“A misconception. The obstructions become more hazardous the nearer we are to the city.” He takes a mango from his bag. “Be wary. The rabisu has scented you.”
The path in the cliffs closes after us. Another wall appears ahead, taller than the last. A rabisu the size of a brown bear waits to receive us. He smells the air and licks his chops. I shift closer to Enlil, closer to the hammering deep within me.
21
DEVEN
The sap of the thorn tree sticks to my tunic, stinking of rot. Everything in the under realm reeks of decay. Plugging my nose does nothing. I have learned to tolerate the stench.
The early morning hour is quiet. The creatures of the Void have slunk back into their holes for the day. I settle my head against the tree trunk. My own sleep pattern has become nocturnal. I rest when the under realm does.
Thuds vibrate up through the ground. I hold still and wait for the disruption to pass. More quaking comes, accompanied by a rapid drumming. I sit forward and peer out of the thicket into the grayish haze. The noises hail from the city.
Dropping to my belly, I slide forward toward the road. The vibrations strengthen, pulsing into my gut. Creatures march through the city gates. Rabisus of all shapes and sizes travel toward Kur’s cave. They pass by the First-Ever Dragon’s lair and continue toward the Road of Bone. Toward me.
I have never seen hundreds of rabisus together, let alone congregated during daylight hours. Demons command the group, riding astride ugallus. Triple the size of an adult bear, with the head and body of a lion and wings of an eagle, the tawny ugallus are functional steeds for both ground and air battle. The hideous beasts close in, and I recognize their riders. Edimmu, a crocodile-snake demon; her brother Asag, the rock demon; and their sister Lilu, whom Kali nicknamed Fish Face.
The drummers approach first, bears walking on their hind legs. The mangy army behind them is a crew of demented bears, tigers, wolves, and other predators found in the mortal realm. None of the rabisus display pennants or banners. They wear no uniforms and are not organized into units. They travel like a stampede, crushing everything in their path.
I scoot back from the road, deeper into the cover of the thicket. Down in the muck, the foulness of the Void should mask my mortal scent. I stay low, regulating my movements to half breaths.
The demon commanders ride past on their ugallus. Their lion-eagle mounts are massive, large as an elephant but with the jaws of a monster. They start down the Road of Bone, and the rabisus prowl past next. A wolfish one pants hard as it pads by. The beast and its kind are emaciated to bones and matted fur.
At the rear of the troops, rabisus loiter, sniffing and scavenging for scraps. The army stops at the far end of the Road of Bone. Asag calls orders near the front, his rumbly voice unforgettable. Rabisus set to work, pushing up the ground into big dirt piles. The mounds block the entrance to the road, filling the expanse. The paths to the mortal realm are on the other side of their blockade.
They have locked me in . . . or are they keeping something out?
I stay down, dagger close, and observe the camp. The troops quit moving about and all goes quiet again. Exhaustion threatens to grind me down. The army seems to have settled in for the day, so I return to my tree to rest.
As I drift off, a wolf rabisu howls. Their lonely calls are only common at night. I sit up and spot movement down the road. Rarely do the creatures of the Void stir during the daylight hours.
I crawl through the thicket, and my chest hitches. An army of rabisus set up a blockade at the other end of the Road of Bone. New paw and hoof tracks mark the roadway that runs past my location. They must have marched by me. How did I sleep through their patrol?
I inspect the undergrowth for the answer. Fresh dents are on the ground in my usual lookout spot, as recent as the last hour. Panic skitters through me. I didn’t sleep through their march. I’ve forgotten it.
Sometimes, when I am very fatigued, I lose gaps in my memory. The gaps are getting wider and closer in frequency.
I return to my thorn tree and tear off a spiky needle. Turning over the handle of my janbiya, I press the sharp end of the needle into the ivory and start to chisel a K into the top.
K. A. L. I.
Over and over, I recite the spelling of her name. I cannot forget her or my friends and family. I must remember there is more to my life than the dark.
22
ASHWIN
I can barely breathe. A wool blanket was laid over me, and what feels like sacks of grain pin my back and legs.
“Better than a magic carpet,” I grumble.
Gemi nudges me with her heel. “Shush. We’re almost to the main gate. Girls? If the prince speaks again, you have my permission to use your elbows.”
The temple wards giggle. They sit atop me while I lie on the carriage floor. I proposed that I could hang on to the underside of the carriage, but Gemi insisted this is safer.
She leads the wards in a round of song, a hymn about Anu’s great mercy that I have not sung since I was a boy. We roll to a stop at the gate.
“Afternoon, Viraji,” says the guard. “Destination?”
Gemi replies over the girls’ singing. “The Sisterhood temple. The priestess invited the wards and me for a tour.”
“General Yatin said you aren’t allowed to leave the premises.”
“The general was misinformed,” Gemi replies, haughtier than usual. The princess was more imperialistic in her homeland. It pleases me to hear her take a position of power over the palace guards, as this will soon be her domain. She sweeps the conversation along. “Prince Ashwin approved of my visit. You can fetch him if you’d like while we wait in this stuffy carriage. But best hurry. I don’t want one of the girls to faint in the heat, and you don’t want to find yourself on the wrong side of Priestess Mita’s temper.”
The young choir sings the chorus. “He is true. He is just. He is one we can trust. We are safe under the eye of his sky . . .”
“Go ahead,” grumbles the guard. “Stay in the wagon until you arrive.”
We set off into the crowd. Fists thump against the exterior of the carriage. Gemi sings louder to drown them out. The pounding reverberates through the walls, and the wards’ voices wobble on the chorus. In seconds, the bangs stop. The carriage sways faster, and the wards sing without fear again. I had doubts about this outing, but Gemi’s assumption that the mob would not risk angering the gods by harassing a group of wards proved ingenious.
We trek unhindered downhill onto less busy roads. In the middle of the girls’ third number, we halt and they pile out of the carriage. I strip off the blanket. Gemi is dressed in a blue sari, the attire for temple wards. So long as she avoids eye contact, people will assume she is one of them.
She ruffles my disheveled hair. “I told you it would work.”
“Yes, but you didn’t tell me I’d be serenaded.”
She laughs lightly as we step into the courtyard. I fix my hair, and Gemi stops to greet a myna hopping around the ground. She carefully approaches the bird with the yellow beak and underbelly. I tried to catch mynas when I was young. They always flew away before I could get close.
Gemi creeps right up to the bird. Thinking I can too, I sneak up behind her. My nearness spooks the myna, and it takes off into the sky. Gemi beams as it flies over the rooftops. I should not be surprised by her stealth. The first time we met, she had snuck onto a balcony to eavesdrop.
“Do you have mynas in Lestari?” I ask.
“No. Aren’t they lovely?” Her delight is infectious, and I must admit they are interesting birds. “I heard one singing this morning. Do you have any books about them that I may borrow?”
“I, ah, will check the library. You haven’t by chance borrowed a book?”