Saba: Under the Hyena’s Foot

Horror

Saba kneels beside the girl, her unfettered frightful cries sounding like a hyena. Another servant says she’s clearly under the influence of a buda. But Saba’s not sure. Saba asks if her aunt is still alive. She must send someone down to find out. Had General Ali punished not only his own guards, but also the truth-speaking azmaris? Now the girl lies completely still. One of the other servants pinches her, but she doesn’t even twitch. When the servant comes back into the room, she explains that all of the musicians ran. Some of the guards are dead. She doesn’t know yet how many.

When the young girl is taken away, Saba slips out and flees from the castle, through the Gate of the Pigeons, and away from the terror and confusion of the compound. She doesn’t know what she needs, but she needs something. She ends up at the church. She gazes up into the angels’ eyes until her trembling stops. She didn’t realize it before, but there’s a powerful painting of Saint Giorgis the protector, dressed in red and gold and riding on his white horse near the ceiling. Saba silently cries to him. He, the slayer of dragons, must have seen how ruthless the powerful can be.

Had Saba really understood her teacher’s words about Empress Menen? Had she truly seen General Ali’s mouth shape deadly words? Her anxiety about Mesfin turns into a river of fear that pours through her body. Where is her brother? Is he helpless? Is he trapped by hyenas who can decide in an instant whether he lives or dies? Perhaps they carried him far away to some high amba. What could Saba possibly do to help him?

General Ali is not known for being a cruel or angry man, but he thought nothing of using his power against his own guards when they refused to obey him. If a guard with a shield made of hippopotamus hide could not stand up against the hyenas, how could Saba?

Saba hears the murmuring of the voices of the priests at their devotions. She smells incense and it comforts her. Saba feels a touch on her shoulder and turns to see it’s her teacher. He doesn’t say a word, but Saba can see the compassion in his eyes. They walk back to the compound together. For once, Saba has no questions for him.

The land around them is beautiful. The pastures are covered with bright, beautiful carpets of flowers. Birds call to each other in the sky. Saba can hear the clanking of a cowbell and the bleeding of goats being driven to pasture. The peace of the moment makes the terror of the last hours seem unreal.

When they reach the castle, Saba says, “I think I have come to understand the lesson in the story you told me about the three boys in the forest. I will never again trust a powerful person.” The priest gives a slight bow and turns to look at the same sad sight. The compound lays in an eerie quiet except for the lions, which are pacing and growling in their house, no doubt stirred up by the smell of blood.