Elephant Song

THIRTY-ONE

Twenty days after leaving the desert fire, No One once again stood upon the shore of Waco's Lake, his robe caked with the dust of the desert. He looked through the trees toward the clearing and saw the mound-capped rise within it. He blanketed the clearing with his mind. I am back.

He sensed first shock, then anger coming from the eggs. Then there loomed next to him a black cloud that twisted within itself. Why are you here? Go away!

Ssura, I have come for my child.

Leave! She is not your child!

No One nodded and smiled. Then my child is my daughter.

Ssura's cloud whirled with a fury sufficient to tear trees from the soil. She is not yours! Leave! Leave, or I will kill you!

No One heard the eggs join in. Kill him, Ssura! Kill him! Kill him!

The black cloud moved closer. No One reached out the fingers of his mind and evaporated the cloud. The trees and underbrush that had been sucked up in the draft caused by the cloud fell to the ground. Ssura was in the clearing, staggering toward the mound.

No One entered the clearing and headed toward the mound. Where is she, Ssura? Where is my daughter?

The naked woman fell against the mound, then rolled over until she was facing No One. She screamed a hysterical laugh, then stood up and held out her arms. The creatures of the jungle rose as a single entity and descended upon No One. The great swamp lizards fought with mud snakes, insects, and dragon parrots to destroy him. He was thrown to the ground, a dragon parrot thrust its beak at No One's head, then blood gushed from his cheek. He felt the foot of one of the great swamp monsters on his back, crushing him. With his mind he rapidly constructed a clear shell of force about his body. The pressure of the foot left his back, and he got to his feet as the creatures threw themselves against the shell in helpless fury.

He moved toward the mound, and even more creatures were thrown against him; so many that he could not see. His mind rose above the fighting, slavering beasts, to see Ssura calling and directing still more things against him. The frenzy of claws, fangs, wings, and talons moved closer and closer to the mound until Ssura was covered in a blur of animals and blood. Then the creatures stopped. One by one they walked, flew, or slithered away leaving behind their dead and Ssura's blood-streaked body, her breast heaving for air.

No One let the wall of force dissolve as his mind returned to his aching body. The pain of his injuries drove him to his knees, and he cried out. After a moment, he struggled to his feet, hobbled over to Ssura, and knelt beside her.

"Ssura. Can you hear me?"

Her mouth barely opened and she coughed blood from it. "Kill you! Kill—"

No One faced the mound. Release her! Release her, or I will crush each and every one of you!

He looked at Ssura's face. It stared at him blankly, the eyes wide and dull, the jaw slack. "Ssura?"

The eggs spoke. There is nothing there, Johnjay. All she had was what we gave her.

He grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her. "Ssura! Where is my daughter? Ssura!"

The woman's eyes turned toward him, seemed to focus for a second, then the light in them went out. Her head fell limply to one side. He lowered her gently to the ground and wiped some of the filth and blood from her lips.

"What would have been, lovely, Ssura, had you been free?"

No One pushed himself to his feet. The clearing was deathly quiet except for a tiny whimper. He limped around the mound until he could see the opposite side of the clearing. Near its edge, just beneath the trees, No One could see the crooked wooden bars of a crude pen. He walked toward it, and as he approached it, he felt the thoughts of the eggs at the back of his head.

She is ours, No One! She is ours! Leave us be! We need her to live!

No One shut out the voices. He reached the pen and looked between the bars. Huddled in the corner was a small, frightened black-haired creature so crust-covered in filth it was barely recognizable as human. Johnjay placed a wall of thought surrounding both himself and the child.

"Child?"

The girl winced and cowered against the far wall of the pen. From her mouth came a high, weak wail. No One walked around the cage, the girl crawling in the muck to stay against the opposite side, until he came to the lashed-down door. He pointed the edge of his hand at the lashings, and they parted.

He opened the door, bent down, and entered the pen. The girl screamed and held her fingers before her as though they were claws. No One squatted before her and held out his hand. The girl swiped at the hand, then drew her arms against her famished breast and wailed, hiding her face in her hands. No One reached his hand out even further and touched the girl's filthy matted hair, stroking it.

"It's going to be all right, child. All right."

The girl shuddered beneath each touch of his hand. No One formed his thoughts and placed them in the girl's head. The thoughts were of warmth, hugging, love. She opened her fingers slightly and peeked at No One through her fingers.

He felt images of fear, pain, anger, and loneliness coming from the girl. She had but one word: Girl; her name. No One placed the palm of his hand against her cheek.

"Everything will be all right, child. I am your father. I've come for you."