Silica Dust (Caveman Chronicles)

The Index -|-

Kpleeb limped out of the trees when everything went quiet in the street. There was an odd haze at ankle level that was slowly sinking into the ground. Several white-faced warriors lay in haphazard pools and splatters of blood, bones clearly shattered. Ahead lay Thoka on her back.

The bile rose in Kpleeb’s throat. She has to be alive. He began to run as best he could, but with his wounds, his ankle gave way, and he fell on his face with a muffled ooomph. He choked on the poof of dust and clambered to his knees and feet again to walk (hobble) slower this time.

When he arrived, he looked down and Thoka looked up at him. Her eyes opened and the corners crinkled. It was followed by a slight smile.

“Make sure he’s dead, Kpleeb.” Her head turned toward Uuiit.

Kpleeb turned and saw the trail of gray blood coming from beneath the body of Uuiit. The corpse was motionless. No breathing visible. No odd twitching or suspect movements. He nudged the body with his foot. It was solid at least. He bent and rolled it over. Uuiit’s face stared up at him with bright blue, open eyes. The mouth was slightly smaller than normal and open.

The teeth were sharp. On each side of Uuiit’s neck there were three parallel lines near the collar bones that were angled toward the rear shoulder. Kpleeb bent and looked closer. The lines were more than just markings, they were openings.

“Mmm,” grunted Kpleeb. Encircling the thin neck was a shiny cord that was very thin and almost dainty. Kpleeb wrapped his fingers around it and tugged, but it would not break. However, the remainder of the cord did pull itself out of Uuiit’s cloak. Attached to the end was an oddly shaped amulet. Kpleeb turned the shape over and looked at it from all angles. It was in fact, just like the angle that they had found resting in the nearby forest, but smaller. On one of the less angular sides, there was a blue crystal that was as perfect as anything that Kpleeb had ever seen. The deep blue was mesmerizing, and he blinked slowly once, twice… Kpleeb shook his head gently. Wha?

“Kpleeb?”

He felt a hand on his shoulder and twitched with surprise. Thoka stood next to him. She was a bit disheveled, but appeared to be otherwise okay. “You have to see this angle,” he said moving his head so she could see the amulet on the cord.

“We need to search Uuiit’s home as soon as we can,” said Thoka with a grimace. “If we have killed a death white, or whatever they call themselves, I am sure the Xinti will be unhappy.”

Kpleeb stood. “The center of the village is nearby. Are there any Ganix warriors left to help us? I will try to carry Uuiit’s body.” He reached down and grasped the arms. Uuiit’s body was surprisingly thin and light under the cloak, so Kpleeb grunted and heaved it over his shoulder and carefully tested his weak-legged balance. “You walk ahead and find his house.”

Kpleeb painstakingly followed Thoka through the grid of buildings, forward two and then right three, before he saw the stone porch that he had remembered seeing from the ridge. He paused occasionally to shrug the lightweight body inan attempt to achieve a more comfortable position and carried on. They arrived at the house in another few moments, and Thoka pushed on the door.

“It won’t open,” she said holding up one of her rings. “The door is entirely surrounded by the invisible forces.” She turned. “Let me see that blue crystal.” When she fished it out of Uuiit’s cloak, the crystal itself was slowly pulsating with an inner light.

Kpleeb set the body down and noticed that it weighed even less than it had before. “Something is going on, Thoka. Uuiit has become very light.”

Thoka ignored him and murmured something under her breath as she palmed the blue crystal. After a moment, she held it against the door, and then nodded as it swung open.

The space inside was musty, and Kpleeb saw the air swirl away from the door as it opened. The air was pale, but had a brownish tinge to it. There was a thin odor, sharp and nostril tickling. Kpleeb coughed slightly, and in response, Thoka waved her palm downward as if to shush him. The room ahead of them began to glow. Everything was oddly angular and light colored. There were shelves on the wall at a height that would prevent any cavechildren from accessing items stored on them. In the corner was a strangely tiered structure. It was the only part of the room that was not some shade of white, off-white, or yellow-white. It was a deep and brilliant red and covered with small protrusions.

“I think the light is triggered by movement,” said Thoka adjusting her bracelet. She had the faraway look in her eye, and Kpleeb knew she was using the invisible forces in some way.

He shrugged and pushed past her pulling Uuiit’s corpse. “We need to defend ourselves.” He closed the door behind them and dropped Uuiit’s ankle. “Are you okay?”

Thoka blinked and nodded. “This room is full of invisible forces. Absolutely full, Kpleeb. I have to study all of this, and Zara too. She will understand more of this than I will.”

“Do you think we’re safe here?” Kpleeb grabbed a piece of lak from the top shelf. It was hard and the edges were very sharp.

Just then, there was a loud banging on the door. Kpleeb placed his hands on the door panel and hissed at Thoka. “What do we do now?” The banging continued for a long moment and then stopped.

“Pale One? Pale One?” The voice was that of Xer, the Ganix warrior in charge of the larger company of attackers.

“Xer?” Kpleeb tapped on the door with his fingertips.

“Kpleeb. It safe. Many Ganix alive. Xinti dead.”

Kpleeb eyed Thoka and when she nodded at him, he opened the door slowly. Xer was there facing the door, and behind him stood a handful of Ganix warriors with faces stern and eyes darting toward in all directions.

“I’m glad you are here, Xer. We have Uuiit.” Kpleeb gestured behind him. He turned and approached the corpse on the floor.

Xer bowed slightly to Thoka and knelt next to Uuiit’s body. When he lifted the cloak, a fine, pale dust trickled out from the seams.

Kpleeb hissed, “Thoka, Uuiit’s body is gone.:”

Thoka quickly examined the cloak, the dust, and the whole surrounding area while Xer held the cloak up. “Hmm. There is nothing significantly different about this dust compared to the dirt outside. It has more silica in it, but… It is just dust. Xer, please bring the cloak, and some of this lak.”

“Pale One,” Xer said nodding.

Kpleeb noticed that the dust was not enough to account for Uuiit’s original size or weight.

“We need to get back to the village,” Thoka said to Kpleeb. “There is much to do, and this place is dangerous until I can understand it. I must return with Zara.”

Xer and a few Ganix warriors collected each item that Thoka pointed out, and they exited Uuiit’s house. The door latched behind them with a muted click.

Kpleeb and Xer walked together and talked about Kpleeb’s capture, the battle, and what might be the aftermath of killing Uuiit. Trailing them, Thoka walked in silence for many hours. Kpleeb could see that she was deep in thought, so he left her in peace to analyze the day’s many discoveries.