The sun crept past noonday and I knew I couldn’t sit any longer. I don’t know what I was waiting for. I suppose I was just hoping for a miracle. The golden venom had looked like the same substance that had saved Kelsey more than once. But this new snake, as much as she looked like her, wasn’t Fanindra, and Anamika was gone. Was it just wishful thinking, expecting a magic snake born from a phoenix egg to bring her back?
After heading outside, I spent the rest of the afternoon digging a grave. If the Damon Amulet worked, I could have completed the task in a few seconds with just my mind alone, but laboring in that manner felt good and right somehow. It was the last act of service I could perform for the goddess I served. Sweat made my tunic stick to my back and arms as I strained, and I finally pulled it off and tossed it over a rock.
If I’d had the proper tools, the task would have gone much easier. Instead, I dug Ana’s final resting place using large branches that shot splinters into my hands. I welcomed the pain. The sweat that trickled down between my shoulder blades glistened on my chest and dripped down my face, mingled with my streaming tears.
Halfway through, I considered burning her body, but the idea that she would then be gone forever, her ashes drifting up into the night sky far beyond my reach, hurt more than I thought it could. The very notion that she wouldn’t have a final resting place was unacceptable to me. It was a heavy weight in my chest that sunk me down into a black tar of emotion.
As I worked into the early evening, my limbs shaking with exertion, my hands raw, the despondency in my soul permeated my entire body. It rose to the surface, polluting my thoughts and turning my mind to vengeance. I blamed one man for Ana’s death, for her pain, and the least I could do was ensure his demise.
If, for some reason, he had survived, and a part of me hoped he had, then I’d try to kill him again. I’d kill all of them. My wrath would be brilliant and fierce. Igniting it would be as easy as striking a match.
My task finally done, I splashed water on my face and torso and ran my hands through my dripping hair. Dust coated my face and I had to rinse and spit several times to clear my mouth of it. When I was clean enough, I ducked into the cave. Carefully, I pulled the blanket around Ana’s small body and lifted her into my arms. After pressing a soft kiss against her forehead, I knelt to lower her into the grave. That’s when I felt the tickle of air on my neck. Frowning, I looked carefully at her face, then propped her body up with one arm and put my palm a few inches away from her mouth. For the second time, I felt a slight exhale.
“Ana?” I said, my voice thick with hope. “Anamika?”
She didn’t move or blink, but as I examined her neck where the snake had bitten her, I saw two tiny pinpricks. Miraculously, the skin was healing. Setting her on the ground, I placed my palm on her chest. There was a thump. I held my breath just to make sure. A long moment passed and then I felt a second thump. She was alive! I laughed and cried again, then jerked back when something touched my arm. The tiny snake must have been caught up in Ana’s blanket.
I gently pulled out the serpent. Immediately, it twined between my fingers and raised its head, looking up at me. “You’re a piece of good fortune I didn’t expect,” I said. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough.” I set it on a nearby rock and it curled up, its eyes trained on Ana.
My thrill at knowing Ana was still alive was quickly replaced by an intense desire to save her. Clearly, something beyond my power to fix was very wrong with the girl. I’d have to get her home. I rested fitfully that night, waking frequently to check and make sure she was still breathing.
The next morning, I gathered all our supplies and wrapped her up in her blanket. The snake had slithered into my knapsack and I was happy to leave it there. When all that was left in the cave was the remains of the truth stone, I picked up a large piece and studied it. “I’m going to save her,” I said, and to my surprise, the stone glowed. Not once in the all the time that Ana was sick did the stone answer me.
Taking advantage of its renewed power, I peppered it with queries and statements. “I’ll get her home,” I said, and the stone responded affirmatively. “She’s not going to die here.” Again, it glowed. Renewed energy coursed through me. Quickly, I collected all the pieces of the stone and put them into one of the saddlebags, holding back one small piece and stuffing it into my tunic pocket. Then, I filled up our flagons of water, attached them to the saddle, and picked up Anamika.
Having been tied up for so long, the restless horse was eager to be moving. I definitely wanted to get going as well. This was going to work. I was going to save her and, somehow, summon my Anamika and fix everything. With young Ana cradled in my arms, I set out on the road once again, using a small piece of the truth stone as a guide.
Two weeks passed before we finally arrived at her father’s home, and when I neared the gate, riders armed with weapons met me. I must have looked like a vagabond as dirty as I was and with a month’s growth of beard on my face. I’d run out of supplies a week before and had managed to catch and cook a rabbit once but it wasn’t enough.
There had been plenty of water, but I was hungry and Ana was growing thinner and thinner. The water I forced down her throat dribbled out the sides of her mouth. I was fairly certain that some of it was getting down, but I knew it was only a matter of time before she died of dehydration.
She still slept as if she were near death, but her pulse was steady and her breaths came evenly. I didn’t understand what had caused her deep sleep, but I was determined to be grateful for it. One thing was certain, Anamika had died, and now, somehow, she was alive. Life meant hope. No one was gladder than I had been to leave that shallow grave far behind, and I hoped there would not be cause for another. At least, not for a very, very long time.
Exhausted, I allowed the men to lead us but refused to give up Anamika. When her father rode up to us, a flurry of hooves and mane, he pulled on the reins hard as he neared and hurried to my side. I pushed back the blanket covering Ana’s face. The tears in his eyes spilled over and he held out his arms for his daughter. Hesitating only a moment, I carefully gave her over to him and he kicked his horse, jostling with his load slightly, and then raced back home. I followed.
Ana’s mother ran toward us, flailing her arms and crying loudly. The two of them awkwardly maneuvered their daughter to the ground, and the father shouted for a physician to be summoned. Two men immediately set off on horseback. My horse came to a stop but my body kept moving. The next thing I knew, the world tilted and I hit the ground hard before everything went black.
***
When I woke, it was night and I recognized the guest bedroom I’d stayed in before. Someone sat in a chair nearby.
“Are you awake?” a young boy asked.
“Sunil?” My voice was rough and throaty.
“You found her,” he said.
“Yes.” Shifting on the bed to sit up, I placed my throbbing head in my hands.
Sunil darted away and I took a moment to stiffen my resolve. Weeks on horseback had made my entire body stiff. Before I could manage to stand, Sunil’s mother came into the room. She barked orders at Sunil, who ran off to do her bidding, and she took his chair. Pressing a cup to my lips, she commanded, “Drink.”
I sipped tentatively at first and then placed my hand on top of hers and tilted it, drinking the cool, sweet water in deep swallows until it was gone.
“Good,” she said. “Now you will eat.” She turned to the empty doorway. “Sunil? The broth. Hurry up!”
Sunil rushed into the room in a gangly tangle of teenage limbs and handed his mother a tureen of soup.
“Can you eat by yourself?” she asked. “Sunil can feed you if you need it.”
The boy’s eyes widened and he gulped, but he nodded when I looked at him with the corner of my mouth raised.
“I can feed myself,” I answered. “How’s Ana?” Quickly, I corrected myself. “Anamika, I mean?”
“Her mind still sleeps,” Ana’s mother said. “But I have managed to feed her some.”
“Good.”
“I wish to thank you for bringing her home to us. I feared I would never see her again.”