The Angkhora Warriors

Part 8: Shaman Du

"Take the girl," Du ordered the shadow soldiers.

The soldiers rushed toward her and Sriga sprung into action. He guarded Dinda in the corner, with her back to the wall so nothing would sneak up on her. Three shadow soldiers approached first and Sriga jumped into the air, flipping and twisting midair to land behind them. Before the first soldier had time to turn around, he grabbed his neck and snapped it with minimum effort. The second soldier rushed in with his sword but Sriga blocked the blade with his left claw and sliced the soldier's chest with his right claw. He then thrust his claw into the soldier's stomach and pushed him all the way back to the wall, pinning him there. The third soldier rushed toward Dinda and Sriga leaped for him, grabbing his arm and taking a massive bite just below the shoulder, then and tearing the arm off. Despite the injury, the shadow soldier continued toward her until Sriga spit the arm out of his mouth and sank his razor teeth into the soldier's neck. He savagely yanked the soldier's head to the side, snapping his neck with a crack.

With the shadow soldiers down, Sriga turned his attention to Du. He flashed his claws and his bloody teeth before howling like a wild animal preparing to attack. "This War must stop now!"

"Awwww, how courageous," Du quipped. "Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew, little puppy." She spread out her six legs, with two pincers raised at Sriga, assuming a battle position.

"Sriga, wait..." Dinda begged.

He ignored her plea and charged at Du, leaping into the air. Du shot her webbing around his feet, binding them together and causing him to crash to the floor. He hit the floor so hard that he let out a whimper the kind a dog would when someone stepped on its tail.

"Sriga!" Dinda cried. "Get up!"

Sriga sat up and gawked at the sticky webbing that had his feet stuck to the floor. He started slashing frantically at it with his claws, to little effect. Du watched and walked closer.

"Stay away from him!" Dinda yelled and pulled out the red-jaded dagger.

It caught Du's attention. "Huh?" She seemed to recognize the weapon.

"That dagger... that bronze dagger..."

Dinda stepped between Sriga and Du. Sriga raised his claw and growled with a low, feral voice, "Stay back!" His command startled Dinda so much that she stopped in her tracks and watched as Du hovered over her friend, ready to sink her fangs into him, she could see the venom dripping from Du's fangs. Sriga continued to struggle with the webbing around his feet but Du attacked, biting him on his shoulder. He howled in agony as she pumped her venom into his body.

Her father sprang into action and grabbed a pot of stew that was boiling over the fire, ignoring the pain of grabbing the hot pot with his bare hands, and threw the contents over Du's back. She shrieked and scurried up the wall, back into the dark corner of the ceiling. Dinda ran to Sriga's side and looked up at her father.

He nodded. "You must go, Dinda! Both of you."

"But..." she looked to her mother then back at her father.

"I am sorry for abandoning you. There is no excuse for a father leaving his family," he said.

Sriga howled in pain again as he struggled to get to his feet.

"You will pay for that, spice trader," Du whispered from the dark corner of the ceiling. Then, suddenly, more shadow soldiers burst through the door. Big buffalo soldiers with axes.

Dinda rushed forward and jumped on one with the dagger raised. The buffalo soldier swiped at Dinda, crashing her onto the wall like a ragged doll.

"Dinda!" her father shouted. He then looked at Sriga. "Run!" he ordered. "Run! Take Dinda with you!"

Sriga sliced the last piece of web trapping his feet. Still in pain, he grabbed Dinda, threw her over his shoulder, and ran toward the only window in the hut. Her Undead mother attacked the first shadow soldier she could get her hands on. Sriga jumped out the window with Dinda over his shoulder. As he leapt away from the hut, she could see her father and her Undead mother fighting Du and shadow soldiers. Before they made it to the tree line, Dinda heard her dad scream. She could hear her mother growl as she attacked more soldiers, followed by screams.

Dinda felt faint as she watched her house recede behind them as they fled. Then there was silence.

Silence.

Dinda passed out while Sriga carried her through the forest. He ran as far as he could while his energy lasted. The wound on his neck was killing him.

When she woke up, she was inside the butterfly cave.

"What... what are we doing here?" she asked, confused. "Mom? Dad...? No! We need to get back to the house. My Mom. My Dad!"

"No, Dinda. You can't go back there," Sriga said. He lost his balance and stumbled backward before falling to the ground. Dinda crawled over and knelt beside him. She looked at the bite marks from Du on his shoulder. The wound looked like it was spreading.

"Her venom is too strong. She's going to turn me into one of her Undeads," Sriga said.

"No, we're not going to let that happen," Dinda promised.

Sriga laid on the ground on his back and looked up where he could see the butterflies hanging from the ceiling of the cave, knowing that they would take care of Dinda.

"Dinda..." His voice grew weaker, his body already transformed back to fully human. "You should go to RAMMA, Dinda. Let them see your gift. They will make you stronger."

She looked into his eyes and took his hand.

"Stay in the right side. Stay in the Light," Sriga whispered.

"No, don't talk like this, Sriga," she said. "Please don't die," she pleaded.

"Dinda... kiss me. I want to feel you before..." his voice weakening.

"No," she insisted.

Sriga coughed violently and Dinda put her hand behind his head for support.

"Just one kiss. I need to know. I don't want to lose myself like this, become her weapon, an undead who could harm you."

"No," she said again, shaking her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. She had already lost her family, she couldn't lose him too, she couldn't be the one to kill him.

"You need to know..." Sriga's voice was weakening, fading away.

Dinda interrupted him before he could finish speaking, realizing this was their last moment, that soon he would be the creature of the spider... he would try to kill her. He would want to die before he became that. And he was right. She needed to know. She moved her black lips toward his and kissed him deeply, pressing against him so that their warmth mingled and embraced each other, her love for him poured into that one connection between them. She pulled back and they looked into each other's eyes. Then she gasped and sat back on her heels as black veins began to extend all over Sriga's face and then his entire body. His body started to convulse and twitch, until finally Sriga stopped moving altogether. He lay motionless on the floor of the cave, still, with his eyes open.

Nooooooooooooooooooooo!

It had happened so fast, losing her family, knowing her friend would turn... deciding to kiss him. The one thing she had tried so hard not to do all this time. And her poison had been swift, only seconds to take him. At least he didn't suffer. She sobbed, wiping at her eyes. At least we had one moment. Now, she gently closed Sriga's eyes, kissed him softly on the forehead, and wept. As she cried, the butterflies lowered themselves from the cave ceiling and surrounded Sriga's body. The swarm hugged Dinda while she mourned the loss of her best friend.