Aegis Rising (14 page)

At the five’s surprised looks, he added, “You are not a secret to those of us living in this valley. Though most of us have not seen or met you, we have heard talk. That is why my companions and I came by; we wanted to get to know you and wash away the rumors that have arisen, especially amongst the younger people of the village.” Hutar leaned forward. “We would like to know more about you.”

The friends shared looks, and then Kody spoke up. “We’re doing fine, thanks. Huyani and Akol have been just great to us, so we’re getting stronger every day. And I love the food here.”

Jag elbowed him sharply in the ribs. “Will you for once get your mind off of food!” Turning to Hutar and his two friends with a shake of his head, he said, “We’ve all known each other since we were little, so after listening to this guy ramble about his hunger attacks for a while, it gets really exasperating.”

Aesròn chuckled. “Ah, he is still growing. I remember constantly needing to eat when I was a few years younger.” He fiddled with the fang on the black string around his neck.

Aari seemed intrigued by it. “What animal is that from?”

Aesròn and Hutar looked at each other briefly and Aesròn smiled. Leaning forward on his elbows, he took his necklace off and passed it to Aari. “I stalked a cougar for this gem. Killing it was not much of a guilt thing and no one disapproved me of taking the life of another hunter of the forest, because it had been rabid and needed to be dealt with. I, along with one of my cousins, tracked the creature for a few days into another valley not far from here and . . . and I need not go into details. Whatever you need to know lies with what you are holding in your hands.”

The five took turns examining the tooth on its black string before Aari passed it back to Aesròn. “Cool,” he said admiringly.

“How do you feel about Dema-Ki?” Hutar asked.

Kody leaned back in his chair. “We actually haven’t seen much; we’ve just moved about between our shelters and this one.”

“Really?” Hutar and Aesròn looked at each other again. Hutar rested his chin in his hand and said with a growing grin, “Perhaps my friends and I could show you around.”

“Uh, Hutar,” Huyani cut in, reaching over and putting a hand on his arm to stop him. “That is very kind of you, but we have orders from the Elders. They will meet the others and get to know the village in due time, but not just yet. Is that not correct, Akol?”

Akol nodded. “Yes. But once again, that was very nice of you to offer.” Akol and Hutar’s eyes met for a couple of moments and the look in the other youth’s eyes chilled Akol a little.

Hutar kept a pleasant face. As though suddenly remembering Matikè, he turned to her and translated. Matikè raised her slim eyebrows at Akol but continued eating silently. Akol’s face flushed, but out of what emotion he did not know.

Kody tilted his head toward Jag and muttered under his breath, “Jeez! We can’t be seen outside. What are we, celebrities?”

Jag grimaced. “I guess in a weird way, we are. I mean, apparently they haven’t had visitors here, ever. Who can blame them?”

“Jag.” Jag turned to look at Hutar. “Akol and Huyani say the Elders told them you cannot be seen by anyone else. So we have an idea. We could give you a tour without our brethren laying eyes on the five of you.” Hutar winked at the friends. “What do you say?”

As Huyani interjected and engaged Hutar with her objections once more, Akol whispered to Jag. “Jag, say no.”

Just as quietly, Jag mumbled. “Why?”

“Just say no. I do not trust him as much as I would like to. Besides, the Elders would be extremely disappointed if they found out Huyani and I defied their orders.”

Jag said nothing. His friends glanced at him and gave him questioning looks.

He found it odd that the seemingly peaceful people of the valley would not be at ease with one another. He thought Hutar seemed pretty genuine, and from the expressions of his friends, they thought so too. But he trusted Akol more. He looked at Hutar. “Thanks, but no. Sorry.”

Hutar and Aesròn’s faces dropped. Recovering quickly, they shrugged at each other. “No matter.” Aesròn grinned. “Perhaps some other time when we get acquainted more.”

Huyani coughed. “I am afraid there will be no ‘some other time’ unless the Elders say so,” she said firmly. “We cannot disobey orders. As it is, you are not supposed to be in contact with our guests.”

Hutar causally slouched in his seat. “That is too bad.”

“It is,” Aesròn agreed, gazing at the five. “We could have become close associates.” He pushed back his empty plate. “Huyani, Akol, thank you very much for letting us eat with you. It was delicious.”

Hutar stood up and said, “I believe it is time for us to leave.” Switching to his first language, he spoke to Matikè, and the girl got up. She smiled and fluttered her fingers at the five. Akol led them out. He returned moments later and slumped down in his seat with a sigh.

Jag fiddled with his cutlery, then glanced at Akol. “Spill, Akol. Why didn’t you want those guys to show us around?”

Akol took a sip from his drink. “As Huyani and I have mentioned several times previously, we have orders from the Elders.”

“But if the Elders had given permission for us to tour, would you have let Hutar and his friends show us around?”

“Regrettably, no. I know you think we are tranquil people, Jag, and for the most part we are. But we do have the odd
uncertainties
. It is just the way life is. Hutar—he is not quite right.”

“Why? What’s wrong with him?” Tegan asked.

Akol grinned at her warmly. “Just be cautious if you come across him again.”

“Or any of his friends, for that matter,” Huyani said. “Now, who would like some dessert?”

Six hands shot up. Huyani smiled and served them some yam pudding.

As they ate, Akol watched the five, his mind churning. They were getting restless, he knew. They felt caged and needed to move. Without the friends noticing, he tugged at his sister’s arm and Huyani understood.

“Excuse us for a moment,” she said charmingly. Taking the lead, she and Akol walked out of the shelter and she turned to him as she closed the door behind them. “What is the matter, Akol?”

“This is not good. We knew it would come to this at some point.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you not notice what happened in there when Hutar and Aesròn offered to show the five around? They were enticed to take the bait, and they would have, too, if we were not there to pull them back. They cannot be confined like this; it will cause all of us much angst.”

“What do you suggest doing, then? The Elders told us not to expose them to the village.”

Akol scratched his ear, feeling exasperated. “I do not know!” He stopped then, a furtive look on his face. “Actually, I take that back.”

Huyani eyed him. “Oh, someone help us. What do you have in mind?”

Akol crossed his arms with a grin. “The Elders said not to let the five be seen by eyes other than ours. It does not mean that they have to be limited to just our shelter and theirs.”

“Continue.”

“I could show a couple of them around, but in secret. No one would be the wiser.”

“This is exactly why I am grateful that I am around when your unpredictable ideas pop up—to tell you that it is risky and not right. Besides, how can you pull it off when we have over seven hundred of our brethren living in this valley?”

“Come now, you underestimate your brother’s wiliness.”

“No, you overestimate your ability.”

“Will you unwind? The five are feeling confined and they need this. Even you cannot argue with that. And in any case, you
know
I am not good when in comes to these kinds of situations.”

Huyani looked at Akol, her arms folded. She cocked her head sideways and gave him a long stare. Akol gazed heavenward for a minute then looked back at his sister. “And . . . if we do get caught and the Elders find out, I will say it was my idea. I would not be lying.”

“Alright, I am convinced. Now we should get back inside. The five are probably wondering what we are up to. I must leave shortly to check up on the two patients in the convalescence shelter, so I will leave it to you to unfold your plan.”

Akol smiled and together with Huyani, entered the
neyra
.

15

T
he moon crept to its zenith in the sky, rain clouds building up around it. An owl hooted somewhere from the trees and launched itself into a glide, the wind rustling through its brown, speckled feathers. Aari and Tegan ducked as it swooped over their heads. Turning around and watching after the creature, they smiled at each other with the same thought:
Amazing.

The two were just returning from the tour. When Akol offered the friends a secretive expedition, only Aari and Tegan had been keenly interested and jumped at the opportunity. Jag had turned down the invite and convinced Kody to do the same. Exchanging whispers, Jag and Kody managed to persuade Mariah to stay behind and then the three had walked back to the boys’
neyra
.

Now, with the tour wrapped up and Akol advising them to catch some sleep, Aari and Tegan entered the boys’
neyra
. Mariah leapt from where she was sitting and tackled the two. “What took you so long?” she demanded.

“It’s a pretty big valley, ’Riah,” Aari reminded her.

Mariah flushed. “Well, yes, but—”

“What happened? Why are you so edgy?”

She pointed at Jag and Kody who were sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall and grinning. “Those two . . . they’ve planned an escape.”

“Escape?” Aari and Tegan echoed, looking at the two boys.

Kody’s grin widened. “Well, most of us want out, right?”

Mariah’s eyes narrowed. “Keyword being ‘most’!”

“Whoa, whoa, and whoa.” Aari put a hand up. “Calm down.” He turned to face Kody and Jag. “Guys—escaping. Are you serious?”

Kody nodded. “Jag and I were talking about it. Don’t you want to go home? See your baby sister? Your mom? Your dad? Sleep in a
real
bed?”

Aari just stared at him, still trying to process what Jag and Kody had agreed upon. “Escape?” he repeated again. “No wonder you insisted on not coming with us on the tour . . .”

Kody rolled his eyes. “Aari, listen—”

“No, don’t listen,” Mariah grumbled. “You know what? We’ll talk about this in a while. I’m so tired of listening to these two lunatics. I’d rather hear about how your tour went.”

Aari and Tegan looked at each other, somewhat confused, then shrugged. Aari sat down with Tegan beside him and started, “Well, it was . . . incredible. You would not
believe
the stuff these people have come up with to survive here and at the same time remain hidden from the outside world.” He scratched his head, looking overwhelmed. “Man, there’s so much we’ve learned from this tour that I don’t even know where to start.”

Tegan patted his shoulder. “I’ll help.” Facing the other three, she said, “One of the things that caught my attention is that the valley’s divided into two by that river. The north side, where we are right now, is more residential by design. In other words, this is where you’ll find most of the shelters.”

Aari chipped in. “Speaking of shelters, have you guys noticed the spiral patterns stained on the roofs? The locals got them done to match the surrounding foliage when viewed from above. Akol boosted us up outside Huyani’s shelter to have a look at what they’ve done, and all I’ve got to say is that these guys are amazing. I swear, if I’d been looking from high above, I wouldn’t be able to tell that this was a man-made structure. It’s ingenious.”

“Most of the shelters are grouped in circles between shrubs and trees,” Tegan added, “and they’re spread throughout the valley in groups of five.”

“It’s kind of weird,” Mariah said. “I mean, the shelters themselves are five-sided, and now you say they’re clustered in groups of five.”

“Now that you mention it,” Tegan said, blinking in surprise, “the number of Elders they have is also five.”

They shared questioning looks. “Weird,” Kody said finally as he pointed at each one of the friends, counting them. “One, two three, four”—he tapped his nose—“five.”

Aari, excited to share the other discoveries he and Tegan made, continued with the story. “Anyway, the south side of the valley hosts the industrial activities of the village.”

Jag raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by industrial?”

Aari replied with a question. “Where do you think all this comes from?” He waved his arms around vaguely. “The shelters, the food, the plumbing, the heat, the camouflage?”

“I have no clue, but I’ve got a feeling you’re gonna tell us.”

Aari leaned forward with a sparkle in his blue eyes. “You bet, but it’ll take a little while.” With great enthusiasm, he took his time to share what he and Tegan had learned.

It was a half hour later when Mariah, Jag, and Kody leaned back, mesmerized by Aari’s account. A part of them now wished they’d gone on the tour as well. It would have been interesting to have seen the wonders of the village for themselves.

After a pause, Tegan sighed and looked at Mariah. “Alright, let’s go back to what you guys have been up to. What was it that you were annoyed about?”

Mariah exhaled noisily and glared at Jag and Kody. “They’ve been cackling and devising plans and escape routes and whatnot ever since we got here a couple hours ago. Fifteen minutes into the discussion and I wanted to run out of here screaming like a maniac. They were talking like every one of us was going to agree on leaving this place.” She looked expectantly at Aari and Tegan, as if waiting for them to support her.

Aari and Tegan looked at each other, then Tegan got up to walk over to the two boys and sit in between them. The boys’ grins grew as she spoke. “I find this place really interesting and the people not half bad. But if I continue to stay here, I’m going to go crazy, and then
I’ll
be the one who’s running around and screaming like a maniac.”

Mariah stared at her friend in disbelief, and then turned to Aari. “What about you? You feel the same way?”

Aari shook his head. “I’m not leaving this place for two reasons: One, this village has lots of cool stuff and I want to learn how they make things work around here. Two, and I think this obviously overrides my first reason, is that it’s
safer
here. Out there . . . hey, didn’t we already have this discussion before?”