She pulled the knife from her pouch and cut some branches. She had been keeping her hands under her arms, but she had clothes on. All he had was that porous bark cloak. He must be suffering, but he still wasn’t complaining.
They had to walk into the cave bent over, but that tight space would heat up faster. The cave was shallow, with a sandy floor. Akira broke the limb into little pieces and piled them on the floor. She found some dry leaves at the back of the cave and placed them on the twigs. Dusting yellow powder over it, she pointed the flint gun at it and pulled the trigger once, sending a shower of sparks into the pile. The powder immediately burst into flames that spread through the leaves. She glanced up at Donte to see what his reaction was and found him shivering. His lips were turning blue.
She gasped. “Why didn’t you say something?”
His smile was weak. “What good would it have done?”
We could have looked for a place and stopped earlier. I don’t know how you survived this far.
“Genetics,” he said. “Genes from my grandfather. It’s something called rete mirabile - a vein/artery network similar to that of aves. The mascots of Bergen were genetically altered that way. I thought this cloak would work like feathers, holding heat against my body. I suppose it did help.”
The cave was already beginning to warm when she snuggled close to him. He put his arms around her and they sat, leaning against the warming wall of the cave. For a while they watched the flames. She glanced up at him.
“Your grandfather is the king of Bergen. Were you born in the mountains?”
He was quiet a moment. “My grandfather is Pieter. He is the ruler of the mountain colony, not the king.”
She leaned back on his arm and looked up into his face. “But you are called the Prince of Bergen.”
He gazed down at her for a moment. “How did you know that?”
She met his gaze. “The information is available to anyone interested enough to learn.”
His eyes expressed humor and his lips turned up at the corners, but he said nothing.
She shrugged. “In Lochfowk, we try to keep track of all the colony leaders.”
“Then you must know my grandmother was the Queen of Bosvrouwen.”
His voice held no arrogance. He was merely stating a fact, explaining why they called him a prince when his grandfather was not a king.
“Your grandmother gave up her position as Queen of Bosvrouwen to marry your grandfather. Their daughter exchanged vows with your father, the president of Libertad. Your mother was Anica and she was a princess. Wouldn’t that make you a prince?”
It was his turn to shrug. “It’s all theoretical. What do they call you?”
She studied his face a moment while she decided how much she wanted to reveal. “It is nice, knowing who you are, and you not having a clue who I am.”
He lifted a brow. “Then I will simply call you The Lochfowk Woman.”
She frowned. “My name is Akira, not woman.”
He leaned his head back and spoke softly. “Akira. I like that name.”
She sighed and leaned against him. The warmth of his body relaxed hers, and she finally slept.
CHAPTER 7
When Donte woke, the fire had burned down to embers. It still provided some heat, though, and the cave was warm. Akira lay in his arms, her head warm on his chest, still asleep. He stared out the cave entrance at the waking day.
Her words yesterday morning were still fresh on his mind. “Your father must be proud of you.” Why had he never considered that his actions might have shamed his father? Was he that self-righteous? Why would he think they would care enough to attack Nyumbani merely because they had executed him? He was suddenly embarrassed by his letter. Maybe they never received the letter. Yet, what harm could it do? The worst that could happen is that they would laugh it off and ask why he thought they would care.
That wasn’t the case though, and he knew it. He loved and respected his father more than anyone on the planet – even his grandfather. Quade had never left any doubt of his love. It was in his eyes and his voice when he spoke. Pieter was different. He was gruff and tough. His love was every bit as deep as Quade’s, but he thought showing it was a sign of weakness. Maybe that was the case with Halisi.
Would Halisi become queen, and if she didn’t, who would rule? The Nyumbani people wanted the raids to stop, but would they be willing to make the sacrifice that would be required?
Chiku, Heri and Halisi would be in the middle of it all. Instead of being the solution, they might be victims. It was in the best interest of all the colonies to assist the Nyumbani in the removal of those responsible for all the raids. Of course, he had done nothing in six years. How could he expect any of the colonies to get involved now? Once they discovered that Farasi was dead, they might consider the situation resolved.
The Nyumbani expected him to deliver Akira to her people and talk peace. So far his chances of achieving either one looked dismal. The woman despised him - maybe with good cause.
A faint rumble in the distance brought him to the present. He glanced down at Akira and found her watching him.
“We’d better get moving,” he said. “There is a storm coming and we should be below the snow line before it arrives.”
She immediately sat up and grabbed her pouch. They crouched and crawled from the cave. The cold hit him with a blast of wind. He tossed the cloak around his shoulders. Gripping his spear in one hand, he followed Akira. They walked as fast as the terrain would allow, all the while watching the dark clouds moving in from the desert below them. Gradually the snow depth diminished until finally there were only patches of snow. That was when the storm hit. Huge flakes came down, quickly covering the ground. They continued down the mountain, but at a slower pace. The trail was no longer visible, making each step a gamble. They could slip and fall, or fall off an unexpected cliff. The slope was steep, so they continued down. It wasn’t as if they would know where they were going when they reached the bottom of the mountain. All they knew was that the further down they went, the more likely it was that the snow would turn to rain.
Once again Akira offered to lend him her underskirt, and once again he declined. It was brave of her to offer, but he was better equipped for the cold than she was, and the extra warmth might save her life.
They had been on the trail for hours when the snow turned to sleet, and finally to a slushy rain. They continued down, now searching for some kind of shelter. They found it under a huge fallen tree. The roots had been thrust into the air, forming an embankment of soil. It wasn’t much, but it was dry. There they rested until the storm passed.
They took off again in a light mist. The rocks were wet and slick, but they could see where they were going - at least for a few hundred yards. Again they set their course down the mountain - any route as long as it was down.
At one point Akira stepped on a slick rock and lost her balance. Donte grabbed her. For a moment they both staggered over the slick rocks before he finally found reliable footing and pulled her erect.
Gradually the temperature became warmer and the rain slowed to a drizzle. Donte was chilled to the bone, but probably no more than Akira. Her clothing was soaked.
At the base of the mountain they were halted by a ravine that was full of frothing muddy water. It had stopped raining and the sun was shining, but there was no way across the churning water. If he had been alone, he would have searched for a place narrow enough to leap across, but Akira wouldn’t be able to do that in her dress.
Akira looked up at him, her expression defeated. “Now what?”
He shrugged. “Now it’s time for some well earned rest.”
“Right here?”
On higher ground, but I haven’t seen anything that would make a good shelter. We’ll just have to make our own.”
They moved away from the wash to a small tree-covered knoll where Donte began searching for limbs the size needed to make a small structure.
“Gather some f
irewood,” he told her, “while I build a shelter.”
She gave him a skeptical look, but walked away to search for something dry enough to burn.
Donte began dragging large limbs to an open area. One was thick and branched, one side straight and the other arched. He found two more with large enough branched areas to prop up the first branch. He stripped some bark and used it to tie the limbs together. He placed another one at the base of the structure in the back and used more bark to secure it. Next he tied one to the center. With a sturdy base for his shelter, he propped more limbs against it. With that done, he broke off limbs with leaves on them to cover the branches. He wouldn’t need his cloak from here on out, so he used it at the top. It wasn’t pretty, but it was shelter.
When Akira returned with an armload of wood, she eyed the structure. Glancing up at Donte, she smiled. “Where did you learn to do all this?”
His smile was wry. “Right here - right now. It looks like it, doesn’t it?”
She eyed the structure with a skeptical expression. “I hope it doesn’t fall.”
“I don’t think it will.”
Her troubled gaze landed on him. “But you’re not sure?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “You don’t have to sleep in it.”
She glanced up at the sky. “Good. I don’t think I will. I think it is done raining.”
He followed her gaze. The first stars were already visible. If she wanted to sleep outside the structure, there was no reason she shouldn’t. The night was warm enough. He began finding rocks for a fire pit. By dark, they had a good fire going. Unfortunately, they had nothing to cook on it. They had burned more energy than the little food they had eaten could provide. His stomach was cramping and she probably felt the same way. In the morning he would find some kind of food.
Akira sat on a fallen log and picked up a piece of wood. “I found this and a clear spring while I was gathering wood.” She leaned over and picked up some weeds. “And these.”
“What are those?”
“Tubers - and some plants.”
“Are they edible?”
She heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes, speaking in a tone laced with sarcasm. “I thought you could try them first, and if they don’t kill you, then I would eat some.”
He smiled. “I suppose it’s better to die with a full belly than starve to death. In any case, it would be an honorable death, wouldn’t it?”
“It isn’t much, but I think I saw a nut tree down by the wash. Maybe you could make some more snares. How long do you think we’ll be stuck here?”
“I imagine we’ll be able to leave by tomorrow afternoon. It’s hard to tell. If it stops raining in the mountains tonight, then maybe we can leave sooner.”
Akira peeled the roots and chopped them into the water in the makeshift wooden bowl. She added leaves from the plant and placed the bowl on a rock beside the fire.
“Do they have to be cooked?” Donte asked?
“I guess you could eat them raw, but I’d rather eat them cooked, and the moisture in the stew will be good for you.”
He’d rather eat them raw and wash them down with good clean spring water, but if she hadn’t found them, they would have had nothing tonight. How many days would it be until they stumbled across a farm house? He gazed up at the mountain, wondering if Halisi and the children were eating tonight, and if they were safe.
“You keep looking at that mountain like you’d like to go back.”
He shook his head. “I can never go back.”
“Does that bother you?”
He knelt and fed the fire more sticks. “I left a 5-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son there. No, I didn’t want to leave them, but I did want to go home. I didn’t have any choice, though. They were going to execute me. Either way I would have to leave them.”
She frowned. “What will happen to them?”
“They are Farasi’s grandchildren. They will be safe…I hope.”
She stared at him. “You exchanged vows with a Nyumbani woman?”
He gave her a level look. “No. I was brought there to give Farasi an heir, not to exchange vows with his daughter.”
She gasped. “How could you even consider such a thing?”
It was a fair question - one that he couldn’t answer for certain. He jabbed a stick at the fire, causing sparks to fly up into the air. “I don’t know. Grief, revenge?” He shook his head. “It’s a long story.”
She glanced around them. “It seems that we have plenty of time and nothing to do.”
He hesitated, considering where to begin. His gaze lifted from the fire and found hers.
“I met Farasi when he came to see my grandfather in Bergen. I was fifteen at the time, and living with my grandfather, trying to learn more about their colony. Farasi kept watching me. It was creepy. He told Grandfather, in my presence, that I looked like royalty and wanted to know if I was fertile. I was shocked…embarrassed. Grandfather sent me from the room and they talked. I didn’t know until years later that he wanted me to come to his colony to give them an heir. Grandfather told him that it would be my decision when I was old enough.” Donte shook his head. “To me, it was unthinkable at the time.”
Had Farasi been insane then, or merely desperate? If there were raids at the time, he was unaware of them. Of course, that didn’t mean they weren’t happening.
Akira’s voice brought him back to the present. “But you said he had a daughter. He had no sons?”
“Yes, he had three sons, but they all died of the plague. Nyumbani was hardest hit because their assigned medical method was survival of the fittest. Farasi had one daughter, Halisi, but theirs is a patriarchal society.”
“I know,” Akira said. “Like Bergen and Libertad.”
“No, neither Bergen nor Libertad is patriarchal. They both have male leaders right now, but a female is not discouraged from leading.”
Akira laughed without humor. “I’m sure it’s only coincidental that a woman never has been the leader.”
It probably would seem that way to someone who was sensitive about the idea of a patriarchal society. He had never thought about whether the leader was a male or a female. Of course, The Parliament had appointed only males, but Bosvrouwen had a Queen now. Most people didn’t think of Bosvrouwen as a part of Bergen, but Bergen always thought of Bosvrouwen and Vlaktes as part of Bergen. Their separation had been friendly and due to cultural preferences as much as topographical.
He shrugged. “Both women and men vote in Bergen and they happened to vote for a male. Would you be so concerned if only females had been selected? If anyone has a reason to complain, it would be the humans.
She was watching him with an intent expression, as if her next question was a trap. “But you think only male mascots were programmed to rule, not female.”
His legs were beginning to cramp, so he sat on the ground beside the fire. He crossed his legs and anchored his elbows on his knees, his chin on the top of his laced fingers. He sighed. “Actually, I think the entire idea of programming people for leadership is a farce. People were leading nations very well before mascots were designed. As for women leading, they are instinctively good leaders. We willingly accept that the female of any species is a formidable foe when defending her young. Is that so different from a leader defending their followers? Both women and men instinctively protect and provide for their dependents. Does a mascot automatically have more integrity than those who are not genetically modified? There is no proof that we were programmed for these things, and no way to know if the programming is actually why we react the way we do. Maybe we simply do it because we know it is expected of us.”
She stared at him, her mouth hanging open. Finally she clamped her mouth shut and shook her head. “Are you saying that you think anyone should be able to rule - not just mascots?”
He smiled. “I guess that’s exactly what I’m saying. Male or female, as long as they have the qualifications. That was the problem in the beginning. Supposedly,
female mascots were not programmed for leadership.”
She was silent for a while, gazing into the fire - probably considering that information. Her gaze finally lifted to his. “How do you know all these things - about the proof, and the languages? You said it was available to anyone who was interested. Where?”
“At the library on Moeder; the command ship orbiting Purlieu.”
She glanced at the sky, as though it would be visible. “How do you get there?”
“From the airfield. If a leader requests one, they will schedule someone to pick you up.”
“What airfield?”
It was his turn to stare. He wasn’t surprised that she had never been to the airfield, but he was shocked that she didn’t even know of its existence.
She sat up straight, her eyes flashing. “Don’t look at me as though I were a complete imbecile.”
His neck felt hot. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I’ve always heard your colony was so advanced. It never occurred to me that…”
“Advanced?” She laughed without humor. “What gave you that idea?”
She was so agitated that her voice was rising with each response. Searching for a diversion, he glanced at the stew. “Is that ready yet?”
For a moment she looked confused. She glanced at the stew, bubbling in the wooden bowl. “I don’t know. How long has it been bubbling?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Let’s eat it before all the moisture is gone.”
When the stew cooled, they shared the bowl. It wasn’t bad. He probably would have thought it was horrid if he hadn’t been so hungry. It did make him feel better, though. He retired to the shelter and she curled up next to the fire.
Later he was awakened by yapping and howling in the distance. A figure appeared between him and the glowing embers as Akira made a hasty entrance into the shelter. She climbed behind him and cowered against him.
He smiled to himself. “It’s alright. They’re more afraid of you than you are of them.”
The Purlieu Experiment, Book 1 Page 6