“Lay down, Ky. Go to sleep,” she heard Cobaaron’s tired voice behind her.
“How long have I been sleeping?” Ky asked.
“Not long, and I haven’t slept. It’s almost morning. My men will be surrounding us within the hour, and we’ll finally be out of the marsh before then. There is another six hours until we reach our resting point.” He pulled her down, and tiredly mumbled, “Lay with me and go to sleep. Noxis leads us; there is nothing to worry about.”
It was easy to follow his orders. His chest was warm against her back. His presence filled her with ease and comfort but the union had another idea in mind. She fought her urges. Combined with her worn out body and fatigue, she soon fell asleep again.
*****
“Ky,” Cobaaron gently shook her shoulder. “Ky, wake up. Huntra is tired. He’s hasn’t eaten, and he’s traveled a great distance. I need to carry him. Wake up.”
“Where are we? Are we there yet?”
“Not quite,” he said.
When they were sitting, the walls to the sleeping cart bubbled and fell away. They slid off a wobbly Huntra. Cobaaron picked him up when he was small again.
Everyone was exhausted and inched slowly along. They walked all day and night with no food or water. Yet there were two big changes. All the warriors now accompanied them, making their formation over ten miles in length, and the landscape was vastly different. Hills rolled on and on as far as the eye could see. Wind blew shards of wheat among tall, budding purple flowers.
On a distant hill stood oddly placed lean, rectangular boulders; some were knocked down. Positioned around the pillars were giant carved faces in stone, all of which had different exaggerated facial features. The heads speckled the landscape, but all faced a stone hedge. Cobaaron was leading them directly toward the granite garden.
Ky took Huntra from Cobaaron. She held him in the crook of her arm, so she could scratch his back. His warm little body leaned against her. While thoroughly enjoying being petted, he wrapped his front paws around her arm. He then closed his eyes, ready to sleep.
They approached the stone hedge where rocks protruded, exposing the rock-strewn geography. Once they stepped over a short stone fence, Cobaaron told a few warriors to check the inner rooms. Ky became perplexed after the group thanked him, and ran behind a larger granite slab carefully balanced on large upright stones forming a table; the moment they ran around they disappeared. Ky thought it was an optical illusion that the men could run behind the large rocks and not reappear. But as Cobaaron and Ky reached the other side, Ky realized there was no mystery. Below the rock table were steep steps leading underground. Ky laughed at how easily she had been wrong. Cobaaron jumped, skipping the first few steps and then called back, “Are you coming?” He held out a hand, and warned her to duck to avoid the overhead.
From a black sky, to instant darkness, they walked the tunnel with no light. “Oh, Huntra,” she grumbled and dropped him when he squirmed and started scratching. She tried hugging him tighter but he wriggled free. “No!”
“It’s okay. There are beetles down here. He’s hungry, and they’re a good source of meat,” Cobaaron said. “Just let him go.”
“I don’t have him anymore.”
“It’s all clear,” a warrior yelled from the depth of the tunnel.
“Well, that is good. I’ve had enough excitement,” Ky complained.
“Try to light up, Ky. There is a torch around here somewhere.” A second later he recanted, “Never mind. Here it is.” Cobaaron lit the torch with a small metal prong that sparked when scraping against a flammable rock. The rock itself caught fire. Cobaaron lit more torches as he explained, “It’s petrified sap from popping pine. They will burn for months.” She was impressed with the mechanics as much as the way they made use of the trees’ sap.
Ky saw Huntra chasing a huge beetle the size of her fist. The insect was black with working pinchers in front and back making it impossible to know which end was which. For added protection, the beetle zigzagged, running backward and then forwards in confusing spurts.
“That beetle is huge,” Ky said uneasily. Then she saw several. They were all scattering in different directions. She gasped having to lift her feet, and jump to keep away from them.
“No. These are young offspring,” Cobaaron said, smiling. “You’re not afraid of bugs are you?” He suppressed a laugh, and not very well.
“These bugs, yes, I am. I’ll say it again, they’re huge,” she stressed, not ashamed. “Please say you’re joking about the beetle being small comparably. They, uh, don’t get much bigger do they?”
“About three times that size.”
“I don’t want beetles crawling on me, especially if I’m sleeping,” Ky groaned, and bit her nails until she realized what she was doing.
“They don’t like fire. That is why they scattered.” He turned around still trying to hide his amusement, and they walked on.
They reached the bottom of the steps, and continued down a long sloping tunnel. A few steps later, the passageway abruptly opened to a large cavern with thick pillars that arched along the ceiling of a space large enough to hold all of them. The enormous rectangular assembly room had immaculately carved tunnels along the walls. Warriors piled in and built fires in various places around the open space. Their fires soon lit a fountain in the middle.
In the center of the fountain was a beautiful stone woman bathing. She was undoubtedly pregnant, and water was pouring from a big shell she held above her head and splashed down to her nude, curvy body. Warriors took turns drinking from the fountain.
Cobaaron noticed her attention was on the statue, and said, “That is the well of Lu Lush. You will see women bathe in her spring hoping to be blessed with fertility. She has a plethora of wells in countless cities, but they don’t work. Lu Lush is nothing more than a deceased woman with abundant myths surrounding her.”
Ky eyed the fountain, and she didn’t buy into a theory that a dip could heal anyone of infertility either. At least it didn’t work like that in Texas.
“The actual bathhouse is the widest archway straight back. The Questidors, the people who once lived here, were strong believers in tight quarters and no secrets. So, they would feast together every night and spend much of their time together in this room. They thought they would be a stronger society with fewer crimes if they stayed close, but legend says scandalmongers tore the city apart and the community didn’t survive. Since they left, there have been additional rooms carved, which are now the sleeping compartments for travelers (mostly warriors).
“I’ll get a fire started in one of the rooms. You can catch up on your sleep, while my men and I hunt for food.” He pointed to the closest tunnel, and she followed him down a short hallway to a separate chamber.
“Please tell me we’re not eating beetles,” Ky begged.
“You don’t want to eat beetles?” he asked in humor. He smirked, giving away that he was playing around, and then chuckled. “Their cavity is half full of ink. They’re disgusting,” he snickered again. “No. I’ll find something good like curry. Warriors are resourceful, and my men are used to the wild. We know how to make food taste good, though it may take some time. I’m sure my men are tired after being awake so long. Usually we run quickly to the destination, and then rest well. This journey has been long for all of us.” He made the fire as he talked, which was already built and used by past visitors. Ky wondered if it was his army who last came to the city.
He lit the fire with the room’s torch. There was a stack of wood, bones, and sap stone in the corner. He threw a few logs onto the fire, clapped the charcoal from his hands, and watched the fire until the flames were tall and warm.
“You don’t have to go with them to hunt, do you?”
“I slept and my men haven’t. I lead by example. If I go out to hunt, my men follow without question. I won’t have to ask; they’ll follow. Besides, I need to talk with Octavos about what he saw in the woods. I still think we’re being follo
wed.” Cobaaron kissed her, which was a mistake. From his touch, she was filled with passion and great devotion. There was no question she loved Cobaaron with her whole heart, and all her being. Cobaaron broke the brief intimacy, and left. Not long after his departure, she was accompanied by several warriors who stood guard in the tunnel, watching over her.
Ky put her hands near the fire, but couldn’t feel any heat. She put her hands even closer, but there was still no sensation of heat. Slowly, she put her hands in the flames. It was warm to the touch but not hot.
“Oh.”
Ky glanced back at the sound a female voice seeing Oella who had taken one look at Ky in the room, and began to leave. “No. It’s okay. Come in.” Ky waved her in, but Oella didn’t approach.
Oella glanced at the guards, not sure if she should enter. They weren’t saying anything to her, and kept their eyes forward. “You were my handmaiden in the city. I’m sure you can come in here,” Ky asserted, having no reason to not trust her. All the belongings Oella made her had proven to be safe. Ky was positive Oella was good-natured.
“I don’t think I should. You’re a Star—queen.”
“I’m a girl, and exhausted like you. Come sit down. I’m sure your feet are killing you,” Ky said, and patted the cold ground.
“That is an odd expression. I’m not dying of pain.” Oella raised an eyebrow while smiling. “They hurt; that is all. And you’re not a girl; you’re a Star, a goddess born of the heavens.” Oella pointed to Ky’s hands, which were in the fire, but she didn’t budge from her spot in the hallway. “You’re hot inside, and that is why fire doesn’t affect you. It takes something much hotter for you to feel heat.”
“Like my blood,” Ky stated wryly.
“Like your blood,” Oella agreed. “I, er…I can make us pillows to sit on.” It was a suggestion that seemed to warrant an entrance.
“That would be nice.”
Oella picked up small pebbles from the floor, and first changed them into glass by pinching them. She then placed each glass marble, one by one, onto the ground in a circle around the fire. They transformed into big, red, fluffy pillows as she set them down.
Ky moved to sit on one. Oella sat beside her, and rubbed her swollen black-and-blue feet. “Your feet,” Ky gasped in horror. Oella shrugged and said it was worth the opportunity.
Huntra came strolling into the room. His belly was full once again. He had black ink all over his white face that made him look Siamese. He was trying to lick it off, by grooming his chops and shaking his head. When he saw the pillows, he went to one and sat on the comfortable bed. He wet his paw and kept trying, unsuccessfully, to lick off the black ink. Instead it smeared onto his paws.
Oella soon fell asleep, and soon Huntra began to snore loudly. Ky stared in the fire for what felt like an hour. Her crystal around her neck was dim, but she had no idea what time it meant…maybe late night, high noon, or daybreak.
“What is she doing in here?” Cobaaron griped when he came back into the room holding a long strip of meat, and a plant that looked like rhubarb.
“She’s sleeping.”
“I don’t want her in here, Ky. She’s a witch!” he protested harshly in a strained voice barely over a whisper.
“I know. She made all these pillows with magic. She fashioned all my belongings, too, which we deemed safe.”
“I don’t want her in here. I don’t want you to be alone with her, ever,” he demanded, pointing to Oella. “I don’t even want you talking to her. Okay? This is the last time you’re permitted to have her in your presence.”
“But she was my servant back in the City of Sterlings. Why is it different here?”
“It’s no different. I made sure she wasn’t around you once I found out in the city, and now I still want you to stay away from the witch. You can’t be alone with her. She is dangerous.”
“It seems silly to me. All the things she made me were safe,” Ky replied with another shrug. “She’s been nothing but nice to me. Maybe you’re wrong about her. All witches can’t be evil. Any statement with the word all is untrue. Everyone knows that.”
“I don’t care how it seems, as long as you stay away from her. I know this world; you don’t. I know what is good for you; obviously, you don’t. Ky, I don’t want you around her at all. That is final. End of discussion. Don’t question me anymore.”
“I’m not one of your men you can boss around, Cobaaron.” She glared.
“You’re right. You’re not a warrior I can boss around; you’re my wife or will be. You must listen to me. Out here I’m in charge of you. Mind me!”
Ky was immediately fuming mad. “You promised me to be your equal! It doesn’t sound like I am.” She couldn’t believe his arrogance. She was not below him. “If we’re breaking promises, then…you’re wrong, Cobaaron, I’m not your wife. I’m just a girl who bled all over you.”
“That was really rude.” He stared at her a moment, obviously hoping she would take it back, but when she didn’t he turned his back on her. He placed the meat and the plant onto the fire. Then he proceeded to shake Oella’s shoulder. “Leave us!” he growled his command when she was barely awake. “Stay away from Ky!”
“Now that was rude. She was exhausted after walking. For being compassionate to all mankind you don’t seem caring at the moment. Or is it just men you’re loyal to?” Ky snapped when Oella left. He didn’t reply. It annoyed her that he was ignoring her.
They were quiet as the meat sizzled loudly, and filled the room with a scent of steak. They both watched in silence. Neither wanted to talk while they were irritated and angry. He cooked the shrub until the branches were black and then flipped the bush over. When the food was done cooking, he placed the meat over the plant. They weren’t looking at each other, and it wasn’t until he started to eat and she had yet to touch the food that he garbled a command, “Eat.”
She ripped a chunk of meat off and then chewed on the juicy steak. It tasted like buttery tenderloin. She couldn’t help but loudly eat with satisfaction.
“Have you thought about what I said? Do you see how you were wrong?” Cobaaron asked her. “Will you mind me now?”
“Excuse me?” She glared. If his remark wasn’t enough to infuriate her, all her frustrations from the past few days came to a head. “Are you so controlling that I can only have you as a friend? I have no one here besides you and a cat. I’m sure because of it I have an unhealthy fixation on you. People are social by nature, and I always had at least five good friends or more. Your company, at times, isn’t pleasant either!” She mocked him in a low voice saying, “Just do what you say, don’t ask questions. Keep to myself...don’t shine, don’t move, don’t talk, and don’t breathe heavily. Can I do anything? Am I your slave? Am I really entering into bondage?”
“Really? You’re not even going to try to see that I’m right,” he scoffed under his breath and shook his head. “You are really showing your age right now; you’re definitely eighteen.” Her blood boiled at being called immature.
“What is that supposed to mean? I’m definitely eighteen. I have every reason to be upset. You expect me to be nothing but subservient when I’m my own person.”
“I should be able to expect you to comply with my instructions. I told you this is something I need. We may not be married yet, but you will be my wife. I won’t have my partner disobeying me in front of my men. You need to trust I know better than you in this world. And I tell you my reasons I need you to do something. I’ve never told you that you couldn’t have friends. Just not the witch. See the logic in what I’m saying; I know you can, but you simply don’t want to. This argument is childish. You’re young, Ky, but I need you to grow up. I need you to understand I must be overbearing to keep you safe.”
“If I’m so immature, then why do you stay with me?”
“Because for some reason I’m crazy about you, Ky.” He stood, took a large chunk of meat, and left.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The fire was nothi
ng more than glowing embers. The coals still emitted heat and a faint glow that reflected on the walls as dancing light. She was still perturbed by their conversation. Now, hours later, he was still gone, and most likely angry. She cleared her mind wanting to read his thoughts. Knowing one way or another was better than sitting and brooding over their argument.
He was in the bathhouse. His thoughts were on her. He was still mad at her, but he had calmed down quite a lot, though he was equally as resolute about not letting her befriend the witch. Ky shook his thoughts from her head. At least she knew what he felt, and where he was. It was best to stay away, so the fight wasn’t rekindled.
Ky increasingly grew bored of sitting on the same pillow for so long. She decided to get up for a stroll. The large cavern was full of sleeping warriors and women. As Cobaaron told her there would be, several women bathed in the fountain of Lu Lush. One of the women she saw was Oella. She was touching the statue’s big belly, clearly devastated over not having children. The sadness on her face was heart wrenching. Ky could grasp the fullness of her pain, which almost brought Ky to tears. If the other women felt as Oella did, it was clear all the women carried a heavy burden.
Seeing how devoted women were to bearing children, she wondered if they were putting too much pressure on themselves, and because of it, they were having a hard time conceiving. To worship pregnancy must be taxing.
It was odd she had seen only one child since her arrival. Where were all the infants? Were children that rare? Surely the human population was dwindling if so few children were being born, while warriors died. Even if they aged slowly and lived lives that were several times beyond what she knew normal, there had to be more to the story.
Ky walked away. She wasn’t sure where she was going, but she didn’t want to be seen watching the women. Surely, they didn’t go to the fountain to be seen if they were sneaking off as everyone slept.
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 20