Legend of the Timekeepers (4 page)

3

The Snake Charmer

L
ilith sat off in a corner of the marketplace, out of the sun, thinking about her life reading. Brilliant colors of blue, turquoise, and yellow linens were carefully draped over every merchant’s booth to protect them, and their wares, from the sun’s relentless rays. Lilith tried to drown out the sound of children laughing and screaming, but it was no use. Then, she tried to lose herself within the sea of distraction, but that caused even more distraction. Deciding that a walk around the market would do her good, Lilith stood up. She brushed down her linen sheath, complete with a deep blue sash and matching sandals compliments of She-Aba, and walked towards the west, away from the glaring rays, towards the alluring smell of incense.

A small linen satchel—the color of coral—hung over her shoulder. Lilith adjusted her new shell and bead necklace—another addition from She-Aba—as she poked about, inspecting each merchant’s area like she was searching for a clue or answer to the meaning of her life reading. Slipping her slender hand into her satchel, Lilith fished around until she felt the small ceramic disk that had changed her life and shifted her perception.

Slowly, Lilith pulled out her life seal and looked it over as if it were something she was deciding to purchase at the market. She flared her nostrils and emitted a small guttural sound from the back of her throat. If she had had a choice—which according to Istulo, she did not—Lilith would toss her life seal into the deepest part of the river and let the current carry it into the sea. Her fist engulfed the small disk.

A Timekeeper? This is my lifetime occupation? What does that even mean?
Lilith thought. She grumbled while pushing her snake bracelet up over her wrist. “Time is not something one can keep!” she blurted.

A native merchant and his wife sitting on a wide reed mat looked up at Lilith strangely and offered her a date to sample. She apologetically smiled, reached for the dried brown fruit, and popped it into her mouth. Its sweetness pacified her, and she let the warm date slide down her throat. “Thank you. I’ll take a handful for my father.”

The man, who was close in age to Lilith’s father, flashed a toothless grin. His skin was leathery, and he wore a long loincloth that reached the top of his knees. He motioned for his wife, who wore a white sheath dotted with brown spots, to package the dates in a palm leaf. Lilith bent to place her life seal on the reed mat in front of the man so she could look through her satchel for a piece of silver to give to the merchant. She heard him make the sound of a baby monkey.

He held up his hand. “No. Dates are gift. You take.”

Lilith stopped searching through her satchel. She looked down at the merchant, who was busy staring at her life seal. His mouth was opened, and he nudged his wife.

“Are…are you sure?”

The merchant’s wife quickly bundled up the dates and held them up for Lilith. “Yes. Ra protects you. Take dates. It is gift.”

Lilith shrugged. She gingerly took the wrapped dates, slid them into her satchel, and then started to walk away until she felt a rough hand grasp her ankle. She looked down to find the merchant’s wife staring up at her. “Wait. Forgot life seal. Bad for fate. Must take with you, keep with you.”

Lilith pursed her lips. It wouldn’t have bothered her one bit to lose her life seal. But it meant something to the natives. Maybe these people could help her figure out what a Timekeeper does. She smiled as the woman released her foot, then squatted to retrieve her life seal, still on the reed mat. Lilith licked her dry lips, then looked the merchant in his dark, brown eyes. “What does this mean?” she asked, shaking the small disk in front of him as if she had something to sell to him. “And what does your god, Ra, have to do with it?”

The man wiped away the sweat building on his balding head. He glanced at his wife, who was nervously chewing her bottom lip, and then back to Lilith. “Take dates. It is to thank Ra. You will see.”

“They can’t tell you, Atcha-girl. You have to figure it out for yourself.”

Lilith cringed. She squeezed her life seal, wishing it would crumble, but it was stronger than she thought. She knew that annoying, pesky voice. “Hello, Tau,” she said coolly. “What’s the matter, couldn’t find any white crawlers to slay?”

Tau laughed. “You’re still having problems pronouncing some of our words. Maybe I should teach you since I’m to be a scribe.”

Lilith stood up and turned to face Tau. He wore a fresher loincloth with a small leather satchel fastened to the side of it. He also appeared to have gotten his hair washed and cut, which curled perfectly around his ears. Tau still displayed his life seal around his neck as if he were a peacock showing off his plumes. She smirked. “What’s the occasion? Found a girl that would put up with you?”

“It’s market day. Father insists I look my best.”

“Well, if that’s your best, I’ll have to introduce you to a friend of mine. She has a flare with colors and fabrics. Maybe you should give her a try.”

Tau wrinkled his brow. “What’s wrong with what I am wearing? It’s cool and allows my skin to breath. You Atchas will learn soon enough about how to dress for the desert!”

“Hey, She-Aba has given me—”

“Did you say She-Aba?” Tau interrupted.

“Yes, why?”

Tau snorted. “She’s…she’s odd, a freak. She pretends to be important, like our gods.”

Lilith set her jaw. “Says who? Your people and their silly rules?”

“Red is reserved for our gods and goddesses only,” Tau said, flailing his arms. “To try to resemble them in any way is unnatural and is forbidden. To wear red takes away the power of the gods who take away power from people in revenge. It brings severe consequences to those who mock our ways.”

“She-Aba was born that way!” Lilith shouted. “She’s not mocking you or your ways! She’s just being who she’s supposed to be!” Then, with a force she’d never felt before, Lilith threw her life seal at Tau’s head. He ducked in time.

The small ceramic disk rolled through the marketplace and smacked against the side of a cream-colored basket with a lid on it. Flustered, and ignoring the stares she received from the other merchants and their customers, Lilith pushed Tau aside. “Guess I’d better go collect my silly life seal, or the gods will put a curse on me!”

Lilith strutted through the market like she owned it. She became aware of Tau racing after her. “Go away, Tau, there’s no white crawlers around for you to protect me from!”

“But, Lilith, wait for me!” Tau cried. “Stop!”

Fat chance of that.
Lilith reached the woven basket decorated with heads of hooded serpents. She grimaced at the pictures and looked around for her life seal. It was lodged under the basket, so without consideration for the basket’s owner, she gave it a hard kick. The lid popped off the moment the basket hit the earth. An odd sound erupted from the basket, and Lilith walked around to see what it might be. Suddenly, a long snake emerged from the basket, hissing at anything around it.

Lilith froze in place. Sweat blistered through her skin. Her heart raced, her mouth went dry, and she held her legs tightly together so she would not relieve herself in front of the crowd. Tau stopped his advances. She could hear his labored breathing. It almost matched hers, only she could feel her chest closing up and her head getting lighter. The snake rose to the height of Lilith’s waist and hissed at her. The sensation of its putrid breath crawling across her bare arms made her skin ripple and her body shake. She closed her eyes, knowing that somehow this was Tau’s gods’ retribution for what she had just said. Then, Lilith heard a flute being played behind her. It sounded lulling and calming, her whole body relaxed instantly.

Lilith opened her eyes. The flute player was now beside her. She glanced over and gasped. It was the handsome young man who had greeted her at the door of the Temple Beautiful. A green sheath with flecks of gold covered his muscular body, and she noticed he was absent of his headband but wore a life seal around his neck like Tau. Sweat trickled down his lean arms while he continued to play. His blond hair was neatly pulled back and held in place with a purple crystal. She reached up to touch her purple crystal hairpin, which neatly bound her hair in one place. She caught a whiff of sandalwood oil—her new best friend now that it tamed her hair in this arid climate.

“Don’t move, Lilith,” Tau whispered from behind her.

“What’s he doing?” Lilith asked quietly, using her chin as a guide.

“He’s bewitching the cobra. Mica is what is called a snake charmer,” Tau murmured.

Lilith’s eyes widened. “You know him!”

The snake hissed, and its hood flared.

The snake charmer named Mica stopped playing and glared at Lilith. Even while he showed displeasure, she found no flaws in his beautiful face. She grinned sheepishly at him.

He rolled his eyes, tossed his flute to Tau, and pushed Lilith out of the way in time before the snake lashed out at her. Then Mica jumped to the reptile’s side, moving his hands rapidly around the snake, not giving him anything to aim at. He darted around the snake, going in circles, following the sun’s patterns, bobbing his body up and down, side to side, always moving his hands in front of the snake’s hissing face. Lilith heard the flute trill and squeak as Tau blew on it. She winced as Mica swiftly grasped the snake’s head, its tail wreathing and wrapping around one of his legs. He reached for the open basket on the ground, sat it upright, untwined the snake’s tail from his leg, and eased the snake back into the basket, all the while making clicking sounds with his tongue.

“In you go, Kheti.” He gently patted the lid of the basket. “You’ll get your supper of mice later.”

Lilith heard the snake hiss one last time before the crowd broke out in cheers. A few merchants bowed before Mica and offered him pomegranates, grapes, melons, fish, swathes of fabric, and finely-crafted baskets. Most gave Lilith a stare that would have destroyed Atlantis all over again. She averted her eyes, but it didn’t help. Everyone seemed to be blaming her for what could have resulted in someone getting hurt or killed.

“Why don’t you ever listen?” Tau wagged the flute at her. “I told you to wait. You didn’t. I told you to stop. You didn’t. Do you have a death wish?”

Lilith could feel her eyes well up. She shook her head. “I…I don’t know. I just want to go home.”

Tau sighed loud enough for Lilith to hear. “I will take you home. You live by the Temple of Sacrifice, next to the houses of the temple staff, right?”

Her shoulders sagged. “No. Home to Atlantis.”

Then, Tau started playing the flute. It was worse than Istulo’s chanting. He couldn’t hold a tune if his life depended on it. Lilith covered her ears and glared at Tau. He stopped playing. “You seemed so sad. I thought I’d try to cheer you up.”

Tau sounded so serious, she couldn’t help but giggle. “Cheer me up, or strike me down?”

“That noise would kill my cobra,” a young man said behind Lilith.

Lilith glanced over her shoulder. It was Mica. His tanned arms were full of the gifts he’d received from the grateful merchants. He passed a pomegranate to her and a melon to Tau. “Trade you, Tau.”

Tau handed Mica his flute for the melon. He thumped the round fruit to check for freshness.

“How come you didn’t mention that you knew Tau the day we met at the Temple Beautiful?” Lilith asked, juggling the pomegranate between her hands.

Mica raised a fair brow. “We’ve met?”

Lilith felt her cheeks heat up. She dropped the fruit. Mica caught it before it hit the ground. “You’re right, Tau, this one is clumsy.”

Tau had already started digging into the melon. “Mmm? Oh yes, and she pronounces our language as if she has a handful of live clams in her mouth.”

“I’m with her on that matter,” Mica said, grinning. “Some of your words leave my tongue tied.”

“Exactly,” Lilith blurted. “That white crawler with the stinger tail, um a ser—”

“Serqet,” Mica finished for her. “Yes, I know what you mean. It’s a totally different dialect.”

Lilith pointed at Mica. “Precisely!”

“Are you two finished making fun of my people?” Tau asked with a mouthful of melon.

“No,” Mica replied. “What about you, Lilith?”

“Nope,” Lilith answered. Then her eyes widened. “Hey, you do know me.”

Mica shrugged. “How could I not. You’re the talk of the Temple Beautiful.”

Lilith balked. “I…I am?”

“That’s what I’ve heard through some of the students. And Istulo seems to like you too.”

“S-She…she does?”

“I think Lilith’s also developed a stutter. Now she’ll never say our words properly,” Tau said.

Lilith reached over and shoved a chunk of melon in Tau’s mouth. Mica laughed, then handed Lilith back her pomegranate and winked at her. Startled, and not knowing how to react, her heart flipped-flopped as she said, “Um, that was amazing, what you did with the snake.”

“Thank you. I earn my supper here at the market with my cobra Kheti and learn all I can at the Temple Beautiful. I was recently accepted as a novice to study to be a healer. I know I have many years of training ahead of me, but it will be well worth it.”

“How long have you lived in the Black Land?” Lilith asked, juggling the piece of fruit again.

“Long enough to learn how to pronounce serqet,” he replied, grinning. “But to answer your question, I was about eight when I arrived.”

Lilith nodded, trying to figure out his age in her head. Close to Tau, maybe a year older, she guessed. Lilith decided to fish more. “Do you live with your parents still?”

Mica’s clean-shaven face lost all expression. “My family is gone. All assassinated by the followers of the Sons of Belial. There was nothing left for me in Atlantis, so I left on a trader’s ship. The Black Land was his final stop so I made it my home. It was Istulo who gave me shelter, allowed me into the Temple Beautiful, and finally asked one of the priests to accept me as a student of the healing arts.”

Lilith squeezed the pomegranate so hard it burst all over her white sheath. She heard Tau gasp and mutter something about being clumsy. Red dots splattered all over her as if she’d been attacked by an army of white crawlers. She sighed, dropping the fruit. It hadn’t had a chance to hit the ground when a bird swooped down and claimed it. Lilith jumped out of the way and into Mica’s already full arms.

Mica fell backwards and landed about an arm’s length away from his snake’s basket. Lilith, knowing her face now matched the color of She-Aba’s hair, tried to push herself off of Mica before Tau opened his mouth to say something about her awkwardness. Then she spied it. Her life seal was a finger’s length away from Mica’s ear. She smiled. She needed a good distraction. Reaching over, Lilith scooped up the small ceramic disk.

Her hand was engulfed in mid-air by Mica. “What’s this?”

“Um, my life seal,” she replied, curling her toes. “I…I threw it at Tau in a fit of anger but missed him, and it rolled over here.”

Mica stared at her life seal for a moment, as if mesmerized by it, entranced. Lilith thought that odd—the snake charmer was being charmed. She peeked at his life seal lying on his glistening chest, and her eyes widened.
He has spirals on his life seal too!
Then, she spotted the coiled serpents also etched upon it, and frowned.

“There are spirals on your life seal.” Mica broke his silence and loosened the grip he had upon her hand. “Is your father the Keeper of the seventh Arch of Atlantis by chance?”

Lilith rolled off of Mica, managing to keep her distance from the basket. She stood up, looked down at him and nodded. “Yes. Why?”

His face had changed again. It appeared darker, akin to the moon losing its glow. “Because, according to my life seal, it seems—” he started to say as he stood up. Mica brushed himself off before continuing, “—that we are to be mortal enemies.”