The Last Sundancer (40 page)

Death stalked her, even in this high place.
  Defiantly, Amara looked to the heavens and prayed for rain.   She could survive three days without food but not without water.

It was the hottest part of the day and there was no place to hide from the sun.  She turned her back to the sun, using her hair as a shield and she continued to play.  This time when exhaustion caused her to slump she almost fell off the ledge that held her prisoner and kept her safe in
return.

The sky was blue overhead but off in the distance there was one meager cloud.  The cloud drew closer, buoying Amara’s strength and her hope. 

She thought of Kaichen.  He did not claim to be the Sundancer that his people believed in.  He did not worship the sun nor did he claim to have special power. 

However,
Amara had witnessed the beauty of his dance, in her mind it had been the same dance that his father had performed long ago.  She believed that Kaichen was especially blessed and capable of bringing peace to his village.  The only problem was that Kaichen did not believe as she did. 

“Some men are especially blessed, they walk with power and they do not even know it.”
Denoa’s words came to Amara unbidden. 

Kaichen’s mother believed that her son walked with power even if he did not.  Believing in something that gave you strength was a good thing, Amara could see that now. 

Antuk believed that she was Cloud Bringing Woman.  What difference was there between her and that first woman who had been so aptly named?  Perhaps the only difference was Amara’s failure to fully believe.   If she did not believe then she would surely die. 

Amara stood though
the effort cost her the last reserves of her strength.  She raised her palms high to the sky just as Kaichen had done when he stood upon the rise that looked down upon his village.  “Hear me, I am Cloud Bringing Woman, Amara the daughter of Leija.  My song is my only gift and in return I ask for life-giving rain.”

Amara closed her eyes and leaned back against the steady embrace of the rock behind her.  She
called upon the strength inherent within her body, even as she prayed that she would remain alive long enough for Kaichen to find her. 

Tamol groaned as his surroundings came into focus.  He had never been flung over a horse like so much refuse before and anger gave him strength.   The warrior that held him captive glanced back over his shoulder and grimaced when he saw that Tamol was awake.  With every step taken by the horse his chest was set on fire with flames of pain.  

“If not for the wound in your thigh, I would make you walk, but you would only slow me down.” The warrior grunted in the guttural tongue of Ni’zin’s band of raiders. 

Tamol
understood the man’s words perfectly for he had learned the language long ago and never forgotten.  Other than the blow to his eye and the wound to his leg, Tamol was well. 

The blows he had taken when he tried to go after Denoa were superficial.  They would leave bruises and scrapes upon his flesh bu
t he was a battle-hardened warrior and his threshold for pain was extremely high thanks to his father.  

It worried him that
the raiders had left him alive.  Killing an enemy was always better than leaving one alive. 

Tamol
studied the man that had essentially taken him captive. He sought any sign of weakness as the man turned his attention back to the path that he followed.

The feeling in
Tamol’s hands had disappeared and he grunted as he worked his fingers in an effort to restore the blood to them.  His hands were bound and he lay sprawled over the horse’s hindquarters.  He was almost helpless.  Almost.

The warrior’s weakness came to him in an instant.  He had not bound
Tamol to his own body to ensure that if Tamol fell he would die a gruesome death by being dragged behind the horse.  This warrior feared death and Tamol had no such fear.  To some it would seem a small thing, but the man’s mistake would cost him his life.  

Tamol
waited until the raider was forced to slow his horse to a walk.  He could not risk a fall from a fast moving horse but he would do it if forced.

As the animal slowed,
Tamol thought of Denoa.  He had never known a stronger woman and even though she could never return his regard, he knew in his heart that he loved her.   Perhaps the love he felt for her was his penance for past sins.  

One of the raiders
had harmed Denoa and he had been unable to help her.  With strength born of anger and rage, Tamol rose up and swung his legs around so that they clasped the warrior sitting in front of him.  The man tried to cling to his horse’s mane but Tamol’s strength was too much.  He crashed his forehead into the base of the man’s skull and with one twist of his body, he unseated the man separating him from his horse.  Tamol braced himself for the fall that would send them both crashing to the ground. 

When the dust
settled, Tamol forced himself to his feet.  The warrior’s frightened horse had reared and when they fell, Tamol managed to kick his enemy under the horse’s hooves.  The animal whinnied in fear and terror as the smell of blood filled the air.  

Tamol
grabbed the warrior’s hunting knife though he had to contort his body uncomfortably to do and he sawed through the rope binding his hands.  When the horse was calm once more Tamol led the animal away but not before spitting upon the crushed face of his enemy. 

He looked back the way that they had come and saw that the sun was well past the time of midday.  Darkness came more quickly as the
cold season drew near.

He could return to the place where he had last seen Denoa or he could go forward and see if Kaichen still lived.   Making a decision quickly was paramount, but
Tamol hesitated.

In his
mind, he saw the crushed and broken body of the woman that he loved.   The raider that had taken her would not have left her alive.   He suddenly remembered Amara.

She had been left to die somewhere near the
cliff that climbed into the heavens.  Tamol had not caught sight of Amara but his warrior’s instinct told him that she had been nearby.

Denoa would want him to rescue her son.  Kaichen would want him to save his
wife.  What then was he to do?

Gray tinged the edges of his vision and it was only then that
Tamol realized the wound to his thigh bled freely.  The bandage had been ripped away during his fall, taking a patch of skin with it.  Tamol had the presence of mind to tie himself to the horse before the beckoning darkness closed around him, blocking out the sun.

Kaichen fared better than Antuk.  It was due to Azin’s teaching that Kaichen still clung to life.  Antuk had stopped talking soon after the sun reached its full height.  The scorching heat was relentless and inescapable.   Kaichen saw red fire behind his eyelids every time that he closed his eyes. 

The sound of a horse’s hooves caught Kaichen’s attention.  He did not open his eyes.  If
the raiders had returned, he did not want to see.   He had lain helpless under the heat of the sun and his thoughts had been full of sorrow.  Amara could not survive without water. 

A sound told Kaichen that someone was nearby but he refused to open his eyes.   He looked inward instead and the dreams of his childhood overtook him. 

He stood in a tall field of grass overlooking the canyons below and his father stood with him.  Siada was there just as he had always been.  All was well.  Their mother was not quiet and stern, nor had her laughter faded away.  The light in her eyes always was evident as she embraced her husband and walked to join the other women of their band.  All was exactly as it should be. 

“Is this the real world?” Kaichen asked as Shale turned his full attention to his son. 

Kaichen was humbled to be the sole focus of his father’s stare.  He was a boy again and his father was alive, whole and healthy.  

“This is the world between worlds.  It is the world that you wish for but cannot have.” Shale’s voice was wise and it was eerily similar to Kaichen’s. 

“I have wished to know you my entire life.  I knew you only through the stories of our mother.” Kaichen saw Siada laugh and run to catch up with the other boys his age.  His brother tossed a glance over his shoulder and then ran onward, fearless.  “Siada is so much like you. He is the one that should have followed in your footsteps.”

“In this world Siada walks by my side, but you are my first born son and my legacy is your birthright.” Shale bent to one knee and peered into Kaichen’s eyes.  “Be brave my son, promise me.”

“I have only your stories as told to me by my mother.  They were not enough.  I am not the Sundancer.  I am powerless.” Kaichen felt the dream world fading away and he heard Siada’s clear laughter.  His father turned away, distracted for a moment and then he turned back to face his son.  

“You are the man that I always thought you would be.  You have my blessing and the blessing of your mother.  I can only set yo
u on the right path and you must place one foot in front of the other.” Shale’s dark eyes grew sad and tired as he gazed at his son.

“I will make you proud father.” Kaichen spoke bravely certain of his place in the world, buoyed by his father’s faith in him.

“You already have.” Shale’s image faded from his mind as blinding pain stole Kaichen’s breath.  He opened his eyes and his father stood over him with a knife held in his hand. 

Kaichen
blinked, the image blurred, and he saw that it was not Shale standing above him but Tamol.  The man leaned toward him with his knife poised to strike and Kaichen roared with fury.  His raw throat ached from lack of water but the sound stopped Tamol’s forward motion.

“Do you wish to get us killed?”
Tamol’s voice was mildly amused and full of disdain.  “We are not far from those that seek your death.  I am certain that they left more men behind to watch over their valuable things.  But call out to them again if you have a wish for more torture.  Who am I to care?”

“What are you doing here?” Kaichen thirstily drank the water that
Tamol pressed against his dry mouth as he watched the man forcibly saw through his bonds.  Tamol moved to examine Antuk and he sighed heavily as he stared at the larger man.  Kaichen’s heart clenched but he forced himself to look at his friend and to his surprise, Antuk stared back at him.

“Antuk!
” Kaichen was startled to see that despite the blinding sun and their torturous position, Antuk appeared well.  “Why did you remain silent for so long?  I thought the worst had happened?”

“You did not speak, so I did not speak.” Antuk would have shrugged his shoulders but his arms were still numb. 
Tamol poured water over Antuk’s head and then did the same to Kaichen. 

“Come, we must go before we are discovered.  Can you walk?”
Tamol spared Kaichen a glance as he rolled to his knees.

“Of course I can walk!” Ka
ichen responded with a grunt.  He blinked as the world swayed around him.  The pain in his head had never faded completely and now that he was moving about he struggled against dizziness.    

“How is it that you came to be here?” Kaichen was worried. 
Tamol had shown no mercy to him in the past and he did not believe that a sudden change of heart had brought Tamol running to his rescue.

“Your mother would have wanted me to come.”
Tamol shook his head sadly.

“Why do you speak of my mother as if she is
no longer alive?” Worry caused Kaichen’s eyes to narrow as he anticipated Tamol’s words. 

“I fear that she is dead.
One of the raiders captured her and when he took her away I could not stop him, there were too many of them.  Your mother was not with him when he returned.”

Kaichen thought of the dream that he had awakened from and he grew still.  His mother had been in the dream but she was younger and more alive than he had ever seen her.  Her eyes had come alive as she looked upon her husband and her sons.  Both sons. 

Kaichen could only wonder if his mother was still alive.  Sorrow found a place within Kaichen’s battered heart and a deep groan came forth from his throat.  His mother had wanted to make amends and he had foolishly turned away from her.

“Why did you come here?” Kaichen
watched Tamol carefully.

Tamol
’s shoulders slumped with fatigue and an overwhelming sense of failure.  “Why not?”

Kaichen raised his eyes to see
Tamol staring at his wounded thigh.  “Are you well enough to travel?”

“My leg is fine.  Perhaps you should ask yourself the same question.  You are baked by the sun and your voice sounds like rocks crashing together.  Your friend does not appear to be any better.”

Kaichen did not bother to respond to the man’s words as he took several steps forward in the direction of his mother’s village.  “His name is Antuk.”