Waiting Between Worlds

Taraji stared at the magnificent carving covered in vibrant paints of a dragon and a little Waif. The only illumination under cover of darkness inside the hollow musty space. The figures would slowly come to life, telling a story. The golden beast gawked at the child and then swallowed her gently. She slid down his rough tongue, plucking his serrated teeth like a harp. His entrails danced about as the little one giggled. Fire and blood rocked her back and forth; her ginger hair singed by the dragon's breath.

A door slammed, snapping Taraji back to her reality. She looked at the floor and then back at the carving to see a story no more. Faint Footsteps approached, and Taraji clasped the iron bars waiting for a figure to come into view. A tall, heavy guard threw a body to the floor in the next cell and then walked away laughing.

"Akpan! Is that you?"

"Yes." He cried.

"Praises."

He moaned as he pulled a sack from his head.

"I'm sorry, Tar. If I had listened to you, we would not have lost the lyona nor be in this hopeless place.

Taraji peered into the blackness for a moment.

"But we would not have met Aadam and Aabam or the rebel Sobis."

Akpan wept inconsolably.

"We are just Waifs Tar. How can we stand against their magic?"

"The way Momma taught us."

Akpan crept towards the iron bars, stood, and reached across.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Taraji reached for his hand and clasped it.

"It wasn't just about the pearl and map; they asked questions about you this time."

"What questions?"

"Like how long I had been with you. And if I had ever seen you do magic."

"What did you tell them?"

"I've never seen you do magic, but they stabbed and stabbed like I was a pigga." He cried.

"Whatever they truly want, they will eventually get. Maybe the Sobi rebellion is all but dead, and most loyal to the king are dead. By the time you find Akheon, there won't be much left of Faraji to defend."

Heavy footsteps approached.

A deep voice mocked Akpan, stopped in front of Taraji's cell, then illuminated the room with sparks from her fingers. She poked at Taraji about the strength Waifs obtain from their Faramoms, calling them useless lessons. Lessons that could not protect the thousands of Waifs she and her sisters had killed. However, she questioned Taraji about a particular lesson, the lesson of fear. The Femi turned her back to Taraji and blew into the air. Smoke appeared inside a young woman with white hair training a young Waif. They seemed to have an inseparable bond. Many suns would rise upon them as they traveled many realms together. One day the sun did not rise. The Faramom body was attacked by an enchantment internally. Her vital organs imploded in front of the little Waif.

Taraji lowered her head and closed her eyes. Inside her mind, another Faramom and another and another. All bonded with the Waif, and all met horrible ends. Taraji screamed, but the Femi continued to poison her thoughts. This time with the Faramom she could recall, Momma Abi.

"Your Momma would not allow you to see her true suffering. Her insides burned before she dropped to the sand, and I cast the enchantment myself. That boy doesn't know, does he, and he has no idea what you are?"

Sparks discharged from the Femi's fingers as she reached towards Akpan. He fell on the cold stone and began to scream.

"No. Tar. Help me."

All the while, she could see Momma dying repeatedly. The Femi snapped her fingers, and Akpan's cell opened. Guards rushed in and whisked him away as he screamed into the dark. She blew dust into Taraji's face. Three of her Femi sisters rushed in, bonded Taraji, and took her away.

****

Taraji's eyes welled, and her stomach rumbled as she lifted her head. Moments passed before she realized she was tied to a cross. She looked to her right to see Akpan's. His face was slit, his eyes bloody, and his chest riddled with punctures. He tried to speak Tar's name, but the words would not flow from his lips.

In front of her stood eight Femis. The whites of their eyes were shown, and their body markings glowed. One would never know who the Femi queen was because her identity was secret, but a Femi queen can only perform an enchantment powerful enough to bind the mind.

"Have you had enough, Waif? Enough of your poor Momma."

Taraji screamed and shook violently.

"You shall die for this witch!"

"Yes. Yes. Let it rot. Your fear. Let it rage you."

At that moment, Taraji remembered something Momma had said.

"The Femi not only destroyed the dragons but stole their souls, believing they could mimic their natural power. The Femis were wrong. They needed a greater force when their magic could no longer sustain the Realm."

"They needed a greater force." She thought.

Taraji closed her eyes and focused her core as Momma Abi taught her. She saw the battle between the rebel Sobis and the Femis. The lyona was littered with arrows as she stood on her hind legs to protect her rider. Her mind traveled ahead to see dragon trees and, in the distance, the red mountain towering above. Her memory recovered.

A Femi woke from her trance and approached a ditch dug into the stone. With the wave of her hand, an inferno blazed. The queen chanted and walked to Akpan, and she grabbed his face.

"This boy is your friend. You love him. Hmm. If she tells me where the pearl and map are, I will spare you, and you shall not die screaming."

She turned and glared at Taraji.

"Look at him!"

The queen untied Akpan and pulled him towards the ditch.

He begged for mercy, and he begged his friend to give up the map and pearl. At that moment, she felt a burning sensation inside her skull, and her heart began to pound in her chest.

"Wait!" She shouted.

The queen pulled Akpan back.

"I will tell you what you want to know, but first, I want to speak directly to my friend."

"Very well. He's right here."

Taraji smirked.

A rammor horn sounded. Guards flowed into the chamber with bows and spears.

"What is it?" The queen asked.

"Sobies. They have breached the mountain, and there are at least a thousand."

"And."

"Waifs. Maybe one hundred. We do not have enough men."

The queen burst out in laughter and released Akpan.

"We shall crush them. Sisters to me."

The queen spoke in their ancient tongue then she and her enchantresses rushed behind the guards.

Akpan limped over to Taraji and untied her.

"For the first time, I prayed to God. I asked Mum to spare us." He said.

Taraji looked above.

"I know where we are. Hurry."

Taraji and Akpan darted like lyonas. They squeezed through a narrow corridor and came to two gold pillars when two guards spotted them and drew their arrows.

"Halt, brother!" The first guard commanded.

"The Femis need them alive."

"Yes, but only alive."

The second guard aimed for Taraji's knees then the first fixed his position on Akpan. They looked at one another and smiled. Two Sobis snuck up behind them and jabbed them in their necks.

"Taraji. Akpan." He said gleefully.

The Sobi embraced Taraji. He was frail, with heavy bags under his eyes, and she counted five reef bandages on his upper torso after their embrace ended.

"It is good to see you, Aadam, and you, Aabam. It seems your plan worked. Is the spy alive?"

"He was discovered but not before his beacon arrived," Aadam said.

"I'm sorry."

"He died for the Realm, his king, and for you."

Aabam untied a filthy cloth from around the pommel of a sheathed sword. The pommel shimmered with precious stones, and he removed it from the sheath, revealing a turquoise glass blade.

"Momma Abi entrusted this sword to my mother long ago. It belongs to you." Aabam said.

She stared in awe, took the sword, turned, and swung it repeatedly. To her surprise, it was extremely light. She turned to Akpan.

"You have endured much. Aadam and Aabam will keep you safe."

"What? No. We should stick together."

"We should, but we can't. The remainder of this journey and mine alone."

She embraced him and kissed his forehead. Aadam removed the pearl and map from his ginger hair, placed it in Taraji's hand, and promised her the rebels would fight until the last man and woman.

****

Taraji stood still as she eyed the mountain. She hovered the pearl above the mountain symbol on the map, and as she did, the mark on his chest illuminated, so she prepared for her ascend.

Scorching steam surrounded her as she scaled the precipitous crimson cliffs. Razor-sharp shrubs curbed her steps. Gases thickened, so she extended her arms forward. A foul stench guided Taraji. The gas became a mist hovering just above her feet. Her next steps raised her feet. When she stepped down, objects crunched. She peered towards the ground as the fog cleared to see the source. Bones. Hundreds of bones lay ahead of the opening to the mountain. Taraji removed the pearl, secured her sword, and entered the darkness.

A path illuminated on the map, and the pearl sparked its brightest rays. After endless leaps and bounds, Taraji reached the crocket stairs and ascended. She began to cough uncontrollably. Then she saw only black. Darkness had taken her sight. She tightened her eyes and opened them to see Momma Abi on the cliff's edge. Momma looked up, and the whites of her eyes glared at Taraji. She reached for Taraji and screamed. She turned her back to the stone and looked down.

"No, Momma!"

Momma leaned forward and plummeted.

"Momma!"

Tears welled before she placed a foot on the next step. Above, she saw Momma again, and Momma plummeted again. Taraji continued to force herself upwards until she finally reached the summit. The exhausted Waiff laid flat on the heated stone and closed her eyes again. When she opened them, her sight had returned though her mind scrambled. Taraji leaped to her feet, dropped the pearl and the map, and proceeded.

A whisk of wind propelled her through a narrow opening and lowered her to the ground. A roar rocked the chamber and loosened stones that beat her head. The earth quaked; her body bounced into a thick column. She wrapped her arms around it as flames blasted above.

She released the column and turned around. In the distance, she saw glowing eyes, enormous wings, and golden flames. The beast brawled and took giant steps toward Taraji. With her arms wide open, she awaited Akheon the Golden. A familiar pain crunched inside her skull. She grabbed her head. When she looked up again, it appeared as if Akheon was further away, but the amools inside her blood boiled. She locked her eyes, and when she opened them, Akheon hovered above her. The beast let out a screech and a blast of wind into Taraji's face, but Taraji did not flinch or fall. The dragon closed his mouth and sniffed her. Akheon landed and tilted his head right, then left. Taraji reached out to caress his snout, opened his mouth, and gulped her.

****

The guard was right. The Sobis and Waifs crushed their garrison, but the battle was far from over. The Femi's guards fell back behind massive, erected sand walls. With their sorcery, the Femis unleashed Wraiths and dark shadows, and the Sobis nor Waifs possessed magical abilities. Countless rebels had died before Aadam and Aabam prepared for their final stand.

Bodies and blood blanketed the sands while Wraiths hovered above. In the distance, darkness appeared; only this time, it was more sinister. Dark shadows entered the bodies of dead rebels and guards, reanimating them. The remaining insurgents had never encountered the magic of this magnitude.

Aadam and Aabam turned to their brothers and sisters and raised their swords. The rebels raised their swords and bows.

"We know not our end, but to whatever end, our story shall go on. What we do here today shall never be forgotten. Our descendants shall know the few braved the monsters. Fight as long and hard as you can. Stay the course. For the Realm!" Aadam shouted.

"What of Tar?" A Waif asked.

"Of Tar, I wish I knew," Aadam replied.

Bodies crept at first, then they rose, and their feet dashed. The weary men and women clasped their swords and readied their bows awaiting the clash. The queen awakened the Wraiths, who prepared their rage. Before they released their flames, the sky darkened, and golden lightning struck the reanimated.

"Brother, look!" Aabam shouted.

In an opening in the clouds, Aabam saw the golden beast Akheon and, atop him, Taraji.

"She found him!" They shouted.

The Femi queen screamed, then she and her sisters raised a tremendous sandstorm. Akheon rocked back and forth, then neared the ground. From behind him roared twenty fully grown massive dragons that pounded the Wraiths. The sky erupted as Akheon's feet touched down.

The goddess descended to the sands. From the dragon's back, she glided to the ground. Glows of lighting surrounded her. Her turquoise sword shimmered in her right hand; she held a ball of fire that extended into a whip in her left. The queen and her sisters stood their ground with flickers extending from their fingers when a frail figure stepped between them. It was Akpan.

He looked upon his friend without fear. Her body calmed, and they embraced.

"Look at you. You're beautiful. Powerful. A god."

Tears welled in his eyes.

"You did not trust me enough to tell me your secret."

"I'm sorry, Akpan."

As she glared into his eyes, the Femi queen disappeared, reappeared behind Taraji, and gripped her in a bear hug. Akpan jumped back.

"Your power is mine." The queen demanded.

"No. You promised me you would enhance me first. To make me a brother among your sisters." Akpan shouted.

Taraji glared at him. Tears welled in her eyes.

"Traitor." She whispered.

He stepped in front of his Waif sister and friend, and she headbutted him so hard that he flew to the feet of the Femi sisters. One of the sisters forced him from the ground and slit his throat.

"You filth. You could never be one of us!"

He clutched his wound and stumbled. His last words, "Tar I am…."

Taraji's Denti spirit raised and engulfed her and the queen. The goddess pressed her hands on both sides of the queen's head.

"You want my powers? Take it all."

The queen repeatedly laughed as she glared into Taraji's glowing eyes. Then their bodies erupted in flames, and her laughter became screams.

The reanimated began to fall. The Wraiths that battled the dragons turned to dust, and the remaining Femis engulfed themselves inside sand and gust. They disappeared. The queen's body became ash. The goddess released her head, blew gently, and watched her dust flow in a gentle breeze.

Akheon and the other dragons erupted.

****

Taraji stood atop the ruins of the Anan temple. Footsteps in the distance brought a smile to her face, and she reversed to see Aadam, who she embraced.

"You look well, your grace."

He smiled.

"I don't know how to answer."

"You will get used to it. Being king suits you."

"I believe you are more suited to rule. The Realm would be safer in your hands."

"This Realm should be ruled by humankind as it always has been. Which reminds me, I have a gift for your coronation."

Taraji retrieved a box from a small pillar. Aadam stepped in front of her as she opened it. Inside lies a turquoise glass crown with seven gemmed laced stems. Six stems represented the rebel Sobi garrisons, Waifs, and four kingdoms that remained loyal to Faraji. The center stem had a golden dragon emblem affixed to it.

"Tar, this is beautiful. Too beautiful for a scrub like me."

"Perfect for the king to be."

"Speaking of being a king. My first order is to rename this temple to Abi."

Taraji smiled.

"I like it, but I'd like Faramom better."

"Yes, goddess!"

They both erupted in laughter.

"Here. I would like you to have this."

Taraji handed Aadam her sword.

"You should name it."

"Wow. Thank you. Where will you go?"

"I want to learn more about my past lives. One of the Femi queen's visions left a clue etched into my conscious memory. I'll start there."

"I hope you find what you seek, and thank you for allowing the dragons to remain."

"You may need them. Be careful with them. They are Akheon's family, and they've never interacted with humans."

"I promise"

"Akheon awaits."

"Yes. Please visit sometime."

"Take care of your people."

"I'll l do my best."

"That's all I can ask for."

They embraced once more then Taraji's body illuminated and disappeared.