The Leandrals
(Lee-ann-drawl-s)
"Death!" screeched the withered hag in front of the cherry blossom cactus. She sat on her rickety stool that stood on three legs, for the fourth had rotten over years of use. That's how she always was, sitting, and croaking at passers like a swamp toad. This time she was actually rambling on about something important, the night of the 16th, and a crowd had gathered around her in a circle to listen. Even my attention was grabbed, not even brushing my hair away from my face as the warm, dusty, desert wind swirled around us.
"Tonight, the life of a young child ends. This is how it has always been, since the day our great founder, Francis Rain struck his flag in the very sand you walk on today, about a hundred years ago." She released a gruff chuckle at the looks of awe those around her gave. She then continued in her ominous tone, "So, I say, parents! Hide your children, for tonight is the very night, which the light of the three moons no longer shine on us. Who should cause this but the beasts that lurk amidst us, even in this very moment, they hear us, with their large ears, even when we whisper," she lowered her voice to a rasp to prove her point. Many young ones whipped their heads around to see if they could catch the fiends prowling in the shades of the tan tents. "They have powers we know not, they can blend into any surrounding whether it be rainy or bright and dry. Sense fear, they can. And," she dropped her voice again, imitating a beast stalking its prey "you won't even hear it until it… GRABS YOU!" The children screamed and even I struggled to keep a yelp buried in my throat. I grabbed my two little brothers and started to lead them away, as did other parents.
"Come on," I said giving a little jerk on Damian's deer hide shirt and motioning for Andrew to follow. "I told you she's just a delirious, senile, shrew." As I casted a dark look at Madam Alfaro, I saw she was smiling ruefully.
"What?" I questioned tartly.
"You." she said pointing a shriveled finger at me, "Yes, you, Liana Grace, you will learn to respect the stories of old and our tribe leader, Jonah Rain." I wasn't really intimidated by the name, for he was a short and stocky, man, with a soft face. But he was a powerful man, could charm the rattle off a snake. She sat back on her stool, brushing her frayed grey hair away from her face as she lifted a delicately carved wooden pipe to smirking lips.
"Papa won't be happy to hear that you snapped at Madam Alfaro." Andrew said on our trip to the river near our tent.
I smiled at him, "Especially when he finds out who stole the mango sweets from his pouch." He looked up at me frightened and I ruffled his hair to reassure him that his secret was safe with me. I looked across the land and wondered if there was anything else besides this desert, and if I would ever see it. I was saddened for a moment then snapped out of my self-pity, for there were more important things at hand.
"Can we swim?" Damian asked me as they both grasped my hands, like they always do when they want something from me.
"Sure" I smiled warmly. They beamed as they rushed ahead into the crystal blue water.
"Don't cut yourselves on the clams though! And Damian, if Andrew gets swept away, you can personally search the entire ocean for him." I grinned as they took no heed to my words.
I pulled off my leather slippers and plunged my feet into the icy water. A sigh escaped my lips as I reached into my pouch and retrieved my pipes. I blew softly into the carved holes and heard the sweet music flow out of it. I was enjoying it so much I got lost in it. I remembered Mother playing it for the three of us, kissing us on our cheeks when we were fast asleep. Before she grew ill, that is. I awoke from my trance when Damian yanked the reeds from under my lips. Andrew was deathly pale as he pointed up upon the hill. There, a man atop a chestnut mare was charging down toward us. I shoved the reeds back into my pouch and stood up to greet the man.
"You there!" He called as he reached us, "Did you hear music?" He glanced around franticly, searching for the origin of the sounds.
"No sir." I said, "Why?"
"Be quite, foolish girl! You know that Lord Rain has forbidden music on the 16th of every month. He said that it attracts…the," he gulped, "beasts." He made an old sign of warding off evil and looked around, as if his very mentioning of the creatures would cause them to appear. "Those who play music will take the place of the Chosen One, and I know no one would want that." Andrew had climbed onto the sand and took a death grip on my hand. Damian seemed to be studying his feet intently.
I smiled and said, "If I hear anything, I promise I will notify someone at once." He nodded then charged off towards the village.
"That was too close, far too close." Damian said, taking my hand and leading me to our tent. Damian had always been careful of the 16th, and honestly, I should be too. I think it's about time I told the real meaning of the 16th of every month. I have put it off far too long.
On the 16th, the Leandrals appear. They have haunted our ancestors for centuries, ever since the founder came. You see, we have a saying that states "The best days are followed by the worst." That is how it's always been. Once I found a large gem deposit by the river. The next day, Mother fell ill, and died that night. So when Rain found our land, it must have been the best day, for the next day was the 16th. The priest he chose to come along received a vision from the Leandrals, demanding a child, as the cost for settling on their land.
Each worker had a child, and none would give them up. They demanded that Lord Rain sacrifice his own son, his only son. He refused, not because he loved his son, whom he did, but because he would not bow to any other's wishes. He challenged them by not handing over a youngling by nightfall. So they came, not for just one, but for all of them. The last those parents ever heard of their children, was their screams in the dead of night.
Andrew threw open the tent flap and saw the outline of a man, resting on the finely woven thread of our carpets. "Papa!" The boys cried in unison. Papa laughed as he swept them into a giant hug. I grinned and joined them. He smiled at me for a second, and then his face dimmed.
"What?" I asked frowning, Papa was rarely unhappy about anything.
"I heard about what you called Madam Alfaro. That was unwise Liana; you know how much influence she has on the village." He stared at me disapprovingly.
"I don't understand why though," I said siting down in a huff, folding my arms across my chest. "She's a batty old witch!" I snapped.
"This childish behavior is unlike you, what's got you wound tight?" he asked, concern lining his face.
"Everything! The rules, laws, and the superstition! Probably only desert foxes take the children! I bet there aren't even any Leandrals!" I shouted and Damian gasped.
"Madam Alfaro mentioned those, what are they?" Andrew asked with such sincerity I wanted to cradle him in my arms. Papa looked at me as if to say look what you did now.
"Well son," he began, "the Leandrals come every month, to take a child away and to…" he looked feverish "eat them." He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the looks of disgust on each of our faces. "Only one is chosen, and that one is sent off to the outer rim of the village.
"But odds of that are very slim, some families go forever without having one of their kin chosen." He stated, patting Andrew's knee.
But clearly he wasn't convinced, for he asked, in a low, soft whisper, "Could I be chosen?"
Papa set his jaw, and stood up abruptly. "That is enough of this talk. Now who wants a mango sweet?" I grinned mischievously and Andrew answered it with a weak smile.
After we each ate of our pieces, savoring the honey sweet taste on our tongues, we sat and asked Papa about his recent travels. You see, he's a merchant, and visits many places. But it was good to gaze upon his tanned, smiling face, as he told us about the people he met. He would ruffle Andrew's and Damian's sandy blonde hair and brush my chocolate curls off my face. I had the same hair as my mother.
Before we knew it, it was almost evening. Fear gripped my heart like brisk winter gust. Papa gathered the boys and began to lead them outside the tent and toward the center of the village, the very place where the name of the Chosen One would be called.
"Come on Liana," Papa said, gesturing to the tent flap.
"I'll catch up, go ahead. I'm not looking forward to this." I shivered as I remembered that poor mother's cry of despair, when her young daughter was chosen, just one month ago.
Before going I twisted me hair into an elegant knot and pulled on Mothers favorite robe. It was an emerald green, with golden stitching that made it look as if it was glowing. Mother always believed it was good luck, and we didn't want to take any chances. As I walked toward the gathering I noticed the sun was just about to dip under the mountains, already the night crickets had begun their song. It would only be a couple of hours before dusk. I hurried to the crowd as I heard them gasp. I knew the name had been called and I strained to hear Madam Alfaro's apocalyptic voice.
"Yes, I know it is hard to believe, but it is true! Andrew Grace is the Chosen One, I have seen it in the visions gifted to me!"
My heart skipped a beat. My palms grew sweaty, and I felt as if my blood had turned to ice. I scanned the crowd and found Papa, frozen with fear, and Damian with his jaw set and his fists balled up. The most heartbreaking scene I saw was, Andrew, walking toward Madam Alfaro, silently sobbing. The next thing I knew I had the front of Madam Alfaro's shirt scrunched up in my hand as I screamed, "No! You lie! It's not him! You hear me? Not him, you witch!" My voice cracked as I looked toward Andrew "Not my baby brother." Then I saw something that I never would have dreamt to see on her haggard face, sympathy.
"Liana, I'm sorry, I wish-" she started but my fury returned,
"Then go yourself! Take the sacrifice! This is all because of you! You!"
I screamed and kicked as Papa and Damian dragged me away, but I wasn't done. I cursed her name, and screeched and hollered till my throat was sore and my eyes dry from the tears.
"Liana, he will do it." I turned, expecting to see Papa speaking, but it was Damian.
"No," I whispered hoarsely. "He- He's our brother, your brother! Don't you care about him?" Damian looked at me with eyes that seemed to have aged a hundred years.
"Of course I do, but he will, because he loves us and this village. He would sacrifice himself to save us." I shook my head, refusing to believe this was it, that this was the day Andrew's life would end.
Andrew was dressed in the finest threads and decorated with colorful designs and traces. He was carried to the ritual ground, where he was tied to a large rock; the only light was from the torches filled with flickering flames that danced at every breeze. The only ones who were allowed to see this place were the ritual men, Lord Rain, and the Chosen Ones. I wasn't even supposed to be here. But I noticed that Lord Rain was nowhere to be seen. Outrage welled inside me like a lightning storm. He didn't even have the guts to show, or bid farewell to the one that would be saving his petty little life. But Andrew didn't mind, he just stood there with this look of determination, like this is what he had to do. That look was foreign on his angelic face, which was normally carefree.
As soon as the men left, I hurried forward with the knife I stole from Papa's hunting kit.
"Liana! What are you doing here? Go!" Andrew whispered harshly as I sawed at the ropes which bound him to the large boulder.
"Since when have I listened to you?" I inquired with a grimace as the first rope gave way.
"I'm the Chosen One! I have to do this!" His voice was filled with resolve.
"Shh!" I hissed. There it was again, the rustle that sounded like knifes cutting sand.
"Run!" I shouted as I sliced the last rope and rolled to the side. A large black blur landed just where I was standing a moment before. The thing was hideous, with a smashed in snout and teeth the length of a grown man's forearm. Its tail was covered in sharp points, like the hairs on a cactus. Green drool oozed from its mouth, sizzling on the sand like acid. The most frightening thing about this monster was its eyes. They looked like liquid moonlight, silvery and bright. They were both alarming and captivating. I had seen this trait in the snakes found in this wasteland. I knew what it was used for.
It lunged at me again, and I swiped with my knife, cleaving a gash in its right side. It howled, more from anger than pain. Leaping, it barred its large fangs knocking me down. As it prepared to snap, I pierced its ribcage, right where its heart should be. I rolled the beast off of me to see Andrew knocked down, a dark flower blossoming on his right sleeve. Cradling his gnawed arm, he screamed as the other beast ran towards him. It never reached him. Pulling the blade out of its throat, I looked to Andrew. He was injured severely, his arm was damaged to the point where it no longer worked, and there was a bite mark on his shin where the monsters must have tried dragging him away. It was the worst affliction there was on his trembling body. The skin around it was black, and green pus oozed out of it.
"Liana?" he asked weakly.
"Yes Andrew, I'm here. It's going to be alright." I knew it was a lie but I wanted him to relax. He coughed and whispered,
"Tell Papa I'm sorry for stealing the sweets." He let out one last ragged breath and closed his eyes, as tears splashed onto his lifeless face.
After the funeral, Lord Rain asked to speak with me. "You and your family have been sentenced to death, for breaking our laws and endangering the entire village." He had no right to threaten my family, not after what happened to Andrew, so my knife did most of the talking after that.
My father and Damian fled the land while I headed to go do some business of my own. I wondered if tracking down large beasts that have lived for centuries and slaughtered many people while having the entire village after me would be a challenge. After what I'd been through, I could do it, for the sake of Andrew.