Battle Cry

by Lara Lee Hunter

  Reena did not bother pointing out that even if they were testing her or offensively deserted her: either way, she was alone in this.

  Chapter 6

  The weary tribe rested for two days in the oasis. It did not surprise Reena that a few of the women were reluctant to leave; she had heard and seen some of them sneaking out at night to go to the tents of some of the nomads. It seemed that there were quite a few more male nomads than there were women. Children were scarce as well. There were only a few in the camp. When Reena asked about that Damien replied that there had been a boom of male children born and first of they had been glad about that because they had looked at it as a blessing, but then it became apparent that the women were surrounded by men who were too old to give them children or boys too young.

  Two of the tribe’s women came to Reena the day that they were supposed to leave and made known their wish to stay. The nomads were gathered in a single line across from the tribe and Reena looked at Damien, asking, “How do I know if I leave them in your care they will be safe here?”

  Damien replied, “You have my word. A nomad never lies.”

  She had to take that and she did. She didn’t blame the women; they would have a hard life here in the oasis, but they would have an even harder time crossing the desert and in crossing it once again. Everyone had the right to choose and they were choosing. Or perhaps they were not, perhaps there they had brought them here.

  Either way when they left the oasis they left two people short. They had lost five people total of the desert in her numbers had rapidly diminished. That worried Reena more than she wanted to say, but she had to say it because Lucas had a conversation with her about it later that afternoon as he walked beside her. His take on the situation was they didn’t matter how many they had; what mattered was that at least several of them made it to the city and rally troops there.

  It was at that moment that Deal chose to interrupt with, “Did any of us stop to consider that perhaps the nomads might’ve had a map that would get us there?”

  Reena actually stopped walking. How stupid of her! The nomads knew where everything was in the desert! They had to idea where the cities were! Chagrined and angry at herself for not even considering the possibility, she turned her head to look behind her, considering whether or not a half a day’s walk they had made was worth remaking, but before she could even contemplate the decision, Lucas said, “They don’t. I did ask.”

  Reena turned to face him. “How do they get around without maps?”

  “This is their land, they don’t need maps any more than we need maps in the woods.”

  “I suppose that makes sense.” It did make sense and now she was feeling incredibly foolish all over again.

  Lauren asked, “What do you suppose Olympus looks like? Do you think it’s just like Aretula?”

  Reena had no answer to that. She had only ever seen one city and she wasn’t sure if cities look differently from one another. Nobody knew and as the day wore on they amused themselves by speaking of what they thought they might find there in the city.

  They had taken Damien’s advice and put on far more clothes then they would’ve ever believed necessary. They were also traveling during the day because Damien had said that the section of desert that they were going through now was beset by such terrible cold at night that to travel through it would be to get lost. He had said that the wind would push them back and forth, and would in the end defeat them far more than the sun could.

  The nomads had horses, stubby sure-footed little things that had two small humps on their back. Damien said they were not really horses, but similar but only lived in the desert as far as he knew. He had also said that he could spare a few but not enough for everyone in the tribe to ride, so they had not taken him up on the offer.

  At that moment Reena was wishing that they had though; the two days of rest and good food had improved morale among the tribe in an almost amazing way. It also made her very well aware of just how many aches and pains that she had, and right now her feet were killing her.

  She was also very worried because she could see the landscape changing as Damien had told them it would. The poison lands to her right, she could see the start of them just as Damien had said she would. She didn’t want to look at them but she couldn’t help it because they were oddly beautiful.

  Sand drifted and eddied swirling against the giant glass sculptures. Damien said that once upon a time that glass had actually been sand. He said that weapons created to kill had turned the sand into the twisted shapes that rose above the desert floor. The shapes were every color ever seen, many of the same color set the nomads wore and used in their daily lives: reds, greens and yellows, and even orange. Strange-looking birds perched on some of those huge glass creations. Sand sifted across the equally slick surface of what had to have been ground at one time.

  The sun hit the glass and refracted off, causing their eyes to water and burn. Damien had told them not to look at the things, to keep their heads turned away lest they grow fascinated and forget which way they were walking.

  Is this where the man who had had the sword had gotten lost? He had said he had turned the soldiers into art, that he was a killer in his homeland. Had he become drawn into that deadly landscape because they had called to something in his shriveled and evil soul? Reena pondered that as she resolutely turned her eyes away, and walked steadily onward.

  The cries of the birds within the wasteland were horrible to hear. They sent shivers up and down her spine and the spine of everyone else walking with her. She saw quite a few people making the sign that preceded prayer and she knew that they were praying to their gods and goddesses in the hopes of getting through this desert alive.

  They would camp tonight, and they would wait out the sifting sands that would hit them tomorrow. Damien had told them that the place that they would be at when they stopped if they walked steadily until sundown was home to a small series of cliffs that had occurred when the sand had rubbed against a giant rock face for so many years. It had been worn away into a natural sort of cave. He had said that the people often stopped there, hanging coverings over the walls of the rocks in order to keep the sand from bothering them as they slept.

  He had also warned them that they should stay there all day because their bodies were not used to the desert and its heat. Unlike the bodies that belonged to him and his tribe, they were used to moving about in much cooler climates. Now that they were past the first section of the desert, the night temperatures could be murderous. Later they would be able to travel again at night and sleep during the day and thus conserve their energy and water.

  As she walked, Reena found herself wondering what kind of life the nomads really lived. They seemed happy, content. They had plenty of food, even if what they ate was so strange and completely different from anything she ever had before. They had the luxury of being able to be free from the laws of both cities, but yet they were not hunted as Outlaws. It seemed like they had an idyllic life, despite its hardship, and she found herself wishing that she could share in that life, that she could know what it was like to live in a place where nobody would hunt you, where people laughed and sang and danced and never worried about whether or not the scent of their cooking fire would attract the attention of soldiers.

  What would it be like if they brought back people from the other city? Would they come across the nomads and kill them because they were strange and different? She had never wondered that before, and she wondered if Damien had considered that possibility.

  They finally struck camp that night near the rocks that Damien told them about. They still had the hides of the deer that they had killed at the beginning of their journey, and how long ago that seemed now! They hung them as best they could tying them into the crevices and using larger rocks to hold them down. The hides flapped about, but they were all happy to know that the caves kept he majority of the sand and wind out.

  With so many of them huddled into the cave, they were a
lot less likely to freeze to death. All it took was one of the men stepping outside to relieve himself to know just how fast and severely the temperatures could and did drop out there. He came back nearly frozen and shaking. They built a fire as well and ate a satisfying meal before going to sleep.

  For Reena, sleep did not come easily; it was filled with terrible dreams. She was back in the Arena, fighting for her life, but this time she did not win. She was riding in the death cart and the driver was a skeleton, his bony hands kept reaching into the cart and pulling out long chunks of her hair, tearing it away from her scalp. The Governor swooped down on her from above, holding the sword much like the one she had herself, and she knew that there was no way to best him.

  She awoke from that last dream shaking and sobbing silently. She pressed her hands to her mouth to make sure that no sounds escaped from her and she lay there staring at the fire. Could she really best the Governor? She doubted it, just as she was beginning to wonder if there was anybody in the other city who could either. And even if they could, would bringing people from that city honestly help the situation at all? What if they were worse over there in the other city? What if Olympus was even more spoiled rotten than Aretula?

  There was, no time to answer those questions. What was done was done; it was time to simply act. She would do her best to see to it that the Governor was overthrown because his reign was cruel and unjust, and it always had been.

  The city was being helmed by a madman, and his madness was affecting everybody. And everything. It had to be stopped; lying there she realized that what the governor was was the poison from a spider that lived in the woods. That particular spider would bite and then move on. For a day or two, everything would seem fine and then long red streaks would appear near the bite mark and the streaks would run all the way up the arm or leg or belly until they reached the heart and then the victim of the spider would die.

  The Governor was that spider and like that spider, the only way to cure its bite was to cut open the victim and pull the poison out. The only way to stop that spider from taking more victims was to kill it.

  **

  Days passed. They kept track of them because they would need to know how many days they walked between the oasis and the city. The answer was thirteen. They had been in the desert over a month already and Reena could not help but wonder and worry about her father and Talon and all the others that she was responsible for who were back in the city. Were they still alive? Was all this futile? By the time she returned to the city would changes have been wrought? Would the Governor have forgotten about her by the time she returned?

  Finally, they saw it. Or rather, they saw the beginning of a new land. They looked at it and then they looked at each other with utter dismay. The nomads had not told them about this and they had no idea of what to do about it.

  Where the desert ended there was nothing but water. Vast and reeking with the scent of salt. They all walked to the edge of it, the sand crumbling wetly below their feet and falling into the blue-green waves that lapped the shore.

  Deal knelt down and took a handful of water up to present to his mouth. He immediately made a face and spit it out. “It is as salty as it smells.”

  Lucas swore angrily. “The damn nomads lied to us! They said the city was here!”

  Lauren added, “Perhaps we got lost.”

  Reena said, “There is no way that we can make it back to the oasis without supplies. We knew that when we started out. If we are lost then we are truly lost. Because there is no…”

  All of the angry conversations that had risen from the tribe members cut off as abruptly as if somebody had severed a cord with a sharp blade. None of them could believe their eyes. Deal actually rubbed his grimy fist into his eyes, blinked twice and looked again. “It is not possible,” he breathed.

  “Yet there it is.” Dax was staring at the island floating towards them with as much wonder and bemusement as the rest of them, but there was a smile on his face, a smile that said he had an inkling of what was happening. “I don’t imagine it will be here before sunset.”

  Reena asked, “Do you know what it is?”

  Dax replied, “I think, I think it is the way to Olympus.”

  “It looks like..like…”

  “They used to call it a ship,” Dax said. “I heard about them, many years ago. They say that people used to ride about on them and that they could cross waters even larger than these.”

  Reena could not imagine that there could be any waters greater than those. “How do we get them to notice us?” Her voice was highest and all around her the others were staring at the oncoming ship with the same expression that was on her own face. They were lost in wonder and awe. Nothing could’ve prepared them for this.

  Deal said, “I guess we just wait.”

  Wait they did. But they did not wait long. A low mournful sound came from the ship, and even from a distance they could see the people crowded along its rails. The ship ground to a halt and a long section of what looked like wood was lowered. The tribe looked at each other, frightened and none of them really knowing what to do. As leader, Reena knew she should make a decision, but she was afraid the decision she made might be the wrong one. If she headed towards the ship they might be shot down as enemies before they ever had a chance to speak.

  An idea galvanized her and she walked towards the ship holding the sword high over her head. “I seek a ride to Olympus! My tribe and I have business there!”

  Down the gang plank came a tall woman whose hair was as red as fire but her skin looked like gold pieces. She wore an odd assemblage of clothing: a long skirt slid all the way up to her hips to show her shapely thighs, and a beaded and puffy shirt that hung off both of her shoulders to expose her broad collarbones. Long hoops dangled from her ears and there was a sword tucked into the broad belt that held her skirt to her wide hips.

  “My name is Myra. It’s been a long time since I saw anyone on the shores.”

  Reena shook all over, but she held her voice steady. “My name is Reena. I come from the woods outside of Aretula. I’m an Outlaw, all of us are. We’ve traveled a great distance but have further to go it seems. Nobody told us about the water; we must cross it — we must find Olympus.”

  Myra’s eyebrows arched up so high they almost touched her hairline. “Why must you find Olympus? Why is it important to you?”

  Reena said, “I can only tell you that it is a personal mission. I must fulfill it; I’m on a quest.”

  Myra tilted her head to one side, making her hoops jingle and jangle. “A quest is it? Well, never let it be said that Myra and her band did not help someone on a quest to find their way through. Have you ever seen Olympus?”

  “No, I haven’t. None of us have. Please, do you know of it? Does it still stand to this day?”

  Myra nodded. “Yes, across the section of water — about three days hence. It still stands, yes and it stands true. But why would I take criminals to the city of light?”

  Tears began to fall down Reena’s face. “We’re only criminals because the Governor forces us to be. I promise you, none among us will create havoc in the city. And we are not staying. I only wish to speak to the rulers there; I have the sword and it is my duty, it is my quest to ask a favor of the ruler of Olympus.”

  Myra’s eyes fell to the sword and she took a quick step back, her breath going inward in a quick kiss. “By the gods! That is the sword of Olympus! It has been missing for many years! How did you come about it? Did you steal it?”

  Anger flared up and Reena could not squash it. She also could not keep the words that came up in her throat from coming out of her mouth. “No, I fought for my own life and in doing so I won the sword. I got it from a madman, one suffering from a sickness he obtained in the desert, or at least I think he got it in the desert, but I’m also pretty sure that he had part of it within him when he left Olympus. He said he was a murderer, and he was on our side of the waters, so I have no doubt that he was in Olympus as well.
”

  Myra’s eyebrows knitted together, “That sword was stolen. It was removed from the case where it has rested for centuries. There is a legend that says that that must happen, but nobody said that it would wind up in the hands of a mere child. How old are you?”

  Reena said, a trifle defensively. “I’m sixteen. But I’ve already fought in the Arena as a gladiator, I’ve gathered my tribe and I’ve begun a quest that is taking me all the way through the desert, the desert that they say nobody can pass. I’m here and I’m asking for passage to Olympus, so what difference does my age make?”

  Myra actually laughed at that, her smile revealed broken teeth but it did not detract from her beauty at all. “Yes, this is true. When I was sixteen I already had command of my own ship. Isn’t she a beauty?” She tilted her head towards the ship and Reena looked at it.

  “Yes she is beautiful. Why do people call things ‘her’? One of the nomads said the desert was a ‘her’ as well.”

  Myra said, “I imagine it’s because some things, like women, are both beautiful and deadly.”

  Reena asked, “Please, I’m not sure what I can trade you for passage for me and my tribe but whatever I have — other than the sword which I must keep — I will give you.”

  Myra looked down at Reena’s feet and a long smile tilted her cheekbones up even higher. “I could use a good pair of boots.”

  And with that, the bargain was struck.

  Reena took the boots off and shook them out and handed them to Myra who held them with a careless hand. “You may all board and I will take you to Olympus — I will see to it that you get there as safe and sound as possible. There are storms brewing out in the middle of the water. I will try to avoid them as much as possible. I’m assuming that none of you have ever ridden on a boat before?”

  The entire tribe shook its head. The people gathered at the railings of the ship, and looked down at them and waved. A few even snickered at that admission. Myra waved, and her people often said, “I don’t do coddling so if any of you get seasick, you must deal with it yourselves.”