‘One eve we played too long among the dusty gorges and ravines. Dusk came quickly, as it does in equatorial regions. Perceiving our negligence, and our danger, we ran for the village. I was among the youngest of the band, and the last straggler. That was when we heard the hunting growl of a leopard closer than we’d ever heard it before.
‘We all screamed and ran in a blind panic, of course. We all knew the danger. These predators patrolled the boundaries of our village nightly, and we all knew someone – a cousin, or a neighbour’s daughter – who had been taken over the years.’
Shear had her bokken out and was swishing it through the tall grass. ‘Do not tell me you were eaten by a leopard.’
‘No. Something even stranger. In the darkness and panic I fell into one of the many sinkholes and caves that pocketed the hills. Down I tumbled and struck my head.’ He looked to the starred night sky, frowned in recollection. ‘I arose – dazed from the blow to my head – and groped through the tunnels and caverns in a fog. How long I wandered I know not. All I know is that eventually I collapsed, perhaps from pain, or exhaustion, or even starvation.’
He glanced to Shear, awaiting another glib comment, but she was silent, evidently content to listen for the moment. He continued, ‘I awoke to the light of a small fire, and I was not alone. Someone sat across the fire. At the time I thought him just a skinny old man, but later I realized that he was in fact a dried and desiccated corpse – perhaps the remains of another victim of the sinkholes. He told me that if I wished to escape the caves and return to my family I had to defeat him, and he tossed an old rusted hook-blade to me.’
‘What did you do?’ Shear asked, wonder now colouring her voice.
Dassem laughed. ‘First I ran! I searched every foot of the caverns for escape. But there was none. The only way out was through him. And so I picked up the old blade and had at him.’
‘And what happened?’ Shear breathed.
He shrugged. ‘He beat me down, of course. And when I straightened once more he corrected my grip. The next time he showed me a stance.’ He let out a shaky breath then, as if reliving the terror of those lightless days. ‘And so it went. On and on. Eventually I would become sleepy and lie down. When I awoke a small meal would be ready by the fire – a seared lizard or snake, a handful of old stale rice. And then we would fight again.
‘As the days passed, I came to realize that I would never defeat this creature, whatever it was. So I threw down the blade. I told it I would not cooperate; that it had to let me pass.’
‘And what happened?’ Shear asked for a second time.
He shrugged again. ‘It struck me down. When I awoke, I repeated my demand. And it struck me down once more. This kept on for some time, until, eventually, for some unknown reason, it relented and allowed me to pass.’
‘I see,’ Shear said quietly. ‘So that is why you are different? Not like other swordmasters?’
They had stopped walking, as the camp was near. Its torches and lamps shone among the wagons and tents like a constellation brought to earth.
‘That was only the beginning,’ Dassem answered, and he let out a long steadying breath as if preparing himself for the memory to come. ‘I returned to my village. It was dark outside beyond the caves, early evening. I ran straight to my family hut. There, as usual, was my mother preparing the evening meal at the stone hearth. I moved into the light at the open doorway and greeted her, my arms open.’
He paused, turning half away, and breathed harshly. ‘My mother looked up. Her eyes widened in amazement. And then she screamed in complete horror. “
He broke off, his voice choking, and he gripped the worn wood of the bokken, clenching his fingers until the knuckles whitened. Shear remained silent, watching, her eyes hidden behind her painted mask. After a time, he cleared his throat and continued, ‘I learned afterwards that four months had passed. It had been assumed that the leopard had claimed me. There had even been a funeral. I have stood upon my own grave.’
He studied Shear, his lips quirking drolly. ‘So you see. I am dead after all. There you are.’ He sighed then, lifting his shoulders. ‘Having nowhere else to go I returned to the caves and there found the ancient waiting for me at his small fire in the dark. I picked up the blade and returned to attempting to defeat him.’
‘And what happened?’ Shear asked for the third time, almost inaudibly.
