“How did you lose your family?” Djola called to her, using a friendly tone. “Run, little one, this way to me. I have a mango for you.” He held up a piece of fruit and laughed. “A wild one, aren’t you, and strong. You can do it.”

The Elephant was exhausted and her legs gave out. She tumbled back into muck. The bank was too steep, too slippery. There was no way out.

“Want a bite?” Djola tossed the mango in the air. “Come get it.” The Elephant loved mangos. She walked down the river toward him and tugged at a sapling on the bank with her trunk. “Good girl. Not so steep. Do you hear your mothers calling?”

The mud muffled sounds traveling through the ground. Only soggy jibber jabber reached the Elephant’s feet. She tugged and tugged. From tough stem to sturdy roots, the sapling resisted her trunk. A young cathedral tree, it refused to join the Elephant in the river. She had to join the tree on land. Packed dirt was joy under her feet. The ground rumbled. Her family called, searching for her. The Elephant rumbled a message back to them. She promised to follow their sounds and find them, before anyone ate her. Djola held out hunks of mango. The Elephant grabbed them as she hurried by, scant nourishment for a long journey.

“You took the whole thing.” Djola laughed again. The Elephant carried his sounds and smells with her as she hurried to her family.

Today, Djola does not laugh as Empire guards haul him toward the docks.

Other bad men on horses, hearts pumping, the smell of predators in their sweat, race after Djola and the guards. These men hunger for Djola’s heart. The Elephant is close enough to see their eyes shine with fear as they draw their blades. The men do not see an elephant, only shadows. The horses catch elephant-scent and a glimpse of angry ears flared wide. She stands in an entrance to Kyrie’s wise-woman corridor, hidden by rocks and laurel trees. The Elephant trumpets, flaps her ears, and throws up a cloud of dirt. The horses are spooked and dash back the way they came. The riders curse and spit. Some fall on the ground and are dragged in dirt. A few slam into cathedral tree trunks and shriek. The Empire guards shriek too. They drive Djola faster down the alley toward the docks. The Elephant steps out of the corridor to follow them.

“No, no! They’ll kill us both.” Djola waves at her to stay away. He stands near a gangway to a boat as the guards banter with a seaman. “Save yourself.”