Lono swung the shaft of his spear in an arc across the front of his body. He missed--again. He spun the weapon into thrusting position and drove the shark-tooth tip forward. The jagged point pierced air. His right leg buckled from a low blow behind his knee. Small hands balled into tight, hard fists pounded his body. One blow connected against his left temple, dazing him. On one knee, Lono braced his weight against the spear-butt to keep from falling over.

They closed in again, he could not see them but he felt them near. Recovering his wits, he swung his fist and connected with flesh and coarse hair. Something substantial thudded to the ground. One of the attackers was down--temporarily, at least.

The dark interior of Lono's hut flared into blazing torchlight. Momentarily as dazed as his attackers by the light, Lono squinted. From slit eyes he saw the ka-man, Makani, brandishing a war club in one hand and a lit torch in the other, cursing as he came to assist.

At the ka-man’s arrival the intruders scrambled back into the hole from which they had invaded Lono’s home--a hole they had burrowed in the dark of night, directly into his hut. Even in the torchlight, they were invisible. Only scrambling sounds and the sandy soil shifting under unseen feet indicated their retreat.

A high-pitched scream from underground echoed through some unknown cavern.

"Give me my wife!" Lono shouted in frustration, swinging again at air. The little gods were gone. "Anakai!"

He leapt to the hole, but it was too narrow to enter with his rangy build. The small gods had made the passage diameter enough for their diminutive bodies, and the thin body of his wife. He shouted her name down the hole, terrified for her, imagined the earth around her like a tomb.

He scrambled to his feet, bronze-skinned chest heaving from exertion and the rush of adrenaline. He glanced at the ka-man, whose complexion was similarly bronzed, the common hue found among islanders raised in a warm climate. Makani's frame was shorter and broader than Lono's build. Lono ignored the crowd gathering before his entranceway, attracted by the sounds of commotion.

He looked back to the hole. "Why have they done this?"

The ka-man shrugged. "You need to ask them."

"I can't scramble through the dirt like some worm!"

"We don't need to," Makani said, pointing to the earthen maw that had violated Lono's privacy and thrown his simple life into chaos. "The little gods work stone, rarely earth. You heard the echo of Anakai's scream? There must be a stone chamber below, tunnels large enough even for us to pass."

The ka-man's blazing torch faded, consumed quickly by a flame Lono attributed to magic. Lono felt despair, the torch's death a second sunset in a single day's time.

Makani lit another torch, this one sputtering and not enhanced by magic.

"Gather weapons, water and food," Makani ordered.

Lono wasted no time.

# # #

They left behind a village murmuring in mourning and fear. Anakai was a popular member of the community, and she was considered a good luck charm. Fishing had been over-bountiful ever since her arrival. Though they feared the wrath of the little gods, no one challenged the duo's departure, especially with the presence of the ka-man. Lono thought it bad enough the little gods had ventured into the lands of the Kanae. Lono did not know their purpose with his wife, and he did not want anyone else involved in dealing with gods and spirits on his behalf. If the little gods had dealings with Lono, then he would let the consequences be on his own head.

"Why do they want her?"

"You're the one who married the daughter of a goddess," Makani said nonchalantly. "Bound to be trouble."

Lono's temper rose. It was hardly a time for humor. He glared at his friend's face and saw a wry grin, genuine and without malice. He could not help but grin, too. If Makani were not overly concerned, he would not be either. Who better to have at his side against the little gods than a ka-man?

"You're the one who introduced us," Lono reminded Makani. "And didn't mention that her mother was Thura until the day before we wed!"

The ka-man wrinkled a brow at the mention of Thura, the goddess of the sea.

"What?" Lono demanded.

"Nothing," said the ka-man, shaking his head.

At the side of a rocky hill, covered in dense greenery, Makani paused and spoke strange words--a language foreign to all except ka-men and witches. The vines clinging to the rock face untangled, revealing an opening in the side of the hill.

The entrance led into a network of tunnels, glistening with moisture. Makani navigated through the porous black rock as naturally as the little gods might have. Lono had been friends with Makani since they were children. For the most part, Lono felt no change in his friend since Makani had taken the mantle of ka-man. But there had been moments when he tangentially touched the ka-man's world and his skin had bumped up in chicken flesh. He wondered just how much of his friend's life was spent between the world they knew, and the spirit world--and in which world, he wondered, did Makani feel more at home?

Lono's burning leg muscles signaled they were traveling upward. Eventually they emerged on top of a jagged ridge that followed a line of densely forested hills, stretching far into the dawning daylight. Eating and drinking, they trotted along the little gods’ spoor. They dipped into a valley, thick with vegetation. Lono could see the trail clearly; crushed leaves of ferns, broken branches and the pink petals of disturbed koli'i shrubs revealed the little gods' rush through the jungle.

"We will catch them now!" Lono declared, his excitement growing.

"Will we?"

"Isn't it said they turn to stone in daylight?"

"Fine work that would be," Makani grunted. "Make our lives easier. Until, of course, we needed to break off hands that had turned to stone around your wife's arms and legs!"

"What of the other stories, then?" Lono protested. "Surely they will visible under the light of day."

"Barely," Makani answered. "Unless they are out in the open, under the blazing sun."

Lono's confidence faltered. It had been difficult to fight the little gods in darkness, but with their innate invisibility, daylight offered no advantage either.

The track led further into the valley, disappearing into a gap in a wall of bamboo trees. Lono wondered if the bamboo was natural or if the little gods had planted the wall, ages before, as a territorial warning line. If it were a warning, he ignored it without a second thought. He would not stop for any taboo of man, god or demon until Anakai was back in his arms.

Beyond the bamboo wall the forest was unnaturally dark under its canopy of thick green leaves of ohi'a trees. Lono had hunted boars in deep jungles many times. He felt as comfortable among the trees as he felt upon the open sea in an outrigger. But the forest of the little gods projected malevolence that clutched at his ka and played tricks with his mind.

"I feel like they are watching us," Lono whispered.

"Oh, they are," Makani said. The ka-man clutched his paddle-shaped war club. Inlaid eyes of paua shell glared balefully from the carved face on its reddish hardwood surface while the tongue poked out with defiance.

Lono planted one spear in the ground and readied the other in his hand.

The jungle erupted in uproar. Squawking birds took flight and small animals shrieked in alarm. The little gods wailed and screamed. Something large moved through the dense brush. Heavy feet thundered the ground.

A moa bird crashed through the underbrush directly behind Makani. The ka-man spun, but had little time to react. The flat of his war club slapped against the giant bipedal flightless bird's neck. The momentum of its leg knocked Makani aside. A second bird leapt from the thicket. The two moas were large--legs equal to the height of a man. Normally they were frightened of men, and would run unless cornered or protecting their young. Lono could see the ground-level woven ring of branches and leaves of the giant birds' nest. The little gods had led the two men into a natural trap.

From its feathered markings, Lono knew that he faced the male. The bird towered over him, raked at him with its powerful leg, trying to strike with its wicked talons. Lono avoided evisceration, stung the bird's limb with a jab of his spear. The bird squawked and snapped its head down at Lono. The hooked hawk-beak was strong and sharp enough to snap wood. Lono dodged to the side, beating the creature's head with the shaft of his spear.

Makani groaned loudly and rolled over onto his hands and knees. The female bird snatched clumsily, missing the ka-man. Makani scrambled behind the cover of a tree trunk. The bird's head and neck darted past the side of the tree like a striking serpent. Golden brown feathers rubbed off against the rough bark and danced in the air. Makani pressed against the tree, circling close to the trunk as the bird maneuvered for another strike.

Lono redoubled his efforts. He curled one spear shaft under his arm, keeping the point out and the moa's snapping head at bay. Lacking a shield, he held the second spear across his body. There wasn't much leverage to wield the weapon properly, and against a human foe it would be useless. But the bird was an animal, not a thinking man. He kept the alternating clutching legs at bay, tangling the claws with the crosswise shaft, but he found no chance for offense.

Lono heard a sharp crack. The female moa screeched in pain and thrust its head up toward the sky. Lono saw the long fracture in its beak, and saw the expression of grim satisfaction on Makani's face as he brandished his war club.

The male moa glanced briefly at its mate, concerned for her pain. Lono dropped the spear from his left hand and charged forward with the braced spear. He caught the moa under the breastbone, and drove the spear as deep and as high as he could, willing it through the tough flesh, hoping to rupture the heart or some other vital organ.

The bird screeched until gurgling blood muted its voice. Lono could not hold the spear against the spastic bird's great weight. He let go. The mortally wounded male careened wildly and slammed into its mate, knocking them both off balance. The dying bird collapsed in a heap. In panic and fear, the female bird crashed away into the jungle.

Lono hoped it would step on a little god for the trouble they had caused.

The ka-man winced as he pushed upright and sat against the tree. Lono saw the paleness under his friend's tan flesh. The ka-man held his side.

"Did it crack your rib?" Lono crouched beside his friend.

"Probably more than one," Makani hissed through the pain.

Lono felt a tug at his waist. He whirled, but it was too late. His dagger leapt through the air, held by an unseen hand, and darted at the ka-man’s throat.

But it stopped short, pressing against the side of the injured ka-man’s neck.

“What do you want?” Lono said, trying to stay calm in spite of his temper and his frustration.

“What do you want?” a rasping voice replied. It sounded like dirt shaking onto and pouring over rock.

“My wife,” Lono said. He wanted to add derogatory comments concerning tiny demons but held his tongue for the sake of his friend.

“And know this, little god,” Makani spoke with deliberate calm hiding any hint of pain. “We will not rest until Anakai returns to her husband.”

His friend’s words and attitude stirred passion in Lono’s breast. “My death or your deaths, little god, are all that can stop me from taking back my wife!”

“Kanae,” the little god’s voice reflected a sneer they could not see. “Mere men. You boast of battling gods?”

The knife was tossed to the ground at Lono’s feet. The little god's voice came from everywhere as he kept circling around them, careful not to stay in one spot where they might discern his position and attack. The thick shadows from the roof of the forest kept him invisible. Once or twice Lono caught a glimpse of gray when the tiny god passed quickly through a sunbeam.

"Are you brave enough, Kanae," the little god asked. "To storm into the chamber of the king of the little gods and take back your wife?"

"Who is this king?" Lono demanded.

"He is called Kaang. Do not let his size deceive you. Have my little brothers not already taken your wife?” The little god asked rhetorically, though the words held more taunt than his inflection. “Will you storm his hall and take his head to regain the woman?"

"I have already said as much," Lono said. "What does it matter to you? And by what name are you known?"

"My name is Toku," the disembodied voice answered. "And I would see Kaang dead."

"Do you wish to take his throne?" Makani chuckled mirthlessly between clenched teeth. "Are the gods as petty as the Kanae? As weak as a man with dreams of ruling over others?"

"Let us say I want to see you rescue your wife from his clutches," the small god told Lono. "So, we both want the same thing."

“Then you will lead us to this hall as soon as my friend can move,” Lono told Toku. He did not care if the little god took offense at being given an order by a Kanae.

"We cannot," the tiny god replied ruefully. "If Kaang takes her as a wife, the bond cannot be undone."

Lono looked sharply at the source of the voice. "She is my wife, and that is the bond that won't be broken."

"Kaang is a king of gods," Toku explained. "Your wife is the Daughter of the Sea--a goddess that chose human form. Because you are mortal, Kaang sees your claim on her as meaningless and void."

"And what do you believe?" Makani asked.

"I believe if you kill Kaang,” Toku answered. “No other gods would bother you over the matter of this woman ever again."

Lono looked to his injured friend. He did not want to leave the ka-man behind, wounded and alone.

“Go, I can take care of myself," Makani said.

Lono’s hands squeezed and wrung the shaft of his spear. "Lead the way, little god."

# # #

Lono followed Toku's strange singing. He could only discern bits of the lyrics, but the song held the theme of fleeting love. The song sounded like a dirge coming from that gravely voice.

Clouds hurried across the late afternoon sky. A sharp mountain jutted skyward. Vegetation managed timorous holds upon its sloping surfaces and sharp angled crags. A cave sat halfway up the side of the great peak.

"That is the home of the little gods?"

"We make homes where we please," said Toku. "But that is our king's great dwelling place."

The black volcanic rock of the mountain cut Lono's feet and hands as he scrambled upward. The wind pushed against his progress as he rose above the canopy of the forest trees. He wondered if magic of the little gods drove the breeze. Did they know he was coming? What of Toku? Was he to be trusted? Lono pushed away the distracting thoughts. Nothing mattered more than saving his wife from the clutches of the little gods. He would deal with anything that stood in his way.

He rested at the cave mouth and peered into the inky darkness. "Toku? What now?"

"I must leave, already I will have been missed." Toku explained. "Go down, ever down. You will then find three tunnels. Take the center."

"And my torch?" Lono asked. "They will know I come."

"Did you mean to take the king by stealth, in his own world of darkness?" Toku snorted. "Perhaps your mind is as dull as I first thought."

Lono did not reply.

"Feel your way along the walls, strike like a snake in the night," Toku advised. The little god's words were already fading into the maw of the cave, echoing slightly. "Or, stride in with torch aloft and make your challenge. I do not think the outcome will change."

Lono did not appreciate the slur against his courage, but Toku was too far ahead to hear any retort. Lono lit his last torch and entered the cave.

The passage downward was a natural tunnel, though the floor had been worn smooth by centuries of the stocky gods entering and leaving their subterranean stronghold. With spear in one hand and torch in the other, Lono had no free hand for balance and more than once his legs slipped and he landed hard against the rock. By the time he reached the bottom, he bled from multiple tiny cuts and he was bruised all over. He pushed the pain away, let it fuel his anger. If not all the little gods had watched his descent with merriment, he was certain Toku observed and he could almost hear the little god's gravely voice tittering.

Recalling his dignity, Lono pushed back his shoulders, stood tall and proud, and entered the center tunnel. The rock surroundings pressed in on his mind. He wore only a torn and battered sarong. Nervous sweat on his skin went clammy when it reached the cool air, chilling him.

He hummed; he thumped a rhythm with his striding feet. His hum became a chant. He would have beat upon his chest if he had a free hand. The chant became a loud song. He sang songs of his father and grandfathers and ancestors. He reached a crescendo with a song declaring his own brave exploits and the rocks rumbled with his bellowing voice. By the time he emerged into a large chamber--so large his torch could not limn the far corners--he felt like a god, full of thunder and bravery.

Anakai was there; trussed like a pig, tossed carelessly at the foot of a crude wooden throne. Her terror-filled eyes streamed tears and she screamed to her husband though the cloth in her mouth muffled the cries.

"Kaang!" Lono hollered as he jammed the torch upright into a crevice. He did not apologize and he offered no supplications for invading the palace of the little gods and their king. He pointed at the seat where sat a king unseen to his human eyes. "I am here for my wife! Yield her to me or die now!"

All was silent for a moment, and then Lono heard the soles of bare feet slapping rock. He let his spear fly before the little gods could hold him fast. The spear thudded into the throne. A voice cursed and screamed gutturally from the floor beside the seat. Lono knew that he had missed the king, but he felt some satisfaction - the mighty Kaang had scrambled from the throne to save his hide.

Fists pummeled Lono's body, attacking his knees, ankles and groin, folding him over to the little gods’ own level. Fingers with talon nails ripped furrows in his skin. Lono kicked and punched--his enemies invisible to the eye but solid and real to his fists. They were too many for his blows to miss. The small sturdy bodies pressed against him until he felt he could not breathe - could not move.

"Is this how the gods make combat?" Toku's voice called out over the din. The little gods halted their attack. "Do we fight as men, with no regard for honor? Do we fight a hundred against one? His size should be no hindrance to our courage!"

Lono felt the press of bodies recede, clearing a space around him.

Invisible hands yanked Lono's spear from the wooden chair, dropped it on the ground. The seat bowled under an invisible weight. "What is this, Toku?" demanded a disembodied voice that must have been Kaang's. "Is this some trick? Did you bring some champion to take my throne for you?"

Lono wondered how well the unseen little gods could see each other. Did Toku's face show surprise, or did it successfully feign ignorance?

"You took this man's woman," Toku said smoothly. He avoided describing Anakai as Lono's wife, as that point was apparently yet to be proven in Kaang's eyes. "He tracked us here. It is no concern of mine. But I am concerned for our honor. He brings you a challenge."

"He is a man," Kaang countered. "He has no claim to what is mine."

"If you see fit, as a god, to take what you please, then I do the same, as a man." Lono said, not waiting for Toku's reply to the king. "Are you frightened of a man, then, little god? You king of rocks lower than a snake might travel?"

A deafening silence followed Lono's insult. The throne creaked as Kaang's bulk lifted from the seat. From the sound alone Lono judged the king to be twice the breadth of his brethren, but how much taller he could not guess.

"I will fight you alone," Kaang's voice came from directly in front of Lono, a mere length away. "And I will kill you. The woman will be my bride. Your head will be returned to your people. And men will remember their place in this world!"

Stealing the initiative, Kaang leapt through the air, catching Lono unaware as the stocky, compacted weight slammed into Lono’s chest like a flung boulder. Lono sprawled onto the floor upon his back, completely vulnerable. But the king’s attack had lacked grace, and the little god landed off-balance beside Lono instead of on top of him.

Lono scrambled to his feet, grunted in pain as hard fists impacted two hard blows upon his lower back and left kidney. He spun and kicked air, grasped out with one hand and felt nothing. His next punch painfully side-scraped a rock that seemed to step out from the wall. He looked to his torch and saw the flame sputtering towards its end.

Throwing punches, turning back and forth wildly, Lono grinned with malice when his fist finally connected with the flesh of Kaang. He felt bone beneath his curled fingers, but the bone did not yield, and it was near to punching stone. Two simultaneous hits, one to his knee--which felt as though it had folded back under the blow--and one to his abdomen, dropped him to the hard ground. Gasping, Lono pushed up, but his side was on fire and when he curled his injured leg under his body, a blazing sheet of white-hot pain overloaded every nerve in his shaking body.

Anakai’s muffled screams pitched higher with fear and futile attempts at warning. Lono could not see his enemy, but the small hairs on his neck stood up at the feeling of a malevolent presence looming over his head. He envisioned Kaang, standing with hands joined and raised high, ready to deliver the crushing deathblow with those rock-like fists.

But instead of death, Lono saw the sun.

It blazed high against the ceiling of the underground chamber, as though the chamber had no roof and the afternoon sky was open and free. The little gods screeched in horror. In their deepest chamber, exposed to the light of day, exposed to the sight of man, no longer invisible, their magic nullified - they were terrified.

As his eyes adjusted to the bright light, Lono did see Kaang, standing over him, arms raised as he had imagined. The sight of the little god was alien and repugnant to Lono’s sensibilities. Pallid skin covered with blotches of gray in varying shades. Arms as thick as the legs, but the fists were too small in proportion to the forearms and they were of unequal size to each other. Body hair grew unevenly in thick patches, rough and bristling like the hide of a boar. The face reflected inherent malignancy in its visage, and the dull eyes were as large and as black as shark’s eyes.

Momentarily, Lono thought the legends were true - Kaang stood as motionless as stone. But he realized the shock of the sudden brightness held the king of the little gods in place. Lono heaved aside his aching body and his eyes quickly surveyed the king’s chamber.

Makani stood at the passageway, one arm clutching across his injured chest. The other hand lifted high, as though he held the sun against the ceiling. The other little gods--as ugly as their mighty king but not as large in stature--scrambled chaotically, slamming into each other in their panic and temporary blindness. But one little god leaned over Anakai, cutting her bonds and removing the gag from her mouth. It must have been Toku.

Lono lurched up haphazardly. Kaang was as dangerous as ever, relatively unwounded, and had regained his senses. He lunged at Lono.

Lono’s hands latched firmly around the Kaang’s corded neck. A red mist of rage clouded Lono's senses. Vaguely aware of Kaang's great fist beating on his head, Lono lifted the little god high, continuing to squeeze. Flailing legs thumped against his chest. Kaang's smaller hand desperately clawed at Lono's arm and pried at the man's clenched fingers.

Lono felt nothing. He freed one hand and grasped Kaang's thigh, lifted the heavy-set creature over his head, and with thews straining hurled his adversary against the rock wall. Bones cracked. The body slid down the wall, slowed by protrusions of rock until finally it rolled onto the floor. The limbs fell askew and the head cocked limply to the side. Kaang's dead stare fixed on Lono.

Unspent adrenaline and surging blood trembled Lono's entire body. With the distraction of mortal combat dissipating, he grew aware of the great pains along his arm and chest. His head throbbed painfully. The great hall of the little gods spun wildly. A sea of tiny, gray twisted faces looked balefully at him.

Lono thought it strange the floor rose rapidly toward his face. The impact of crashing to the ground momentarily restored his senses, and as he realized he had collapsed, all went black.

# # #

They journeyed through the land of the little gods, with a royal escort. They had remained with the little gods until they were fit for travel and outfitted with new garments. At the bamboo wall, King Toku and the small gods bade them farewell with gifts of necklaces of gleaming stones.

Lono could not stop admiring his wife. Her beautiful features were even more precious to him now. Thick long dark hair, a playful smile, and a lithe tanned body--he yearned for the privacy of their home and bed. And he had missed her voice terribly, even though the entire ordeal had not been as long in duration as it had seemed.

They halted beside a pool for a rest. Anakai waded into the water and doused under the waterfall.

“You did well,” Makani commented quietly to Lono.

“I did what I needed to,” Lono said.

“Toku was impressed.”

“I made him king of the little gods, he should be!”

“You gained his worthy approval.”

“Approval? Of what?”

“Anakai is the Daughter of the Sea,” Makani said with a mischievous grin. “Have you never wondered who her father might be?"

Lono stared at his wife. She was beautiful, a lesser goddess but unequaled by women of the Kanae in comeliness and grace. Her father was a little god - a ghastly ugly creature of the earth?

Anakai waved to her husband. She pulled her hands toward her chest, urging him with a trilling voice in a birdsong call to join her in the water. Lono shook his head and broke his stare. He joined his wife in the wading pool, while Makani's laugh rang in his ears.