A shrill pierced the thick cloth of the silence that suddenly took over Tenebre Forest. It wasn’t the sound of a bird that was flying in the height, or of a deer or any other beast running onto the narrow paths seen between the trees. It was the sound of a huge string that was powerfully hit by a metallic coin, a shrill that traveled around the forest in seconds only, making each beast, insect, or plant in that forest shudder with fear. Birds and animals, scared, suddenly took their heads out of the nests or dens, carefully looking around while trying to understand who was to blame for disturbing the silence.
Nobody was seen there, though. Only the playful nature was shivering its crown as if dancing, considering that strange sound of an invisible string a perfect melody to dance. A string whose sound was now barely heard then deafeningly resounding around as though the musician that was playing it was placed inside of an empty barrel, something that made his music strange. Thus, as if the invisible musician had touched the string intensely, the shrill became playful too, like a spinning top. Then, dizzyingly spinning, it raised upper and upper toward the top of the barrel to be heard strangely, heavily, and somehow secretly at the same time when it got up, something that made the forest folk confused because they had never heard such music before.
What made the forest inhabitants feel more confused than before was seeing, accompanying that sound, a lot of snakes heading towards the Field Ātmā. Green snakes, with leaves and branches of a pleasant bright brown covering them, making one feel pleasant inside while watching or touching them. Then, in addition to their pleasant texture, those snakes-lianas, gathered in a kind of bunch, which eventually gave those lianas the shape of a snake, made them very sharp at movement. They were agile and skillful while sneaking through the aerial roots of the trees, under the moss, and even over the dried leaves that were seen all over the ground. Strange snakes that were able to undulate delicately, reminding about a secret touch of nature on a human's skin. In addition to their sharpness, the lianas were also cunning because, if a curious tree tried to catch them between its wooden palms, seeing them so secretly sneaking on the forest's soil, they were suddenly jumping or passing very low, making their catch impossible. The reason? Well, the oldness of those secular trees because, as old as the world, it was damn difficult for them to bend to the ground. They could only grow long arms or take their roots-legs out of the ground, following the lianas eventually. For the rest… nothing more because the lianas, young and nimble, weren't easy prey to catch.
Besides their nimbleness and cleverness, the lianas were also showing solidarity with the other lianas and with the message they were carrying inside: a secret message. An alive message to be more precise. Which one? A big brown cobra, whom the lianas hid with their thin branches and bright green leaves that were totally covering her. Thus, at the alive shelter of the lianas, the cobra Zeal was moving at will, at all afraid to be discovered by the enemy’s eyes.
Behind her, among branches and leaves, the nymphs were following her. They, looking at the forest from above, slowly taken by the lianas further and further from those places, were making sure that the danger wasn’t coming from above or from some close dark thicket. Then, sneaking through the bushes, where it was possible, or hiding in the hollows of the trees when she felt that someone could spot her, the fox Inmar was also making sure that she would get safely back to the Camp of Beasts. Actually, nothing hard in her opinion because not only once her foxes survived in harsh times. Even so, at that moment, with Tikil following them, whom she felt closer and closer to them, she understood that those were times she had never lived before when it was absolutely necessary to be sharp in mind, thinking twice if not three times before taking a step in front, being also discrete and cunning.
Because of this, Inmar changed the color of her fur, a power only she had, better to say a trick she learned from Anaya. This one, at her time, learned this trick from Ahi because he, even if he didn’t have the power to turn into a beast and lose his traces this way, had a huge power to change his look when he felt that it was necessary to pass unnoticed in one place. Thus, often seeing Ahi doing this, Anaya learned it by herself, in time, a cunningness she taught the other foxes too. Yet, even if she showed everybody how to change the color of their fur, only Inmar learned that trick, something that made her so proud of herself. And, changing her fur completely to a deep dark red, when she had white stains in some places before that, Inmar decided to add something to that change of look to be sure nobody would recognize her. This change wasn’t related to the color of the fur, but to the one of her eyes, which suddenly turned to a bright green from a deep dark brown. Then, to hide her footsteps, Inmar started to step barely touching the ground, choosing places where the ground was covered by leaves, branches, or lianas, which, being wet in most cases, weren’t keeping her smell or the form of her paws.
Nevertheless, Inmar wasn’t the only one who used the trick of changing the color of her fur. Zeal did the same. Unlike Inmar, Zeal hadn’t been able to change completely the color of her skin. She could only change the shinning of the skin and the temperature of her body, which could be easily felt by those who had magic power. The reason? Well, she heard from Inlan Diar that Tikil was capable of feeling if someone crossed a place by touching the ground or any other thing that creature had touched while passing by there. Thus, if he felt the temperature weakly, it meant that an animal passed by there. Also, in most cases, the Titan could understand which animal passed by there because of the smell. In the case of humans or those with magic power, the warmth left on the objects or on the ground was intense, making him feel strange itching on his skin. Thus, feeling them, Tikil could easily find the trace of his prey, completing his plan, no matter which one was that.
Well, to deceive Tikil and not allow him to find them, Zeal would have been able to use Argol, on whose wings she could finally get to the camp. Yet, she found it risky because she knew very well that Melia and the other nymphs were still around and she didn’t want to expose them. At the same time, Inmar was also there, who wouldn’t have ever been able to get to the camp on Argol’s wings. Why? Because, feeling her fox’s smell, the eagle would have fought with her. Thus, not having another chance to get to the camp than crossing the woods, even if she hated to help her enemy, Zeal decided to keep staying by Inmar’s side. She decided this because the fox was eventually right: in that war that was coming, it was absolutely necessary to use all the available resources to fight, and Inmar was a pretty good one, she had to accept this even if this was something that was pissing her off.
Thus, once again understanding this truth, the cobra Zeal stopped for a few seconds, closing her eyes. The nymphs also stopped. Yet, they didn’t descend to the ground but kept hanging on the lianas, trying to seem invisible among the branches, a perfect hideout in fact because the trees, feeling the danger close, decided to help. How exactly? How they could: they made wooden arms appear on their body when it was necessary, bowing their crowns a lot in other places, or hollows appeared on their trunks when the fox needed a place to hide. In fact, when the cobra Zeal stopped, the fox was in a similar hollow. She, not understanding the reason why they stopped, stuck her black nose out of the hollow, staring toward the place where Zeal was.
Suddenly, feeling a strange smell in the distance, the fox closed her eyes and sneezed. Then, turning her head to the right, where she felt the smell, she started to sniff the path onto which they came. The fox sniffed the horizon for a long time, trying to figure out who was following them. Yet… she didn’t manage to find out the name or at least the nature of that being that was following them because he or she had a smell Inmar had never felt before. A strange scent of fetid water or maybe of a place where the air barely gets inside. Or… was it maybe someone’s plan to deceive them? Inmar wasn’t sure of this. That’s why she kept shaking her head, eyes still closed, and sniffing the horizon while desperately trying to understand what was going on there.
She winced eventually the moment she heard Zeal’s answer, hissed through her teeth, „It’s Tikil! I feel his smell and I think you’ve felt it too.”
„Yeah, I felt something, but I couldn’t figure out whose smell. Well, only when you said his name, I got the answer. It sounds logical now because if it’s a stinky smell it’s definitely Tikil, who has lived deep underground for centuries if not millennia. It was impossible to smell otherwise,” the fox growled.
Inmar looked to her left, toward the tree through whose branches Melia’s face could be seen when the nymph said, „I’m sure that’s just a trick. The smell we feel because, as far as I know, the den where Tikil has been imprisoned is one where the air circulates very well.” Saying this, Melia seemed worried. The preoccupation was seen in her eyes when she looked at the others. Zeal, still with her head covered by the lianas, practically touching the ground with her long neck, also felt the preoccupation even if she didn’t see Melia’s face. She felt strange, something that made her say eventually:
„I think it’s time to split up, Melia! You should turn left at the next glade! Inmar and I will head toward the Field Ātmā!”
„No, impossible!” The nymph opposed Zeal’s idea. „We can’t split up! Now more than ever after we’ve promised to the commander Eṉōl that we’ll stay by your side and make sure that nothing will happen to you. We won’t go!”
„Of course, you will,” the cobra hissed through her teeth, suddenly rising on her thick tail and looking toward the place where the nymphs were hiding. „We’ll be safe if we don’t stay together. Why? Because, splitting up, we make sure that at least some of us survive.”
„At the same time we make sure to deceive that old fox, who’s following us,” growled Inmar, getting out of the hollow. Then, heading toward Zeal, still with her eyes on the surroundings, she said, „If we split up, that devil can’t follow all of us. Thus, part of us will be safe.”
„I still have another opinion,” Melia insisted. „I think Tikil will follow those who head to the Field Ātmā. Why? Because something tells me that even if he doesn’t know what we plan, he still suspects this. Thus, even for him, the wisest of the plans will be to get there and cross the borders of Paṉi Makkaḷ, looking for shelter. Something he also wants: to find a breach on the Barrier and attack.”
„He can give it a try if he wants this,” a strange sound came out of Zeal’s throat. „To cross the borders of our kingdom, I mean because what he doesn’t know is that only those who have permission can do it. Something that won’t ever happen if he doesn’t have the right key to open that Gate.”
„You forget about me now,” the fox said, staring at Zeal this time. „I’m not also able to cross through the Barrier without you. A difficult problem for me in fact. So, if I want to get safe there, I need someone to let me in.”
Zeal cooked her nose. She definitely forgot that only the People of Ice could cross the Barrier without the Queen’s permission or her magic. Something Inmar or any other new ally of the Queen couldn’t do. More than that, Inmar was forbidden to enter the Kingdom because of her Black Magic, something that was forcing her to wait for an open Gate in the Barrier. Thus, as the Queen didn’t know where they would return, it was practically impossible for her to be safe if something had happened to Zeal. And, understanding this, Zeal stared at Inmar, telling her, „Let’s think about this when we are next to the Barrier. Now, we should get there first.”
Argol’s shout made Zeal look up. Then, finally understanding how she could let Inlan Diar know how they intended to return home, she told Melia, „The harmonica! The one made from an oak leaf! Use it to send a message to Argol, telling him to announce the Queen and be ready to let us cross the Barrier!”
„Won’t be dangerous this way?” Issaṉdrā asked. „I mean… sending a message to Argol, one that can be also heard by Tikil. Thus, unwillingly, we can let him know about our plan.”
Zeal grinned. „Then… it’ll make the chase more interesting because, feeling him blowing down our neck, we’ll have more power to run. So, Inmar, let’s rush because there’s a long way to the Field Ātmā, just as we've given Tikil enough time to shorten the distance between us! And you, Melia, do as we’ve agreed: turn left at the next glade! Who knows?! Maybe because we split up we can buy some time for us. At least until we get there.” After that, stretching her neck in front, the cobra touched the ground, sneaking her head under the lianas to be sure she was safe, heading toward the Field Ātmā shortly after this.
Inmar, seeing Zeal rushing to leave that place, didn’t stay there but followed her. The same did the nymphs, who, using the power of their minds, asked the lianas to move away. Thus, when they got to the next glade, Melia and her fellows turned left as they agreed with Inmar and Zeal. After that, feeling that it was the right time, they entered a dark thicket, trying to lose their trace.
***
„They are trying to deceive me!” Tikil whispered, grinning, being already at the place where Zeal and her companions had that small talk after they felt his smell. Tikil was squatting there, touching the trunk in whose secret hollow Inmar had hidden before. Thus, by touching that trunk, the Titan clearly felt the warmth of the fox. He even smelled her. Yet, it was a deceiving smell. One that was making him cook his nose all the time: he disliked that smell. Yet, even if he felt it, Tikil could understand only the fact that it belonged to a red fox that followed Zeal outside of the kingdom, but, what fox in concrete, Tikil didn’t know. It didn’t matter too much for Tikil actually because he wasn’t interested in the fox but in Zeal, whom, if he had had her, would have been able to force Inlan Diar to let him cross the Barrier.
A nice thought this one, but still impossible to make real because, no matter how hard he didn’t try or quickened his pace, he couldn’t catch up with them. At one point, the Titan stopped feeling the warmth of the fox and even her smell was something he couldn’t distinguish anymore. Something that made him think that he was on the wrong path and decided to return. Yet, a snake’s trace, left on the wet leaves, a trace that Zeal probably didn’t notice to cover it, made him attentive. And, seeing it, Tikil smiled, saying, „I’m still on the right way!” After that, he kept advancing until he got to the place where they split up.
Getting there, Tikil stopped too. He closed his eyes, trying to connect to nature's energy and understand the message it sent to him. Something he didn’t manage to understand eventually because nature wasn’t submissive to him anymore, since long ago actually. Tikil was sure of this and of the fact that nature was listening to the whisper and the order of another master. Who exactly?! Tikil didn’t know. Yet, he was aware of that music heard before, which started to be heard again at that moment. A shrill that made him grin again, understanding who exactly was to blame for hearing it in that forest: Maranam. Yes, it was that demon guilty that the silence of Tenebre’s Forest had been disturbed because… he was approaching the Kingdom of Ice from there.
This was something Tikil disliked. He hated the fact that Maranam was heading over there. Why? Because it wasn’t part of his plan to be submissive to someone. This thought was squirming him inside, hating himself for being forced to bow his head. Yet, he accepted to be submissive, thinking that by being free, he’d be able to conquer Paṉi Makkaḷ. He hoped he’d do that until Maranam got there. Thus, having the Kingdom of Ice at his feet, Tikil would have been invincible, something that Maranam also dreamt about. Of course, Maranam also wanted this because he knew very well that the one who’d rule over Paṉi Makkaḷ would get to rule over the whole world eventually.
„Yet, even if he also wants this, the only master of the world must be me, undoubtedly,” Tikil growled, still touching that trunk. „I must be the only master because… I didn’t stand being closed in that rat hole for millennia, accepting to be humiliated and submissive, for letting another one rule this world in my place! This was my dream of hope while being closed there: to be king, not servant. That’s why, now that the Princess of Ice is outside of Paṉi Makkaḷ’s bubble, I have to catch her at any cost! I must have her! It’s the only chance I have to win some points in front of that idiot, of Maranam. Something I’ll have for sure: primacy! So, Tikil, don’t waste your time anymore and hit the pike until you haven't been left outside the game!”
Encouraging himself with such „tough” words, Tikil suddenly stood up and started to run. He increased his speed with each step taken in front while his eyes were focused on each of nature’s movements, on each bush, or hollow met in his way. The reason? He looked for traces, especially, he tried to see where exactly the she-snake he wanted as his captive headed. He cared the less about the rest. Well, if he had caught the fox too to hurt Ahi, it would have been a bonus for sure. Yet… it wasn’t important. Only…
„To be damn!” He suddenly shouted when he got to that glade where the nymphs turned left and he understood that he lost any trace of them. At the same time, he stopped feeling the smell of the prey he was following and her warmth. Even if he kept touching the ground, the trunks around him, each blade of grass, dust, or leaf found on the ground, he felt nothing. This drove him crazy that he got to look for them in hollows too. It was everything in vain because he found nothing. The Titan only wasted his power in vain because he looked for them with such a speed that the eyes of nature, those that kept spying on him, started to rotate in circles at one moment, making those „spies” dizzy. Probably because of this a poor mouse squawked at one moment, leaving his house and running away, as fast as he could, following the same path the nymphs took to hide.
Tikil, who saw the mouse, only followed him by glance for a while. After that, looking around, at the glade where he was at that moment, found it too quiet to his taste. Even the weird dance of the lianas, those that were hanging from the trees, bothered him. Yet, staring at one of these lianas, Tikil finally saw something: a leaf, which caught first on Issaṉdrā’s vestment when she passed by there to remain stuck to the liana eventually and fell to the ground in the end, considered by Tikil the perfect trace to find his enemies. A silent witness that made Tikil hiss through his teeth, „Ah, Melia, it seems that you’ve forgotten the promise you gave to me a long time ago: not to join anybody in the battle. Something you did eventually, joining the army of my enemy. A betrayal you’ll pay for sooner or later. Not now! I don’t have time to play with you now. Later, I’ll leave you without your head, letting you know, you and everybody else who’s against me, what means to betray Tikil!” After that, hearing Argol’s shout coming from the Field Ātmā, Tikil finally understood Zeal’s cunningness. And, running as chased by the devil, he headed in the same direction as his enemies.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
***
Carefully looking at the Field Ātmā, Inmar cooked her nose, seeing how intensely the Coal Burners were carving those stones. She also saw that, because of their work, none of them paid attention to what was happening around them, a good advantage for them too. Yet, the moment Vvokkam glanced toward the forest, Zeal and she pulled a few steps back, looking for shelter. Inmar even thought that Vvokkam saw them because he kept staring toward the place where they were. That’s why she told Zeal at one moment, „That demon, he saw us!”
„No, he keeps his eyes on something else.”
„On something else? What exactly is he trying to see?”
„I have no idea, honestly! Yet… not this is important but what should we do to get to the camp!”
„I say bypass this place! To turn back, at least a little bit. After that, sneaking next to the first row of trees, to find a sure way to get back to the Kingdom.”
„If we do that, if we turn back I mean, we can meet Tikil in our way, and this will be damn dangerous. That’s why, sister fox, I say that our only chance to survive is crossing this field.”
„Only if you insist on being caressed by those with sharp knives and chisels, those that are over there. They can easily rip off your skin!!! Something that will perfectly work in your case because… as far as I’ve heard, if they feel the danger close, the cobras leave their skin behind,” replied Inmar in mockery.
Zeal grinned, „At least we don’t suffer too much if this happens. In the foxes’case, this is something I can’t guarantee. That’s why I want to warn you that if they put their paw on you, it’ll be the end for your skin for sure.”
„Something you'll relish, right?! Or… are you praying for this to happen?”
„I won’t deny obvious things. Yet… let’s leave the teasing and the pleasure of seeing your skin drying in the sun for later and focus on important things! Like… deceiving them!”
„How exactly should we do that? Turning ourselves into stone?” Inmar teased the girl.
„You can give it a try if you want… to feel how a chisel bites from you. Meanwhile, I’ll just sneak toward the Barrier, starting from here because, look, we’ve got some help!”
Looking at the Barrier, Inmar saw Inlan Diar and Strebasus, along with other soldiers, heading toward the invisible wall. They weren’t simply heading there but kept the arrows and the bows ready for shooting. Strebasus was holding his sword tightly while Inlan Diar had a spear Īṭṭikaḷ in her hand. Thus, armed, when they got only a few meters from the Barrier, they stopped and insistently looked at the Coal Burners.
They weren’t the only ones staring at the enemy. Vvokkam did the same when he spotted them coming. He even completely turned toward the Barrier, trying not to lose sight of them. His Coal Burners followed his example, also finishing their work for the moment. And, even if all of them waited to be scolded by Vvokkam for not carving the stones anymore, nothing happened because their king seemed too focused on their enemies and on what was happening on the other side of the Barrier than to pay attention to them.
Seeing the two camps exchanging glances, Zeal hissed through her teeth, barely heard, „Now, fox, it’s time! And… I hope you aren’t afraid of cobras!”
Inmar, hearing Zeal talking like that, frowned. She even squinted at the cobra, seeing that she half rose on her thick tail, starting to dance her neck from one side to the other. A kind of tribal dance as the fox thought, who suddenly asked, in mockery, „Are you preparing your wedding dance?”
„Absolutely! It’ll be a wedding as nobody has ever seen before!” Zeal telepathically replied to the fox. Something that amazed Inmar a lot because she couldn’t understand why the girl used telepathy to answer when only the two of them were there. Yet, she understood soon that she was wrong when she heard a strange hissing around. It sounded more like a rustle of leaves than a hissing, something that made her carefully look around, trying to understand what was going on. Thus, she saw the trees „dancing,” using the same rhythm the cobra used to dance her body and, through the branches, unwrapping their bodies off the trees’trunks, or exiting the hollows or the bushes… the cobras and the snakes appeared. Dozens or maybe hundreds of snakes listened to Zeal’s command and came there to help them. Seeing them, Inmar stared with wide-open eyes at those beasts. She even took a few steps back, intending to hit the pike if those green beasts had decided to attack her. Yet, when she heard Zeal’s command, in her head only, „Don’t move, Inmar!” the fox stopped and looked at the girl this time. Zeal didn’t look at the fox. She, still looking in front, told her companion, „Don’t be afraid of them because they aren’t after you but after them!”
„After… them? What the hell are you trying to say?” Inmar asked, even more confused than before. Looking at the field, she finally saw that the Coal Burners noticed them and were heading toward that place at that moment. This made Inmar swallow hard. Yet, even if she felt fear sneaking inside her bones as if a hot iron injured her skin, Inmar didn’t move. She only rippled her fur, sharpening her nails too, and, showing her fangs to the enemy, Inmar prepared for the attack. One that didn’t take place when Zeal talked to her again:
„Stay calm, Inmar! And keep your sharp nails for later!”
„What should I do then? To let those chisels kiss my forehead then?”
„Not a bad idea actually,” the cobra replied, hissing the answer through her teeth. „Yet… It’s another idea we should leave for later! Now, fox… just run!” After that, touching the soil with her head, Zeal started to crawl as fast as she could toward the Barrier.
The fox, feeling the danger surrounding her from all over, didn’t wait for a second invitation. Right from the moment she heard a snake hissing next to her tail, the fox hit the pike, and that snake, considering her his enemy too, started to chase her. By doing this, the snake helped Inmar to run as she had never run before: like the wind, just to save her fur.
Yet, the snakes weren’t her only danger because she met the second one when she got on the Field: the Coal Burners. They, as soon as the cobra and the fox got not that far from them, started to hit left and right with their big knives and with their sharp chisels. Some of them even grabbed the stones they brought to the field for carving and threw them toward the two enemies. Rocks that hit no target eventually. Even so, they managed to scare the two running souls to death, jumping left and right to make sure they would survive.
At one moment, seeing a rock as big as the world thrown toward her, Inmar lay on her front paws, asking all the Gods and Spirits to help her and make that rock roll somewhere else eventually. A prayer that had been heard by the sky in the end because she escaped the danger. That's why the poor fox breathed a sigh of relief, swearing to herself not to meet the Coal Burners again, never if possible. Yet, even if she hadn’t been crushed by that rock, she still felt its soft caress on her fur when it passed over her. This made her shudder like hell and stuck her body to the ground. Only when the rock fell somewhere far behind her, the fox jumped to her four paws and hit the pike as fast as she could toward that Gate she saw opened in the Barrier. She didn’t look back even for a second. Inmar looked only in front, even if she was aware that it was shameful for her to run. Yet, it was safe for her fur and this was enough for her to keep running.
Unlike Inmar, the cobra Zeal didn’t have the same luck to escape her enemy. Surrounded at one moment by 7 Coal Burners, who kept swinging their maces above their heads and above her too, Zeal remembered in seconds only all the tricks she ever learned from the soldiers. Thus, bending left and right or back and forth, she tried to defend, at least as she could, her head. If not, if at least one mace had touched her head, she wouldn’t have seen only birds flying and singing around her, but she would have remained without her head for sure. Something she decided not to experiment with, ever. That’s why, if she had the chance, she threw her long forked tongue in front. By biting the Coal Burner’s flesh, she managed to keep them at a safe distance from her at one moment. She even spit some venom, which she’d been about to swallow by chance.
Yet, the moment she saw the Vanamars showing up, and right after them the Virgins Yātrīkar, Zeal understood that things turned really bad for her. That’s why she opened her eyes widely, feeling itches on her skin because the thought that she wouldn’t be able to face them all made her insecure. Thus, still with her eyes on them, she’d been inattentive and allowed the maces hiss right above her head and all over her body. Also, by negligence, she allowed a Coal Burner to hit the top of her tail, a hit that made her shriek. Then, staring with hatred at the one who hit her, she suddenly kissed him with her long tongue that the poor guy felt not only the sweet kiss of a cobra’s lips but also saw nothing else but stars. After that, his eyes still spinning in his head, he fell on his back, staring at the black-like-pitch sky, at that strange horizon where he saw a damn weird old lady, all black dressed, flying toward him on a broom and carrying a long sickle in her right hand.
Falling, the Coal Burner left an empty place in that circle he and his fellows formed around the cobra. Zeal, seeing it, decided to run away until they’d noticed it and regrouped, and she had that chance because of the fallen soldier, at whom the Coal Burners were staring as if he was the grim reaper. Thus, the cobra, cunning by nature, but more because of necessity and because of her survival instinct, which spurred her to do that, sneaked beside them, passing right over the wounded soldier. After that, with all the snakes and cobras that she summoned there for help, she headed toward the Barrier, where she still saw the open gate.
The problem was still Vvokkam and part of the Coal Burners, who were still in front of her. Yet, what was strange about them was that they did nothing to impede her from getting to the Barrier or following her. The reason? Vvokkam was courageous, but not stupid. He knew that alone, in a place where many had magic power while he had a weak one, wouldn’t survive. What he could do at that moment was to make sure that the open gate in the Barrier remained open until Tikil would turn back or at least until Kaṇkaḷ, with her Yātrīkars, and Colte with the Vanamars wouldn’t have gotten next to the Barrier. Yet, his allies were still far away. So, until something favorable would have happened to him, he decided to focus his gaze on that big brown cobra that was stopped not that far from them and was surrounded by a lot of snakes and cobras of different colors and sizes.
Staring with hatred at her, only half turned toward the Barrier, Vvokkam told Zeal, „Well, princess with green eyes, I think you are in the wolf’s paws now, don’t you think so too?”
The cobra burst into laughter. „If you are a wolf, I’m a flower then! So, if you don’t want to feel a sweet kiss on your lips too, like the one over there, I suggest you get out of my face and don’t piss me off.”
„Something that won’t ever happen!” Vvokkam hissed through his teeth. After that, taking his sword out of its scabbard, he headed toward Zeal.
The girl, scared at all, didn’t move from the place where she was. She only moved her head from one side to the other as though chasing the numbness away. Then, looking at the edge of the forest where she saw Tikil, she told Vvokkam, „Something I doubt because you won’t attack without your boss’s permission. If not, he’ll rip off your skin!”
Vvokkam, hearing her talking so confidently, looked in the same direction as her, and frowned. What bothered him? The calmness seen in Tikil’s eyes, a calmness at all on Vvokkam’s taste. That’s why he turned toward Tikil, telling him, „I don’t understand what you are waiting for, Titan! The girl is right here! We have her in our paws! The perfect chance to attack!”
Tikil grinned. A grin that made both Inlan Diar and Zeal attentive. The girl even heard her great-grandmother’s voice in her head at one moment when this one told her, „I send Argol there!”
„No,” Zeal opposed the idea. „It’s dangerous!”
„It’s even dangerous to be alone there, Zeal!” The queen shouted when she remembered that vision, which Anaya showed her once, with the cobra Zeal laying in her arms, lifeless, half human and half beast. A vision that made her shudder inside even at that moment. After that, the queen demanded, „Zeal, don’t be stubborn and listen to what I say! Climb on Argol’s back as soon as possible! For this, I need you to leave your cobra’s form behind. The only way to survive!”
„Tikil seems to have a different opinion than the Coal Burners.”
„A different opinion? What do you mean?” Inlan Diar asked, frowning.
„You’ll see!” Zeal replied, cunningly smiling. After that, taking her usual body, she proudly looked at Tikil.
By doing this, the girl wasn’t wrong at all because she felt something strange coming from Tikil. This one, with his eyes on her, grinned. He cunningly grinned at her, provocatively, something that made the girl attentive. That’s why she carefully looked around, at everybody’s face. Thus, she saw that not only the Coal Burners were watching her, but also the beasts she'd called there for help. Not that far from them, stopped in place and waiting for a new command, were the Devilish Virgins and the Vanamars. What was strange to all of them was their „hardened” face, as though each of them fell prey to a spell. Even Vvokkam looked charmed, something strange in Zeal’s opinion. That’s why she murmured, „A camouflage! What for?”
„Just a little bit of help!” Replied Tikil. Thus, hearing his voice floating around her, Zeal winced and looked at him again. She saw a new cunning smile on his face, something that bothered her at that time. She, even if she felt it very strange, told him:
„Help? And, may I know why I deserve such an honor?”
Tikil smiled, „I just… find you pretty! Thus, as we are family, dear nephew, I say to help you at least once, right before ripping off your skin! That’s why… You can go now! You are free!”
„Free to go?” Zeal asked him, confused.
Tikil’s answer didn’t confuse only Zeal, but also the queen, who told Strebasus, „Be ready for an attack, Strebasus! I don’t trust that demon’s kindness!”
Strebasus, slowly bowing his head, told his soldiers, „Be ready!” The soldiers, raising their bows and arrows to point to the sky, waited for the next command, „Shoot!”
Seeing the queen preparing for the attack, Tikil reproachfully shook his head, addressing Inlan Diar this time, „As distrustful as always, dear sister. What, don’t you really believe I can also have good intentions?”
„Only… if the water of Styx stops its tormented movement!”
„Aaa,” Tikil ironically murmured. „I didn’t know that. Yet… you know, this isn’t something impossible, to stop the water of River Styx, I mean. It happened once: when you left that old man to follow the Samargo to their kingdom.”
Inlan Diar winced, „How do you know that? You were…?”
„…in prison?” Tikil cunningly asked. „Well, let’s say I have my methods to find out things. And, as I use to be kind sometimes, especially when I’m aware that’s not the right time to take one of your beloved great-granddaughters from you, I’ll be good to return the… cobra to you!” The last part Tikil hissed through his teeth, imitating Zeal.
Zeal, seeing him acting so well, something that didn’t deceive her, his Good Samaritan look, told him, „If you say so, I’ll leave! But, Tikil, don’t complain after this, ok?”
„To complain? I? Why exactly?” Tikil asked in a cunning voice.
„All in good time, Tikil!” Zeal smiled. „And… don’t force things to happen because you can lose all the fun. At the same time, I’ll say that it won’t be funny if I leave alone. I say to take my children with me.”
„A genius idea!” Tikil rushed to say. After that, sending a wave of black energy toward that field, he released the cobras and the snake of his spell. Then, cunningly, he rubbed his palms while keeping an eye on Zeal, who did the same, and told her, „It’s better now, isn’t it?”
„It’s perfect, yes. I agree with you!” After that, taking the harmonica from an oak leaf she wore at her waist, Zeal headed toward the Barrier, blowing that spell melody meant to keep her cobras under control. Then, she walked toward the Barrier with sure steps, at all afraid of Tikil or of the Coal Burners, who were still charmed.
That spell was actually what bothered Inlan Diar so much. She was sure that it was a trick because Tikil was that kind of being that could betray both his friends and enemies. Yet, even if she was sure he was planning something, the queen didn’t know what exactly he was planning. Nevertheless, she intended to find out as soon as Zeal would have been safe. That’s why she kept an eye on Tikil, who continued to yawn, bored, still at the edge of the forest.
To Inlan Diar’s great surprise, nothing happened and Zeal and her cobras could cross the borders soon after this. Then, when none of the girl’s allies remained out of the Barrier, using her power, Inlan Diar closed the gate to make sure that they wouldn’t be taken by surprise by their enemies. Nevertheless, nothing happened again because the Coal Burners, the Vanamars, and the Virgins Yātrīkar were still charmed by Tikil’s power. Only when he considered that it was time, bored to see so many alive statues on that field, Tikil allowed them to breathe. Something that drove Vvokkam crazy because, realizing that Tikil cheated on them all and allowed Zeal to escape, he shouted, „What did you do, fool? It was our only chance to get inside!”
Tikil, at all bothered by that yell, yawning, replied, „There will be other chances after that! Many more… explosive! You’ll see!” After that, sweetly smiling and stretching his body to chase the numbness away, he closed his eyes, happy with the result. Soon after this, he opened them again when he remembered the cunning smile he saw on Zeal’s face after she crossed the Barrier. Thus, looking at her, Tikil saw the girl staring at him too. Yet, not this seemed weird to Tikil, but the fact that the girl headed eventually toward Strebasus, who still held his sword in his hand. And, seeing her so confident, Tikil wondered, „What is this cobra planning?”
„Nothing out of the ordinary, Tikil!” He heard the answer, floating around him. „And, to be definitely explosive as you’ve predicted, I’ll show the same „kindness” you’ve shown to me when you left me to return home!” After that, with a sudden movement of her hand, Zeal pulled the sword from Strebasus’hand, cutting the head of a big black cobra that was right behind her.
Seeing the head of that cobra rolling on the ground, Tikil shrieked, „What have you done, fool?” He even ran as fast as he could toward the place Vvokkam was to see better that cobra, one that turned to hot pitch after that, to be frozen by Inlan Diar’s power before the hot liquid scorched the ground. Thus, Inlan Diar made sure that the beast wouldn’t be a problem for them later because she finally understood Tikil’s reason to let Zeal return home „safely” - with her, he sent a spy. „A gift!” He shouted after that. „It was a gift! One meant to help you to win the battle against Maranam.”
„Of course not! It was a gift meant to help you!” Zeal told him after returning the sword to Strebasus, who cleaned its blade off those black drips that were still dripping off it. „And, Tikil, you have forgotten an important thing about me: that’s not easy at all to deceive a cobra!”
„Aaa, no? What makes you think this?”
„Science! No one ever managed to deceive me, actually. Not by sending a cobra-spy, which you've hidden among my beasts, those I know just as I know the five fingers of my hand. I know how they breathe, how the blood and the power flow through their veins, as they act controlled by my power. Something your „soldier” didn’t know. That’s why it failed in „camouflaging” itself. Actually, I felt that beast as soon as you sent it between us. Nevertheless, I didn’t let you know I was aware of this. I just told myself that it wasn’t a bad idea to play the same game as you. Why? Because… I was safe this way while you were defeated. So, keep this in mind, Tikil: never try to deceive a cobra! Never play dirty against one or you can end up poisoned by her! And… until you learn this, I’ll go and have some rest because… it has been a very long day today!” After that, turning her back to him, Zeal headed to the palace. She was happy because she was safe and all this because of the idiocy of Tikil, who allowed her to get home safely, something she wasn’t sure of while heading toward the Field Ātmā.
She heard Tikil’s growl behind her. She heard him yelling at his allies, blaming them for his failure. That’s why she smiled widely when Inlan Diar got to her right and told her, „I’ve always been wrong, I must accept that: you can take care of yourself for sure!”
„Have you ever doubted this?”
„No! Never!” Inlan Diar held his granddaughter’s hand, smiling at her. Yet, she frowned when she heard Inmar, who was to Zeal’s left, saying:
„Actually, I doubted. The reason? Well, nothing simpler than that - being a cobra involves a risk. One to be bitten, don’t you think so?”
„The same happens to the foxes, right? Or what… are they special and never betray?” Zeal asked, smiling. The fox only shrugged as an answer. After that, quickening her pace, she left the two behind her. Inmar was also smiling while doing this, just as Zeal and Inlan Diar were smiling. How it should be different when they managed to deceive the evil because this one had been enough stupid to fall into their trap?! Yet, it was a victory, which could be short for sure.