Page 3 of Betrothed to the Yeti

Why aren’t I scared of death at the hands of a Yeti? Is it because I’ve had nothing to live for? Ever since our connection to the fusion plant was cut off the cold rattles my bones. Freezing is a familiar friend. Now beyond Alpha’s walls, cold shadows surround us. Does the Yeti live in a cold temple? Many Leaders give epsilon crystals and fusion devices to the Yeti as tribute, so I suspect his home is warm no matter how loudly the winds howl.

Lost in thought, my boot catches on something buried in the snow. I cry out as I topple over Ku Huang and fall to my hands and knees. Ku Huang bleats and dances over my splayed legs as I wipe the snow from my face with the beautiful scarf. Somehow, I managed to dull the colors within hours of donning it. The crowd steps over me and continues forward, so the Seer and I fall to the back. I hump and grunt as I clamber back to firm footing.

“Hush girl,” snaps a Gamma villager. She carries a baby strapped to her chest and drags another sniveling child by their arm. “Some of us want to see the dawn…though I don’t blame you if you don’t. Just think of the children.”

How dare she imply that I would sacrifice them for spite?!

Sharper than any retort I could fire through my lips, I point a finger at waist height to her husband striding ahead. She clung to him during the wedding. Now, he carries no babies nor slows his pace for the child at her side. Without a glance backward, he powers toward Gamma. She could be plucked off the back of the group and he wouldn’t be the wiser. No better than the long-necked goats, he insulates himself inside our human herd. He ignores anyone moving slower than him who may tempt the predators in the shadows—even those he helped create.

Shocked and furious, the villager presses her lips together to pinch the scarf covering her mouth. The result is a severe frown adorned with happy yellow embroidery. I laugh at the contradiction written on her face, which only angers her more. With an arm wrapped around her child’s waist, she drags them forward. She stomps to keep from sinking in the thickening snow and escape my madness. It may be my imagination, but her male accelerates his steps too.

The Gamma settlement is straight ahead but just over fifty meters away. The ancestors built the villages close to one another because no one wished to stray from the protection of the Yeti.

From what the Elders say, the wilderness beyond the mines is filled with giant cats, wolves who hunt in packs of over a hundred, and fur-covered beasts larger than our huts. Of course, we use earthly names when Enceladus’s animals barely resemble the pictures of their namesakes. Saturn forbid, we stray from the Earthling’s original observations. The predators eat the llamas, wildebeests, and long-necked goats native to Enceladus like Ku Huang. Maybe I should transfer her lead to the hand beside the Seer, so the pregnant goat walks between us. Hopefully, the Yeti will spare my goat with the promise of lamb meat and cheese.

He takes tributes and those are lavish bribes…

Delirious giggles bubble from my belly. Bribing a beast so he doesn’t eat my pet! My walking companions scowl at my outburst. But the idea is too ridiculous. If the Yeti is as feral as his legend, then what is to stop him mid-rampage from destroying the houses of the rich? Does he guide the dangerous cats away from the foreman’s shack and allow the cat to eat the poor miners who can’t afford to give him lavish gifts? Doesn’t it make more sense for the Yeti to be motivated to eat the cat—not earn the trinkets?Ha!If only the Elders could hear my thoughts… My second round of giggles earns shushes from the group.

A roar in the distance freezes our progress.

“Just the Yeti answering Our Dear Jaya,” the Seer says in a singsong voice and tugs me forward. Instead of settling the group, we march twice as fast. Every few steps, a group member gives me a weak smile, dripping with pity. You would think after collecting such smiles my whole life, they wouldn’t ignite a fire in my belly.

At least my anger insulates me against the cold.

The Gamma settlement doors open with a groan. Once a sliver of light escapes between the formidable stone panels, the villagers sprint toward safety. Adults hoist children or elderly family members onto their backs. Adults quickly shush laughing children. Snowpowder swirls around me as they kick their heels.

“Come Jaya,” the Seer says with another tug on my arm. I must have stopped walking when I couldn’t see through the snow. “We have much to discuss.”

We angle our path to cut between Delta and Gamma into the Great Beyond. The Seer points at a faint glow on the horizon. “I’m happy Pabu took my advice and hooked up the fusion generators in his temple. Your new home will be warm with adequate light.”

“Then it’s an upgrade from Alpha,” I mutter. Without the light pollution of the neighboring fusion plant into our hut, my family would have lived in darkness. I bet the next family has Epsilon crystals or the money to rent power from the fusion plant. Is it evil that I look forward to spending my last days without the pain of frostbite?

Wait, did the Seer just say she was on a first-name basis with the Yeti?

“Who’s Pabu?” My question is fishing, but hope pushes it through my lips. The stories call the Yeti just ‘The Yeti.’ Could Pabu be an appointed position like ‘Yeti keeper’ or ‘Yeti’s indentured servant?’ Pabu’s name means ‘fuzzy or furry’ in our language, so perhaps there is a human keeper. I may not only survive, but live in luxury with an unknown human husband.

“Pabu is the Great One who protects our villages. I received a vision requesting a companion a few months ago. He’s been alone as long as I’ve been alive. No records of a Yeti bride in the temple’s archives, either. I responded by explaining how to make his temple habitable for a human bride before my last tribute offering and the promise to collect his bride as his delegate at the next ceremony.”

“Thank you,” I say without malice. My curiosity loses its puff when she dashes my hopes of companionship to dust, but I will live through the night. Pabu asked for a wife, not a snack…if I believe her. “I’m grateful he’s not a mindless monster if he read your note. I’m sorry to leave my sisters—”

“He read nothing. We speak by telepathy. You will see. No need to be sorry for feeling the spiritual pull of your destiny,” she says softly. “You and I have a lot in common.”

“I highly doubt you have anything in common with a wretch like me.” I turn my glare on her, but she stares blankly ahead. It’s not the pull of destiny but the lack of choices that move my feet. Do I get this magical telepathy so I can beg for my life? Probably not, since she didn’t mention her powers until I asked.

I may have escaped Alpha, but not my role as a pawn.

Bitterness sets my temper ablaze. The anger within my heart reserved for my father needs a target, so I blast it in all directions. Ku Huang bleats and buts her head against my leg in agitation. “While you live snugly in your temple, the common people freeze and starve. Can’t you see their suffering when you accept their gifts of food and trinkets? We pay for your comfort for you to guide our spiritual—moral—whatever compass, while the brothel and mine owners govern the settlement—”

The grandeur of the Yeti’s temple cuts my tirade short. It’s carved into the only mountain as far as I can see. Battles between humanoid shapes and various beasts are etched into the rock, around a gigantic door. The scenes stand at three times my height! At the top of each scene, round holes glow with warmth. In the distance, they blended in with the stars, but looking closer; the light originates inside the mountain. Circles of light melt the snow on an imposing staircase. The stories of the temple construction haven’t done the dwelling justice. It’s the most beautiful structure I’ve ever seen.

I sigh with reverence as I step into one of the light beams and bask in the peaceful setting.

“Now you sound exactly like me,” the Seer says with a pat to her grey curls. Her remark breaks the spell of the temple. I resist the urge to snap at her. “My father was the town drunk before your father took up the mantel. But I was an only child. My marriage contract was a debt settlement, too. I had one foot inside the brothel when the previous Seer shared a vision with me. Imagine the chaos! Mr. Rinzen, younger but just as evil, raises his arm to stab his arrow into my dress pocket when my eyes roll to white. He looks to the Seer to complain when her eyes turn white, too. I wish I could have seen his tantrum when I was dragged from the bridal circle and bound to the Gods.”

“If you know what he does and how he treats his workers, why don’t you do something?” The Seer’s candid confession surprises me into a logical dialog instead of a shouting match. My fists loosen and the tension drains from my shoulders. If she rose to power as she says, why wouldn’t she lift those in her former position with her?

“Because in Alpha, trade speaks louder than the Gods,” she whispers as she steps into a neighboring circle of light. “As long as the customers have resources to trade for entertainment at the brothel, the temptation drowns out my voice.”

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