Victims of Nimbo Read online

  “I believe you do know, Chief Maroni,” Sarah said quietly.

  Maroni looked back at her with astonishment.

  “I think most of the time people know what is the right thing to do. It’s finding the courage to do the right thing that gives us problems.”

  “You speak very firmly for so young a female.”

  “Doing the right thing is not a matter of being old or young, is it, Chief?”

  Maroni did not answer this. Obviously, he knew she spoke the truth.

  He chewed on his lip and then said mournfully, “I wish my wife was alive.”

  “Lomeen’s mother.”

  “Yes. I never saw anybody as wise as she was. Of course, she was very quiet, and people did not know her as I did.” A thoughtful expression crossed his face, and he said, “Looking back, I believe that many of the good decisions I made came from her, a female!”

  “She sounds like a wonderful woman.”

  “Yes, she was a female, but somehow she was able to think things through. I was always too impulsive, Sarah. Many times she kept me from acts that would have been very bad indeed.”

  “And what do you think she would want you to do in this matter of sacrificing to Nimbo?”

  Chief Maroni smote his forehead with his hand and said angrily, “That is what I have been asking myself.”

  “And I think you know the answer,” Sarah repeated.

  She saw that Chief Maroni was in an agony of grief. The daughter whom he loved more than anything else in his kingdom was gone. Thoughts of his dead wife tormented him. Now he drew himself up to his full height. “I think you are right,” he said finally.

  “May I say one more word to you, Chief?”

  “Of course.”

  “I think you also need to be more considerate of the females of your tribe.”

  “That is what my wife always said,” he admitted. “I don’t personally mistreat females, though. You know that.”

  “But you see them as nothing but servants, and they’re more than that. Remember the wisdom of your wife.”

  “Why do you say this to me?”

  “Because I think it is what your wife probably said to you, and you didn’t listen.” Suddenly Sarah was convinced that if she could get the idea of the value of girls and women into the chief’s mind, her mission would be fulfilled no matter what happened to her tomorrow. “I hope you will consider what I’ve said, Chief. I think it would make you and your men better persons if you treated your wives as well as you treat each other.”

  Chief Maroni seemed to think long and hard. He drew his shoulders together and then allowed them to slump. “You are wise, just like my wife,” he said. “All the time you were talking, I was remembering that she said almost the same things. However—” he sighed “—unfortunately we have other things before us just now. Things that affect you.”

  “And you mean Nomus and what he wants to do to me.”

  “As I said, though I am chief, my power is limited. The high priest has bought the loyalty of Chan and all the warriors. And if I try to cross Nomus …”

  “You mean they would listen to him before they would listen to you?”

  Chief Maroni looked away. “I fear so, though it is impossible to say. But I can see one thing. I have allowed the kingdom to slip away, and I am determined to get it back.”

  14

  A Prince Becomes a Man

  I just don’t know if it can be done,” Josh said doubtfully. He scratched his head and looked thoughtfully around the circle, as his five companions studied his face. Josh felt uncertain about the entire rescue mission and had found it better to be truthful with the others.

  “What’s the matter, Josh?” Jake asked. “We’ve handled tougher things than this.”

  “We don’t really know that, Jake,” Josh answered quickly. “We don’t know what we’re running into exactly.”

  Reb grinned. “It won’t be T-rexes, at least. The Earth Dwellers couldn’t have anything that bad.”

  Josh well remembered the time the Sleepers had been forced to battle awful monsters with six-inch teeth like chisels. “What bothers me,” he said, “is that the Cloud People are very peaceable. They don’t know anything about war or weapons, really. They’ve led very sheltered lives.”

  “You’re right about that,” Prince Jere said, and his brow furrowed. He and Lomeen had both been invited to sit in on the Sleepers’ council. “And I’ll have to add, Josh, that the Earth Dwellers have become a fierce people.”

  “And that does make things a little tough,” Dave Cooper put in. “Is there any chance we can sneak in and get Sarah away without being seen?”

  “I wouldn’t think so,” Jere said, “now that Nomus knows there are more Sleepers. He’ll expect a rescue attempt.”

  “Jere is right,” Lomeen said. And since she knew the Earth Dwellers better than anyone else, all gave her their close attention. “Naturally, the victims chosen for sacrifice are determined to get away, so Chan puts an extra heavy guard around them.”

  “What about this fellow Chan?” Wash said. “Is he a pretty tough cookie?”

  “Chan is a very brutal, vicious man,” Lomeen said.

  “And that’s why she didn’t want to be his wife,” Jere said.

  Lomeen’s face flushed. “That is reason enough. He is cruel and vicious, and he’ll stop at nothing to get his own way. If it wasn’t for Chan and the warriors, the priest wouldn’t be able to wield so much influence over my father.”

  “Then maybe what we ought to do,” Josh said slowly, “is go in and try to get rid of Chan. Perhaps that would discourage his warriors into surrendering.”

  “You would have trouble doing that,” Lomeen said. “He is always surrounded by his guards.”

  The talk went around the circle until finally Josh said, “We don’t have much time left. We’ve got to leave soon.”

  “I agree,” Jere said. “And another problem is getting close without being seen.”

  “Does Chan have scouts out, Lomeen?” Abbey asked.

  “Usually he does,” she said slowly, “though there won’t be so many just now.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because the scouts are all interested in being at the sacrifice. As I said, they are cruel men, and they wouldn’t want to miss an event like this.”

  Josh shrugged his shoulders. “Well, we’ll just have to go and play it by ear and count on Goél’s help. I say what we do is hit the village and just try to take Sarah out of danger. Never mind fighting anybody.”

  “You won’t rescue Sarah without taking on Chan and his guards,” Lomeen said firmly.

  “Then we’ll take him on if we have to. Let’s get our weapons together and gather the men who’ve offered to accompany us. We’ll need to go over our tactics with them.”

  Teaching the Cloud People to fight was a task that would have taken more time than Josh and the Sleepers had. But the people were willing enough, and Josh did discover one good thing about them.

  “They’re the quickest people I ever saw,” he said.

  “That comes from living in the trees,” Jere said. “You’ve got to be quick and sure if you want to live here. And then, of course, climbing up and down gives you strength.”

  “Some of them are good archers as well,” Celevorn said. The king had joined his son and the Sleepers as they tried to instill some sort of order on the men who would travel with them.

  The Earth Dwellers will overwhelm these smaller people if it comes to a matter of battle with staves and swords, Josh thought. That there were some good archers was their only hope. Unfortunately, the best archer among the Sleepers was Sarah, and she would not be available.

  Celevorn watched Josh explain his plan of attack. He also watched his son, who seemed eager to take part. He murmured to Lomeen, “I don’t know what you’ve done to my son, but he seems to have become a man indeed.”

  “He’s a very fine man, Your Majesty,” Lomeen answered quickly. “He doesn’t ha
ve to go back to my village, and he didn’t have to go there in the first place. I admire him a great deal.”

  The king studied her slyly. “I can see that you do.” He saw the blush mount in her cheeks and laughed. “That’s all right. I am glad you like him. And I can see that he likes you, too.”

  “Now, listen,” Josh said. “Here’s what we’ll have to do. We’ve got to get to the village without being seen. If we try to go in a body, there’s a good chance that one of Chan’s lookouts will see us. Would it be possible for us to break up into very small groups—no more than three or four—and come at the village from different directions?”

  “That will work,” Jere said quickly. “We can arrange a meeting point. What do you think would be a good place, Lomeen?”

  The men among the Cloud People looked shocked. To ask a female’s advice about such an important matter was probably unheard of.

  Lomeen said, “We could all meet at the thick woods just north of the village. Then the attack could be made directly in force.”

  “I’m hoping that we can hit them hard enough and quick enough that they’ll surrender,” Jere said. “I intend to go for Chan, and if I can take him out, the others will be more likely to give up.”

  “He is a mighty warrior,” Lomeen said nervously.

  “And I’m a mighty maker of poems, so we’ll see who comes out on top.”

  As they were about to leave for the rescue, King Celevorn took Josh aside. “No matter what comes of this, it has been wonderful to see Prince Jere come to himself.”

  “I guess sometimes it takes a kind of crisis to bring young fellows out of their childhood, Your Majesty.”

  “I’ve always known there was good material in my son, but now I see it. And it’s making me very proud.”

  Abbey, standing beside Josh, was listening. “What would you think if your son wanted to marry Lomeen?” It was just the sort of question Abbey would ask, Josh thought.

  “I think she’s a fine young woman. There would be many problems to work out between our tribes, however.”

  “Back in OldWorld,” Josh said, “sometimes kings and queens worked out their problems by arranging a marriage between a prince of one kingdom and a princess of another. That tied the two kingdoms together.”

  The thought seemed to interest King Celevorn, but there was no time to talk of it. The hour was growing late.

  “Let’s go,” Josh said. “We’ve made all the plans we can, and now we’ve got to carry them out.”

  Vines were let down to the ground, and the Cloud People began descending from their homes high in the trees. Jere slid down easily, followed by Teanor and the others.

  In the end, even King Celevorn had insisted on going along. “I’m not too old for this venture,” he said. “I pulled a good bow in my youth, and now we’ll see.” He also had a sword at his side, which gleamed in the light as he held it up. “This will be the Cloud People’s greatest battle.”

  The Sleepers seemed rather embarrassed about having to be let down in baskets. But Lomeen said to Abbey, “It’s scary being that high in the air. Still, I rather like it.”

  Hanging onto the side of her basket, Abbey grinned. “Good. You may be spending a lot of time up there,” she said.

  “Why would you say that?”

  “I think you know.”

  Lomeen gave her a hard look but then giggled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.

  When they were all on the ground, the king said, “Lomeen, I will ask you to be in my party along with my son. The rest, friend Josh, you will arrange.”

  And so the Sleepers were divided up with guides. The Cloud People began to lead them silently through the trees toward Sarah’s rescue.

  Nomus had asked for a conference with Chan. The two men were talking in front of the hut where the Sleeper Sarah was held captive.

  “Make sure she doesn’t get away, Chan,” Nomus instructed.

  “When was the last time anyone got away from me?” Chan boasted. “Don’t worry about that.”

  “I wish the prince of the Cloud People hadn’t gotten away. I’d like to see him put to death along with this female.”

  “Don’t worry about that. After this is over, we shall make a raid. We’ll catch him again.”

  “Be sure that you do.” Nomus unbarred the door. He drew a knife as he stepped inside and looked at the prisoner with an evil grin. “This is your last day on earth. How does it feel, Sleeper?”

  Sarah stood with her back to the wall, staring at the priest. She was determined to show no fear of the man. “You’re an evil man, Nomus,” she said, “but your days are numbered.”

  “My days are numbered! That’s a joke! You are the one who is going to die.”

  Sarah did not answer. She had faced death before in the Sleepers’ many missions for Goél. Besides, she knew it would be shameful to show any sort of fear. She stood resolutely while Nomus taunted her.

  The high priest stepped toward her, holding out his knife. “I could cut your throat even now,” he said, “but I would rather wait and do it in public.” He reached out suddenly and slapped her.

  Sarah’s face burned, but she said not a word.

  Nomus threw the heavy bar against the door of the prison hut. “Put a double guard on her!” He scowled. “I don’t want anything to happen. It will be quite a spectacle.”

  “I fear the chief is getting out of hand,” Chan muttered. “You shouldn’t have let him recover.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll handle him. You do your job, and I’ll do mine. We’ll get rid of these Sleepers first, one at a time if we have to, and then we’ll take care of the Cloud People. Then—” he grinned “—we might have a new chief of the Earth Dwellers.”

  Chan knew exactly what the high priest planned to do. “I would make a good chief, wouldn’t I?”

  “Yes, as long as you listen to someone with sense.”

  “Like you, Nomus?”

  “Like me. You do the muscle work, and I’ll do the thinking.”

  15

  A Friend in the Darkness

  Chief Maroni had come for a last visit with Sarah. In the midst of their talking, he abruptly muttered, “I haven’t slept a wink since Lomeen left. Why would she leave me?”

  Sarah was very much aware that the hour of her sentence was close. Nevertheless, she felt compassion for Maroni. She saw that he was still in poor physical condition. She had felt at first that he was just weak to allow himself to be ruled by Nomus and bullied by Chan, but now she sensed that basically he was a decent man. She said quietly, “I’m glad to see you have such love for your daughter, Chief.”

  “I didn’t know how much I cared for her. If I could only get her back, things would be different.”

  “Different how, Chief?”

  “For one thing I’ve been thinking of what you said about treating females better. I have not been cruel, but neither have I been kind or fair. If I just had time, I could show Lomeen how much I think of her. And not just her but the other women of the tribe as well.”

  “I’m so glad to hear you say that, Chief!” Sarah exclaimed. “It would make all the difference in the world. Not just to the women but to the men too.”

  “How do you see that?”

  “I think that the women would be very grateful, but also they could be much more help to you than they have been. They are capable of doing more than simply washing clothes and cooking.”

  “Yes, I found that out with Lona, my wife.” Then Maroni said, “And in the morning I’m going to have a talk with Nomus.”

  “About what he’s going to do with me?”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  “You may as well save your breath, Chief. He’s determined to offer me as a sacrifice.”

  Maroni straightened up. He was a strong-willed man, though not young any longer. “We will see who is chief of the Earth Dwellers.”

  Maroni left, and the night wore on. Sarah was fairly certain that dawn would be
the hour of the sacrifice. She remembered Lomeen’s speaking of that hour to her. For a long time she paced back and forth. At last she sat down on the pad that she used for a mattress. Her back was against the wall, and to her amazement she began to doze off.

  Sarah awoke with a start to find that she had been dreaming of her days as a Sleeper. She and her friends had experienced so many adventures, she thought. And suddenly she realized something. If I had not been saved from that great nuclear war in OldWorld, I would have missed a lot. NuWorld has been hard and dangerous, but we’ve been able to serve Goél. And I’ve made such good friends here!

  For a long time she lay there half-asleep, thinking of all the people that she had met. Some of them had been strange indeed. Many had become fine friends-better than she could have imagined.

  Then she nodded off and began dreaming again. This time she seemed to be in an even darker place than her small prison. Panic, like a raving beast, was trying to take over her heart. Sarah had known fear before but nothing like this. This was a nightmare such as she had never had, and she knew that she was screaming.

  “Sarah, do not be afraid.”

  Sarah, in her dream, suddenly recognized the voice of Goél!

  “Goél, is that you?”

  “It is I. This is a difficult time for you,” the voice went on quietly, “but I will be with you. Even though the knife is raised to plunge into your heart, do not fear.”

  Sarah felt the terror ebbing away. Soon it had disappeared entirely, and she whispered, “Goél?”

  Then she knew she was awake.

  “It was only a dream,” she said with disappointment. But though it had been a dream, she felt new confidence. She got up and waited for the dawn with renewed hope. “I don’t know what will happen, but Goél has never failed me,” she said aloud. “He won’t this time.”

  Her voice sounded thin and feeble, but somehow she knew that she had been visited by her friend Goél himself.