Journey to the West By Bert McKenzie Copyright 2010
Chapter XVI
Dannemel was obviously frightened. In the first place he really didn't trust the people who had forcibly brought him back to his own land. It might indeed be a trap and a way to give him back to the overseers. He knew they would torture him unmercifully before he was put to death. In the second place Maggie, the human girl he cared about who had given him shelter, friendship, and even love, had been pulled to this world with him. And now something was wrong with her.
"Relax, she just fainted," Jennifer said as she examined the girl. "It was probably the shock of coming here. I think she still believed we were from Nicaragua."
"Can you help her?" Dannemel asked, the nervous concern plain in his voice.
"We'll take care of her," Jennifer said as she and Calendra lifted the girl and placed her on a nearby reclining platform. "You've got a job to do here." Rood and Scott grabbed the protesting boy and pulled him out of the door.
"Back off, Jack," Sharon growled as she pulled out the silver dagger that Akuta had given her for her own protection. The little old dwarf's eyes widened in anger and surprise. "I'm not interested in you and I'm sure as hell not going to be your mate!"
"Ye showed ye interest," Korbod said. "Ye made eye contact with me. Ye even did so while ye mate was still with us, though he knew it not."
"Oh shit," Sharon mumbled to herself. Now she understood why Akuta kept telling her to keep her eyes down. In this culture the eye contact between men and women was an open invitation to a lot more. "I don't care what you think I did," she argued. "I am not interested."
Korbod smiled and took a step nearer, but Sharon only raised the dagger higher so it gleamed in his face. The dwarf froze and slowly his smile faded into a look of pure anger. He moved more quickly than she ever would have thought someone of his build and size could. The little man reached around, knocking the dagger from her hand and then jerking her feet out from under her until Sharon was sprawled on the ground with him standing over her. "If I wanted ye, I would take ye...by force," he said as he looked down at the doctor. "Ye invite me as ye own, and then reject me when I act accordingly. It is said humans be demons in disguise. I shall have no more of ye. I shall sell ye at the auction on the morrow."
"Sell me?" Sharon said, sitting up as the little man waddled away toward the cave entrance. "But you promised Akuta that you would protect me until he returned."
Korbod turned back to look at her briefly. "That tall one be dead. No one enters Turin Kareem to return alive." He then pulled the curtaining material aside and stepped out, leaving Sharon alone to ponder her fate.
"It is told in the old legends and stories that you succeeded," Akuta said. He was sitting at a magnificent banquet table discussing immortality with Gilgamesh, lord of the dead. "It is told that you returned from this island with the secret and carried it back to your own village."
"And is it told in this story how I lost that secret?" Gilgamesh asked.
"Yes," Akuta replied, looking down at the plate of fresh fruit in front of him. He had tasted it and was amazed that it had no flavor, like eating something without substance. "The stories say that a water sprite in the guise of a serpent stole the secret from you before you could use it."
"It is true," his host told him. Gilgamesh then leaned back in his chair and began to tell a story. It was remarkably similar to Akuta's own adventure. He had a friend who was more than a friend, a soul mate whom he loved very deeply. His lover, named Enkidu, was taken ill one day and died suddenly. Gilgamesh was inconsolable, and swore that he would journey to the western islands to wrest the secret of immortality from Utnaphishtim, the ruler of the dead. He thought only to use the secret on Enkidu to revive him. After many adventures he finally arrived at the island only to be rebuffed by the old ruler. But Utnapishtim's wife took pity on Gilgamesh and told him where to find the secret. He took it and returned to his own land, but just as he was nearing home, he paused to rest near a well. A water sprite living in the well stole the secret and returned to the great waters of the ocean taking the secret along with it. Gilgamesh was left to return home empty handed. "And Enkidu was still as dead," the man concluded. "Know you the rest of the tale?"
Akuta shook his head.
"I was forced to live a very long and very lonely life," the lord of the island said. "Only after I was old and infirm and had suffered a lingering and painful death was I able to return to this land and rejoin my loved one." He reached out his arm to grasp the hand of the man who had guided Akuta to the temple.
"Then you to are natural reversals?" Akuta asked, more as an observation than a question. "The old tales do not speak of this."
"We were reluctant to be separated again, even for the short span of a physical lifetime," Enkidu said. "Thus when Utnapishtim decided it was time for him to return to the land of life my love took his place as lord of this land."
"It is not the same as in your world," Gilgamesh was quick to add. "I rule not, so much as I welcome and pass on the new arrivals to this land. They come by thousands on a daily basis."
Akuta began to ask a question, but a huge lump seemed to form in his throat choking off the words. Enkidu shook his head sadly. "I know what you ask, but I think he is not here."
"He was human, was he not?" Gilgamesh responded. "We sometimes see them. But surely as many as there are, they must have other places to go. I have heard tales from Utnapishtim before he returned of a land of light above the clouds to which humans returned at death. He may be there. But even if he were here, we could not know him. There are changes when one arrives. The old life is washed away and the new life begins. With humans it is much more dramatic than with us."
"Then I must take the secret back and restore him," Akuta said. "It is the only way for us ever to be together."
Gilgamesh and Enkidu rose and stepped around the table. "Your task is futile," Gilgamesh said as gently as possible. "You must either return to your world and live, or stay here and join us in death." The tall blond looked up at the two beautiful men from his seat and then dropped his head in his hands and wept bitterly. Huge sobs racked his body as he gave in to his disappointment and despair. Gilgamesh held back, feeling uncomfortable with the strong emotions of this living man, but his lover reached down to hold Akuta. He gently embraced the sobbing fairy, whispering words of comfort.
"Remember when you were thus?" Enkidu asked as he looked up at his lover. "We cannot leave him in such despair."
"What would you have of me?" Gilgamesh asked softly.
"Tell him what he wishes to know. It will ease his pain."
"No," the lord of the island protested. "It may ease his pain now, but it will only double when he returns to his land without the knowledge he craves. No matter how hard he tries, he will not be able to hold on to the secret. It is not meant for his world and it will find some means of returning, if not by water sprites as happened before, then by some other conveyance."
"There may be another way," Enkidu said softly.
"Please, let me try?" Akuta said, looking up through his tear filled eyes.
"I add my entreaty to his, Gil," Enkidu said.
The king gave a deep sigh and threw his arms up in a gesture of submission. "Very well," he agreed. "But when your heart breaks as did mine so many seasons before you, perhaps you shall remember that I tried to spare you this pain. Having visited this land in your living form, death will not take you until long after it normally would. You shall outlive all your friends and pray for the end which will be withheld as death teases and taunts you."
He then reached down and pulled Akuta up to stand facing him. "And one more burden you must accept. The one who broke our solemn laws by bringing you here must be banished." Gilgamesh led the fairy out of the trees and back to the spot where the skeleton ferryman awaited. "This transgressor once was human. He served as my boatman to earn admission to this island, and very nearly won it. Now that he has transported a living being where none may go, he will be banished. I charge you with the deed of returning him to his own world. An animated corpse he will be until one who loves him performs the ultimate sacrifice."
"You would have me return to the land of humans with a living skeleton?" Akuta asked in amazement.
"Is it too much to ask in payment for the secret I shall impart? Once you have returned him to his home world, you may allow him his freedom to wander where he will. Until then he must stay with you always."
Akuta bowed his head. "I accept your conditions, my lord. Nothing is too great a price to pay for your assistance in my quest."
"You may not always feel so," the deep voice of Gilgamesh said.
Akuta looked up to see only Enkidu standing there. "My loved one has others he must greet. Come with me." He led Akuta and the ferryman through the columned temple, across the stone bridge and back along the walkway through the green forest. They soon descended the winding stairs back to the rock harbor. Once there the skeleton readily climbed back into his craft and took up his position at the oars. Akuta hesitated, looking confused. This brought a light chuckle from Enkidu. "Be not alarmed. You shall have what you desire. Your companion shall take you to the lagoon of eternity. Once there, you must dive beneath the waves and retrieve the blossom of the ocean's rose. This simple flower will perform the task you want."
"What shall I with this blossom when I have it?" Akuta asked.
"Touch the flower to the lips of your beloved. He shall then live again. Remember that it shall restore life to anything dead." As Enkidu spoke these words his body seemed to fade to the same transparency as the gossamer robe he wore. Akuta could easily see the stone wall behind him by looking through him. "Farewell, my friend," the rapidly fading man called. "I am certain we shall meet again here many seasons hence when you return to stay." With that he was gone.
Robin sat on the crystal throne, a great chair that was carved from pure, polished quartz. He was wearing his royal finery, a white short tunic with golden embroidery and long golden cape, the entire picture completed by the jeweled band of metal that crowned his white blond hair. He sat tensely forward on the stone, the cold, glasslike surface chilling his bare thighs, but the woolen breeches were not a part of the official uniform of his position. As he waited the oversized doors were opened and a small group of four delegates from the blue tower were escorted in. Robin noted that Lastel was not among them, which in itself constituted a serious breach in protocol as well as a personal insult to the throne. The four men crossed the throne room floor and stopped before the crystal stairway that led up to the throne. They bowed low, obviously trying to make up for the affront of their missing leader. Robin stared at them coldly for a minute, allowing their discomfiture to grow, and then he spoke. "Why is not the leader of the blue tower here when he petitions an audience?"
"My lord, we were sent by Lastel, king of the blue tower, to speak with you in his stead," one of the four said nervously.
"So now he is a king?" Robin mused partly to himself and partly to Rowana who stood on the platform beside the throne in the position of his aide. "We were unaware that a coronation had taken place in the blue tower. Had we know we would have attended," he said aloud to the delegation. "And why has not 'King' Lastel come to speak for himself?"
"His majesty refused to come to your tower, my lord, for he fears that what evil has befallen your servant and his kinsman, the boy Dannemel, may befall any others who enter your audience chamber," the spokesman replied. He kept his head down and refused to look up while he recited his words from memory. "His majesty pleads that you return his kinsman and he shall withdraw peacefully from the blue tower and this kingdom."
"His kinsman is a free Tuathan and it is not for us to keep or return him," the king said with a strong air of authority.
"If the boy is not presented then we must presume that he no longer lives. If this is the case then the western alliance must avenge the poor treatment and murder of their kinsman."
Robin slowly stood, allowing his anger to lift and fill him. "You would dare accuse your high king of murder?" His voice thundered the question. The arrogant delegation from the blue tower all fell to the floor, prostrating themselves at the foot of the wide staircase. "Rise and look upon us," the king ordered using the magic of command in his voice. The four delegates were powerless to refuse and quickly stood, looking up at the angry figure towering over them at the top of the stairs. "You will leave now and return to that fool who would be king. Tell him and his followers to be prepared to meet with us in the main courtyard outside of this tower when the sun reaches its zenith. So too shall the assembled high council meet there as witness. He may then make what challenges he likes and we shall answer them. But if he comes not, then tell him we shall hunt him down for the vermin we believe him to be. Now go!"
The four men fell over each other in their attempts to get out of the throne room. Rowana would have laughed at their exit had the situation not been so grave. "My lord, that was well played," she said as she stepped close to Robin and watched the delegates hurrying off. "The sun's zenith is but a short time away. What plan you?"
"I only wish I knew," Robin confessed as he breathed a deep sigh. He then sent the girl to convey his request to the high council that they attend the planned meeting. He was certain that the councilors would hear all too soon of this challenge to Lastel. There were enough witnesses in the throne room to set the castle grapevine in motion, but Rowana's message would come as an official and formal act, satisfying the local protocol. "Gather as many of the castle guard as can be spared," Robin then told Melcot who was temporarily subbing for Rood while the captain was away. "I want as strong a showing as we can make. If I must bluff Lastel I want to make it a good one." Melcot nodded and dashed down the stairs after his mate while Robin sank back on the throne to think.
The little boat pulled into the lagoon. It was a sheltered spot of water surrounded by high stone walls that looked as if they might have been the inside of a volcanic cone many centuries past. A large break in the walls provided access to the lagoon. Inside the air was still and the waters calm causing only the gentlest rocking of the boat as the ocean waves subsided once inside the confined space. The sun was too low in the west to do more than cast a long, narrow shaft of light which came through the broken wall. The limited light painted the water a dark, murky green color.
The ferryman pulled in the oars and sat calmly, his pale skull turned toward Akuta. The tall blond looked into the dark water uncertainly. "I guess this must be the lagoon of eternity," he mumbled. Akuta was startled as he heard a thin, rasping in reply. The sound came from the skeleton sitting opposite him in the boat. The jawbone had dropped, opening the mouth and the sound emitted. Akuta knew there were no lungs in the empty chest cavity hidden by the brown robe, yet he heard the sound all the same. As he stared at his unusual companion, it extended its thin arm bones and one finger on the skeleton hand pointed down at the dark waters. Akuta understood what the ferryman was trying to convey. He stood, being careful not to rock the little craft, and quickly stripped off his tunic, then doffed his pants and boots. With a last look around, Akuta took a deep breath and then dived over the edge and into the water.
Although the water had appeared dark and murky from the surface, once he was under it Akuta could see perfectly. The underwater world was as clear and visible as if he were looking through clean air. He could even see the floor of the lagoon clearly in the distance beneath him. To one side, growing up against the stone wall of the lagoon was what looked like a flowering rose bush. Akuta began to swim in that direction. As he did so he realized that the distances in this clear water were incredibly deceptive. It took him quite a while to reach the flowering bush, and when he did he realized he was nearly out of air. Holding on for another precious few seconds he examined the plant. There were three or four bright, blood red flowers growing on short, thorny stalks. They looked exactly like normal roses, except that the thorns were much more densely packed on the stems, and the leaves were long and thin, like grassy seaweed. He noted one particularly large blossom before pushing upward and shooting for the surface.
Akuta's head broke the water close to the lagoon wall as he gasped for air. Had he been a human he would certainly have suffered some cramps from his too rapid ascent, but being Tuathan, the air in his blood stream did not act the same as a human's would. He looked over to see his skeleton companion begin rowing the little boat in his direction. Akuta took another lungful of air and dived straight down to the strange aquatic plant.
As he reached his destination he noticed that it was growing darker, no doubt due to the setting sun high above. The blossoms on the undersea rose bush appeared to be closing up with the waning light. If he didn't act right away he would have to wait until the next day to obtain the flower. There was only one blossom still open and flowering. Akuta reached for it, and then jerked his hand back in pain. The densely packed thorns did not leave any space for his fingers where they would not be pricked. He again gently tried to pick the flower, gritting his teeth and gripping the thorny stalk. The fiber was tough and he was without a knife to slice through the stem, so he had to apply all that much more pressure, forcing the painfully sharp thorns deep into his flesh. Akuta would have given up, but he noticed that this last bloom was also beginning to shrink in size as it prepared to close up in darkness. The water surrounding it was growing ever darker because of the blue blood staining it form the fairy's wounded hand. His lungs were again screaming for air and he knew he could not hold out much longer. Planting his bare feet on the rock wall behind the bush, he gave one last, painful tug, and the stem snapped in his hand. Still clutching the thorny flower tightly, blood streaming out behind him, he once again shot upward to the surface.
As Akuta's head broke the still water, he saw the reed boat close by. He swam to it and tried to pull himself in, but in the process he almost overturned the tiny craft. It rode extremely low in the water with him aboard. Now it would be impossible for him to climb in from the water without tilting and swamping the little craft. The skeleton extended its arm to help him into the boat, but Akuta knew that even with the help the craft would tip too much. He waved the hand away and ordered, "Just row out of here and back to the shore."
The skull turned toward him and again emitted that rasping sound. It then applied itself to the oars and moved the boat out toward the open sea. Akuta clung to the stern with one hand and trailed along behind, still clutching the limp red flower in his other hand which continued to bleed and sting.