by Donica Covey
He scrubbed his chin. “Me no. But Brimborion have draw. They you help."
"Good."
They continued the steady pace, but by sundown Keely's feet were throbbing intensely. She sat down on the ground, slipped off her shoes and rubbed them. Under the trees it seemed that the grass was healthier. It was green and a moist, silky soft moss was under foot. She wriggled her toes in the springy vegetation, leaned back and closed her eyes. “Tell me about the Brimborion."
"They be long. Not like Quiblek or Quocalk. They be dark skin and light eyes. Hair dark like when fire burns."
"Are they kind?"
"Be good, but can be fight bad."
She sat up. “What do you mean?"
He scratched his head. “Me say my pokkomesa, him say no my pokkomesa and try to take the round from me. Me him say no."
She called the image to mind of two little boys fighting over a ball. “Sounds like a couple of kids,” she pressed her lips together. “They're quarrelsome."
Again Tiengl looked confused.
"I think I understand. I just wish it was all more clear.” She slipped her shoes and socks back on. “What I wouldn't give for a nice hot shower.” At her words rain began to fall in at a steady pace. “I'm going to have to watch what I wish for,” she cautioned herself again.
"Water,” Tiengl sounded so excited and watching him dart out from under the trees to dance in the rain lifted her spirits.
She stood out in the open and felt the gentle drops land on her skin. It wasn't heavy by any means but the steady fall would mean they'd be soaked to the bone by the time they arrived at the Brimborion settlement.
Her steps were becoming uncomfortable. She'd been grabbed while still in her old flannel pants and oversized shirt. The water made the material heavy and the waist of the pants pulled and sagged low. She had to keep hitching them up.
Maybe the Brimborion's would have clothes that would fit her. The sound of the Seer's word of caution popped into her head. She may not trust the other woman but the thought of the king finding her by her magic halted any further wishing. “How far?"
"Ell,” Tiengl answered.
"Okay?” What was an ell?
There was a motion in the bushes beside them and it had nothing to do with the water coming down in a fine sheet. Something was there. “Who's there? Come out here, now."
The branches parted and man stepped out. He was large, standing well over six feet. His deep red hair grew in patches all over his skull. His skin was a dark muddy brown shade. His chin was long, wide but narrowed suddenly to a point. There were rashes of light white bumps on his face. “You are a Brimborion?"
He looked afraid and started to dash away.
"Him be Brimborion,” Tiengl said while his head nodded vigorously.
"Please miss,” the man's hushed voice was nearly drowned out by the soft pitter-patter on the leaves.
"Why are you so afraid? I'm not going to hurt you.” She stepped closer to reassure him and he jerked backward.
"Please miss,” he begged again. “You are Alicorno?"
"Yes."
He bowed low and then righted. “You have to leave.
The Dragon was here. He threatened to burn us out and we were ordered to let him know if you arrived."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"No. But he was pure evil."
"He can't be evil,” Keely sighed wistfully. She studied the man's face. “I think you're right. I just don't want it to be true."
"Him hands, your breath,” Tiengl argued.
The memories of Xavier's hands around her throat made gooseflesh appear on her arms. “I know.” She turned her attention to the Brimborion. “What is your name?"
Brimborion extended his hand. “I am Abhorson Chital."
"I am Keely.” She accepted his hand and her blood flow to her fingers was restricted by his brief but firm grip. “My pleasure,” she smiled politely. “How will he know I'm here?"
"He said to think of him and he'd get the message, then he'd come."
She sagged into the ground, her spirits weighing her down. “I don't think I can do this, Tiengl. I know that what's happening now is a horrible thing and I have got to do something about it, but I feel so powerless."
"There are many who have been waiting for you to come, M'Lady,” Abhorson said as he lowered his body beside her. “We've longed for the day when you'd come and save us. Most of us will join and fight alongside you."
She nodded and patted his hand. “Thank you, Abhorson.” She shifted in her spot. “I just feel like I bring death and destruction wherever I go. I won't be able to battle him alone, but I don't want anyone dying because of me, either."
Abhorson jumped to his feet. “We will fight and, if need, die because we are ready for freedom. Is it wrong to fight for what you believe in? Is it a bad thing to die for the good of others?"
"No. Actually my world, I mean the one I grew up in, was established by people who were willing to die for what they believe in.” She pushed up from the ground. “Take me to your leader,” she said with a chuckle.
Tiengl and Abhorson exchanged questioning looks but Abhorson stepped in front of her and led her into his village.
The people were all as tall as Abhorson, their hair, skin tone were all the same and each one had different white bumps on their faces. Maybe the bumps were just part of who they were? She hated to question Abhorson about it, for fear of offending him. She pushed the question aside and studied the people surrounding her.
The people in the town watched her with curious eyes, and one set sent a chill down her spine. Even though the auras around her were warm yellow and the eyes a lovely shade of cornflower blue she still had the feeling that not all was well.
"This is the Lady Keely Alicorno,” Abhorson announced. He waved his hands beckoning them all to come closer. “She is the one prophesied to help us defeat Montrose and the Seer. We will gather under her and band with our brothers who despise our vicious king. Those who stand on the side of right will stand on the side of Lady Alicorno in this battle."
"Long live Lady Alicorno!” shouts filled the air. Again the positive energy of the people swept over her.
"We need to plan,” she shouted over the crowd. “I have already spoken to the Quiblek and Quocalk. They are awaiting word to meet in the forest. I want to you gather all the weapons you can. Those you do not have, forge them. Then I will send word for you to meet me and we will being our march against Montrose. Victory for the people of Grogan!"
"Victory. Victory,” the shouts echoed.
She turned to Abhorson. “You will need swords, shields, helmets, arrows, bows, knives. Everything."
He nodded. “It will be done as you wish, Lady."
Keely still couldn't squelch the uneasy tremors rippling through her. Something felt off but she couldn't pin it down. She decided the best thing to do was amble through the village and meet the people. Something she'd failed to do in the Quiblek and Quocalk towns.
Every face she saw was filled with hope and kindness. She went from hut to hut meeting and greeting the populace. The last hut she came to was in more disrepair than the others. There was no real sign of life. When she knocked on the door it creaked open, so she pushed it in to see if there was a problem inside.
A fine layer of dust covered most of the surfaces in the room. Against the wall lay a large pallet of old straw. It didn't look as if anyone had lived there in quite some time. She turned to leave and bumped into a Brimborion. The female Brimborion was as tall as Abhorson but much more thin and with a hard glint in her blue eyes.
"Oh sorry, I was just checking to make sure everyone was all right in here.” Keely sidestepped out of the way
"No one lives here,” the woman growled, pushing past her.
"You don't?"
She shook his head. “No. My family did at one time but they are all gone now. Montrose destroyed them."
"I'm Keely."
"Good for you. Now leave."
Two steps brought her with in arm's reach. The Brimborion grabbed her in strong hands and squeezed painfully. “You are nothing. There is no standing against them. You will only bring more death, more misery. You should leave and not return."
Keely tried to jerk from the bands clasping her arms but couldn't break free. She stiffened her spine. “Can it be worse than what you have suffered all these years? Are you really willing to give up when freedom can be so close?"
The woman shoved Keely backward. She stumbled to find her footing but crashed against a brittle wooden table. The woman stepped forward and loomed over her. “You don't think it can become worse? You are a stupid girl. Anyone who sides with you is a fool and Mikanna is no fool."
Keely stretched to work out the stabbing pain in her back. “You're Mikanna?"
The woman kicked at her. “I am. Now leave."
Keely pushed up from the ground. “We will defeat Montrose and you will see that life can be better.” She turned and stalked out of the hut. Her back ached from the fall but it was already lessening.
Abhorson crossed the compound and came to her side. “What's happened?"
She dusted her palms on her pants. “Nothing.” She looked around at the way the people were dressed. Surely there would be clothing that could fit her here. “Is there someone who could lend me extra clothes? I'm soaked and dirty. I'd really like to clean up."
"I'll find some,” he promised and turned away.
I should've summoned some. They have nothing and I'm taking away from them. Before she had a chance to let Abhorson know she'd changed her mind he was standing before her a large deep brown tunic in his hand. “It was my sister's."
She took the tunic from him. “Thank you, Abhorson. And please thank her for me."
A pained look crossed his face. “She's dead. The Mannanggalla who work for Montrose killed her when she refused to give the last of the crenewheat despite the law. By the time I arrived she had been murdered."
"Oh, I'm so sorry.” She knew that Montrose had been evil and that his militia had no scruples but this was the first time any detail had been given regarding the nightmarish treatment the people had suffered.
She accepted the bundle with an attitude more befitting the memory of his sister before she slipped into a nearby hut and changed. She pulled on dark green leggings. Fortunately, Abhorson's sister wasn't an overly wide woman.
Keely pulled the brown tunic over her head. It hung down past her knees and the sleeves were made like bells. She gathered the waist and tied it off with a bit of string she found folded into the clothing. She raked her fingers through her hair and tried to work out the knots that had formed in the locks. What she wouldn't give ... she cut off the thought. No more thinking or wishing for incidental things. From now she was only going to use her power for things that were needed for survival.
She picked up her soaked sneakers and groaned. Even though the leather no longer squashed and oozed water with every step they were still heavy and uncomfortable.
"Lady?” a feminine voice called from the other side of the wooden door.
"Yes?"
"May I enter?"
"Of course."
A girl, no more than ten, walked in her eyes downcast she held out a pair of slippers. “I made these and I thought you could use them."
Keely accepted the soft material. They were a deep brown almost the same shade as the tunic. The soles were thick, comprised of several layers of the flexible leather like material. They felt like pliable kidskin and seemed to be the perfect size. “Thank you for such a gift, but I shouldn't take these from you."
The girl frowned and Keely knew she'd hurt the child's feelings.
"I shouldn't take them, but I will think of you every time I wear them. Thank you for your kindness.” She sat down on the ground and pulled them on her feet. The leather thongs that held the two pieces of leather together reminded her of a pair of slippers her grandmother had worn many years ago.
Standing up she was pleased to find the soles really did serve as wonderful protection against the hard packed dirt. The shoes themselves were light and more comfortable than anything she'd ever worn before.
She touched the girl's shoulder and together they stepped out into the open. Keely finally felt like she fit in this world. No longer was she easily identifiable as an outsider.
"Eat, him say,” Tiengl said as he walked up to her side.
"I really think we need to move on. We need a map of the land so I know where to go next and where to tell my people to meet."
"Draw big, him do."
"Great.” She walked over to find Abhorson, a second Brimborion man and a woman. “Tiengl says you're making me a map?"
Abhorson nodded. “M'Lady, this is Tybalt and his woman Massala."
Tybalt stood and bowed low. His wife Massala curtsied her respect. They retook their seats and Tybalt continued to run what Keely assumed was the equivalent to a charcoal pencil along a piece of stretched material. “Here is the way our lands are divided up. All belong to Montrose. But Montrose has handpicked guards who govern each region. All this,” he said and indicated the areas surrounding the Brimborion, the Quiblek and Quocalk villages. “Belong to the Mannanggalla. These are monasteriense."
"What kind of monsters? I know that Montrose is a monster but I need to understand what I'm up against."
"Mannanggalla are about this tall,” Tybalt explained as he stood up and measured a height to his chin. “They are white of skin, red of eyes, black of hair, and teeth of points. They not only suck the spirit from those of us who live here, but also our crops."
"They sound like vampires,” Keely mused softly. “In my world a vampire sucks the life blood from its victims and if the prey drinks of the vampiric blood they become vampires as well. But according to legend there are ways of defending yourself against them. Holy water, a cross, a stake through the heart or a ring of garlic flowers."
Tybalt, Tiengl, Abhorson and Massala looked extremely bewildered. “We have not heard of such things."
"Great. Okay, what do your legends say about Mannanggallas? Is there any tale of how to stop them?"
Tiengl paced away from the crowd and back. “Me hear of one thing. Jengeluru."
"Yes,” all three Brimborion agreed.
"What is it?"
Tiengl employed a piece of bark and cleaned off an opening in the dusty ground. “Has long vines.” He drew out a long snaking line. “Mighty pokes.” He drew nasty thorns growing out of the sides. “Leaves like this,” they resembled saw blades. “The berry is big, like this.” He took his hands and with fingers extended pressed them into a ring. “Inside berry like blood. Scrape inside hard, gather juice."
She tried to picture what this plant looked like in her mind. If the drawing was only half scale then the vines would be about six feet long. The central bush about four feet and the berries were about a foot in diameter. They sounded like blood filled coconuts.
"Where do we find this bush and how do we use it?"
"The bush grows in the middle of the Sanmises mudland. It lies here in the center of our county. It is protected by mud that swallows, trees that eat flesh, and dungrats as well as strange creatures that have no names,” Massala explained. “No one goes there. So the Mannanggalla know they are safe from anything that could be used to stop them"
"How does it work?"
Tybalt leaned back into the log. “To protect against them you must twist the vines together and braid them. Then you lay it out around the place you wish to protect. The thorns of the vine catch the Mannaggalla's tails on them. The Mannanggalla cannot bear heat and sal salis. Place a flame around them and sprinkle in the sal salis. This turns the flame to bright blue and it will devour them."
"Then we need t
o get to that vine. Show me on the map where this mudland is and I'll go."
"You not go,” Tiengl shouted frantically. “Send Quiblek, Quocalk or Brimborion. Her not go,” he shouted and faced the three Brimborion.
"He's right, M'Lady. If anything were to happen to you we'd all be lost."
"I won't sacrifice one of you. Now show me,” the tone was a command and it seemed they had no choice but to obey.
Tybalt traced on the map from the Brimborion village to an empty space in the center of the province. “It lies here. But there are dangers untold. Please think again."
"I have to go, if this plant will stop the Mannanggalla then it would destroy one of Montrose's factions. He will suffer a blow to his guard. Then in the next territory we will find the guards and learn how to decimate them. If we systematically destroy his defenders then we will have a better chance of out maneuvering him."
She stood and walked from end to end of the path before their seat. It would have to be done in unison to avoid any chance for them to be prepared for the attack. She trailed her hand down her face.
She couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped her. Was it only two days ago she'd felt ill prepared for this task, daunted by the enormity and even sure it was all a dream? Where was the self-doubting foolish girl she'd been then? The old Keely was gone and hopefully she wouldn't be back. Time for the new Keely to wind to life and save the day.
"How far to the first village in the,” she studied the map—according to the drawing they were in Montrose Mannanggallia—"In Sluagh Montrose?"
A look of horror crossed Massala's face.
"We never go to Sluagh,” Tybalt said.
Keely looked from one to the other. For once even Tiengl had nothing to say. “What's so bad about Sluagh?"
"It is the land of the dead,” Abhorson said quietly. “Anyone who enters the land does not return."
Tybalt cleared his throat. “Some have returned..."
"See,” Keely said and pointed at Tybalt. “There have been some who've come back."
"...as shades,” Tybalt finished.
"Ah. But they weren't me and they weren't fighting for the right."