by A. R. Cook
The blind man smirked. “I have had to deal with many dragon clans over the centuries, many of which hail from your part of the world. While we prefer our dragon tongue, it helps to be linguistically diverse, so we can identify the different threats humans pose to us.”
“Smart of you.” Gullin stood up, crossing his arms. “And you probably thought it a clever trick, pretending to be blind. But you cannot be, otherwise you could not know that I am a Huntsman without seeing my crest.”
Yofune stroked his long beard. “You smell of blood, sweat, and metal. All the stenches of one who kills, but you do not have the evil stink of a murderer. You hunt for survival.” The scarred eyes narrowed. “Although I venture to believe you have, perhaps once or twice, attempted to slay one of my brethren.”
The Huntsman wrinkled his nose. “You’re one to accuse. You did not seem dismayed about your ‘brethren’ when your bloody badger blew him open—”
“Can we not argue about this?” David cut in. “We need to help Acacia. We have to get the Shade out of her.”
Gullin faced David. “So she told you, then? I figured she would have.” He knelt down next to the cushion, his hand touching Acacia’s paw.
“No, I found out from—” David paused. “You knew about the Shade too?”
“Curse that demon Nyx,” Gullin seethed. “I’d like to meet the witch myself, give her what’s for.” His fingers clasped Acacia’s claws, his thumb rubbing the back of her paw.
“Did Acacia ever tell you if there was a way to remove it?”
Gullin shook his head. “I’ve tried every herb, medicine and antidote I know. This Shade isn’t just a disease or poison. It’s a parasite, buried so deep that there’s no way to reach it.”
“It is not the work of a hunter to cure,” Yofune said. “It is the work for a healer.”
“I do more than just kill, old man,” Gullin muttered.
“Do you know of a healer who could help?” David asked, hoping to stop another argument before it began.
Yofune thought on this. “You wish to find someone whose abilities exceed the powers of a primordial goddess. There are few left who know the ways of the old gods, but even if one knew the secrets of Nyx, I fear no one would dare to oppose her will. It is her essence that flows in Acacia’s veins.”
“So you’re telling me there’s nothing we can do?” Gullin rose up and paced the room, his hands clasped behind his back. “There has to be something. Someone must know the nature of these … these Shades.”
David’s brain weighed all the information he had, calculating at a spitfire speed. He jumped up. “Yofune, I need you to open a dream path to me. I know who can help us.”
Even after having been to the world of sleep once before, it was no easier to navigate than it was the last time. David adjusted himself to the rosy-hued dream atmosphere, recognizing the assemblage of dreamers, dreams, and emotions around him.
He did not have time to enjoy it. Immediately, he called out with his thoughts. Hypnos, I must speak with you! I’m David Sandoval. I was the one looking for the sphinx. Are you here?
I am here.
The hazy shape of Hypnos appeared before him, creating a ripple of blue in the crimson-tinted environment.
David’s thoughts rambled out incoherently, as human minds do when under stress. Hypnos, my friend is dying. Your mother’s Shade is killing her. You must know how these Shades work. You must help me get rid of it. What can I do? Is there a healer who can banish it? Is there some magic that can combat it? Can you remove it? Please, I need help! You must help me!
Hypnos held up a hand, and David’s mind instantly quieted. The warden of Sleep showed no sign of compassion or sympathy, his voice void of emotion. Why must I help you? It is no business of mine. I do not meddle in my mother’s affairs.
But Acacia will die!
As we all do, someday.
She is in pain!
Life is pain.
David felt himself glowing red, turning into pure heat. His thoughts became jumbled again. Why do you allow this? Why do you allow Nyx to destroy others for her own selfish desires? Why is she doing this? What does she need Acacia’s cleverness for? If she’s a goddess, she should have everything she wants already. Does no one care? Does no one care that Nyx is ripping people apart for no reason? Do you not care about anyone but yourself?
Hypnos raised his hand again, cutting off David’s thoughts. Do not question whether I sympathize or not. My role is to care for the dreamers in my world. But, if you must know, I do not agree with my mother’s desires. And your sphinx is a more beautiful dreamer than most. Her suffering did touch me. I was moved to give her gifts that I have given only the rarest of dreamers, to ease her pain. But I cannot remove the Shade from her.
David’s anger cooled. You gave her gifts?
She cannot speak aloud without feeling pain, so I gave her the gift to speak to others in their dreams. She may calm the minds of men and women with her breath, and bestow the most comforting sleep with her gaze. These gifts allow her to protect herself when she becomes too weak to fight. On her own, she found a way of glimpsing others’ memories and personal thoughts through their dreams. An invasive hobby, but sphinxes are enthralled by the workings of the mind.
David could not believe he had not wondered where Acacia had gotten her abilities. His mission, however, did not give him time to appreciate Hypnos’s generosity. But Acacia can’t defend herself anymore. The Shade’s made her too weak. Even when she tried to tell me something important, she could barely get a few words out without—
What was she trying to tell you? Hypnos seemed to smile, but it was hard to tell since his features were blurred.
She was telling me … David’s thoughts were muddled momentarily, until Hypnos helped isolate his random memories. Acacia was trying to tell me about a vision she had. She said someone told her she had to find someone, and she thought it might have been me.
Hypnos did not say anything. He emanated a pulse that made David feel he was on the right track.
Do you know what she was trying to tell me? David asked.
I do. She was told an oracle by a priestess many years ago. She has dreamt about it often, Hypnos replied.
David was filled with both curiosity and dread. What was it? Can you tell me? Does it have to do with me? Does it have to do with the Shade?
Oracles tend to be cryptic, Hypnos replied. But perhaps, a boy as intelligent as you can help give it meaning.
Hypnos dissolved back into the dream atmosphere, and David found the rosy mist swirling into a yellow-gold ambiance. There were vague shapes of the sun, and a brown plain dotted with strange golden triangles. It took him a minute, but David recognized that the triangles symbolized pyramids. A long blue streak cut through the plain—a river. The scenery had the soft gauzy appearance of a watercolor painting. David wondered if this was how Acacia saw the world, for he guessed that Hypnos was recreating the vision that she had about her oracle.
A female voice of maturity and wisdom spoke to him:
To vanquish the Shade’s poison aura
You must use guidance from three flora
The one you seek bears the scent of the lily white.
When he first sees you, he will show no fright.
A golden flower you will not touch or see
Is a promise he will give to strengthen thee.
The violet plucked will release his special voice
And with its power, awaken the Singing Turquoise.
The Shade shall be imprisoned forever in stone …
The voice faded away, and the yellow glow of the dream morphed into a vibrant green field, with a solid blue sky. The triangles changed into a tan color with smoke seeping out the tops of them. This image endured for as long as the blink of an eye before it all dissipated back into the scarlet mist of Hypnos’ world.
Wait! Was that it? David inquired. The person who can get rid of the Shade bears lilies? He’ll make a promise, and someth
ing about picking a violet … and there’s something made of turquoise … He focused his mind, and repeated the oracle slowly, until it was cemented in his memory. He found that it was easier to remember things without the limits of the physical body affecting his short term memory.
The one you seek bears a white lily … a white lily! David remembered where he had seen one of those.
While it was good that he deduced the meaning of the first clue, he felt a pang of despondency. It isn’t me, he thought. I’m not the one who can save Acacia. But I know who is.
David blinked his eyes open as he returned from the sleep realm. He was sitting next to a bonfire. The gypsies were huddled around him, watching with intrigue. Yofune stood behind him, waiting patiently. David stood up, regained the feeling in his legs, and he beckoned Yofune to join him inside the wagon. Inside, Gullin was watching over Acacia, who showed no sign of improvement. Tanuki, tuckered out from the events of the day, was curled up on the edge of the pillow by Acacia’s feet.
“Hypnos told me that Acacia was given an oracle that tells how to save her,” he told them, and he recited the oracle.
Gullin huffed. “Why can’t oracles say anything outright? Just fortune-teller nonsense.”
“It at least gives us an idea where to start,” David said.
“Start? Start where?” Gullin’s expression hardened. “Are we supposed to go flower picking? You didn’t say anything about a place, or a cure, or anything that is remotely helpful! And what nonsense is this Singing Turquoise? It’s a color! How do you make a color sing?”
“I figured out that part with the lily,” David said. “It should be obvious to you, Gullin. You’ve been carrying one around with you for a long time.”
Gullin looked down at the tattoo on his arm. “You mean my crest? Would make sense, wouldn’t it?” The frown on his face implied that he wasn’t in agreement. “But ‘the golden flower you will not touch or see’? What’s that, oh brilliant one?”
David frowned at the mockery. “I assume it’s a metaphor. It’s a promise that can strengthen Acacia, maybe some kind of magic incantation that can weaken the Shade. I haven’t figured out the part after that, about the violet and the special voice.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Violet is a girl’s name, so maybe it means we need to find a woman who sings? Maybe one of the sirens … but none of them were named Violet or had feathers of that color. It could be someone who grows violets, or wears something violet.”
“Mibbae it means one of us sings like a girl,” Gullin offered, shifting his eyes in David’s direction.
David rested his chin on his hand, thinking. “There must be a connection between the colors. White, gold, violet, turquoise. I don’t know. Do you know what any of the clues might mean, Master Yofune?”
The sage sat quietly for a minute, breathing very deeply as he thought. “The Shade of Nyx would be imprisoned in stone, after the Singing Turquoise is awakened. That is what you said?”
David nodded.
“Perhaps turquoise does not mean the color. It means the stone. A Singing Stone.” He rested his eyelids, and a tired smile set in his lips. “I have heard of the Singing Stones before. There was a dragon of distant kindred, the Piasa, who spoke of the Singing Stones in his homeland. From what I understand, the humans who live there believe that certain stones hold mystical powers to heal or harm. The Singing Stones were gifts from a spirit of the earth, bestowed to the shamans of several tribes, to be shared among the various clans. When the stones were used properly, they would break their silence and fill the earth with song. They brought fertility to the harvest and prosperity to the people. But humans’ greed led to jealousy, and each tribe wanted to collect all the Singing Stones for themselves. Many wars were fought for the stones, so the spirit took them back to hide them from man. Only humans who prove themselves true and honorable can sway the earth spirit to grant them the gift of a Singing Stone.”
“An earth spirit …” David felt a surge of hope. The earth spirit could be the one the vision was talking about. If it was the keeper of the Singing Stones, one of them could be a turquoise. If anything, an earth spirit might have the knowledge to clarify what the oracle could mean.
“What is the place this dragon was from? What is the Piasa’s homeland?” he asked.
“The faraway plains in the land across the great ocean. You would know it as America in the North,” Yofune answered.
“America?” Gullin let out a long whistle. “You want us to go trampin’ around in that backwards country full of pompous eejits? Still, can’t help but like the lot a little, for showin’ it to the bloody English.”
David remembered the image of the green plain and blue sky that he had seen in Acacia’s vision. A faraway plain across the ocean—but there were lots of green plains with clear blue skies all over the world. Yet something told him that it could not be coincidence that the vision matched what Yofune had described. A Singing Turquoise could be hidden in the American plains. It felt right.
“I think we should go find this earth spirit,” David said, “and find out if the Singing Turquoise is one of the stones it guards.”
“Oh, that’s a piece of pie,” Gullin scoffed. “Let’s just start at one end of America, and walk all the way to the other end, and surely we’ll just stumble into this earth spirit. Or maybe we’ll just stand on the highest mountain and call out for it like a couple of ravin’ loons. Even if we could find it, what do we do, invite it over for crumpets and ask it if it’ll just hand over its rocks? Take it from me, flesh-and-blood beasts are hard enough to track. Spirits are impossible, boyo.”
“Should we just sit here and do nothing?” David argued. “There has to be a way to figure out where in America we could find this spirit. If the Piasa knows of it, the spirit might live in the same region as he does. We could go talk to him and ask.”
“That would not be wise,” Yofune warned. “The Piasa is a man-eater, and unlike myself, he has not renounced his flesh-devouring ways. He is also fiercely territorial. Even I, a fellow dragon, would be given no hospitality from him in his homeland.”
David tapped his fingers together as he pondered. “Master Yofune, when Hypnos was showing me Acacia’s vision, there was a grassy meadow that had triangle-shaped houses on it, with smoke coming from the tops. Did the Piasa ever speak of people in America who live in houses like that? It might be a specific town, and maybe that’s where we need to go.”
“Indians,” Gullin said dryly.
Both David and Yofune gawked at him.
“Those were houses of Indian nomads.” Gullin grinned, liking that he knew something that David did not. “One of my brothers went over to America years ago, to try his luck digging for gold like most of the loonies out there. He sent letters and photographs back home while he was traveling to the west. He came across Indians living in tents made of the skins of large animals they call bison. Said they tend to keep to themselves mostly, but they don’t get along too well with the locals.”
David knew what bison were from a book he had read about adventurers’ exploits to the New World. Bison were bigger than bulls, and shaggy like sheep. He had also read about the American Indians, people with tanned skin who wore feathers and animal skins for clothes, and lived on the wide open plains. They were just as mysterious and fantastic as any of the mythological tales he loved. He was not sure where in America the bison and native plainsmen dwelled, or if America was the place that the oracle had been indicating. But they were short of time, and Gullin’s description was close to matching the vision. “This is good. The Indians may know about the Singing Stones or the earth spirit. We want to go to wherever there are wide open plains with lots of bison. Let’s go through the Curtain to get there.”
Gullin scratched his chin. “I hear bison country’s an awfully big place. We could be wandering around there for miles and miles and not find anything. Who’s to say the Curtain would lead us straight to this earth spirit we’re looking for?”
David stood up from the floor, dusting off his trousers. “We won’t know unless we go there. Yofune, can you take me through the Curtain to America?”
The sage let out a long exhale. “Sandoval-san, it is a very far distance to go, even through the Curtain. My exertions from fighting the Sleepless Dragon and escaping the fox-man’s den have made me tired. You must give me time to rest.”
“But look at Acacia! We don’t have time to rest! I can’t go all by myself—”
“Of course you’re not going by yourself!” Gullin barked. “You’re hunting for this earth spirit. I’m a Master Huntsman. I’ve been trained since I was a younger pup than you for tracking down the untraceable. Besides, the oracle says I have a hand in all this, right?” He tapped the lily on his tattoo.
David had mixed feelings about it. As much as he and Gullin had gotten to know each other, he was uneasy about being in a strange land alone with the Huntsman. He wondered if Gullin would treat him differently if Acacia was not around. David had to admit, however, that Gullin had more hunting experience than he did. Given how devoted the Scotsman was to the sphinx, he would put all of his effort into finding the Singing Turquoise as much as David would.
“You’re right. You need to come.” David placed his hand on Gullin’s shoulder in a gesture of friendship.
Gullin sneered at David’s hand. “You ever work a day in your life, lad? You got soft baby-bottom hands.”
David withdrew his hand. Gullin smirked.
“I will stay and watch over the others,” Yofune said. “The fox-man and his allies should not be able to find my home, but I will not leave your clan unguarded. I will have Tanuki guide you through the Curtain.”