Black moon - Chpt 2

Chapter 2

 

 

We walked the better part of the day and I did my best to keep her entertained but as the day wore on silence overtook us.

 

"Do we get to stop any time soon?  My feet hurt, my back hurts and I for one am hungry," I complained at last.

 

"Stop any time soon?  I thought you were the head of this little parade.  I wanted to stop hours ago," Eloise said plopping to the ground where she stood.  "Wife or not Tucker Littlefield I am not your servant nor your pack animal.  If you want something to eat fix it yourself."

 

"Goddess, woman, must everything be a fight with you?  All I said was let's sit down for a moment... I was trying to be considerate.  It will be dark soon and we should make camp.  My only thought was about your wellbeing and comfort," I grumbled, standing.

 

"Huh uh and this is where you decided to make camp?"  She returned, standing as well, swinging her arms in a wide circle.

 

"Well, it was not my first choice but like I said I was concerned for you so..."

 

"Hold it right there.  I am tired, I am done.  You make a fire and I will try to make a little something... anything to stop you from talking.  All day long it has been, I did this, I ate that, yak, yak, yak.  I didn't think you would ever shut up," she groused.

 

"I thought I was making you feel better.  I had no idea I was boring you," I said turning my back to her.

 

"In my village, Brother, a wife never cooks without fire."

 

"Bowen?"  Eloise and I said at the same time.

 

"Brother," he returned giving each of us a hug and firm pat on the back.

 

"Nice to see you my friend," I said honestly.  I now felt much better, knowing he was with us filled me with peace of mind.  Bowen had saved my life more times than I could count.  Much of what I knew of the Kindred I learned with Bowen’s help.    After the loss of Enon, Bowen was there for the Jonda as well as me. I had come to think of him as family.

 

"Come brother, I have fire and decent food for a decent man," he joked.

 

We talked, laughed and ate until Eloise and I could no longer stay awake.  For the next fourteen days we followed him, to my surprise we went in the opposite direction I had expected.

 

Eventually Bowen led us up a low mountain to a large stone outcropping that appeared, from my vantage point, to be a dead end.

 

Ahead of us the ground became steeper, more difficult to climb.  The landscape had become a deep, bruiting red in color and more stone than sand.  Only small, sparse, thin wisps of vegetation grew here and little more of any substance.  Although there was no sign of water to be found anywhere, there was evidence of its passing everywhere.  Large swaths of soil and stone alike had been washed away, having carved deep grooves in the ground.

 

Our path had narrowed, blocked in part from boulders washed from a higher perch sometime in the distant past, leaving only the smallest of openings for our passage.

 

Bowen went in first to lead the way.

 

I hesitated for a moment peering into the small opening after him.  I shifted several times, staring into its depths.

 

"Bowen?"

 

Only silence met my concerns.

 

"Bowen?"  I repeated anxiously.

 

"This way brother," he answered reappearing midway before disappearing again.

 

I tried to decide what to do.  It wasn't all that dark but who knew how long it was or for that matter where it led.

 

"Should I go first?"  Eloise asked.

 

"Of course not.  I was just making sure he had enough room to go through," I lied.

 

"I don't know.  It looks kind of dark in there to me," she teased.

 

"Stop it,  you're not helping."

 

Reluctantly, I pushed myself through holding Eloise's hand, pulling her along behind me.

 

The light dimmed quickly and my heart followed suit but, happily, it didn't last long;  I was stunned as I came out into the light on the other side.  Ahead of us, rising high over our heads, a huge arc of red stone shaped like the mouth of a cave. It appeared to be all that was left after everything behind it had been removed.  What lay beyond this gateway surprised me all the more.

 

The ground had been washed away to form a wide, deep canyon that stretched for miles in every direction.  Several dozen miniature escarpments littered its floor.  Each no more than a few yards wide across their top, level to the ground upon which we stood, dove hundreds of feet to the bottom.  Stacked one upon the other, each was comprised of thick layers of different colored soil, and many hundreds of feet across at their base.

 

Running at the bottom of this cursed land was the only sign of water we had seen for days... a river.  It was thin, no more than fifteen or twenty feet across and seemed to go on forever.  It twisted and turned itself like a snake, folding upon itself repeatedly to cut through the soil.

 

"Miakoda," Bowen said, holding his hands out with pride.

 

"What does that mean?"  Eloise asked.

 

"It is the land of the rain makers," he returned gleefully, "Come, Daneba  waits."

 

We spent the remainder of the day inching our way to the bottom along a very narrow, well-worn path.

 

"Don't look down, don't look down," I repeated softly to myself.

 

"What?  Did you say something?"  Eloise asked stopping mid path, blocking my passage.

 

"Me?  No, of course not, what would I have to say?"  I answered, closing my eyes.

 

"You said something.  I know you did, now tell me," she said and then struck me with the back of her hand.

 

My heart instantly leapt into my throat.

 

"Goddess woman, must you always torment me so," I gasped pressing myself all the tighter to the stone wall at my back.

 

"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights too?"  She chided, hitting me again.

 

"What do you mean too?"  I asked hitting her lightly in return.

 

"You are, you are afraid of heights as well as the dark," she was giddy with the realization.

 

"I'm not afraid of the dark I just don't like it that's all.  And while we're at it I'm not afraid of heights either," I replied as convincingly as possible.  "It's falling that concerns me."

 

"Uh-huh.  I thought as much," She intoned dully.

 

"Can we go now?"  I asked, peaking quickly at her through narrowed eyes.

 

"Come on you big baby, don't look down," she grumbled.

 

"Good idea, wish I'd thought of it," I muttered.

 

Having reached the bottom at last, we followed the river until coming to the top of a small rise.  Surrounding us the canyon walls jutted several hundred feet into the air and curved in a huge bowl like shape.  From what I could see, we now stood upon its lowest edge, the lip of the bowl as it were.  At the very bottom of this gigantic basin the ground opened up revealing an extraordinarily large, flat, open area; at its center a cloud of dust drifted slowly into the air.

 

"What is it?"  I asked, shading my eyes from the setting sun.

 

"Not what Brother, who," Bowen said happily turning in the direction of the dust.

 

"Okay, who," I asked with a shrug.

 

"It is the Kindred," He shouted over his shoulder as if that explained it and began to trot quickly in that direction.

 

Eloise and I watched as he ran ahead.

 

"He doesn't think we're going to run does he?"  Eloise asked incredulously.

 

"I don't know, I think maybe he does."

 

"Well, he'll be very disappointed, I'm not doing it."

 

"Come on.  We don't want him to get too far ahead.  Goddess only knows what else could be hiding out here and it will be dark soon," I said taking her hand.

 

"Almost anything would be my guess.  Look over there... see the way the river cuts through the dirt... what does that remind you of?"  She asked, pointing.

 

"I don't know.  What kind of question is that?"

 

"It just looks familiar that's all and not in a good way."

 

"Goddess woman," I scolded, taking her hand again.  "Come on, and keep it to yourself.  You're not helping."

 

Bowen all but disappeared as we made our way in his direction.  After a few minutes, as he grew smaller in the distance,  he was consumed by the cloud of dust.

 

Eloise and I stopped at the same time.

 

"Well?"  She asked after a few moments.

 

"Well what?"  I returned.

 

"I don't see him anymore.  Maybe you should go see if he's alright."

 

"I beg your pardon?"

 

"Don't give me that.  What if something happened to him.  You're the husband. Go see if it's safe," She admonished, striking me in the chest with the back of her hand.

 

"And if it's not?  Then what?"

 

"Well, the sensible thing to do is throw yourself in front of whatever it is that's trying to eat you and give me time to get away of course," she said matter-of-factly.

 

"Trying to eat me?  Why the hell would you say that?"

 

"I don't know, it just came to me," She shrugged.

 

"How is it that I'm the one being eaten?"

 

"You're the husband.  People would talk if something happened to me and not to you."

 

"In the future, let them talk," I grumbled.

 

"Look, I think he's coming back," She said pointing.

 

I squinted, trying desperately to make heads or tails of what or who it was.  It was unclear at first but after a few moments there was no doubt.

 

It was Bowen.  Behind him five or six others were giving chase.

 

"We had better go," I said, sharply yanking Eloise's hand, turning her to follow me.

 

"Who is it?"

 

"It's Bowen and he's not alone."

 

"Oh, oh,"  She squealed and we began to walk quickly in the opposite direction.

 

It was clear, they were gaining on us.

 

"Come, Daneba waits," Bowen said excitedly, grabbing me by the shoulder.

 

Eloise and I stopped, turning to face him.  The other men, who now totaled seven were a mix of Jonda, Jansu and a race I didn't recognize.  They did however bear a strong, uncomfortable resemblance to the Norha.

 

"Brother, you go the wrong way.  The Kindred is this way," Bowen called.

 

"Sorry, we must have gotten turned around," I lied, peering at his fellows with a fearful eye.

 

They were shorter than the Jonda but still taller than me, a good two feet taller.  The Jonda, with a buckskin tone to their skin, held a healthy glow and an envious shine to their long black hair.  These people, whoever they were, had short cropped reddish hair and looked... pale, almost ashen;  not as gray as a Norha but close enough to make me uncomfortable.  Their only saving grace was their narrow face and sharp features, where a Norha's was square, primitive and more red in color.  These new people had eyes that were the brightest green I had ever seen and the way they blinked was abnormally slow, almost dream like.  They stood several yards away and swayed fluidly as if a breeze determined their manner.

 

Bowen spoke quickly in Jonda to one of the other men as he grabbed his wrist creating a sling with their arms.  Before either Eloise or I could object they scooped her up and ran for the column of dust.

 

I stood there, staring after them in disbelief as did the others that remained.  Without so much as a word, someone picked me up from under my arms like a child and placed me on the back of his companion.

 

Suddenly, one of them let out a blood curdling scream and the others immediately did the same and we were on a dead run following the path Bowen and his friend had taken.

 

I tried repeatedly to see over the shoulder of the man upon who’s back I clung but could not.  The bouncing movement was loosening my insides, making me feel less than well.  I had begun to hope that he would tire soon or at least stop before I threw up.  After a much longer time than I would have guessed we were closer to the center of the basin at last.  As we slowed to a walk and I slipped to the ground, bow legged.

 

"I don't think they will ever work right again," I complained hobbling in a small circle to work the kinks and aches out of my legs.

 

"Husband," Eloise said softly, suddenly there.

 

"Did you see that?  Did you see what they did to me?  My Goddess, my legs almost came out of their sockets."

 

"Husband," she repeated patting me earnestly.

 

"Good Goddess woman, what is it now?"

 

Without a word she turned me around.  I now stood outside the opening of what I could only loosely call a tent.  It was comprised of animal skins thrown over bent branches that had been tied together.  Next to it, on both sides a mere five feet away or so, the same structure duplicated again and again for as far as the eye could see,  arcing in such a way as to surely form a gigantic circle.  The murmured voices of thousands of people filled the air like the rumble of a far-away waterfall.  Above me the swirling cloud of red dust all but blotted out the sun.

 

"Citizen," Daneba said with a slight bow.

 

I was taken aback.

 

"Daneba," I said cautiously, bowing slightly in return, stepping inside.  She seemed taller than the last time I saw her, if such a thing could be possible.  She was dressed more richly for lack of a better word.  In the handful of encounters she and I shared she always dressed very humbly... if she went to the trouble of clothes at all.

 

Standing here now she appeared more regal.  Her hair had been pulled back into a tail.  Around her neck a necklace of small  blue stones with a shard of green glass that glowed lightly at its center.  What I couldn't help but notice was her face and right arm.  Once strikingly attractive, she now appeared damaged.  Down her neck and across her arm were swaths of purple, punctuated with yellow patches of scarred and melted flesh.  She had not escaped whole after all.

 

I turned my face away.

 

Ours was a complicated association.  She and I had what could only be called a contentious relationship.  She was responsible for my unwanted gift and all the horrible things that happened to me as a result.

 

Still, on some level I feared she harbored a deep resentment toward me.  She was instrumental in my safe escape,  instrumental in saving my life and the life of Enon's daughter.

 

I had laid awake many nights squabbling with myself...  I did the right thing,  I'm sure of it.  I had no choice I argued but inside, I still held no small measure of shame.  The fact of the matter was I left her there to live or die unassisted.

 

"I am glad you arrived in time.  It is important you are here.  The black moon comes."

 

"Daneba, I don't know what to say... I'm sorry," I offered weakly.  I couldn't look her in the face.

 

"The past is the past Citizen,  we can not change it.  We all did what needed to be done.  Only the future matters now," She returned, placing a warm hand to my shoulder.

 

"I'm glad you are still alive.  I had feared the worst."

 

"As did I."

 

A part of me, the part that worries about my well being, wanted me to ask about Tahki but I didn't know how.

 

"No," She said flatly turning her back to me.

 

"I didn't say anything." My mind churned wildly to form the question.

 

"I didn't kill her, Citizen.  It's all over your face.  I tried.  I tried desperately,  but she has grown too powerful.  Soon, even I will be unable to stop her," She said wholeheartedly.

 

"I'm sorry, I thought sure..." my mind stumbled with fear at the thought.  Tahki was still alive.

 

"As did I."

 

"So what happens now?"  I asked.

 

"It is why you are here Citizen.  The black moon comes."

 

"I wish you people would stop saying that."

 

"Come," She said and I followed.

 

At the instant she and I stepped outside the opposite side of the tent a thousand voices roared to life, cheering wildly.  The sound of drums filled the air with savage abandon adding to the pandemonium that surrounded us.  Eloise was suddenly there and we were held up and handed from Jonda to Jonda until we came full circle at last to stand in front of Daneba once more.

 

"The people are happy to see you brother," Spath said, slapping me firmly on the back, sending me several feet ahead of where I stood.

 

"Spath," Eloise and I exclaimed at the same time.

 

"It is good to see you husband Littlefield," he teased rubbing his huge hand through my hair.

 

"And you old friend," I returned gripping his arm as was the Jonda custom.

 

"Husband Littlefield," A woman's voice poured over me.

 

"Saris," I said with a smile.  She was as beautiful now as she was the first time I saw her.  Out of reflex I extended my hand in greeting.

 

"Husband," Eloise voiced sternly, suddenly reaching for my hand, shaking her head.

 

"Oh!  Oh yes, I almost forgot myself... wouldn't want to do that again," I said nervously, wiping my untouched hand repeatedly on my chest.

 

"What's happening?  Why are you all here?  Hell, while we're at it why are we here?"  I asked pointing to Eloise and myself.

 

"It is the black moon and you are soul bearer for all.  Come," Daneba said as if that explained it.

 

Reluctantly, Eloise and I did as she asked.  The Jonda murmured happily, separating for us patting us on the back affectionately at our passing behind Daneba.

 

Beyond the limits of the Jonda, hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of people trampled around in a tight circle, chanting in rhythm with the beat of wild drums,  sending a swirl of dust high into the air.  At the center of their orbit, built of polished black stone, was a platform almost twice as tall as me.  They chanted continuously creating a deafening chaotic roar that soaked to the center of me.  It was pure madness.  My heart pounded so hard it threatened to tear itself from my chest.  I fought to catch my breath and to understand what was happening.

 

Suddenly, thankfully, someone appeared at the top of the platform with a rams horn and with a long, single,  thundering blast the pandemonium stopped.

 

"Tell him all words spoken," Daneba ordered before disappearing through the crowd.

 

"Come brother it begins," Bowen said excitedly, pulling me along behind him.  I grabbed quickly for Eloise as he dragged me along past a forest of people who towered well over me, pushing Eloise and me to stand at the front, wedged between the platform and the crowd.

 

From the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Daneba climbing the steps at the far side.  A happy cheer from the Jonda went up upon her appearance.  Just as quickly, as their cheers began to fade, they were replaced with deep guttural, angry boos.

 

I moved closer to the platform to peer down the line of Jonda to see from where it had come, taking a few steps in that direction.

 

I was stunned.

 

"Bowen," I began.  Only now did it become clear to me that everyone present was not Jonda.

 

"Brother you are known to all… many are friends, many are not.  Without the Jonda at your side, Brother you are not safe," Bowen said softly pulling me back in line with the others.

 

"What are they?"  I asked pointing.

 

"They are the Minal, cousin to the Norha," he whispered pulling me to stand closer to him.

 

Cheers rose and fell as another Shaman climbed the stair to the platform until eight in total, counting Daneba, stood in a loose arc...  waiting.

 

Even with the appearance of the Shaman, as hard as I tried I could not look away from those that drove fear deep into my heart.  Not more than twenty feet away stood a race of people I had never seen.  They were much smaller than the Jonda.  Their faces were covered in a thick dark hair that stretched down the neck to their shoulders.  Their ears sat high and were drawn to a sharp point, giving them an unsettling canine like appearance.  Dressed in nothing more than dirty loin cloths there were hundreds of them screaming, each snarling like an animal gone mad.  Their skin; not covered in hair, was as red as a sunset and grew more yellow, more pus like in color, as it inched to their feet.

 

As I stared in disbelief it became clear not all of them were men.  Endowed with an equally thick barreled chest and huge muscular arms that terminated in unnaturally long, thin fingers, the women appeared much the same with the lone exception of being more slump shouldered and their bodies bent lower to the ground.

 

My brain pounded in my head as I tried to make sense of it all.  Clearly I did not understand.  I turned to look first to the right and then to the left.  The Jonda were an attractive wholesome looking people, giants every one of them mind you, pleasing to look upon but the others...  My heart sank to my feet.  There were more I did not recognize, many more.

 

"It is the whole of the Kindred brother, here for the black moon," Bowen explained seeing my discomfort and growing fear.

 

"How many?"  I mouthed weakly.

 

"The whole of the Kindred."

 

"I meant them," I said pointed with both hands in opposite directions.

 

Bowen glanced quickly about and then bent, putting his face close to mine.

 

"Nine tribes, brother," he whispered.  "We are the Kindred."

 

"In your Kindred, how many?"

 

"Like the leafs of many, many, forests," he said proudly standing to sweep his arm out over the crowd.

 

My mind reeled with the thought.  Goddess only knew how many "like the leafs of many, many, forests" truly meant.  What filled my head were images of my history with the Norha and the carnage they inflicted upon me and the Jonda themselves.  Now, with the thought of countless others of the same ilk for as far as the eye could see the world itself seemed far less safe.

 

At that moment the horn at the top of the platform sounded again.

 

"Brother," Bowen said lightly, lifting his chin, turning me to follow his gaze.

 

The drums began again, louder, more uniform this time and accompanied by deafening cheers from the opposite side of the platform that made its way around to us.

 

"The Shalic," Bowen said gleefully pointing, adding his voice to the others.

 

Coming to the center of the platform strode a man, a big, big man,  larger than any Jonda I had ever seen.  His face was surprisingly attractive, shaped more like mine than any of the others.  Draped over his shoulders, covering very little of his huge chest, the fur of an animal I did not recognize.  Around his waist a white loin cloth that lay over a dark brown pair of pants;  tied with sinew around his neck a small blue stone, no larger than a plum, glowed lightly.  In his right hand,  for lack of a better word,  a spear.  Straight as it could be, its bottom appeared slightly thicker than the top.  The leather wrapped at its center was darker and showed signs of regular use;  mounted at its top a long thin barb that held the promise of certain death at its employment.

 

"He's a Shalic?"  I asked trying to place this new figure into the scheme of things.

 

"No, Brother he is the Shalic," Bowen laughed.

 

Speaking in Jonda he and Spath squabbled playfully for a moment.

 

"King for the Kindred, brother," Spath explained.

 

"A new Shalic comes with the black moon.  The black moon comes every 28 years.  He is Ogin, cousin to the Jonda," Bowen added.

 

I tried to sort out their meaning as two women climbed the stairs at the back of the platform to join the Shalic and the Kindred cheered wildly.

 

The first was young, very pretty with reddish brown hair and dressed in a snow white buckskin dress that hung just above her bare feet; beside her, tentatively holding her hand, a child of three or so.

 

The Shalic crouched holding an arm out as the child ran to  him.  He hoisted the youngster to his shoulder, raising his free arm high in the air and the crowd went wild.

 

"What's happening?  Who are they" I asked.

 

"Second wife, Tayen and the Shalic's daughter, Shada," he said pointing at the young woman in white.  "First wife, Inamid," he continued, lifting his chin toward the woman standing in the background.

 

Older and much closer to the Shalic's age,  she also was dressed in white.  She was slim with slightly rounded shoulders as if accustomed to carrying a sizable burden on a regular basis.  Her face showed signs of her age, appearing deeply lined with wrinkles and more weathered. Clearly time had been less than kind to her.  What stood out to me was the way she held her body, stiff, rigid, regal like in her posture, lifting her chin with pride.

 

"Shada is the next Shalic?"  I asked with confusion.

 

"No brother, only a Shaman can be Shalic," he laughed.

 

"Only a Shaman, like Daneba?"

 

"Yes brother, like Daneba.  Each tribe has a Shaman...  a medicine man, a leader, to oversee the brethren in their care.  Each Shaman in the order of creation becomes Shalic at the black moon," he said, searching my face for some level of understanding.

 

"So, is Daneba the next Shalic?"  I questioned, I could think of no one better.

 

"No brother," he said down hearted.

 

His face suddenly shifted as he glanced about quickly.

 

The drums suddenly stopped as the guttural cheers of the Minal began again only more wildly.  The voices of many others joined theirs and everyone's attention turned from the Shalic toward the outside... someone was coming.

 

Beyond the outer line of people, the sound, barely audible over the din of the Minal, floated to me and I quaked inside.

 

"Roar of the bear," Spath and I said with dread at the same moment.

 

Instantly, I reached for Eloise pushing her to stand behind me.

 

The crowd shifted, moving away, echoing the way I was feeling.  As an opening appeared between them my greatest fears were realized... the Norha were coming.

 

A kind of panic filled me, I wanted to run, to flee.  I squeezed Eloise hand as tightly as I could looking between a forest of bodies and legs for an escape.

 

"Hold no fear brother; here even the Norha follow the law," Bowen offered.  He placed a hand on my shoulder as if to hold me in place and I had to admit it eased my concerns if only for a moment.

 

The crowd of people had pushed back creating a larger opening than before; at one end the platform... at the other the Norha.  The drums suddenly beat in unison to the stomping of the Norha feet,  thousands upon thousands of them all stomping at the same time.  The combined rhythm sent a flood of memories washing over me.  I pressed closer to Bowen as they formed a line of nine across and then another and another.

 

I had seen this before... they did the exact same thing two years ago.  Hundreds and hundreds of them marched straight to their deaths, throwing themselves over the edge of a precipice without a blink of an eye to form a bridge of living bodies... all in an effort to get to us, to steal Enon’s daughter… Elizabeth.

 

They marched forward and another line formed behind them, again and again, eleven deep, nine across and then my greatest fear...  Tahki.  Dressed in a pure white vest and matching skirt, she walked in our direction, surrounded by the Norha.  She held her head high, her shoulders back looking down her nose and strolled toward the platform as if she owned it.  As she drew closer it became clear she had not fared as well in her battle with Daneba as I had feared.  Her left side showed scars and melted skin much like those that marked Daneba herself.  The skin covering her right hand appeared darker and much more damaged than the other and the sight of it sickened me and made me happy all at the same time.

 

To my surprise and personal discomfort as they began to march past where I stood the Norha stopped and turned to face me.  They stared straight ahead not at me but I could feel their gaze all the same.  Then they took a step to one side and Tahki glided closer, making her way to stand in front of me.

 

"Citizen," she smirked leaning a little in my direction.  "You and I have some unfinished business."

 

"The hell we do," I returned angrily.

 

She straightened, stepping back a little as Bowen and several other Jonda suddenly stepped in front of me, creating a wall of bodies between she and I.

 

I saw nothing else, heard no drum, no pounding feet, only the burning hatred that yearned to get out as she stepped away.

 

Suddenly, the Jonda that surrounded me began to scream and beat their chest in anger, shaking their fist.

 

"What's happening?"  I asked frantic I had missed something.

 

"She shames the Jonda," Bowen spit, "Look."

 

I pushed to step out of line to follow his gaze to Tahki.  I had not noticed it before but now seeing her from the back for the first time I had trouble understanding what I was looking at… attached to her shoulders, hanging down her back, cut to form a curve at the outside, becoming longer at the center forming a point... a thick, shiny, luxurious pelt.  My mind churned for a moment, confused by the noise, by the people, consumed by my loathing of her and then I knew.  My stomach pitched in revulsion...  It was hair... Jonda hair - the hair of those killed by the Norha.

 

"Monster," I screamed as my face flushed hot.

 

She turned slightly to look over her shoulder at me and smiled a repugnant smile.

 

If it were possible to wish someone dead I'm sure that the majority that stood at the edge to view her passing would have made it so.

 

Floating a clear foot off the ground, following a yard or so behind her, one to each side, a soul walker.

 

They stood well over nine feet tall and held a ghastly appearance as they fluctuated from solid to vapor and back again.  Their skin, if I could call it that, was torn, tattered.  Their ghoulish face was a horrifying reflection of the men they once were in the most disgusting and vile way imaginable.  Their arms were thick, muscular and tapered at the wrist to become long, thin fingers that writhed relentlessly of their own volition.

 

At their passing another line of Norha and then another and another until an additional eleven lines fell in behind them.  They marched forward pushing all that stood in their way to one side, roughly clearing an unobstructed path for Tahki to climb the platform.

 

The drums beat wildly, the air full of voices and the stomping, my Goddess, the stomping thrummed to the heart of me and then suddenly... silence.

 

For a moment a small part of me feared that I had died and would have believed it true were it not for Eloise squeezing my hand.

 

As Tahki climbed to the top, the uncontrolled cheers of the Norha and their supporters erupted, washing over us only to be countered by the jeers of the remainder of the Kindred.

 

She strutted to the center as if all eyes were upon her and her alone.

 

The look of disdain on Daneba's face mirrored my own as Tahki took her place among the others.  The Shalic motioned to Daneba, drawing her closer.  They spoke for a moment, leaning closer to one another and Daneba shook her head repeatedly.  The Shalic stepped forward, smiling broadly and waved in our direction.

 

I was unclear what it meant until I saw the angry look on Daneba's face and her forced gesture pointing at the floor beside her.

 

"Come brother, Daneba calls,"  Bowen said as he pulled us along to climb the platforms stairs.

 

We were suddenly accosted by hateful boos, jeering and wild cheers alike as we made our way across to where Daneba and the Shalic stood.

 

The crowd's grumbling grew louder, more unruly, becoming very disconcerting.

 

It did not go unnoticed by the Shalic.

 

"Ayusten," he shouted and tapped the butt of his spear hard on the platform.  It made a solid thud on the stone and was quickly followed by the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance.  The crowd immediately quieted down in response and a part of me felt better.

 

The Shalic turned his attention to me and Eloise, bowing slightly as he spoke.

 

"The Shalic says you are well known among the Kindred.  You are most welcome here," Bowen offered.

 

Bowen stepped back pushing me lightly to stand before the Shalic.  For lack of knowing what else to do, I offered my hand in greeting.  The Kindred suddenly went wild... some cheered madly and others were less than pleased as they began to fight among themselves.  They divided into two warring  groups, each hell bent on the destruction of the other.  The air filled with the madness of their voices and the sounds of their fighting.

 

"Ayusten!"  The Shalic shouted, banging his spear, much harder to the floor once more.

 

The ground shuddered slightly in response followed a moment later by the sound of thunder rolling somewhere in the distance and the fighting stopped.  Blood dripped freely as everyone held their place swaying as if moved by some unseen wind, waiting to begin once more.

 

The drums began a new, light, slow, rhythm and everyone turned in one direction.  The sunlight was quickly dwindling, it was slowly growing darker.  The air was abruptly cooler; the drums picked up their pace, becoming louder, stronger in return.  Something strange was happening.

 

A thousand voices began to sing; low almost inaudible at first, matching the rhythm of the drums, growing louder as the darkness grew.

 

Now, overhead in the middle of the day, the moon appeared in the sky becoming more black in its manifestation.  I was in awe as it slid steadily over the face of the sun driving us deeper and deeper into darkness.  At the moment it completely covered the sun the drums and voices stopped and time seemed to follow suit.  At that moment we stood in the heart of midnight... overhead the sun had become little more than a thin ring of light.  The sliver still visible fluctuated and danced wildly as if trying to escape its new confines.  I have never seen anything like it in my life nor have I heard tale of such a thing.

 

As the moon slid further along its path the darkness gave way to sunlight once more.

 

"AHHHIE," someone screamed breaking the trance that held us all.

 

Laying in a puddle of blood no more than five feet in front of me lay the Shalic.  Plunged into his back a large dark handled  knife.  At his side pulling arduously at his body the Shalic's second wife Tayen; hers was the scream that broke the spell of the black moon.

 

I was stunned beyond words.

 

Without a moment's hesitation Inamid reached down for the knife, pulling it from the Shalic's back, holding it over her head and began to walk a full circle around the platform...  screaming unintelligibly the same words over and over.

 

"What did she say," I asked almost in panic, grabbing Bowen's arm.

 

Before he could answer the Kindred exploded into an all out war, their madness was everywhere.

 

I made one last attempt with Bowen.

 

"She says it is a Norha knife... her knife," he barked hoarsely pointing at Tahki.  His chest heaved with anger as he spoke.  "She says kill the Norha... kill them all."

 

At that moment several Norha bounded up the stairs, heading straight for us... the fighting had reached the platform.

 

Bowen did his best to stop them,  shielding Eloise and me with his body, taking a beating in our stead.

 

As a result I was thrown to the side, landing within inches of the Shalic's body.  As I got to my feet I grabbed the spear wedged under his arm,  freeing it at last.  I was surrounded by mayhem and had no idea what to do.

 

"Enough," I screamed and slammed the spear to the floor.

 

Instantly there was a flash of light and a devastating clap of thunder right overhead that drove everyone present sprawling to the ground.

 

All fighting had stopped, only I remained standing as I held the staff.  Then the unthinkable, out of a clear blue sky, as each regained themselves, standing again, it began to rain.  Slowly, softly at first becoming a full fledged out and out rain after a few minutes.

 

Much to my surprise Daneba got down on one knee in front of me and bowed.

 

"Agtkyinna Shalic Littlefield," Daneba cried loudly.  Then one by one the Shaman that stood on the platform followed her lead, each bowing to me.

 

"All hail Shalic Littlefield," Bowen said in common for my benefit before bowing himself.

 

As I turned a full circle, peering out over the Kindred as far as the eye could see, row after row slowly did the same getting to one knee bowing in the direction of the platform.  To my surprise the Norha followed suit as well.

 

Eloise had made her way to me.  She looked bruised, battered but by-in-large no worse for wear, pressing her back to mine.  I slipped a hand behind me to take hers as she leaned into me, trying to speak, drawing a deep breath. 

                          "What have you done?"  She croaked at last.