We are finally nearing the climax. Click on the links below to read previous parts.
I
awoke to a pounding headache and a terrible nausea. Something covered
my head, blocking out light and fresh air. I tried to move my arms
and legs, but rough rope bound me to a splintered pole. Panic surged
through my body. Someone tugged slightly on the ropes, tightening
their hold. I heard a groan behind me, and the ropes relaxed a bit.
It dawned on me that someone else was tied behind me. I could barely
hear their panicked breathing. Perhaps it was Hajile. For some reason
that momentarily eased my panic, but the steady beat of drums broke
the last bit of calm I had.
“Hajile!”
I tried to scream through the bag on my head. My cry was drowned out
as the drum beats increased their pace. Just as suddenly as they had
begun, they stopped. Silence smothered the atmosphere.
“People
of Airamas,” a loud nasally voice finally spoke. “Laab has spoken
to me in a dream, and insisted that his gifts from you have not been
enough. Thus he has commanded that your crops will fail unless you
surely sacrifice two children to pay for your lack of appreciation.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd. The speaker paused for a moment,
allowing his words to sink in. “But you have no need to worry. The
priests have searched and acquired two orphans for the sacrifice. All
you must do is watch as Laab's wrath is lifted from your shoulders.”
Joyous
shouts rang through the air. “Laab be praised!” a man shouted.
“Long
live King Adar,” another shouted.
“Silence!”
the King yelled. “Let the sacrifice begin.”
The
bag was jerked from my head. I blinked a few times, allowing my eyes
to adjust to the afternoon sun. A huge crowd of townspeople
surrounded me, whispering to each other and pointing. King Adar stood
proudly on a temporary platform erected behind them. Queen Isabella
and her head priests stood beside him. I heard someone rip a bag from
my companion's head also. “Hajile?” I asked, twisting my head to
the side.
“Hidi?
Is that you?” A young man's voice replied.
“Viho!
You're alive!”
“Not
for long.”
My
joy faded. “What are they going to do to us?” I whispered.
“I
don't know.”
I
longed to reach for his hand, just to touch him once more before we
died; but the ropes wouldn't budge. At least we would die together.
There had been times when we were so hungry and cold that I had
wished I was dead; but now with death glaring in my face along with a
bunch of sick-minded people, life sounded so much sweeter. Was death
the end of all things? Or would Viho and I be together in a different
place? And would this place be good or bad?
The
drums again began their mournful beat, my heart pounding in time with
them. Another beating joined the rhythm, this one filling the sky. I
jerked my head up. Black, winged beasts dove for the ground. The
people backed away nervously. Each dragon landed beside another,
forming a complete circle around Viho and I. Some of the beasts
clawed at the ground. Others released tiny puffs of smoke into the
air. The apparent leader of the dragons was larger than the rest. His
beady eyes stared directly into mine, sending shivers down my back.
An eager flame seemed to dance in his eyes. I gulped. My search for
the Ring of Fire was over. I had found it at last; and I was standing
right in the middle of it.
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