screamed so loudly they drowned out Catherine’s words of comfort. They created a fierce wind with their wings. Instinctively, Desmond and Finley ran to their mother’s side as she crouched to the ground with the mother and little girl. Desmond did his best to shield them with his body as objects and dust flew throughout the camp. Other soldiers hoisted weapons and soon hundreds of arrows shot towards the sky. One Garuda beelined for the little girl, but Finley raised her own weapon and attacked. It hit the creature in its chest, missing its heart by inches, but enough of a wound to make it retreat.
Everyone ceased speaking until the roar of the horde flew past. Desmond stood up and watched the creatures' lingering shadows as they departed through the nighttime sky towards the Mountains of Sumeru. From here they looked like a grotesque flock of birds. “Take her now and hide her, Mom, before they return.”
Catherine didn’t need to be told twice. She ushered the child and her mother in the direction of the nursery.
Desmond watched her hurry towards it. The tent inside glowed with faint flickering yellow candlelight. Shadows, both big and small, reflected inside. Surrounding the shelter stood no less than twenty soldiers, all alert and at the ready with their swords and bows drawn. Baskets filled with herbs, both bitter and sweet, surrounded the enclosure to mask the scent of the children. Additional buckets of opals were placed outside the nursery and each child inside wore an opal bracelet provided by the Dwarves. This nursery housed the very last free children in the kingdom and every one of those soldiers standing guard protecting it would give their lives for the remaining children inside. They were nearly all that was left in the land, save the ones still imprisoned on the mountains at the base of Mount Sumeru and the scant few scattered throughout the kingdom in the remote villages where their parents had successfully hidden them.
A man patted his shoulder. “Good to have you back, Garrett O’Dallaigh, son of Catherine and Aaron O’Dallaigh. Even better that you saved the child so the Asuras can’t use her.”
Desmond turned to his cousin Odran and grinned. When they were kids, he used to always address him this way.
“It’s good to be back, Odran.”
And it was. Desmond felt very much at ease in this world. He’d always felt a bit out of place on Earth. When he’d met his wife and had his son, he’d finally felt comfortable, though still not completely at peace. He had never been able put his finger on it, though. After their deaths, and the death of his brother, he had wallowed in loneliness for a long time until he’d met Kelsey. Finally, he’d felt complete and now he knew why. Their paths had been spiritually crossing for more centuries than he could count. And now he was here, back in his homeworld where human children’s auras were prizes because their souls were pure and untainted. Exactly what the Asuras needed. They’d steal the children’s souls and use that power to win the battles above. It disgusted him.
“We are going on a mission tonight to raid the children’s slaves camps,” Odran said. “I know you and Finley just returned, but will you join us?”
Desmond nodded. “Of course.” Older children were kidnapped and forced to watch over the infants and toddlers, but only until the Asuras had culled their essences. After that, the older children remained, only to babysit a living corpse. Children whose souls were taken were not dead, but they might as well be. They were just living shells, incapable of doing anything until they died. Desmond realized now that many of the infants and children he had seen in Xanadu had been from his world. Once the Asuras used the chil
dren’s soul, they were truly soulless and went to Xanadu to be reborn. It was similar to how Kelsey had remained catatonic on Earth during her ordeal, while her own soul traveled to Xanadu. The children on his world who were used by the Asuras remained alive, but in a stasis, and their souls existed in Xanadu until their bodies could handle no more and they finally died. At that point, they could move on to their next incarnation.
Thinking of Kelsey made his jaw tighten. God, he missed her. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through these past two months after what had happened to her physically, emotionally and mentally. They should have been together, dealing with the enormity of what had transpired. He should be by her side helping her heal.
She lost the baby. He shook his head, trying not to think about it. He knew how strong she was and knew she’d be okay. She had a lot of friends and family for support. For a moment his thoughts drifted to her brother and his blood boiled. He hoped he never crossed paths with Ari again or he wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t kill him.
Odran stared over his shoulder. “Finley, Garrett, they need us in the main camp.”
Before they could move, an agonizing howl pierced the night and Desmond, Finley and Odran turned as one and ran towards the sound. They knew that cry. It wasn’t a Garuda, but a primal, animal howl as a different creature was being mauled.
Other soldiers also answered the shout and all stumbled through the forest until they arrived in a large glade. A Garuda lay on the ground, twitching and writhing in a death throe. Its enormous red wings flapped ferociously and created hurricane-like winds that caused Desmond and his men to grasp onto tree branches to steady themselves. The wings thundered and flapped about the birdlike creature’s swollen and engorged golden body.
A growl sounded and Desmond and his team froze as a massive, bloody animal emerged from the wood. It was female and towered over them at eight feet tall. She was covered in a coarse white fur, which was sticky with fresh blood. There was a deep gash across her chest and another scored her side. The creature grunted and held out a squirming infant in her arms for them to take. He knew in his heart she’d gotten hurt saving this very infant and the injury to the Garuda was because of her.
Desmond took a step forward but then the Garuda rendered a high-pitched squeal so loud Desmond felt his eyes tear. It nearly brought him to his knees and people around him grimaced in pain as the sound seemed to sear their brains. The infant screamed and all eyes had turned to the Garuda. A rippling could be seen within the massive creature’s stomach and the Garuda bucked wildly. Desmond was transfixed and horrified when the Garuda’s belly violently ripped apart and an enormous snake-like creature exploded from its gut. It spewed ragged chunks and gory pieces of the Garuda’s insides across the field. He’d heard about this, but had not seen it happen yet. Desmond watched, fascinated, as the hellish-looking land serpent slithered its way across the forest floor to rest beside the bleeding ape-like being. Blood from the Garuda’s insides caked its snout and it flicked its double forked tongue to lick it off its long, pointed scales.
He knew the reptile was not a creature native to Aihika, but to the Animal and God realm and had somehow made the jump between the worlds. Human appendages jutted out in odd angles from the snake’s iridescent body. The creature’s face was more human looking than snake, as were its eye pupils, which were rounded like a human’s. The eyes themselves appeared overly large and not in proportion to its elongated, snake-shaped head. It regarded him with a steely intelligence that made the hair on Desmond’s arms rise up. He could see the eyes were hazel with flecks of gold.
The ape-like creature, which Desmond explained to the Aihikians was a Yeti, grunted again and held out its arms in offering. Desmond rushed forward and took the infant from her. He kept a watchful eye on the serpent, as it regarded him with its lidless, beady stare. Though the snakes worked alongside the Yetis, they were unpredictable creatures, and more than once, blood had been spilled due to their prickly natures.
Desmond handed the child off to Finley who quickly disappeared, back into the forest. He turned and addressed the Yeti. “You’re hurt. Please let us take you back to camp to help you. We have food and medicine.”
But the creature instead turned its stare to the sky where the peaks of Mount Sumeru could be seen. Lightning streaked across the panorama and lit up the mountain like a bad fireworks display. He could hear the roar of thunder even from this distance. Desmond’s only solace was that the Asuras, who were right now battling the Gods above, would not have the infant in their clutches to use as a weapon. This one would live.
For now.
“Please, at least take this as thanks for saving the child.” Desmond reached into his pouch and removed a small six-inch handmade pick-ax, which resembled a stone chisel. He had to remove his Vajra weapon to get it out of his pouch. Desmond handed the pick-ax to the Yeti, but the creature kept its eyes trained on the Vajra weapon. Desmond quickly returned it to his hip pouch. He wasn’t giving that weapon up. It had been a gift from his mother when he’d first returned to Aihika. Desmond’s grandfather had carried this weapon, as had his grandfather before him. His mother had promised to hold it for Desmond if he finally returned. She had given it to Desmond the day she took him to visit his grandfather’s grave.
Though the Vajra was more talisman than weapon, its symbolism in this world was great. It was made of solid gold and meant to bring good luck to those who held it as well as to crush enemies and destroy evil. Too bad it didn’t work for my grandfather. He’d missed meeting him again by just five years.
The Vajra weapon was just eight inches in length, with two enclosed prongs on either end. He could feel its heft, from the heaviness of the gold, but it didn’t weigh him down. It wasn’t lost on him that this weapon in Buddhism was also called Dorje. The same word he’d named his Fedelia pet back in Xanadu.
The Yeti moved and Desmond froze. The creature came forwards until she stood directly before him. Desmond had to crane his neck to look up at her. She towered over him by at least a foot and a half. An acrid sweat poured forth from her and her chest heaved heavily with what he assumed was pain.
The Yeti reached out and gently took the pick-ax from his hands. He could tell she took great care to not rake him with her long nails. With her other hand, she replaced the weapon with a heavy stone. Desmond glanced at it, confused. It appeared to be a misshapen chunk of gold. Desmond gazed into the creature’s eyes and she touched her bloody chest and then pointed at the mountain where the lightning storm had died down for the moment. He was sure it would be back again soon.
“What is this for?”
Again the creature grunted and pointed towards the mountain.
“Yes, I know about the mountain. It’s where the war rages.”
Desmond swore he saw frustration in her eyes but before he could ask another question, she turned and fled back into the forest. She ran so fast, she was a blur. The serpent regarded Desmond with a considering gaze and then turned and slithered after the Yeti.
Desmond watched them go and tried to understand why the Yeti had given him the nugget. What did it mean? It obviously wasn’t a simple gift. It had something to do with the war going on Mount Sumeru, of that he felt certain.
A death wail from the field roused him from his musings.
He craned his neck towards the nearly dead Garuda and his rage built. This rage threatened to consume him at all times in Aihika and he’d had to learn to keep it at bay. Now that he remembered what these creatures were, he knew why his mother had made him leave. His family had not lived on the outskirts of the kingdom where it had been safer for some. They were closer to the city and his father had been a fighter. Leaving had been for his protection because if he hadn’t gone he might have been killed. It was because of these creatures his entire life had been thrust into chaos.
The Garudas were the pets of the Asuras, and had followed their masters' orders to locate and kidnap all the children in the land. The Devas caused
the decimation of his people. They could not fight their battle alone, so they used humans as their secret weapons.
But, a new champion had come to help the Aihikians over the past few years. The Yetis. The people still didn’t understand why these creatures had aligned themselves to save children when they could. They weren’t from this land. They suffered in battles. They were killed and maimed. Why did they leave their animal realm to help free these children? Why did they enlist the serpents to help? He didn’t know. What he did know, and the thought made his blood run cold, was that this battle must end soon or his entire civilization would be completely wiped out within the next fifty years. It would already take hundreds of years to rebuild and return their cities to their former glory, if they could at all.
And then there were the children still showing up in the land. Who were they and where did they come from? Most were so young, they couldn’t even speak, so they could never learn anything about them. Others that came spoke different tongues that Aihikians didn’t recognize, or they babbled, which again, yielded no knowledge.
Desmond recalled the lessons of his youth. The Asuras were the lowest forms of Devas in the Devic God Realm. A warlike race spurred by violence and greed. They were pompous, arrogant and belligerent and supposedly coming back as an Asura was considered one of the four unhappy rebirths. How Desmond wished all of them had instead come back as animals, hungry ghosts, or simply thrown down to any of the hell realms.
So far the Asuras had not been able to completely break the guard of the four great kings, but they were getting closer and that sent another course of anger and fear through his body. He was only one person and humans were powerless to stop any of this from happening. All he could do was try his best to track and kill any of the beasts that hunted for his people and save as many children as he could. It seemed like an effort of futility and he was just delaying the inevitable.
The Call of Mount Sumeru Page 11
