Free The Sea Is Ours by Jaymee Goh Page B

who lived there, they quickly grasped that these creatures were sacred and served as messengers for the diwata. The poisons they’d unleashed had been cleansed by Kagubutan and her sisters but not before they claimed their targets.
    She blew into the little wooden snake’s face. “Tell your mistress that I come with guests.”
    A tiny tongue, made of a sliver of palm, flickered as if tasting the air before the snake slipped down her arm, then torso, then leg. It moved through the grass and over the edge of the chasm.
    Maria Flora was delighted. “How brilliant! I’ve never seen such a thing. I hear the automatons in Europa are made of metal.”
    â€œMetal is not alive,” Udaya murmured. “It lacks a soul.”
    Javier was considerably less impressed. “That doesn’t solve the problem of us crossing-”
    A loud crack interrupted him. Before them, a delicate bridge of narra constructed itself, one plank and cross-beam as a time. Udaya noted with amusement that the design was more ornate than usual. The duende were showing off. Not a bad idea, considering her companions.
    â€œCome.” She gestured to Maria Flora and Father Ignacio and stepped into the bridge. She walked slowly, allowing the structure to form. The others followed behind her but their uneven footsteps revealed their trepidation. “It is stronger than it looks. We won’t fall provided you don’t outpace the building.”
    â€œHow is it staying up?” Father Ignacio asked.
    Duende ingenuity. “Magic.” Her mouth curved as the reply only further fueled their curiosity.
    As always, some things were best left unsaid. Unlike the tikbalang, duende were small. For all their brilliance, their appearance did not strike fear. No need to inform outsiders of their existence.
    ~*~
    Udaya led them into the balete. For her, the trailing branches parted. After a brief touch, they did the same for Maria Flora. Father Ignacio navigated with difficulty, but he too eventually made it past the obstacle. Even so, she noticed the way the branches hovered after him as if waiting. An unclear judgment.
    Javier, however, could not pass. Udaya stared at the bodyguard, ensnared thoroughly by the branches and hissed softly, baring her teeth at him.
    Maria Flora looked at her in concern. “Should we help him?”
    â€œNo,” she replied flatly. “The balete has judged and found him lacking. He waits outside.”
    â€œOh, but—” The ambassador glanced in worry at the priest.
    Father Ignacio shook his head. “It is all right. If I wish for there to be true peace between our people, I must show trust.” He sighed at his bodyguard’s predicament. “I wish others would follow that example.”
    Pitiful Javier. Even his charge disapproved of him.
    Udaya led them inside, abandoning the bodyguard. He’d be there when they returned. The balete would take good care of him.
    Several gold-framed boxes lined the spiraling walkway that descended into the balete. Translucent, they displayed their contents clearly in the mid-afternoon sun.
    Maria Flora touched one. “They’re cold!”
    Father Ignacio peered at the contraption. “These are similar to the transport boxes carried by the Manila galleons, aren’t they?”
    â€œYes, the Kalakalang Galyons,” Udaya murmured. “They are modified and made larger though.” Nothing the archipelago and Americana Mexica traded required such large containers.
    â€œFascinating.” The priest adjusted his spectacles and studied the contents. Each box held the figure of a kneeling woman, her head bowed and eyes closed in repose. Clothed in simple garments that left the shoulders and backs bare, a single gumamela decorated their neat, tidy buns. “You made them into receptacles for art. I see the Diwata Kagubutan is a lover of beauty.”
    â€œShe loves natural beauty, yes.” Udaya met Maria