by SC Huggins
Tafik had flinched but said nothing in reply.
“Well, let’s see what she does have,” Rami muttered and took a swaggering step towards her.
Jani trembled and her mouth went dry, she licked her parched lips. “P-p-please.”
He reached out and curled rough fingers over her right breast.
Jani froze. Shame a living thing twisting; breathing, and pushing inside her.
Rami squeezed.
Jani gasped as pain took the place of all feelings running through her. But he wasn’t done.
He took her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and twisted it sharply.
Her knees buckled beneath her and Jani nearly fell. A sound came from behind Rami and she swung eyes glazed over with pain towards it.
Her eyes met Tafik’s and clung.
“I think she will do,” Rami grimaced and Jani tore her eyes off Tafik’s to face her husband, “and there’s always other women in the village,” he finished.
Shocked, breasts still throbbing something fierce, Jani could only stare up at him mutely.
“At least she’s gentle and doesn’t talk back,” Tafik said.
Rami considered this for a moment, then nodded sagely. “You’re right brother. Let’s go.”
She couldn’t go back home, not when Rami had delivered the payment of five horses. The shame and disgrace that followed a rejected wife was so great no one before her had ever attempted it.
In Rami’s favorite quote, she would live the life she’d been dealt.
The brothers walked off, leaving Jani to follow behind them. Later that night, to her immense relief Rami left after the evening meal. Jani came to realize Tafik was even more personable and handsome on closer look. He complimented her cooking and left with his brother.
Hours later, Tafik returned without his brother, and when he came to their bed that night, she never objected. Rami staggered in towards the early hours of the morning, drunk and stinking of liquor and another woman. Later that night, when he came to their bed, drunk again, she never complained. It was the last time she’d see him drunk.
Jani met Wereu during one of her rendezvous with Tafik. The caves were perfect for their tryst as it was secluded and empty, they thought, until they stumbled onto the mad woman one day. Almost bent double now from her load, for she did not dare drag Rork in as she had for most of the way from Virai, Jani forced the muscles of her face into a smile, wondering briefly if it looked half as grotesque as Wereu’s. She only smiled around Tafik, and sometimes Rork. Cautiously, she placed her burden before the still figure of the madwoman, then, she straightened to meet her stare. Jani blinked and frowned. The woman looked different, light seemed to burn from within the depths of her strange white-colored eyes. Her dirty hair hung like a halo around her face to her waist, it was so unkempt and tangled, no comb in existence could help it, Jani thought.
For a moment, Jani hesitated, doing a quick rethink of her plans, their greed and desires would kill Rork. And none of these were his fault, she’d transferred her hatred for Rami to his son and the ugly man had no compunction about sacrificing his son at the altar of his ambitions. Her eyes caught on his white face, with his pale face and dark eyelashes resting against his cheeks, Rork looked otherworldly, and her heart stirred with pity. Then she remembered Tafik should be around the corner somewhere, waiting to give her the life she always wanted.
The madwoman never acknowledged Jani. Not for her son, not for the effort and the planning. With nary a glance at the boy, Wereu raised an eyebrow at the young woman.
“Where’s your lover?”
“He should be here soon,” Jani said with certainty.
The woman nodded and stared hard at Jani expectantly. Jani swallowed her angry words and scurried to carry her son deep into the musty caves. She was so close that the last thing she wanted was to annoy the woman. They walked along a path into the caves, suddenly it opened into a wide spacious area. The sound of the waterfalls was loudest here, and Jani was grateful it made conversation impossible, the woman’s breath could kill. Wereu directed her to place the boy before a raised platform she had already prepared. Swallowing her irritation, Jani did as she commanded.
She stepped back and took a wary look around. The platform glowed an eerie white, the same color as the woman’s eyes, Jani realized. Suddenly she wondered again at her decision to bring the boy here. She glanced down at the pale child. He was dead, or would soon be Jani realized, surprised when she saw the small pulse still flickering at the base of his neck.
The platform was neat, shockingly so, especially when compared to the musty, smelling caves. If possible, it smelled worse than its resident, Wereu.
“Did you give him the egg as I directed you? Remember, if—”
“Yes, you have said it enough times already,” Jani cut in impatiently, “if I don’t keep my end of the bargain you will do this and that.”
“It’s in his pockets as we speak,” she said defiantly, “has been there all day.”
Wereu nodded. “I can’t do anything if your lover isn’t here. Wait for him outside, inform me when he comes,” she directed.
Nonplussed, Jani shook her head and walked out.
TAFIK JUMPED DOWN FROM his horse, took a quick look around for any obvious sign of hasty travel and turned to get the alak. The alak was first used by magic practicing conjurers after the change of power from Chaldi to Virai. It was one of the oldest magical objects along with the scepter used to locate a missing person or thing. Inherently powerful, it needed only a personal feature of the individual to reveal his/her location. And his good brother had been kind enough to allow him use it, Tafik thought with a grimace.
Tafik had tried asking around if anyone fitting Jani’s and Rork’s description passed through the village. Still wary of Rami, the people of Chaldi gave him enough negative answers to push him to keep searching. Hence, the need for the alak.
Cursing his brother, the Dejis and Jani under his breath, Tafik started the long process of preparing the alak for use. He still found it hilarious that a woman like Jani would take his attentions seriously. Women, Tafik thought with a shake of his perfectly coiffed head. As far as he knew, she had served her purpose, it was time for her to go.
Tafik dropped cross-legged on the ground and carefully smoothed out his tunic where it fell in ruffles around his legs. He placed both hands on his knees, took a deep breath and channeled his power into the alak. He closed his eyes and emptied his mind of all thoughts, giving his powers room to drift.
The alak had no exact shape, since it could change its own shape. Even with no help from outside forces, the alak could transform itself into whatever it liked. It awed and repulsed Tafik, but he needed it to locate the woman and the boy.
For the first and second tries, Tafik’s found his powers inadequate, no matter how much he focused. After the third try, he had still gotten nowhere in setting it up for use. It was galling to admit, but he needed help.
Tafik stalked to the bushes, frustration clear in his unusually ungraceful movements. The blood of a powerful animal was exactly what he needed to power up the alak. Tafik glanced down at his smart white tunic, and felt another burst of irritation. There was no way he would hunt the animal down without staining his tunic.
At the edge of the bushes, he gathered his tunic around his legs. Tamping down his displeasure, he ventured into forest. He’d only gone a few paces when he heard it, a slight swishing sound, like that of slowly shuffling feet. Tafik stiffened, fear and awe took his breath captive and refused to let go. Reluctantly, he turned and walked towards the alak. Some good distance before it, as he watched, it unfurled, leaving its circular shape to a freshly cut broom.
For a moment, Tafik was lost in the grip of the scene, then visibly shaking himself off the spell, he turned and rushed into the bushes. If the alak could muster up the strength to change its shape, he couldn’t understand why it couldn’t trigger itself.
He dearly hated being put i
n such a position. Why couldn’t Rami take care of his own family? He felt real fear when he saw his brother’s injuries. Yes, he had successfully hidden it from the other chiefs, and thank Mother for the existence of the healing flame. He knew the injuries was more extensive Rami wanted to let on. What could rip out a powerful family Head? A Qiga? He knew that was a secret Rami would not be letting out.
Tafik stopped before a stand of three trees. He studied each carefully for the best place to sit in wait of the animals. Fleetingly, he wished he had Rork’s skill as a hunter. Instinctively, he decided to go with the last tree.
He spotted the mera when he rounded the third tree. Much like the anu, it was a grazing animal found mostly in the wild and used for meat by the clan. Keeping his position behind the tree, hands gracefully caressing its rough edges, Tafik took a deep fortifying breath of the peaceful forest air. For a moment, he envied the animals their simple lives. Even the air seemed cleaner, no wonder Rork spent so much time here. He watched the grazing mera for a moment. The animal was powerfully built but mild. It grazed peacefully, unaware of the danger.
Shifting away from his position behind the tree, Tafik picked a pebble and held it up. Unaffected, the mera raised its head, swiveling to check out the man beside the tree. Tafik dropped the pebble and took out a rope from the folds of his tunic, his every motion precise in other not to spook the mera, he brought it to his lips and whispered softly, enchanting the rope. Instead of spooking the animal, the enchanted rope would make it very docile and easy to hunt.
He approached the animal, knowing he had just enough time to strike once. The mera sniffed at the ground while Tafik sidled closer, enchanted rope held above his head. He paused a few feet away, narrowed his eyes on the target and launched the rope in a rapid swirling motion above his head towards the unsuspecting animal.
Hypnotized by the coming rope, the mera stood unmoved and unblinking as the rope fell neatly around its head.
With one hand to hold up his tunic, Tafik dashed in a flurry towards the fallen animal. Hurriedly, he unfurled the rope, pushed it into the pockets of his tunic and dragged the mera by its horns towards the alak. Still under the influence of the enchantment, the animal allowed itself to be dragged docilely beside Tafik.
Tafik looked up at the sky, the full moon at this time of the year was deceptive, but he knew he had wasted too much time already. He cursed softly, he should have just transported himself straight to caves rather than waste time asking questions of people unwilling to provide answers.
But the caves had so many tunnels and alleys, he needed an exact location to save time. With jerky movements, Tafik lined the animal’s neck before the alak. He searched his tunic for the lock of Jani’s blond hair and his bejeweled knife. Carefully, he placed her hair on the alak. Shaking his head at the rather warped mind Rami must possess to have kept a lock of his wife’s hair, Tafik sliced cleanly through the neck of the mera with his bejeweled knife. As the blood spurted out, he twisted the mera’s head until the blood flowed in an arc into the alak while keeping his face turned away to avoid the spray of blood.
Immediately, the familiar swishing sound of the alak filled the night air as the blood swirled, faster and faster. Tafik imagined a bird flying around an area in search of something, perhaps the alak whirled like that searching for Jani. Suddenly, the blood became still and slowly the images formed across its surface. Tafik frowned down at it, looking for any familiar landmarks. Soon, he recognized the cave, the mad woman, and Jani, who wore a frustrated look as she paced outside. With unnecessary force, he overturned the alak to pour out the blood and walked quickly to his horse, eyebrows drawn together as he focused on the task ahead. He pulled out the small sack attached to the saddle and placed the alak inside the sack. In one smooth motion, he got on the horse and urged it into a gallop.
Sorcery
Wereu glanced at the pale, unconscious child and felt something she never expected to feel- empathy. She’d known only one good mortal- her father. So, no she hadn’t expected to feel empathy. While it wasn’t surprising Rami would kill his own son for power, she pitied the boy his sorry existence, betrayal was something they had in common. Bless The Ancestral Mother she had the foresight to hand the egg to Jani during her last visit to the caves. And bless the great Mother the vacuous woman didn’t forget to give the egg to the boy. It was the only reason the boy was alive still.
The egg was an ingenious piece of magic and much like the egg of an animal, this one had the same function- to sustain life, but with an added advantage, it repaired wounds. Wereu cocked her head to the side and listened intently, the boy’s uncle would soon be here. Almost reverently, she placed the tips of her fingers on the boy’s face and painstakingly traced her fingers through his features, starting from his hairline to the end of his straight nose. As her fingers moved in a slow dance across his face, her breathing became labored as she transferred the last of her powers into the boy.
He would be the perfect tool of her revenge.
Hands trembling with effort, and looking every one of her mortal years, Wereu jerkily brought the tip of her right hand towards Rork’s open lips. Just before her finger made contact, she stopped, unable to complete the movement. Wereu cursed, this was no time for her physical body to fail her. Facial muscles contorted in pain, Wereu tried pushing her fingers, and couldn’t.
The uncle was almost here. She seethed in frustration and pushed back against the invisible cloak limiting her actions, only to gasp and drop down to the ground, breathing hard. Wildly, she glanced around her temporary home, the musty smell of the caves so different from the ancestral realm. Musty as it was, the caves were familiar and was once her home, the littered ground calmed her enough to think of a way out of the dilemma.
Wereu sighed.
She propped her back against the platform for balance, and rose. But she was trembling so hard she slipped before gripping the top of the platform for leverage and stood. The heavy sounds of the waterfall threatened to mar her concentration and Wereu fought to ignore it.
The villagers who had their homes close to the caves, used it as a waste dump, leaving it littered, dirty and infested with crawling insects. She grimaced when one of such insects made its way up her legs. It was ironic that she’d get used to the smell but not the insects. Wereu shivered, cursed and almost fell, slapping her thighs hard to kill whatever had wiggled its way up there.
An alak fell out of her dirty tunic.
Wereu stared at the alak. Relief and hope rising strong like a mountain within her sagging breast. She picked the circular shaped powerful object, cupped her left hand over it and gave her right fingers one more push towards the boy’s lips. His pale skin, thready breaths, and bloodless lips might have deterred another witch, not Wereu.
Her fingers finally moved.
When her right hand touched the open lips of the unconscious boy, he jerked. The length of his body jumped right off the platform, until it was suspended in the air for a timeless moment before hitting the platform with a thud.
Exhausted, Wereu fell across the still body, gasping for breath like an animal whose air supply was cut off and finally released to take in air. She’d done it, almost. Her cracked lips pulled wide in a languid smile, and she pulsed with inner satisfaction. Pin pricks of pain shot through her slight frame and wreathed her face in another smile when the boy grew hotter under her skin. Power like no other now had a home in an unlikely body.
She moved, wincing with every step. One more thing and she would be done. Three slow painful trips later, she placed the egg, the sword-like manu and the round maka on the platform right beside the boy.
Knees knotting and creaking with every motion, Wereu was so weak, her very essence having left her to take up residence in the boy’s younger body, she knew she didn’t have much time left.
“Ahhh!” Wereu moaned in pain as she forced her body into a kneeling position before the platform and began her incantation. Mouth opened wide, she raised her arms
above her head in worship, and the three objects rose with the movement of her hand. The egg for sustenance and repair, the sword-like manu for strength and the round maka for the ability to control the powers set on him. Slowly, the three objects swirled above the unconscious boy.
Wereu picked up her chants, increasing its volume and speed, and the three objects swirled faster, becoming smaller and smaller until they shrunk to the tiny sizes of the smallest pebbles.
Wereu stopped speaking, at the same moment, she brought her hands down with a sharp slap on his chest and all three objects disappeared into his upper body.
His body pulsed under her hands and his eyes opened, glowing white in the moonlit cave. Wereu studied him hard.
Though open, Wereu knew his eyes were unseeing, so she drew his eyelids down. Lucid and clear eyes ran over the boy with hunger and hope. Casting her gaze downwards, she studied his chest, in place of his nipples were the manu on the right, the maka on the left, and the egg in the middle. From afar, they looked like burnt scars. It was only when you studied them closely the shapes made sense.
She had done it.
JANI PRESSED HER RIGHT ear to the rock partly blocking the part of the caves where Wereu took Rork, trying to hear what was going on inside. She couldn’t hear a thing, Jani realized with a frown. She jerked her head back, stunned, for the distance might not be the cause. There was only one reason for that- if this part of the caves were cloaked.
Who was this madwoman?
If she couldn’t hear through the short distance from the mouth of the caves to where Wereu set up the platform, how had Rork overheard the cloaked conversation at the council meeting?
The only logical explanation was Rork had power, far greater than Rami’s. Impossible.
Could she have been so focused on life with Tafik and missed the obvious? Jani pressed both palms against the wall of the caves as if to forcefully wring an explanation out of it.