Ghost Monkey

by Paul R. Davis

  The thought made Sugriva blush, and he scooted down the log they shared.

  "Oh," she squeaked, then laughed. "I don't mean comfort like that. I mean," she blushed, moving dark curls behind her ear, "I'm much older than you, not a janaav, and of a different caste. It would be quite improper." She giggled again, and it didn’t lessen the desire building in Sugriva.

  Give in. Take her to your tent. Who will know?

  The voice returned, and it ached throughout his body. Sugriva stood. "Why are you talking to me?"

  "I am a priestess." She stood and smoothed out her robes. "I am coming with you to sooth you while we are in the jungle."

  A sneer appeared, despite Sugriva's best attempts to keep it at bay. "A priestess entering Fang territory? Do you know how to fight?"

  "I'm a priestess. I know how to defend myself and the temple, but war? I will need big strong men to protect me." She winked at Sugriva. "I will keep your heart, soul, and mind in balance. You just keep me in one piece. Deal?"

  Sugriva bowed. "I don't have a choice." Then he walked off to his tent for what little rest he could get between the nightmares.

  THE VILLAGE OF SURAMPA was large, considering it was behind enemy lines. There was a pit close by in an abandoned water temple.

  As they approached, a soldier said, "I bet they work with the Fangs. How many do you think they sacrificed to the snakes?"

  Everyone they meet, the voice said. Kill everyone in the village and offer them up. Better yet, offer up the warriors. You will be king of the pit.

  Zaina chastised airily, "Trust what you see, not what you think of. Demonic illusions are pierced with patience and truth, while strengthened by presumption." The priestess often made the other soldiers grumble with her grains of wisdom, which Sugriva appreciated. He enjoyed any time the elite of the caste could be humbled.

  Farm fields stretched upstream from the Fangs. Narrow canals brought water into the fields, with downstream ditches dug to avoid swelling in rainy season.

  A man rode a bull through the fields. He had on a rice hat and thick rags covered in mud so thick Sugriva thought the rags may as well be mud. A thick layer of dirt formed where the mud dried. His hands were covered in soft leather gloves. With all the clothing, he looked like a lump on a large bull. The bull had a gold nose ring, denoting some wealth—or banditry.

  When the man saw the small army, his bull trotted over to them. The man's hands retreated into his cloak, and he brought out two swords. "What do you want? We are a peaceful people and only want to be left alone. Please go."

  "You have a pit near here," Madhav said. Madhav was the one in charge, though he was sitting comfortably at the main camp during Puncture Day. All the warriors except Sugriva were at the main camp during Puncture Day. "We are here to take care of it. Not here for trouble."

  The man thought for a time, then looked downstream to where the temple was. "Why? We’ve obtained balance. They keep predators away. It would be easy for us to grow too quickly, and they keep that in check. The Ashtadash ensure we don’t grow too large."

  Sugriva flinched, then snarled. "How dare you defend them. They are murderers and chaos. They deserve to die. Any balance they give is a lie."

  Yes, let anger energize and guide you.

  The lump shuffled under all the robes. His hands retreated back into the sleeves, and the swords disappeared. "Interesting. You were touched by one."

  He snarled again, then nodded and looked away. He can sense you. He is like you. Kill him before he reveals your secrets. Sugriva ran a finger over his staff and desired to kill the man. Madhav and the others were looking for a pretense to do the same, and this way they didn't have to besmirch their name.

  "There's a tingle in the back of your head, I bet." The man scratched at his covered chin. "I could help you, I think."

  Madhav said, "There's no time to help a monkey who can't shift into a proper janaav. Tell us about the pit."

  The man ignored Madhav, and this endeared him to Sugriva. The man said, "We have a special plant here: chaos fruit. Eaten by itself, it will put you in a battle trance. You don't need that, though, do you?"

  Sugriva growled. "I lose my senses every fight. Zaina, my priestess, needs to bring me back every battle, or I’d kill everyone. I’m cursed."

  "You were humbled. The cycle isn't done with you in this life, or it would have sent you on already."

  Zaina cut in, much to Sugriva's surprise. "Tell me how I can help."

  The man said, finger raised, "Let me tell you the story of Ganaptu, the Ashtadash of Fish."

  Chapter Ten

  Ganaptu, the Spirit of Fish

  The water spirit Ganaptu stayed in the waters of Baptap, swimming among the fish and eating them at his leisure. The fish, grateful for the current, willingly gave themselves over if chosen. Then Ganaptu aided them in completing their dharma, as they moved onto the next life.

  One day, when Ganaptu prepared to devour a fish, claws ripped into his prey's flesh and plucked it from the water. The school of fish were picked off one by one, leaving the water spirit at a loss. "What was that?" he wondered. He stuck his head out of the water and saw a dozen hawks swooping down to eat his school.

  When a hawk saw Ganaptu, by far the largest fish in the river, it seized at his head with sharp talons. Others joined in, but when Ganaptu realized his life was endangered, he shifted into water so they could not grasp him. It broke the spirit’s heart when all he could do was watch his fish get picked off by the hawks one by one. He went to the surviving fish and said, "Hawks will make dinners of you. They harass me. What should we do?"

  A fish said, "We can deal with hawks. We only stay docile for you and your teachings. Flee. There is a grotto upstream. Hide in there and you will be comfortable. Men are near, and they hunt or train the hawks."

  "What of my friends? Where will you go? How will you be taught?" Concern tore at Ganaptu's chest as if a hawk found purchase in his breast.

  "You, master, are beyond reproach. We will swim off and find other schools. We will teach them as you taught us. Now go, before the hawks swoop down again to eat us and harry you."

  What was left of the school swam downstream quickly, and the hawks followed. Ganaptu went upstream until he found a tunnel, which led into the grotto. It was a comfortable home, and Ganaptu remained there for years. Over the generations, fish would swim upstream to be taught by Ganaptu, having heard of his wisdom. But man fished them up, and the fish were fearful.

  One day, afraid the fish would stop visiting and Ganaptu would be alone, he went to speak with man. "Do not fish up those who stay here. They are learning from me, a water spirit. Give them peace, and I will bless this land with fresh water and lessen the floods in summer."

  "Why did you hide from us? Of course we’ll do what you say. You are a revered and wise spirit. From now on we will never feast on the flesh of fish, but will let them pass unhindered. Tell them we will make pools so they can spawn here and we will protect and provide for them."

  Ganaptu did, and the fish rejoiced. Soon men worked on a temple to Ganaptu, putting it off the river so fish could enter it. The water spirit, humbled, worked with man and fish to make sure both were happy and given the best life possible. Man built stone fishes and put them in the temple, worshiping them in the hopes of becoming one in the next life.

  Then the demons came. When the demons attacked, Ganaptu fought them off, filling the river with their blood. The black ichor killed fish and man. The fish stopped visiting. The men used water through reservoirs for years. Before man could drink from the river again, a plant blossomed on the shore which Ganaptu wasn't familiar with. It was like the calla lily, but the flower was purple with a glowing red bulb down in the sheath of the lily. Smoke emitted from the flower, twisting around the red and warping the glow. Men refused to approach it.

  Ganaptu ate it and was enraged, killing several animals and two men. Having fought demons, he understood the corruption within the plants and he called the
m chaos flowers. Man was forbidden from touching them until one day an herbalist visited.

  The herbalist looked at the plant and said, "This is unique. Do you suffer from the corruption?"

  "Yes. I fought the demons long ago, and the taint remains with me. It consumes me." The flower was not the only way Ganaptu entered a rage, as he was touched in the head by chaos.

  "Give me five plants, a vial, and three days. I will figure the rest out." So Ganaptu, hesitant but with nothing to lose, gave the requested resources to the herbalist.

  In three days, he provided a potion which mimicked the red with shadows squirming around. "I think it will taste vile, but drink this. It should placate your madness, at least for a while." Ganaptu drank the liquid, and he felt a calm wash over him. The black veins in his blue body receded a little, and the water spirit was overjoyed. Then he learned how to make the potion, placed the recipe in the temple, and sent men and fish out to find others who were tainted. That made this city a large city for a hundred years after the demon wars. When people were no longer corrupted, man no longer cared about the village or Ganaptu.

  Chapter Eleven

  The Monkey and the Pits

  Age of Men 807

  "I need that potion," Sugriva pleaded.

  "I will fetch the shaman to create the concoction. In payment, take the Ganaptu pit so we can pray at the temple once more and honor the fish in the river."

  “What about balance?” Madhav grumbled.

  “All things need to balance out, even purchases.”

  Madhav thumped his chest. "So be it. It's our path. We'll do it with or without the potion."

  The warriors rushed to the temple, the river leading there dark with corruption. Shed skins floated downstream, catching on the banks. A few serpent scouts bathed in the sun, lying on rocks. Archers picked them off, bodies writhing though the Fangs were already dead.

  The team forded the river and reached the opposite bank, the temple an imposing stone figure staring down at them. There were no doors, though two fish statues framed where the opening would be underwater. Madhav said, "Water team, breach. Ikku, signal when it's clear."

  A fish and three otters dove under. Serpent bodies surfaced shortly after. A red cloth floated out of the temple, the signal from Ikku that it was clear.

  Sugriva dove under, the river weeds tickling at his belly. Then he reached stone stairs, the small entrance welcoming them in two at a time. Fighting clattered through the temple by the time Sugriva arrived. Pitch and crimson blood splattered the walls.

  Sugriva went straight into the fight with his staff, cracking a Fang in the mouth and chipping its teeth. When it went to bite him, he caught the monster in the hinge of his jaw, and the snake went slack.

  In the center was a corpulent queen. She wrapped her tail around eggs already delivered, each one large enough for a man to fit in. She struck out at anyone close enough, but her motions were slow, encumbered by the children growing inside her. Fang warriors remained close to her. They were formidable, but quickly fell to Madhav and the others. Sugriva remained away from the heart of battle, clearing out any snakes which slithered in late or fled. It was boring work, but it decreased the risk of rage taking him.

  A Fang lunged at Sugriva and thumped into his chest with its head. The monkey was sent reeling, and the room took on a crimson hue.

  Kill them. It's what they deserve. Not just the Fang. Kill the people forcing you to fight. The people keeping you from sanity.

  Sugriva screamed, though he couldn't hear it, then jumped the Fang. He grabbed it by the head and body and pulled hard enough to rip the head off. Another Fang attacked, and Sugriva easily dodged to the side and came down with his staff hard enough the skin ruptured. Back broken, the snake flopped on the stone, slapping it like a fish. Sugriva crushed its skull with his heel.

  In the center of the temple, like a distant dream, Madhav and his trusted fought the queen and her guard. Sugriva whirled around the temple's peripherals, entering rooms, going up and down levels, and the rest of the warriors got out of his way. When the fighting slowed, and Sugriva had to search for enemies, Zaina walked up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and whispered into his ear. The fight left him, and he dropped to his knees.

  SUGRIVA WOKE UP TO the sound of birds chirping. His shoulder and head hurt, and he remembered what happened. Shame flooded into his chest, and he ached until he cried. "Ashtadash," he prayed, "please let this potion work. Please take away this corruption. If you can't take the demon out of me, then kill me and send me onto the next life."

  Back on his feet, Sugriva struggled outside. When he opened the door, the light exploded and bloomed into blinding white. It took a few moments to see the green, and when he did, it was washed out by the sun. Not even dense canopy could save him from the overwhelming brilliance. In the distance there was a field, which made the light worse.

  Zaina sat near the house in full lotus position. She hummed as she reached some form of enlightenment Sugriva didn't understand. It was something Bagheer had done, too. The memories tugged at Sugriva’s chest, and he bit back tears.

  "Do you feel more yourself?" She didn't look up or even open her eyes. She steadily inhaled through her nostrils and out her mouth. It was unnerving.

  "The trance drains me. I’m sore and my head’s killing me." Sugriva dropped into a heap next to Zaina.

  She smiled and took Sugriva's hand into hers. "You're back to yourself. Good. The strange man should be back soon. You're sure about the potion? We don't know anything about it. It could hurt you."

  "I already hurt every day. I'd do anything to clear my mind."

  "Die?" Most would say death as a jest. Zaina's pained eyes, though, did not mean it as a jest.

  "Almost anything." The monkey looked down to see he was only wearing a loin cloth. It would explain the nice breeze which cooled him. "I should dress."

  When Sugriva came back out, the man on the bull returned to the village. The bull seemed to smile, stepping with a hop. When the man saw Sugriva, he waved and said, "I brought back the potions. Wrote down the recipe so you can make more. Come. I will show you."

  Sugriva’s heart throbbed, and he felt like it would burst out of him. He shifted into a monkey and darted across the fields to the man and bull, then perched on the bull's head. The large beast lowed with satisfaction and took them to a small hut.

  Cords of five branches were placed at each corner to hold up a thatch roof. One side of the hut had an actual wall, the side that would get hit the hardest by winds in monsoon season. A quickly made table rested under the roof. A trough was on the other side of the shanty, filled with rain water.

  The man gave Sugriva a potion. The liquid shifted in the vial, shades of crimson, smoke, and turquoise. The turquoise glowed. "Drink this. The taste is strange, but it will clear your mind."

  It was never good when someone explained the taste of medicine as strange, but it was better than the taint resting within Sugriva's soul. Metallic blood was the first flavor, followed by choking smoke that made Sugriva cough. He was careful not to spit anything up. Refreshing mint rinsed over his tongue and down his throat, washing away the pungent blood and smoke. It soothed, opened up his breathing, widened his eyes, and expanded his awareness of what was around him. Sugriva wasn't sure if his senses were actually heightened, or if he was clouded so long by chaos he forgot what normal meant.

  A satchel flopped onto the table and the man opened it and spilled the contents. "Take the Chaos Flower's bulb and mash it up. Each bulb should make five vials." He produced four more. "You will need blood. Any blood will work, as long as it's clean of corruption. The girl seems to like you. Ask for hers. Put the blood in a pot, then get smoke to fill the pot and cover it for a night. Leaves are great for creating smoke. Capture it with the lid and put it in.

  "Let turquoise sit out in the sun for a few hours. Crush it up and add it to the pot. Add the crushed bulb and stir thoroughly. Then pour all of that into the vial. Shake i
t and you're done."

  The satchel had plenty of all the ingredients, though Sugriva made a note that he would need more. When he looked up to thank the man, the man and bull were gone.

  TRAVELING QUEENS AND soldiers fell to Madhav and his soldiers. Emboldened, they assaulted pits. Ganaptu was their second. Months after Ganaptu they looked at assaulting their twentieth pit.

  Zaina said, "Pride is the cliff the proud stand upon, waiting to fall over the precipice. I don't think this is what General Humbari commanded. One of these times, the pit will be too much for such a small group."

  Madhav dismissed her warning with the wave of a hand, and he signaled the men to charge. Sugriva watched alongside Zaina as they slayed the nest.

  "Third queen this week. Break the eggs." Madhav stood over the corpse of the queen shortly after the raid began. The raids were only considered successful if a queen died during them. Without queens, the Fangs would struggle to produce warriors.

  When Sugriva went to help with cracking the eggs, he saw movement under a tree. A serpent was pretending to be a root. The monkey swung, striking the tail and coaxing a hiss. The snake coiled up, then sprung for Sugriva, jaw unhinged and venom dripping from fangs. It nearly bit his shoulder, but Sugriva was able to move to the side and crouch. He struck up into its skull, sending it flailing in the air. Another strike to the skull brought the snake down on the stone floor of the pit, killing the creature.

  Sugriva took a vial and drank down the liquid. The surprise attack put the voice on edge, and he feared an outburst. Zaina clasped his shoulder. "Will you be okay?"

  The monkey nodded. "I won't go into a rage today, priestess." He smirked and winked to hide his uncertainty. The vials weren't working as long as they used to. In a half year, he doubled the dose of elixir.