by Vered Ehsani
“What’s going on back there?” Koki bellowed as she ducked under the swarming bats and around a thick stalactite. “Stop causing a commotion, Miss Knight.”
“Stop steering us into bat colonies,” I shouted back as I knocked a bat off my head. It tugged several strands of hair out as it flew away.
“Priorities, Miss Knight, priorities,” Koki said as the dragon clawed its way up the cave wall, growling and snapping at the bats swirling around the cavern.
“Yao has the diamonds,” Yao yelled as he ran below us, his hands clenched around his prizes.
Roaring, the dragon stared down at the thief and then up at us. Forcing a smile, I waved my hand with the moonstone glowing inside. Flames billowed up the cave wall, followed by the tang of sulphur and the scratching of large claws against stone.
“Hold on,” Koki grunted as she veered toward the entrance.
“What do you think I’ve been doing?” I asked before gasping as my world once again shifted. Koki was scrambling down a column of rock created by the joining of a stalactite with a stalagmite. Behind us, the dragon blasted another wave of fire; heat licked against my back. I glanced back to see the dragon leap from the wall onto the rocky column. A loud crack exploded down the length of the column, and chunks of rock showered down around us.
Before I could warn Koki we were either going to be burned alive or crushed under an avalanche of broken stalactite, she leaped to the ground and bounded out the entrance.
“Yao has the diamonds!” Yao yelled, bouncing up and down and waving his fists above his head.
“Congratulations,” I said as I slid off Koki and summoned the wolf energy back into my hand. “Who has a good throw?”
Kam snatched up the moonstone just as Grootslang appeared out of the gloom. Waving the stone for the dragon to see, he tossed it into the depths of the cave. The moonstone glowed against the darkness as it flew over the dragon’s head.
“Time to run,” Kam grunted and picked me up.
“Don’t you dare toss me…” I began but ended up delivering my curses to a broad, muscular back. “I’m not an invalid, you know.”
Ignoring my protests, Kam jogged down and around the slope of the mountain followed by Koki in her human form. The dragon, I was pleased to note, was the only one not joining us.
A few moments later, Kam set me on my feet, and Death handed me my walking stick. Mr. Turner muttered incomprehensibly while holding his lower jaw with one hand and his head upright with another.
Seemingly unconcerned about Mr. Turner’s unhinged jaw or my close brush with indecent exposure, Yao showed us six thumb-sized diamonds and gloated, “Who’s a good firefly now?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
AS WE BASKED in our achievements—completing our quest without being devoured or charbroiled—my mind turned to a practical issue.
“How do we ascend back to the Sky Kingdom?” I asked, brushing off cave dust and bat guano. “I doubt there’s a giant spider living conveniently nearby.”
Frowning as he bounced diamonds in his palm, Yao said, “Giant spiders are never convenient unless they’re dead.” As if realizing the wife of the aforementioned spider was looming over him, he hastily amended, “Not that we want Anansi to die or fall down a cave shaft or be crunched by a dragon.”
Leaning against a boulder, Koki scratched her long nails against the stone as she smirked. “Those are fairly specific images, firefly.”
Before Yao could verbally entangle himself in more trouble, a shadow drifted overhead. I watched with some trepidation as the Lightning Bird landed nearby. Cocking his white head at Yao, the bird opened his wickedly sharp beak, releasing a screech.
“I trust that means he’s pleased with the diamonds,” I said, brushing the fist atop my walking stick as I prepared to press the buttons that would release a blade from the bottom.
“He’s probably irritated we succeeded,” Koki said, her eyes narrowing at the creature.
As if in agreement, Impundulu flapped his giant wings but mercifully remained in bird form. Although my nerves are robust, I didn’t think I could tolerate another exposure to the Lightning Bird’s unclothed maleness. Instead, he wiggled his glossy white tail feathers.
“Hold on,” Kam ordered as he grabbed a feather with one hand and Mr. Turner with the other.
No sooner had we all placed our hands on a feather, then a cyclone of black and white, thunder and sheet lightning, buffeted us from every direction. So fierce was the energy sweeping us up that I could barely breathe. It didn’t help matters when Yao flung an arm around my waist and squeezed with considerable strength while yelping, “Yao’s too young to die.”
Before the lack of sufficient air became an issue, the storm faded into a gentle breeze. Depositing us unceremoniously in the middle of a vast field of sunflowers, Impundulu screeched and flew away. After smoothing back strands of hair and ensuring my skirt and shirt were in reasonable order, I stood on tiptoes to see over the sunflowers. In every direction, bright yellow flowers each the size of my head bobbed and swayed under a solid blue sky.
“Welcome to Enkai’s realm,” Death muttered as he tugged a petal and crumpled it in a large fist. The yellow against his dark skin glowed.
“Some of you are, at least,” a deep voice boomed as a tall figure strode through the field toward us.
“Enkai,” Kam whispered and inclined his head.
While I wasn’t one for bowing and scraping before any being—unless there was a pot of tea involved—I had to lower my gaze and shield my eyes. The golden light shining from Enkai was so intense I could discern very little regarding his physical features and expression, except that he was tall, lithe, golden-brown and mercifully clothed in a metallic gold cloth wrapped around his hips. All the flowers turned toward him, their stalks bowing in adoration.
Snorting, Death crossed his arms over his chest, muscles gleaming in the light, as he sneered. “Well, at least the flowers still worship you.”
“Yes,” Enkai said, his voice coming from all directions as he stopped in front of us. “They clearly have more sense than you, Le-Eyo.”
“Well, isn’t this a cozy reunion,” I said.
Glancing at me, Yao protested, “This isn’t cozy, Miss Knight. They hate each other.” As Koki laughed softly and I shook my head, he added, “Oh, you mean the opposite of that. Then why not say—”
Death growled, Mr. Turner moaned and lumbered away from the glowing god, and I scooped the diamonds out of Yao’s hand.
“What do you want these for?” I asked as I offered them to Enkai. “It’s not as if you need wealth.”
Enkai’s lips twisted in a mockery of a smile. Bouncing the diamonds in his hand, he turned his back to us, a clear reminder that he wasn’t obliged to answer our questions or grant our requests. It was also intolerably rude which is unforgivable even for a god.
Clearing my throat and ignoring Kam’s raised eyebrows and shaking head, I said, “Excuse me, sir, but we’ve come a long way and have endured all manner of inconveniences. You have your diamonds. Now, if you would be so kind, please hear our petition.”
Spinning to face us, Enkai huffed a laugh, his golden eyes narrowing. “I know why you’re here, little mortal child. Your pleas interest me not at all.”
“That may be so,” I persisted even as Koki tugged at my sleeve and Yao grimaced. “However, it’s of immense interest to us. I have no desire to see my town overrun with… well, with beings like that.”
I swept an arm toward Mr. Turner who, upon realizing he was the object of study, jabbered, waved his arms and lurched into a shambling run in the opposite direction.
“Surely,” I continued, “ you don’t want your creation reduced to such a mess.”
Shrugging, Enkai inspected a nearby sunflower, long fingers brushing over the thick cluster of seeds in the center of petals. “That’s on your friend. He started it. I just finished it.”
“Acquaintances, actually,” I corrected Enkai.
“Excuse me?” the Creator asked, staring at me as if I was a new disease spoiling his precious flowers.
A part of my mind screamed at me to keep quiet and run. The other, possibly suicidal part merely shrugged.
Flustered, I clutched my walking stick and said, “Death and I aren’t what one would call ‘friends’. Yes, he’s been staying in my cottage. But that’s on account of losing his Underworld throne and being mortal, all of which is on you. But suggesting we are friends because of these unfortunate circumstances is uncalled for.”
During my speech, Death, Koki and Kam had swiveled to face me, wearing matching expressions of disbelief. Yao nodded his approval and said, “Exactly right, Miss Knight. The only household pest you’re friends with is Yao.”
Snapping his fingers and gesturing over our heads to some point behind us, Enkai ordered, “Leave.”
“No,” I said, tapping my walking stick against the ground for emphasis.
Enkai stepped toward me, the brightness of his form causing my eyes to water. Lowering his head until his eyes were almost on the same level as mine, he asked in a scarily quiet voice, “And just who do you think you are?”
Focusing on a flower bobbing to one side of the incensed god, I stalled for time. “You’re exactly correct. We haven’t been properly introduced by a mutual acquaintance.”
“But you have an introduction,” Yao whispered to me, tugging at my pocket. “Prof. Runal gave you one.”
Jerking upright, Enkai said, “You know Prof. Runal?”
Unsure if acknowledging a relationship with the wily werewolf would save me or condemn me to a painful demise, I said nothing but instead reached into the pocket where his letter rested. Fervently praying Prof. Runal hadn’t lied to me about its helpful contents, I retrieved the unopened letter, handed it to Enkai and watched his expression shift from irritated to unreadable as he perused the message. A couple times, he glanced up at me, his gaze sharp as he scrutinized me. Finally, he clenched his hand; a flame burst forth and consumed the letter.
Crossing one arm over his midsection, he leaned the elbow of his other arm on it and rested his chin on his fist. In such a pose he remained, his gaze on me as he pondered our fates and the contents of Prof. Runal’s letter.
For several moments of silence, I forced myself not to squirm. Yao had no such reservations; he shifted from side to side, twisting his hands together and muttering to himself. Kam did a wonderful imitation of a statue. Death and Koki stood near me, studying the scene for any indication we might need to fight.
Finally, Enkai said in a voice bereft of emotion, “So.” He paused and then again uttered, “So.”
Gulping, I forced a smile. “So,” I repeated, blinking against his golden light.
“Don’t think this won’t come with a price, Miss Knight,” Enkai warned before turning and striding away.
In the silence that followed, I turned to Kam and Death. “So?” I asked. “What does that mean?”
“That we are all still alive and happy to be so,” Yao said as he flung an arm across my shoulders and tugged me in the other direction. “So let’s go and live before the grouchy god comes back and tosses us off his sunflower cloud.”
“For once,” Koki said, her expression grave, “I agree with the vampire.”
“Oh, goody,” Yao enthused, bouncing next to me as I struggled to free myself from his embrace.
Kam was more than agreeable with this decision as he led us toward the archway out of the Sky. Death on the other hand kept glancing back, searching for something or, more likely, someone.
“Are you going to be all right?” I asked, touching his arm.
Shrugging, he focused ahead. “Eventually.”
“Has he reinstated you?” I pressed. “I mean, do you feel any different?”
Sighing, Death glanced at me. “We’ll know soon enough.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
DESCENDING THE SPIDER silk rope was easier than going up it. Once we were all latched onto its sticky surface, the rope began to sink to the earth, picking up speed until the world was nothing more than a howling blur. It slowed down only when we reached the slopes of Mt. Kenya. As we entered the open space within the bamboo forest, we saw the rope coiled neatly in a large pile below us.
Anansi wasn’t waiting for us but the elephant was. Waving her tusk, she trumpeted a greeting. As soon as Kam deposited Mr. Turner on the ground, the hunter lumbered over to the elephant and hugged one of her front legs. His decomposing arms couldn’t reach all the way around.
As I wiped bits of sticky silk off my clothes, I became aware of a shift in energy. Straightening up, I stared at Death; his brown skin and eyes began to glow with a delicate golden sheen.
“Your powers,” I gasped. “They’ve returned, haven’t they?”
Grinning, Death nodded, holding out his hands to stare at the evidence of his reinstatement as God of Death. The elephant dropped her tusk and raised her trunk, trumpeting again. Mr. Turner’s face twitched in an attempted smile, his arms still clasped around the elephant’s legs. The elephant wrapped her trunk around him, holding him in her embrace as they both sunk to the ground and died a second time.
“Yao’s going to miss that corpse,” the vampire sniffed.
“As will I,” I said as I leaned down to stroke the elephant’s trunk. “Goodbye, dear friend.”
Eager to return to his realm, Death left us after uttering a hasty farewell. With even less ceremony, Kam vanished, leaving in his wake a whiff of ozone.
In silence, Koki, Yao and I strolled through the bamboo tunnel to where we’d left Nelly. She was asleep, her nose covered in the stains of all the flowers she’d devoured. When I slapped her neck, she snorted, peered at me from under long eyelashes and made a rude noise.
“I’ve missed you too,” I said, leaning against her as exhaustion overtook me.
“What was in the letter?” Yao asked, standing so close my nose was almost brushing against his chest.
Too weary to push him away, I sighed. “I don’t know. Right now, I don’t care.”
Koki placed a hand on my shoulder. “You look tired,” she said, frowning at me as if it was my fault I’d been dragged into this adventure.
“Thanks, that makes me feel marvelous,” I muttered and reached up to pull myself into the saddle. My arms wouldn’t work. They hung by my side, heavy and limp. “I could use a nap, though.”
Before I could protest, Koki scooped me up and lifted me into the saddle where I slouched, hoping I wouldn’t fall off. Nelly snorted as Koki jumped behind me. Yao shifted into a firefly and clung onto the mane between Nelly’s ears where he fluttered his wings and shouted, “Let’s fly, ladies.” And so we did.
“There really is no place like home,” I murmured as Nelly descended near the barn. Even the bug splattered against my cheek couldn’t diminish my relief at seeing a puff of smoke drifting out of the kitchen chimney. A cup of tea was only a few minutes away.
As Koki had no interest in tea—making it all the more remarkable we were friends—and Yao preferred a liquid of a very different nature, we bid each other farewell.
Each step an effort, I trudged from the barn to the kitchen door and smiled at the sight of a kettle steaming away on top of the black metal, potbelly stove. Jonas scowled as I tracked dirt across the stone tiles but I was too fatigued to do anything but collapse in a kitchen chair. A wave of heaviness caused me to lean my head against my folded arms.
“Me, I’m not monkey sitting again,” Jonas complained as he swept the dirt out the back door with a bundle of twigs tied together. “And as for that vampire, me, I…”
“Argh,” I wailed as a sharp pain tore through my midsection.
“Miss Knight?” Jonas straightened, his gnarled hands clenching the African broom to his chest.
Whimpering, I rose up and slammed my hands against the wooden table as more pain slashed at my stomach. “No,” I gasped, bent over double as I struggled to breathe. Thick moisture beg
an to flow out of me, down the inside of one leg. The scent of copper choked me. “Jonas. The doctor.”
“Beatrice?” Gideon appeared before me, his frowning features even more angelic as I contemplated my approaching demise.
“No, no, no,” I moaned. “Don’t leave me.”
“I’m right here,” Gideon said, waving his hands before my face.
Jonas touched my shoulder. “Miss Knight?”
“The doctor,” I said, my head too burdensome to hold up any longer. “Summon…”
My voice faded away along with light and sound and any sensation that didn’t involve agony. When next I could see, I was horizontal in a room that looked familiar, surrounded by faces I could almost recognize.
As if from inside a cave, muted voices echoed around me: “She’ll live… But the baby…”
And then there was nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
MINUTES, HOURS, POSSIBLY days. One drifted into the other, a blur of meaningless time.
People also drifted in and out: Tiberius, Cilla, Lilly, Drew, Dr. Ribeiro, Jonas, Gideon, Father, Yao, Koki. Their faces all communicated what none dared to voice. With each person, I spoke only to ask them to leave until my room was empty of pity and visitors. Shelby remained, cuddled in the crook of my neck, her fur pressed against my cheek, her tail swishing against my chest. Jonas tiptoed between the kitchen and my room, carrying platters of food I wouldn’t touch, tea I wouldn’t sip.
When finally nature forced me to leave the cottage one evening, I shuffled to the outhouse. Unable to return to the confinement of the cottage, I followed Shelby to the barn where she climbed onto Nelly’s back and tugged at the horse’s mane.