Legend of the Timekeepers (9 page)

8

The Emissary

“Y
ou don’t expect me to wear those, do you?” Ajax-ol asked, grimacing.

“I do. Is there a problem?” She-Aba asked, applying white powder to his hands.

“There is still blood on them.”

Lilith giggled. “I guess Etan didn’t have enough time to wash out the skin properly. But it will help you get into the City of the Golden Gates. Unless—”

“Unless, what?” Ajax-ol cut in.

“Unless you’d rather go back to the forest and fend for yourself,” Lilith replied.

Ajax-ol rolled his eyes. “Carry on, She-Aba.”

“With pleasure,” she said, applying a thin coat of powder to the inside of the razor-tooth cat’s skinned paws.

Lilith couldn’t believe Ajax-ol’s transformation. His skin tone was darkened with a mixture of oils and eye charcoals, his hair was brushed out and waxed to resemble a lion’s mane, and his two incisors were fitted with long pieces of thin crystal for fangs. Thankfully Etan had found a dead, half-ravaged razor-tooth cat suitable enough to use for She-Aba’s purposes, and skinned it. Its long, limp tail was stitched into Ajax-ol’s linen pants, and She-Aba reminded him to give it life every so often by wiggling his behind.

“Are we ready?” Etan asked, returning from scouting the forest. “All is clear.”

He stiffened. His nose twitched.

“Yes, it’s me, Etan,” Ajax-ol said while She-Aba fitted the claws to his hands.

“Wow, you two look like brothers,” Tau said, as he walked up behind Etan. His arms were loaded with more yellow fruit.

Ajax-ol stared at his claws, then touched his face. She-Aba swatted his hands away. “Let the oils cure before you go prodding your face.”

“Do I really look like a hybrid?”

“Yes,” Etan said. “But you must not forget to act like one.”

“How does a hybrid act?” She-Aba asked, putting the powder, charcoals, threads, fish-bone needles, and oils away in her satchel.

Etan grunted. “You must do as humans bid. We were created to serve not rule.”

“You make it sound like you’re our slaves,” Ajax-ol said indignantly. “In our house, we treat our hybrids with dignity.”

“You’re still labeling Etan as a possession, not a person.” Lilith wagged a finger.

Etan sighed. “I know no other life. This is my destiny.”

“Maybe you should come to the Black Land and submit yourself to the Temple of Sacrifice, Etan,” Tau said, peeling his fruit. “Then you would be free of your fate.”

Etan’s eyes widened. “Free? How?”

Lilith’s jaw dropped.
Uh-oh. If Tau tells him what they do to human-animal hybrids inside the Temple of Sacrifice, he’ll think we’re worse than savages and won’t help us.
She reached over and shoved the yellow fruit in his mouth.

Tau gagged and sputtered.

“What Tau means—” Lilith scowled at him “—is that you’d be freer than you’d be here. Fewer rules.”

She-Aba whacked Tau on the back a few times. “Serves you right for not sharing.”

“Has anyone thought of how we’re going to find your friend once we’re inside the City of the Golden Gates?” Ajax-ol asked.

Tau spit out a chunk of fruit. “Mica is not our friend anymore.”

Lilith clasped her hands. She thought about the riddle. She thought about her father.

“Why don’t we look at the problem as if we were assembling an outfit for a special occasion?” She-Aba said.

“That makes no sense, fire-head,” Tau said.

“Not for you, bug-boy, but for someone who has an eye for detail, it does,” She-Aba replied, placing her satchel over a shoulder and smoothing her hair.

Lilith released her hands. “Go on.”

“What’s the one thing Mica did that didn’t make sense? Think in terms of mismatching colors or wearing the wrong beads with your outfit.”

Tau rolled his eyes. “I don’t wear beads, and I always wear the same color.”

She-Aba pursed her lips. “Yes, I keep meaning to talk to you about that.”

Lilith grazed her bottom lip with her teeth. Everything Mica had done didn’t make any sense. Then, she remembered what Father had whispered to her, and Lilith’s eyes widened.

“The crystal trident.” Lilith arched a fair brow. “Mica took it.”

She-Aba snapped her fingers. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“But, the crystal trident is only used to activate the Arch of Atlantis,” Lilith said. “It serves no other purpose.”

“If he has taken the crystal trident, then there is only one place for him to use it,” Etan said.

Ajax-ol stiffened. “Oh, no, not there. Anywhere but there.”

“Where?” Tau asked.

Lilith licked her bottom lip. “Mica’s going to the innermost circle of the City of the Golden Gates, to the Temple of Poseidon.”

“It appears so,” Etan said, stroking his goatee.

“Why are you afraid of going there?” She-Aba asked.

“That is where Zurumu serves.” Ajax-ol scrunched his face. It made him look more like a baboon than a lion. “And where Belial rules from.”

“If Mica is going there, then that’s where we must go,” Lilith replied with a sharp nod.

Ajax-ol groaned. “Fine. But have you thought of how we are going to get to the Temple of Poseidon?” He snatched up his staff that was leaning against a huge white crystal. “It is surrounded by two separate rings of water.”

Etan reached over, took the staff from Ajax-ol, and passed it to Tau. “A hybrid does not carry a staff. And yes, I know of a way. A human-jackal hybrid friend of mine navigates the channels of the City of the Golden Gates on his small ferry. He transports passengers safely through the rings who have business inside the city. Anapa is now free from his bondage to his master and owes me a debt. He will take us.”

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Tau asked, staring at the staff.

“I’d tell you to herd goats with it, bug-boy, but since there’s none to be found, you could use it to help correct that atrocious posture of yours,” She-Aba replied with a smirk.

Lilith stifled a giggle. “In Atlantis, staffs are held by people who have political status or are from the houses of government officials. So if anyone asks, you could say that you represent the House of Duo-She-Dui from the Black Land. My father speaks highly of his accomplishments, and he has roots here in Atlantis.”

She-Aba stared at the staff. “I could add some assorted gems and pearls to the staff and give it a thin coat of gold using my face paint to make it look official. Oh, and I’ll need your life seal, Tau.”

“My life seal?” Tau clapped a hand to his chest, covering his life seal. “No way, fire-head!”

“Come on, Tau, give her your life seal.” Lilith nudged him. “She won’t ruin it, and it will ensure our safety by saying that you are the scribe of an important emissary sent by Duo-She-Dui like your life seal prophesizes.”

Tau’s top lip quivered. “What emissary?”

“That…emissary.” Lilith pointed to She-Aba.

She-Aba beamed and clapped. “I’m in! I’d be anyone who can boss bug-boy around. I’ll get to work to create my costume!”

Tau gingerly removed his life seal. “What about you, Lilith? Who are you going to be?”

Lilith smiled and opened her arms wide. “What you see is what you get. I’m Atlantean. I know our ways and customs, so I’ll be able to blend in easily.”

“Who is this Duo-She-Dui?” Ajax-ol asked, scratching his palms.

“Duo-She-Dui is a refugee from Atlantis who came to the Black Land many years ago to share his knowledge and teach the beliefs of his culture to our people in the Temple Beautiful,” She-Aba replied. “He originally designed and built the Great Pyramid and commissioned the Guardian of the Sands. My father and other members of the high counsel have actually met him.”

Ajax-ol sighed. “Seeing as I’m outnumbered, I guess I have no choice.”

“Oh, there’s always a choice,” Lilith said. “My Uncle Kukulkan used to say that no matter how grim things look you still have the power of choice.”

Etan smiled that knowing smile. “Are you sure you are not a seer, Lilith?”

“Helping these humans get through the city’s rings to the Temple of Poseidon is too dangerous, Etan. What if the temple guards don’t believe your friends?”

Etan’s broad brow furrowed. “This is what is written and what the Law of One wishes, Anapa, so it shall be done.”

Anapa’s snout crinkled. Lilith picked out the jackal-like features of this hybrid that made him unique. A long snout. Pointed ears. Dark, rich skin. A closely shaven head. Deep, insightful canine eyes, almost black in color. He wore thick orichalcum bracelets—one on each wrist, both stamped with the Eye of One, and a long, linen skirt fastened with a woven palm leaf sash. In one of his ears was a round, gold earring which sparkled when the sun hit it.

“Very well, old friend, but this will scratch the debt between us.” Anapa held out his human hand.

Etan grasped Anapa’s hand gently and held it to his heart. “You are released, my friend.” Then Etan flinched and rubbed his injured leg that was oozing yellow liquid.

She-Aba smacked his paw away. “Let it be, Etan. The gash needs to breathe and heal without interference.”

Tau grunted. “You know, for an emissary, you can be quite bossy, fire-head.”

“That’s the idea, bug-boy,” She-Aba said, grinning. “If I can’t play the part of a representative from the House of Duo-She-Dui with confidence, then we won’t be able to convince the guards and get through the city safely.”

“The girl is correct.” Anapa let go of Etan. “I have seen emissaries from other lands come to pay their respects at the Temple of Poseidon. Most command reverence and attention.”

Tau smirked. “Oh, She-Aba doesn’t need to pretend to command attention. She does that naturally.”

Anapa’s long ears moved forward. “Your speech sounds broken, unclear. I have something that will take care of that.” He bent down to retrieve a satchel from his ferry. “Here, this is for the emissary and her scribe. Wear them and you will be understood clearly.”

“A blue crystal hanging on an orichalcum necklace?” Tau asked. “What’s that for?”

“I lend these necklaces to visitors from other lands who do not speak our language. The crystal helps us understand them and the visitors to understand Atlanteans.” Then Anapa smiled wryly. “I call it a Babel necklace. It cuts the babbling and brings clarity to one’s voice.”

She-Aba squealed. “I love this, Anapa, thank you! It offsets my outfit perfectly.”

“You’re wearing a spotted animal skin, fire-head. What’s to offset?”

“You know nothing, bug-boy.” She-Aba rolled her eyes. “People will be drawn to the necklace, then up toward my face, and be forced to meet me eye to eye.”

Tau snorted. “Only if they manage to get past the ridiculous color of your hair.”

“Are those two always like that?” Anapa asked.

Etan stroked his beard. “It appears so.”

Lilith spotted a group of Atlantean guards detaining six women, all dressed in deep blue gowns, by the main gate of the walled city. A large, white tusked beast tethered by a gold rope on its thick, wrinkled left leg stood behind them. Bundles of fresh food and overstuffed satchels were strapped across the animal’s sturdy back. The tusked beast seemed agitated, moving its head to and fro and flapping its big ears as if they were palm leaves waving in the wind. The beast’s long snout, the end working like a thumb and finger, reached out to touch the youngest woman on her shoulder. “We’d better get aboard your ferry, Anapa, before those guards get to us,” Lilith said, tipping her chin toward the women.

Anapa nodded, then pulled out what looked like a miniature weigh scale from his ferry. It was made of pure silver and had an ivory handle that he gripped tightly. “I’ll need a strand of hair from each of you.” Anapa held out his scale. “Place it on the left base plate.”

“Why?” Tau asked, eyeing the scale suspiciously.

“Anapa must weigh us.” Etan pulled out a long, brown hair off the top of his head and placed it on the shiny base plate. “His ferry can take only those who measure.”

“Measure?” She-Aba flinched pulling out a red, curly hair.

“To be weighed and measured, even by your hair, determines if I give you a ride,” Anapa said. “My former master, Thoth, gave me this scale as a tool for my trade. It has never failed in choosing who I should ferry.”

“Here is mine.” Lilith unraveled a strand of long blond hair from her finger.

Tau sighed. “Fine. I will do what the Atlanteans do.” Then he flinched. “Ouch!”

“Here’s bug-boy’s limp and unconditioned poor-excuse-for a hair,” She-Aba said.

Ajax-ol grunted. “This stuff you put in my hair is sticky and thick!”

“It’s supposed to be, Ajax-ol,” She-Aba said indignantly. “It is bee wax, the best in the Black Land.”

Finally yanking a few strands out, his hairs stuck to the palm of his fake paws.

“Here, let me.” Lilith pulled apart the strands until one came loose and dropped it on the base plate.

The scale tipped. Anapa went into the satchel he’d retrieved the Babel necklaces from and took out a polished blue stone, flecked with gold, the size of a plump date.

“Ohh, what a beautiful stone!” She-Aba blurted. “It’s so flawless.”

“It is a rare lapis lazuli I use to weigh matters carefully.” Anapa placed the stone on the right base plate. The scale didn’t move.

Anapa grunted. “Too much weight.”

“Was does that mean?” Tau asked, leaning against Ajax-ol’s decorated staff.

“It means not all of you can come.” Anapa removed She-Aba’s curly red strand from the base plate.

It didn’t budge, and he put it back. Anapa took another—the long brown hair belonging to Etan. The scale remained the same. Then he returned it and took Lilith’s blond strand. The weight shifted slightly, but not enough to balance the scale. He nodded, flicked her hair to the ground, and picked Ajax-ol’s sticky strand. The whole weight shifted until the scales balanced out. His dark eyes became slits, and he attempted a canine smile.

“It is done. The scale is balanced. Lilith and Ajax-ol must be left behind.”

“What!” Ajax-ol roared, a little too loud. “But…but I forbid it! You can’t do this to me!”

Anapa glared at him. “It is not me doing this to you, but rather the Law of One who determines the way of things. Take it up with the temple priests or priestesses if you have a problem.”

Etan pressed his paw on Ajax-ol’s shoulder. “All will be well, Ajax-ol, the Law of One wills this.”

“Easy for you to say, Etan, you get to go on the ferry.” Ajax-ol’s shoulders slumped.

Uneasy with the scale’s choice too, Lilith slowly looked around for another way into the walled City of the Golden Gates. But there was none. The massive stone walls covered with copper glittered like a serpent’s wary eye. Guards were still deterring the women, and their white tusked beast had calmed down for the moment, though it was now teetering on its two front legs. The sun caught a glimmer of light from the wrist of one woman. Lilith squinted. It was a snake bracelet wrapped around her left forearm. Then Lilith looked over the other women. All wore the same snake bracelet. Her eyes widened. She lightly touched her snake bracelet.
Those women must be seers like my Aunt Ambeno.