Destiny calls, p.14
Destiny Calls, page 14
“Now I understand the part about them being murderers,” mumbled Millie.
A person put a plate and a bowl of black liquid in front of each of the seated Benu leaders. The fire roared as the women fed it firewood and turned the skewers of fruit over the flames. A person stood next to a pole with a bell hanging from it. He held a mighty hammer made of stone and bamboo in his right hand.
The skull of a bird and many different feathers sticking out of it topped the pole.
Aket gave a brief speech to the leaders, and at the end he said, “After you are all comfortable, we’ll begin. You remember the protocol: each person will report from his or her region.”
One striped bird stood up and interrupted Aket. “So much devastation has taken place recently. We will have to discuss which action must be taken against the chancellor and his soldiers. The entire planet may be destroyed if 222
we do not act soon. Our analysts claim that the problems started in the big cities four years ago.”
“Molak, sit down, please. You’ll have an opportunity to make your arguments later!”
Aket roared.
My eyes fixed on Molak as he argued with the old Benu next to him.
“The meeting has begun!” Aket yelled.
The bell ringer rang four times.
One by one, the Benu bowed to Aket, who paced around the fire in front of the group.
“This time, we begin with the northern region.
Elaud, give us your report. Stand, please.”
The birds were elegant in their manner according to the decorum of the meeting. Even though we were there more or less by force, it didn’t seem as though they thought lowly of us.
Perhaps in our torn and dirty clothing we didn’t look threatening. Curious about what someone would want to spy on, I listened to as many conversations as I could. So far, it seemed like a regular meeting. Mind you, the topic of the disasters on Thanos was interesting, and this was hardly a secret.
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Elaud flapped his wings twice. “The most recent occurrence in the Elowis province has to do with the burning water. Many of my citizens died of starvation because of lakes and streams igniting and killing all the animals and plants.
I consulted with our espionage team, and Feroz’s scientists are just as baffled.”
“No, not directly,” squawked Molak. “But you can be sure that his people are at the root!”
“Quiet! That’s the second warning,” Aket reprimanded the cranky old bird.
I thought of what Wesu said earlier that Morgoto, the god worshipped by the chancellor and his people, was causing chaos to unfold on Thanos. Was Morgoto raging for some unknown reason because his followers had insulted him?
The other Benus screeched and shook their heads. “The chancellor must be responsible!”
spouted one Benu.
Only one or two nodded as if they agreed with Elaud. I’d never heard of water burning, but then I’d never heard of a scorpion that could walk on water either.
Aket flapped his wings. He signaled to the human bell ringer. The human hit the bell hanging on the post three times. “Quiet, 224
everyone! We can discuss this matter after each one has given his or her report!”
“Noraud, you go next,” guided Aket, who sat back down on his blanket.
Nor is stood up, cleared her throat, and flapped her wings twice. “In the Norsi province, the humans that serve us and perform most of the agricultural tasks are coming down with the plague. This disease causes boils all over the body and face. Within days, it causes death.
This disease killed almost half of the workers in our region. Because of this, profits are way down. The chancellor’s cities, Thanati, Keran, and Mourin, are also infested with the plague.
The usual medical treatments, my people tell me, are not curing the disease, but making it worse.”
After Noraud finished talking, there was an uproarious discussion amongst the leaders. The bell rang several times, but the talking continued. One mentioned loudly that the plague would jump to the Benus and wipe out the entire species. The fire, plus the humidity of the jungle, made it difficult for me to stay focused on all the information coming out of the discussion. I began to fade in and out with sweat dripping from my face. My dirty top and 225
shorts were drenched in sweat. I glanced over to Millie, who was pale, but his eyes focused on what Molak discussed with the Benu next to him. He took a drink from her bowl.
Thema, on the other side of me, was preoccupied with what the Benus next to her discussed. Across the circle, I noticed that many of the leaders slipped into their language when having
heated
discussions.
I
couldn’t
understand them, but Thema could. Behind me, a guard squatted down and whispered in my ear. “This is Wesu. I am watching and will help us escape—I have a plan. You must do exactly as I tell you.”
Millie went bug-eyed. “That's Wesu?”
I whispered to Millie, “He’s a shape-shifter.
Get a hold of yourself and act normal.”
Aket motioned to have the bell rung to bring the rowdy group to order. “Everyone! Come to order!”
Slowly the talk settled down, and the meeting met again.
A Benu stood up, flapped his wings twice. “Let me go next. I am Solatu. In the eastern province of Thanos, many of my people died from the same things. We had to shut-down our water 226
boiling nuclear reactors for fear of the water igniting and causing a major incident. There’s no electricity for our entire province. My advisors say it’s Morgoto, and they tell me of the hubbub in the coastal ports—Feroz is searching for insurgents. Does anyone know anything about insurgency?”
Noraud stood up. “Many in my province believe it’s Morgoto also. I don’t know anything about the insurgency.”
Molak stood up. “There’s an insurgency, and there’s Morgoto. I’m telling you that a global collapse will take place if we don’t do something!”
“Molak’s right!” yelled Solatu. “Quit telling him to be quiet! He’s made the most sense out of all you so far!”
All the Benus exploded into a loud squawking and screeching. Much of the screaming was in their language.
“Cool down, everyone! Cool down!" yelled Aket. "We’ll have plenty of time to hear everyone’s opinion after dinner! I think it’s time to eat. This crowd is very cranky.” Aket tried to bring the group to order. “Let’s start the feast, 227
shall we? We can talk about Morgoto after dinner, and we’ve all eaten.”
“I could easily dig into some sweet roasted haya-ji meat,” Elaud said. “Aket has the best cooks on the continent. The meat will be so tender that it’ll melt on your tongue.”
A cloud of grey smoke drifted from behind me, where the crackling of a different fire made me turn around. The huts behind me smoked and burned.
“Fire! Get water!” yelled Aket to the guards.
“Everyone! Get water!”
Some of the leaders shrieked at each other.
Three of them flew off.
Wesu, in the form of the guard, came up behind us. “Follow me.”
Thema grabbed the blanket she sat on, I helped Millie up, and we followed Wesu. His shoulders had become narrow and back covered with feathers.
Behind the burning huts stood four frightened haya-ji with vines around their necks. The guard transformed into Wesu.
“Wesu. I worried about you!”
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He embraced me quickly. “We need to get out of here.”
Slipping the vine off one haya-ji, he helped Millie on. I pulled off the vine of two others, and Thema unknotted the vine of the fourth, put the blanket on its back before climbing aboard.
Aket, the Benu leaders, and guards frantically tried to put out the fire consuming the huts. They didn’t notice us with the haya-ji.
I yelled, “Let’s go!”
The haya-ji leaped once and twice, and then swirling currents of air lifted us off the ground.
I swept my arm around, adding altitude to our flight. We flew high above the trees. Another swipe with my arm created a strong northeastern current. The fresh air against my face felt magical.
Millie held onto the haya-ji with both arms wrapped around its neck. “I don’t like heights!
I’m going to fall!” She slid to the right, almost falling off, but the haya raised its wing to push her back on. We flew over the remaining jungle until I spotted grassy meadows beneath us.
My haya-ji started breathing heavily and dropping a bit in flight. It flapped harder to keep up with the others. “My haya-ji is tired. We’ll 229
need to land!” I yelled. I watched Thema’s haya-ji pant for air also.
I swept my arm high in the air, creating a downward current. My haya-ji seemed to understand exactly what it meant and followed the current down to a meadow below. The other haya-ji followed, and we landed at a running gait. I jumped off after landing to watch the others descended safely.
The haya-ji sniffed the air and walked directly to a nearby spring to take a drink. It snorted as it sucked up water through its nozzle.
Wesu, Millie, and Thema managed to stay on as they landed. Wesu hopped off first to help Millie down. We all gulped water, and I dunked my head in to freshen up.
“I know where we are. If we continue due east, we’ll be at the bastet village,” Thema’s voice filled with ecstatic joy. After we rested the haya-ji, we climbed back on. Wesu helped Millie on her animal, and he kept Millie’s crutch this time, so she wouldn’t struggle to stay on. The haya-ji leaped twice, flapping their long wings, and again, we were in flight.
We flew low to the ground to stay out of the clouds and keep a clear view of the eastern 230
horizon. Thema pointed at a cluster of brown buildings with bright blue streets surrounding them. “That’s where we want to be,” she said.
Outside the village, I directed a downward wind once again, making the haya-ji descended gracefully to the ground.
Thema jumped off her haya-ji, looking like a light bulb went off. “I remember seeing people scratch their haya-ji on the back and belly.”
Wesu helped Millie off once again.
Wesu and Millie spotted Thema and me scratching our haya-ji. My animal stretched out its neck and twitched its ears in delight from the scratching on its back. I thought of Toqi’s nose twitching, and how much I missed him. Thema grabbed a stick to scratch his animal on the stomach. It promptly flopped over to expose an ample belly, and its tail hit the ground repeatedly in apparent joy.
Wesu howled with laughter. “Did you ever see such a big baby?”
Millie scratched her animal on the neck, causing it to close its eyes and hum softly.
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Thema looked around at our animals, enjoying the grooming. “These haya-ji seem like pets to me, they’re so gentle.”
“I wouldn’t mind having you as a pet.” Millie spoke in a high voice to his animal as if she spoke to an infant.
The haya-ji were so relaxed that they dozed off. We continued our trek to the bastet village.
As we walked, Millie seemed puzzled by something. “Wesu, Elise told me were you able to change into the guard?”
Thema smiled coyly. “Well, it’s not magic.”
“I am a Qamatha,” replied Wesu. “I can change my appearance—just born that way.”
Millie snickered. “Turn into a haya-ji.”
“Easy.” Instantly, where Wesu walked, a haya-ji stopped and snorted. A moment later, he was Wesu again. “See? I am a shape-shifter.”
“Absolutely amazing,” she said. “So, why didn’t you change before when we were on the boat?”
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The village had cobblestone streets made of polished blue tauc stone. Many stone buildings with white columns supported a clay-tiled roof.
The entire place had a highly manicured, pristine quality. My eye landed on the tallest mountain on the horizon, and I felt its ghostly aura.
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CHAPTER 13
Farther off to the northeast, I spotted a castle with high walls.
Thema walked up to me. “That’s Mount Morwa—where the temple is.”
I gazed at the mountain a little longer. A shiver ran up my spine. "That’s where I must go."
“That’s where we must go,” Wesu said, putting his hand on my shoulder.
Millie gazed at the buildings as we passed by.
“This town is stunning," she said. “See the carved marble around the doorway and the statues? I feel so ooey-gooey inside.” She pointed to a grand home with blue tauc 234
columns, a small terrace, and elaborate carvings of abstract shapes on the wood door.
I’d only seen such lovely and expensive homes in magazines. To our left, I spotted a park filled with desert grasses, an amphitheater, and a fountain.
“It’s not far to my home,” said Thema. “I went to many performances and concerts there. And I used to play in that fountain when I was little.
Of course, I was always attended to by at least three nannies.”
“Only three?” Millie said jokingly. “You must have been a handful.”
Thema snorted and then let out a belly laugh.
We passed by some smaller abodes with plaster exteriors, clay tile roofs, and blue and red stained-glass windows. Colored tiles surrounded beautifully painted frescos on many of the buildings. Some depicted six-legged, lumpy creatures, others stood for battle scenes with animals and bastets, and then there was a painting of a beautiful human male lying next to a pond gazing at his own reflection in the pool.
As we passed through the center of town, we crossed a mosaic of a bastet cat holding four bastet kittens. Several bastet males holding 235
spears and shields surrounded her. The statue of a tall cat in a gown stood at the center of the mosaic. I remembered Thema transforming into a fierce feline and dashing through the jungle to save Millie.
“Thema,” I asked. “Do all of the people in your village turn into cats when they need to?”
She smiled as if I should have known all of this. “Yes, of course. We are all direct spiritual descendants of the bastet goddess. Many of us have the tattoo, but not all of us.”
“That’s so cool,” Millie said.
Several youngsters dressed in uniforms with arms outstretched shyly took our hands as we approached home. These bastet children had straight black hair, lovely dark skin, and their uniforms suggested that they had just gotten out of summer school or day camp.
We approached a large home with blue and gray stone. Several stairs led up to a terrace, which held sculptures of cats in various poses; some sat, others hunted, and others simply stood to look fierce. As we climbed the stairs, a tall, skinny bastet dressed in orange robes walked out with arms at his sides. The home 236
obviously paid homage to the patron bastet goddess.
“Thema! You made it!" said the man as he kissed Thema’s hand. "Your father will be so happy to find out you are alive!” He stopped and bowed when he got in front of Thema.
“Ramla, it’s so good to see you. These are my friends. They survived the shipwreck with me,”
said Thema. “This is Wesu, Millie, and Elise.
Guys, this is Ramla, my father’s assistant.”
I turned to see our four haya-ji friends walking quietly behind us.
“There you are, Mwitu,” said Ramla. “Finally decided to come back, did you?”
Thema gave a curious smile to Ramla. “This is your haya-ji?”
“Mwitu and his friends don’t belong to anyone. He comes and goes,” said Ramla, shaking his head. “My niece feeds him. Mwitu often brings others to join him—last week, he brought some lorian doves to eat.”
“He—rather, they—helped us get out of the jungle.” Thema scratched Mwitu on the nose.
Mwitu snorted, and the others whimpered longingly.
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“Okay, okay. I’ll pet you,” I said playfully.
Wesu and Millie pet the other two haya-jis.
“We will prepare a feast tonight if you wish.”
Ramla clapped his hands, and his voice radiated excitement. “I’m sure that your father will want to celebrate. Come, let’s go inside. But wait.
Thema, you must know that your father is very feeble and weak. Two nights ago, we thought he might die.”
Thema's smile dropped to a sad frown and she turned away. I noticed tears in her eyes.
“Thema, I am so sorry,” I put my hand on her shoulder.
“Your father and aunts sang the mourning song when we heard that you had drowned,”
said Ramla as they walked. “Since your mother died, your father’s been planning your legacy.”
Ramla opened the door to the main room.
Inside the palace, elegant wooden furniture, carved masks of fierce animal faces, and on one wall woven mats depicting scenes of bastets working in the jungle. Another wall was covered with pictures of flowers, trees with eyes, and seeds. The room seemed to be an homage to the jungle. Thema had barely crossed the threshold when an old man gasped. Weak and feeble, he 238
tried to get up to greet her but plunged back into the chair.
“Come to me, my daughter!” The old beast, around seventy years old, wore a yellow tunic with gold chains and blue collar. His eyes and face bore the same cat tattoo as Thema’s but was obscured by many wrinkles and a beard.
“Please have a seat," he said while wiping a runaway tear from his cheek. He pointed to two maroon couches and a series of chairs sitting on a woven rug with intricate floral patterns. In the corner of the room, a servant stood watching us interact.
“Dearest Thema. You cannot imagine how sad I was when I heard that you died. It’s so good to know that you’re still alive and back with us.”
Some dribble fell out of the side of his mouth.
Thema sat down. “Dad, you wouldn't believe what we went through. But first, I want to introduce you to my friends. Without them, I wouldn’t be here."
