Fan Fiction ❯ Cupid's Mistake ❯ Chapter Six: Yage and Tamarisk ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter Six: Yage and Tamarisk

Dante slid against the wall to sit on the earthen floor across from Artemis. She was scowling and rubbing her hands over her legs, trying to massage them back to working order. He watched her as she concentrated; her eyes started to seem tired as they glazed. She must be thinking about something. He decided to leave her alone; he stood and walked the few feet over to the stain on the wall to investigate it.

The blood had long browned; pieces of it were chipping off like paint. It must have been years since this hut had been used; Dante couldn't find any footprints either, besides his own boot prints. He imagined that the other tribes in this large jungle tried their best to stay away from this Green tribe. He chuckled to himself as he settled on this nickname for their attackers. Their war paint had been an olive colour, probably as camouflage in their home environment. He turned to Artemis to inform her of his latest amusement.

"Hey, we should call them-"

She shrieked and shrunk away from him as he advanced to help her.

Artemis had been thinking of all the equipment that their assailants would most likely have taken, making a mental list. They took the guns, of course, but would they have recognized the bullets? What about the global positioning device? They would certainly have taken the gold coins HQ gave us for bargaining… I wonder if they seized the locked boxes…

She glanced over at the one backpack that remained. It looked disappointingly empty. That's when she noticed the shiny beetles crawling on the stone walls. There were so many of them; they swarmed around on the floor and the ceiling and everywhere. She opened her mouth to warn Dante but he was gone; in his place stood a humongous black vulture. It gazed menacingly at her with its small beady eyes as it grinned slowly. It walked with dry clawed legs toward her, getting ever closer. She screamed and tried to move, but her damned legs wouldn't let her. The monstrous bird was wrapping its massive wings around her; she couldn't breathe; the air was filled with the smell of rotting flesh, the scavenger's latest meal; she collapsed onto the ground and began to hyperventilate; vultures were her greatest fear.

Then the beetles dissipated and she could hear Dante shushing her gently, his hands on her shoulder. He looked curiously at her, concerned for the sanity of his temporary partner. She sat up carefully. It seemed so real… She relayed what she had seen to Dante.

"They must have gotten me with some kind of delayed-reaction hallucinogen… yage, most likely. We are in the jungle."

Dante didn't know what she was talking about (her voice was a little garbled too; that wasn't helping) but nodded knowledgeably anyway. He heard footsteps outside, so rushed back over to the bag to sit on it, hiding it from view.

Six warriors burst the door open and ran into the hut, called by Artemis' shrill shout. No one could be allowed to harm the chief's new bride. She was to heal in peace; not interrupted by anyone wishing to take advantage of the strange wounded woman; she was the chief's and no one else's. The chief had given his warriors special orders to keep watch on that man; he'd paused before nixing the idea that he and Artemis were in a relationship.

They assumed Dante had hurt her in some way; who else could be in that room? Two warriors broke in and assaulted him, retreating only because Artemis was attacking them (even without the use of her legs). They shot her with more of the drug and left.

Dante awoke presently; apparently the warriors didn't feel the need to inject him with more of their dangerous herbs. He grinned; playing dead really did work. Artemis, however, was out cold; she'll never learn. He could see three red spots on her legs and one on her arm. There were probably more; they stabbed her wherever they could until she passed out.

It was Artemis' bag that hadn't been taken, and naturally Dante was curious and bored. She had the usual stuff (of the items that hadn't been confiscated), but she also had a locked, silver box labelled "Herbs." He glanced at Artemis, then the box again, then back to Artemis. She would want me to help her… I think. Nodding to himself, he walked over to her slowly. He could feel the bruises already.

Cautiously, he turned her over to see if there were any lumps in her back pocket. There was no way he was going to touch her there at the risk of getting his hand sliced off. He winced, though, as he realized that her only other pockets were on the inside of her onyx-coloured shirt. He gulped and began unzipping the little zipper with his suddenly clumsy fingers, trying his hardest not to look. After pulling it down just enough, he pulled back the thick cloth and reached into one of the three small pockets, sincerely trying not to touch her creamy skin. That would not be good.

There it was: an old-fashioned silver key. Dante pulled her zipper back up, and then put the key into the lock, turning it until it clicked. The box was divided into several compartments, each containing a small silk pouch. Every pouch had a tag sewed on, names neatly written in Artemis' handwriting. Alkanet, Anemone, Basil, Coriander… Of course, they were placed alphabetically. Dante fingered the nearest bag, Trefoil, carefully. He'd had a lesson in herbs, and he did recognize some of the names. He grinned slyly as he realized that not all of Artemis' herbs were for healing.

He found the royal blue silk purse marked Tamarisk and pinched out a few leaves, ripping them into shreds. He was afraid he was going to have to force it down her throat, but luckily she woke up then.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Uh… this box…"

Artemis felt her chest in a Pledge of Allegiance fashion, and then glowered at Dante.

"Only for your own good, babe."

"Don't call me that."

"Here, eat this; it'll-"

"I know what it does, considering it's mine."

"Okay then; just take it."

"Why would I bother with a poison remover when I can have an herb that will cure paralysis?"

"Well, I'm sorry I don't know every single herb in existence. I was just trying to help."

"Hand me gladwyn."

He made a little disapproving face.

"Please," she conceded.

It would take a little while for the gladwyn to take effect, but it was a much shorter time than the expected two days. Artemis would even be able to walk on her wedding day.

She was still angry about it; Dante had no right whatsoever to just marry her off like that; who did he think he was? Just he spoke the tribe's language didn't make him King of ESRecon. He's just a rookie!

"Hey Dante."

He glanced up at her, surprised that she was speaking to him civilly and of her own accord.

"Yeah?"

"Where did you learn their language?"

"I don't know."

There was silence again, the two in thought. Dante was wondering where in the world he could have learned that language; the Green tribe did not seem acculturated as of yet. Artemis and I must be their only visitors from the outside civilization. How could I possibly know this language? It was a mystery indeed.

"You know, we should really demand some sort of dowry for me; don't you think?"

"What kind of dowry?"

"I was thinking about the Janai crystal."

"That could cut the mission short and we could get out of each other's hair… of course, then you'd have to marry that guy."

"Not if your plan works."

"It will."