by A A Lee
Her eyes narrowed as she could almost taste her revenge. This man needs to pay for what he has done to my village. To my grandmother. She called forth lightning. She wanted to make him feel pain and burn him alive. She didn’t want him to die easily. He didn’t deserve a painless death.
She was, at last, ready to hit him when both Goni and Hula ran in front Jinja, who cowered on the ground before her.
“Kenda, no!” Goni shouted just enough for her to hear in the middle of the chaos. “You must not kill unless it is necessary. Control your anger!”
“Why? Why can’t I kill when he can? He needs to know how it feels to suffer for what he has done!”
“Because you are different,” Goni pleaded. “You are the Bringer of Equality, and you must preserve the good nature of things. If you do not, you will be no different from him. You will corrupt nature and give it the power to destroy things.”
“Kenda!” Hula interjected. “It is my fault. You must punish me, too. He is my son, and I failed to see what he had become.”
“Both of you, stop!” Kenda shouted, and the tornado became higher and more violent. “Look at my grandmother! Look at her lifeless body on the ground and tell me again not to kill this demon!”
“Remember your duty, Kenda!” Goni shouted louder. “Remember that your destiny is to save women. If you kill him, more killings will follow. The High Priestess wouldn’t approve of you killing him. He will be punished, I promise you that, but remember the way in which your grandmother ruled this village. Remember how she ruled with wisdom and her love for peace.”
Tears flowed down her cheeks as Kenda thought about her grandmother. She didn’t want to be sad. She preferred to be angry. She only wanted to banish the sadness, and looking at her grandma’s lifeless body made her wish that she was here to guide her.
“Grandma, I wish you were here.” She grasped the staff tighter and closed her eyes.
“I told you that I would be with you once I crossed into the afterlife.”
“Grandma?” she replied. She was afraid that it would just be a dream when she opened her eyes, so she kept her eyes closed.
“Yes, you stubborn child. What are you doing? Why do you look as though you’re about to wreak destruction?”
It really was her grandmother’s voice. She opened her eyes and looked at her grandmother’s body, but she still laid there, lifeless.
“Over here, kid.” She saw her grandmother floating beside her. “I’m not really gone. Not yet, anyway. Not unless I interfere with human lives a lot.”
“Grandma.” She willed the wind to move her closer to her grandmother and tried to hug her, but her hands just passed through the wind.
“I am no longer a living person, child. My body is over there.” She pointed to the crumpled form on the ground. “But my spirit is here. You can call me anytime; I will be waiting. I’m sure there is nothing to do in the underworld. I would be happy to talk to you. And you seem to be much better at calling souls than I was. I wish that I was half as strong as you when I was alive.”
“I didn’t know that I called you, Grandma.”
“Exactly. You just called me like I was already here. It took a lot of effort for me to call forth a soul. I’m very proud of you.”
Kenda didn’t think that she could smile at the situation, but she did.
“And don’t you think for a second that killing that man will solve anything. What sort of example does that set? That temper of yours needs mending.” Nora put her hands on her waist. Kenda smiled again, happy to see that souls retained their habits from when they were alive.
“Now go and put that snake in the cell and make him suffer for a lifetime. That will be his punishment.”
Kenda didn’t want to argue with her grandmother’s soul. She guessed that she would still be as fiery as when she was alive. She willed the wind to put her down.
“There’s nothing for me to do here now. I will go. Just call me anytime. You don’t need that stick anymore. You just go and hone that talent of yours.”
“But Grandma!” Kenda whined. “You have to teach me!”
“What can I teach you?” Nora waved her hand dismissively. “You are a better priestess than I ever was. By the looks of it, you could have been high priestess at the age of five. I just never saw it in you.” Nora smiled. “But now’s your chance. Now that I am gone, Daa needs a new high priestess, and it looks like we have found one in you. But good luck convincing the villagers about that.”
Nora winked and, much to Kenda’s annoyance, suddenly disappeared.
When her grandmother’s soul was gone, Hula and Goni looked at her in amazement. Both of them were holding Jinja by the arm, who looked like he was ready to bolt if it wasn’t for the fact that he was no match for the two men.
“High Priestess.” Goni bowed to her.
“I’m not the High Priestess,” Kenda protested. “My grandmother is.”
“Her passing suggests otherwise.”
“Did you hear her say that?”
“No, Kenda.” Goni switched to her name because he was used to it. “But I saw that you can communicate with souls like she could, and that’s the duty of the high priestess. We can’t see souls.”
“I don’t know,” Kenda said sheepishly. The staff that she wielded now looked awkward in her grasp.
“High Priestess.” Hula also bowed to her. “With your permission, I want my son to be imprisoned here. I don’t want him to be imprisoned in our village where he might be treated more favorably by the guards.”
“As you wish.” Kenda did not address Hula by his title. “And I want him to be imprisoned by magic in addition to the walls of this prison. Although it may take some time for it to be repaired.”
Hula kneeled in front of her. “I am also ready to receive your punishment. As the village chief, I am also at fault.”
“No!” Kenda said authoritatively. Even she was surprised at her tone. “Your punishment is to go back to your village and face your people. You have to show to them that you have done wrong. And please don’t kneel before me. I am no god.”
Hula blinked. “That is my punishment? But…”
“It is a punishment with no equal. You have to face your own people and admit your incompetence.” It was Goni who spoke this time.
Hula stood up. “As you have ordered, High Priestess. Thank you.”
* * *
Bodies were sprawled all over the village when Kenda, Goni, Hula, and the gifted people from Taa arrived. Kenda felt weak at the number of the dead. It looked endless. Blood was everywhere and she felt her knees crumble, but she steadied herself. She needed to be strong if she was to be the high priestess.
Survivors of the attack returned as well. Wails flooded Kenda’s ears as people mourned for their loved ones who had not been able to escape.
She turned to Hula and noticed that his face was wet with tears. He was not afraid to show it. Kenda knew that he had shortcomings, but she couldn’t blame him for the sins of his son, no matter how much he could have prevented it.
“You!” A villager she knew wept beside her husband’s body. “You caused this. If you had just agreed to the marriage, my husband would still be alive! Why must we suffer because of you?” The woman beat her chest in anguish.
Kenda couldn’t say a word. She was struck by guilt and agony for the woman who had lost her husband. She looked around and saw that people were looking at her, most of them in anger.
“High Priestess, I think it would be best if we go inside,” her uncle said. “It is dangerous when the villagers are in such a heightened state of emotion. I’m afraid your grandparents’ house was irreparably damaged.”
Goni led the way to his own house. Besides a few scratches here and there, there was no major damage.
“Hula, make sure you take all bodies of your men back to Taa,” Kenda ordered. “I don’t want to see them buried here. I don’t want any reminders that they attacked our village.”
“Ye
s, High Priestess.” Hula bowed his head and turned to his men.
Goni’s house was in chaos. From the outside, it looked fine, but it was full of villagers inside. Nora’s body was laid on a wooden table. Even though there were probably hundreds of bodies, hers was given special attention as a mark of respect for her tenure as High Priestess.
People stared at her in silence as Kenda entered, and they gave way as she walked to her grandmother’s body. She sat on a bamboo bench near her grandmother’s feet. Knowing that her grandmother had already crossed to the underworld, she did not weep.
A meowing sound in the now quiet house startled her. “Lucy?”
“Oh, Lucy, I’m sorry. I forgot about you.” She hugged the cat.
“Did you forget about your Grandma?” Pali scolded her. He was Nora’s second son. He stared angrily at the cat, as if the cat had stolen Kenda’s attention. He had been busy talking to people making preparations for Nora’s funeral, but he had stopped in front of Kenda to make sure that she showed appropriate respect for the dead.
Kenda stopped stroking Lucy’s fur. She didn’t dare talk back to him. He was reasonable most of the time and she respected him.
“I’m sorry.” She put down the cat on the bench next to her.
< Animals die all the time. We mourn and continue with our lives after.>
Goni approached her from the kitchen and gave her a wet towel and some water in a coconut bowl. “Please wipe your head, High Priestess.” His voice was low, but some of the people nearby heard him address her and they turned toward her, confused. They looked as if they thought Goni had just spoken to the dead high priestess.
Kenda accepted the towel and mumbled, “Thanks.” The white towel became red in an instant, and she thought that other people might have been staring at her due to the blood on her face.
“As much as I want to talk about the matter, we can’t right now. There is much chaos in the village, and we have to wait until all those who have passed away are buried before we discuss your… duties.” Goni looked around and lowered his voice further as he sat closer to her. “I need to tell the people, but I doubt that they will listen to me as I normally do not speak to them. I will probably have to talk to Romu or Pasi.”
Pasi was one of the five priestesses in the village. Her power was much weaker than Nora’s had been, but she was much stronger than the rest. It was logical for her to talk to the villagers about Kenda fulfilling the role of high priestess.
“Don’t worry about that, Uncle. I think people will refuse to accept me, and I’m not so eager to accept the responsibility, either. It would be great if she could just take over.”
“Let’s talk about that later.”
Kenda nodded, looking at Lucy as the cat climbed up onto her lap.
The following three days were a blur as people mourned the deaths of many of the villagers. Kenda stayed in Goni’s house and pretty much stayed beside Nora’s coffin. Normally, wakes in their village lasted for three days, with people concentrating on comforting the loved ones of the deceased as opposed to mourning the dead. But in this case, no one was in the mood for comforting anyone. So many had died needlessly.
Nora’s funeral was scheduled for the fourth day after her death. People wore black to signify their mourning. They were also told not to look back after the coffin left Goni’s house. The villagers believed that if someone looked back, the soul would come back to haunt the living.
As the coffin touched the ground, Kenda couldn’t help but cry. She missed her grandmother terribly, and nothing could stop the hurt Kenda felt at her death.
People wept in agony as they said goodbye one last time.
Cesar punched a tree next to him. Never having been one for expressing his emotions, her grandfather struggled to control himself when he looked at his wife’s coffin. His three sons tried to comfort him, but he pushed each of them away. He was surprisingly strong, even in his old age.
“Why did you have to go first?” He wailed shamelessly, talking to Nora’s dead body as people started to cover the coffin. His face was red, and his body shook with each breath. He walked briskly toward the grave before the coffin could be placed within and attempted to jump inside, but his sons were able to stop him.
“What are we going to do without you, then?” Pali was also crying. “We lost our mother. We will not lose you, too.”
“No! Let me go! I want to be with her!”
More people helped to calm him down, and some surrounded the grave to prevent him from jumping in. Cesar was inconsolable. He only stopped struggling against his sons when the grave was completely covered with soil and he had lost all his strength. The world became silent as the people left the graveside.
Chapter 17
Resistance
“It has been a week since the High Priestess finally crossed to the underworld. The reason why I asked you to come here today is…” Pasi cleared her throat. “I will get straight to the point. We can’t have the position of high priestess vacant for so long. There are a lot of sick people that need tending to, and we need the position to be filled to bring back the stability that the High Priestess had managed to keep for so long.”
Pasi was not used to addressing a crowd. There were only less than twenty people present including Kenda, but Pasi looked nervous and hesitated with every sentence that she delivered. Three other priestesses stood behind her, and all of them had been Nora’s assistants since they all could communicate with the dead.
“I agree,” Romu said. As the village chief, he had also been invited. “I don’t think there’s much to discuss, though. I was even surprised that you called for a meeting. You could have just assumed the position without a meeting. After all, you were second to Nora. The villagers know that and honestly wouldn’t care as long as you help them.”
Goni cleared his throat, producing a groaning sound. Normally, he tried hard to be invisible at gatherings, but his face showed clear disagreement with what Romu had said. He decided not to talk, however, even when heads turned his way.
“The thing is…” Pasi continued, speaking slowly and still hesitating. “As priestesses, we have consulted Nora’s soul about this matter yesterday. It is only fitting to know her thoughts as to her replacement.”
“And?” Romu interrupted impatiently.
“And she had someone else in mind.”
“Someone else?”
Everyone was all ears. Kenda knew that they hadn’t expected this. Only she, Goni, Pasi, and the other priestesses were aware that Pasi was not interested in the position. Pasi had originally opposed Kenda’s appointment in the beginning due to her age. No one had previously been a high priestess at so young an age, and although Pasi had been present when Kenda had defeated the warriors from Taa and had been impressed by her skills, she thought of her as no more than a magician. Kenda had not expected her to follow Goni’s advice to propose Kenda as the high priestess, but fortunately, the priestesses had contacted Nora.
“Who, then? Haidi?” Romu asked, his eyebrows raised. Haidi was a fairly new priestess and was probably in her thirties. Rumor had it that she was stronger than Pasi in some areas, but no one had confirmed it.
“No… it’s—”
“Who?” Romu interrupted. On other occasions, his behavior was considered rude, but others looked at him in support because they, too, looked like they were dying to know who was to become the new high priestess.
“Her granddaughter, Kenda.”
“What? That is insane!” Romu stood up in protest. “Perhaps the previous High Priestess just wanted power for her granddaughter. This is completely out of the norm. Can she communicate with souls? And even if she can, she is just too young. She has no experience.”
“I mean no disrespect, but I agree with the village chief this time.” It was the healer, Sim, who spoke bravely. Two assistants sat behind her. “She is just too young. Besides, we have never worked with her before. It would be better for the village if you assumed the role.” He faced Pasi. “Or any of the four priestesses who have worked with Nora before and helped us.”
Other members of the meeting started murmuring, and in a short time, the murmurs became louder and louder until they all started arguing.
Pasi couldn’t seem to defend her proposal. She seemed lost and didn’t know what to say. She was used to just following Nora’s wishes. Nora had had a strong personality, and Pasi had never seen reason to question her decisions. Not once had she had an argument with the stubborn old woman.
“Silence!” Romu shouted, and all of them stopped arguing. “As chief of this village, I propose that we resolve this by raising our hands.” People nodded in agreement, and Kenda could see right away what the result would be.
“Those who are in favor of Kenda becoming the high priestess, raise your hands.” As expected, the four priestesses and Goni raised their hands. “Those who are in favor of Pasi becoming the high priestess, raise your hands.” Pasi got twelve votes.
“It is settled, then. Pasi is the new high priestess.”
“But shouldn’t we consider the priestesses’ opinions to be of more importance in this matter? Even Pasi did not vote for herself.” Heads turned to Goni. For the first time, his voice had been heard.
“Ah, I understand why you would want your niece to be the High Priestess,” Romu said smugly. “But what can we do? The people have spoken. And, yes, Pasi did vote for your niece, so why don’t we have her become one of Pasi’s assistants? There will be five of them again, and she will gain experience that may help her to become high priestess after Pasi dies.”