Legend of the Timekeepers (3 page)

Istulo fell silent for a moment before she answered Lilith. “Your father is the Keeper of the seventh Arch of Atlantis, yes?”

Lilith raised a fair brow. “Yes.”

“I met with him almost three moon phases ago. Your father has been very worried about you since you’ve arrived here. He told me you haven’t made a single friend or even picked up a scroll to read. So I suggested to him that I do a life reading for you to help you move forward with your new life.”

Tau guffawed. “I would love to see what occupation you come up with for her!”

Lilith glared at Tau. “Be careful. I’m sure I can round up more of those ser…white crawlers.”

“How hard is it for your people to say ‘serqet’?” Tau asked in exasperation.

Lilith ignored him and turned to Istulo. “What is a life reading?”

Istulo pulled a small ceramic disk from her metallic pouch. “This is called a life seal, Lilith. Right now it is blank, but when I’ve had a chance to assess you based on your karmic development, this will help you decide on your lifetime occupation.”

Lilith stared at the disk as if it were a white crawler. She wrinkled her nose. “How?”

Istulo reached out to touch Lilith’s cheek, just as a sudden, sharp twinge rippled across the old priestess’s face. She withdrew her hand and said, “Through the inscriptions I write on this disk during a self-induced trance. I listen to the internal guidance given and record this advice. The results of this transaction then become your life seal.”

Tau grinned. “It’ll probably still be blank after the trance.”

“Have you ever had a life reading, Tau?” Lilith asked, curling her fingers.

“Yes,” Istulo answered for him. “He received his life seal before the great flood made us take refuge on higher ground until the waters receded. Tau proudly wears his seal around his neck.” Then Istulo picked up the empty ceramic vial and deposited it in her pouch. “I must take my leave and attend to my new students. Lilith, I trust I will see you on the next new moon for your life reading. Do not be late.”

It sounded more like a demand than a request to Lilith. She nodded in response.

Istulo trundled down the hall toward the area where Lilith had heard the crystal bowls being played. Confident that the old priestess was out of listening range, Lilith screwed her full lips to one side and turned to face Tau. “So, what’s your lifetime occupation supposed to be, Tau? A farmer? A baker? A dung-ditch maker?”

Seemingly unfazed, Tau reached for his life seal, held it out like it was a piece of sweet fruit to taunt Lilith with, and said, “I am to be a special scribe to an important emissary.”

Lilith pushed her creeping fair locks off the side of her face, but it seemed a losing battle. Her hair was starting to feel like straw. She sputtered her lips and said, “The only scribes I’ve seen around here record the farmer’s crop share. Correct me if I’m wrong but that doesn’t sound very special to me.”

Tau’s face fell. “No. But you wait and see. Istulo’s life readings are never wrong!”

Lilith stamped her foot against a polished tile with enough force to knock her remaining sandal off. This time the sandal smacked a man across the top of his back as he attempted to leave the Temple Beautiful.

Lilith covered her mouth. So far this day, her sandals had gotten her into nothing but trouble.
First the white crawler, now this.
She removed her hand and flashed him an apologetic smile. “I…I am so sorry,” Lilith stammered. “It was an accident.”

The man turned around and stared at Lilith. His body was draped over a golden walking stick decorated with pearls and various gems. The man appeared old but not as wrinkled and gaunt as Istulo. There was still life in his wild, white hair, which stuck out every which way and needed a good brushing. His eyes were the color of the desert sand, and his skin the color of alabaster. The gown he wore was deep blue, marking him as a sage. He smiled at Lilith a good long moment, making her feel as if she was being assessed by a hardened teacher. Slowly, he reached for her sandal by his bare foot, picked it up, and held it out to Lilith.

“Young lady—” he said smiling “—there are no accidents.”

2

The Temple Beautiful

L
ilith nervously tapped her palm sandal against the shimmering tiles outside the entrance to Istulo’s chambers in the Temple Beautiful. She had arrived early, as requested, catching the lingering scent of perfumed incense and hearing the methodic tones of priests and priestesses in morning mediation. A pair of entwined serpents, carved out of black marble and trimmed with gold, adorned the top of Istulo’s doorway in a threatening manner. Both serpents stared down at her, their sculpted tongues and fangs emerging from open jaws as if ready to consume whoever dared walk past them. Lilith shuddered, feeling like she was back in bed with the snake her uncle had attempted to give her. She stopped tapping and took a few steps back, almost knocking over a crystal vase on a white marble pillar. Turning, Lilith grabbed it in time before it fell. Taking a deep breath, she placed the vase back on its shining perch, then wiped away the strands of hair clinging to her forehead.

“A little oil mixed with powdered sandalwood will tame your hair,” the girl behind Lilith blurted.

Jolted, Lilith turned around to glare at the girl who obviously had no manners. Lilith’s eyes were immediately drawn to her shoulder-length thick, red hair. It was braided in rows that tapered down into fine points. Small seashells decorated the end of each braid as if they had been carefully selected for such a purpose. The girl’s red hair wasn’t the same as Lilith’s Uncle Kukulkan’s cinnamon shade. Instead, the girl possessed a bright berry hue, the likes Lilith had never seen before. It was distracting yet mesmerizing at the same time.

The girl cupped Lilith’s chin and nudged it down. Wide green eyes, the color of a sea turtle, glared at Lilith. “My mother says it’s rude to stare.”

Lilith’s nostrils flared. “Well, my mother—” She cut herself off, feeling the void in her heart from the loss of her mother, then continued, “—taught me to offer advice only when asked for it. And I don’t recall asking for your advice about my hair.”

“Suit yourself.” She shrugged. “But if you want to get rid of that frizzy, fly-away look, take my advice—sandalwood oil works wonders. Oh, and while you’re at it, you should add some accessories to your plain white gown. It will not only enhance the color of your beautiful blue eyes, it will bring to life whatever you’re wearing.”

Lilith started to cross her arms over her chest, then stopped herself. “What kind of accessories?”

The girl smiled as if she’d found a lost treasure. Her teeth were pearl with a hint of pink. She rubbed her hands together briskly, and said, “An embroidered sash to show off your hips, and a seashell and pearl necklace to enhance your neckline. Your snake bracelet is a definite keeper, but use only one crystal hairpin—not five—and preferably purple or blue. You want your hair to move naturally, not be held back. Oh, wait one more thing.”

Lilith’s face twitched. “Just one?”

The girl pointed to Lilith’s feet. “Palm woven sandals are out of style. And where’s your satchel?”

“I…I don’t have one.”

The girl thumbed her square chin. “That’s an easy fix, I have loads of them—I’ll lend you one that will pull your outfit together. You’ll have a suitor in no time.”

“A suitor?”

The girl nodded just enough to show off her dangling bead earrings. Lilith must have counted at least five different seashell bracelets running up each arm. The girl’s white sheath had beaded straps instead of cloth straps and a herringbone design ran along the gown’s bottom. A belt dyed a deep purple hugged the girl’s waist and allowed for her hips to flare out in an attractive way. Curious, Lilith lowered her head to see what kind of sandals were in style. Lilith’s eyes widened. Spotted animal-skin sandals with a heel at least as long as Lilith’s middle finger adorned the girl’s feet. Lilith blinked, feeling the need to slink into a nest of white crawlers.

“Yes, a suitor,” the girl said in exasperation. “A woman is not complete without a man.”

“So what you’re saying—” Lilith inclined her head “—is that all this accessorizing is to attract a mate?”

The girl rolled her eyes. “Yes, that’s the point of it.”

Lilith giggled. “If that’s the case, you must have a boat load of suitors to choose from.”

The girl’s face fell. Her normal skin tone was close to Lilith’s but a little tanner. Then a group of young, native men passed them in the hallway of the Temple Beautiful where Lilith been waiting to see Istulo. Lilith thought they might be artists by the way all their hands were speckled with blue, green, and yellow paint. And all of them wore linen loincloths, like Tau. They stared at the red-headed girl for a moment, then laughed and cut a wide berth around her.

“Freak,” one of the men muttered.

“Fancy her?” another artist asked.

“Shave her head, and I’ll think about it.”

The group guffawed, slapping the man on his back, while they turned down a corridor.

“What was that all about?” Lilith asked, feeling a sudden drop inside her.

The girl didn’t answer Lilith. She was too busy looking inside a spotted animal-skin satchel which matched her sandals perfectly. She pulled out something Lilith recognized—a life seal. The girl stared at the disk as if it held a long-awaited answer to a question she’d asked one too many times.

“Why are you here?” Lilith asked. “You’ve already got your life seal.”

“I have more questions for Istulo.” She continued to stare at the disk.

Lilith sighed. “My name is Lilith. What’s your name?”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. A hint of a smile broke out on her face. Her upturned nose wiggled. “She-Aba. I was born here in the Black Land. Both my parents arrived from Atlantis fourteen years ago yesterday. My mother gave birth to me the next day.”

Lilith perked up. “That would make today your birthday!”

She-Aba beamed. “Yes. That’s why I’m here. For my birthday last year, I had my life reading done by Istulo. But recently, there’s been a hiccup in my plans. It’s like my life seal rearranged itself, and now I’m confused. I’m here for a reaffirmation.”

“What’s the problem?”

She-Aba traced her life seal with the tip of her perfectly shaped fingernail. “My lifetime occupation was supposed to be to design clothing for the people of the various positions in the court and temples.”

Lilith smirked. “That makes perfect sense.”

“I know, right? So why, all of a sudden, would my life seal change from designing clothing to something completely different?”

Lilith arched a fair brow. “How different?”

“Well, instead of clothing people in lavish robes and gowns for others to appreciate, the seal suggests that I’ll be doing the opposite by covering up and hiding the truth. I don’t understand it at all. I thought my life was all planned out for me.”

“I thought mine was too, until my country blew up and slid into the ocean,” Lilith muttered.

“Hey, look at the bright side, at least your hair isn’t red like mine.”

Lilith eyed She-Aba carefully. “What’s wrong with red hair? My uncle has red hair and it suits him fine.”

She-Aba moved in closer. “If you haven’t noticed already, there aren’t many redheads around here. The natives think red is magical, and anyone with red hair is considered a freak of nature.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Lilith said loud enough to cause an echo down the marble hallway. “Is that the reason why those artists were rude to you? Because you have red hair?”

“Red is a very powerful color,” a raspy voice said from behind both girls.

Lilith and She-Aba jumped. They slowly turned to find Istulo hovering over them.

Wearing the same white gown and orichalcum headband Lilith saw her dressed in before, Istulo nodded slightly before she said, “Red represents the essence of life—if we are drained of blood, we are drained of energy. The people of the Black Land understand this, and therefore red is reserved only for their gods and goddesses.”

Lilith giggled. “Don’t tell She-Aba that, she’ll think she’s a goddess.”

She-Aba poked her in the ribs, but Lilith ignored her and continued to giggle.

Istulo squinted at She-Aba. “Did we have a session together?”

She-Aba licked her pink lips. “No, Istulo. I was hoping, since it’s my birthday, that I could get you to look at my life seal and reaffirm it for me. It’s changed since last year.”

Istulo scrunched her weathered face, which made her appear gaunt. “Life seals represent the outer expression of your inner development and are binding contracts with your soul. They do not change, She-Aba.”

“Mine did,” She-Aba said, shrugging.

Istulo held out her spindly hand. “Let me see it.”

She-Aba passed Istulo her ceramic life seal. The old priestess brought it close to her eyes and touched it with a thin, gnarled finger. She wheezed once and fell silent for what seemed an eternity, all the while tapping her finger upon the disk like she was beating on a tiny drum. Then Istulo started chanting. At first it was soft, but as she progressed it got louder and louder until Lilith had to cover her ears. A lioness in heat sounded better than her caterwauling.

Suddenly, Istulo stopped. She handed She-Aba back her life seal. “There are illusion and deception indicated.”

She-Aba’s eyes bugged. “But…what about designing beautiful clothing for people in the court and temples?”

“That is for you to intuit, She-Aba. All I can tell you is that your lifetime occupation has shifted. You must accept this as higher guidance.”

She-Aba took the small disk from Istulo. Her pert lips started to quiver. “Shifted? You’re telling me my whole life plan has…has shifted?”

With a face void of expression, Istulo nodded. “It would appear so. Now go. Study your new plan. Learn it. Accept it.”

“But…” She-Aba begged.

Istulo held up her wrinkled hand. “Your time with me is over. I have an appointment for a life reading with Lilith. Either go to the meditation room for insight from the Shining Serpent, or leave the Temple Beautiful. It is your choice, She-Aba.”

Lilith could almost feel She-Aba’s anguish. She had her heart set on being a clothes designer. In the short time she had known She-Aba, Lilith had seen she had a flare for clothing and accessorizing people. Before She-Aba turned on her spotted animal-skin heels, Lilith grabbed her by the shoulder and whispered in her ear, “If your life seal can change, than that means it can change again. Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out. Together.”

Without turning around, She-Aba gently touched Lilith’s hand and whispered, “Thank you, Lilith. You’re the best birthday gift I’ve ever received.”