"Desert Rose - Chapter VIB" by Lindsay Verde

"I don't like this. I don't like it one bit," Alori protested as she set out plates for the afternoon meal.

"It's going to be alright, Mother," Rhiannon comforted. Turning from the pot she stirred, she gave Etain an exasperated shake of her head.

"How is it going to be alright? Timo still hasn't returned from helping them clear away those carcasses, Setana is off running around who knows where -"

"I'm here, Momma," Setana called out as she climbed in through the tent flap. "Aster's mom wouldn't let me leave until Armindo and Aldin were finished cleaning up the mess from this morning."

"That was good of her. See Mother," Rhiannon gave her mother an encouraging smile as she took the plates and began to dish out the food, "they were aware of Setana's safety. And that means Timo will be along shortly."

"Oh, he's here already. He's the one that took me home. He figured I'd still be with Aster and came to pick me up just as Armindo was finishing up. He's just outside checking the tent."

"Go call him in," Etain spoke up for the first time since she had told Alori she was sending Oisin out on patrol. Alori glared at her.

"What did you do?" Setana whispered as she passed, careful to wait until Alori had her back turned before speaking.

"Never you mind," Rhiannon scolded, giving Setana a push toward the door. "The meal's ready and I'm hungry."

"I never get to know about anything important," Setana protested before disappearing through the door. She reappeared a few seconds later, a rather dirty and worse for wear Timo trailing behind.

"Here," Etain offered him a cup as he sat. "You must be thirsty, working out in the sun all day."

"Thanks," he said shortly, the cup already at his lips.

Etain had to refill it three more times before he sat back with a sigh and studied everyone. "I haven't got any news that I'm sure you haven't already heard, so let's finish the meal before we have any talk about what happened."

Setana's shoulders drooped. She looked like a pup whose favorite bone had been taken away. Etain didn't feel too happy either. The events of the morning and the exceedingly hot day were making everyone's temper short.

The women traded questioning glances throughout the duration of the meal, Alori's previous animosity forgotten; Setana had to be reminded several times to finish what was on her plate; while Etain waited, pushing her vegetables from one side of her plate to the other, for everyone to finish. An expectant silence settled over everyone as Timo put down his utensils.

"We've moved them out of the camp so the scavengers shouldn't come too close. Some of the men will be heading back tonight after the celebration to burn the remains."

"So they're still planning on having the celebration tonight?" Alori asked. Etain read disapproval in every line of her mother's face.

"It would be better not to risk angering the Gods, Mother."

Alori turned to Rhiannon. "It would have been better had this entire incident not occurred at all. Where were the guards who were supposed to be on watch; did no one hear or see anything?"

"You cannot blame the guards," Timo spoke up, his gaze fixed upon the ground in front of him. "It is a large area that we've settled in and we all thought the hakkau were safe in their herd. Who would have known that something would ever be crazy enough to try and take on five mature adults."

"They don't have any idea what did it?" Rhiannon asked as she moved about collecting dishes to scour them clean with sand. Etain got up to help, still keenly listening to the conversation.

"There's no evidence but they do suspect a pack of framleth. Those are the only predators large enough around these parts."

Etain's heart skipped a beat. Was she the only person that thought it could be something other than an animal? Hesitant to voice her thoughts in case they were ridiculous, Etain quietly cleared her throat. The sound had the effect of a whip and everyone fell silent as all eyes turned to her.

"Isn't it possible that people did this?" she murmured, eyes steadfastly focused on her task of cleaning dishes.

"A possibility," Timo surprised her by conceding. Etain's gaze flew to meet his troubled one.

"Well, whatever it was doesn't change the fact that they were killed. You girls will stay home tonight. I don't want any of you leaving the tent after dark, especially if Etain is going to send Oisin out with the patrol."

"But Momma, Aster invited me to sit with her family and I was going to meet her cousin from the Faylen tribe," Setana protested.

"You're offering Oisin's help?" Timo asked.

"Yes. I figured he'd do more good out where he could help catch something. I'm about to take him out."

"I'll go with you. I have the feeling they won't stop anytime soon." He indicated where Setana continued to furiously argue her right to go to the celebrations with Alori.

They quietly exited the tent, Etain whistling for Oisin. The wolfhound had been lying in the small patch of shade offered by the tent and was beside them in seconds, ready to go.

They walked in silence through the sea of tents, the sinking sun casting lengthening shadows. Etain was acutely aware of Timo's presence alongside her.

She fished for something to talk about. "Are you enjoying the festival so far?"

"Yes," he answered awkwardly.

Etain tried again. "Did you get a chance to see any of the races?"

"No. I've been watching the combat tournaments."

"Oh! How have those gone?"

Etain chanced a quick sideways glance in time to see him shrug.

"The usual - some have good skills and some have bad. Etain I - I have something important I want to talk to you about," he rushed out on a big gulp of air as he grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Will you listen?"

Tongue lodged in the back of her throat, Etain's entire body stiffened as a tingling fire raced through every muscle, rendering her breathless. Could this be? Etain's heart started to pound.

"About the ki -"

"There you are!" A short, dark haired man called out as he spotted them and came trotting over. Etain's face fell and she quickly worked to cover her blush as she turned to face the newcomer.

"I've got orders to bring you to see the Captain," he said, clapping Timo on the back. "It's regarding the incident this morning." His blue eyes fell on Etain and he smiled. "Oh, are you the one who's dropping off a dog?"

"Yes."

"You'll be sending him with Cal. He's right over there." He pointed. "It's the chap with the scar on his cheek. You don't mind if I steal your lover away, do you?"

"He's not -" Etain protested.

" -good. Come on, you." He beckoned to Timo and started off. "There are lots of things to discuss."

Timo glanced between the guard's retreating back and Etain, a troubled look on his face. "We'll talk later," he stated before trotting off."

Etain let her breath out in a whoosh. She could feel the blazing heat in her cheeks. What had he been about to say? Was he going to finally bring up their kiss? Etain shook her head, a goofy smile on her face.

Spotting Cal, she turned to Oisin. "Come on you silly thing," she called, happiness bubbling inside her.

Oisin looked up from his game of squishing bugs with his nose. Tongue lolling, he gave an excited yelp and bounded after her.

Seated on a small square mat with the large pond that fed the oasis hidden by the bushes at her back, Epona felt more than a little overwhelmed as she stared at all the activity going on about her. Matin had dragged her to the evening celebrations, brushing aside all of her excuses. He had claimed that with the earlier incident it was guaranteed there would be less of a crowd. Glancing around at those pressing in on her from all sides, Epona didn't feel like any member from the five tribes had stayed away. There were so many people!

"Look, look -"

Matin pointed to the center of the dance square where a group of dancers assembled. They wore red facemasks with white feathers attached to them.

"Have you ever seen such dancing?"

Epona stared at him. She had never seen him this animated. He was like a little boy as he watched the men and women dance out stories of battles won, feats of bravery, and love lost. Epona enjoyed it but she was more aware of the number of people around her than those at the center of everyone's attention.

A woman in blue approached Matin, wringing her red and calloused hands. "You haven't seen a little boy running about here, have you?" she asked anxiously. "My son, I looked away for a second and he slipped away."

"I'll help you find him," Matin offered, getting to his feet. "I'll be back as soon as we find him." Accompanied by Matin, the woman turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Epona.

Anxious, Epona hugged her legs to her chest and tried to focus on the dancing. The bird masks had given way to a lone baritone, whose voice seemed to make the starts shimmer in the darkening sky. When she closed her eyes to listen, it felt as if her bones were melting and becoming a part of the earth around her. The world shifted until she felt as if she were a part of the music, arrowing through the sky on eddies of warm air.

Epona was still in a trance-like state when the next group, seven vibrantly dressed dancers, took the floor. She watched, stunned, as they spun, the reds and yellows of their hanging sleeves streaming around them in a fiery blur. They did lifts, throwing each other high into the air and catching them just in the nick of time. Gasps could be heard throughout the crowd.

Torches were brought out as the sun sank below the horizon. One good thing that could be said about such a large number of people was their collective body heat managed to hold the increasing cool of the night at bay as darkness descended.

She noticed it during the change of groups, the faint lilt of a distant melody. Watching those performing, Epona realized it wasn't coming from them and she craned her head, trying to catch the direction of the wordless tune.

Hauntingly beautiful, the song wove its way though the starlight like a butterfly, light and delicate. Each note seemed to float, suspended in eternity before fading to allow the next its moment of brilliance. It wrapped itself around her with the feeling of feather-down and bade her to follow.

Getting to her feet, Epona unconsciously turned toward the brush behind her, unwaveringly certain that this was where the song emanated from. She failed to notice that no other person in the assembly seemed intrigued by this melody and not one took note of her departure.

The silent stealth the sand of the desert afforded gave way to the soft shush of plants whispering past her body and the pop of dried twigs snapping beneath her sandals. The song seemed to intensify as the brush closed in behind her, blocking off all view of the camp. Epona walked toward it, the song guiding her toward the center of the oasis where the large pond lay.

As she drew closer, the song intensified until it drowned out everything else. Reaching out, Epona parted the fronds of a broad-leafed ground plant to reveal the edge of the pond, its water glowing in the moonlight. It seemed to pulse with the rhythm of the song, drawing Epona toward it. What would it feel like to bathe beneath the moon?

As that fanciful thought drifted through her head she realized she was no longer alone. A shimmering, moon-gilded stag, his coat bathed in the glow reflected off the water's surface, stood upon the calm waters in the middle of the pond. She blinked, rubbing her eyes as the stag calmly walked across the water toward her. As he neared, Epona could make out the gold flecks in his coat and the wisdom lurking in his eyes. Dalgeth had come to visit again.

He halted in front of her; his nose inches from her own as he gave a long whuffling sigh that blew the hair back from her face.

"You came again. Was it you making that melody?"

The stag lowered its head, its large antlers forcing Epona to take several steps back to avoid being hit by them.

"What was that for?"

She felt oddly irritated with him and frowned. He stepped forward until he was once again nose-to-nose with her.

"Truly, what are you doing? Hey!" she yelped as he lowered his head a second time. He did it with more force, making her jump back to avoid a bone-jarring crack to the skull.

"Will you stop and explain what you're trying to do? Unless your purpose is to give me a concussion, you will stop."

Her words seemed to give him pause momentarily, but it was only a brief instant. After that, he was back to trying to crack her on the head. Epona was unexpectedly fuming mad. Her temper rarely flared this fast unless she was duly provoked and she felt a small flicker of unease even as she stepped toward Dalgeth in challenge. It was as if she were a bystander in her own body.

This time, she watched his antlers moving toward her in slow motion and felt herself dodge to the left as her mind understood she was going to try and get around him. But Dalgeth was one step ahead of her, swinging his hind end around to hit her with enough force to make her stumble back.

"What do you want from me?" she cried, barely saving herself from sprawling over a fallen branch. Again, he said not a word, fueling the anger coursing in her veins. "I know you can talk!" she shouted. "I've heard you before. Quit playing silly games and explain this!"

Epona was startled to feel something drop onto her hand and glanced down. It was wet. Reaching up, she found tears sliding down her cheeks. She hadn't been aware she was crying. Epona's panic escalated.

"Why are you making me mad? You were so amazing at the festival. Why do you have to do this? I don't understand what's happening to me; why do I feel so angry with you?"

When he remained silent, simply staring, Epona felt something inside her snap and she gave a shout of anger and rushed past him, aiming for the pond.

She could hear him charging in pursuit and she pushed harder, stretching her stride to its limit even though she knew it wouldn't be enough. Even as she realized she wouldn't make it, she heard the thud of his hooves directly behind her and felt the world tilt as he swept her feet out from beneath her with his antlers. She was suspended in the air, the moonlight caressing her body for a brief moment in time, before she crashed to the ground with a bone-jarring thud, her head glancing off a small stone to leave a bleeding gash on her forehead.

Epona lay there, winded. She could sense him right behind her, his presence like an increasing pressure upon her back. Jerking, she rolled over and found herself staring up at the underside of Dalgeth's chest, his two front legs creating a cage on either side of her head. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as she cast about for something to say even as she realized that it was too late. There were no words that could undo her actions.

Looking up, she watched as he reared, his front legs striking at the air over her head as he bugled a challenge. In the split second before his hooves hit the ground, she heard the haunting melody cease and felt her anger slip away.

Light, sharp and painful as a needle, stabbed her eyes as she tried to open them. Her hands flew up to protect her face as she rolled to her stomach and bumped against something hard. Freezing, she cautiously opened her eyes bit by bit until she was staring at a piece of wood. Blinking, she looked up to find she had come to rest against a chair - a chair with a rearing horse embroidered upon it.

Gasping, Epona jerked upright, causing the chair in front of her to gyrate crazily. Holding her head, she waited until everything became stationary before trying to get to her feet.

She was once again in the room that was not a room, the embroidered chairs in a circle about her. She must be dreaming again. Had she hit her head? The last she remembered was Dalgeth's velvet nose lowering toward her face as everything went black.

"You're here."

This time Epona was ready for the sudden appearance of Dalgeth in his human form. Whirling to face him as he moved toward her, Epona was flooded with questions.

He stopped a few feet away from her, resting his hands on the back of a golden chair with a radiant sun emblazoned on its back.

"Your question?"

Epona was momentarily taken aback. Was her face that transparent?

He chuckled, a sad sound with little mirth. "I have watched you enough to know when you are bursting with questions. Now, do you perhaps wish to know -"

"What is this place?" Epona interrupted, fearful of discovering the extent of his knowledge of her if he completed his sentence.

He looked momentarily surprised before the calm mask slipped back over his face. "Alas, that is something you will find out for yourself far too soon. I will leave that answer until such a time as you're ready for it. What is your next question?"

"What kind of answer is that?" Epona mumbled, disgruntled. But she quickly changed the subject when she saw his eyebrows rise. She was always behaving badly around him! "What happened in the forest just now? It was just now, wasn't it? There hasn't been some sort of time change?"

"So many questions. How shall I answer them if you ask them all at once?"

Epona laughed as she was meant to and relaxed as he gave her a fleeting glimpse of a smile.

"Yes, we just came from the forest and, before you get all worked up again, I'll tell you that I brought you here so that we might talk. Why don't you have a seat? I'm sure no one would mind." The last he mumbled so quietly Epona barely caught it. What did he mean by no one would mind?

Looking at the grandeur of the furnishings, Epona declined. "Thank you, but I'd prefer to sit on the ground." And she proceeded to park herself beside the horse chair. Dalgeth looked bemused as he settled into a chair. Epona couldn't see what was embroidered on its back before he obscured it.

"You are a most puzzling woman. Now, I am sure you are wondering what we came here to talk about."

"Yes. Why did you not just explain it to me in the forest?"

"Let me ask you this; how much do you know about the Gods, Epona?"

"Well, I know of you, Dalgeth, god of taurin and representative of the hunt; Dijuin and Nalopia are the twin sisters of day and night; Eitana, the patron of love and her mother Eoniah, goddess of earth and water; and there is also Tchekichaun, who cares for the souls as they pass to their next journey."

"Yes, you seem to know a fair few of us. But do you truly know anything of us? Raised as a gypsy, I don't imagine you've had a very thorough upbringing in the ways of our world. And do not take that as a criticism of your friends." He forestalled with a raised hand. "It is merely a truth. Now," he folded his hands calmly beneath his chin and turned the full force of his liquid brown eyes on her. "Out of all those gods you listed, have you ever known of any appearing before humans and speaking with them?"

Though Epona wracked her brain she could find none. She shook her head.

"That is because we cannot, speak that is."

"But -"

"Right now you are dreaming, and as such, I am able to speak with you. Each god or goddess is a representative of some kind. Myself, I represent the taurin, my kinsmen, whom I watch over. Dijuin, as you mentioned, is the Goddess of Day. In the human realm, she is the sun that nourishes your world. Even Tchekichaun, though he is a shadow of his former self while in your realm, is mute and can't speak except to the spirits who are to journey with him. So you see, we cannot speak to mortals when we appear in the human realm." He gave her a small smile. "Now, I suppose that answered one of your questions. What is the next question?"

"Why did you stop me in the woods? What sort of game was that?"

"I feared that would be your next question. Given the difficulty of the answer, this must be your last question. I cannot keep you here forever and we are running out of time. Is this truly the question you want answered the most?"

Epona nodded and Dalgeth gave a quiet, drawn out sigh.

"Very well. Have you ever heard of the prophecy?"

"No."

"I thought not. Well, I won't go into grievous detail but throughout history, a prophecy has cropped up generation after generation. It pertains to the return of your people to their old ways of prosperity. The only snag in the entire business is that it fails to state when or who will fulfill the terms. It merely hints at three individuals born under the Follower Star. The possibilities for this, as you can well imagine, are endless. So it is, in essence, a worthless clue. But even though the clue is useless, people still latch onto it. It should be considered a blessing that this prophecy only crops up every few generations."

"What happened the last time the prophecy was told??" Epona asked, hesitant. His tone was far too somber for her comfort.

"Five hundred years ago it caused a world-wide war."