Deep Into Destiny

by Scot C Morgan

  "Don't worry," I said. "I'm not going to hurt the three of you."

  The two who had been silent up until then chuckled incredulously and glanced at each other. The third, the one apparently in charge, seemed less amused. He didn't draw it out, but turned slightly to make sure I saw the long dagger sheathed on his side. It would've made Bowie envious.

  I gave him an eyebrow raise, to let him know I saw the dagger, but stopped short of indicating any great concern for his threat.

  Becca stepped in front of me and looked back over her shoulder. "Follow me, Den." She glanced down at my package and let out a quiet sigh, then turned her gaze forward again and headed for the opening at the front of the tent, maneuvering around the three men who were still watching me closely.

  I followed her, taking the opportunity to checkout her backside in the process. It was worthy of attention, and preferable to the sour expressions I was getting from the three men, who seemed eager to find a reason to have it out with me. They stayed close behind me as we all went outside the tent.

  The five of us passed three other tents as we walked through an uphill clearing in the woods. I didn't see another person until we went over the top of the hill.

  Becca stepped aside as we came over it, and what might have been everyone else in the Fektal encampment came into view. There were probably forty or fifty of them, men and women, at the bottom of the other side of the hill, gathered around the massive boulder-like gourd Becca had described to me.

  "Just like in Flash Gordon," I said, seeing the holes scattered across the surface of the testing gourd.

  Well that's just f'ed up.

  Chapter 15

  Becca started down the hill and glanced back at me. "Come on. They're waiting. There's really no option but to do this."

  Or I could beat the shit out of the three guys behind me and go rescue my women.

  Who am I kidding, I thought, factoring in all the Fektals around the gourd, waiting to spectate. The three men behind me would be tough enough, but the rest of them would no doubt jump into the fight.

  One of the men behind me shoved me, but I planted my feet firm and pushed my shoulder back against his hand.

  "Unless you're trying to get down there first to volunteer for that thing, there's no need for that," I said.

  "Quit stalling," he responded.

  He might've been right. If it was a fight I was being pushed into, at least that would be something I had a little control over. But I saw what happened in the movie to that guy who stuck his hand in before Flash did. I wanted no part of that bullshit.

  I didn't bother to answer him. As I followed Becca down to meet the crowd and my fate in the stupid-ass test, I dragged my feet a little. I was scanning the spectators and the forest around us all, looking for another option.

  "Den!"

  I couldn't see where she was, but I recognized Nithia's voice. I shuffled past Becca to get a better look at the crowd we were approaching. I knew she was somewhere down there.

  "Den, over here!" Nithia said.

  I noticed movement in part of the group around the gourd and I scanned the faces until I found her. Alara and Tara were beside her. I moved more quickly down the hill, and a few moments later I could see that the three of them were being held from behind by as many men.

  When I tried to go to them, my handlers who'd come down the hill behind me stepped in to make me walk to the giant testing gourd instead. That was bad enough, but my stomach knotted when I saw Alara, Nithia, and Tara brought over to the gourd too. Worrying about my life suddenly took a back seat to my concern for them.

  "Den," Tara said, struggling a little to free herself from the arms of the man who held them from behind her. "I'm glad you're safe."

  "I'm not sure that's the situation here," I said. "But thanks. It's good to see the three of you too."

  "We made it to the forest without the Dark Riders seeing us," Alara said. "Thanks to you leading them away."

  "I'm glad," I said. "I guess that's where these guys found you."

  "Yes," she said. "But they haven't caused us any harm. In fact, when we first met them in the forest, they were friendly, concerned for our safety."

  "From the Dark Riders." I processed the irony.

  "Yes. They said Kurg's patrol had been trying to find their way to this encampment."

  One of the Fektals stepped forward. He was a little taller than any I'd seen up to then, and quite a bit older. "Enough. It is time. The Fektals mean the five of you no harm, but we must hear from the Discerner on whether the same can be said about your intentions toward our people."

  Five of us? Wait. The boy too? The Discerner? This is crazy.

  I took a step toward the older Fektal, and my three handlers moved to block me from getting any closer to the man. I held my hands out in front of me, to convey I wasn't trying to threaten the guy. "Like I told your pals, we were just trying to get away from the Dark Riders. Stumbling all of you was sheer accident." I gestured to the chest-high testing gourd. "This isn't necessary. Especially not for them." I nodded toward Alara and the others, including Ray, who was standing beside Nithia, holding her hand.

  "He's right," Nithia said. "Please let us go."

  "Den," Alara said. "Maybe we should..."

  I looked at her and tracked her eyes as she looked at one of the men beside me, then glanced back to the one holding her arms.

  Yeah, I get what you're saying. Punch our way out of here. I like the idea, but we're outnumbered fifty to one. Unlikely we'd make it...and one of us, probably all of us would get badly hurt, or worse. Shit.

  I shook my head a little for Alara to see.

  "I'll do it," I said, looking at the gourd and stepping closer to it. I turned to the elder Fektal. "But they don't need to do this too. Let it be on me."

  The elder Fektal seemed to be considering my offer, but after a few moments of silence he shook his head. This is not for me to decide. The Discerner will test all of you. This is the way it must be."

  Cormac never said these guys were batshit crazy. Of course, you were a little crazy yourself. Weren't you Cormac? No offense, old buddy.

  I looked at my women. Alara still seemed to be thinking about trying something. I hoped she didn't, though I understood why she would want to do so. Die from some creature inside the giant gourd or take your chances fighting the whole clan to get free, both options sucked. Tara made another failed attempt to get loose from the man holding her arms, but she was half the guy's size. Nithia looked frightened, and Ray was clinging to her side.

  I turned back to the gourd and considered the different holes. If the other side of the thing was as littered with them as the part facing me, there must've been twenty or more of them. I wrote off a few which were on the surface of the mass, knowing the protrusions in which the rest of the holes were situated would keep my hand farther from the center of the gourd. I assumed the center to be where the great all-knowing Discerner critter waited to strike or not.

  Fickle bastard.

  I stepped closer to the gourd.

  "Den, don't!" Tara lunged toward me, pulling forward the man holding her. He jerked her back, but took no further action against her.

  "I'm not sure we have much of a choice," I said, but I had a plan to make sure she wouldn't be subjected to the same risk.

  Grab the creature inside and squeeze the life out of it, so it can't hurt her or the others. Or die trying. Not a perfect plan, but that's what I've got.

  I held one arm up in a slightly ceremonious fashion, once I'd chosen the portal to my fate. But before I stuck my arm into it, I remembered the Baron in Flash Gordon putting his hand in first, showing off to Flash and the others. I turned to the Fektal elder. "Maybe you'd like to go first?"

  He stared back at me.

  I shrugged. "Worth a try, right?"

  He said nothing and the three men surrounding me stepped closer.

  "Okay," I said. "But this is the worst hospitality ever. You can expect a one-star r
eview."

  "Den," Alara said.

  I glanced at her. "No." I knew she was offering to help fight them, but it wouldn't work. I trusted the strength of my grip. I'd move fast. If I was lucky, I'd get ahold of the creature before it struck me.

  I took a deep breath, let it out, then put my hand just inside the opening of the hole I'd chosen. I moved my feet a little closer to the gourd to ensure I'd have the full length of my arm to get to the creature, then I thrust my hand down as far as it would go.

  I heard Nithia gasp, and a few Fektals in the crowd whispered.

  I was in a panic. My hand hadn't been stung or bitten, but my plan was failing. I couldn't find the creature. The center of the gourd must've contained a large cavity. I stretched my fingers out and pushed my hand around as much as the hollow tube would allow me to maneuver. Nothing.

  "Congratulations," the elder Fektal said. "If the Discerner had deemed you a threat to our people you would already be dead."

  I didn't look at him, nor did I pull my arm out. I knew if I couldn't find the creature and kill it, then Alara, Nithia, and Tara would be in danger of dying when they were forced to put their hands into the gourd. I pushed my chest and shoulder against the edge of the opening, trying to get my hand farther down. I stretched and rubbed my wrist hard against the inside of the gourd's tube, struggling to grasp any part of the creature. Despite persevering for several more seconds, my fingers felt nothing. I'd chosen a safe hole, the wrong hole.

  My arm was still in the gourd as several men grabbed me from behind and pulled me away from it. I fought for a moment to get back to the hole, but they dragged me until it was well out of reach. I looked at Alara, Nithia, and Tara and mouthed 'I'm sorry."

  Nithia must've understood my silent words. She shook her head slightly and said, "It's okay, Den. It'll be okay."

  I wanted to believe her, but I couldn't, and from the tears which rolled down her cheeks, I could tell she didn't believe her words either.

  "The others now," the elder Fektal said. "Please understand. We are a civilized people. But the test of the Discerner is necessary. It's how our people have remained safe from Kurg's infiltrators over the years. Before the Discerner was found, his agents nearly destroyed us from within. You have passed the test." He looked at Nithia. "Bring her forth."

  I jerked one arm free from the man holding it. "I passed your crazy test! They're with me. There's no need to put them through it too!"

  The man with Nithia walked toward the gourd, pulling her along by her arm. She squirmed to get loose, but she couldn't.

  "Let her go!" I shoved one of the men restraining me, knocking him to the ground. I had gotten lucky with the creature in the gourd, but I wasn't about to let it kill Nithia or the others. This stupid game was over as far as I was concerned. The two remaining men tried to tackle me, but I tore free of them and ran toward Nithia.

  Alara and Tara struggled to stop the man from taking Nithia, but the Fektals holding them were too strong.

  "Stop!" Tara screamed before kicking her handler in his groin. He let out a welp and buckled over, freeing Tara to rush to Nithia's aid, even before I could reach her. She leapt onto the back of the man engaged with Nithia and wrapped her arms around his neck to choke him.

  "Den, lookout!" Alara yelled and I saw her pointing near me.

  I caught a glimpse of the heavy piece of wood, maybe a staff or pole arm, just before it whacked me in the side of the head. A flash blinded me for a moment and I felt myself tumbling to the ground. My left eye stung from the blood spilling from a fresh cut on my temple. I squinted to keep more blood from getting into my eye and scrambled to get to my feet.

  "Ray," Nithia called out. "What are you doing?"

  Still a little dizzy, I managed to stay upright and move toward Nithia. A second later, I saw why she had asked the boy what he was doing. The angry voices of the Fektals around me seemed to fade as all my attention went to the boy.

  Ray had evidently used the chaos of the situation to run past everyone and get to the gourd ahead of Nithia being taken there. Choosing the other side of the gourd, he was too far away for me or anyone else to stop him. He'd already put his arm into one of the holes in the gourd, and now he was standing on the balls of his feet to get his arm farther into the hole.

  "Ray! Don't!" Nithia screamed, but she was too late.

  I ignored the sting in my eye and ran toward the gourd, trying to estimate how far into it Ray's arm would reach. I hoped the creature was too far from him, but I could see Ray had chosen a hole opposite from the one I'd used.

  "Ray, pull your arm out!" A second after I told him that, I reached him, thrust my arm around his waist, and lifted him away from the gourd. With his arm out of the hole, I set him down and knelt beside him to look at his hand and wrist. "Are you okay? Did it get you?"

  He said nothing and only glanced at me, then turned his attention to Nithia, who stood several feet away.

  I took his hand to examine it for a bite or marks, but it scorched my fingers and I let go. "Hey."

  Ray looked at me, then to his hand. He turned it over slowly for me to see. "I'm fine." He glanced back at Nithia again. "The creature won't hurt her now. It's finished," he whispered.

  "What?" I looked at Nithia, then back to his hand. I touched it again. It was still hot, but a little less so than before. "Did you?" I remembered how he'd started the fire over the pile of brush, accidentally giving our location away to the Dark Riders, and how he'd made smoke appear over the tin of healing ointment the women used on Mettin and me.

  He shrugged. "I couldn't let it hurt her."

  Nithia walked closer, but one of the Fektals stopped her a few feet from us. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Why did you do that?"

  Ray looked at her. "I did it for you."

  I noticed him giving her that look, at least the boy version of it.

  Oh. I get it. You little rascal.

  I chuckled. I almost told him that Nithia was with me, but I decided to let him hold onto his little fantasy for now. I figured it didn't hurt anything. In fact, I realized, he saved all of them when I couldn't. I gave him a fist bump, though he didn't seem to know what it meant. "Nice going."

  "Thanks." He walked away from me, going to Nithia's side. He grabbed her hand and stood next to her, ignoring the man restraining her.

  I looked around to see if Tara and Alara were okay, and also to see how many Fektals were about to pummel me, or at least round us all up again. Tara still had an arm bar on the guy who was supposed to being keeping her in check. He was on his knees, and his face looked pale. I nodded to her, then glanced around to several Fektals approaching her. She evidently understood there was little point in continuing to choke the man out. She released her hold and slid off his back.

  Alara must've punched the man next to her. He had a hand covering one eye, and seemed to be in a little pain. She stood a few feet from him with her arms crossed, looking pissed. A few other men had surrounded her, which must've been why the two of them had stopped whatever fisticuffs I'd missed.

  Looks like all my women faired better than I did.

  I was glad for that.

  "This is most unusual!" The elder Fektal had walked to the gourd and stood in front of it.

  Everyone turned to him. I watched him gesture to the Fektals surrounding me and my women, and the Fektals backed away from us. This is a good sign, I thought, though I was surprised, given how things had been going up until then.

  "There will be no more testing today," the elder said, surprising me even more.

  I glanced around to see reactions from the crowd. They looked equally surprised. Nithia, Tara, and Alara appeared relieved. I was too, though not because I still had concern about one of them getting hurt or killed by the creature in the gourd. I knew Ray had burned it to death. But I didn't even want them to be subjected to the fear of sticking their hand into the gourd. I couldn't just tell them that they didn't have to worry about it, that the creature was dead now. If th
e Fektals found out what happened, we'd surely be punished for killing their sacred Discerner critter.

  But why call the rest of the tests off?

  "The boy," the elder continued, "has shown they are worthy of staying with us!"

  There was silence for a few moments, then all of the Fektals erupted in cheers.

  Well, shit. That's a relief. Confusing, yeah, but I'll take it.

  Alara, Tara, and I went to Nithia, and Ray who was clinging to her side.

  "What just happened?" Tara asked.

  Alara shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I'm glad it did."

  Nithia moved close to me and put an arm around me. "I'm so glad you're alright, Den."

  "Yeah, me too." I gave her a kiss, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Ray glaring at me. I felt laughter coming on, but I held back. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. His puppy crush was funny, but I wasn't about to give up Nithia to him.

  Nithia looked at Ray. "And you too, Ray. That was so brave. So brave."

  I was sure her words were music to his ears, but I still felt a little bad for him. He'd chosen to be a hero. I respected that. But I get the girl. "Great job, Ray." I patted his shoulder, but he kept glaring at me.

  You'll have your turn when you're older. Though not with any of these three.

  It continued to feel strange over the next hour or two as the Fektals confirmed again and again that they'd accepted us as guests, rather than intruders who were to live or die based on the whim of a creature inside a massive gourd. Some way to run things, I thought as I considered how close we'd all come to a painful death like that poor bastard in the Flash Gordon movie.

  But the Fektals proved they'd accepted the decree of their elder. Some of the same men who'd restrained us earlier went on to offer us food and drink. We took rest in one of their larger tents and many of the Fektals sat with us for a time, introducing themselves and sharing little details about their families and their lives. Despite it being such an abrupt turnabout, it felt nice to have some sort of community, even if only for a little while.