then the girl suddenly ordered, âGet in!â I was shoved ahead of her into a dark opening.
Like a crab, she scuttled in after me and then reached up and pulled something flat and wide over the opening. Â Huffing with the effort, she crouched down beside me and hissed into my ear, âSay nothing!â
I nodded in the darkness, and we sat and waited.
It was not a long wait. Â Above there was a sound like thunder on wheels, and many barking voices. Â The sounds became impossibly loud.
Suddenly I heard someone shout just over our heads: âDamn these sand rats! Â Where in hell did they go?â
âI saw them from above, sir. Â They were right here.â
âIf they were right here where did they get to? Â Did they melt into thin air?â
âWeâll keep looking, sir.â
âYou do that. Â Did we get anything out of the prisoner?â
I felt my companion stiffen beside me.
âNothing. Â You know the way these creatures are. Â She died without speaking.â
âDamn!â
The sounds, the figures, moved off.
My companion was shivering, weeping softly beside me.
In the dark, while we waited, without speaking, I put my arm around her, and pulled her close.
Â
I must have slept. Â Three taps on the trap door above us woke me.
My companion was already awake. Â She sprung up, and instantly pulled the door away, revealing bright sun.
âThey are gone,â the Mighty reported. Â His face was grim.
âEna!â my companion cried, climbing out of the hole and falling into the Mightyâs arms.
Idly he held and petted her. Â âYes,â he said. Â âShe is being prepared for burial. Â It is almost Noon. Â Come, Myra.â
Myra collapsed. Â âEna! Â Ena!â
The Mighty supported her, and looked down at me as I climbed from the hole. Â âThey caught her as she was making her way to her own hiding place,â he said. âRather than reveal the spot, she let them take her. Â They burned her, and then they put her eyes out. Â And she said nothing .â Â There was a mixture of grief and pride in his voice. Â
âOh, Ena!â Myra cried.
I stood, and took the weight of Myra from the Mighty. Â âLet me help her,â I said.
He nodded, and he looked at me in a new way. Â âI am beginning to think that taking you was very bad luck for me,â he said. Â âThis is nothing against you, you must understand. Â But there are bigger things going on on this world of ours than I imagined.â
âYou are right,â I said.
âWe will talk,â he said, and walked away, leaving the care of his harem girl to me.
Â
Ena was buried at precisely noon, within the circle the remaining caravan members made.
I was not allowed to help form the circle, but stood just behind the Mighty, who explained everything to me.
âThe body is purified by the Sun. Â The Sun is a good god to be buried under. Â He will protect her in the next world. Â The Moons are not so favorable, because they can be tricksters. Â It was a good omen for her to die when she did.â
The body lay sewn into a sack made of tent cloth next to a dug hole. Â After prayers Myra left the circle and anointed the sack with oils and aromatic herbs. Â Some of the odors wafted to my nostrils: jasmine and oleander, and the heavily rich perfume of cactus oil.
After Myraâs ministrations, there followed what I at first thought was an extended moment of silence, but I saw that each of the members of the circle were mumbling under their breaths.
When it was finished, the Mighty, the last to stop speaking in a low voice, explained to me, âThe announcing of her sins.â Â I saw him give a slight, knowing smile. Â âShe had many.â
Then the members of the circle collapsed upon the body, and lowered it into the ground, covering it and smoothing
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