Jumanna gave the student a leg up and then climbed onto the rocks herself as Calif’s strong hands grabbed and lifted her without a problem. After that, she fell limply onto her back, inhaling several deep breaths.
She closed her eyes and sank into a trance. Maybe she lost consciousness. But not for long.
The young woman shuddered and woke up. After a while she was able to raise herself on her elbows and see what had become of the caravan. The commotion had subsided, but Jumanna could not see a living thing.
Where are the people who had wanted to escape by fleeing?
No one could be seen… only the corpses of caravanners and camels. The scorpio-angler himself had also fallen to his side. Near his jaws lay the carcass of a desert elephant. Lamis said that the animal had either become mad with fear or, on the contrary, having gained courage, simply took off and rammed itself into the scorpio-angler’s head. The elephant was dead, but whether the scorpio-angler was actually dead was a big question. Jumanna knew that these monsters were incredibly tenacious. Perhaps it was just tired and resting. Perhaps it had decided to postpone its planned meal for the evening.
Silently, they sat on the rocks under the scorching sun and when it seemed safe, moved into the shadow which roamed around the ridge. A malodorous stink whiffed from recent battle scene.
Finally, dusk had fallen. Dew fell on the boulders, which had saved the lives of the Academy’s students. Jumanna showed everyone how to collect moisture from the rocks using one’s lips, just as Father taught her. If it hadn’t been for him, with all probability, Jumanna and her students were destined to have died of thirst that very night.
Darkness fell. The stars were luminous in the sky. Darkness reigned near the gigantic silhouette of the scorpio-angler. The monster did not ignite the deadly light on its tail. This meant only one thing – the scorpio-angler was dead!
Jumanna descended from the rocks and overcoming her fear, went around the terrible place. Her head was spinning, and she felt a lump rising in throat. But she had to hold on. Dead camels… Dead people… And then Jumanna heard a hoarse voice! She rushed to the sound. The astronomer Umal Al-Dassay lay crushed under the corpse of a camel. The young woman tried to get him out, to no avail. She thought of calling Calif and a couple more of the boys, but the old man stopped her.
“Leave it, it is needless… I don’t have long…” Jumanna was silent. She didn’t know what to say.
“Forgive me… Forgive all of us!” Al-Dassay continued. “We were wrong. Experienced caravanners have been killed… Warriors… And you survived and saved the lives of your students. You… You are a wonderful caretaker.”
“What should I do now?” Jumanna asked almost inaudibly. “You are in charge now, so you must decide… " the old man croaked and rolled his eyes upward. “Look!” His tone changed dramatically. “The constellation of the Lion!”
Jumanna lifted her head upward. Indeed, just above her shone the constellation of the Lion.
The constellation of the Lion. The Marawie Star, which pointed the way to the migrants from the north during their dangerous passage from the Valley. But what did the astronomer mean?
And then it dawned on Jumanna! How could she? She was so proud of her knowledge of astronomy, yet she hadn’t noticed the elementary changes in the sky! Even yesterday, when she had been fascinated by Jumann Khayat.
Perhaps the increased attention from the male-caravanners and the reminders that this journey had no place for a woman had confused her and forced her to forget the basics of astronomy for a while.
Of course. After all, there was another astronomer… a real astronomer!
But he had been mistaken!
The month of the Camel has already come and, relative to the road from Kay-Samiluf to Ayno-Suf, the constellation of the Lion should have been significantly more towards to the east!
“Have we gone off the track?” though it sounded like a question, it was actually a statement.
“Forgive me… forgive me once more,” The astronomer’s voice began to weaken again. “Ah, anility… I confused the cards. I killed everyone! On the road to Ayno-Suf there are no scorpio-anglers, and I took you into the depths of the desert…”
Damn it! That’s all there is to life experience! All the wisdom!
Jumanna was no longer worried about the fatal error of the scattered astronomer. She ran her finger along the starry sky, measured the way to the north of the constellation of the Lion, where the Star of the Marawie, the brightest in the constellation, sent its rays.
“But if we go to the northeast we can reach Muo. We’d find ourselves in the Valley by coming out onto the Dalaal path!”
“You are a good astronomer. You will manage to lead a caravan better than I have.” It was the last thing Umal Al-Dassay said.
5
Jumanna returned to her students about half an hour later. Everyone was asleep, even Lamis. Only Calif had waited up for her. Jumanna handed him a few flasks of water and a saber.
She had unbuckled the flasks from the belts of the dead. It was terribly disgusting, but she had to restrain her feelings, for one cannot survive in the rough desert otherwise.
Jumanna had taken the saber from the belt of Khallan. He hadn’t even had time to take the weapon in his hands. A sting had pierced him from the back as he was trying to flee. Even touching his stuff felt nasty! What a truly unworthy person! But the steel of the blade was painfully good, and a weapon was a necessity.
Jumanna’s father hired a fencing master for her in Min-Mirif. Later, while studying at the Observatory, she took lessons herself. But that had been more for the sake of interest. She never imagined that one day she would take the handle of a saber in traveling conditions.
It will be a blessing if on the road to the Valley I won’t need to use Khallan’s blade!
Jumanna counted the corpses. Khallan, ten of his warriors, fifteen caravanners, and seven merchants, including Khatum Tangut and Umal Al-Dassay. No one else had survived. She found the two warriors who fled and nearly knocked her over a little farther from the place of slaughter. They had managed to distance themselves from the deadly sting, but, like the astronomer, were crushed by the body of a camel that collapsed on top of them.
By now she no longer felt any disgust while retrieving their weapons. It is necessary! Jumanna thought, searching the lifeless bodies.
After returning to the rocks, she immediately fell asleep. Surprisingly, this time, dreams struck her in an instant; no nightmares haunted her. Everyone awoke at sunrise. The sun began to bear down, or, to be more precise, burn up the air.
Jumanna, along with Lamis and Calif, returned to the place of slaughter. They began to search the surviving trunks. Calif found a saber for himself and parted with his harmless training weapon. Jumanna decided it was too early for the other children to look at such scenery. However, a few minutes later, Makacash could no longer resist the temptation and rushed to help them. The sight of the corpses