The wind howled overhead from the desert blasting all in its path in choking sand. Huddled within the broken shell of the shipwreck, a young woman looked up through the hole in the hull. The tattered silk garment she held over her mouth and nose did little to keep out the fine dust swirling about the makeshift shelter. Blinking uncontrollably, the woman could only see the air darken as the billowing sand and dust increased. However, it was not what she could see that disturbed the woman most.
Outside the ship's wooden hull were the clipped voices of strange foreign men. The howling wind and sand blasting against the ship made it impossible to hear the voices clearly. Fearful, the woman scrambled back to the small space which served as her quarters. Throwing back the leather curtain flap, she swiftly fell upon the injured man and woman lying upon torn cushions. Putting a finger to their mouths, she shook her head in warning for them to be quiet. Outside the sounds of urgent voices and heavy taps testing the wrecked ship's solidity had those within on edge.
The woman sat and embraced the injured duo listening intently to the thumping of her heart over the sounds of the approaching voices and the howling wind. It wasn't long before heavy footfalls sounded overhead against the overturned hull. Suddenly, the injured sailor held in the woman's embrace was overcome by the dust and began coughing uncontrollably. Placing her hand clutching part of the silk over the sailor's face, the woman whispered, "Shhhh!" The sailor's muffled coughing subsided just as a man wearing flowing sand-colored garments dropped down into the overturned ship.
With sparse light coming in through the hole, only shadows and swirling dust hid those within from the interloper's view. The woman's heart raced for this person could be their salvation. However, instinct screamed within her to stay still and quiet as possible. The man drew a long copper-colored blade from his sash and while standing in the circle of light looked around the interior. Seeming satisfied, the man called out in that strange tongue to his fellows. Their response to his call came as the sound of men climbing the hull!
The woman gripped her injured companions tightly as she threw the remainder of her silk wrap over them while the first man turned his back. She then pulled them both back into the shadows until her back lay against the ship's hull. It would have to do for she had no weapons and her companions were to injured to defend her. They would just have to wait until the storm ended and the men went their way.
Hours passed and the sandstorm had grown stronger. The group of men huddled beneath a large animal skin tarp at the opposite end of the ship. The woman and her companions held fast under her silk wrap as the sand began to build around them. Already the sand had accumulated enough to cover her companion's legs. If things continued, they'd be buried alive before morning. Every so often the woman shook the sand off the garment so they could breathe.
Much as the woman wanted to lament her predicament, she felt justified despite the severity of the situation. She was to marry an important nobleman to help her father the Minister secure the eastern border of their country. Originally she was to marry the Captain of the Army. But with the death of the King and his legitimate heirs to plague, her father became the Regent. Suddenly, she had become royalty and was bartered away from her love to her nation's bitter rival in order to secure peace.
Only the filthy butcher intended to be her husband wanted nothing to do with peace! Instead, he placed his spies aboard the ship taking her to the wedding and they tried to kill her! The Fates themselves seemed to intervene for as the spies made their move, a great storm rose up to cast them adrift far out to sea. It wasn't until she heard the howling winds did she wake up from the deep black sleep to find herself in this awful predicament. Far as she knew the men not more than twenty feet from where they hid, may have been sent by her betrothed to finish what the spies had failed to accomplish!
The woman awoke to a feeling a great pressing weight about her. Horrified, she realized the sand had buried the three of them! Covered by the silk wrap, the woman could not free her arms from the sand! With only head and shoulders standing free the wrap was also drawn tight about her face. Her hands felt the cold unmoving bodies of her companions. There was little doubt in her mind they had suffocated during the night. Trapped and unable to move, the woman realized she would soon join them in death either from suffocation or long-suffering thirst and starvation!
An unreasoning panic washed over the trapped woman causing her to struggle in vain. Suddenly through the fog of panic, the woman heard the sounds of the strangers as they burst from beneath the sand. Barely discernable through the wrap was the light of day streaming into the damaged ship. With eyes straining for details, the woman could see the men crawl out of the sand within the shipwreck's narrower interior. Surprising was the careless cheer they exhibited in spite of nearly being killed. With her only chance of being rescued about to exit the wreck, the woman screamed loud as the heavy sand upon her would allow, "Help me!"
On of the men suddenly shushed his fellows and the shipwreck grew silent. Once more the woman struggled using precious air to say, "I'm over here!" The other men all seemed to hear her cry but it was obvious they did not understand her. Again she called out to them and they began searching. Soon one of the party made his way into the tight space where her head and shoulders stuck out. He paused fearful of what lay before him and took out one of those copper-colored knives. The woman shook her head and pleaded, "No! Please don't hurt me!"
The masked man called back to his fellows and they acknowledged. Using the knife, he began digging her out of the sand. Long moments of digging found the woman prized from her would-be grave, exhausted and laying at the feet of the men outside the shipwreck. The one who dug her out pulled the wrap from her upper body and whistled in appreciative surprise. Despite a full dusting of fine sand covering her dark skin, the strange men all grunted sounds of approval.
Looking beyond the group surrounding her, the woman saw the ship lay upon a high sand embankment under a soon to be blazing desert sun. Strangest thing of all, no sign existed that the ship had ever been in or near the ocean! In fact, the ship's hull looked nothing like the brand new wedding transport she'd boarded days ago. Laying beside her was the capsized remains of a long weather-worn ship's hull! The men held up The tattered garments and bleached bones of someone who had been part of the crew but had died long ago!
None of the situation made sense to her. Yet, when the man nearest to her grabbed her remaining clothing and pulled hard, everything came into sudden clarity. Heedless of how weakened she was, the woman fought the man with savage intensity. A knee intended for his groin, missed its mark but found another against her attacker's belly. Fetid breath whooshed through the khaki cloth covering his mouth from the blow. Capitalizing on her advantage, the woman slammed her elbow against his head felling him. However successful though the elbow strike was, it came at a painful cost. Beneath all that wrapped cloth, her attacker wore a metal helmet. Her elbow burned with pain, but she did not let it slow down her grabbing the downed man's knife.
The remaining four men slowly spread out and the largest of them pulled his own copper blade. The woman broke out in a sudden sweat as she held the knife ready while trying to cover herself. The other men chuckled and made comments to the one holding the knife which made him chuckle as well. This was how her life would end thought the woman as the man shifted the blade from a slashing hold to one intended for stabbing. To her father's credit, she had been trained to defend herself with a knife. To her great chagrin, she never though the need to use her skills would present itself.
To the sound of his companions egging him on, the man took off his face covering. A face far darker than hers grinned with white teeth filed to resemble a hyena's smile flashed from spread ebon lips. His eyes were the yellow-brown of a lion and as they narrowed he said with a hiss, "Mi n’dalloh gonah en gafallah!" The woman had no idea what he said, but his intention was clear for he was suddenly upon her! A sudden rush of fear-stricken blood filled every artery in her body as his crushing grip clamped down just below the woman's neck. She had not seen him move! Yet, she felt his fingers dig into the muscles of her shoulder. She cried out as his thumb closed about her collarbone and the pain of its vice-like attempt to break it.
Instinctively, she thrust forward with the borrowed blade, but it was blocked by her attacker. The woman cried out again as she realized his weapon blocked her arm instead of her knife. A long stream of 'white pain' raced up her arm as he dragged the copper blade through the meat from wrist to biceps. Frantic with pain and fear, the woman lashed out kicking the man solidly in his hard gut. The blow folded her assailant over, but not before he shoved her hard against the shipwreck's hull. Stars burst into her vision and the very wind in her body left her. Slumping like a water-filled goatskin bag, the woman pitched forward face first into the sand.
Disconnected from her body, the woman felt herself turned over and the sunlight still obscured by dust fell onto her face. There were moments where she felt her body was being tugged upon and there were sounds of tearing cloth. A great pressure came upon her and pain exploded in a far off place. The sun was blotted out again but she saw something strange. From the darkened sky came a red-white stroke of lightning. She felt the ground shake and then the pressure left her body. Her head lolled over to one side and she saw something that made her cold with fear. Three of the men who attacked her were falling down with blood spurting like the fountains in the King's Gardens. The remaining two fled out into the desert with hands waving and screaming like Death itself had come for them.
The woman then saw a third man dressed differently from the others walk past her with two of their spears in hand. With his broad dark back to her, she watched as he hurled the spears high into the air. He stood unmoving as the weapons made languid arcs and fell into their marks bringing them to ground. The new man turned from the still bodies many lengths away and started towards her. Though she still seemed far away from it all, fear had clamped its clammy grip about her as this new person drew nearer. Soon he was beside her and with eyes wide, the woman realized Death had come for those men!
Kneeling above, the newcomer gently cradled her. Death's face was as she always imagined it, half skull and half flesh. Looking down upon her, Death seemed unnaturally concerned about her. It wiped her face and spoke unknown words to her in gentle tones. Over and over Death kept saying the same word but she had no idea what it meant. As she drifted into darkness, the last thing she heard was, "Priestess...."
© 2011 Wolfgang Porter. All Rights Reserved.
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