“The Alama Masu–the name means the marked ones–quickly settled and forced the people to take the mark and worship their moon god. But those who refused and wanted to remain faithful to Jehovah were quickly found and butchered in front of the crowds for their stance. By the time the genocide started, Mother had given birth to me and hidden me among our people who remained alive. We survived by adopting their dress and disguising ourselves, becoming slaves to the Alama Masu; they call us kafiri or infidels. We grew the food the city needed by the sweat of our brows. But it was easy to detect that we didn’t have the mark and we became a game for the Alama Masu’s amusement and beheaded at will.”
Eliana’s voice suddenly dropped and Elly had to strain to hear it.
“My Mum and Dad were found and butchered soon after my birth, and the resistance raised me. There is a legendary group that loves Jehovah living among the caves somewhere; the resistance calls them the Raiders. They appear out of nowhere and rescue whoever they can from the Alama Masu; but the Alama Masu can’t work out how they violate the city’s defences and disappear just as quickly without trace, taking another lucky member of the resistance with them. The resistance has been praying for Jehovah to rescue me from Malhalem’s Harem; that’s why I know we will be safe and I will make sure they take you with us.”
Elly sat with her head hanging low, trying to digest the incredible story, but then the questions began to flood her mind. “So, the grey crystals are some kind of tracking device?” Elly glanced up at Eliana with a disturbed expression.
Eliana nodded. “Only some have been modified by the Alama Masu, but they do much more, Elly. Once the crystals have been consumed and are within your body, they can tell everything about you: where you are; your temperature; whether you are telling the truth; what condition your body is in; and importantly for them, whether you have been with a man.”
Elly stared at Eliana with horror. “It’s really that invasive?!”
“Rashid was watching a screen as the commander was asking you questions; they could tell by the reactions from your body whether you were telling the truth. Nothing about you is hidden, so it’s probably better for you that you don’t know too much more about anything else.”
Elly’s quick mind started to put the threads together. “So this man, Malhalem, is preparing you and me for his sick pleasure and then is going to execute us after.”
Eliana sighed loudly. “That’s his plan, but have faith, Elly, and trust Jehovah! He will come through and rescue us.”
The monotonous chanting unexpectedly ended and the room fell eerily silent.
An abrupt manipulation of the harem door lock caused both women to spring to their feet in fear, wondering what was about to happen. Standing before them was a group of black robed women, their faces completely covered.
One woman stood forward of the pack and in broken English demanded, “The time has come for the kafiri’s preparation! It is below an Alama Masu woman to touch a kafiri pig, so you will carry out her preparation!”
The woman pointed at Eliana and then threw a white dress and jewelled anklets on the floor at their feet. Just as abruptly as they entered, the group backed out as if they would become contaminated if they stayed any longer, locking the door again behind them as they left.
*~*~*~*
Chapter 23
It seemed awkward for Eliana to be attending Elly as if she was a queen, helping her to bath and massaging lotions into her tired and aching muscles. Elly had objected at first to Eliana being present at such an intimate part of her private world, but as she pointed out, the Alama Masu had very definite ideas about how a kafiri woman was to be presented to their leader.
If the rigorous routine was not adhered to, both the kafiri and those preparing her would meet the full ire of Malhalem and end up facing the executioner’s cutlass sooner than expected.
Hours seemed to pass in meticulous preening until Elly stood before Eliana, examining her handiwork. The soft, white dress flowed effortlessly off Elly’s shoulders and hung elegantly to the floor, while tinkling jewelled anklets alerted all to the presence of extreme graceful beauty. Elly’s long blonde hair fell across her back in silky braids, interspersed with fresh flowers and accentuated with the delicate hint of sweet perfume. Elly’s skin felt like velvet and her profound blue eyes reflected the deep innocence of a pure young woman.
“Wow, you’re beautiful, Elly!” Eliana proclaimed. “Let’s hope you don’t dazzle our rescuers before they can get us out of here.”
Elly’s smile was laced with an undercurrent of fear. She knew Eliana was banking on being rescued, but from where she stood, that didn’t seem even remotely possible. Not wanting to panic Eliana with her negative thoughts, she kept her doubt silent, then wondered whether Dramble had found her tracks and followed her into the city. Even if he had, there wasn’t anything to indicate her whereabouts and searching the city took time and time was fast running out.
The two beauties stood by the window looking out over the palace gardens; the sight before Elly was in stark contrast to the ruins and she sighed with awe. Eliana’s father had designed a wonderland and it was hard to believe there was another devastated world just beyond the glass.
“It’s getting really late and we had better get some sleep before the Raiders arrive,” Eliana bubbled in excitement.
Behind the gossamer curtain, two luxurious single lounges waited, almost in expectation for the two women to make use of their services. It wasn’t long before Elly succumbed to the comfortable luxury and drifted off into an anxious, exhausted sleep.
But Eliana’s mind was troubled. What if the Raiders didn’t come? She shuddered and tried to put the alternative out of her mind and then glanced across at Elly’s sleeping form. What had the two innocent girls done to provoke the lusts of a barbarian?
*~*~*~*
Dramble roamed the city burrows, searching in the streetlights for signs of his missing companion. He knew she was here somewhere, trouble was... where?!
The black bag he was wearing kept slipping down over his eyes and blinding his direction, while the hem tangled under his feet more often than not and tripped him up, landing him flat on his face.
At one stage, a group of opportunistic male youths had cornered him, thinking he was a lost girl and unattended by a chaperoning male. Seeing an occasion for some fun at Dramble’s expense, they got more than they bargained for when he fought back and injured the attackers’ egos. Not wanting to admit a group of males had been overpowered by a girl, the attackers ran off to lick their wounds, threatening each other with violence if anyone dared to mention it again.
A growing sense of foreboding kept Dramble on the move; after all, how big could this city be?
A majestic building loomed on a distant hillside, floodlit with dozens of powerful coloured searchlights reflecting a fairytale scene. The ominous structure peered down off the hillsides in all directions, giving a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. Dramble stared at it with concern, thinking it was some type of castle but quickly dismissed it as an implausible prison for his beloved Elly. More than likely she had been taken by a grovelling thug and it was just a matter of time before he found her and took her back.
*~*~*~*
The long, echoing tunnels plinked with droplets of poisonous water leaking into vast pools on the flat surface of the underground route and overpowering their senses with the raw smell of sulphur. It was a slow trudge, feeling every hand grip in the utter darkness and confirming their whereabouts, at the same time making sure they didn’t trip over the rubble that so often spilled across their path.
The train tracks were twisted from the great heat of a traumatic event and nothing but apparitions of the dead rode the long forgotten and derelict subway cars of the past.
Finn let the last hand grip go and waved his arms around blindly in the encompassing darkness, searching for the next clue and then with a sigh of relief, his hand brushed across the derelict su
bway car, reassuring him he was at the junction that led to the palace gardens.
“We’re here,” Finn whispered, alerting Caleb to the turn. “Caleb?” Finn whispered again, wondering whether he had fallen behind.
“Yeah, right with you, Finn; I walked into something and I’m just cleaning it off. Okay, I’ve got the old subway car, so we should be able to find the next hand grip about... here!” Caleb groped around in the black stillness, brushing against the rock walls until he felt something familiar. “Got it, Finn!”
Finn tried to find Caleb from the direction of his voice and aimed his exploring hand around to where he thought he was and walked onto his foot by mistake. “I hope that was just your foot I trampled?”
“You sure have big feet, Finn; next time I’ll give you more room!” Caleb jested.
Finn took hold of the hand grip and examined it with his fingers, meticulously searching for the code that confirmed the correct tunnel. “This is it; another hour and we will be in the gardens. Has Jehovah whispered His plan to you yet?”
“Not a word. What about you, Finn, have you heard anything?”
“No, nothing yet, but Hakham did say he would tell us once we entered the palace garden.”
The two Raiders were about to push on for the last leg of the utter darkness before exiting the tunnel and into the palace gardens, when a low rumble reverberated down into the depths of the gloom and gradually amplified into a crescendo of cracking rubble. Pieces of something were stinging Finn’s body, fired at him like a shot from a rifle. He crouched on the spot and protected his face with his hands until the furore finally subsided.
“That was close. Are you okay, Caleb...? Caleb?!”
*~*~*~*
Eliana tossed and turned on the lounge, expecting to hear the sounds of their rescuers at any moment. She glanced to the harem window through the gossamer curtain, peering into the reflected shadows of the streetlights. While the scene gave her some comfort, the trauma of first light, indicated by the rising dawn, still seemed to be a while off.
She guessed it was early morning, although the unwelcome sunrise would come soon enough.
The strong faith in Jehovah she’d comforted Elly with, began to crack and tormented images disturbed her sleepy mind, threatening to derail her faith altogether. In a desperate plea, she called out to Jehovah begging for His intervention.
An abrupt jangling, punctuated by the forceful unlocking of the harem door, startled Eliana and her heart hammered in fear.
The disturbance woke Elly too, staring across at the frightened image of Eliana, hoping to find comfort, but Eliana’s face spoke of intense fear.
The door swung open and a huge image blocked the passage light trying to leak in around the massive frame.
“Get up! Malhalem can’t sleep and wants something to distract his mind. You have fifteen minutes to prepare, then I will be back.”
The voice of the commander was abrupt and forceful; no sign of the gentle baritone calm Elly had experienced earlier. The door plunked shut, but the lock remained disengaged.
Eliana’s trembling hand ran through her long, dark luxurious locks; would this be the end for Elly and her? Violated and murdered at the hands of a despot?
In a desperate plea she cried out, “Please, Jehovah, rescue us!”
Footsteps echoing down the empty passageway warned the girls of the commander’s return. Elly felt faint listening to each reverberating click-clack coming closer and sealing their shameful fate in an expression of spiralling despair.
*~*~*~*
Chapter 24
Louisse reefed violently at the light blanket covering her body, tangled in its confining grasp and annoyed by the obstruction to her free movement. Everywhere she turned, people were wanting to restrict her freedom and her movements. Feeling her ire rising, she unleashed a temper tantrum toward the misbehaving cover and transferred her frustration to its woollen texture, kicking the inanimate object from her bed with manic force.
Even if it was just a stupid blanket, it sure felt good to impose her will on something and not have it retaliate and restrict her further.
She felt a growing desire to overthrow Hakham’s limitations on her life and shake off Finn’s constant and irritating presence. A sudden plan formed in her mind and abruptly, she knew how to strike back at Hakham and Finn, deciding she needed some errands run at this early hour.
In a deliberate drive to find Finn’s chambers, she steered herself out of her compartment and into the silent passageways. As she crept noiselessly through the sleeping tunnels, light snoring could be heard emanating from different family dwellings and bringing an agitated bout of envy for the lucky ones able to sleep through the night.
A slight stab of conscience rattled at her brain as she passed by Christina’s chamber, but a swift and stinging mental rebuke settled it back into the wide open spaces of denial. She stood peering into the darkened chamber, replaying the wretched woman’s pathetic attempt at disturbing her inactive conscience with a selfless gift of coveted food. She whispered harshly and sarcastically into Christina’s chamber, deliberately thumbing her nose at Christina’s suspicious gift. “It was delicious too, Christina.”
Fearing Caleb may be close by and listening, Louisse pushed on until she stood at the front of Finn’s dark chamber. Eavesdropping for the sounds of sleep, she waited. Either he was a silent sleeper or he wasn’t there.
Unsure of his presence and totally unconcerned about waking nearby sleeping family, Louisse drew in a breath and disturbed the darkness with her childish clatter. “Finn! Mummy has a headache and needs some more of that special tree root and a tumbler of water!”
Moments went by, but no answer found its way back to her. The surrounding chambers had fallen into a disturbed quiet; all signs of glorious snoring had stopped and just maybe they were listening to the woman’s juvenile demands in the depths of night.
Feeling like Finn was ignoring her, she became incensed and stormed into his dark chamber, searching around with her hands stretched out in front of her. She unexpectedly kicked his bed with a poorly aimed toe, sending pain receptors responding in a panicked flight and delivering disturbing messages to her brain. With antagonised tears of pain escaping her frustrated eyes, she slapped at his bed with an open fist, only to discover the crib was empty.
She straightened her stature while the pain in her foot seemed to ripple with each movement, wondering where her little boy could be. Dropping her intense figure to the empty bed and trying to placate her smarting foot, her scheming imagination soon overrode the pain sensors and a new plan began to form.
Hmm, this is interesting, she thought. Maybe Hakham and his Raider buddies were up to something, something she should know about and draw a benefit from.
*~*~*~*
Every task Heather tried to accomplish was fraught with images of Finn. She was sure he was hiding some kind of regard for her, but his strange actions of the past days only confounded and confused her.
When she combed out the generous length of her soft, dark hair, Finn was in her thoughts. As she gathered together with other family members to wash clothes, Finn stole her thoughts, too. Even when Hakham stood teaching the family from the Book of Wisdom, Finn tantalised her mind, fantasizing his words, asking her to join him on the hunt for the Altar Rose.
Tonight she couldn’t sleep, recalling the image of Finn and his piercing green eyes watching her across the crowd. She smiled when she caught his gaze, but he had turned away as if he was hiding something from her. She kept trying to reengage his glance but he wouldn’t accommodate her silent request; instead, his distance and aloofness pierced her heart and the stirrings of rejection began to flounder in the young woman’s mind.
The more she tried to entice sleep, the more it evaded her, while the constant confusing thoughts echoed in her mind as she lay in her bed, trying to make sense of Finn’s behaviour. She grappled with each disturbing scenario parading through her imagination, vying for
understanding, but only stabbing loneliness settled in the place where once joyous emotions existed. She had turned down many romantic advances by good young men, holding out for the blonde magnificence of the Raider’s leader instead, hoping eventually he would notice her and pursue her.
Feeling the need for some time in Jehovah’s presence, she silently threw back her blanket and listened for the sounds of her father’s sleeping form, some distance away. The reassuring deep breaths of her beloved father brought a smile to her face, the first positive emotion she had encountered in the battle with Finn’s disturbing actions.
Quietly stealing from the family chamber and into the deserted passageway, Heather ambled down the familiar path to the Lake of Purity, seeking solace in Jehovah’s gentle wisdom. The flaming torch keeping watch over the clear waters of the Lake of Purity sent flickering images along the passageway and beckoning Heather into the powerful presence of Jehovah.
She soon stood at the doorway into the sanctuary and bowed her head reverently and then entered the sacred amphitheatre and began to silently empty her heart.
*~*~*~*
Louisse was now completely out of control, leaving a harsh, bristling indignation stabbing at her mind. How dare Finn disobey Hakham’s directive and not be where she wanted him to be, especially when she needed some entertainment to relieve the night time boredom.
A shadow momentarily painted on the corridor wall and flashed past her, scaring her half to death and with her hand grasping at her heart, she recognised the small figure of a woman stealthily moving about the passageways. Who would be active at this time of the morning? Her thoughts tingled with curiosity, hoping she had uncovered some clandestine rendezvous.