The Dolorous Birthing (The Elephant and Macaw Banner - Novelette Series Book 9)

by Christopher Kastensmidt

  Finally getting to his feet, Oludara sloshed toward the creature. Faced with three foes, the wolf spun off Cabwassu and raced through the water. As it passed Oludara, he aimed a strike below its snout and felt the blade nick flesh. The creature howled in pain and continued running.

  "After it!" yelled Oludara, and the other two followed without comment.

  The chase came to an abrupt halt, however, when a woman’s voice shouted "Stop!" in Portuguese.

  The three came to a halt just before an old woman in a ragged robe. Oludara could see the wrinkles on her face in the flickering torchlight, but little else. The wolf’s glowing blue eyes peeked out from behind her, and she patted its bronze-plated head with a gentle hand as it whimpered.

  "I’m sorry," she said. "Is my doggy bothering you?"

  "Unusual pet," said Gerard.

  "Many come here on foolish quests, seeking treasures which never existed. Massone here is the only protection I have."

  "We search for a bow, rumored to lie in this cave," said Oludara.

  "A bow which never misses its target? That’s the kind of nonsense I’m talking about. Nothing but a child’s tale."

  "An old man told us we could find it here," said Cabwassu.

  "I suppose he told you to get his club while you’re at it?"

  "Yes, how did you know?"

  "No good will come of that, to be sure."

  "What do you mean?" asked Oludara.

  The woman sighed. "Come, have a seat and I’ll tell you the whole story."

  She walked toward a boulder on one wall. To Oludara, her gait seemed inhuman; her strides were far too long and her robe bowed out at the knees. When she sat down, she held out a hand to one side, offering them a row of stones on which to sit.

  Oludara accepted her offer and sat down. Cabwassu followed, and his parrot returned to his shoulder, all the time keeping one eye cocked toward Massone. Gerard did not sit, but stood in place, eying the old lady cautiously.

  "Where do I begin?" she said. "Oh, I know."

  She muttered a few words which Oludara could not understand.

  "What did you say?" asked Oludara.

  "I said goodbye." She waved, and below her hood, Oludara could just make out a smile.

  At that, the water below his feet was sucked away, and all the water in the cavern collected into one massive column. Oludara reacted far too late, as the powerful wave crashed into him. His last sight, as the water carried him over a ledge and into darkness, was of Cabwassu’s parrot flying away, screeching.

  #

  The initial shock over, Oludara found himself underwater. He opened his eyes to complete darkness. Jerking himself forward in a search for air, he instead struck rock with his hands. He spun around and pushed up, breaking the surface of the water. His legs wobbled, but he managed to get them under him and find that the water reached almost to his armpits.

  "Gerard!" he said. "Cabwassu!"

  "I’m here," Cabwassu responded from the darkness.

  "And Gerard?"

  "I don’t know."

  "Find him!"

  Oludara scrambled through the water, until his foot struck a body.

  "Here," he said. "Help me!"

  Cabwassu’s hands slapped back and forth, searching for him in the complete darkness, and Oludara guided them down to Gerard’s body. The two of them lifted and pulled his head above water. Oludara slapped his back several times until he vomited a lungful of water.

  "Are you all right?" said Oludara.

  Gerard hacked out a series of coughs, but Oludara could feel him nodding.

  "We’re lucky to have survived that fall," said Cabwassu.

  Oludara heard a sound from above and shushed him.

  "Are they dead?" came a slavish, unusual voice.

  "Soon enough," responded the old woman’s voice.

  "Now we can go find the dark one’s baby?"

  "Yes. I have waited long to devour that child."

  Oludara’s muscles froze. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He wondered if he’d fallen into some terrible nightmare.

  "You promised me a piece!" said the unusual voice.

  "A foot will be yours, my pet. The rest is mine."

  Oludara realized the second voice could only be Massone’s. He could picture the foul creature wagging its tail as it spoke.

  "That thing can talk?" said Gerard.

  "Shh!" replied Oludara.

  He listened, but the voices spoke no more. Oludara’s breath felt short. Lost in the darkness, he had never felt so helpless.

  "She wants my child," he said. "We must find a way out!"

  Gerard’s hands fumbled at him in the darkness, then gripped him firmly. "You must keep your wits. Calm yourself."

  "She said she would eat my baby!"

  "We’ll never get out of here by panicking. Don’t your people have some saying about that?"

  "Gerard, I have no time for sayings."

  "We’re in a pit," said Cabwassu. "I have walked all around and can find no opening. The walls are too slick to climb."

  "There must be a way out!" said Oludara.

  He searched around frantically, while Gerard and Cabwassu made a more methodical search.

  "Worst thing is," said Cabwassu, "my bird is gone!"

  "Thank God for small favors," said Gerard.

  Oludara almost struck them both. "This is no time for pets and jokes! My child’s life is at stake."

  "That’s why you need to calm down," said Gerard. "We must think our way out of this."

  Oludara knew his friend was right. He stopped and took ten deep breaths. However, images of his unborn son passed through his mind and his eyes flashed red with anger. He again thrashed around, looking for any way out.

  After what felt like hours, but couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes, a voice came from above, saying: "Psst!"

  The sound caught his attention and he looked up in vain for the source.

  "Grab the rope!" came the voice.

  "What rope?" asked Gerard.

  "Search around, you’ll find it."

  Oludara swung his arms around and sure enough, slapped against a hanging rope. He tugged on it and found it to be firmly tied.

  "Over here," he said to the others.

  Oludara climbed up first, followed closely by Cabwassu and Gerard. Once the three had reached the top, a torch lit. As Oludara’s eyes became accustomed to the darkness, he could make out Sokoy standing before them.

  "How did you know to find us?" asked Oludara.

  "I saw that parrot of yours flying around. It led me back here."

  The parrot flew from the darkness to alight on Cabwassu’s shoulder. "You are worth nothing!" it squawked.

  "When I came in," said Sokoy, "I heard that crazy witch gloating how she’d dropped you all into a hole."

  "You know who she is?"

  "Yes, her name is Kooka. I didn’t know she’d be here or I would have warned you."

  "Oh," said Cabwassu. "I’ve heard of her. Terrible witch."

  "She eats babies," said Sokoy, looking at Oludara. "And from what I heard, she wants yours."

  "We must leave immediately and catch up to her," said Oludara.

  "No," said Sokoy. "She may not leave by the same exit. You should try and surprise her in her lair, while she prepares for her journey." He pointed down a large tunnel. "She headed that way."

  Oludara considered, then nodded. "It is a good plan. Let us move."

  "And if you don’t mind," said Sokoy. "I’ll wait back outside."

  #

  Oludara spared only a moment to take in the magnificent cavern. The walls sparkled with the reflections of thousands of pin-like crystals. Water covered one-half the floor; the other half formed a kind of workshop and living space. It contained a table, some chairs, a wooden bed, a pile of rags on the ground, and, most importantly, Kooka.

  Kooka stared into a round, violet amethyst the size of a melon. Within the stone, Oludara could make out
a face he knew well: Arany.

  All at once, Oludara gasped and Massone leapt from the pile of rags--which apparently formed his bed--barking and causing Kooka to lose her concentration and the image to disappear.

  Massone paced toward his master, growling at the trio the entire time, and Kooka turned to face Oludara. Time seemed to stop as they silently studied one another. Gerard and Cabwassu came to stand on either side of him. Kooka finally broke the silence.

  "How did you escape?" she asked.

  Instead of answering, Oludara demanded, "Why do you desire my child?"

  "There is greatness in that one."

  "Greatness? My son will be great?"

  Kooka cocked her head to one side as if puzzled, then let out a cackle.

  Oludara ignored the mad laughter and asked, "How did you know we would come?"

  "I brought you here," she said. "All I had to do was slip a thought into that guava-brained savage over there. I made him tell you to look for the bow."

  "Hey!" shouted Cabwassu.

  "But I suppose our game is over," said Kooka. "Please have mercy on an old woman."

  Kooka looked down in resignation, but Oludara spotted her muttering words under her breath. He charged at her, only to have Massone, barking, block his path. He attempted to cut under the creature’s snout again, but it maneuvered out of his way and bit his arm instead. He dropped his knife in agony.

  Kooka finished her incantation and Oludara heard Gerard yelp in pain behind him. He glanced back to see his friend drop to the ground. At the same time, Cabwassu grabbed Massone and--muscles straining to the utmost--tossed him to one side. Kooka ran for one of the shelves.

  "Oludara," Gerard gasped through clenched teeth. "The bow! Don’t let her get it."

  Oludara looked to the shelves and indeed, Kooka reached for a bow. He lurched up and ran full speed toward her. She grabbed the bow, readied an arrow, and turned to aim just as he crashed into her. The bow and arrow flew from her hands and the two of them fell. To Oludara’s horror, Kooka’s robe flipped up to show a pair of insect legs flapping beneath.

  Massone raced at Oludara’s prone figure, but Cabwassu launched a shaft from his own bow and pierced the creature through a gap between the plates on its head and neck. It paused and howled in pain, but forced itself toward Oludara, one painful step at a time. Cabwassu, arrows in hand, released five shots at incredible speed. Three of them bounced from the creature’s plates, but the other two struck true, and Massone fell.

  Kooka righted herself as her pet fell. "Massone!" she cried. "What have they done to you, my pet?" She crawled, crying, toward the dog’s limp body.

  Oludara watched in disgust as Kooka wept over the body of Massone, her insect legs twitching behind her. Cabwassu recovered one of his fallen arrows and readied the bow at Kooka, looking to Oludara for guidance. Oludara shook his head.

  "As you asked," he said, "we shall be merciful to an old woman."

  "Oh, thank you!" she said, turning and crawling toward him. She bent down to kiss his feet.

  Oludara noticed her hand make a quick motion into her robe. He pulled away just as she struck out with what looked like a palm-length thorn.

  "Enough!" he said, kicking it from her hand.

  "This isn’t over!" she screamed.

  Before Oludara could react, she spoke a word of command and her body transformed into an alligator. She took a snap at his feet, but he backed away just in time. The Kooka-alligator rushed on its squat legs toward the water and disappeared within. The ripples from the alligator moved toward one wall and then disappeared.

  Gerard, finally recovered enough from whatever magic Kooka had used against him, stood and joined Oludara.

  "Where is she?" he asked.

  "She fled through some passage under the water."

  "Should we follow?"

  "I think not. In that form, she has the advantage underwater. Better to leave her here to lick her wounds and be on our way."

  "Here’s the bow," said Cabwassu, holding it out to Oludara.

  Oludara took the magnificent bow, a thick, six-foot bow criss-crossed with delicate carvings.

  "And don’t forget Sokoy’s walking stick," said Gerard.

  A quick search of the shelves turned up a club. Cabwassu also noticed a passage leading up and out of the cave, toward light.

  #

  Gerard’s eyes burned from the brightness at the end of the tunnel. The sun blazed through the opening, lighting up the rocks in yellows and oranges so intense, they looked like the coals of a blazing forge. Once outside, they worked their way back to the entrance and Sokoy.

  Along the way, Cabwassu beamed at them. "Did you see how I shot Massone? I don’t need a ‘legendary’ bow."

  Oludara rubbed his bandaged arm, still burning from the bite and memory of Massone.

  "Indeed," he said. "That was the most amazing feat of archery I’ve ever seen. You saved my life."

  "You deserve to die!" said the parrot.

  They found Sokoy at the bottom of the stairs they had used to enter the cavern.

  "Climbed down by yourself?" asked Gerard.

  "I found strength in necessity," replied Sokoy. "I didn’t want to get caught up there in case Kooka came looking. Is that the bow?"

  Oludara held it toward him. "Indeed. But we have not yet put it to the test."

  "Then what are you waiting for?" Sokoy looked around. "Shoot that red rock up there." He pointed toward the top of one of the plateaus.

  "That shot is impossible!" said Cabwassu.

  "Exactly!"

  Oludara looked doubtful, but accepted an arrow from Cabwassu and aimed at the target. The arrow fired with unbelievable speed and struck the target above.

  "Amazing!" he said. "This will make a fine present for a boy who will one day be a great warrior."

  "I could think of no better present," agreed Sokoy.

  "And I believe this is yours," said Gerard, presenting Sokoy with the club.

  Sokoy handed Gerard his harquebus, tossed his own staff aside, and picked the club gingerly from Gerard’s outstretched hands. He caressed the lumpy wood as one might touch a long lost lover.

  "Oh," he said. "That is better. Much better."

  As he spoke, his back straightened up.

  "It’s like that club has taken back ten years of your age," remarked Gerard.

  "More than that," said Sokoy. He threw back his hood and presented a face much younger than the old man Gerard had expected.

  Next to him, Oludara tensed. Gerard could see him reaching for his dagger, but he wasn’t sure why.

  Sokoy also noticed the movement and tossed the club into the air, saying, "Strike Oludara!"

  At that, the club swung through the air and caught Oludara on the side of the head, knocking him down.

  Gerard went for his rapier, but had barely unsheathed it when Sokoy said, "Strike Gerard!" The club whacked his hand and he dropped the weapon. Then the club struck him in the stomach, knocking the wind from him.

  With a yell of "Strike Cabwassu!" the club changed directions and knocked Cabwassu’s bow from his hands. It next whacked his arm, causing the parrot to fly up and screech, "You deserve to die!"

  Gerard recovered enough to lunge at Sokoy and grab his throat, but not before he rushed out another call of "Strike Gerard!" The club battered Gerard in the neck and ribs, sending him painfully to the ground.

  Sokoy alternated the enchanted club between the three, pounding them mercilessly. They could do nothing but writhe on the ground and protect themselves as best they could from the blows. Overhead, the bird circled and chanted "You are worth nothing. You are worth nothing."

  Finally, Sokoy shouted, "Enough!" The club returned to his hand. He reached down and picked up the enchanted bow.

  "And thank you for this wonderful present. I mean, what would a baby do with a splendid bow like this, after all?"

  Cabwassu looked up with one eye, his other bruised and shut. "You must be...but you couldn’t.
.."

  Sokoy grinned down at him. "You may have heard of me before. I am called Way-Krig."

  "Oh no," said Cabwassu. "I should have known."

  As Way-Krig marched off, he waved and said "Send my regards to the baby!"

  The three lay gasping for several minutes, until Gerard finally managed to squeeze out some words.

  "We must get him," he said.

  "Yes," responded Oludara. "My people say, ‘Two rams cannot drink from the same calabash’. This Way-Krig has humiliated us, but I will not let him steal glory from my child."

  "You talk of rams," said Cabwassu, "but Way-Krig is no sheep. He is a fox. He makes a fool of all he meets, and has never been fooled in return. Besides that, he now has two enchanted weapons."

  "I don’t think we’ll forget that club any time soon," said Gerard.

  "I will come up with a plan," said Oludara.

  The parrot returned to Cabwassu’s shoulder. "You are worth nothing," it said.

  #

  Oludara watched breathlessly as Way-Krig strode down the path below them. They had watched him for days, discovering his patterns, and prepared a trap.

  Just steps before their hidden pit, Way-Krig paused. He cocked his head to one side and studied the ground.

  Beside Oludara, Gerard and Cabwassu froze, unsure what to do. Oludara, however, refused to lose the opportunity. He snatched Cabwassu’s bow away from him and notched an arrow. Then the stepped boldly out from their cover.

  "Make no move!" he shouted toward Way-Krig.

  "I have a bow that never misses, you know."

  "Yet I will shoot first. Will you bet your life that I miss?"

  "I suppose not."

  Oludara walked toward the path, never taking his aim off the man. "Come forward," he said.

  "Why would I be so stupid as to walk into a pit?"

  Oludara paused. "Then drop the club and bow and walk away."

  Way-Krig nodded and threw down the bow. Then he grabbed the club and allowed it to slowly slip from his fingers. Right before it dropped, however, he gripped it firmly and said, "How about I toss it to you instead?"