Chapter Seven - The Garden City
"There. That is where we are going."
Evy gazed at the small mountain range that Ardeth was pointing to. From where they sat resting the horses it looked barren and forbidding. "That's the Garden City?" Alex asked, his voice betraying the doubt in Evy's mind.
Ardeth smiled. "No, my young friend. The Garden City is within the mountain. You cannot see it from here. You cannot see it from anywhere but above."
"How far is it?" Rick wanted to know.
"By nightfall we will be at the base of the mountain. We will spend this night in the caves and refresh ourselves before entering the city tomorrow."
True to his word, they reached the foot of the central mountain an hour before sunset. Ardeth led them up steep trails of rock until they reached a shallow canyon that was all in shadow. He called for Alex. "The entrance to the caves that surround the city is here. Can you see it?"
Alex looked around. "I don't see anything but rock walls," he admitted, a little disappointed.
"Your eyes can deceive you, Alex. Close them. Look again using your other senses," Ardeth suggested gently.
Alex did as he was told and closed his eyes. He wasn't quite sure what the Med-jai was getting at but he trusted him enough to listen. "Listen to the very air around you," Ardeth said very softly. "Smell it. Feel how it touches your skin. Find that which is different and you will find your way."
Alex sat absolutely still and concentrated. At first, there was nothing but the sounds of the caravan quietly waiting behind them. He shivered slightly. The canyon was cold compared to the desert. He turned his head slowly, breathing in the smells. His nostrils flared as he caught the scent of something different. He breathed deeper. "Water!" he whispered. "I smell water!" His eyes were still closed so he didn't see Ardeth smile at his parents.
"What else, Alex?" the Med-jai prompted.
A touch of breeze, warmer than the air around him. Alex turned his head until he could feel it blowing on his face. He opened his eyes and urged his horse forward slightly. He scanned the area he thought the smell and warm air was coming from but all he saw were rock walls. "I smell water and there's warmer air coming from somewhere but I can't see anything," he called over his shoulder. Ardeth rode up next to him and dismounted, then motioned for Alex to dismount as well. He led the boy forward so that they stood but yards from the canyon wall.
"The entrance is here. You can feel it. You can smell it. Now, can you find it?" He smiled at Alex, a challenge in his eyes. "You are doing very well Alex. You must begin to let go of those things which are tangible and learn to find that which is hidden by other means."
Alex nodded, he thought he understood. He stepped forward cautiously, turning his head this way and that, trying to rediscover the path of warm, fragrant air. Another ten feet forward and he felt it brush his cheek. He turned toward his left. There was nothing there but shadow. He walked forward then hesitated.
"Trust yourself, Alex," he heard Ardeth say from behind him. "Your instincts are your greatest tool."
Alex moved forward again. He closed the distance between himself and wall until he was within twenty feet. He squinted against the darkness, his gut telling him there was something there. He turned his head slightly to one side and gave a whoop. "That's amazing!" he shouted, turning toward Ardeth. "Bloody amazing! You'd never see it, not in a million years!" And with that he began to run straight toward the wall. Evy and Rick, who had dismounted while Alex was looking around, ran forward. "Alex!" Rick yelled. "Stop!"
"You're going to run into the wa. . ." Evy's voice caught in mid word. Alex hadn't hit the solid rock with a thud. He'd simply disappeared into it. Ardeth laughed and applauded, the Med-jai joining him. Rick could hear Bashaar whooping and Azizah cheering. He stepped forward carefully, looking in the direction his son went. He reached Ardeth's side. "Where did he go?" he asked.
Ardeth motioned him to follow and they walked toward the rock. Rick felt the warm air and smelled the water but, unlike his son, he didn't see anything. Evy came around from behind him and took the lead, her hands reaching forward as she reached the wall. Suddenly, she gasped in amazement and turned to Rick and Ardeth. "It's incredible!" she exclaimed. "Rick, do you see it?" Her husband shook his head. "Turn your head to one side," she suggested. Rick did as she asked and out of the corner of his eye saw what had impressed them. He turned back and stared at the opening.
The opening itself was ten feet wide and fifteen feet high, the space from the opening to the rock wall behind was about another ten feet, he guessed. The back wall of opening was colored and textured exactly like the wall surrounding it on either side. An optical illusion presenting itself as a solid wall, rendering it invisible unless you knew exactly what you were looking for. He grinned at his brother. "That's something else," he admitted. "How did you guys do that?"
"Ancient Med-jai secret," Ardeth intoned solemnly.
Rick guffawed. "Yeah, right. In other words, you have no idea."
Ardeth grinned and shrugged. "Unfortunately, not all of our knowledge has been preserved. It is enough to know that it is as it is. Now, come, let me show you our mountain."
Rick and Evy followed him into the entrance. The interior was dim and unlit but Ardeth guided them through as surely as if it had been illuminated by hundreds of torches. "We have light farther on," he explained, "but it must be far enough along the passageway that the light will not spill out into the entrance." "Where's Alex?" Evy wondered aloud.
"I would imagine he's stopped at the edge of the cavern," Ardeth replied.
"Cavern, huh?" Rick mumbled. "I hope it's bigger than this place." The darkness and confining feel of the tunnel was beginning to bother him. He didn't know why it should. It wasn't like he'd been in thousands of passageways smaller than this over his lifetime. Most of the time it had no effect. Today, after being in the open desert for so long, it was making him a bit claustrophobic.
"It is somewhat bigger," Ardeth said wryly. Rick frowned at his tone. It was almost as if Ardeth was teasing him about something. A glow ahead let Rick know that the torches were close. Evy saw it too and they hurried their pace now that they could see better. They saw a small figure outlined in torchlight ahead. Alex O'Connell stood stark still in front of them.
"Alex?" Evy was troubled by her active son's lack of movement. "Are you okay?"
Alex didn't turn, didn't speak. He only motioned them forward with his hand. Rick and Evy stepped forward, blinking in the sudden brightness. When their eyes adjusted to the light, they froze in their tracks and stared at what had transfixed their son.
Laid out before them was an enormous cavern of white rock. It was easily the size of one of the ancient temples they'd explored. Huge stalactites hung from the ceiling, sparkling in the glow of the campfires that lay burning below where they stood. Red, gold, green, blue, every color imaginable reflected in glittering splendor from the hanging giants above them. Even the walls themselves sparkled with the rainbow of colors.
Spread out below them were a hundred campfires, at least. Cushions and bedrolls lay near the fires, creating small room like areas. Several people went about busily tending fires and, in one section of the cavern, where a larger cooking fire burned, women were preparing food. Dozens of exits led out of the main chamber in every direction.
"Welcome to the Gateway," Ardeth said quietly after a moment. The O'Connell's turned their amazed looks on him. He smiled. "This is the main entrance into our mountain. It is here we will rest and prepare to enter the city in the morning."
"Main entrance? There are others like this?" Alex asked, his voice squeaking in excitement.
"Other entrances, yes, but none like this. They are all much smaller." A shout interrupted them as they were finally spotted by the people below. Ardeth yelled a greeting and waved at the people below who were all rushing forward in anticipation of their arrival.
"Come," Ardeth said to his friends and he led them down a wide, open staircase that was carved out of the rock to either side of the ledge they stood on. Evy held tight to Rick's arm as they descended the steep stairs. The drop at the side of the stairway facing the cavern was a hundred feet or more and she stayed as close to the wall as she could. Ardeth was seemingly unaware of the drop and he descended quickly, Alex at his side. At the bottom, Ardeth disappeared in a sea of arms waiting to embrace him.
At the bottom of the staircase, the O'Connell's waited silently as Ardeth greeted his people. His laughter carried high above them into the cavern's ceiling. Rick and Evy exchanged looks. This was definitely a different side of their friend. After a few moments, Ardeth turned and smiled at them, motioning them forward. "Come, my friends! Come!" He said something in his native tongue to his people. The gathered throng cheered and before they knew it, Rick and Evy were caught up in the embrace of dozens of people. Alex was hoisted into the arms of many adoring women who kissed him and clucked over him in the universal language of women confronted with an adorable child.
"What did you tell them?" Evy asked breathlessly after a few moments.
"I only told them you were the ones who twice defeated the Creature," Ardeth said innocently, his eyes twinkling. "And I may have mentioned that you saved my life."
Rick's eyes promised revenge as he was swept into yet another bear hug by a stranger. Ardeth laughed at his discomfiture and his eyes shone bright with happiness. He was home and his family had accepted his friends as their own. A shout from above caught his attention and he saw the rest of the caravan making their way down the stairway. Azizah waved merrily from her perch atop Bashaar's shoulder. Soon the entire caravan had greeted their tribesmen and were settling into sleeping areas or helping prepare food.
Alex had gone with Bashaar and Azizah to see where the horses were kept and Rick and Evy were taken down one of the rock corridors to an alcove sealed off with a bright tapestry for privacy. Their things lay in a neat pile on the floor and two large sleeping pallets lay along each wall. The young woman who had escorted them to the room left them only to return a short time later. She prattled something off in her native language and gestured for them to follow her.
"Do you understand this?" Rick asked in an aside to his wife.
Evy smiled and shook her head. "I've no idea what she's saying but I think she wants us to go with her."
They followed the woman down the corridor which began to incline slightly downward. They could feel warm, moist heat ahead of them and hear water running. Before long they were at the entrance to another cavern, small and softly lit, and dotted with small pools of bubbling, steaming water.
"Hot springs!" Evy declared with a joyous shout. "These are hot mineral springs, Rick!"
"Now you know the real reason we guard this place so carefully," came a voice from the other side of the cavern. Evy and Rick strained their eyes in the direction the voice came from and eventually saw that it was Ardeth, neck deep in a steaming pool. He smiled at them and gestured to the other side from where they stood. Panels were erected closing the cavern into two sections. "Evy, you are welcome to use the women's side," he offered with a smile, "if you so choose, that is."
"Not choose a hot bath after what we've been through?" she asked with humor. "You've got to be kidding. How do I get over there?" The young woman that had accompanied them waved her to an opening with a smile as if she knew what Evy had said. Evy waved goodbye to her husband and disappeared behind the paneling.
"You are welcome to any pool you so choose," Ardeth offered to Rick. He then closed his eyes in contentment and leaned his head far back into the steaming water.
Rick looked around the room and chose the pool two away from Ardeth's. He undressed quickly and sank his weary body into the hot spring with a grateful sigh. "Oh, this feels good," he groaned as the bubbling water worked at the knots in his back and legs. "How can you ever leave this place?"
Ardeth, too, sighed deeply. "We leave because we must. However, coming home to this makes it all worth it."
The young woman who'd escorted the O'Connell's to their room and the bathing chamber reappeared from behind the screen and came toward Ardeth, a small vial in her hands. Ardeth moved forward in the water so his arms were resting on the side of the pool. The woman poured something on her hands and began to massage Ardeth's back and shoulders.
"Well, now, that's what I call room service," Rick remarked as he watched his friend's face relax in pleasure.
"I am glad you approve."
Rick eyed the woman carefully. She seemed to be very familiar with Ardeth's body. And judging by the look on his face she was hitting all the right spots on his torso with her strong fingers. He had an inkling of an idea. "Ardeth, is this your, uh, I mean do you have a, well, you know?" He couldn't bring himself to ask it and that surprised him. Rick O'Connell, man of the world, afraid to ask his best friend if he had a mistress.
"It is not what you are thinking, my brother. Halima does not share my bed."
"Oh, right." Rick wasn't sure if he was relieved or felt sorry for his friend.
Ardeth laughed at his friend's tone, knowing what he was thinking. "I do not lack for companionship, O'Connell." With that he spoke to Halima and she ceased her ministrations. The woman then approached Rick with a smile. Rick smiled back hesitantly. "I don't know about this, buddy. I don't think Evy's gonna like it," he said to Ardeth.
Ardeth simply shrugged, pushed himself out of the pool, and wrapped a large bath sheet around his waist. "As you wish. I must go. I will see you in the morning. Halima will take care of any needs you and Evy have."
"Wait, you aren't going to eat with us?" Since the day Ardeth had awoken, the O'Connell's had shared the evening meal with him and Azizah. It had become a daily ritual for all of them.
Ardeth shook his head. "I cannot. There is much I must do in preparation for tomorrow and I must rise early. Someone will come for you when the food is ready and you will eat and rest. Goodnight, my brother." And with that he left Rick alone with Halima and her bottle of oil.
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They had no idea what time the sun rose. In the caverns there was no dark, no light, except for that which was created by the torches and campfires. Still, Rick and Evy awoke on their own and found, to Evy's delight, new robes similar to those the Med-jai wore laid out for them in the main room. Even Alex had his own new set of clothes for their entrance into the Garden City.
They donned their new outfits, Evy's of light blue, Rick's of black, and Alex's of darker blue, and reassembled in the main cavern as Bashaar had instructed them the night before. Everyone else was waiting for them and when the O'Connell's arrived, Bashaar led them out of the cavern through one of the tunnels.
"Where's Ardeth?" Alex asked Bashaar.
"He will join us when we reach the horses," Bashaar replied. "He and Azizah are preparing for the journey to the city."
"Preparing?" Evy wondered aloud.
"Yeah, Mom. Ardeth and Azizah will dress in their ceremonial robes for the journey into the city."
Rick turned to his son. "How do you know that?"
Alex rolled his eyes. "Ardeth told me. When we were riding up the mountain. Weren't you listening?"
Together his parents answered him. "No."
Alex rolled his eyes again. "Grownups," he muttered, as if that covered everything.
A moment later they were in the spacious corral that housed the horses and they mounted up, ready to leave. The rode forward a short way until the sun peeked in through an opening ahead, flooding the room with sunlight. A sudden drop in the noise level and the dismounting of the rest of their party startled Rick and Evy and they looked around, not sure what they'd missed. A flash of gold and white caught Rick's eye and he looked up. Unable to speak, he pulled on Evy's sleeve until she too looked where his eyes were focused.
Ardeth stood on the sun-drenched ledge that overlooked the cavern. He was dressed in white robes trimmed with gold and precious jewels. A sleeveless overgarment hung to his feet, the front open, exposing the white silk shirt he wore tucked into loose white trousers. White knee-high boots encased his legs and gold buckles glinted in the sunlight. The gold scimitar hung freely at his waist from a jewel studded belt. Something glinted on his forehead and Evy realized that he wore a gold circlet around his head, the center of which was carved to mirror the tatoos on his brow, creating a crown of sorts. His head was uncovered and his midnight black hair hung down his back. Beside him stood Azizah, also dressed in white flowing robes. Her hair had been done up in a multitude of gold trimmed braids and she, too, wore a circle of gold around her head.
"Oh my God," Rick breathed.
To a man, the group around them fell to one knee, their heads bowed in reverence. No one moved as Ardeth and Azizah descended the stairs. Only Bashaar stood as they approached the horses, lifting Azizah into the saddle in front of her father.
"My people," Bashaar translated quietly to the O'Connell's as Ardeth began speaking, "let us go home." A cheer erupted from the throats of the Med-jai and the mounted their horses, eager to be off. Ardeth spurred his horse forward and led the way out of the mountain caverns to the valley below. At first, Evy couldn't see much, there was still a wall of rock around them. Then, suddenly, the rock gave way to sky and she got her first glimpse of the Garden City.
"Crikey!" Alex exclaimed beside her, catching his first glimpse of the green valley. "That's bloody incredible!"
"Alex, language," Evy scolded automatically, her voice lacking much conviction. Personally, she agreed with him. The valley floor spread out before them like an emerald carpet. Lush fields of grass and grazing lands spread across the entire area. Tall waterfalls sprayed mist into the sky and tall trees provided shade to the stone houses she could see amid the greenery. A little way up the side of one steep rock wall, a large house was set upon a wide ledge. Gardens overhanging white balconies were apparent as were walled pools of blue water.
"The palace," Bashaar said quietly from beside her.
Evy nodded without looking at him. She was in awe of the sights around her. One of Ardeth's commanders came up to Bashaar and whispered something to him. "Ziyad says that Ardeth Bey requires your presence at the front of the caravan," he said with a smile and a hand gesture indicating they should follow him. They rode along for a moment until they caught sight of Ardeth's white clad form not too far away. He smiled in greeting as they pulled alongside.
"Ah, my friends! We are about to enter the city. I want you by my side so that all my see you when I announce your place in the tribe."
"Our place in the tribe?" Alex asked with no little excitement.
"You have saved my life, you have defeated the Creature. You are of the Med- jai now and forever. Even should you choose not to wear our signs, you will still be one of us always. Now, I must ask you to ride directly behind me for a short time. I will go first."
Around the next corner, the gates of the Garden City stood open. Rick had never seen so many people gathered in one place in his life. Hundreds of men, women, and children lined the streets ahead as far as they could see. The cheer that greeted them when the throng saw Ardeth coming was deafening. It was a moment before Ardeth could wave them into silence.
"My people," Bashaar translated, "I bring you great news. The Creature has been defeated again. And again we owe a debt of honor to the one called O'Connell, to the one called Evelyn, to the one called Alex." As he said each of their names, he waved them to his side. "It has been revealed that O'Connell himself is the brother of my soul. His blood and mine are now the same. Let it be known from this moment on and for all time that my brother and his family are Med-jai!"
