Shadow of Makei cotpl-3

by John H. Burkitt

  Fielder, the dog, addressed her in common speech. “What’s the big deal, Spotty?”

  “Fire,” she said, shuddering. “We’re in danger! We have to get away!”

  “Fire is our friend when it’s controlled. It brings light and heat. You’d know that if you came from civilized folk.” He turned to face away from her. “Faah! Hyenas are nothing but ignorant cowards--and they smell.”

  She stared at him blankly, then when he laid back down, she curled up and shivered again. Never since the fire had she felt so alone. Thoughts turned to her home on the savanna. “Do you still think of me, Muti? I still think about you.” She sighed. “I wish you were here right now. No, I wish I were there. I wouldn’t wish this place on anyone. The dog hates me. Ed’s all right I guess, but he’s gone all the time and leaves me behind.”

  “Do you always talk to yourself?” Fielder grumbled. “My Uncle started talking to himself when he got old. They took him out behind the tents with the bang stick and put him down.”

  “Down where?”

  “Killed him, you idiot. That’s what they do around here when you’re old and useless. Oh they called it ‘putting him out of his misery,’ but what they really meant was putting him out of Ed’s misery. He wasn’t miserable, just inconvenient to have around.”

  “Oh gods!” Fabana curled up tightly, putting her paws over her eyes and ears and moaned. She tried to push out the realization by shoving it from her head. Of course, it did no good. “Maleh protect me! Roh’kash, deliver me! Chew through this rope, Great Mother! I want my Muti! I want to go home!”

  “You are home. Get used to it. And stow that whining while I’m trying to nap!”

  In the days to come, Fielder never grew to like her, though he came to tolerate her. When Ed had guests, which was not very often, they would always be pulled out back to see Fabana. Some would hide behind small boxes with eyes that flashed like lightening. Fabana hated the purple spots they left in her eyes, but came to bear the inconvenience them because the humans would usually kneel afterwards and rub her with words of endearment. She came to understand a few of those words with some degree of certainty. She attracted attention the way the dog never could, though the dog tried to put on a show and get some of the attention and extra treats that came her way. Frankly, Fielder was jealous of all the extra attention she got. And he racked up part of it into his prejudice against her and her race.

  It was not always pleasant. Ed thought hyenas smelled too, and he would subject her to the indignity of a cold bath in an aluminum washtub that left her reeking of soap. Sometimes it would rain, and she would have to stoically endure it, tethered to that hated peg, while Fielder retreated to his warm, dry shelter. But far worse was the occasional sound of the free hyenas who would cry out in the night as they hunted. They awakened longings in her that could never be satisfied on the end of a rope. It was on those long, lonely nights that she first plotted her escape.

  CHAPTER 14: TROUBLED WATERS

  Sarabi and Elanna couldn’t decide if they would rather run or fight, so they did both, laughing as they gamboled through the grass, pawing at each other in quick swipes. Sarabi feinted, and Elanna ducked, reaching out and catching her sister with a quick jab of her forepaw.

  Sarabi yelped and tumbled to the ground.

  “Gotcha!”

  Sarabi did not answer.

  “Sassie?”

  Elanna listened but heard nothing. She panted hard as she pushed through the tall stems and looked at her sister lying motionless on the ground. Her eyes were open, staring blankly ahead. Her chest did not rise and fall. Elanna nuzzled her sister gently. “Sassie? Are you OK?”

  Sarabi remained still, and Elanna nuzzled her again. “Sassie? Sassie?? Oh my gods! Sassie, wake up!”

  Sarabi swatted her. “BOO!!!”

  “Oh gods!” Elanna ran in a tight circle, her eyes wide and her tail fuzzed out. “How DARE you!”

  Sarabi laughed, pounding the ground with a paw. “What a face! You should see yourself!”

  “That’s not funny!”

  “Wanna bet??”

  “I thought you were hurt!” Elanna glared at her crossly. “I was worried about you, you big jerk! You shouldn’t have scared me like that. It wasn’t very nice.”

  “Sorry,” Sarabi pouted. She got up and shook herself thoroughly. “I was just playing, Lannie. I’m sorry.” She walked over to her sister and nuzzled her. “Friends?”

  “Yeah.” Elanna nuzzled her familiarly. She got up and made off through the grass slowly, Sarabi alongside. “So what’s the deal with you and Taka?”

  Sarabi’s ears fell back. “Huh?”

  “I saw you two making gazelle eyes at each other the other day.” Elanna giggled to herself. In a low voice, she began to sing softly to herself:

  I once saw two cubs a-walking through the grass

  One was named Sarabi; a sassy young lass

  The boy was named Taka, a handsome young cub

  The two went out to play one day and fell in love!

  “E-LAN-NA!” Sarabi stared dumbfounded at her sister as Elanna rolled through the grass, convulsed with laughter.

  “Oh, come off it, Sassie; you’re almost nine moons old, for crying out loud. Everybody knows who you’re going to pledge to, anyway, so why be coy about it?” Elanna shook her head, grinning.

  “Oh yeah? Well how about the way you were staring at Muffy yesterday?”

  Elanna’s grin fell. “What ABOUT it? That’s different.”

  “I saw you, girl! ‘Oh, Muffy, you’re so big and stuh-RONG!’” Sarabi batted her eyes. “When he snarled, you almost fainted!”

  “That was a roar!”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “It was!”

  “Yeah, right. So tell me, are you expecting?”

  “Expecting what?” In a moment it dawned on her. “Ooh! I’m gonna GET you for that!” Elanna sprang, missing as Sarabi evaded and ran away, laughing so hard she nearly stumbled. The two tore across the grassy plain, ascending the lower slopes of Pride Rock in a tawny blur, nearly knocking Uzuri and Yolanda down as they passed.

  “Slow down!” Uzuri bellowed after them. “Watch where you’re going!”

  “Oh, they’re still kids. Let them play.” Yolanda licked a forepaw calmly.

  “Hmph! They’re never too young to have a little discipline,” Uzuri grumped as she lay back down. She cocked her head slightly as Yolanda began to groom her behind an ear, eliciting a deep purr from the lioness. “Those two are just like Avina, I swear. If I ever have children, they’ll be properly behaved, have no doubt of that!”

  “Oh, I don’t doubt it, hon. I think you’ll make a marvelous mother.”

  “Yolanda?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Have I ever told you that you’re a terrible liar?”

  “Many times,” Yolanda grinned. “Now stow it and lean over so I can get the other side.”

  The two cubs were ignorant of this as they continued their high speed pursuit around Pride Rock. Sarabi cut tight around a corner and ran downslope, ducking behind the large cistern where the lions came to drink. Elanna appeared, slowing, looking around carefully. “I know you’re back here, girl.” She sniffed carefully as she fought to catch her breath. “Come out!”

  Sarabi did. “BOO!”

  Elanna gave a delighted shriek and pounced upon her sister, rolling about and wrestling as she tried to catch Sarabi’s flailing paws in her mouth. Her sister was most uncooperative and wriggled away, heading towards the cave opening at the back of the cistern cleft. “Betcha can’t catch me!” she shouted, vanishing inside.

  Elanna stopped short at the entrance. “Uh-uh. I ain’t goin in there.”

  “What’s the matter, Sis?” Sarabi’s voice floated out of the darkness. “You scared?”

  “Daddy told us not to go in there. And Barata says it’s haunted.”

  “Oh gods, you believe that old story? They tell you that so you won’t go in. Don’t be a fool.” S
till, Elanna sat planted at the entrance like a bush. “Well, come ON, Lannie.” Sarabi giggled again. “I see it now: Mufasa the Great and his wife, Queen Scaredy Cat!”

  “All right, you ASKED for it that time!” Elanna bounded into the cave, her eyes adjusting quickly to the dark. She spied the dim shape of Sarabi bounding away deeper into the cave’s recesses. “Come back here!”

  Sarabi ran on for awhile longer, the turned, grinning, expecting to see Elanna’s head poke around the corner, a mischievous smile on her face as she prepared to exact her revenge.

  Instead, she saw only inky blackness. “Lannie?” Her voice echoed back to her, harsh and somehow mocking in the cave’s confines. The warm glow of play faded, replaced by the dull chill of the dank walls, moist with condensation. The faint drip of water somewhere behind her and the tides of her breath were the only sounds. “Lannie?”

  A faint touch tickled the back of her neck and she screamed, whipping about and striking with her forepaws, feeling the impact as they struck a dark form behind her. A yelp of pain reached her ears, and she froze. “Elanna?!”

  A choking sob sounded from the blackness. “Sassie, I can’t see anything, it’s so dark, I can’t find the way OUT!”

  “Well, it’s right back....” She bumped into the wall. “I guess not.”

  Sarabi knelt in the blackness and nuzzled her sister comfortingly. “Don’t worry, we’ll get out of here. Come on.” She felt carefully around in the dark, until her whiskers detected an opening. Moving slowly, so that Elanna could keep up, she padded through the winding tunnels, pausing now and again to sniff carefully. Time passed in a blur, and she began to wonder if anyone was looking for them.

  “Look, Sassie, light! We’re saved!”

  Sarabi peered ahead. Sure enough, a faint glow was detectable in the distance. “Thank Aiheu!”

  “You said it!” Elanna pushed past her, eager to escape the dreary confines of the cave. “C’mon, let’s get outa here!”

  “Wait up!” Sarabi slipped on the damp floor, picking herself up slowly. “Lannie, wait!”

  She padded along the tunnel, the light growing around her, but seeming wrong, somehow, a cold, pale light, not the warm yellow glow of the sun. Turning another corner, she emerged into a small room, lit with the same cold light. Elanna stood nearby, a miserable expression on her face. “Guess we took a wrong turn, huh?” she said, and burst into tears.

  Sarabi stood awestruck, unable to answer as she stared at the sight before them.

  CHAPTER 15: DARK SECRETS

  Elanna looked despondently at the shimmering pool of water that lay before them. It stretched across the full length of the cavern, an expanse of water that seemingly glowed with its own inner light. Elanna peered about and realized the light was a reflection from the cavern walls! Nosing them, she broke a piece of something nauseatingly warm and hideously soft off of the rock surface. The smell of the luminescent fungus stung her nose, and she screwed up her face in distaste as she watched the glow die from the piece she had broken. “This place gives me the creeps.”

  “Check this out!”

  Elanna glanced over at Sarabi, who was bent intently over the pool’s edge, the young lioness glancing up at Elanna as she ambled over. “How deep do you think it is?”

  “Who cares?” Elanna snorted. But she had to admit, the pool did look deep. The glow from the walls failed to show the bottom, only reflecting their faces in its weak light. “Who cares about the stupid pool, Sassie? Let’s get outa here.” Elanna stepped away and swatted the dead fungus at her sister.

  It glanced off Sarabi’s shoulder and vanished into the pool with a sharp FZZZZT! sound.

  Sarabi glanced curiously in the water, which lay undisturbed by the intrusion. “I don't see it. Where’d it go?” She leaned over the surface, her chin nearly touching the dark water.

  “I don’t know.” Elanna moved to stand beside her. Curious, she picked up a pebble between her teeth and dropped it in. The same odd hissing noise issued from the water, and though they strained their eyes until they ached, the saw no sign of it sinking through the depths.

  Elanna glanced at Sarabi’s reflection, the only thing she could see in the pool. It lay flat on the surface, undisturbed by the pebble, without even a ripple to mar its perfection.

  Then suddenly, it DID move.

  The lovely visage of Sarabi twisted and writhed in the pool’s surface, leering and gibbering silently at her, a vision from her worst nightmares. It raised a paw, as if beckoning her to jump in and join the fun, waving its paw.

  Horrified, Elanna looked up to see Sarabi extending a forepaw into the water, an enraptured look upon her face. “SARABI!! NO!!”

  Sarabi blinked and looked at her. “What?”

  “Get your paw out of there!” Elanna backed away, a terrified look on her face. “Get it out NOW!”

  An implacable grip seized Sarabi’s paw and began to pull. She gaped down horrified, her claws extending uselessly as she began to slide across the cavern floor towards the edge. “LANNIE!! HELP ME!”

  A strangled cry emerged from Elanna’s throat as she ran to Sarabi and gripped her tail forcefully, pulling with all her might, her sister shrieking in pain, the sound echoing off the cave’s walls as she was pulled in opposite directions. Elanna closed her eyes and prayed, sure that Sarabi would vanish into the pool with that same hissing sound, and she would be left alone here with the ghosts that Barata had warned her about, trapped until she starved or until her sister’s ghost returned for her, as she was sure it would, it would return and drag her down too....

  Sarabi’s weight shifted as the grip on her paw vanished, sending her flying back to land on Elanna, driving the air from her lungs with a muffled gasp. Scrambling to their feet, the two tore off back into the dark tunnels, running blindly through the blackness, afraid to stop for what might be in pursuit of them.

  Presently, they saw light ahead again, and slowed. Elanna padded ahead, sniffing, and suddenly heard a faint voice calling her name. She turned to Sarabi, grinning. “It’s Mom, Sassie, c’mon!”

  The two burst forth from the cave mouth into the warm sunlight, breathing great lungfuls of sweet savanna air as they scrambled past the cistern and upslope to where Avina sat, roaring softly as she called to them. They piled onto her, knocking her onto her side as they nuzzled her affectionately. “Mom!”

  “Uff! Cool it, kids! Where have you two been? I’ve been calling you for an eternity!”

  “Uhh...we were just playing.” Sarabi dredged up a grin with an effort. “Right, Lannie?”

  “Sure!”

  “Well, next time, you come right away when I call you. We’re getting ready to go hunting, and I want you two to come along.”

  “Yes ma’am.” The two sat quietly until Avina had left. “What happened, Sassie?”

  “I don't know. All I know is I never want to go in THERE again!”

  “Me neither. I won’t tell if you won’t.” Elanna shuddered at the memory as the two of them headed away toward the lionesses below. During the excitement of the hunt, the two forgot about the incident, and it was never mentioned between them again. But years later, Elanna would wake in the night beside Taka, shivering, the memory of that capering face dancing in the darkness, unable to return to sleep until the glow of dawn had touched the horizon.

  CHAPTER 16: COMING OF AGE

  Finally, Fabana reached her first season. She was nervous and restless, as if something was missing from her life. She had long felt ill at ease among humans and their strange world, but this was a different kind of stirring that she had never felt before. The dog, taking note of that, became restless as well and showed a new interest in her. He understood many things that she did not know about growing up.

  At first, Fabana had no clue what had sparked his changed attitude. Usually Fielder would not even answer her direct questions. His few words to her had been insulting and demeaning, and when he even said “good morning” it made the whole day noteworthy.


  Suddenly Fielder had become chatty, saying how good the weather was for that time of year, and inquiring about her health, and a great many other things of questionable value. He even brought her part of his coveted table scraps in an awkward attempt to curry favor.

  And Fielder began to watch her intently. At first Fabana thought it was her imagination, but the dog began to stare more and more often, and for longer periods. Finally, she had to risk a direct question.

  “What are you looking at?”

  “You, Spotty. You’re blossoming into a fine young lady. I didn’t realize what a few moons would do to you--remember when you were that squalling pup yelling for her mom?

  “Vividly.”

  “I hate to say it, but I didn’t really like you then.”

  “No kidding.”

  “It doesn’t always have to be that way, Spotty.”

  “My name is Fabana.”

  “Whatever. Well--Fabana--you’re a young lady now. It’s time you were initiated into the secrets we grown-ups keep from the pups. You know, kind of like a ceremony of sorts--a rite of passage.”

  “Can you do that? I thought only females did the Bak’ret Koth!”

  Fielder laughed till his sides ached. “Oh for God’s sake, where DO you come up with these! There are two sexes--male and female, see.”

  “Don’t you think I KNOW THAT?”

  “Oh--the ceremony!” He laughed again. “Well pardon me!”

  Fabana finally understood what was so funny, and she smiled, embarrassed.

  When he regained his composure, Fielder drew near and said, “You want something, but you don’t quite know what it is. I know what it is, and I can give it to you.”

  She tugged at her leash. “Oh, I know what it is I want. And I want it more than anything.” She strained to see the border of her homeland. “Help me please, and all is forgiven. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  Trembling with passion, the dog came toward her. “Oh yes. This should be interesting. Just don’t brag about it afterwards, and if it’s good, maybe we can do this again sometime.”