"I can find my way from here, dear one," Maha said as they entered the village. Zihna looked at the woman and nodded. Maha was dark-skinned, almost the color of mud, with black hair that was kept in an array of dreads and small braids. She had beads in her hair and bones that clinked together whenever she moved. Her robes were bright and colorful with yellow, red, and green. Compared to Zihna's people she stood out a great deal amid the hide clothing. Not that the Laquoia didn't decorate with bright reds, yellows, or, Zihna's favorite, teals, but most every day attire was bright for Maha's people.
Too tired to argue at this point Zihna simply turned Tala to the cave where they kept their animals while Hanska went with Maha. The desert woman waved the young warrior away as she had with Zihna, however. The two said nothing as they tended to their animals. Zihna was tired and spending this much time alone with Hanska, even if his other warriors had been present, had made it clear that her marriage to him was not something she was looking forward to. He was to stern and serious to the point where he had scolded her for the littlest thing. Eventually she had stopped talking, except to Maha when he wasn't looking. Mostly about the cats from the land Maha had come from.
After Machkeme had told her that she was to go get Maha she had leapt at the chance for it was a rare chance for her to get away (with permission) from the village. The trip had been fun at first. She was doing something important and she knew it. Hanska, however, had proved far to protective and it had begun to annoy her. She wasn't helpless like he thought after all. She could shoot a bow and wield a spear just as well as she could sew or cook, not to mention her talent with training tree-cats. Eventually they had reached the village of River Sand where Maha lived and, thankfully, the small dark-skinned woman had overruled Hanska and, along with three warriors from her village, they had soon set off. Fortunately, after Zihna described what had happened and Jaxon's condition, the healer had wasted no time in finding her own escorts and packing her supplies on smokey colored saber-cat that she called Kamaria. And, to add to Hanska's ire, Maha had insisted that Zihna ride beside her.
Zihna didn't wait for Hanska after settling Tala in with a good meal and a lot of scratching in all over. She gathered her travel bag, spear and wrapped the fur cloak around her as she left the pens and started for the cluster of assorted homes. It had always amused Zihna that not everyone lived in the same kind of home, though all were portable enough to allow them to move to a new location with the change of the seasons. Machkeme's hut was semi-permanent with mud and stone walls on the base but a canopy of trees and hide above. It was large, too, able to comfortably fit their family and guests. There were smaller homes, teepees or wigwams, all clustered together in an organized mess that was often the same pattern each year, unless someone decided they wanted a different view of the woods and mountains. Only the Chief's home remained in the same place.
The village was energized as Zihna made her way toward the healer's tent. She was tired but she was very curious as to what Maha was going to do about the young highland-man. Being small even for her age, Zihna managed to slip by most of the men and woman waiting outside and dropped her pack right next to the tent flap before ducking into the structure. Inside a fire was burning brightly, the smoke curling up and out of the opening above. The stench of rotting flesh pumiated the air and she wrinkled her nose before using her hand to try to lessen the smell. Her mother, Dyani, was there along with Maha and the medicine man, Kada. Hannah was at the sick man's head, stroking his hair and using a wet cloth to sooth his fever. Her face was lined with worry and eyes swollen.
Zihna bit her lower lip. "Can you save him?" she asked, causing her mother to jump and cast her an annoyed look.
"Zihna, what are you doing here?" she asked, scolding. "Go rest."
"I'm not tired," Zihna returned stubbornly. She was but she knew her mind would not let her sleep until she knew if her trip was going to save his life like Machkeme wanted. If her step-father had sent for Maha then this man's life was probably important somehow. Maha was a skilled healer who could work miracles that even Kada could not explain. According to Machkeme it was because she had studied with the white men of the tower, learning their skills that surpassed what she had learned from her home back in the Old World. Her specialty lay in birthing, however, and she had tried to teach Dyani ways to save mother and child during difficult births. Dayni said that Machkeme sent for Maha when Zihna's little brother Cheveyo was born and that if Maha had not been there her mother could have died before Cheveyo breathed his first breath. "I want to know if he's going to live," Zihna said, turning from her mother to look at Maha and Kada. "I want to help," she added, realizing the tone she had used after her mother narrowed her eyes. "Please..."
"This poison has spread far through his body," Maha said in her strange accent as she looked at the pus-ridden flesh and ran her hands up Jaxon's leg, tracing the path of the dark lines the radiated from the wound like a spider web. He was very pale and very still. Zihna had to look very hard to see if he was even breathing. Zihna glanced at Hannah and saw the bleak hopelessness in her eyes.
"I have never seen a poison like this," Maha mused, touching some of the tender flesh. The man moaned but did not wake. Hannah soothed him quietly. "I would attempt to remove the leg but..." she paused, inspecting the wound further.
"But?" Hannah promoted, staring at the woman's face hard.
Maha looked up at her. "He is very weak, Miss Hannah. I do not know if he could survive such a procedure..."
"And if you don't?" Hannah asked, her eyes seeming to flash in her desperation. "He dies, right? If you do...take his leg," her voice broke but she took a deep breath, "it could save him, right? There is a chance he could get better. Right?"
"Yes, but..."
"Do it."
Hannah stared at the woman looking almost angry until the fresh tears fell from her eyes. "Please, Maha...if it can save his life then please..."
Maha looked at the woman for a moment then took a long deep breath. "Alright. Dyani, assist me. We must work fast once we begin. Dyani, we will need a long leather strap or cloth, anything to stop the bleeding to his leg, and we'll need a knife and hatchet..."
As Maha began telling her mother what needed to be done, Zihna watched feeling a sick. She knew that sometimes taking off an infected body part could save a life but she did not want to image the pain Jaxon was about to endure. But if it could make him better...
There are times, my Zihna, that things in life must get worse before they get better.
Machkeme told her that once, when one year was particularly hard on the tribe and everyone suffered. It had been a horrible nightmare. Could this be one of those times? If one more horrible, painful procedure was all it was going to take to make Jaxon better again? She hoped so. She didn't want the man to die, and not just because she had rushed to get Maha here to save him.
She was about to back away when Maha called to her and she went to the dark skinned woman obediently. "Run and get me some clay, honey, fresh water and some wraps." Zihna nodded and was about to turn when Maha grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. "You don't need to watch Zihna. You have done enough. Wait outside if you must but for Miss Hannah's sake, leave this to us."
Zihna nodded and left the tent to get what the woman needed.
By the time she returned, Jaxon's leg had been tied to reduce the blood flow. His eyes were open and he was looking up at Hannah. They were talking quietly, hands clasped tightly, as Zihna handed the items to her mother who shooed her away. Zihna lingered though, watching the couple and feeling a mix of jealousy and sadness. If this went bad then Jaxon would no doubt die. Unlike the way that Hanska looked at her, Jaxon looked up at Hannah in a way that made Zihna want to cry. Hannah tried to laugh at something he said though all Zihna could see was his mouth moving. Hannah lowered her head to kiss him and Zihna turned away.
Would Hanska love her like that, eventually?
She doubted it.
Leaving the tent quickly and quietly, Zihna sat outside with dragonflies in her stomach. Pulling her knees up to her chest, Zihna listened. She whispered to the Spirits, praying that this horrible deed could save Jaxon's life. She didn't want this man to die. She wanted him and Hannah to be happy and to go home. The way he looked at her was the way that Machkeme looked at her mother, or how her father had, too. She still remembered her father and that fatal trek up through the mountains. Zihna didn't remember why they were going only that suddenly, in the middle of the night, her mother and father had woke her up telling her they had to leave their safe little home in the desert village. At one point her father had told them to run and they did, finding a small cave to hide in until he rejoined them, but he was hurt. Her mother had tried to save his life but the next morning her father had not woke up. Not long after that, Machkeme had found them.
The man's muffled scream made her wince but Zihna bit her lip and waited. It was better to lose a leg than a life she knew but it didn't stop her tears. Please, she begged, let this work. They love each other so much... The look that had passed between them as Maha was getting the things ready for the procedure had told Zihna everything she needed to know about how much they cared about each other. She wanted someone like that. Jaxon didn't look like a strong warrior but that apparently didn't matter to Hannah.
Eventually, everything went quiet in the tent. A woman came out with something wrapped in a bloodied elk hide and quickly departed without sparing Zihna a second glance. Zihna's stomach flipped given the size of the bundle but she tried not to think about that. After a few moments she crept back into the tent.
Jaxon was asleep now, his head turned to the side but he looked more pale than before. She couldn't see his leg - they had wrapped it with clean cloth but she could smell the burnt skin and wrinkled her nose. Dyani and Maha were cleaning up, wrapping soiled cloth and hide that would no doubt be burned like the leg.
Hannah had curled up next to her husband, her hand holding his and she appeared to be sleeping as well. Zihna wanted to cry seeing them like that. "Is he gonna be alright, mama?" Zihna asked quietly.
Dyani frowned at her daughter. "I told you to go to sleep, Zihna," she said sternly. When Zihna just stared at her, stubbornly waiting for an answer to her question, Dyani sighed.
"We will know in the morning," Maha told her, taking over for Dyani. The dark-skinned woman looked tired and worn out. "Let them both sleep now. Let us all sleep." Maha yawned and Zihna smiled guiltily at her, biting her lip to not do the same. Maha warpped an arm around the girl's shoulders and walked with her to the tent and back outside where the stars were the only light to the black world beyond. Dyani stayed a moment longer, taking first watch with the patients while Maha got some rest. "How old are you now, little Zihna?" Maha asked as they walked.
"I will be seventeen winters soon," Zihna said proudly.
"A woman soon," Maha said, nodding approvingly. "And you have found a husband, yes?"
Zihna frowned. "Mama wants me to marry Hanska."
"Ah, you do not?" Zihna blinked at her, confused that she had figured that out despite the fact Zihna had not said that - yet. Maha grinned. "I heard it in your tone of voice, little one. He is handsome, yes, but between you and me...he's dumber than a rock." Zihna broke out giggling, quickly putting a hand over her mouth. "And he is young. I know Machkeme has told me many stories of the days of his youth, back in the Old World, and I will have you know that Hanska isn't much different than Machkeme was, if it makes you feel better."
It didn't but Zihna only pursed her lips.
"What was your home like?" Zihna asked, eager to change the subject.
Maha grinned. "Oh, nothing like my home in Kenya exists here," she chuckled. "There are no seas of grass here, where the zebra and elephants roam. And the giraffes...they are like brontos I guess, with long necks but covered in soft fur and large spots. And the cats...oh the lions and cheetahs who could run faster than any animal in this world. You do not want to race a cheetah, little Zihna. They always win." She nudged Zihna's shoulder, grinning, her eyes shining as she remembered her home. Then she yawned again. "But I will tell you more of the animals from Kenya another day. We rode hard and fast today to get to Jaxon in time and we both should rest well, don't you think?"
Zihna nodded, glancing back at the healing tent. "Do you know him? And Hannah? Hannah seemed to know you..."
"I have met them many years ago, even before the light from the great towers took the first animals from us. Back then, I was not needed as a midwife, but they did need healers so I would go to the Tower or to Arcadia, in the south to study for they knew skills in healing that I did not. . But yes, I have met Hannah and Jaxon before. They studied the animals all over this world and even bred their own type of raptor. But," Maha bopped Zihna's nose, "don't go pestering Hannah. She is healing, too, and if Jaxon can not win the fight before him..." her voice trailed off and she sighed. "Well, let us hope we reached that poor man in time. He's such a good man, and smart. It would be a shame to lose him." Maha kissed Zihna's forehead and bid her goodnight before entering the tent.
Soon, Zihna followed and quietly went about getting ready for bed.
She wanted to ask Maha so many questions but they would have to wait. It took Zihna several hours before she finally fell asleep. She dreamed, too. But in the dream she was a great bear, following a trail of blood and when she reached the ridge she looked down into the valley below to see that it was turned black and the rivers and lakes had become red with blood. Above the sky was strange, dark and the air thick and painful to breath. As she watched, pillars of light rose high into the sky and she was suddenly high above the world, the plague that had gripped the valley now covering the entire world. The lights remained their and while they appeared to be beacons of hope among the desolate landscape, Zihna knew deep down they were souls who had been lost. More and more rose up and she started to scream, but no sound escaped her lips.
She woke in a cold sweat but remained still, as if she had been frozen. She was not good with dreams but she didn't need Kada or one of the other elders to tell her that, if her dream had been a vision, bad things were to come.
...life must get worse before they get better.
She curled up under her furs and closed her eyes but it took longer for her to drift off this time. Her gut told her either something really bad was going to happen, or had, and that it was just the beginning of whatever was to come.
It was near midday when Zihna woke again to her sister crying as she prepared a simple breakfast. Maha gone and her mother was sound asleep on the large pile of furs. "What is wrong?" Zihna asked, moving quietly to where Nascha was kneeling. She wrapped her small arms around Zihna and cried harder. Through snuffs and sobs Nascha told her what had happened during the night.
Jaxon had died.
- [] -
"It is not your fault, little one," Maha said, coming up to where Zihna stood on the cliff throwing rocks down into the lake below. Zihna pretend to ignore her as Maha sat, adjusting the borrowed fur cloak around her brightly colored robes. "Hannah knew the risk."
"He still died." Zihna growled. "Why? I thought taking his leg would give him his life..."
Maha's eyes were sad but did not flinch when the girl whirled on her, accusingly. "The poison was in his blood, little Zihna. He was also weak from fighting the infection for so long. His spirit is at peace now; he is not in pain and will be free."
"Hannah isn't," Zihna countered. She had seen the woman earlier when her mother had lead her from the tent so that Jaxon's body could be prepared for burial. Hannah had slept for a few hours after drinking something Maha gave her then woke and went to help, firmly stating that it was her right to do so. No one argued and Hannah was still in the tent with her mother. "What about her? They loved each other. It's not fair." The rock bounced off a bolder and splashed into the swirling waters below with a fraction of the effect that Zihna wanted. She would prefer to blow up a mountain right now but she didn't have the means to do so.
"If love could save every person that has had to face death," Maha said, "then there would be many people in this world still, Zihna."
Zihna snapped her mouth shut and looked at the ground. She didn't know what to say to that. Maha was right - adults were always right it seemed - but that didn't mean Zihna liked it.
"Come sit with me," Maha said. She did as the healer asked and Maha wrapped part of her fur wrap around Zihna's shoulders. Maha smelled of the desert; dry and sandy unlike the earthy, forest smell of the redwoods that Zihna was used to. "I'm going to tell you a story that was told to me by one of the men who live at River Sand and when I am done I want you to tell me what you think about it.
"Long, long ago there was a man named Kintu and he was the first man. He was alone on the world. Nambi, who was the daughter of the god Gulu, would come down to the world to play with the animals there for she loved them dearly. One day, she met Kintu while he was hunting and she fell in love with him - and he fell in love with her. But when she went to her father to ask to marry Kintu, Gulu was not very accepting and asked her to bring Kintu to him. Kintu was tested, of course, and, with the help of the animals, he passed his tests and Gulu allowed him to marry his daughter. But she would have to live on earth so he presented her with many gifts of cattle, goats, and chickens. 'If you leave, my daughter, then you can never return for if you do your brother will return with you to earth'. Her brother was Walumbe, the god of death, which had not yet come to earth.
"Nambi agreed and left but, she forgot the seeds to feed her chickens so she turned around and went back for them. Her father came and asked why she had come and told her that now Walumbe would return with her. And he did. At first nothing happened and Nambi and Kintu lived happily and had three children. Walumbe asked for one of them to be his servant but Kintu refused. More and more children were born and each time Walumbe asked for one child to become his servent. Eventually, he grew angry at Kintu and started to kill his children. Kintu knew nothing of death but still refused to give up his children."
Zihna stared at the woman. She didn't like this tale. This was nothing like the stories her mother told her. But at the same time she found that she was curious about it. Maha continued.
"Nambi's other brother, Kayiikuuzi, was sent down to capture Walumbe and bring him back to their father, and he tried many times. But Walumbe escaped him and fled to the underworld."
"What about Kintu's children?" Zihna asked. "Did he stop killing them?"
"Oh, no, the children continued to die. Kintu gave up but he said to Walumbe, 'You shall never have my children but I will never stop having them.' And so, according to the man that told me this tale, death came to the world and Nambi is the mother of us all, and Kintu our father."
"That is nothing like the story my mother tells me," Zihna said stiffly.
"No," Maha agreed. "You will find that different people explain things differently. I am sure even Machkeme could tell you a different tale than what your mother has told you. And the man that lived with Machkeme had some interesting stories to tell, too."
Zihna bristled at that and looked away. Maha chuckled. "Tell me then, little Zihna...what does your mother say."
And so Zihna told Maha of Taiowa, the Creator and how he created Sotuknang to create the Nine Worlds. Sotuknang then went to the first world and created Spider Woman, whom was tasked with creating life. Spider Woman created the first humans and animals. They could all hear the creator through a soft spot on their foreheads and it was Sotuknang who made it so they could speak.
But over time the people forgot about the Creator until there were few left who could hear him. Three times was the world destroyed, first by fire, then by ice, and last by a flood.
"When the people woke up they built rafts and sailed for many miles until they reached an island," Zihna said, gesturing enthusiastically as she told her story. "Four islands they came to until they reached the last and closed the doors in their head did they figure out where to land. Here, Sotuknang made all the other islands disappear back into the sea and the people spread out over the land. Some stopped in warm or rich lands along the way," Zihna said as Maha listened quietly and patiently. "But the Hopi, my mother's people kept going and going until they found the desert lands, like where you live now, and a great river and it was there that my mother was born."
"That is beautiful tale," Maha said smiling.
"But," Zihna asked. "Which one is true."
To this Maha only smiled. "I cannot answer that, little one. There are many tales similar to the one I told, and the one you told. Have you ever asked Machkeme about what he was taught as a boy?" Zihna shook her head. "Perhaps you should."
Zihn was quite. She listened to the trees rustling in the wind and the call of an animal off in the distance. "I had a dream last night," Zihna said quietly.
"Oh?"
"I dreamed...I think something bad is coming..." She didn't look at Maha, hugging her knees to her. "I think Jaxon dying is just the beginning..."
"Our soothsayers have been muttering the same thing," Maha replied. "Tell me what you saw." Zihna did and when she had finished Maha looked grave. "This is not a coincidence...different but I think the messages are the same. We are being warned, that is clear."
"About what?"
"Perhaps Machkeme will know when he gets back," Maha said then stood, holding out her hand for Zihna to do the same. "But I think it is almost time to lay a good man to his final rest. Come, Zihna. And along the way, I will tell you about the most beautiful cat of all Africa..."
Jaxon Shaw had been wrapped in hide marked with various symbols and with a few items given by members of the tribe. A shallow grave was dug in a place picked by Hannah and he was lain to rest. Zihna watched the woman quietly as Jaxon was placed in the dirt and Kada said a few words. The burial ceremony wasn't quite one tribe or the other and Hannah had final say of course though she had left most of the decisions up to Dyani and Maha. Jaxon was buried with a spear, bow, and arrows as well as other things from those who believed he would need them in the afterlife. His body was then covered and a ring of stones place around it before more stones were piled on to prevent his body from being dug up by wildlife. Hannah was given a torch which she place on the grave. She was told it would guide her husband's spirit and once the flame went out he would have reached his destination.
Weather or not Hannah believed this Zihna didn't know. The look on the woman's face was hard to read, as if she wasn't really here. But she did all she asked as the tribe sang their final song to the deceased soul, also to guide him to his next life, Zihna found it hard to watch Hannah.
I hope Machkeme comes home soon, she thought as the voices faded and people returned home.
Zihna paused as she left the clearing and looked back. The sun was low and the golden glow of the flame on the torch illuminated Hannah's face. She stood there, alone, watching the fire flicker and dance. Zihna almost went to her but Kada rested a hand on her shoulder and sadly shook his head.
"Jaxon Shaw is not the first that will die in the Darkness to come, Zihna." Her mind remembered the desolate world and pillars of light rising into the sky from her dream. "The Spirits of this world have warned me. It has already claimed the lives of great men and will claim many more before our fate is decided."
"Darkness?"
The older man only nodded, his eyes dark and sad, before turning. Zihna followed, biting her lower lip as she thought about her adopted father and prayed he would return to them safely.