Shisheem smiled gently, clearly just humoring a child. Then he put his hand into his tunic and pulled out a smooth, translucent white stone. “Here. See this? This is hakuma.” He caressed it gently with his thumb. “Clan chieftains teach their sons the secrets when they turn fifteen. Of course I can’t tell you what we do, but I’ve been training for over a year now. So you can dare me all you want — it’s just stupid kid games to me.”
His words seemed to reach Kassa from some far and lofty place. Kassa was one of the shortest boys in his clan and not particularly strong, but he made up for it by being a fast runner and a decent spear-wielder. While Shisheem was taller and stronger, Kassa could still hone his warrior skills through effort and perseverance.
But what Shisheem was talking about now was a completely different matter: There was nothing Kassa could do about his birth. The King’s Spears were the highest-ranked warriors in Kanbal. They lived in the capital and acted as the king’s shield and guard, his last wall of defense in the event of an attack. More importantly, they alone had the glorious honor of meeting the Mountain King in his underground palace, which was said to be made of luminous blue luisha.
But just as a commoner or a shepherd could never become a warrior, Kassa, though born to the warrior class, could never hope to become one of the nine Spears. Only direct descendants of the clan’s founder could be chosen, and the right was passed from father to son. Youth from the chieftain’s line went to live in the capital at the age of fifteen or sixteen, not long after they received their dagger, to devote themselves to acquiring the skills, etiquette, and knowledge required of upper-class warriors. Shisheem would likely leave for the capital soon, and one day he might even become a Spear. But Kassa would stay here in the village. Every winter he would migrate to New Yogo for work, and the rest of the year he would follow the goats with the Herder People, acting as their overlord. His skills as a warrior would only be called upon in the event of a war with another country.
Although Kassa envied Shisheem, in his heart he was resigned. But Gina was stubborn, and too young to have given up on the future. On the way home from school, she looked up at Kassa and said, “The chieftain’s blood runs in our veins too, right?”
“Yes, Mother is the chieftain’s younger sister,” Kassa said automatically. “But warrior blood is passed from father to son. That means nothing.”
“Kassa, you give up too easily!” Gina protested. “Even commoners bring back stones from the caves.”
It’s not bringing back a stone that’s important, Kassa thought, but he didn’t feel like explaining it to his sister. She fell silent, but he could guess what she was thinking.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Gina.”
She glared at him. “What do you mean by stupid?”
“I mean, don’t even think about going into those caves to bring back a stone.”
Before she could answer, some friends ran up and interrupted them. The rest of the day went by as usual, and Kassa forgot all about their conversation until he came home in the dark after spear practice.
Commoners in Kanbal lived in one-room houses of thick stone, with steep roofs to keep the snow off. As Kassa’s family belonged to the warrior class, they had an attic, where he and Gina slept. It was the time of year when the nights grew longer and they ate just two meals a day, a late breakfast and an early dinner, to save their lamp oil. Gina had gone to bed right after supper — or at least she should have. But when Kassa saw a thick rope hanging down the outside wall from the smoke hole in the attic, he knew immediately what his sister had done.
He entered the house and, without telling his parents, went up to his room, pretending that he too was going to bed. Then he climbed down the rope and went after Gina. Before he left, he grabbed a torch from the toolshed. Then he ran all the way to the caves. As he was a fast runner, he fully expected to catch up with Gina, but he was not so lucky. By the light of his torch he could see her small footprints leading inside. He had to admire her courage; the caves were terrifying enough in the daytime. Even though she had chosen to go at night just to keep from getting caught, she was still the only girl he knew who would dare to set foot inside them after dark.
He stood anxiously at the mouth of the cave, hoping to meet her on her way out. But no matter how long he waited, she did not appear, and he grew increasingly concerned. He was sure she would have gone slowly, feeling her way along the wall so that she would not get lost. But if so, then what could be taking her so long? Various possibilities passed through his head. Perhaps she needed time to dig out a stone, or maybe hakuma could only be found a long way inside. But there was another possibility that stuck in his mind and stayed there: the hyohlu.
Unable to stand the suspense any longer, he finally went inside. With the torch in his right hand, he ran his left hand along the wall and followed Gina’s footprints in the rough sand. He was afraid to call her name in case the hyohlu heard. The cave gradually broadened, and soon the light of the torch began reflecting off the glittering walls. Hakuma! For a second, he forgot about Gina and bent to pick up a stone lying at his feet. He stood there caressing it, marveling at its smoothness. Then he tucked it into his tunic. Really, Shisheem! he thought. What was the big deal about that? He smiled to himself.
Just then, he heard Gina scream. She sounded very close. He broke into a run, following her voice. He turned a corner and his blood froze. In the light of the torch, he saw Gina lying on the ground and a black shape towering over her.
Gina! He’ll eat her! But he could not reach for his dagger. Fear had rooted him to the spot. He could not even scream.
Feeling the warmth of his sister on his back, Kassa silently thanked the woman they had met. But for her, he and Gina would be dead. He realized suddenly just how precious life was. Yet the fact that he had been unable to lift even a finger to save his sister stabbed him to the heart. I guess it’s true. I don’t have what it takes to be a Spear.
As if she had heard his thoughts, Gina suddenly blurted out, “You know, that proves it, Kassa. Shisheem’s a liar.”
“What?”
“That lady, she fought the hyohlu and saved us, didn’t she? She’s a woman, right? So that proves you don’t have to be from the chieftain’s line and you don’t even have to be a man to beat the hyohlu.”
Kassa stopped in his tracks. Gina was right. “Yes,” he said, “but it could have been because she wasn’t afraid of dying. She’s doing penance, after all.”
Gina laughed. “So what? It still shows that who your parents are or whether you’re a girl or a boy have nothing to do with it. I can’t wait to see Shisheem’s face tomorrow!”
“Wait a minute! You can’t tell Shisheem that you met her. We promised to keep it a secret.” He started walking again.
“Oh, right,” she said, disappointed. But then she began wriggling on his back.
“Cut that out! You’re heavy enough as it is without squirming around.”
Gina shoved her fist under his nose. “But look! I can still get back at Shisheem! A piece of hakuma fell inside my tunic when the hyohlu got near me.”
“Is that all?” Kassa started to say, planning to tell her about the piece he’d picked up himself. But a blue light was seeping out from between Gina’s fingers, and he gasped instead.
She opened her hand to reveal the stone and gave a small squeak. It was not hakuma but luisha, the most precious gem in Kanbal.