The Last Sundancer

by Quinney, Karah

  He felt angry over the injustice done to the son of Shale and Denoa. Kaichen looked to the side as if seeking guidance and Azin nodded wisely. “You search for your brother, your twin.”

  Kaichen narrowed his eyes in fury but when he looked at Azin all he saw was calm and peace. There was no anger in Azin’s gaze.

  “How do you know about my brother?” Kaichen was surprised that he spoke when he wanted to remain silent and distant.

  “Your mother told me everything.” Azin’s words were intermingled with words of a different language and it was only then that Kaichen realized that the language spoken by Azin was not his own.

  Kaichen looked at Azin with new eyes and then he glanced around him. The men that accompanied Azin were fierce, strong and formidable. Yet, his mother had walked into their circle without fear and Cohtzen had been welcomed by them.

  “We do not have far to travel but you are weak and will need rest. The men that you see will one day call you friend if you learn all that I will teach you. Would you like to be strong like them?”

  Kaichen did not speak and Azin’s walking stick flashed out and struck him upon the thigh. The blow was not terribly hard but it caught Kaichen’s attention just as Azin had intended. Kaichen remembered the first order given to him by Azin and he answered quickly as he kept his eyes on the man’s walking stick. “Yes.”

  “Good.” Azin’s response left Kaichen in a state of confusion. He could not determine if it was good that he wanted to be like the strong warriors that stood before him or if it was good that he had responded when prompted.

  Kaichen turned away, glancing once more toward his mother and he did not see the deep sadness that entered Azin’s eyes as he looked upon the fatherless boy before him.

  “I am Azin, the leader and wise man of the people of the great mesas.” Azin waited for Kaichen to respond in kind.

  Yet the boy remained silent. Azin allowed his finger to idly run up and down his walking stick.

  “I am Kaichen, son of Denoa. My people live at the base of the red rocks.” Kaichen felt as if he had journeyed far in the space of a few moments as Azin nodded in approval and then with a deep breath he opened his eyes, returning to the present.

  His surroundings had not changed, but daylight had turned to night. He had finished the last drop of water from the waterskin left to him by Azin. The night was cool and he had no way of making fire. Kaichen huddled within the circle of his arms as he drew his knees up to his chest.

  He had defied Azin, ignoring his prodding and standing firm when Azin’s walking stick flashed out. He was not afraid of a beating. He had suffered worse from his grandfather. Azin wanted Kaichen to defend himself when another youth stood ready to fight.

  The fight was not real, they were only practicing as the young men and boys did each day. Kaichen had refused. He told Azin that he did not wish to fight when in truth, he was afraid to do so.

  He was not afraid that he would lose for he and Siada had battle with each other from the time they left the womb until his grandfather took them away from their mother. He was afraid that the rage inside of him would erupt and he would not be able to stop himself from pounding the other boy into the dust.

  Azin did not care to hear Kaichen’s excuses. When the other boy ran at Kaichen, he left himself open to attack. The other youth had been eager to fight the boy that had stolen Azin’s attention from the moment that he set foot upon the mesas. Kaichen had not cared enough to stop the raining blows that came from his opponent. Azin quickly broke up the fight and hauled Kaichen to his feet.

  “Do you wish to die? Is that why you will not fight?” Azin could not teach a boy to fight and become a warrior if he had no will to live. Kaichen’s silence confirmed this for him and Azin struggled to contain his own anger.

  He refused to show softness and weakness to Shale’s son. It was not what his father would have wanted for the boy. Azin had been through a similar experience and he knew that Kaichen was capable of surviving all that he had endured if only he could find the will to live.

  “If you wish to die, I will take you to the place where our old men go to welcome death.”

  It was only as the morning light woke Kaichen that he realized that Azin had not brought him here to die. He wanted to prove a point to Kaichen and he had done so.

  “I do not wish to die.” Kaichen yelled when he had worked enough moisture into his mouth to form words. His voice echoed over the mesas and still Azin did not come for him.

  Kaichen controlled his fear.

  It was the first time that he had been able to gain control of himself without Siada’s reassuring presence. In order to conquer fear he had to do something that he did not want to do, he had to allow himself to remember.

  “What did you remember?” Antuk’s deep voice was muffled and for a time Kaichen thought that he and Amara had both drifted off to sleep. He was surprised to find them awake and alert, watching him closely. His eyes had been closed for the telling of the story from long ago.

  “I remembered who I was and the memory made me strong.” Kaichen’s heart was light now as he spoke of that time.

  “How long did Azin make you wait before he came for you?” Amara’s brow was furled in concern as she studied Kaichen.

  “He arrived shortly after the sun reached its zenith.” Kaichen felt laughter bubble up inside of his chest and he smiled in response. “I did not know it then but Azin spent the entire night on a ledge far below me. He heard every word that I shouted and he knew the moment when I decided that I wanted to live.”

  Amara was silent as she considered all that had befallen Kaichen. He had lost his brother and grandfather on the same day. His father had been a great man, but he had died before Kaichen was ever born.

  “Is that what this lesson was about, finding the will to live?” Amara was satisfied by Kaichen’s silence, even as she realized that she had not expected him to answer her question.

  They remained quiet and silent for a time and then Kaichen stretched and told them to make ready. Antuk was the first to swing over the side of the ledge and begin his descent. Kaichen turned with his back to Amara and this time she did not hesitate as she clung to him. He moved with ease, certain of the placement of his hands and feet. Amara felt every muscle bunch and release as he carried her weight effortlessly. The strength that Kaichen possessed humbled her and the skill with which he wielded that strength left her in awe.

  He had succeeded in teaching her a valuable lesson, one that she would never forget.

  Chapter Ten

  “Did your mother turn away the young hunters that vied for your attention?” Kaichen could imagine that her mother had wanted someone special for such a beautiful daughter.

  Amara hesitated to answer. How could she explain that the young hunters of her small band had decided to wait to take wives until the raids upon their village came to an end? What hunter wanted a wife that he could not defend against harm?

  “It was not safe to take a woman as a wife in my village. Our people were without hope.” Amara knew that Kaichen had questions for her, but he was willing to wait for her to explain. She drew air into her lungs and exhaled slowly.

  “Your people needed someone like Kaichen, someone to dance in victory under the blazing sun. They needed someone to restore their hope.” Antuk’s voice cut in as he walked beside his donkey. He loomed over the animal as he threw Amara a smile meant to amuse.

  “What do you mean?” Amara was confused. Kaichen was a strong hunter and a warrior of great skill. She shuddered at the thought of the raiders who worshipped the sun and made sacrifices to it. Kaichen was not like them at all. .

  “Antuk, your silence would be appreciated.” Kaichen ground his teeth together as his friend stared at him in confusion.

  Antuk did not see where he had erred but he could tell by Kaichen’s angry tone of voice that he had done so. Kaichen raised his eyes to look at his friend and he saw that Antuk was already distracted by the sight and
sounds around them.

  His friend walked in a world of dreams and gossamer shadows. Kaichen thought that perhaps he had begun to teach Amara his language too soon. She stared at him as if he was something more than he had been only moments ago. Whatever she was thinking was untrue, he was simply a man that lived in the shadow of a legend.

  “What did Antuk mean?” Amara’s voice quaked with anxiety but Kaichen waved her words away.

  Her heart thundered in her chest as she considered all that she had heard about the leader of the raiders. It was said that he had dancers that worshipped the sun. The traders said that he forced the women that were given to him to dance until the sun rose from its resting place each day.

  “I do not wish to speak about it further.” Kaichen knew that his words were rude and unkind.

  Amara’s question was sparked only because of Antuk’s unrestrained words. Kaichen refused to speak about the misconceptions of his people and how they perceived him.

  He had come to enjoy the way that Amara viewed him as if he was simply a man like any other. It was true that she respected him and showed appreciation for his protection, but it was not the same as the looks and stares that he had received all of his life.

  When had a day passed from the time that he could walk that someone had not looked at him and Siada expectantly? Kaichen did not like to think about those early memories. He did not like to remember the time before, when Siada was alive.

  He stabbed his spear into the ground repeatedly before he gained control of himself and when he glanced up at Amara as she sat upon his horse, he saw that he had frightened her terribly.

  Instead of speaking, Kaichen eyes went carefully blank and he looked away. He did not see her gasp in fear and he did not see her eyes well with tears of betrayal. His eyes had already traveled to land upon the red rocks in the distance, rising like newly sprung earth from the depths of the world to stand tall and strong.

  Kaichen took in his first sight of the red rock canyons where his people made their home circle and he did not look away. Not even for a moment.

  “This land calls to me.” Kaichen acknowledged the truth as he spread his hand out over the land.

  He was not lost here. He knew the rocks, grasses, shrubs, cacti, trees, and the animals that scurried from one place to another. He knew the burning heat and the bitter cold that the canyons were capable of producing. This was the land of his birth.

  “Kaichen!” Antuk shouted as he caught up to his friend.

  “What is it, where is Amara?” Kaichen knew before Antuk responded that he had made a mistake leaving the pair alone.

  “She is gone. She took one of the waterskins and a bit of food, but she did not return.” Antuk was troubled and his eyes were alight with worry. He wrung his hands together as he looked all around them as if he expected Amara to step out from her hiding place.

  “Take me to the place where you were with her last.” Kaichen’s throat worked as he tried to bring moisture back to his mouth. His throat had gone impossibly dry when Antuk first shouted his name. Amara was gone.

  He ran with Antuk to the place where their horse and donkey waited in the shade of small sapling. Kaichen immediately caught sight of Amara’s small footsteps but he stopped in confusion as his eyes roved over the ground. “She is trying to hide her footsteps. Why would she hide her steps from us?”

  “I do not know. If I knew I would not have come for you.” Antuk growled his response in irritation.

  Kaichen would have been amused at any other time. Antuk was a man of many sides, but he was never angry and he was never irritated. Kaichen could only imagine how much Amara had come to mean to his friend.

  Antuk was not often befriended and he was almost always shunned for his odd behavior, but Amara had never looked at Antuk strangely. Even after she began to understand his words completely she would smile gently or nod in agreement, but she never shunned him. Her inner beauty captivated both men, though they did not speak of it.

  “She is afraid. This is where she started to run.” Kaichen picked up his pace, but he did not run. Amara’s footsteps were widely spaced and he had no wish to miss a step.

  “Where is she going?” Kaichen wondered aloud and he saw that Antuk hurried at his side though he no longer wore an expression of concern.

  Already his mind had turned to other matters. Kaichen did not feel disappointment or anger. Antuk was his friend and he accepted him as he was, even with his limitations and brilliant flashes of inspiration.

  He did not expect to have one without the other. It was simply not the way that Antuk was made. Kaichen kept his mind upon Amara. He tried to understand what would make her flee from him even as Antuk’s voice pierced through his disjointed thoughts.

  “She thinks you belong to the same band as that of the warriors that she fears. The leader of the raiders would have taken her as bounty.” Antuk’s words brought Kaichen to a halt, but only for a moment.

  “Why would she think that I am an enemy warrior? She knows me, she knows that I would have given my life to save her.” Kaichen stared at Antuk but his friend turned away. Kaichen knew the answer to his own question.

  Amara had shown signs of fear from the moment that Antuk talked about the need for someone to dance before the sun. She had not been herself.

  When he touched her to help her down from his horse, she flinched. He told himself that her ribs still pained her. When he offered to tie the bindings tighter her face lost its deep golden color until he backed away.

  When he grabbed hold of her hand to keep her from stumbling she jerked as if his touch burned her. He told himself that he welcomed her cold silence and disinterest. He was thankful that she no longer cast hesitant smiles his way or tried to draw him into conversation. Kaichen cursed himself for a fool.

  She had all but shouted to the heavens that she no longer trusted him and instead of questioning her, he remained silent. He did not want to crave the beauty of her smile or desire the feather soft feel of her fingers upon his hand or shoulder.

  Amara tempted him to break away from the path set before him and he knew that he had ignored the signs of her obvious distress.

  “Would it have caused you harm to answer her questions with the truth?” Kaichen murmured the question to himself even as he shook his head in consternation.

  He had to find her. She was alone, unarmed and vulnerable.

  “Never fight the desert, it is an unwinnable battle.” Kaichen whispered the words taught to him by Azin even as he hurried onward.

  All hunters understood the ways of the land around them. The desert was not a place to run unfettered and free of all concern. The land was breathtaking in its beauty, but it was a harsh place full of immeasurable danger.

  As long as Amara remained unprotected, she challenged death to come and find her. Kaichen threw caution to the wind and ran. He could only hope that he would not be too late.

  “What have I done to call down such a dire fate upon myself?” Amara looked at the burning sky and wiped tears from her eyes.

  Betrayal and grief were hard daggers of pain in her heart.

  “I had already grown to trust him.” Amara spoke to herself, because the silence around her was overwhelming. She had not noticed the overwhelming quiet when she had been with Kaichen.

  “I will die in this place, though I do not wish to die but to live.” Amara placed one foot in front of the other.

  She could not go back to her people and she could not return to Kaichen and Antuk. She would be a fool to do so. Kaichen was a warrior of the band of men that raided the land and murdered innocents. It was hard to believe, but it must be so. Why else would he refuse to talk to her about the dance that Antuk had mentioned?

  The only thing that Amara could not understand was why Kaichen had killed the men that had first taken her captive. Was he seeking a reward? Would he kill his own warrior brothers in order to grab hold of glory? Amara did not want to believe it, but what other conclusion could she d
raw? Kaichen had betrayed her from the first day that she had come to know him. He was marching her ever onward to meet her fate.

  When the sun was directly overhead Amara stumbled to a halt and settled down to rest. She knew that Kaichen would probably pursue her, but she hoped that she had gained time by running until she could run no longer. Amara closed her eyes for a moment as she silently gathered her strength for the rest of her journey.

  “I do not want to die.” She whispered as she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. Fatigue weighed upon her and she took a small sip of water. Her tongue remained dry and she reached down to find a small round rock suitable for staving off thirst just as Kaichen had taught her. Kaichen.

  Amara’s heart called to him and she groaned in misery. Only as she let her thoughts run free did she realize that the truth of the matter was that she was heartbroken as well as betrayed.

  She had found herself plagued with a growing affection for Kaichen that had been difficult to contain. Even as she looked at the blazing sun, she realized that she could have loved Kaichen and made a life with him if not for his betrayal.

  “I must have done something to deserve this fate.” Amara knew that she was giving in to the temptation to wallow in her misery but she refused to turn away from it. “I will grieve for my mother forever and now I will grieve for the loss of what might have been.”

  Amara stood and her eyes widened in dismay, the sound that came from a nearby rock was terrifying and yet utterly familiar. A rattling sound met her ears and she stood still while her eyes searched for the source of the threat. A movement to her left caught her eye and she began to tremble. A large snake was coiled upon a nearby rock, perfectly hidden by the brush and tall grass.

  She searched for an escape as she cast her eyes around only to hear the rattle intensify. Amara’s fist clenched until her nails bit into her palms. Her blood turned cold in her veins as she stared at the newly discovered threat.