by K Madill
“That’s awful!” Mandamus could hardly believe anyone could be so mean.
Luco nodded. “So, somewhere along the way, Lethe ended up here, living in that canyon,” he gestured at the lake with his head, “and since she lives in that water, it too carries the curse of forgetfulness. Human legends say that when you die, you’re supposed to drink from that river before you cross over into the afterlife, forgetting how you died, be it by sickness or accident or even old age. I mean, can you imagine how constantly freaked out you’d be if every day in the Afterlife, you thought about how you got there?” He crawled under his blankets and curled up.
“Do you forget other things too?” asked Mandamus worriedly. He hadn’t been taught about any forgetful naiads. His mother always said that when a horse dies it goes to a great pasture in the sky, with all the other horses it had ever known and loved. He liked that idea much better; he didn’t want to forget his herd or Luco and he especially didn’t want to forget the taste of oat grass.
“Not everything. Just the bad things, I think,” Luco murmured sleepily. He sighed, and Mandamus knew that he had drifted off.
“The Gates to the Afterworld,” he thought, looking anxiously at the canyon. “I hope the dead can’t see us.”
Mandamus knelt, trying to ignore the dull ache in his hoof and the fearful fluttering of his heart. He made himself as comfortable as he could with his legs tucked under him, careful not to put pressure on his sore foot and found himself thinking about his herd for what seemed like the thousandth time since he left. What would his mother and aunt say if they knew where he was? What would they think of Luco and better yet, what would they think of him, now that he was Bonded to a man?
He turned these thoughts over in his mind until his eyelids grew heavy. As soon as he closed his eyes, Samhain’s face swam into view and a thought tugged at him just before he dropped off the cliff of his consciousness. What had Samhain meant when she’d looked fearfully at Luco and whispered: “It’s you”?
Mandamus’ leg felt like it had been stung by a swarm of wasps and he swayed in a haze of pain the next morning. Fallow, who had curled up beside Mandamus, stirred with a grunt but slept on. Arkas was thankfully nowhere to be seen.
“Let’s have a look,” Luco said, bending to look at Mandamus’ wound. He tutted then pulled out his vial and dribbled more of the contents on his hoof. The pungent scent stung his nostrils but, like the last time, the elixir worked, and his leg felt numb.
Mandamus shook his coat and wobbled over to the edge of the canyon for a peek.
A steep, narrow trail ran from the top down to the pebbly beach. The river was black as midnight and ran straight into the mouth of a perfectly round lake. The water was as smooth as glass, but neither the trees that grew over the chasm’s rim or the bright sky were reflected in its surface.
“No reflection,” he noticed with a shudder. He was about to turn back down the path and head for camp when he heard something that sounded like many voices whispering.
“Come into the water,” a voice coaxed. “It is peaceful here.”
Mandamus whirled around, but there was no one behind him. He looked at Luco to see if he heard it too but Luco was rolling up his sleeping bag and talking about breakfast. Mandamus spun forward and faced the canyon once more. “Don’t worry about Luco,” the voice reassured, “he’ll come too. Everyone comes, eventually.” A sense of calmness came over Mandamus.
“It does look lovely, clear and cool,” he murmured taking a step toward the skinny trail. “It couldn’t hurt to wade in, just chest deep.”
“Yes, that’s it, just a little further,” the voice urged.
Mandamus lurched forward, ignoring the shooting pain in his hoof. He hovered at the edge of the canyon and the small rocks under his hooves dropping down the steep precipice to the ground below. He stared at the black lake, waiting for the voice to tell him what to do next.
A cold wind broke out around him, lashing his mane and knocking him backwards. The lake began to churn, and a tornado of water shot up, dancing across the lake’s surface until it broke on the pebbly shore. Mandamus hobbled as quickly as he could back to camp.
“Luco!” he shouted, sliding on the loose path. “Something’s happening to the lake!”
“What is it?” Luco asked, looking worried. He dropped his sleeping bag.
“I don’t know what it is,” Mandamus answered, dancing with excitement. “Come and see”
Luco looked as if he would rather be bitten by an alliworm, and he reluctantly followed as Mandamus limped as quickly as his lame leg would allow.
“Be careful,” Mandamus warned breathlessly when they reached the brink of the canyon. “I had the strangest feeling while I was looking down at that water. I swear I heard a voice telling me to come in.”
Luco’s shrank back in terror. “It told you to come in?”
Mandamus watched the lake keenly, certain that it was the naiad, Lethe, making all that commotion in the water. Would they see her? He hurried eagerly back down the path. The tornado had reformed and was now spinning across the beach to the edge of the canyon and rising. Mandamus reeled around, nearly knocking Luco over with his rear end.
“She’s there!” Mandamus cried, a shiver racing through his belly. “That’s Lethe, I know it!”
The blood drained from Luco’s face and he whipped around, running away faster than Mandamus had even thought possible for a man with only two legs. Mandamus hobbled behind back to camp to find Arkas rummaging through Luco’s packed bag and Samhain sitting on the ground with Fallow’s head in her lap. Beside her was a basket filled with pears.
“Good morning,” Samhain said, standing up and smoothing her cloak. “Lethe is coming to shore. She usually doesn’t return to land until the full moon, but it’s been ages since we have seen anyone of flesh and blood. Oh, and I brought you breakfast.” She pointed at the basket. “Hello, Lethe,” she said over their shoulders.
“Good morning, Samhain,” a cheery voice replied.
Mandamus and Luco spun around.
Lethe was taller and thicker than Luco and had large, black eyes rimmed in gold that reminded Mandamus of sunflowers. Rivulets of water gushed down her round cheeks and streamed from her long dark hair, but it was her dress that caught Mandamus’ attention for it was very unusual. It was as though the black lake she lived in clung to her skin.
The top of the dress had stripes that flowed like tiny white-capped currents in a river. The ends of her sleeves surged and withdrew against her wrists as if pulled by a tide and her long skirt rippled like a lake on a windy day.
Lethe beamed at Fallow.
“The baby dragolotl,” she murmured, drifting towards him with her hands stretched out. Her dress gushed water with every step, leaving puddles in her wake. Fallow sniffed her hand and allowed her to pet his head.
“Little one,” she whispered. “Your mother was brave. She came to us full of worry for you and we had a hard time convincing her to cross over. She is overjoyed to see that you have made such good friends.”
Fallow flopped onto his side, obviously in the hopes that she’d give him a good belly scratch, but Lethe turned her gaze to Mandamus.
“Ah, Mandamus of the Harena,” she said quietly, putting her hand on his shoulder. “My heart is heavy for all the troubles you’ve had in your short life.”
Her hand was warm and wet, and her scent was sugary. Mandamus nickered in pleasure at her touch and realized that it was her smell that flooded this place.
“And Luco,” Lethe said, and Mandamus noticed that her gaze lingered on his face the longest, darting shyly away when he looked back. “Luco Riverman.”
Luco stared at her, mouth agape.
“I am so sorry,” he said, holding up his hands which Mandamus noticed where trembling. “We did not mean to come here. My horse” he gestured at Mandamus, “he stepp
ed on an alliworm and—.”
“It was the Fates that brought you here and they never do anything unintentionally,” Lethe interrupted. “He does look just like him,” she murmured to Samhain. Mandamus was confused. Who did Luco look like?
“You are meant to be here, Luco Riverman,” Lethe continued. “You and Mandamus.” The strange fabric of her dress churned, and waves rolled down the sleeves and skirt.
Luco wilted. “I hope not. I don’t want to die yet.”
“Oh, that’s not what I mean,” Lethe said with a laugh that reminded Mandamus of a tinkling bell. “I’m not saying you should be dead. I only meant that there must be some reason you’re here,” and suddenly, her face shifted. She frowned and smoothed her hands over the front of her dress. Small drops of water plunked onto the grass.
“Ah, ok,” answered Luco, with a sigh of relief. “Because I was worried there for a second that—.”
“Nadee will be here in three days, you know,” Lethe interrupted in a hollow voice. She stared at Mandamus and Luco coldly. “She won’t like you. She doesn’t like anyone and if she sees you, she’ll kill you.”
Mandamus gave a surprised snort. It was as though Lethe had turned into a different person in the blink of an eye. Her face, friendly only moments before, was dark and brooding and she pointed a shaking finger at them.
“Samhain, what is going on here?” she bellowed. “Who are they?”.
“Easy now,” Samhain said, rushing over and grabbing Lethe by the arm. She led her towards the edge of the canyon. “Let’s get back into the water.”
“Don’t you tell me what to do,” Lethe shrieked, tearing out of Samhain’s grip and gesturing forcefully at Mandamus and Luco. “There are living creatures here, two of them—a horse and a man.”
Mandamus edged closer to Luco, full of confusion. Why was Lethe acting like someone else? Was this how the curse worked?
“A dragolotl!” Lethe screeched, spotting Fallow. She marched over to him, the water from her dress now running from her body in a torrential pour and flooding the path. “He is still alive, too! What is this? Why are you here?” She snatched one of Fallow’s ears. He broke loose of her and ran howling to Luco.
Samhain hurried over to Lethe and steered her towards the water for a second time. Arkas flapped overhead and glared at Mandamus and Luco as if Lethe’s strange mood swing was their fault.
“Lethe, it’s time to go!” ordered Samhain.
“Don’t order me around, you… you reaper!” she hissed, pushing Samhain away. “You can’t tell me what to do!” She bolted down the path and Samhain hurried after her.
Despite their fear, Mandamus and Luco followed. They reached the verge of the canyon and peered over just as Lethe shockingly hurled herself over the edge and down into the water.
Just as it had earlier, the lake began to twirl, only this time, instead of a tornado rising, a spinning hole appeared and as it grew bigger, a cold light beamed out.
Mandamus caught a glimpse of two dark shapes with whipping tails and jagged teeth but then the opening spun wildly and sucked the naiad in with a loud gurgle. Then, the lake was as still once more.
“Luco, you must have heard the legend of Lethe and the curse Nadee put on her,” Samhain said, frowning down at the lake. “You can see now that it is true. Lethe cannot live out of the water for she cannot retain her memory. If she stays out of the water for more than a few minutes, Lethe’s memory fades and she becomes disoriented. When she is confused, she gets angry.”
“But if she remains in the water,” Luco asked, his face bewildered, “then she still has a recollection of who she is?”
Samhain nodded. “Just no memory of her missing naiad boyfriend. That part of the curse worked.”
“What would happen if she stayed out of the lake for longer than what we just saw?” asked Luco. “She seemed so, I don’t know, so—”
“Furious?” Samhain finished for him. “She is terrified when she begins to lose her memory. The world becomes strange and unsafe. It is not only her mind that is held under this curse either, it’s her body as well. If she stays out of the water anytime other than during a full moon, her legs forget how to stand, her lungs forget how to breathe, and her heart forgets how to beat. We learned that the hard way.”
“What were those things I saw in the lake when she dove in?” asked Mandamus. “They had teeth and tails.”
“Those are called Odders,” replied Samhain. “Nadee put them there in case Lethe tries to escape.”
Mandamus turned sadly back to the water. It didn’t seem fair. Lethe had been so kind, at first. She’d only wanted to forget her heartache and in turn had been damned to spend the rest of her life jailed in a body of water to keep her alive. He scanned the canyon looking for any sign of her but there wasn’t even a ripple on the surface of that strange black lake.
Chapter 10
A Visit from Grandpa
It was decided that Mandamus and Luco would stay at the Gates to the Underworld until Mandamus’ hoof had healed enough to carry on with their journey.
Samhain suggested that they move their camp closer to her house for Mandamus continued to hear voices from the lake and each time he found himself being pulled down towards the water.
Samhain lived in a gigantic, fallen tree which was as wide as three horses and as tall as seventeen. Inside there were polished floors, an overflowing pantry, and comfortable couches. The land surrounding it was lush with clusters of wild vegetables and fruit trees and Luco laughed and said that it if wasn’t so close to the shores to the afterlife, it would have been an enjoyable place to stay.
Fallow soon decided that Arkas was his best friend and followed the bat everywhere. Arkas seemed to like the attention and spent each afternoon teaching the dragolotl how to beat his wings to the breeze and streamline his body for flying. Fallow’s wings weren’t strong enough for actual flying, so the dragolotl would pretend and flap them while running as fast as he could.
Fallow would also make hissing noises and Samhain told them that he was most likely practising breathing water or fire. She wasn’t sure which because of his mixed breeding. They would have to wait and see.
Fallow seemed quite content with his new family and slept soundly through the night. He seemed to think that everyone was his own personal toy, and everyone had to be constantly on guard for he would hide in bushes and jump out at them, or randomly tackle them from behind.
Luco guessed that mother dragons taught their young to fish, so one morning, he took Fallow to the thin trickling stream in which he slept and showed him how to find fresh-water clams and crawfish by turning over stones. Fallow delighted in pushing over the rocks and pouncing on the crustaceans he found underneath. Everyone agreed that it wouldn’t be long before he wanted something a little more substantial to eat and that made Mandamus nervous, for he didn’t wish to be the target of Fallow’s first hunt.
Even though Fallow could not yet fly, his body was growing rapidly and one morning, Mandamus found a hollowed-out husk of his skin. Fallow, looking pink and tender, had shed during the night.
Samhain collected the scaly remnants and stowed them away. “Dragolotl shedding’s have many uses,” she told them.
The day after they’d arrived, Samhain spent the morning wandering through the forest that surrounded her house. With her lips to the ground, she whispered at the vegetation until the wild carrot tops grew up to Mandamus’ chest and the apple tree branches drooped with fruit. Oat grass sprouted in thick patches and a colony of honeybees took up residence in an empty stump. Luco used the honey on Mandamus foot and it was finally beginning to feel better.
“It’s Halloween!” Samhain said, one twilight they had arrived. She hurried towards them, clutching a bulging sack. In the dim light, her deep red hair streamed behind her like dying flames, and instead of her dusty cloak, she was dressed in a flowing b
lack gown.
Samhain was breathless as she dropped the sack at her feet. Reaching down, she pulled out a bag of salted popcorn and held it under Mandamus’ nose.
Mandamus, who had never heard of Halloween before, nibbled the popcorn cautiously. It was tasty.
Luco pressed against him and urged him to lift his almost-healed hoof. He peered down at the deep scar the alliworm had left in the middle of Mandamus’ hoof then lowered it back to the ground.
“I’m a little worried about spending Halloween at the Gates of the Underworld. Halloween, after all, is when the spirits of the dead come back to roam the land and visit the living.”
“It certainly is,” Samhain said with a rare smile.
She put the large bag of quickly dwindling popcorn down in front of Mandamus and reached back into the stuffed pack, pulling out two bars wrapped in paper. She handed them to Luco who eagerly opened them.
“Chocolate!” he exclaimed. “So, what happens around here on the eve of the dead, anyway?” he bit into one of the bars. “Can I expect a visit from a relative who’s passed on?”
“You never know,” Samhain answered.
Luco and Mandamus had their nightly fire with just the two of them that evening, for Arkas had taken Fallow into the forest and Samhain had to watch the gates since it was Halloween and there would be souls drifting in and out all night long. Luco and Mandamus agreed it would be best to stay away from the lake tonight.
Luco swung lazily in a hammock he had borrowed from Samhain and Mandamus, who could finally sleep standing up again, dozed lightly beside him.
Mandamus jerked awake. A purple fog was coming from the canyon and it slinked towards them swirling through Mandamus’ legs and curling around the ropes of Luco’s hammock. Mandamus caught a whiff of a musky, herb-like odour,