Those who stumble or lose their way, shall have their eternal soul to pay.
Those who are worthy need not fear, even when the shadows draw near.”
“There is another part of the lore that suggests if you cannot complete the tests on your own, the evil considers you to be unworthy of Batumah’s light. If anyone helps you, both of you will be claimed by the darkness,” Gopa interjected at the end of Jaedo’s story.
Irane’s brow furrowed. “If we are meant to complete the tests alone, why do the monks want us to travel in groups?”
“The Yasta only want those who are strong of both body and mind.” Daja had dropped back a few paces to be closer to the other Josti. “A strong body will not need help. A strong mind will know that anyone who cannot make it on their own is not worthy. The pilgrimage is more than just a climb. It is a rite of passage that bonds those that travel together.” Theo wasn’t sure how he felt about being bound to three Josti he had just met, but that wasn’t something he was going to voice out loud.
The light was almost gone now. Theo was becoming increasingly uneasy. “Maybe we should find somewhere to stay the night. I don’t like being exposed like this.”
“Look up there!” Cherish pointed ahead of them.
Makram squinted into the darkness, for a moment before giving up. “My sweet, your eyes are much better than ours. What do you see?”
“Oh!” Cherish giggled and placed a hand over her mouth. It was the most girly gesture Theo had ever seen her make. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her over-the-top acting. “There’s a cave up ahead. It looks like a good place for us to make camp for the night.”
“A cave? After what happened with that crevice back there, are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Theo’s palms were still stinging. He had seen enough of dark caverns for one day.
“It has Batumah’s symbol for safe shelter engraved above the entrance. The monks use it, to show those who come after them what places are safe to stay in, and what places are dangerous. We should be fine,” Cherish tried to reassure him, but he was still skeptical.
When the group reached the mouth of the cave, they found dry firewood stacked inside along with a few rations of food and water. It must have been one of the waystations. There were rumors that the closer an acolyte got to the top of the mountain, the more lavish the lodgings became. Theo scoffed to himself. It wouldn’t take much to surpass the cave they were in currently, but still he was thankful for the rations.
Cherish set about starting a fire for light and heat. The cave was a great deal cooler than the outside world, and the night temperatures on Mithuna were known to drop without warning. The Josti made themselves comfortable around the fire. They told stories to entertain their companions, but Irane seemed to be their most enthusiastic listener. The hearty smell of bubbling stew soon filled the cave. A grumbling gurgle punctuated the stories. Theo was almost positive that Gopa’s stomach was the culprit.
Positioning himself with his back to one of the cave walls, Theo began to examine his hands by the flickering fire light. To his surprise, Cierra pressed her back to the wall and slid down until she was seated next to him. Theo kept his eyes forward. It had been a rough day, and he wasn’t sure how much more pretending he could do.
A smaller, gentle hand took his and guided it into Cierra’s lap. He winced as her fingers pressed into the still stinging cuts on his palm. Cierra tutted at him. “Oh, don’t be such a baby. I need to clean this before it gets infected.”
“You don’t have to do that. I can do it myself.” He tried to pull his hand back, but she kept a firm grip on it.
“I’m your wife. This is my job.”
Theo watched as she cleaned and dressed his wounds. The firelight made her face seem softer somehow. Was this the way she had been with Remi? Thinking of his brother made Theo feel almost guilty. “Ow!” Theo cried out and tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let him.
Cierra ran an antibacterial combat cloth over the wound. He had experienced it before when he was in the militia. Nasty things, but they did the job. The military only used the highest-grade cleansers. There generally wasn’t much time for a second treatment in the middle of battle, so the first one had to get the job done. Rumors were that it was strong enough to kill some of the less-evolved sentient beings. There had been a few such incidents before it had been recalled from those planets.
“Oh, hush. That didn’t hurt.”
“Excuse me,” Theo whispered in agitation, “I think I’ll be the judge of that!”
Her green eyes looked at him in a bored, flat way. “Give me your other hand, you big baby.”
Pouting angrily, he handed her his other hand and braced for the sting. “Who taught you how to dress wounds anyway?”
“I’m self-taught.”
“Well, that explains it.” Theo’s smart mouth earned him an extra rough scrub with the combat cloth. “Ow, ow, ow! Okay, okay! I take it back!”
“Food’s ready.” Cherish started spooning helpings into rough cut wooden bowls. The others waited patiently for their food.
Gopa lifted his bowl to his lips and slurped the stew. “Batumah, that’s good!”
“You think everything is good as long as it’s edible.” Jaedo wheezed out some laughter.
“All food was blessed by Batumah to nourish our bodies.” Gopa had a mustache of stew over his upper lip.
“Say, what does Batumah look like anyway?” Irane blew on his food to cool it off a little.
Daja’s booming voice echoed through the cave. “Batumah resembles all of the children of the Yasta home system.”
“He has roots to commune with the soil and can speak to the trees like the Verbash.” Jaedo wiggled his fingers like roots.
“He has wings to soar like the Aphaians.” Gopa flung his arms wide, almost spilling some of his stew.
“And he has the long and strong multi-colored arms of the Josti!” Daja flexed his muscles for them.
Theo noticed Philo and Chanta slip quietly off to one of the nooks behind a row of curtains. They had finished eating quickly and were ready to get some sleep. In that moment, he realized that eventually he and Cierra would have to go to bed as well. He noticed Makram and Cherish talking quietly and glancing occasionally at the nooks. It was clear that they were preparing to make their retreat as well.
Trying to avoid the inevitable, Theo quickly tried to find a reason to stay awake. “You were telling Irane some folklore stories earlier. Do you know any more?”
“Do we know more? Why, my not-so-good-at-jumping friend, we know them all!” Jaedo’s face lit up. “Have you heard the one where Batumah once sucked up all the water in the pond to teach a lesson to the disobedient frog?”
“No, no, no. It wasn’t a pond! It was a lake!” Gopa’s mouth was full of food, but he still somehow managed to articulate his words. Theo wondered how often he had practiced that talent.
Daja booed them both. “You’re both wrong! It was the ocean, and it wasn’t the frog! It was the fish!”
Theo zoned out as they bickered about details, and moved from one story to the next. As hard as he tried to stay awake, he could feel his eyes getting heavier. Eventually, even the boisterous Josti began to quiet down. Danthois and Irane were still sitting around the low flames of the fire with the three Josti when Cierra happened to catch Theo’s eyes. They needed their rest. The two of them had put it off as long as they could.
Standing up, they walked stiffly towards one of the curtained nooks that no one had taken yet. Cierra pulled back the curtain, and looked inside. A thin mattress and one long pillow was laid out inside. A blanket was folded at the foot of the mattress. “Oh.” Her disappointment was obvious.
Theo knew exactly what had made her utter that single syllable. There was barely enough room for both of them to lie down inside. He had hoped it would be at least large enough for them to spread out. Theo considered trying to persuade her that they should each have their own nook, but that would
raise suspicions.
“Well, are you going in first or not?”
“Me?” Theo looked at her in surprise. “Custom states the husband sleeps closest to the door, in case any danger should arise in the night.”
Cierra glanced over her shoulder, where the Josti were making elaborate shadow puppets with their many hands. “I think we’ll be fine.”
Not wanting to argue, Theo let out a sigh, and climbed inside. Being on the interior side of the nook made him feel emasculated. It grated against all of the customs he was used to. He tried to settle in, and leave enough room for Cierra to lay down as well. She climbed in, and pulled the curtain shut behind them.
“Scoot over.” Her tone was decidedly bossier, once they were out of view of the others.
“Where exactly do you want me to scoot? Do you expect me to burrow into the rock? I’m already pressed against the wall.” Theo gestured to show there was no more room for him to move over.
Cierra rolled her eyes. “Fine. Just so you know, I have no problem punching you in your sleep if you try to touch me, so you better stay on your half of the bed.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” He was becoming more and more agitated by her attitude with him, when they were alone. He kept it inside, though he was not sure how much longer he could last. The physical punishment he had been through was already shortening his fuse.
The two travelers laid there with their eyes open, staring at the rock ceiling of the nook. The tension was palpable. Theo could feel the heat of her skin. She was only a few fingers’ breadths away from him. It would have been so easy to reach over and caress her, or take her hand, but he took her threats of bodily harm very seriously. She had already pinched and punched him in front of the others. What kind of damage would she inflict with no witnesses around? He swallowed hard, and tried not to dwell on the possibilities.
Theo heard her mumbling something beside him. “What? I couldn’t hear you.”
“I said that Philo could have said we were brother and sister. That would have prevented this whole mess.” Her voice was hushed, but it was clear she was steaming about their predicament. It had only been one day, and they were already having trouble maintaining their cover.
Theo could hear her breathing. The rise and fall of her chest was in his peripheral vision. Cierra sensed his fingers twitch. They were only an inch apart. Even the smallest movement seemed magnified. Both of them were hyperaware of the other. Minutes stretched on painfully, for what seemed like hours. Eventually, the Theo and Cierra managed to fall asleep, to the hushed voices that were still talking around the fire, and the crackles and pops of the burning wood. Even in their sleep, neither of them dared to cross the imaginary line that divided the mattress they shared.
Five
Screams ripped through the quiet mountain air. Cierra sat up in the darkness of the nook. Beside her, Theo raised up too quickly and smacked his head into the low, rock ceiling. She heard him mutter a curse under his breath, but she had already pulled the curtain back to see what was happening. Her hand reached into her robes, and gripped the hilt of her lasana blade.
“What is it? What happened?” Makram was already on his feet with Cherish by his side.
Chanta was standing near the mouth of the cave. Her hands were over her mouth. Philo was standing beside her, unmoving. The rest of the group, including the three Josti, rushed over to see what was causing all of the fuss. Cierra’s heart was hammering in her chest. Her feet paused near the edge. What she saw made her stomach turn.
On a sharp spire jutting out of an outcropping several feet below the mouth of the cave was Danthois. The jagged rock had run him through. From where they were standing, the group couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. Makram sat on the edge of the cliff, and swung his legs over the edge. The muscles in his forearms strained as he lowered his body down the face of the cliff. The outcropping was still several feet beneath him, even with his body dangling over the edge.
“Be careful!” Cherish urged, looking down at the chasm. She laid down on her stomach and grasped both of his forearms. With the extra length of her torso, she would be able to lift him to the ledge without much difficulty. Once she had hauled him up, Makram quickly rushed over to check on Danthois.
“There’s no pulse.” His chest tightened. Solemnly, he reached up to close his companion’s eyes. It would have taken quite some force for the cyborg to land the way he had. The spire had impaled him, and was still thrusting out of his torso, where Cherish had snapped it from the cliff wall. Dark blood stained the rock and the cliff beneath him.
Jaedo squatted on the edge of the cliff by the cave’s mouth. “He must have been relieving himself in the middle of the night, and fell.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Theo gingerly pressed his fingertips to the bump on his forehead. “If that was true, he would be face down.”
“His pants aren’t down either. They aren’t even open.” Makram looked up at the rest of his team. His eyes warily darted to the three Josti that had joined them. What did they really know about their new ‘friends?’
Chanta was still in shock. “Wh-what are you saying?”
“He was pushed.” Cherish’s voice was flat. She reached down to help Makram back up.
Makram dusted himself off. All of the members of the infiltration team were facing the Josti now. The air was tense. Theo felt a tingling on the back of his neck, where the little hairs at the base of his skull stood up.
“Who was the last one to see him?” Cierra’s hands were balled into fists. “When Theo and I went to bed, you three were still around the fire with Irane and Danthois.”
Irane tilted his head to the side. “I left the fire not too long after you two went to bed.”
The yellow Josti rested his hands on his stomach. “We left him by himself, and tried to get some rest before the sun came up again.”
“It must have been the demons of darkness trying to stop our journey!” Jaedo made some kind of religious symbol in the air with his hands.
“I thought the cave was supposed to be safe?” Theo’s uneasiness had come back in a fresh wave.
“The cave was.” Cherish pointed to the Yasta symbol carved in the rock. “Whatever happened to Danthois happened when he stepped outside of the cave.”
Cierra started to roll her eyes and comment on how idiotic that was, but Philo spoke first. “I agree. The darkness must have taken him. We need to press on. The closer we get to Batumah’s light, the more desperate the evil spirits will be to keep us from his blessing.”
Biting her cheek, Cierra was thankful for the senator’s interruption. It was early still, and she had almost broken character. It was a rookie mistake. Cierra chided herself silently. She was supposed to be a Yasta sympathizer. That meant she was supposed to believe in the same stupid nonsense the rest of the Yasta practitioners did.
The group gathered their meager belongings, and left the cave. Once everything was back in order, they began the next trek of their journey. Cierra took her natural place next to Theo. It always amazed her how easily their steps fell in sync with one another. Had he noticed it, too? Judging by the perplexed scowl on his face, he was more concerned with the bump on his head than anything else.
“How is it?”
“Huh?” Her voice brought him out of his thoughts.
Cierra’s heart raced when he looked at her. Playing the part of his wife was starting to feel a little too real for her liking. Frustrated with herself, she snapped at him. “Your head. You raised up like an idiot earlier. It’s a wonder you didn’t knock yourself out.”
“It’s just a bump. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He was just glad it hadn’t been an open wound, otherwise she probably would have come after him with another antibacterial combat cloth.
Why did she keep doing that?! Cierra bit her cheek to let the pain clear her head. Playing the part of being a couple was stirring up thoughts and feelings that she didn’t want to deal with. She kept ove
rcompensating for how she was feeling by being ruder to him than necessary. What kind of a wife must she look like to the others around them? Cierra let out a huffy breath. She was overthinking it. It shouldn’t be that hard, so why did it feel so complicated?
Jaedo was taking longer steps than usual to stretch out his leg muscles. “I just thought of another story. Should I tell it to pass the time?”
“Yes, please.” Irane smiled at the thin, green Josti beside him. He enjoyed the stories, and it made the Josti feel more welcome when they were allowed to share their folklore. After the incident with Danthois, the group needed to bond more than ever. Otherwise, there would be dissent and mistrust between them.
“Once, there was a traveler who sought the key to happiness. He walked from his village to the mountaintop where Batumah lived. On his knees, he begged for Batumah to take away the darkness in his life and bless him with happiness once more.
“Batumah asked the man if he had smiled on his journey to the temple, and the man replied that he was too burdened with sorrow to smile. Batumah told the man, ‘Go home and come back tomorrow. On your journey back to my temple, smile, and I will help you find your happiness.’
“The man thanked Batumah and did as he was told. The next day, the man smiled the entire journey back to the temple, but his heart was not in it. ‘Did you smile today?’ Batumah asked the man. The villager said that he had, but that he still did not feel happy. Batumah nodded and told the man, ‘Go home and come back tomorrow. On your journey back to my temple, smile and stop to smell the flowers. I will help you find your happiness.’
“Again, the man made the journey to the temple and did as he was told. It had been a long time since he had even noticed the flowers along the path from his village. Though he still was not happy, the man discovered that it was easier to keep smiling. When the man arrived, Batumah looked at him thoughtfully. ‘Did you smile and smell the flowers?’ The man said that he had, but that he still was not happy. ‘Go home and come back tomorrow. On your journey back to my temple, smile, smell the flowers, and sing. I will help you find your happiness.’
The Relissarium Wars Omnibus Page 28