“Never be ashamed of your tears, my dear,” she said quietly. “If our women could learn to cry, they would be more complete. It’s all right to weep. I do it myself sometimes.”
“Mother, why have you never talked to me like this before?”
“Because I’m weak,” Queen Faya said, shaking her head. “I’ve known the truth—that our women are not gentle and therefore are not fully women. Women should be strong, and they should stand with courage, but we’ve bred ourselves to be nothing but fierce animals, knowing nothing but fighting and killing. It’s the men who have the gentleness—men like your brother, Rolf, who’s like your father. And that young man that you just beat, he has courage like a steel bar—I see it in him—but there’s a gentleness and a goodness in him too.”
“No, I don’t believe that!”
“Don’t you? Then you’re not a woman yet, or else we’ve bred all that out of you.”
“Mother, I don’t want to hear any more of this.”
“No, people don’t want to hear the truth, but you know in your heart that what I am saying is so.”
Princess Merle jumped up and left the room. She passed Gaelan, who was sitting outside on a bench. He looked up at her, and their eyes met. He said nothing, but there was no anger in his eyes, as she had expected. It would have been better if he were angry, she thought. His very silence and refusal to rebuke her hurt worse than if he had struck her. She walked blindly away.
Within a week after the football game, the young men had suffered almost all they thought possible.
Josh, Reb, Wash, and Jake were working out in the common fields under the hot sun when suddenly screams came from outside the stockade. They watched the guards run to the small portholes, trying to see what was going on. Then the screams faded away.
“What was that? It sounded like a child,” Josh said.
“It was a child,” Gaelan said, his face grim.
“What was the matter with him?”
“Probably a wild beast.”
Gaelan was right, for word soon spread inside the compound that a small girl, eight years old, had been seized by a huge tiger, who had simply snatched her up and dragged her away into the depths of the jungle.
Instantly the village was alerted. The tiger could not get inside, but they well knew what their future held.
“When a beast like that finds the compound,” Rolf explained, “and once he’s tasted human flesh, he’s there forever. That’s how the queen got mauled. She led a charge against the biggest tiger anybody had ever seen. She killed him too, but not before he ruined her leg.” His face clouded. “No one person ever stood up to a tiger. The whole tribe goes together to run them out. Even the men go as beaters to drive the tiger into the warriors’ spears.”
“Why don’t you trap him!” Jake demanded.
“How do you do that?”
“Well, lots of ways,” Jake said. “Dig a hole, let him fall into it. Rig a snare, so that he strangles. Lots of way to kill tigers.”
“We know none of those ways,” Rolf said. “Besides, the women would think that was cowardly.”
The immediate result of the child’s death reflected directly on the Sleepers. It was Mita, of course, who went through the village screaming that her prophecy had been fulfilled.
“Kill the Sleepers,” she said. “Kill these strangers in our midst. They bring the wrath of Maug down upon us!” Her cry went on until the villagers were upset.
The queen finally came and took her throne, and everyone in the village gathered before her.
Mita was in her element. She spun around, pointing a bony finger at the Sleepers, repeating her prophecy that they must die before Maug would be appeased.
A long debate developed, with Faya reluctant to condemn any of the young people. However, she had been queen a long time, and she read her people well. She caught her husband’s eye, and Chava shook his head, but this time she could not refuse. The pressure was too strong.
“You cannot have them all for Maug, Mita. But you can have that one.” She pointed at Wash.
At once a cry went up from Sarah. “No, Queen Faya, you can’t do it! He hasn’t done anything.”
“One must die to save the village. That is the way it is,” Queen Faya said heavily. She got to her feet and hobbled off with her crutch. Her husband followed, trying to reason with her. But the queen was stubbornly set on this thing. “We must let her have her way with one, or she will have them all,” she said.
The other Sleepers watched as Wash was taken away to be imprisoned.
“We can’t let them do it, Josh,” Dave said.
“I know, but what can we do?”
A silence went over the group until, strangely enough, Jake, the least combative of all—except perhaps for Wash himself—said, “We can kill that tiger.”
“We don’t know anything about hunting tigers,” Josh said. Then he nodded. “But I guess we can learn. Come on, let’s go tell the queen.”
They could not get in to see the queen immediately. When they finally were admitted, she was resting on her bed, and obviously her leg was paining her. Chava and Merle were at her bedside.
“What do you want?” she asked. “I cannot spare the life of your companion.”
“We do not know your ways well, Your Majesty,” Josh said, “but we have come to offer you our help.”
“Your help? What can you do?”
“We can kill the tiger.”
Faya stared at them, then laughed harshly. “You do not know these tigers.”
“We had tigers in our own world.”
“The tigers of Fedor are not like other animals.” She reached back over her shoulder and pointed to the robe that she wore at ceremonial functions. “Have you ever seen claws like those?”
The Sleepers leaned forward to see, and Reb said with a choked voice, “I never saw claws like that!”
They were enormous claws, at least four inches long. Such a beast would weigh seven or eight hundred pounds and be almost impossible to stop.
Then Josh thought of the many times that Goél had spoken of courage and of love for one another. He said slowly, “If we all die saving our friend, so be it, but we claim the right, Your Majesty.”
Princess Merle’s eyes grew wide as she heard what Josh had to say, but she said nothing. She turned to her mother to see what the answer would be.
The room was silent, and Queen Faya was silent for so long that everyone grew nervous. She looked at her husband, who nodded slightly, then she turned to the Sleepers. “Courage is what we value most. But you cannot kill the tiger. Our whole village has gone against these beasts before. You see this leg? It was well and strong as the other, but that day the tiger killed seven of our people and ruined my life forever. I can no longer lead my people in battle,” she said. “You are young and inexperienced. It’s certain death for you.”
“Nevertheless, we will go.” Dave’s eyes locked with Princess Merle’s, and he smiled coldly. “We will see what we can do. We owe Goél our lives, and if death comes, why, so it comes.”
“I like that very much,” Faya said surprisingly and smiled at the tall young man. “It might well be said by a warrior queen. You shall go against the tiger. Lay your plans well. You may choose any weapons. For the time being, your friend will be free.” She fell back then and closed her eyes.
The Sleepers bowed, turned, and left. As soon as they were outside, Josh said, “Well, we got permission. Now all we have to do is get that tiger!”
12
The Plot Thickens
Josh managed to endure the hardship at the house of Marden and her daughter, Ettore—but only barely. He was usually sore from a caning, and he worked long hours. After the football game, Ettore had turned more vicious than usual, and nothing he could do would stop the torment. Sarah did the best she could to stand between the two, but she had little power.
Once Marden herself expressed surprise at the hardness in her daughter. “If you don’t like this Josh, why don’
t we sell him? You can keep the girl for a handmaid if you like.”
“No, I’m going to break his will. He’s going to do what I want him to do sooner or later.”
Marden narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think so. I’ve seen a few like him in my time. This one—even though he’s lean and young—has a hard core of determination in him. You may kill him, but I don’t think you’ll break him.”
The two were alone, and it was late. The slaves and servants were all in bed. Ettore seemed nervous. Finally she said, “Mother, the queen is growing weaker all the time, and everyone knows it.”
“So what of that?” Marden said carefully. “My sister is older than I, and naturally she is weak. It’s a wonder she’s alive, after being mauled by that tiger.”
“Sooner or later she will die, then you will be queen,” Ettore said with a crafty smile. “When you’re the queen, I will be the princess.”
“No, if the queen, my sister, died, Merle would be Queen Mother of Fedor. You know that.”
Something crossed Ettore’s face, and she remained silent for a while. “But if something happened to Merle also?”
“Then I would be queen. But what could happen?”
“Many things. Warrior maids die all the time. A tiger could take her, or a bear, or a snake. She might be killed or captured in battle. Oh, I wish she—” She broke off suddenly, but her mother read her thought.
“You wish she hadn’t escaped the clutches of Ulla and the Londos. I’ve thought of that myself. But she did.”
“But there’ll be other battles. You’re not satisfied with the way your sister rules, are you, Mother?”
“She’s too soft and weak. She listens to that husband of hers too much. When your father was alive, he knew his place. You didn’t catch me asking his opinion on anything,” she snorted.
“You’d make a wonderful queen,” Ettore said. “So firm and strong.”
“I’ve always felt I could rule Fedor better than Faya, but I’ve never had the chance.”
The two talked long into the night.
For several days after the discussion with her mother, Ettore thought of little else but the possibility of becoming a part of the ruling family of Fedor. She was a quick-witted young woman with a streak of cruelty in her. She waited until late one night and spoke again to Marden. “I have a plan, Mother.”
“A plan for what?”
“If we’re going to rule this country, we can’t just wait for it to happen. Merle is young. She’ll last a long time after her mother dies. We have to—take steps.”
Marden’s eyes clouded. “What do you mean, ‘take steps’?”
Ettore leaned forward. “I know the queen, and you know her even better. What would happen if Ulla and the Londos attack the tribe?”
For a long moment the older woman thought. Her eyes narrowed, and she said, “I see what you mean. Faya is crippled, but she would not be left behind. She would have herself carried into battle.”
“And she would not last long, would she? She would be unable to fight. An arrow or a sword would take her.”
“Of course, that’s right, and that daughter of hers would die rather than leave her.”
“Exactly. You see what I’m getting at. Ulla took many losses during the last war, but he would come again if he thought he had a chance. What we have to do,” Ettore whispered, “is to make him come.”
“What would make him do that?”
“We could get word to him that the tribe is weak— that many of the warrior maids are sick.”
“That could bring him all right—” Marden nodded slowly “—but could we win?”
“We are stronger than Ulla thinks. We would be waiting for him. We could have him come into the valley, and we’d put the queen in the forefront, where she will surely want to be. She would be surrounded by Princess Merle and some of her most valiant warrior maids. But we could arrange things so that Ulla knew this. He would throw his full strength against that point. Then—” her eyes glittered in the semidarkness “—after Ulla kills the queen and her daughter, we’ll come against him with our full strength and defeat him. Then we can take over all of Ulla’s land. You would rule over two kingdoms, but you would appoint me queen of one. We could rule together as queens.”
Ettore knew that, underneath, her mother was a greedy woman. Marden had resented her sister’s preeminence for years. Now Ettore was offering a way to turn things around.
“It would be wicked to do this thing,” her mother said slowly.
“But Queen Faya is an old woman. She must die soon in any case. All we are doing is seeing that Fedor has proper leadership. That brat of a daughter of hers could never lead anything! Underneath all her bluster she’s a weak woman. She’s romantic—I’ve seen it. Why, she’s half in love with that slave! What’s his name? Gaelan! Everybody knows it, though she tries to keep it covered up.”
For a long time Ettore talked earnestly, and finally she felt a surge of triumph as her mother came slowly to her side.
“Very well,” Marden whispered. “I will see that Ulla gets word of our so-called weakness. We will have one of our number pretend to be a betrayer. Lika would be a good one. She’s shifty enough to pull it off and is a good actress.”
“Make sure she understands and that we know when Ulla is coming. And make sure she leads them to come through the valley by the river. That way, when Ulla has killed the queen and the princess, we can overwhelm him.” She leaned back and laughed softly. “I’m going to enjoy being queen,” she said. “I think I was born for it!”
Reb and Wash did their best to stay out of Tanisha’s way. Wash found that fairly easy, but the chubby young woman seemed to have an unerring ability to dig out Reb, no matter how well he hid himself.
In desperation the two went on a wood-chopping detail. They volunteered mostly to get away from Tanisha. They were accompanied by a guard, an older woman with a stern face. She carried a bow and said, “If you try to run, you won’t get far.”
Reb looked out at the trackless jungle. “Run where?” he asked. “Come on, Wash, let’s start cutting wood.”
When it started to grow dark, they loaded their short lengths of wood onto the cart and started back the half mile to the village. The cart trundled along, creaking. Pulling it along, the two young men spoke seldom, for they were tired.
Reb was thinking, with disgust, how Tanisha would greet him. “She doesn’t want to be a warrior,” he muttered. “She wants to be cuddled, and that’s something I can’t set out to do.”
Wash grinned. “She’s a pretty big gal to be cuddled.”
“She’s all right—not mean like Ettore or some of these other women—but it’s just not for me. What do you think—”
Suddenly their guard let out a sharp cry.
Reb had time only to turn. He saw a huge animal covering the ground in what seemed to be impossible leaps.
“It’s a tiger!” Reb yelled. “Run, Wash!” He broke into a sprint, and the small black boy was right beside him.
“We can’t outrun that thing. I never saw such a tiger—did you see the teeth on him!” Wash gasped.
Reb risked a glance backward. The tiger was at least twice as large as any tiger he had ever seen in a zoo. Beside that, he had two enormous tusks in his upper jaw. “A saber-toothed tiger, that’s what he is! I didn’t think there was any of them left!”
Then he had no time to talk. The two of them ran with all their strength.
Reb was sure the tiger would get them. He risked one more look.
He saw that the warrior maid had stood her ground. She had notched an arrow to her bow and got off one shot. It struck the tiger in the haunch but did not seriously hurt him. He uttered a mighty roar, and then while the poor warrior maid was trying to notch another arrow, he was upon her.
She uttered a shrill scream that stopped abruptly, and Reb saw with horror that the tiger had probably killed her instantly. He picked her up in his powerful jaws and dragged her off into th
e trees.
They raced back to the village gate and yelled. It opened immediately. When the gatekeeper demanded to know where their guard was, Reb gasped, “The tiger, he got her! He’s out there!”
“I know what this means,” Wash said. “That old witch is gonna want to kill somebody.”
“I reckon that’s right,” Reb said. “And that means tomorrow we go huntin’ tigers!”
13
The Lady or the Tiger
The death of the warrior maid brought the matter of a sacrifice into fine focus. Naturally, Mita and several of her close companions petitioned the queen.
“You promised we would have the sacrifice. And now we have lost one of our own. It’s time to give Maug a sacrifice.”
Sadness was on Faya’s face. She looked over to the Sleepers and said, “You must now fulfill your word. Either you kill the tiger, or one of your people dies.”
Mita said instantly, “Give us the young girl. She will please Maug better than the small male.”
Abbey turned pale, for Mita’s long bony finger was pointed directly at her. She could not say a word, but she looked plaintively at Dave.
He spoke up at once. “We will kill this tiger for you, my Queen, and we will do it tomorrow.”
Faya looked at him with admiration. “It shall be as you say, but I do not think that you will succeed.”
The Sleepers filed out, and as soon as they were outside they saw that a sizable crowd of men had gathered.
“What will you do?” Gaelan asked.
“We will go do battle with the tiger,” Josh said.
“Take me with you,” Gaelan begged. “I can pull a bow as well as most.”
“No, this is something that we must do for ourselves, although I thank you for your offer.”
Gaelan looked disappointed but said no more.
Then Rolf walked up. “I will go with you, although I am no warrior.”
Josh said warmly, “That is a wonderful thing—that you would be willing to risk your life for strangers.”
“I think we are more than that,” Rolf said. “We are friends, aren’t we?”
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