Amazon: Signs of the Secret

by Ms. Becky J. Rhush

  Laidea jumped between us, halting Malaia’s arm. Under the Commander’s cold glare, Malaia loosened her fingers, taking a step back.

  “She brings harm to her own sisters, Commander.”

  "I bring harm to my sisters?” I shouted from behind Laidea. “We could have been slaughtered because of you!”

  The Commander turned, hovering a palm at my chest, her eyes impatient.

  "Askca… stop it." She warned. “With the quest before us, you choose this time to quarrel?”

  The Commander eyeballed Malaia and I both. The company stood quite. As insight sunk in, so did my pride. What was I doing? How could I be so mad at someone who was only here to help?

  “Queen Perseathea waits… and you quarrel.” The disappointment in the Commander’s voice rung clear. Malaia and I dropped our heads, staring at the dirt.

  Laidea shook her head. “We have no time for children. No time.”

  Malaia kept her head bowed. "Yes, Commander."

  “Yes, Commander.” I swallowed, following cue. The auburn haired woman stood between us, taking in a deep breath.

  “Malaia.” She paused, waiting as the warrior looked up. “Sleeping guard? You know the risk of such an offense. It shames you.”

  “Yes, Commander. But I-”

  “It will get us killed.”

  “Yes, Commander.” Malaia dropped her eyes back to the dirt.

  “Askca.” Humiliation caught my breath in my throat. “Malaia is your sister. This company is your sisterhood. We are one. We can not defeat the Gragorian if we stand divided."

  “Yes, Commander.” I held my breath, wanting to slink under a stone. I could feel the burn in my cheeks, exposing my embarrassment. So far, as a warrior, I wasn’t doing so well. I’d waited endless days to become a warrior, a vital part of the Amazons, and now in it, I seemed to sabotage myself.

  “We are unified in the power of the goddess. Therefore, we are one.” Laidea paused, looking over the girls. “We are called to this quest for one reason and one reason only. Queen Perseathea.” The Commander shoved past the company. “Put your differences aside.”

  Leaving us to share a knowing glance, the woman stomped off. One thing was clear. It would serve us best to keep lips tight.

  After Commander Laidea spent time to herself, and the sun rose high into the morning sky, the woman came back before our company.

  “Sisters. Since the First Commander saw it unfit to supply us with food, it’s time we hunt.” She glanced over the girls. "Saratiese, take the braves. Warriors, tend to the water rations and fire. We don‘t have long to tarry.”

  "I want to hunt.” A child’s voice came at Laidea’s hip. The warrior looked down to find Palius staring back up at her.

  "You cannot hunt with the braves until you are a brave yourself.”

  “But-”

  “Young Palius,” Laidea crouched down to the girl and gave whisper, “I’ll do you this much. Go into the jungle and hunt on your own. If you return with a kill, then you shall be named brave."

  Palius lit up.

  “Commander, have we the time?” I questioned. “She will get herself lost.”

  Laidea rose back to her stance. "Palius is a bright one.” The child smiled at the compliment. “She will return in time. If she does not, we go without her.”

  Palius' smile dropped. The Commander looked back down to her.

  "Go."

  The girl nodded with bright eyes, then darted off into the trees. Laidea glanced back at me.

  "There is a matter we must tend."

  Once Palius found herself far from camp, she slowed her pace. A quick look over her shoulder and she bent down, feeling inside of her boot. Her finger slid over a dagger’s handle. With a relieved sigh, she continued her creep deeper into the dark of trees. She wasn’t certain of how to hunt in such narrow a time. The louder the forest became, the more alone the young child felt. Birds flew overhead, screeching. The wind gusted, pressing through the trees like an invisible wave as the whine of a distant boar stopped her. Too far away. A large snake twisted around a nearby tree, but the thing would slither around Palius, squeezing the life from her and she knew it. Resuming her pace, she kept eyes wide to any beast she might conquer.

  The sun filtered through branches, warming her shoulders… then something unseen happened. And struck her. Hard. Tossing her back into the leaves. Ripping the breath from her lungs. Eyes wide, the child stared without a blink. Quite came, and a whirlwind of images rushing her.

  Red blood from pale. White gleams. Gold speckled black. The shine of a silver blade. Red blood. Blood red.

  The images swirled over. Consuming her. Taking her into them. Then… blackness. Just as quickly as they had come, the visions sucked away. Her head spun empty. She lay there, her surroundings slowly fading back in. The real coming back. Palius stared up into a canopy of greening leaves as they lifted in the wind with glints of blue sky peeking behind.

  Breath streamed into her chest, and she swallowed, coming back to herself. She lay sunken against the cooling earth, as if the goddess had pressed her body into it with a heavenly palm. As if nothing had happened, the jungle surrounded her once again. Palius sat up, plucking the leaves from her blond curls. A refreshing breeze wafted over, waking her further from the vision. After a moment of thought, she slipped a hand into her boot, sliding out the dagger, and with a sniff, she wiped a trickle of blood from her nose with a quick forearm. Looking at the smear of blood, she lifted, knowing now what to do.

  Stretching out her blood smudged arm, she pressed the blade into her pale skin. Closing her eyes, she held her breath, and in one swift prick, her arm stung with a crescent shaped slice. The skin flap opened to ooze warm red down her arm.

  "Commander?" I sat down next to the woman, away from the others.

  Laidea glanced back, making certain no one would overhear her words.

  "Askca, our time is short. I’ll make it brief. There are things you must know.”

  “What things?” I asked, curious as she leaned in closer.

  “Things you should have been told long ago. There is a prophecy, a destiny decided for a nation…." Laidea paused long, as if she were questioning her own words.

  "What are you talking about?" I asked, watching the woman search her mind. She possessed such courage and calm, but in this instant, she appeared shaken beneath her surface. Her forehead tensed. Her eyes kept darting between me and the company. Whatever she had to say, she wanted it kept secret.

  “The task I have this day is a difficult one, Askca. For me, far more taxing than battle. Battle is clear. To be conquered. A line drawn. But words… words fair far more tricky, cutting beyond flesh into the soul.”

  My heart fluttered at her words. “Whatever it is, Commander, I can take it.”

  She took a deep breath. “If, by the will of darkness, the Queen is dead-”

  “Dead?” I cut in. “How can you even breathe life into such a word?”

  Laidea held a finger up to silence me. After glimpsing back at the company, she put her gaze back on me.

  “You must keep your words low.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Look. I would dare not speak it if there were not need, Askca, but there are things that you must be told. Our time runs short.”

  “What things?”

  “There is a possibility that Per…” Laidea cleared her throat, “Queen Perseathea is already gone from us, and if she is-”

  “Why do you speak like this?” The upset in my words began to flare again.

  “Because if she is, there is a prophecy coming.

  “I can’t put my thoughts on death.” I tried to breathe. Tried to calm myself. “I risked… we risked all we know for this quest. For Queen Perseathea. If you believe she is already dead, then why come at all?”

  Laidea rubbed at her forehead again. “Don’t be offended, young warrior. I am not trying to put our Queen in the funeral fire. I am the last person who would-” her words cut sho
rt. “I am warning you because you have to understand, Askca. She is well out numbered and worth a large sum of coin.”

  “But-”

  “Heed me!” Irritation broke into the Commander’s whisper. “These words are hard enough.”

  “Yes, Commander.” I apologized.

  “She is Queen Perseathea of the Amazons. Head of Queen Council. The price on her head is greater than that of any other Queen in the Nation. She is worth much coin and reputation to many a warlord. Above them all, Gragore… his is an even darker purpose.”

  I looked to my feet, fighting the upset behind my eyes. I realized how difficult things were for Laidea now because of her closeness with the Queen. But these words, these terrible and bleak words were cutting my heart open. Without Queen Perseathea, I had nothing to go back to. GarTaynia would spit me out. None of us were welcome back. Not only did I love Queen Perseathea, but also GarTaynia. If I were expelled from our number, from the Amazons, my life was at an end.

  “I won’t give up.” I mumbled.

  “I’m not asking you to.” Laidea put her hand on my knee. “I will not give up till the chosen fate has past. But I need you to be prepared if the Queen has met with death. I love her as well, Askca. More than you, or any other in GarTaynia….” Laidea’s words trailed off, drifting as she collected herself. “But we live a different sort of life, Askca, and you are well knowing of that. We know death and it knows us.”

  I jerked my head up. “That does not mean that Queen Perseathea is dead.”

  “No.”

  “Then why must you speak of it?” I questioned, feeling the tears pushing, warming. I pulled my knees into my chest, glaring ahead, trying not to cry. I knew I was irrational, emotional at best, but I couldn’t help my rush of words. “Is it what you want? Is that why you have come? To return only with her body?”

  “Askca,” the Commander’s words went to stone, “you are thin skinned. You must put off such softness if you hope to be a strong warrior. You must hope for the greater good, but prepare for the greatest evil.”

  “No! I will have none of this!” I pushed up to my feet, choking back the sob caught in my throat. “I bid you no disrespect Commander, but I have no interest in your prophecies if they call for the Queen’s death.”

  I offered no glance back as I walked away, leaving Laidea to suffer her words alone.

  Chapter 11

  Saratiese led a line of braves out of the woods, their small arms overflowing with dead hare and a bloody boar draping her own shoulders. She headed toward Laidea, who still sat in front of the morning’s fire. Dropping the wild pig in front of the Commander, Saratiese looked about the camp.

  "Has Palius the Mighty returned yet?"

  Laidea looked up with a cool glare. "No.”

  Saratiese backed away. “I’ll get the food ready.”

  The Commander stretched her neck, trying to relieve the stress clenching her muscles, forcing her thoughts off of Askca. Looking around, she settled instead on Valasca, the eldest of the braves, and her closest friend Belsiphiny.

  “Braves there,” she snapped at the two, “help Saratiese with the meat.”

  The braves nodded, going to the task. Laidea eased back onto her elbows, trying to clear her mind for the day’s quest, but observing the younger braves brought no such peace of mind. Kia-Maie, a brave of only ten summers, fluttered around Saratiese like a curious moth, picking at the dead rabbits in an effort to help.

  ”Kia-Maie!” The child’s eyes flashed to the Commander, startled. Laidea took a moment, regaining her calm. “Come rest by me. Tilliandre, Lathenia, come also.”

  As the three retreated, Saratiese gave the Commander a grateful smile. Getting on with her skinning, she noticed that even though the warriors had returned with the water and prepared the fire, Askca was still unaccounted for. Shoving the thoughts off, she discussed the quest with Valasca and Belsiphiny, cooking the meat and saving pelt as they went, but all the while her mind kept straying back to the line of trees.

  After what felt like half the morning passed, I emerged from the trees, a heavy heart weighing in my chest. Saratiese got to her feet at the sight of me, but the last thing I wanted to do was talk. I walked past her, hoping she would sense my mood.

  I took my place a stone’s throw from the fire, distant from the others. Farther still from Laidea. But I could feel the Commander’s eyes on me. I glanced up, but only briefly. I couldn’t hold her gaze. When Saratiese came and sat next to me, I didn‘t look up. The girl began squiggling shapes in the dust with a nervous finger. Awkward silence sunk in.

  “If you’re hungry,” she started without looking up, “the food should-”

  "Do you think Queen Perseathea is dead?"

  "I… um…. No.” Saratiese stammered, most likely taken aback by my deliberate conversation with her.

  “You don‘t?”

  “No.” She shrugged. “If I did, why would I be here?”

  I threw my hands up, already feeling browbeaten. "Well… popular notion seems to be she could be.”

  “Well, it’s possible but-”

  “If the First Commander is right, we are out here for no other reason but to stand trial for treason.” I drove a stiff finger into the dirt, punctuating the last three words. “To lose our home at best, our lives at worst. What other reason would bring the First Commander to issue this quest? There is nothing she must agree to. Masseeia is First Commander. She rules in the Queen’s absence, and the Queen is clearly absent.”

  I clenched my jaw, never able to suppress my emotions. When I open my mouth, there seems to be no stop in the flow. All my anger gushes out. If anyone knew that well, it was Saratiese.

  “She ordered us to bring the Queen’s body back for proper funeral flame.” Saratiese paused. “I think she’s just trying to prove her point.”

  “No. This quest gets us out of her way. We can’t oppose her rule if we are not there.”

  I combed the hair from eyes with tense fingers, playing over the First Commander‘s words at Assembly. Her harsh tone. Her dark and cutting glare. The woman relished my humiliation. Thrived on it. It was as if my pride had been kicked in the gut and dropped to its’ knees at her feet. Masseeia hated me for no obvious reason. But the Queen, she had treated me tenderly at my Allegiance Ceremony. Her touch soft and caring. Night and day to the harsh woman Masseeia was.

  “She could already be dead, Sara.”

  Saratiese put her arm around me, pulling me in as I stared at her squiggles in the dust. “Maybe, but if Queen Perseathea is no longer Queen, do we want to go home?”

  The words struck me. GarTaynia is home, but Queen Perseathea is GarTaynia. I didn’t know if I could bare Masseeia’s rule. The warrior was like a cold stone in deep snow. She fell so short of the warmth and integrity Queen Perseathea embodied. I looked into Saratiese’s cobalt eyes, a tinge of seriousness cooling our personal glance.

  “I don’t know if we can go back, Sara. Even if we want to. Not now. Not without Queen Perseathea.”

  “I know.”

  “You knew that when we left, didn’t you?” I waited for the answer to come in her silence, but I knew already. This was Saratiese’s way, her way of proving to me. Her way of healing things between us.

  Palius crept across the jungle floor, dripping her blood into the dirt. Seducing with her scent. A few crawls later, she stopped, staring into a patch of thick brush. Something watched her. Smelled her. She lifted into a crouch, dagger in hand.

  The brush shuddered with a hiss. She backed up. Staring. Black eyes peered out, devouring her from deep in the leaves. An adolescent jaguar, not fully mature, outlined in the brush. Hunching into its hind legs. Head low. A golden coat dotted black. Her breath caught in her throat. Beads of sweat surfaced her skin. A deep, but juvenile growl shook the bush. The cat was of a smaller size, but still possessed blade sharp claws and teeth.

  Palius eyed the bush. Her heart racing. Mouth dry. The animal hunched closer to the earth. Its’ rumb
le went quite. Palius held tight to her dagger, sweat smearing her palm. The bush shook and with a flash of fur and the beast lunged, pummeling into Palius.

  "Askca,” Saratiese went on, “I came because I know that Queen Perseathea is alive. You watched them take her. She was alive then and she is alive now.”

  “But how can you know?” I questioned, wanting deeply for the girl to convince me.

  “They won’t kill her.”

  “That’s not how Masseeia sees it.”

  “Askca, they want us to come after her.”

  “Want us to come after her? What? Why?”

  Hesitant, Saratiese looked away from me.

  “What are you not telling me, Sara?”

  “Nothing.” She gave a quick shrug. “But don’t you think that if they wanted her dead they would have finished what they started on the alter?”

  She was right. If they came to kill the Queen, then why didn’t they just finish her when they had the chance? The woman put up a goodly fight, but why not just put an arrow through her from paces away? Why the alter? Why a dagger? Why so ritualistic?

  “We’ve never known that army.” My words lingered, curious. “Why us? Why GarTaynia?”

  “They must have reason.” Saratiese said. “An Amazon Queen is worth much dead, but not enough to risk the massacre of more than half your men.”

  “They asked for an Amazon.” I narrowed my eyes, scooting closer to Saratiese to keep our words between us. “The Amazon.”

  “Yet they never named her.” Saratiese added. “And the Queen refused to hand her over.”

  “So Queen Perseathea went in place of this Amazon….”

  “She did.” Saratiese stopped as my eyes flashed up. “Askca, don’t bid this too much thought.”

  “Saratiese, Queen Perseathea knew that warlord. She remembered him. I could see it in her.” I slowed my words, thinking. “She knows him and he knew her as well. It shown plain on his face. It’s not GarTaynia and it’s not the Amazons. It’s the two of them… but that doesn’t make sense. She’s shielding something though. Something sacred enough to be captured for.” I sank deeper into my thoughts as Saratiese put a hand on my knee.