The Serpent and the Crown

by Sam Puma

  “May we all claim victory together,” said Oranos.

  “May we all claim victory together,” repeated Anhael, Orion, Taitus, and Rafael. Jankaro was not familiar with their call and response tradition.

  “May we all claim victory together,” Oranos repeated, directing the words at Jankaro.

  “May we all claim victory together,” Jankaro responded along with the others. Orion, Rafael, and Oranos released their hands. Titus released Jankaro’s hand and turned to Anhael to receive the fan. Titus walked around the fire and put the fan in the box.

  “Tomorrow,” said Oranos, “at sunset, the war council will convene.” He turned and walked down the steps, and his sons followed behind him.

  Orion turned to Anhael and said, “We should help this one find a mate.” He smiled and elbowed Jankaro in the ribs. “He looks like he’s about to explode!”

  “You two, go on ahead; I will tend to the fire,” said Anhael.

  Jankaro descended the stairs alongside Orion, who regaled him with tales of jealous warriors fighting among themselves over the love of prized beauties. Anhael’s chanting faded in the background, and Jankaro wondered if what had transpired between him and Titus had truly been resolved. Something wiggled in his gut, telling him it had not.

  Jankaro sat on the war council for seven days. Every day he sat at a table in a small chamber with Oranos, Rafael, Titus and Orion while they talked about strategies for winning the war. Their talks went into great detail about all aspects of the war and they imagined what the Cruxai would come up with next. Jankaro sat and listened, but he didn’t consider himself much of a strategist. He often lost focus and wondered what Ixtlayo was doing.

  At every meeting, he informed them about his progress with Ixtlayo. He could walk straight out of Caladon and eventually Ixtlayo would come for him. It was getting progressively easier for him to mount. As they became more atuned to one another, Ixtlayo would kneel and wait while Jankaro climbed up and took his seat. Together they rode out over the land, taking pleasure in chasing down Cruxai scouts and killing them. They stayed out past sunset and sought out conflict. When they had their fill, Ixtlayo would return Jankaro to Caladon. Ixtlayo took an arrow from time to time, but it didn’t seem to bother him. Jankaro tried more than once to steer him into the city, to get him fitted for yanigo armor.

  On the seventh day it was sunny and hot. Ixtlayo stopped at a serene lake in the hills to the northwest of Caladon. He drank from the water and waded in to bathe. Jankaro waited on the shore with his weapons while Ixtlayo splashed around and swam in the lake. Jankaro scanned the nearby hillsides for Cruxai and took a drink from his water jug.

  A moment later Ixtlayo was roaring and arrows were flying. Three Cruxai emerged from a hiding place on the western hillside and all of them fired on Ixtlayo, who sprang up out of the water and lurched toward them. Jankaro jumped up, grabbed his bow and fired at them. Ixtlayo pounced on one of them while the other two ran away over the hillside. Ixtlayo continued after them. “Wait for me!” Jankaro called out in vain.

  He was shocked when he got to the top of the hill. Ixtlayo staggered and could not keep pace with the retreating Cruxai, who continued to shoot at him. Jankaro fired on them while Ixtlayo retreated, taking down one of them down with an arrow to the chest. The other one turned his attention from Ixtlayo and he and Jankaro fired on each other. Jankaro’s aim rang true and he killed the last Cruxai.

  When the fighting was done, he ran to Ixtlayo. The Ashtari was staggering with several arrows sticking out of his fur. His eyes were out of focus and he looked sick. Jankaro thought he could smell poison from the arrows. He pulled them out as quickly as he could and beckoned Ixtlayo to lie down. The Ashtari came down with a crash. He twitched a few times and closed his eyes, falling asleep. Jankaro pulled Janesa’s distress ball, fixed it to the tip of an arrow, lit it, and shot it into the sky. It blazed red with fire and black smoke billowed out. An acrid smell filled the air.

  Jankaro stroked Ixtlayo’s fur, still wet from swimming, and spoke into his ear. “You will be okay, my friend. Just rest. This poison won’t kill you.”

  He looked at one of the wounds where the poison arrow had gone in. He watched blood trickle down and there was a thin streak of green mixed in with it. “Curse the Cruxai!”

  He waited with an arrow nocked and ready. A few minutes passed that felt like an eternity. Ixtlayo breathed faintly and didn’t move at all. Finally a horse came into view, and Jankaro waved at Janesa to come quickly.

  “What happened?!” She called out as she jumped down from her horse.

  “The Cruxai ambushed us at the lake. They shot Ixtlayo with poisoned arrows. Can you help him?”

  “I’m not sure,” she looked into his eyes, sharing his concern. “We need Anhael.” She pulled a ram’s horn from her pack, placed it to her lips, and blew on it to make a loud trumpeting sound. “Another scout will find us and we can send him for Anhael. Let’s take a look.”

  Jankaro showed her the wound with the green blood trickling out. “Looks like it could be koi frog venom. It is hard to find, so they don’t use it much. If a man takes one arrow like that, he is dead within the hour. How many did he take?”

  Jankaro looked at the arrows on the ground and traced his memory of pulling them out of Ixtlayo.

  “I pulled nine arrows out of him.”

  “I can suck some of the poison out. That will help, but some of it has already seeped into his blood. Show me where they are.”

  Jankaro pointed them out to her. “Four on this side, two on top, and three underneath. There is no way we can flip him over.”

  “Let’s start with what we can do.” Janesa leaned her face down into one of the wounds and sucked on it. She spit and sucked again, repeating the process a few times. She wiped her mouth, proceeded to the next wound and repeated the process. When she stood to move toward the third wound, she stumbled.

  Jankaro caught her. “You look dizzy. You’d better stop. Let me try.”

  “It’s strong.” Janesa summoned her wits and tried to walk off the dizziness while Jankaro leaned down and started sucking on the next wound. “Don’t swallow. Just suck and spit, until all you get is blood.”

  Jankaro did it just like she had done, felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground. His head was spinning. He felt Janesa doing something to his back. After a few moments he realized she was pulling arrows from the quiver on his back and firing his bow. He stumbled to his feet and saw her fire an arrow straight into a Cruxai’s heart. He looked around and saw four dead Cruxai in the distance, all with arrows through their chests.

  “Here,” she said. “Take the bow and keep watch. I will work on him again.”

  She sucked out one more wound before she got dizzy and had to recover again. Jankaro wanted to step in but his body repulsed by the poison and he knew if he tried again he would be lying flat on his back unconscious. A rider crested over the hill to the south and he prepared to fire. “Wait!” Janesa cried out. “He’s one of us!” The rider galloped over to them.

  “Rodrigo! The Cruxai ambushed our Ashtari and shot him with nine poison arrows. I think it is koi frog venom. We need Anhael!”

  “I will bring him,” said Rodrigo. “And more soldiers. You don’t look good. Take my water jug.” He handed down his water jug to Janesa, then turned and galloped off to Caladon.

  Janesa drank water, swished and spat. She grimaced and walked over to Ixtlayo’s next wound. “Keep watch,” she said to Jankaro before she leaned down to suck out more poison. She sucked and spat three times, then stood up to move to the last wound that could be reached. Jankaro watched as her eyes rolled up in her head, she wobbled, stumbled and collapsed.

  He rolled her onto her back and saw her eyes fluttering in all directions. He picked up the water jug and poured water on her face. “Janesa!”

  “I’m okay,” she muttered softly with her e
yes closed. “Keep watch. Let me recover for a minute.” She lay there, breathing and rubbing her temples for a few moments while Jankaro scanned the horizon. She slowly sat up, but continued to rest, sipping from Rodrigo’s water jug. “I can’t do another one yet. Can you?” She sipped the water again.

  Jankaro took one step towards Ixtlayo and a wave of nausea came over him. He nearly vomited and his head started spinning.

  “Drink water,” said Janesa as she slowly rose to her feet. Jankaro rubbed his forehead and shook his head in frustration. He was humbled that she was able to suck out four of the wounds and he could only do one.

  “Don’t feel ashamed. I have trained for this, and practiced a few times on wounded soldiers. My body can handle more poison than yours.” She took another deep breath and found the last wound. She sucked and spat two times, then had to hang on Ixtlayo’s fur to keep from slumping to the ground. She sucked and spat again.

  “Jankaro…” she muttered with her eyes closed. She leaned back on Ixtlayo and fell to the ground. Jankaro helped her steady herself into a seated position with her back against Ixtlayo. She gagged and vomited onto her shirt. Jankaro wiped the vomit from her face, held the water jug to her lips and helped her drink. Her face was pale and sickly.

  “Are you…?”

  “I’m fine,” she said with her eyes closed and her head drooping down, drooling from her mouth and nose. Jankaro wiped her face clean with his hand and helped her drink more water. “I need to rest for a while. Keep watch.”

  Jankaro’s brow furrowed with concern as he scanned the horizon for Cruxai or Galdeans. He worried about Janesa sucking out more poison than she could handle. Taking care of one wound was enough to keep him feeling nauseous and she had done five. He worried about Ixtlayo and the poison that now inhabited his body.

  Janesa hummed a soft tune, and her horse trotted over to her side and lay down next to her.

  “Jankaro, help me.” He knelt by her side. She could barely keep her eyes open and lift her head. “I almost forgot the poultice. I am too weak. You must make it and apply it to the Ashtari’s wounds. Pull that bag from my horse.”

  She could barely lift her arm as she gestured at her medicine bag. Jankaro untied it and as soon as it was free, the horse stood back up and moved several strides away, keeping its distance from Ixtlayo.

  Janesa instructed Jankaro to pull out a large leaf and lay it flat on the ground. She directed him to several smaller pouches of crushed herbs and gave him measurements of how much to place on the large leaf. “Pour water on it and mix it into a mud. Divide it evenly into six portions, one for each wound. It will soak up some of the poison.”

  Jankaro did as she said, applying the poultice to all six of the wounds from which they had sucked poison. He worried about the three wounds beneath Ixtlayo’s massive body they could not reach. As Jankaro worked, he felt something in his mind from Ixtlayo. He didn’t know what the Ashtari was trying to communicate but he thought his body was responding to the treatment. Ixtlayo lay still and slept with his tongue hanging out.

  Jankaro returned to Janesa, brushed off the leaf and put it back in her medicine bag. He sat down next to her and leaned back against Ixtlayo’s warm body. In spite of the severity of the situation, he was comforted that they were all there together. He looked over at Janesa, noticing her beauty as the color began to return to her face. “Do you need anything?”

  She picked up the water jug, drank a few swallows, and passed it to him. “Drink water, it helps wash the traces of poison out of your body.” Jankaro took a long drink and leaned back against Ixtlayo as his eyelids started to close.

  “Hey,” said Janesa as she tapped Jankaro on the arm. “I need you to stand up and keep watch. I need some more time before I can get up.” Jankaro snapped out of his moment of complacency and lurched back to his feet.

  Jankaro scanned the horizon and saw no enemies as he walked over to Ixtlayo’s head. He stroked the fur behind his ears and on top of his head, feeling the moisture from his plunge into the lake water.

  “You’re not the first Ashtari I have seen,” Jankaro whispered in Ixtlayo’s ear as he continued to stroke his fur. “There was another one who chased me when I was young. He chased me into a cave, where I was eaten by a giant snake. The snake brought me to Calixo, and told me to fetch the crown. Instead I wound up fighting this war with the Galdeans. They are good to me. They gave me medicines to train me how to become a warrior. I gave them the gift of the yanigo armor, which repels the spit of the Juruga. We need you to wear the armor so you can fight in the next battle and we can kill the Jurugas together.” There was a slight hiccup or sputter in Ixtlayo’s breath, and he knew they had a link. Ixtlayo could hear him. “Anhael is coming to help you. I know they hurt you before, but now we are taking you as one of our own. You are not a captive. You are exalted. You are our champion. He is coming to give you medicine so you can get up and fight with me again.”

  “They are coming,” said Janesa softly from where she sat. Jankaro snapped his head up. He had been putting all his attention on comforting Ixtlayo and had forgotten to keep watch. He looked all around but saw no one.

  He raced around to stand in front of Janesa. His eyes were wide and his bow was ready. “Where are they?! I don’t see anything!”

  “Anhael is coming. I can smell his medicine bag from here.” A small smile traced across her face. She reached her hand up. “Help me to my horse.” Jankaro helped Janesa to her feet. He carried her medicine bag and she put her arm around his shoulder as they walked slowly over to the horse. “Hold the bag open.” She reached in and pulled out a small stick and bit into it. She grimaced at the taste and put the stick back in the bag. She inhaled sharply, her head jerked up and her eyes sprung open wide.

  “Whoo!” She shook her head back and forth, guzzled some water, tied her medicine bag to her horse, and mounted.

  Jankaro noticed that her strength had returned. “I think I need some of that.”

  “You want to take a bite of that juzi stick?” She leaned her head back and chuckled. “It would knock you on your ass.” She flicked the reins and her horse started to trot back towards Caladon. “Keep watch!” She called back over her shoulder. She kicked her horse and galloped over the hillside.

  Jankaro looked all around, noting how the sun had taken on an orange glow as it perched just above the hillside. He wondered what the Cruxai had in store for them if they didn’t get out of there before dark. He hoped Anhael had some powerful medicine in his bag.

  Janesa came galloping back over the hill with Anhael by her side. He had heavy bags on his horse. To Anhael’s other side rode Rafael. Jankaro was surprised to see the war commander coming to his aide. He looked for Titus but he was not there.

  Rafael arrived first. “He is still alive,” he said to Jankaro as he pulled his bow off his shoulder and nocked an arrow. His body was covered in yanigo armor. He noticed Jankaro’s eyes light up as he took notice. “Mine is double thick.” He knocked on his chest with his arm and it made a clacking sound. There were plates of it all over him and his horse. He lowered the visor on his helmet, leaving a small slit for his eyes. Jankaro looked up to see condor feathers sticking up out of the top of his helmet. They reached up high above his head. “Lets get this big guy home,” said Rafael as he trotted out to patrol the perimeter.

  Anhael and Janesa dismounted in front of Ixtlayo’s face. Anhael smelled his breath.

  “Bring me one of the arrows.” Jankaro ran to where the arrows were lying on the ground but Janesa was there to grab one and hand it to Anhael. He took a deep inhalation. “It’s not koi frog venom,” he turned and looked at Janesa. “This is sukumi venom. Big black boa. Long as him.” He gestured at Ixtlayo. “You were right to suck out the poison out and apply the poultice. Are you both okay?”

  Janesa and Jankaro each gave him a nod.

  “We need to flip him over so we can
treat the other wounds. He is too big for us to move so we have to wake him up and make him flip over. He is in danger. He needs to save his energy and sleep. But we need to flip him and do the same treatment for the other side. We need to give him the juzi stick.” Anhael reached up into one of his bags and pulled out a piece of wood the size of man’s arm. “Pull his lower jaw down so I can put this stick in his mouth.” Jankaro and Janesa pulled Ixtlayo’s jaw open while Anhael put the stick in between his teeth. His breath made Jankaro nauseous. Anhael and Janesa went around to the top of his head and got ready to push. “He will suddenly jolt awake and feel full of strength, then he will collapse.” Anhael looked at Jankaro. “Make sure he lies down on his left side so we can work on his right!”

  Jankaro knelt down and put his hands on Ixtlayo’s lower jaw. It was so big. He couldn’t believe he was there holding it. He jumped up when he heard the twang of bowstrings. Five other riders had joined Rafael. “It’s okay. We got them. Keep working.”

  “Ready Jankaro?” said Anhael. Jankaro knelt down and put his hands on Ixtlayo’s jaw. “Push!” Together the three of them pushed Ixtlayo’s jaws together. “Okay, relax!” They relaxed the tension and the bitter smell of the juzi stick filled the air. Ixtlayo’s eye opened wide. He snorted. He leaped to his feet. He leaned his head back and roared. Janesa, Anhael and Jankaro all took several steps back.

  Jankaro stopped and looked up at Ixtlayo as Anhael and Janesa backed away. Ixtlayo looked down at them. He looked over at Rafael and the other riders with their bows and arrows. He leaned back on his hind legs, lifted up his front paws and roared. When he landed again, he nearly stumbled. “Command him!” Anhael cried out.

  “Ixtlayo!” Jankaro called out to the Ashtari. “Lie down on your left side!” He tried to communicate his intent with hand gestures. Ixtlayo walked forward, wobbling. Jankaro dropped his bow, ran up, jumped, grabbed the fur on Ixtlayo’s left shoulder and hung on. Ixtlayo’s shoulder started dipping and Jankaro flung himself up onto his back. He kicked himself off Ixtlayo and tumbled to the ground. Ixtlayo’s momentum continued carrying him to the left and collapsed on his left side, asleep again.