Then tell me, what could I have done? she lashed back, repelling Jiguro’s spear. I was only six years old! Are you saying I should never have been born? Or that I should have killed myself? She drove her spear at him and felt the hard shock in her hands as he blocked the blow.
I never asked you to save me! It was your choice, not mine!
Her spear grazed his arm and she saw him recoil.
Did you think I didn’t know? Did you think I didn’t feel how you resented me every time you had to kill a friend? I always knew!
Her cries were directed not only at Jiguro but also at the eight hyohlu who stood watching.
Your deaths hurt me. They cut me to the core. And the pain they caused could never be relieved because I could never hope to atone for them.
Her spear tip sliced across Jiguro’s ribs.
Even after you died, even to this day, I still carry that burden!
His own spear shot toward her, and with a great wordless cry, she turned it aside. It flew up, leaving his chest unguarded. If she drove her spear home, he would die. In the darkness, she felt his eyes on her. She thought she heard his voice.
Kill me then, Balsa, he seemed to say. Take all your rage and kill me. Then find your way through to the other side.
At the sound of his voice, a warm, moist sadness welled up inside her, as if large drops of rain had begun to fall, one by one, on the bleak, parched sands of her fury. Her skin recalled the smell and warmth of his body as he held her in his arms at night, when they huddled in the mud beneath the eaves of some shop in the freezing rain.
Despite his grief and pain, at times weeping with the burden, still he had protected her, embraced her, raised her….
She felt him drive his spear toward her, inviting her to attack. Though she knew the blow was aimed directly at her heart, she did not move. It pierced her chest. Pain exploded through her body, and she saw herself die. In the agony of that death, she staggered toward Jiguro and threw her arms around the darkness there.
His warm, familiar presence enveloped her. Her feelings for him and his for her turned to warmth … then fused together. She heard him whisper in her heart, Farewell, Balsa.
She had been stabbed to the heart, and she could still feel the terrible pain; but nothing flowed from the wound, nor did she smell blood. A soft blue light radiated from her arms where she embraced him, illuminating the chamber, and suddenly, light blazed from the other hyohlu as well. She felt Jiguro melt from her arms, vanishing into that blue light. When the warmth of his body faded from hers, only loneliness lingered, like a thin wisp of smoke trailing up from a quenched candlewick.
Kassa, who had been watching in stunned amazement, suddenly realized that the rock floor beneath his feet had become transparent. The king screamed and his Spears cowered in fear, crouching down and hugging themselves at the sight of what lay beneath them.
Then suddenly they were floating in water from the chest down — water infinitely deep and so breathtakingly clear it seemed they were floating in midair. Yet, strangely, it did not feel cold at all. The lights radiated by Jiguro and the other hyohlu encircled Balsa and fused together, holding her for one last moment in their warmth. Then the light passed on, flowing away through the water to embrace the others in turn. As the light touched them, each one heard a whispered farewell. The thoughts and feelings of a father, a brother, or an uncle tragically wrenched from this world softly touched their hearts and vanished.
With stunned faces they watched the blue light merge with the water and spread ever outward until it penetrated the rock walls. The gray stone began to change and glow with an unearthly blue light. Suddenly they realized what they were looking at and gasped, thunderstruck.
Luisha! The luminous stone!
The transparent blue light wrapped itself around them. One of the Spears timidly tried to touch the luisha, but though his hand seemed to reach it, he felt nothing. Just then, Balsa saw something waver far below, deep beneath the surface of the water. The blue light shimmered as something enormous began swirling slowly upward….
The Sootee Lan? she wondered, but immediately realized that it was far too big — and too clear. Everyone stared with bated breath, watching the creature spiral toward them. It was a huge, transparent water snake. It had no eyes, and even its innards were transparent, so that it seemed to be made of water. But its scales were dazzlingly beautiful; they glittered blue as it ascended, rubbing its body slowly against the rocks.
For each time the water serpent scraped against the wall, the luisha rubbed off onto its scales, shimmering; and whenever it swirled and glided through the water, the life-filled water penetrated the surrounding rock. They watched, mesmerized by the serpent’s dance. No one moved, not even the terrified king. The gifts of cheese and dried goat meat that had been piled on the floor of the ceremony chamber bobbed in the water, where they too were transformed into shapes of hazy blue light. To Kassa, it seemed that the hopes and dreams of the people who made them had been turned into light — and swallowed by the serpent.
For a second, Balsa thought she glimpsed Jiguro’s face reflected in its scales, which shone like mother of pearl. Perhaps it was just an illusion. But rather than the grim and forbidding face Balsa remembered, he looked bright and joyful, much like Kassa. Tears welled in her eyes, and she covered her face with her hands and wept.
The serpent’s dance gradually began to change. Its scales shimmered and rippled, and its skin wrinkled each time its body brushed against the rocks. Kassa suddenly realized what was happening: The snake was shedding. Its skin began to loosen gradually, radiating ripples of rainbow light. As it peeled off, the serpent inside seemed to vanish. The body beneath, which lacked any luisha coating, was as clear as water.
Once its skin had been shed, a warm and tender affection, like that of a parent for its child, emanated from the creature, embracing the men where they floated in the water and causing them to tremble. Then it turned and began swimming down to the bottom, the water swirling gently, until all that was left was its beautiful skin, shimmering in the water.
Realizing instantly what they must do, Kassa called to the king, who seemed spellbound by the blue light. “Your Majesty!”
The king turned absently. Kassa pointed to the skin. “It’s luisha! The gift of the Mountain King.”
The king blinked and looked at him, then at the huge snakeskin floating on the water. “You mean … Am I supposed to go and get it?”
When Kassa nodded, the king looked around desperately for Yuguro. But he was nowhere to be seen. While he hesitated, the luminous blue skin slowly began to sink.
Losing his patience, Kahm roared, “Your Majesty! Do you intend to let the people of Kanbal starve?”
The king looked at him in surprise. Then he took a deep breath and dived under the water. They saw his hands grasp the skin, but it was too big. He could not manage it on his own, though he struggled valiantly, holding it with one hand as he tried to swim to the surface.
The King’s Spears and attendants looked at one another and then at Balsa and Kassa. They nodded and, as one, everyone dived down beneath the water. Although they had not consulted beforehand, they automatically spread out in a circle and grabbed the skin. It was much heavier than they expected, and they had to swim with all their might, twisting and squirming until finally their heads burst to the surface.
Suddenly the light dimmed, and they looked around in astonishment. The water had vanished and they were not even wet. They lay on their stomachs on the floor of the ceremony chamber. The snakeskin that they had clutched so tightly had disappeared, and in its place lay a pile of softly glowing luisha.
A beautiful and intricate music filled the cave. They raised their heads, surprised. A group of Herder People had entered the cave and surrounded them, their eyes glowing with togal. They began to sing a seemingly ancient song in high, melodious voices:
Rejoice! The People of the Mountain King have come to speak to thee!
The old King of the Mountain is dead. A new king is born!
The old Spears have found true death. A new journey of life has begun!
The old King of Kanbal is dead. A new king is born!
Their voices flowed through the labyrinth, clear and resonant.
May the luminous stone, luisha, worn by the old Mountain King, become the bread of the children of Kanbal.
Oh Spears, didst thou see the Darkness in the Mountain Deep?
Didst thou see the Darkness of thy forebears?
When thy bones return to the earth of Kanbal,
Then wilt thou become the hyohlu, Guardians of the Darkness.
Become the hyohlu, Guardians of the Darkness, and guard the life of the mother range
Until the Dancer comes to turn thy Darkness into light.
Kassa’s eyes filled with tears as he listened to the song. Wiping them away with his sleeve, he looked over at Balsa. Their eyes met, and he bowed deeply.