The Serpent and the Crown Page 11

  He felt a nausea worse than his worst day at sea. His face was bloated and pale as the sweat poured down his forehead. He tried to return to the chant but the pain commanded all his attention. He felt like he was going to vomit at any moment, but the pain dragged on for hours without relief and he thought he had made the wrong choice. Something angry kicked inside his stomach and he felt like his abdomen was about to explode. Finally, he felt it coming up. He heaved and gasped as the bile shot out of his mouth. The acidic residue of the citrus fruit burned the back of his throat. It all came out and he kept heaving and gasping for air. He felt a large lump in his stomach. He involuntarily heaved and it started up his esophagus. He heaved again and again as the solid lump slowly made its way up to the back of his throat. It felt like the size of his fist as it entered his mouth and he coughed it up onto the sand.

  The pain began to recede. He breathed in the night air and collapsed onto his back. The warmth of the fire relieved any pain that still lingered. He gazed up into the stars wondering what the Amoza would show him this time. He gazed all night, but no visions came to him, only a shooting star.

  When he woke the next morning, Jorobai felt empty. He felt disgusted with himself and what transpired the night before. He had drunk the Amoza for an answer, hoping for some guidance, but all he got was intense pain and vomiting. He felt weak as he walked to the water’s edge, stooped over, and cast his eyes down. He stepped out over the rocks, gazed down at the crustaceans and crabs and thought about what he could eat. But the dejected feeling had such strong possession of him that he went back to his smoldering fire and lay down, to give his feelings some time to pass.

  As he neared the firepit, he saw the lump that he vomited up the night before. He slumped down next to it, then got close enough to examine it, wondering how it came to be inside him. A membrane encased some fleshy contents within. He thought he saw moistened matted hair beneath the membrane. He was disgusted by the sight of it and felt nauseous again. His head was spinning and he was about to fall on his back and faint, but the sudden movement caught his eye and jolted him back to awareness. There was a living creature in that membrane, struggling to break free.

  “This was inside me,” he said to himself. He couldn’t fathom it. It occurred to him that it could be the work of Amoza wriggling in front of him. He gently tore a hole in the membrane and watched the creature as it sat on the sand. He watched it kick the rest of the membrane off and let out a high-pitched, whimpering cry. It had four tiny little legs and paws. It was covered with moist dark fur and its eyes were closed. It lay down and breathed as Jorobai watched. He felt compassion for this infantile, four-legged creature he had birthed through his mouth, and he gently picked it up and held it to his chest, right up to where it could feel the warmth of his body and the beat of his heart. He lay down on his back and the little creature heaved big breaths and rested there as Jorobai caressed it with his fingers. It reminded him of his first moments with Jankaro after he was born.

  Jorobai resolved to care for the creature that the Amoza had delivered to him. He had made a plea for help and this being was the response. If his son was on the island, then the creature could help to find him. He squeezed drops of citrus into its mouth, and shared bits of cooked crab.

  Within a few days he could see its features take the form of a cat and thought it was a baby jaguar, but he knew that such beasts were not born from the mouths of men. All he knew was that it was his companion now. It cried to him for food and slept nestled up against him at night. Within a few weeks they were playing. The little cat would latch its teeth around his finger and he would drag it around, make it dance on its hind legs, and even lift it up as though it was taking flight.

  It waddled along the beach investigating the creatures it met along the way, sometimes gobbling down insects on the spot, other times batting them around or chasing them, and leaping up to try to catch them with its paws. Jorobai found that he could eat those insects too.

  He marveled at how fast it grew. After a few weeks it was a genuine little cub that could reach its paws up his leg and just barely touch his knee. When its explorations reached the border of the beach and the treeline, Jorobai feared the vines. He grabbed the little cat and brought it back further down on the beach.

  Jorobai thought of his missing son and how to find him and began to realize he had found a piece of what he was looking for with the little cub. They played and explored together and he realized the cub was an explorer like Jankaro. It was just like the days when Jankaro was a young boy and Jorobai would struggle to keep track of him and keep him out of harm’s way. The cub nearly got its foot chopped off by an angry crab, but Jorobai was quick enough to snatch the crab before the fight ensued, and it soon became the afternoon meal.

  He was starting to feel love for the cub like he did for his son Jankaro. He noticed it was a male, and named him Gondaro. He was growing very fast, and would be a very large beast someday, and could prove to be a powerful ally on the quest. During those first few weeks as they played together on the beach, Jorobai felt joy as he watched Gondaro grow. It was the first time he felt any happiness since he lost his son.

  When Gondaro was big enough, Jorobai allowed him to leave the beach and venture into the jungle. On that first day out in the dense foliage, Jorobai saw the exuberance in Gondaro as he wove his way between the plants. His eyes bulged at every new and wondrous sight. The birds sang and the monkeys crashed through the trees above. Gondaro stopped and looked up to see these new creatures. His head jerked around as he tried to locate them. His expression shifted from joy to terror as the vine wrapped around his foot and tried to pull him away. Jorobai thought to hack right through it with the knife, but he held back for a moment and watched as Gondaro was able to kick and scratch and claw at the vine and wrestle himself free. “Come on my little friend, let’s get back to the beach where it’s safe.”

  Jorobai caught a fish and they shared a meal by the fire. “You’ve got to watch yourself out there Gondaro,” Jorobai heard echoes of his own voice from years past when he issued such warnings to Jankaro. “If you stop moving, even for a moment, those vines will grab you and drag you away, and we might never see each other again.”

  Jorobai was impressed to see the small furry creature carried within Gondaro’s jaws. The cub now reached the middle of his thigh, and had taken a liking to ranging by himself in the forest. Jorobai called out to him and tried to keep him close but Gondaro would not listen and always bounded off on his own. But he always came back. The feeling was all too familiar to Jorobai, however, and his heart broke every time Gondaro ran away.

  Gondaro developed an interesting coat pattern as he grew. His fur started off dark like a black jaguar. Then he lightened and showed spots like a jaguar. Then when he took a liking to ranging on his own, the spots expanded into hexagons that pressed against each other like a beehive.

  When Jorobai reached out to pat him on the head and congratulate him on his triumph, he noticed something that sent a chill down his spine: blue hair. Little Gondaro had a blue stripe from the center of his forehead, over his head and all the way down the center of his back. Only one creature bore this mark: Ashtari. A creature Jorobai had never seen, one that he believed to be extinct. “Jankaro was right! I should have gone with him that day!”

  He raged at himself and pounded his fists into the sand. Gondaro looked at him with a knowing expression and they gazed into each other’s eyes. “You are Ashtari. You will be a mighty beast.” His respect for his companion multiplied. He thought of his journey to get the medicine and how the jaguar had attacked him. He knew that Ishikaya’s power was great, but this went beyond any magic he had ever known. “Gondaro the Ashtari!” He gave him a head rub, then proceded to skin Gondaro’s catch and cook it over the fire.

  The Dark Chamber

  Jankaro followed Anhael down a dimly lit spiral staircase that descended beneath the pyramid. The air
felt warm as they drew nearer to the belly of the earth. After another 100 stairs, they reached the bottom. The space was dark and extended out in all directions.

  “Stay close and follow me,” said Anhael as he walked out into the darkness. Jankaro felt the light from the staircase behind him, but ahead it was pitch black. He followed the sound of Anhael’s footsteps.

  They walked for a little while, straight into the darkness. Anhael stopped and pulled open a thick and heavy door. He stepped inside. “Welcome to your new home.” Jankaro saw nothing as he stepped forward toward the sound of Anhael’s voice. He felt himself entering a chamber. His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach and a cold sweat ran down his brow as the confined space reminded him of the night he was eaten by the serpent. “Every soldier has spent a portion of their life in solitude in a chamber like this. Here you will learn more than you could ever imagine.

  “There will be four phases to your initiation. Each phase will feature a new plant in your diet. The plants will teach you many things. They will teach you how to fight the Cruxai. I will visit you in between each phase.

  “Down here to the left of the main door is a revolving door. This is where your food and water will come in from time to time. Over here on the right side of the main door is another revolving door for your bucket of bodily waste. These walls are made of thick stone and it will break your bones so think twice before you smash yourself into them. If you need help, there will be none. You will need to find your lessons in this chamber.

  “The first few days are difficult. It is hard to live without the sun, in total darkness. But would you believe me Jankaro when I tell you I can see you right now? I can see you kneeling on the floor, your head hanging down.”

  Jankaro stood up and swung his arms from side to side. “I can see you moving your arms from side to side,” said Anhael. “Can you see me?”

  “No.”

  “Soon you will be able to see in the dark like the rest of us. You will be able to see yourself, your food, anything that enters this chamber.”

  “You’re just going to leave me here alone?”

  “And lock you in.”

  “Uhhh…” Jankaro’s mind was frozen. He wanted to protest, but after coming so far, he knew it wouldn’t sound right.

  “I’ll come and see you when the first plant is done with you.” Anhael walked out and shut the door. Jankaro heard the sound of a heavy latch.

  Darkness surrounded him. He moved around the chamber and reached out with his hands. The walls were made of smooth hard stone. He got down on his knees and felt the floor beneath him. It was the same. In one corner he found a soft pad with a blanket and a pillow. He moved back over to the door but there was no handle. He could barely find the narrow slits that outlined the door.

  To the right of the door he found the pail for his refuse. He pushed on the wall there and it gave way and spun around. Another opening appeared and revealed a fresh pail that had been staged on the other side of the small revolving door. The space was too small for him to try to squeeze through.

  He went over to the left of the door and pushed on the wall and the stone at the base of the wall spun and when it came around he found a plate of food. He felt the plate and found nothing but leaves.

  He took one bite of the bitter leaf and nearly gagged. He could barely chew it and swallow it.

  His heart sank as he realized he had taken a full inventory of what his life would be like for the coming months: alone in the dark with nothing but bitter food. He wondered how that was supposed to make him better at killing Cruxai. He wondered why they would keep him down there when they could be training him with a sword up above.

  He felt his way around the chamber again. The walls were solid and cold. He sat down and his breath felt like great gusts of wind. He heard his heart beating faster as his blood surged in his veins. He tasted an acrid flavor in his mouth. His vision filled with red and he could see the faces of the Cruxai in his mind’s eye. His teeth clenched and his muscles tensed up all over his body.

  Nothing he could do. Nothing he could do but scream. He let out a roaring cry that bounced off the walls of the chamber and reverberated within his ribcage. He was overcome with rage as he ground his teeth, clenched his fists and longed for a Cruxai to strangle. He imagined ripping them apart one by one as he beat his fists on the stone floor. He roared, kicked, screamed and convulsed until finally his body collapsed onto the mat and sleep took him.

  He dreamed he was standing on top of a cliff, thousands of feet up, looking out on a vast landscape of forests, rivers, and hills. The snake came up behind him, he couldn’t react until it was too late. He was in her jaws. She lifted him up and held him out over the edge. “Bring me the crown!” Then she dropped him and his heart raced as he fell. As he saw the river approaching below, he raised his arms to shield his face.

  When he awakened there was a weight upon his chest and a pair of cold hands wrapped around his throat, choking him. He felt a wave of shock and terror flash up and down his body, but there was no time to think. He grabbed at the hands and tried to pull them off, but failed. So he jerked his feet up, drove them into the chest of his attacker and thrust upward with all his might as he rolled his body backward. He heard his attacker thump against the wall behind.

  He gasped for air as he spun around. In spite of the absence of light he saw the dim glow of something he recognized: the eyes of a Cruxai. Without thinking he gazed into them and he merged with the hate they carried. They lunged at each other like mirrors of spiteful rage and collided in the center of the chamber. From there it was a wild frenzy of grappling, kicking, punching, choking, biting and scratching. After a face first collision with the wall, Jankaro tasted his blood in his mouth. He drove his fist into the mouth of the Cruxai and the fight raged on.

  This Cruxai was up to the challenge of facing Jankaro. They were of the same shape and size and for a long while they seemed to be equal in strength. The battle raged for hours with more of the same, as both combatants began to pant and gasp with exhaustion. It was then that Jankaro began to find the upper hand; he could feel his endurance persist as the Cruxai slowed. He reached down into that place deep within and found a last burst of energy that surged through his fingertips as they penetrated into the eye sockets of the Cruxai. He smashed its face into the wall over and over again until it fell into a lifeless lump on the floor.

  Jankaro’s body began to shake. His heart raced and he panted. He felt colder than ice as sweat poured down his brow. His body sunk to the stone floor and he felt frozen and weak. A sense of dread came over him and he felt trapped within that feeling, spinning deeper into a place that felt so close to the death he once tasted.

  In that dark moment he felt a warmth behind him. He crawled and slithered across the floor very slowly with his last bit of energy. And there it was before him: the plant. He could smell it and feel its energy. He reached down and grabbed a mouthful. He chewed vigorously. Never before had it tasted so hearty and nourishing. He devoured the whole plate in less than a minute and rolled over onto his back, licking the last bits from his lips. He felt his strength return, renewed and amplified. He felt his blood pulsing and pounding and rushing, as if on a mission to reignite every last cell. He almost smiled as he gazed up into the blackness, fixated on the warm energy of the plant as it burned in his gut.

  He didn’t have much time to ponder where the Cruxai had come from, but when he returned to the spot where he killed it, he found that it was gone. There was no trace of its body or scent. He stayed awake as long as he could but sleep finally took him.

  Again he awoke to the body of an angry Cruxai pressing down on him. This time it was bigger and stronger but he knew he had the will to defeat it. They crashed into the walls and crushed each other with every ounce of strength. Again Jankaro arose victorious. There was a satisfaction he drew from killing them. He felt like an arbiter of justice.
He marveled at the magic of the chamber as he crawled over to the plant to partake again.

  He tasted the essence of the plant and saw its likeness in his mind’s eye. He saw a small, soft, supple and flowering bush growing under the canopy of the jungle. He saw the dew dripping down the leaves and the insects crawling all over it. He saw human hands harvest it and prepare it for him. He heard a melody in his ears as the spirit of the plant sang her song to him.

  He battled Cruxai after Cruxai, growing stronger every time. He felt the wall of the chamber, searching for their place of entry. He pretended to be asleep in the hope of catching someone entering the chamber, to no avail. When he slept, he fell into a deep and restful sleep, only to wake with a Cruxai on top of him.

  For a while it was two at a time and then three. Every day the challenge grew, and every day he grew stronger by partaking of the magical plant that had become his ally. He heard her song of beauty as he battled the Cruxai and it called forth his spirit to victory. After defeating them, he chanted over their dead bodies, over his own aching body, into the empty space of the chamber, and to the leaves of the plant as he ate. He sat down, closed his eyes and projected his chant into the distance, far enough for his father to hear.

  As time and battles came and went, Jankaro noticed a gradual change in his vision: he could see in the darkness. He could not see the walls of the chamber but he saw the dim blue glow that outlined his own form. The Cruxai combatants emanated a deep purple glow. The plant had a green glow with dancing flames of yellow and orange around the edges of its aura. Sometimes as he ate the plant he could see through her eyes. He saw the river, the trees, the insects and the animals as they roamed. He felt like he was back in Olaya, roaming around the jungle exploring with joy and excitement bursting in his heart. But soon after he finished eating he would remember the giant snake that devoured him, his cry for life and the deal he made with her. And he remembered the land of Galdea and the new allies he had made, and an enemy that struck a chord of indignant hatred deep within his bones: the Cruxai.