Aegis Rising (26 page)

“We have already eaten, Kody,” Huyani replied. “Just go ahead and enjoy your meal.”

“When are the Elders going to come and see us for our answer?” Jag asked.

Akol smiled. “They should be here fairly soon.”

*  *  *

“We have decided to accept your offer.”

The Elders broke into large, jubilant smiles at Jag’s words. “Wonderful,” Tikina purred. “We shall begin now.”

The five were caught off guard. “Now?” Kody repeated.

“When did you suppose we would begin?”

“Uh, not
now
.”

“It is the beginning of a beautiful day. We did not want to tarry any longer if your answer was yes.”

“So . . . what do we do?” Aari asked curiously.

The Elders stood and motioned for the five to follow them out of Huyani’s
neyra
. It was mid-morning and there wasn’t a cloud in the bright blue sky. The Elders led the group over a bridge to the other side of the village and up toward the temple. Akol and Huyani followed quietly. As they mounted the slope, the five stopped in their tracks and stared at the magnificent building. The Elders turned to look at the five and smiled. “Come along, younglings,” Tikina said. “There is plenty of time for exploring later.”

The five nodded and followed the Elders past the temple but still found it hard to tear their eyes away from the sight. The Elders walked at a brisk pace, obviously not wanting to waste any time. They came upon a stone wall, similar to the one the five had encountered as they were attempting to get out of the valley a few nights before. This wall, however, had a large wooden gate. It stretched for a good twenty-five feet across and its height extended up to fifteen feet.

With ease that the five thought would not be possible for men their age, Nageau and Ashack pulled the heavy gate open and walked through. Tikina and Saiyu ushered the friends in, then followed them inside. Tayoka, Akol and Huyani closed the gate behind them.

When the gate was shut, the five stood by the entrance, dumbfounded. What they had mistaken for a full wall of stone was actually the barrier of an immense enclosure. It was hard to tell for sure how big it was because groves of tall trees were everywhere.

Without looking at them, Nageau said, “The first thing we need to do is to carry out what we call an image assessment. The path to passing this assessment is through deliberate contemplation in a calm state.”

Aari frowned. “As in meditation?”

“You could call it that. Now, in order for this to work properly, you must be clear of distractions—that means you will be separated and placed in different areas of the training ground.” The Elders had the friends sit down on the grass and passed them each a transparent crystal the size of a thumb. “With this,” Nageau explained, “we will learn what we are supposed to teach each one of you. You must focus on naught else but the crystal. Clear your minds of any thoughts in this world, for they are now insignificant. If an image appears in the crystal, do not forget it. I cannot stress how important this is. When we come back at the end of the day to take you out of the grounds, you must tell us what you have seen.”

The five cried out in dismay.
An entire day?

The Elders chuckled and Nageau explained that the reason was because focus was something many people, especially younger ones, needed to work on. “But when we say end of the day, rest assured, we do not mean when the sun sets. It should be of no matter to you, however, because you should be focusing on the crystal alone and attempting to gain absolute silence in your minds. Good luck, younglings.”

Once the instructions were given, the Elders led each individual of the group to separate areas in the training grounds, then left them alone for the day.

Kody was having trouble concentrating on the crystal and attaining “absolute silence.” It wasn’t so much that he had a short attention span; he simply found it boring. He knew his friends could endure boredom better than he, and the thought frustrated him.

What’s the use of this exercise if someone can’t hold their focus long enough to complete the stinkin’ process?
he grumbled.

He lay stomach-down on the grass and held the crystal in front of his face, hoping that something would appear in it so he could get it over with. Nothing happened. After a few minutes, he put the crystal on the ground and rolled onto his back to gaze up at the sky through the trees. It truly was a nice, bright day. Kody smiled a bit as he gazed up, feeling a little less agitated than when he’d first received the crystal.

He watched the sky for a little while, breathing in deeply. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. It could have been twenty minutes or it could have been two hours. When he figured he was calm enough, he sat up. He picked up the crystal and stared intently at it, but the image that was shown was only that of his reflection. He squinted at it for a while, noticing the stark contrast of his emerald-green eyes against his darker skin. He wasn’t
dark
, per se, but it was easy to see the African heritage. He chuckled to himself. His father’s genes must be quite dominant, because even his two younger brothers had the same shade of skin as he, although only he had inherited his mother’s eyes.

As he rolled the small crystal between his fingers, he allowed himself to think back of home a little bit, though he knew the Elders would not be pleased. His mother was never the cook in the house, his father was. His two younger brothers, one age nine and the other five, were constantly getting in his hair—not that he didn’t like it; he just sometimes wished that he could have a little more time to himself.

Kody sighed and focused again on the crystal. Still nothing.

It was going to be a long day.

Tegan grumbled to herself. Depending on her mood, she either wanted to sit and relax, or be up and about doing something that would give her a workout. She was keenly interested in doing the latter at the moment. Unfortunately, she was stuck sitting and staring at a crystal that was currently revealing nothing to her.

She hadn’t been entirely sure what she expected the assessment to be like, but this was certainly not it. She never meditated, finding it to be precious time that could be used for something more productive.

Keeping the crystal in her hand, she got to her feet and decided to explore her surroundings. There wasn’t much of course, seeing as the Elders had chosen spots with the least amount of distractions for the five to use. Tall trees were around her and the grass was a healthy green. Other than a few rocks here and there, the place was as boring for her as the activity was.

She rubbed her eyes. What in the world had they gotten themselves into, she wondered. Training because they were part of some foreigners’ prophecy. She sighed. Was it really worth it to stick around when they could have easily been on their way out of the valley and back home by now?

I guess we’ll have to just wait and see.

28

T
he four men whom the Elders had sent out early that morning had split themselves into two groups and were following the two different rivers upstream. Akol’s father, Rikèq, and Hutar’s only uncle, Aydar were following a river to the east of the valley toward the Ayen mountain range. There was a mysterious mountain in the range often mentioned in several of the villagers’ folktales. Known as the Ayen’et mountain, its peak towered above all the others in the range.

As instructed, the men stopped and scooped water samples into a jar at every interval as determined by the timing device. They had dropped the crystalline gels into the samples and, so far, the gels had changed color every time, indicating that the water was contaminated.

As they walked, the men spoke of many things, most of little importance. There was a pause in their chatter for several minutes and Aydar lost himself in his thoughts. Wistfully, he said, “I wish Hutar was more like your son.”

Rikèq glanced at the other man. Aydar continued. “Ever since he lost his father in that accident, he has grown solitary.”

“I have seen him with a few of the youths in the village, though.”

“Yes, but he does not consider them friends.” Aydar rubbed his face. “He did not want me going on this trip, you know. He does not want to somehow lose me like he lost his father.”

“That is understandable especially since, after all, you are the only family member he has.”

Aydar shook his head. “As he grows older, I see something in his eyes. I cannot quite put my finger on it, but he seems distant . . . cold, even.”

Rikèq glanced again at Aydar. “I have noticed that his demeanor has changed, too. What do you suppose is spurring this?”

“That is what I have been trying to understand. It is frustrating because I do not know what is causing him to be this way.” He paused, trying to work it out in his mind. “He never knew his mother and growing up with only his father must have been hard.”

“Have you ever tried speaking about your concern?” Rikèq asked.

“I have, but he seems to sense the impending question and retreats before I even get the chance.” Aydar sighed. “For goodness sake, he is my nephew and I try to reach out to him but he dodges my hand. He knows I love him, and I know he cares for me, but it truly does not appear as if he wants any sort of help.”

Rikèq readjusted his pack. “Perhaps he would like to figure this out on his own. Some youths tend to prefer solving their dilemmas by themselves.”

“Be that as it may, it troubles me.” Aydar stepped over a tree root, startling a shrew that was on the other side. “Tell me, Rikèq. How do you and Akol deal with the challenges of the growing years?”

Rikèq chuckled. “Akol used to get into some mischief when he was younger, but growing up, he has shown some restraint and has become more responsible. Mind you, he has his sister to talk things over with, so he is not alone in that regard.”

“I have seen him and Huyani. They certainly have an incredible bond.”

“Indeed. They rarely come to us with their problems. They seem to be quite capable of sorting matters out on their own.”

Aydar nodded, silently wishing that his nephew would one day demonstrate those qualities.

For the next few hours, the men trekked northward along the river, stopping only to test the water. The river was contaminated at every checkpoint and they were beginning to get impatient. “How much longer will we have to walk?” Rikèq grumbled. “The one night my mate makes her appetizing fish tart stuffed with delicious herbs, I have to be out.”

Aydar snickered. “Hush now, my friend. You would not want the Elders hearing you complain.”

Rikèq laughed out loud. “As Nageau and Tikina’s son-in-law, I will be easily pardoned.”

“You wish,” Aydar retorted with a grin. “If anything, you would be reprimanded even more harshly.”

“I know. In all seriousness, though, they are such wonderful people. I am blessed to be related to them.”

“That is quite an honor, to—” Aydar was cut off by a loud, peculiar noise.

Startled into silence, the men looked at each other. They decided to investigate, intrigued.

They strayed away from the river and into the forest. Following their ears, they hiked for several minutes through the trees and around rocks and bushes. The sound slowly grew louder and more terrifying. Rikèq came to a sudden stop behind a bush and crouched, Aydar almost tripping over him. Rikèq pulled the other man down beside him just as the noise erupted again, fierce and wild. Aydar balanced himself, keeping one hand on the ground, and peered from around the bush. His eyes widened.

In a clearing twenty feet in front of the men, four mountain lions were entangled in a gruesome battle. The largest of the four, a male with his entire muzzle slashed and bloodied, lunged at the smallest—a female—and dug his foam-covered jaws into the back of her neck. The female screamed in pain and tried to twist out of the other cat’s grip. The screaming stopped as the male violently shook his head from side to side, severing the female’s spinal cord. The other two cats were entangled in their own fight and the female’s anguished cry didn’t faze them. It was a disturbing scene, with the two males ripping at each other in savagery. Their claws pieced the other’s pelt and grazed down. Their muzzles were stained and revealed large, chipped incisors when they opened their jaws to let loose a roar.

Rikèq and Aydar looked on in horror as one of the males clamped its jaws down on the other’s muzzle and tore the skin away. They knew instantly that these predatory cats had been affected by the sickness. They glanced at each other and then, as one, rose to their feet. They slowly and carefully backed away, keeping their eyes on the cats.

As they retreated, Rikèq’s heel struck a root. He tripped and fell backward. The three male mountain lions looked up and spotted the men through the bushes. Their lips curled back into snarls, revealing stained teeth. Rikèq cursed himself vehemently as he sprang to his feet and started at a sprint, Aydar following closely.

The large male dropped the female he’d killed and advanced toward the men at frightening speed. The men looked around frantically for an escape as they ran. They could hear the large male chasing after them. Neither Rikèq nor Aydar had great stamina, but they could sprint for short bursts.

The cat leading the chase leapt and tackled both men. Aydar managed to quickly wriggle out but Rikèq was pinned. The mountain lion hissed, foam dripping from its jaws. As it opened its maw to bite down, a thunderous roar boomed over them. The cats froze, only the tips of their tails twitching. Rikèq attempted to crawl out from under the big male’s grip but the cat hissed again. As it was about to clamp his jaws around Rikèq’s neck, another roar sounded and a huge mass of darkness bowled over the big male. The cats yowled and the one trapped under the surprise attacker screamed.

Aydar quickly helped Rikèq to his feet and the men dodged behind a tree and looked from around it. They gasped. A gargantuan bear was holding off the three cats, evidently defending the men. The two smaller males jumped onto the bear’s back and dug their claws into its thick fur, trying to grab hold. The bear, weighing nearly three thousand pounds, shook the cats off effortlessly.