x
17
THE GOREDOR
Around the fire, Majara began the timeless tribal dance. The feline’s limber, firm bodies undulated to the pounding drums, naked as the day of their birth. The Madragora worked themselves into a frenzied refrain.
“Gone our males. Track the prey. Sniff the trails. Our claws will slay. Mākutu, mākutu, mākutu.”
Twenty times over and again the chant inflamed them.
The intoxicating smoke caused the cats’ blood to rush. With each whiff, their premonition intensified to a frenzy.
Pacing back and forth, Yamanecko ended the aboriginal trance to start their trial with a roar. Taking their cue from her and disappeared into the thicket. This night’s quarry, not yet cornered, stood doomed. The tribe’s terrifying chants alarmed the creatures within earshot to make the chase more difficult.
“Hunt!”
With a concerned glance at me, their mākutu concealed them. Out-of-sight, silent as a tomb and as uninhibited as the wind, they prowled.
Not wanting to vex them, I slowed my pace. “I’ll hang back a little farther.”
Along their northbound course, Sinnawar sniffed the breeze.
“Only a swine emits such a stench.”
The eighteen-inch tusks of the beast shredded a corridor to its favorite patch of sodderbort.
Deep hoof prints halted Kattur in her tracks.
“A three-thousand-pound goredor forages in the dense underbrush of the muddy hog-waller up ahead.”
The sister’s telepathy touched, flanking the deadly omnivore in a silence.
“Leave no escape. Do not startle our future.”
Moments later, in position, the predators lunged and clamped down on every appendage of the squealing boar, freeing the siblings to go for the throat.
Every bristle of their prey’s body erected, thrashing, and grunting to free itself. The racket of the gory battle caused most creature within a mile to flee.
Kattur alternated vicious strikes, severing the carotid artery to evoke a coveted warm blood bath.
Intoxicated by her cub’s gory appearance, Majara bit the hog’s massive gonads.
In retaliation, the goredor landed a kick to her stomach, causing her to reel in misery. The assault would mark the final defense of his otherwise placid life. Making a futile attempt to squeal, the weakened beast could hardly cough up a throat-full of sanguine drool. Only now did I fully understand the meaning of a death-throe. Body tremors and a grunt signaled his spirit’s departure. No more heaving breaths would disturb the mud below its torn snout.
With their apprehensions held in suspense, the sisters released their grip slowly as possible, ready to react. After a long, expectant silence, relieved exhales marked their victory. Gloating would dishonor them.
Pushiri walked around me like a judge, studying my stance and responses.
“Neither the jungle nor her inhabitants gave away our location. When your mākutu matures, you will visualize what will happen. Tonight, Majara distracted herself by focusing on her charges. Next, our proven hunters will need to rendezvous with a deity.”
“Hmm, the fifth step... encountering a god.”
Behind us, Shuranu applied the inoculating leaves and stitched the gash with hempathol vine.
In turn, Shunra intoned the poetic language of the Supreme
Healer, letting her tears flow.
“Listen to the wind. She bares the sweet music which heals. Your agony will calm with this aromatic balm. Your lifeblood will flow to your head and each toe. From death arise, beneath the nursing night skies.”
The words invigorated me as well.
A sudden rush of adrenaline allowed me to rip off a sturdy bandadan branch.
“This will serve as a litter.”
With the middle section of the leaf I fashioned straps to secure her. Leaning forward, I drug her back through the malleable clay, avoiding the stones. Both curationists kept a vigil while I pulled the stem over my shoulder and headed South.
“The hoof gouged deep. More medicine awaits us when we arrive. Recovery from this near fatal blow will take time.”
Majara, now half conscious, spoke like a feeble elder. “My offspring fill me with elation.”
Kattur placed her paw over her mommeo’s mouth. “Please don’t exhaust your life with words.” Qattus, Poonai’s sister, flexed her muscles.
“My fierce scrawny sister, Poonai, and I will drag the meat.” Sinnawar smiled, content, despite the tragedy.
“Spectacular, I will direct my companion to help. Dograls will not come near him.”
As she reached out to the chimeragor with her telepathy, she grabbed the boar by the tusk.
“Bob, fetch the hog.”
Like a bright-eyed cub discovering a new a toy, the chimeragor bounded to the carnage. His jaws snapped the four-hundred- pound femur with the ease of breaking a twig. With the strength of a mammoth, and a tribal drumming in his steps, Bob dared any carrion-snatcher to rob our kill.
Poonai’s face leered with fake disappointment at the peril radiating from the dauntless chimeragor.
“Doggone, I wanted another crack at those mangy hounds. They will never come out of hiding with Bob around.”
Upon their arrival at Leopardmura, Kattur embraced her mommeo.
“Heat consumes you.”
Shuranu’s grave voice trebled. “The slash festers in her bowels.” The resonance of the Docs voice shifted to urgency. “Kusing, I need Koisan eggs from Mezuno Mezami soon.”
The Innocent One sped along the Western path.
“Gatta, race to Abramura and ask the Air Priestess, Purrsu, for lavender colored roots of bactricidium. Try the temple first, where she often prays.”
The intrepid explorer charged north, timing her stride with her words.
“I am one with the woodlands.”
“Mandagral, take Majara home. Shunra and I will find you after I recover the other medicines from our dispensary.”
Like a cradled infant, I bore her across the hanging bridge, swayed with the gusts. The sage cat cuddled next to me and apologized with a question.
“My injured body must burden you, Mandagral, am I right?”
“Nonsense, if you want attention, next time, ask.” Then, I
realized, she did ask but I left in a rush. Did I make a mistake?
Majara cringed and winked at me, nudging a little nearer to my chest.
Bekku’s brow furrowed as she assessed the situation.
“Sinnawar, send Bob for the rest of the goredor. After he completes his task, escort him to his abode. Kattur, nurse your mommeo. Insure she drinks plenty of blood and water.”
“Accept my eternal gratitude, Mandagral, I will care for her now.”
“No problem, I won’t go far if you need me.”
After combing my fingers through Majara’s hair, I kissed her forehead.
“Catch you tomorrow night.”
[On Earth]
Alexandra mustered every ounce of hope remaining within her heart as she comforted my grieving wife.
“Rachel, the belief he is making a difference inspires me to double my efforts to find him. Somewhere out there, he’s molding the piece of the world he occupies into a better place. Time’s still on our side.”
Alexandra’s internal struggle made her question her decisions. “Guilt and shame cloud my mind. Oh, how I would love to stay her and watch the children, to pretend they are mine. Dare I…”
“Likewise, if you want to search for Janus yourself, I will chorral the boys and Karyl.”
Rachel wept grateful tears.
Alexandra caught a glimpse of the couples wedding photo above the fireplace. Facing away from Rachel so the grieving spouse would not the notice her fond blush, she picked picture up.
“A long overdue vacation beckons me, my dear friend. Your husband’s profiling skills increase his chances. My partner’s uncanny ability to read personalities never ceases to astonish me. Also, I envy his self-awareness! My fascination never ceased when he investigated arduous cases. Crimes, to him, are like riddles to study from angles none of us imagined.”
Alexandra pursed her lips, recalling the Skull Collector and her partner’s sordid alter ego.
“Tell me about him. The inner workings of our children’s minds do not challenge him. His insights draw out their love. The neighbors fancy him too.”
In a reassuring tone, Alexandra thrust her chest out.
“The slyest perpetrator never deceived him. How can he spot a lie a mile away? If I only grasped his gift, they would promote me.”
A knot formed in Alexandra’s stomach. “Criminals probe until they find my flaws.”
As her vulnerability set in, she changed the subject. “Did you tell his mother he vanished?”
“No one found her. Furthermore, his father refuses to broach the subject. On Janus’ first birthday she ghosted her husband son alike.”
Rachel asserted herself in a defiant pose.
“Despite the evidence, people don’t vanish. Better, please convince me of a hidden magic, which I would want to believe.”
“Supernatural or not, he’s a fighter. His return home should not surprise you.”
“I’m indebted to you for your comfort. Janus tells me what a clever partner you are in the field, watching his back. Every fiber of my being wants you reconnoiter the city.”
“Understood, Rachel.”
With a magnifying glass she pulled from her purse, Alexandra posed like an old-school detective. I will check his hangouts for a hint to his elusive mother.
“Doubts overwhelm me, my friend.”
“Rest, in case he returns home. The children need you. Call me when your father arrives.”
“Do you recall Le Petit Theater over on Saint John Street? Helping them with their Shakespeare productions pleased him. Rev. Demetrius Jones would tag along.”
“Without a doubt, Rachel!”
“The truth is, he’s taken a lot of out-of-state trips. The thought of a national dragnet daunts my heart.”
Alexandra’s memory flashed to the journal.
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6ltf6TMgV
January 12th
Bebella’s liveliness elated me on our road trip to hunt down the Undertaker in Memphis. With a childlike giggle, she focused her expensive Canon video camera. The majestic scenery served as a backdrop for the interview. Like Christiane Amanpour, she feigned ignorance to glean the inside story she needed. Yet underneath her hypnotic smile and windblown hair, I sensed Bebette’s frigid heart crackling.
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpbyrSlFCK
January 15th
While I tortured the Undertaker, my little monster filled each unforgiving minute with the hatred of a hell-chained demon. She spat abhorrence as her face contorted in revolution. Intense enough to shoot daggers, her eyes began to flow sanguine fluid. My mouth dropped open when she swiped her hand through his warm puddling blood. In response to my revulsion, she licked her palm, and decorated he exposed chest with the remainder like war paint. Moments later, her face melted into contentment.
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgFxlPWXVS
18
THE JUNGLE’S EMBRACE
The jungle’s embrace and the Royal moon’s light,
They will grant me shelter tonight.
They give life to the soil and electrify to the air.
They fan the flames of fire, so the waterfalls dare.
But for me they reserve the greatest gift of all.
With their breeze, my heart, they enthrall.
As I watched the events unfolding before me, I began to realize the depth and breadth of Mākutu. More than their prowess, the Mandragora embraced Terradon Prime and her jungle embraced them. Mākutu also allowed them to welcome two strangers in their land, a foreign enemy and a squeamish outworlder. Still, I sensed there is more I needed to learn.
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LlYi87cLM
[At the temple of the Water Goddess]
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVC7BEfaJmb
Extending her watery arm, the deity placed two tiny eggs in a crystal bottle and inserted a cork.
Kusing tucked the embryos in her pouch.
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dq5lPtCk5
[ Just as far away in the opposite direction]
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzmmGQuZ9x
After sliding to a halt near Purrsu, Gatta bowed.
“Beloved Innocent One.”
The Priestess stretched out her arms.
“Welcome my old friend. What inspires your haste to the Temple of the Air Goddess?
Stepping into her embrace, she bulleted her words. “A goredor kicked Majara in the stomach.”
“Bactricidium root for the infection, yes?”
“Please ask Sora if we can collect the cure.”
At the temple’s entrance, the servant of the Exalted One raised her staff in adoration. A gentle rush of wind amplified to a howling gale as the air formed a feminine shaped cloud with lightning encompassing her.
With surgical precision, Purrsu extended her claws into the ground next to the clinging vines. Snipping one of the glowing turnip-colored roots, she handed the plant to her transporter.
“The Redeemer’s wings will deliver you, for Majara cannot wait.”
A sudden gust transformed into a blanket of electrified current under Gatta and carpeted her to Leopardmura.
Leaping from her magic cushion, she landed on the swinging bridge attached to Majara’s cottage.
The healer exhaled all her air.
“Death hovered his scythe over my patient’s heart, but I held him at bay.”
“The imagine of you slashing the Reaper deserves a nickname. How about Umbulali, the Slayer?”
Hum, a healer who slays. Only you would concoct such a ridiculous name.”
Taking the tiny donors, Shuranu coated them with bactricidium powder and offered the concoction to the wounded mommeo. In the language of curation, she recited the Air Goddess’s poem.”
Draw in your lungs my living breath. Heed the words that overcome death. Stand and walk a life renewed. Drift on the breeze with your strength imbued.
Majara’s eyes began to open. “Both ears work, Majara?”
Groggy, the patient slurred her words. “Yes, Shuranu.”
“Rest and swallow the goredor blood.”
“My barrelful of devotion, Kattur, will tend to me.”
“For sure, healer, I will bathe her and bleed the kill.”
Scrubbing the dried gore from their matted coats, the Mandragora’s fur dyed the estuary scarlet. Darkness’s dim curtains opened to reveal the stunning creatures. Not wishing to miss a split second of the panoramic delight, I sat down and tried not to blink.
In the surrounding trees, the feathered choir’s cheerful singing and rustling welcomed the rosy morning sun. Unseen, the Creator joined in the celebration, adorning Terradon Prime in her gown of countless hues. The fountain welling up from the ground would refresh their bathing area by nightfall.
Like a synchronized swim team, they shaded their eyes and shook themselves dry in the rising Sun’s rays. One contagious yawn signaled them to entwine in the land of dreams.
Pushiri fixed her attention on the trail.
When we connected, my spirit brimmed with illusions of the primitive wilderness coming to life, sweeping us into the unknown. Past the goddesses, through the villages, surrounded by towering Bluewood trees, across a waterway overrun with horned eels, our travels unfolded. My visions flared around a spewing inferno; thrashed from beneath by a dragon; and culminated at the virgin hamlet the newneyow would call home. Each fleeting glimpse twirled through my brain as time fled by.
My Oracle’s customary face-lick revived me.
“Terradon Prime contains more mysteries than we dreamt of this night, Mandagral.”
Enchanted by the moonrise, I stepped out to soak in the landscape of my future. From my balcony view, the rustic scene enlivened, with Bob center stage. The frisky chimeragor got a fresh start at grill time around the grill. Like an ornery child, he forked the grilled goredor with his stinger. Without apology, he swallowed and belched. No sooner than he curled up on the ground, a purr of contentedness reverberated up from his chest.
The Mandragora aroused in the treetops to their invader’s indiscreet etiquette, but they only paid him minor attention. Glancing down at his foreign gastronomical manners, a communal thought united them.
“Keep him well fed.”
“Such a fantastic boy Bob! Yes, you are, my Itchy One.”
Thus, Sinnawar took charge of her ominous companion, encouraging him to curl up at her feet by using her now famous chimeragor scratching method.
The complacent chimeragor ignored Gatta when she and Ikati conferred at the fire.
Stretching the full length of her body backwards, the critter’s first blind date relaxed her muscles.
“I do not consider myself so threatened now.” The cook flirted with an absurd thought.
“Let’s make the best this situation. What do you say, we teach him how to dance?”
Scrunching wrinkles on her forehead, Gatta snatched her meal and disappeared into the night.
Ikati stepped back.
“Wow, she is like one of those sounds you cannot figure out and hear only once no matter how long you listen.”
Not far away, curiosity got the best of me as I conspired with Pushiri.
“Wiggle your tail, let’s peer into Bob’s noggin and determine if only thoughts of food reside therein.”
“Hmm, I wondered whether his loneliness or a horror drove him here.”
“Did he come to find or lose something, or both?”
“Whatever the reason, my lover, this stray resides in Leopardmura now.”
Later, Kattur greeted us as we strolled up to the cooking fire with empty stomachs and overflowing curiosity.
“Radiant news! The blood gives my mommeo vitality and vigor.”
“I never doubted your healer’s abilities, Kattur.”
Pushiri jumped to a high limb.
“To us, this injury is an occupational hazard.” Nonchalant, we traded glances and moved out of sight.
Safe from prying minds, Pushiri scarfed down a hunk of medium-rare steak as her thoughts reached out to the chimeragor.
“I perceive, above any suspicion we harbor, he loves the three cubs.”
“Yes, Pushiri, and he recalls fear. An image is forming...”
“Those are giant Gulong toads, chased, by a, a Mahavaraptor!
Despite their ten-meter jumps, the amphibians cannot elude their relentless predator. No wonder he left the desert. Mahavaraptors hunt in packs. One of them tangled with Bob, judging by the size of the claw gashes on the overgrown lizard’s face.”
“Now I sense sadness, emptiness. No other chimeragors exist.”
“Wow, an endling, the last one of his species, the terminarch!” My words trailed off at the end.
“His despair drains me...”
Aware of the connection, Bob bolted away, breaking off the connection.
“Phew, Pushiri. How am I capable of seeing distant places?” My benefactor licked me in the way I came to cherish.
“Find contentment in your heart. For now, you are meant to laugh, to love and impart understanding. Your sensitive heart, Mandagral, is overloaded with the sight of violence. Despite your trauma, you appraise us as highly valued. More so, you want everyone to partake in the miracle of your life. A false belief attempts to convince you you’re rambling through life, befriended only by your shadow.”
Though I wanted to believe her, deep within, I still resented no choice to vote on my situation.
Briefly cupping the back of her neck with her paw, she warmed me up with her side rub, touching my pain.
“Never give up and never stop respecting our mākutu. Now is your time to flourish. Transcend your self-imposed limits. Shatter your obscurity. I promise, you will discover the unimaginable on Terradon Prime.”
“The gaps in my memory overwhelm my heart. How do I begin?”
Bekku will ask you to gather the newly named ones and worship the other deities. Start by tracing your route. Foreknowledge wins the battle. Go now, Maow expects you.”
19
A HIDDEN AGENDA
[At Maow’s Library]
Maow buried her hypersensitivity and cleared the thickness in her throat while she reflected on her prior clandestine meeting. “How can I to keep him in the dark?”
“Mandagral, I arrived early to stay ahead of Bob’s appetite and finished recording yesterday’s naming ritual. Prepare yourself for an unbelievable lesson.”
“Sounds like a grand adventure, my excitable tutor.”
She surveyed the map for a couple seconds. In an afterthought, caution gripped her. “I must not rush, or he will catch on.”
“Beyond your spectacular imagination, Effervescha awaits to bless your travels along the Western Trail at Agua Verde, the Emerald Water Lake.”
Once again, I anticipated a story worthy of pleasant bedtime dreams.
“A little further to the west, you will need to take possession of the medications from the Water Goddesses’ Temple. From her refuge, you will traverse the glen of the golden willows and call a bachra to cross the savannah. Jungmura awaits. If you cannot remember anything else, recall this; do not go out during the day.”
And unconscious anxiety crept into my bones, but I hid the tremor well, under an innocent voice.
“Why?”
“Pterosaurs stalk the skies, hunting for their young. Once in a blood moon, a drowsy Mandragora falls prey, snatched and splattered on the stones.”
Stroking her paw along the depiction of the mountain range, Maow spoke in a reserved tone.
“Below Ridgemura, as far south as the new village, they hunt along the mighty Zehandua.”
Sensing my newfound concern, her speech slowed to a nonchalant pace.
“Across the eastern leg of your trip, you will reach Chetamura. My tender-hearted sister, Naow, chases night flickers there. Please greet her for me. Take my advice. Show no surprise if she reacts off beat.”
With her claw, she traced the way on the map.
“Next, head to the haven of the Terradon Goddess, Daichi No Megami. Tararusu, the Priestess will bless you with more serums and elixirs. Afterwards, she will guide you to her home in Teermura along an unmarked byway. One of their newneyow, Shawmow, trained to become village’s healer. Her therapeutic ability evolved as a cub. At an early age, she cured an injured playmate with her tears. Let her take responsibility for the remedies.”
“Your healers mystify me. May this life-giving phenomenon walk with me?”
Maow flashed an amused grin.
“Whether or not to hang out with you, she must decide. The next leg of your expedition will take you to Foremura. Our fiercest hunters survive in an unspoiled wildland filled with Kodobar beasts. Rest before heading southeast, around the reservoir, to Tigramura.”
Pinpointing a spot on the drawing, Note your next stop, Abramura, home of the Air Priestess, Purrsu. She will escort you to the tabernacle, near Dogral Lake.
My eyes flickered.
“Well, what if we run across the dograls?”
“Don’t worry, Sora tames them when they’re nearby.”
“Wait while Shawmow collects the doses. Next, the Innocent One will take you back to Abramura to dine on gundum bird, stalked in the Bluewood Forest.”
Looking up from the countryside rendering, Maow sharpened her tone.
“With their thick midnight-berry fur and flightless miniature wings, they stand twelve-feet tall and weigh eight-hundred pounds. The foliage allows them to blend into the woods. Never, never underestimate their bone-crushing beaks, which terrify larger predators. These omnivores prefer night blooming neon dazzle flowers, gerzel nuts and mui fruits. In desperation, however, they will eat anything as huge as a strider.”
“Hidden in the forested surroundings of Panthramura, you might locate them prowling in pairs, if you don’t blink your eyes.”
My little matchmaker’s heart quickened.
“Pushiri will love the grandeur of the scenery of Crescent Lake under the light of the twin moons. Every night, dozens of hockerel fish burst out of the water, swallowing the fireflies. The darker complexion of the Mandragora distinguish them.”
With her claw tip she traced the path off the southeast corner of the map.
“Panthramura stands guard at the entryway to the Dreadful Pass. The ones who escaped alive will share some of their feats and folk tales about their unnerving haunt.”
My muscles tensed.
“Whoever temps malice risks becoming malevolent. Who is to say which is worse, to live dangerously or await disaster? Under such conditions, the heart reveals its wicked ways. Any person who would linger long enough to transfix on the Gate of Hell, its chasm will glare back and entrance.”
“You sound like you gazed into the face of evil, Mandagral.”
“Every fiber of my body screams ‘yes.’ However, I am glad I do not remember...”
“From Panthramura, you and your growing tribe of Mandragora will forge westward. Beware, the trails turn grim and forbidding.” Maow’s claw drew my attention to an aqua colored expanse.
“The stalagmite and stalactite filled caverns underneath this area connect with our aqueduct system. These dark depths offer shelter to massive leviathans and, thereby, death to wayward intruders.
Use those sharp eyes. A small island rests on the lower side of Cavernous Lake.”
“Yes.”
“A Pantramuran legend recounts the tragic story of a family of banished Mandragora who built their huts in the trees. No one, however, dares to sail the treacherous waters to uncover the truth.”
“Intriguing!”
“I realize what you are thinking. Don’t!”
“You’re taking the fun out of this adventure.” Maow’s stern posture shouted louder than words.
“Now, let’s resume your navigation lesson. The road to Vulcamura follows the Le Negra River. At night, the leopard eels’ bright eyes speckle the swirling current. Swim at your own risk!”
A cold sweat dripped from my face as I pointed out a symbol on the map.
“Am I to understand this village’s name relates to the volcano?”
“Yes, the ancient Fire Priest, Anjennou Furmane, who died in the Chimeragor War, called Vulcamura home. These manuscripts describe him as a cleric who radiated self-confidence and an aura of spiritual mystery. Renowned for his legendary observations, he persuaded our predecessors through his sheer presence of character.”
“Another kindred spirit of mine!”
“The requirement for a male priest left Hi Gami, the Almighty One, without a minister. Your astounding pilgrimage to his sanctum beyond the precipice will complete your next step to mākutu. Furmane’s ancestors still live in Vulcamura and inherit their title from him, the Architects of Fire Medicine.”
What do you call the fire gusher?”
“One of your kind, a comedian, named the peak, Vurrsuvious. Only the mountain’s inhabitants recall the God-given name.”
Pointing to a winged imprint, a tingle ran up my spine. “Do you mean this symbol?”
“Yes. There be dragons. The manuscript records: ‘Conflagration mated Moonflare, who lives in the bowels of the crater. Their offspring, once born, exist as eternal beasts with the power to restore life.’
For us, this ability is no trivial matter. Without a priest to petition the God of Flame for their help, the tarragons of resurrection overlook our passing.”
Pained by her observation, and no longer willing to talk about the subject, Maow pointed to the map.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
