Blue shook his head, “It is taught that the sasq must never harm another, smaller species. We fight amongst ourselves sometimes, but even that is taboo, and is only used to defend what is rightfully ours! To use our strength against a smaller species is against the law!”
The sasq shook his head in disgust and started walking again. Andy had the distinct impression that Blue considered him, and the entire human race, beneath his contempt and cringed with shame as he studied the sasq’s back. Suddenly, the sasquatch stopped, lifting his right fist in the air. Andy stopped as well and whispered, “What’s wrong…why are we stopping?”
“Ann,” Blue muttered urgently. “Get behind me…now!”
The tone of the sasq’s voice galvanized Andy into motion. Running forward to stand behind Blue, he stared around the sasq’s back at the, as of yet, invisible threat. “What is it?” he whispered again, when a blood-curdling snarl filled the air. It was so loud, Andy’s toes curled with primal fear. Within seconds, the sight of a grizzly bear running towards them out of the darkness replaced the sounds.
Blue let out a roar that was almost as loud as the bear’s and tossed Andy back against the wall with one hand. Andy landed on his own heavy pack and scrambled backwards like a crab. He grabbed his pistol out of its holster and tried to take aim, but Blue was in the way. Andy watched, helplessly, as the bear rose up on its hind feet, growling and pawing at the air. It stood at least nine feet tall, and each of its massive paws sported claws as long as butcher knives. Those claws glistened in the ambient light, and Andy held his breath as Blue ducked under one of the bear’s mighty swipes.
Andy shoved his pistol back in the holster and grabbed for the rifle that rested in its scabbard, next to the duffle bag. He chambered a round with shaking fingers and moved to stand to the side of the battling opponents, so he could get off a good shot without blowing the sasquatch to smithereens. It was almost impossible though, as Blue and the bear moved in a circle of thrust and parry, never still long enough for Andy to fire his weapon.
The bear, grunting querulously, took swipe after swipe at the bobbing, weaving sasq, while Andy moved in the opposite direction, trying in vain to find an opening. Then, with a roar of triumph, the bear hit its mark. Blood filled the air as one of its paws raked across Blues right shoulder, like the tines of a massive rake through tender soil. Blue screamed in pain and the bear roared in answer.
Andy saw the white of the sasq’s collarbone and winced in sympathy. Blue’s arm went limp and his face drained of all color, but still he fought on. The bear, sensing its opponent’s weakness, swiped its massive paw again, and this time red furrows opened on Blue’s rib cage. Blue fell backwards, finally giving Andy the opening he needed. He fired the rifle, hitting the bear center mass.
Instead of keeling over backwards, however, or running away to lick its wound, the bear grunted and studied this new threat with steely determination. Andy cocked the rifle again and fired, this time hitting the bear high up on its neck, but the bear charged with a howl of fury. Andy fired again, backing away as fast as he could, but missed this time and fell over a rock, landing hard on his back.
He could hear Blue screaming in the distance as the bear’s mouth, studded with fangs, blood and saliva, filled his world. He shot one more time and felt the bear’s blood fall over him like a warm, summer rain, but it was too late. The bear’s mouth descended upon him like a buzz saw, and after a brief, violent struggle, Lieutenant Spiles lay still and broken upon the tunnel’s stone floor.
***
If he were still alive he would have been gratified to see the bear’s hide pierced by a ten-foot spear, and he would have been filled with wonder at the sight of eight full-blooded sasq warriors, accompanied by their human queen, as they stood and stared down at his ruined body.
The little lieutenant was not alive however, and Tanah’s son, Blue Sky, wept with pity even as the tribe’s medics tended his wounds and his mother, the queen, rained kisses on his fevered brow.
Chapter 26
Mel watched as Onio walked over and pulled his spear out of the bear’s body. Smiles the dog was barking maniacally and snarling at the bear’s dead carcass. She saw Onio glance over at Tanah’s son, who wept as if his heart might break, and observed the look of compassion on the warrior’s face. She realized, with a sinking heart, that she had fallen in love with the mixed breed sasq over the last two weeks since they first met. Her cheeks burned even as her eyes devoured his body; the clean contours of his back muscles, his somewhat sweaty but glossy dark brown hair, the flash of his white teeth.
Falling Waters approached, knife in hand, to butcher the bear for meat. They had traveled many miles over the last few days, since the hovercraft took them to a tunnel, southeast and far above the hidden city buried beneath the earth’s crust. When asked, Onio told her that they were still in Montana. No more than a half hour later, the traveling companions climbed an incline and came out into the open air. Mel blinked against a bright, late winter, sunlit day, and breathed deeply of the crisp mountain air.
In the distance, she could see a vast expanse of water, and she shielded her eyes against the glare. The group was high up on a mountain ledge, and unless a plane flew closely overhead, Mel knew that they were invisible to human eyes. Still, she felt exposed and vulnerable. Spotting a small airplane flying away from them across the water, her hand flew to her mouth in fear, but Onio placed his hand on her shoulder.
“It’s all right, Mel. I don’t think anyone can see us up here, and our scouts have not heard nor felt the vibrations from the black bird machines. We will travel this path for less than a half mile and then go down into a different tunnel,” he murmured.
To Mel’s profound shock, Onio’s touch sent waves of heat through her body and her knees grew weak. She nodded and continued to stare into the far distance. She had grown to care for these strange creatures. Onio, who had essentially kidnapped her and risked his life in order to keep her safe from his own folly. Wolf, Bouldar’s bodyguard, was steadfast and ever vigilant over First Son’s safety and, by extension, hers, as well. Pony, Falling Waters, and Tanah, the fierce and loving human woman who had made a life for herself amongst the sasquatch people.
This overwhelming rush of sexual desire, however, was new and unwelcome. She chose to stay with the sasq people out of grief, fear and the inability to envision a life spent alone and silent in the world. Now though, her body and soul yearned for something she barely understood. Worse, she did not believe her feelings were reciprocated. Onio maintained a formal, almost aloof distance from his small human charge. Over the last few days, Mel found herself walking along beside Wolf or Tanah more often than not. She wondered if she had given offence somehow, or if the mixed breed sasquatch now regretted his decision to bring her along on this quest.
***
Onio studied Melody’s profile as she stared out over the lake into the far distance. He did not know what she was thinking, but worried for her safety and at his wisdom in bringing her along. At first, the skinny blond girl was a curiosity to him…a half-felt compulsion to gain access and understanding into his human blood. Now though, things had changed.
This girl was so brave and so beautiful it literally astonished him. History taught that the small humans and the sasq had mated over the years, but sadly, not to the benefit of either species. Whole wars were fought and many lives lost over the taking of a human mate. Onio shook his head. The mission they now undertook had its basis in the long-ago kidnapping of a human girl by Two Horses himself.
For him to indulge in the very thing that caused so much strife within the clans was a crime and a complication neither he nor any of his sasq companions wanted. Although he knew, deep in his heart, that he was beginning to love the human girl, he had decided, nevertheless, to keep as much distance between himself and Melody as possible. He missed her company though, and stood next to her, following her gaze as she stared fixedly at a pair of eagles, soaring on the wind currents high abo
ve them.
“It’s beautiful here,” she whispered, blushing. It was the first time in a day and a half that Onio had been alone with her.
“Yes,” he replied. “This is the southernmost part of the lake the Indian people call Flathead. It is said that its waters are so deep that parts of it bubble up on the other side of the world. Strange things are seen and heard here…perhaps now we know why, eh?”
The humor in Onio’s voice caused Mel to turn and look at him in surprise. It seemed as if he was trying to reach out…to include her again in his sense of wonder at the world around them. Smiling, she nodded and thanked Wolf, who approached with the water skin and a piece of dried meat.
All of the sasq seemed to relish their first glimpse of the sun and the feel of fresh air on their skin. They stood on the stone ledge in silence, turning their faces up to the heavens and breathing deeply of the crisp mountain air. Then, to their astonishment, the deep blue waters below began to hiss and bubble in agitated waves. They watched as fish jumped out of the water and birds flew away screeching in alarm.
A high-pitched whining pierced the air and some of the sasq warriors lifted their spears and clubs in readiness. The very stones beneath their feet vibrated briefly in a frenzied crescendo, and then sasquatch and humans alike gasped as the pointed nose cone of an almost invisible spaceship breeched the water.
Mel realized the only reason the craft was visible to them now was that they recently observed the same thing, deep beneath the planet’s surface. The spaceship was enormous and almost translucent except for the shimmering blue and green lines that delineated its exterior. The ship hovered above the water for a moment, spinning slowly in place. Then, as if gathering energy to charge some unseen gate, the craft seemed to shrink in upon itself and then sprang up and away into the heavens, faster than the naked eye could follow. Onio’s hand found hers and they watched, dumbfounded and awestruck.
It must be the little alien, Triku, going home at last, Mel thought, and held on to Onio’s hand for as long as she could before he was called away by Wolf to look at and learn from the maps of tunnels leading to the king’s conclave. Mel wiped a tear from her eye.
She was honored, truly blessed, to see the world through the eyes and ears of her new companions. She had seen more wonders and mysteries in the last couple of weeks than most people saw in their whole life. Some things were horrible and deadly yes…like the strange mutant rats and the frightening threads that overcame the human beings in the tunnels below. Some things though, made her knees go weak in a sort of primal joy; like the sasq themselves, and the alien who had just left to go home. Tanah, the wild, tattooed human woman, queen to the fierce northern tribes… and, of course, Onio, who was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen in her life.
She started at a gentle touch on her arm. “Let us go and find a private place, girl. We will be heading down into the tunnels soon,” Tanah murmured.
Judging by the shininess of Tanah’s beautiful blue eye, Mel thought that the queen looked emotionally overwhelmed as well. They went around a stony out-cropping, did their business, and within minutes of the strange spaceship’s sudden departure were on their way through a different branch of tunnels that led southwest through the Rocky Mountains. To Melody’s frustration, Onio stayed as far from her as possible, choosing instead to walk by another young sasq called Arrow.
Arrow was, as far as Mel could tell, the youngest of the group and seemed to worship Onio, following the mixed breed sasq warrior around like an exuberant puppy. Given half a chance, she would do the same, Mel thought with an angry snort. Deciding abruptly to get over her crush and continue with some dignity intact, Mel moved to walk closer to the queen.
That had been two days ago. Mel and Tanah had talked for many hours and now, when it came time to bed down for the night, Mel cuddled close to the queen. Tanah didn’t seem to mind but this morning, Tanah turned to her and asked, “Why do you forsake your friend, girl?”
Mel blushed and stammered, “Onio? I don’t forsake him, Tanah, it’s just that…well, he’s busy. He doesn’t need me stumbling around underfoot.” Mel flushed, remembering an old line by Shakespeare, “Methinks thou dost protest too much,”—or something like that—and knew, at that moment, she fit the quote perfectly.
***
Tanah, meanwhile, was watching Onio, who stared at Melody like a moon-dazzled rabbit, and sighed. She remembered suddenly a terrible time of choice and indecision when she was just a girl. She had spent four summers with Two Horses’s tribe, making friends and learning the sasquatch ways of life. It was the summer of her life, when everything shone with the golden light of the sun. Then her monthly courses came.
The wise ones took her aside, taught her how to take care of herself, and told her that the mighty king, Two Horses, wanted to take her as a wife. She loved the sasquatch, but suddenly the prospect of marriage seemed unbearably strange and frightening, especially since she knew any wife of his would automatically lose an eye and be marked, irrevocably, as the king’s most treasured property.
Confused and in pain from her first moon-blood, she ran away from home. Tears leaked from her eyes. She vaguely remembered her brother, who tried to keep her safe from a wrathful father, but she had no idea where he might be now. For that matter, she didn’t know where SHE was. Sobbing in confusion, she stopped running long enough to gaze about in fright. She was lost. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of it and she wailed in fear, never knowing that Two Horses and two trusted guards followed her every move.
A voice spoke to her out of the darkness. She gasped and stared around with alarm, finally spotting an old man sitting next to a tree, smoking a pipe. “Are you lost, child?” he asked.
“No!” she cried, defiantly. “Who are you?” she demanded.
Tanah heard a chuckle and the old man said, “My name is Flying Crow, child. May I know your name?”
“I’m Tanah,” she replied and wiped her tears away with a fist. “Where are we, do you know?”
“Yes,” Flying Crow answered with a grin. “We are a few miles away from your king’s village. Are you running away from him?”
Tanah’s eyes went wide in confusion. “Not him, no, but the wise ones say that we are to marry. I don’t want to marry anybody!” Her voice rose, startling a slumbering owl in the trees overhead.
Flying Crow cackled with glee. He stared past her into the trees and said, “I don’t think that the wedding ceremony will be for some time yet, child. You need your full growth to prosper, and I think your king knows that, as well as I do.”
The old man seemed to be speaking to someone else and Tanah turned, looking around in confusion. There was no one there but the silent trees and sleeping woodland animals. Tanah decided the old man was a crazy person, but remembering her manners, she bowed slightly and said, “Well, thank you, but I better be going back now.” She turned to make her way back to Two Horses’s village, but paused and turned back.
“Crow, do you really think it will be a long time before I have to get married?”
That was when she saw the king and his two guards standing next to the old man. Two Horses bent over and gave the man a gentle hug, while one of the guards gestured for Tanah to come closer.
Grinning with delight and relieved that she didn’t have to find her way back to the village all alone in the dark, Tanah ran up to the love of her life with her arms stretched wide.
Looking at Onio’s face now as he stared at Melody, Tanah saw the same fierce and loyal devotion stamped within his tree green eyes as she had seen a lifetime ago in her king’s gaze. She sighed once more and took Melody’s hand in hers. Then she started walking down the tunnel that would soon lead her directly to the son she and Two Horses shared.
Chapter 27
The sasquatches dragged the bear to the far corner of the cave. The man, whose name was Lieutenant Spiles, lay on the floor under the burial blanket. Mel, Tanah and the warriors stood in a circle around the body
while Blue held up the bottle of sacred waters. Tears coursed down his shaved cheeks, but he held his head high and his blue eyes gleamed. He opened his mouth, and Mel gasped as his beautiful voice rose in song.
“Courage comes in many ways,
Self-sacrifice, the price one pays
To defend the weak, to protect the meek—
Courage is this man’s name.”
As always, the sasquatch death song was short but packed with meaning. Many of the warriors let tears trickle from their eyes, and the old sasq named Falling Waters let out a cry in a language Mel did not understand. His words affected those around him violently though, and a few of the sasq warriors uttered a rejoinder, lifting their voices in a hoarse shout.
Their queen gazed at them calmly for a moment and then lifted her voice. “My guards, peace now. The time for vengeance is not yet at hand, although my heart yearns for it as much as yours do. Please, settle yourselves and gather around to hear my son’s story.”
Blue Sky sprinkled the holy water over the blanket and he whispered, “Goodbye, Ann,” before walking away with Tanah at his side. The others followed and sat in a circle around the young sasq warrior.
Mel noticed that, in many places, the sasq was shaved. His head was bald, only blond stubble remaining, and it looked as if his back and chest were scraped clean as well. Although his body was larger than Tanah’s, he seemed quite small compared to the other warriors. His bright blue eyes were hollow with grief and fatigue.
“Tell us what happened, Blue,” his mother urged. She seemed unable to keep her hands off him. She dabbed the healing waters here and there on her son’s back and neck, while he gathered his thoughts. Then, looking up at his audience, he said, “I’m happy to share what happened, Mother, but first tell me who your guests are.” His eyes studied Mel, Onio and the guard named Wolf with suspicion.
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