“You have cured nothing – not yet. But I will resign my post as chieftain… if you consult with the Orb-God first, and have our God judge you and your so-called ‘mate’.”
The fish-eating triad slowly moves out of the cavern and leaves. They take what few belongings they have with them, and carry Ton limply over their shoulders. I hope that their hatred will dissipate with time – but I also hope never to see them again.
My eyes return to the ring, and the bloody champion now standing there.
Why does Hadone want to be chief?
“If the Orb-God is the arbiter you demand then we will consult with him,” states Hadone, sealing my fate.
I’ve heard much about the Orb God and it fills me with dark premonition. The crowd hushes as Hadone strides from the fighting circle and leads us towards the end of the cavern. He doesn’t even spare Forn or Darok a glance – instead just hissing for us to follow him; as if he’s already chieftain.
Forn and Darok start to follow Hadone towards to end of the cavern. I pull myself out of Forn’s arm, but I use him for support as I struggle to walk; my legs still weak as he leads me to Hadone.
We catch up with the champion, and Hadone pauses, turning to face me. I reach up and gently touch Hadone’s bruised and bloodied face – touching him in the only spot that isn't swollen or battered: His temple.
“You stopped short,” I murmur. “You let Ton live.”
Through eyes almost swollen shut, Hadone nods.
“I saw you,” he murmurs, “and I knew that I would lose you if I killed him. Then I realized that we need a new leader – a leader who has a woman like you advising us. Our tribe will prosper with Forn, Darok and I at the head of it.” He pauses. “And you.”
“But what if… What if the Orb God doesn’t see it the same way?”
Hadone spits out blood and a chunk of tooth. “You found the cure to the sickness that ravished our tribe. That was your purpose. You were fated to come here – not just as our mate, but for the sake of our tribe. It is known.”
I nod, and we walk together towards the end of the cavern. As we approach I take smaller, slower steps – feeling ever more apprehensive with each one. There’s a low hum emerging from the dark recesses of the cave beyond. The crowd behind us, who’d been so loud and boisterous during the fight, suddenly become mute as they watch us walking towards our fate.
We turn a corner and an opening beckons ahead. Beyond it is something that I could never had prepared for:
I have seen Orbs before. The largest was in Lord Tenderfoot’s study. I also know that an Orb merely the size of a soccer ball can power a ship through space-time and travel the universe from end to end; offering near infinite power.
But I’d never seen anything like this before.
“It can’t be,” I whisper, as I stare at the huge Orb that now hovers in front of me.
It’s huge – reaching from the floor almost to the ceiling of this looming cavern. It’s bigger even than the one in Lord Tenderfoot’s basement – many times bigger, perhaps.
Yet just like Tenderfoot’s Orb, it crackles with a mysterious blue-black electricity.
I snort – thinking to call it ‘his’ Orb is absurd. The Orb could just as easily claim ownership of Lord Tenderfoot.
And perhaps the same can be said here. The Scorp-Blood tribe have it right: Their Orb isn’t property – it’s a God to them. I stare into the swirling blacker-than-black patterns of the seemingly endless darkness, and feel the intelligence within.
Feeling stronger than ever, I walk forward unassisted. Somehow, the presence of the Orb-Sphere is making me stronger. Perhaps being in the presence of this massive, hovering thing rejuvenates us.
One thing’s for sure – I can’t stop moving toward it. I wonder if there’s some magic pulling me toward this Orb, or some strange gravity.
“Wait,” says Forn, but his words barely register. I’m drawn too far by the majesty of the thing in front of me.
I stare into the cloudy depths of the black Orb. It ripples and sheens with energy. Tendrils of lightning reach out slowly, caressing my skin and making every hair on my body stand up. The blackness suddenly opens and the fingers of lighting intensify all around us. My heart pounds as the ticklish feeling turns to a tingle so intense that it verges on agony.
My jaw drops as I stare into the blackness of the Orb and suddenly witness time itself. The Orb-God shows me a million years in an instant; and everyone and everything in between.
I watch a vision of Hadone fishing and bringing clean food back to the dying members of his tribe. I watch as they’re healed. I watch as children smile at me, looking at me with wonder as they recognize me as their savior.
I’m seeing the future, I realize.
The tingles intensify and my body shakes as the room fades away. I’m being brought into the future, and I realize these aren’t visions, but actual events that have already happened; and I’m merely too early in the timeline to have experienced them.
As I sink into the blackness, I don’t know if the Orb is eating me, or simply showing me a path into the future.
In the darkness, I watch as I tangle in the furs and sheets with the three Aurelians. I witness my belly growing fat with children, as son after son is born and contributes to the tribe.
I see Hadone in the chieftain’s chair, and my sons become Scorp-Blooded and recognized as leaders and warriors in their own right. My heart fills with joy as I see this beautiful future.
Suddenly it blinks out, and it feels as though I’d woken up from the
