Unsung Desire (Book 1)

Chapter 3

Cahzlik and Ohrlu’s four children were left to live on their own. They grew up separately in the four corners of Dihnya—the two males, Dhugakki in the east and Batyonnu in the west; and the females, Ruzgarri in the north and Kuzinde in the south. All four of them did not know they were siblings and deities of their own right.

                                                                                          ֍֍֍

“Before we go, keep this with you at all times, under your clothing to not lose it. That’s the proof of who you really are,” Mahk said, kneeling in front of me and Sekkiz. She put on a necklace around my neck, as well as Sekkiz’s. The chain was made of a black string with an inverted triangular shaped red diamond, whereas Sekkiz’s was the same but of blue color. The diamond exhibited spectacular brilliance as it was moved by my fingers. It was almost magical.

Mahk caressed my cheek affectionately and did the same to Sekkiz. It looked like she was going to cry, which made me and Sekkiz confused.

“My beloved children… You are one and the same. Always remember that,” she said, almost echoing what Dahk had told us earlier.

Sekkiz and I held hands while our other hand held the necklace, and we both nodded to her. Then we let go to put the necklace under our robes.

“Let’s go, bihs kobehk,” Dahk mumbled to Mahk, calling her by the endearment “my love” that they used for each other.

***

            We continued to walk further up to the west while the sun started to set. At least I knew that much, as the natural white tip of the sweet tree branch pointed north. My father held my hand in one of his, while Mahk held Sekkiz’s.

“Dahk, isn’t this going to the west?” I asked. His grip became tighter to save me when I tripped on a huge stone that was covered by snow.

He smiled. “Watch it! Yes, but we’re going through the back of the mountain range of the Zarrihm Kingdom in the west before we push up north. We need to get a ride from there to get to north faster.”

“A ride?” I echoed inquiringly.

“Of course. It will take us many weeks before we get to the north on foot. It is where we’re all going,” Dahk stated.

My brows furrowed; so were Sekkiz’s.

“You mean… we’re from up there in the north?”

“Yahrezur Kingdom,” he said, revealing to us its name.

It was the first time Sekkiz and I heard that name. For everyone in Dihnya, the north was merely north, unlike Sorradan in the south, Zarrihm Kingdom in the west and Duskahr Kingdom in the east. Well, at least in our little knowledge.

“But why is it only called north, Dahk?” Sekkiz asked this time.

“I’ll tell you later,” he said.

After some more hours of walking, it was already dark. Mahk took out a stone from her bag, which automatically shone in her hand. She then gave one to each of us. It was bigger than my small fist. It was called parlattas, which literally meant “light stone” in Dihn language.

Since we used the shortcut, we were already in Zarrihm Kingdom. Sekkiz and I had never been here, of course, so I was curious how it would look like during the day. It turned out this place was the same when it was at this time of night. Dark.

We could hear the hooting of night birds, the growling and howling of the hunting animals that were looking for preys and the singing of little insects. If I were alone in the middle of this dark place, perhaps I would have already been afraid of my wits. But still, my hand gripped my father’s as we walked. If anything should happen, I knew Dahk will always protect us—and even Mahk. I just knew it from deep inside my heart.

A loud growl suddenly made us stop from walking. Dahk cautiously bent his knees, looking around. Mahk did the same.

“What is it, Dahk, Mahk?” I asked.

“Shh!” They both shushed me. Their eyes were scouring the dark area around us.

I clamped my lips together, looking around, too. We were surrounded by giant trees, and up ahead was a ridge, maybe five hundred meters away.

“Is it the King of the Beasts, the hekkrah?” Sekkiz asked in a whisper. But with the silence after that loud growl that seemed to reverberate all over the mountain, we could hear her like she was talking normally.

“Yes,” Dahk answered. He turned to Mahk. “Get them out of here, bihs kobehk! Go!” he told her with urgency.

Mahk grabbed my other hand and pulled me away from Dahk. Her other hand never letting Sekkiz go.

“Dahk! Dahk!” Sekkiz and I called out to him while running away from him. The parlattas I was holding was dropped into the snow and died since there was no more Dihn warmth around it. Only Mahk’s and Sekkiz’s were left.

“Shh! Keep quiet!” Mahk hushed us. “It’s going to hear you and follow your small voice! It prefers to prey on children!”

My heart shook even more with fear. Sekkiz’s scarf and hair were caught by a gray tree branch, making her gasp.

“Mahk!” she called out and took her hand away from our mother to free her hair and scarf.

Mahk and I stopped to help her. Then Mahk cut the branch instead and held my sister’s hand tightly and started to run again. But then Sekkiz and I started to cry when the gigantic beast showed itself, leaping in front of us. So again, we stopped running.

The beast was way taller than Dahk’s six feet. With Sekkiz’s and Mahk’s parlattas in their hands, it was enough for us to see its frightening big and elongated face. It had four long limbs that looked sturdy, with paws that had thick, sharp and curvy nails. It growled loudly, making Sekkiz and I scream in terror. Its sharp jagged teeth seemed to glint threateningly while its two dark eyes focused on us. The beast’s wide and fan-like ears perked up as we screamed, and its huge nostrils that were as big as my fist sniffed the air while its long, thick neck moved.

Mahk covered my and Sekkiz’s mouths to stop us from screeching, while Dahk dashed toward us in record time after he took a knife from his boots. With one shake of the knife he had in his hand, it elongated and became a long sword. He jumped in front of us just as the hekkrah was about to pounce on us. At the same time, Mahk pulled us into a fast run. Maybe it was the fastest one I ever did.

I heard a loud mewl. It was hair-raising. We were closing toward the ridge, and I looked back. I could see from the faint light that Dahk was still holding in his other hand that he was fighting off the giant beast. His sword was buried in the side of its neck, and it fell with a very loud thud.

“Dahk!” I yelled when I saw the beast collapsed on him.

Mahk saw it, too, and we stopped running in the middle of the ridge.

“Dahk!” Sekkiz hollered. Just like mine, her voice echoed in the dark forest.

Sekkiz and I were about to run back to Dahk but Mahk held us back. “Don’t. We don’t know if there’s another beast in there! We must go!”

“But Dahk—” Sekkiz and I protested.

“No! He’ll be fine. Trust me. And let’s believe in him. Your Dahk is not going to die out there!” Mahk cut off with conviction. “Come! Let’s go! We must find somewhere to hide and rest.”

***

Mahk left us at the mouth of a small cave, which was at the end of the long ridge that we followed after getting out of the forest. We hoped Dahk is fine. Maybe he would be with us anytime soon.

“It’s safe. Come inside,” said Mahk when she appeared back at the mouth of the cave that had a low opening. But we had no trouble entering it since Sekkiz and I were short enough at almost five feet. She drew a half-moon on the right side of the entrance before we entered.

The passage was narrow, so we went in one by one, following Mahk. Sekkiz was behind me. The only thing that illuminated our way was the parlattas in their hands. The interior of the cave was three times larger than our dwelling in Sorradan. It smelled damp and earthy… and something else, which I couldn’t name.

“What’s that smell, Mahk?” I asked, covering my nose.

Sekkiz also covered hers after I caught her frowning and scrunching up her pert nose. “Did something die in here?” she queried.

“Don’t mind it. Let’s just wait up for your Dahk here and maybe we’ll sleep over before we continue to get our ride tomorrow,” Mahk said quietly as she made a bonfire. There were dry twigs and wood she found at one part of the cave like it was used before by someone. Maybe by some travelers just like us.

After a few minutes, the fire was already dancing and the burning twigs and logs were making crackling sounds. Not so far away, an echoing growl was heard, making me and Sekkiz sit up straight and gasp.

“Was it another hekkrah?” she asked.

“Is it coming after us, Mahk?” I slowly turned my head to look at her.