by Pedro Urvi
At that moment Ikai threw himself on Isaz, pulled him down and pinned him to the ground. “Stay still, Isaz, don’t kill him,” he said.
Karm took two steps forward and made ready to finish Isaz as he lay there. But Kyra stepped between them. “No, Karm! Don’t!”
He glanced at her, but in his eyes there shone a murderous fury. He tried to take a step, but Kyra hit him in the face with all her strength, and he toppled.
“Honus, hold your friend back before there’s a tragedy,” she said.
Honus hastened to Karm’s side and helped him to his feet. “What the hell are you doing?”
Karm said nothing. His eyes were still on Isaz, who was getting up with Ikai’s help.
Albana came to stand between the two men with her hands on her hips.
“Well now,” she said, looking first at one and then at the other. “It looks as though we have a serious dispute to settle…”
“Isaz told us what happened in Three Rivers,” Ikai said. “Karm must be lying.”
“I didn’t lie,” shouted Karm. “That swine made the Enforcers execute my sister!”
“That’s a filthy lie,” Isaz shot back. “It’s exactly the other way around. It was my sister they executed, just because this unscrupulous bastard was a sore loser.”
Albana studied both men. “We have an interesting dilemma here. One of you is lying, but which?”
Kyra turned to Honus. “You know him well. Is what he’s saying true?”
Honus’s eyes were on his friend. “We’ve spent years in the mines, we’re outlaws, I can tell you that much. I can assure you he’s the best man I know, I can vouch for that. But he’s never told me about his past. It’s something I’ve always known tormented him, but he never said a word about it and I respected his privacy. So I couldn’t tell. But if I had to bet on which of them is telling the truth, I’d bet my life on him.”
There was a silence.
“That’s not fair,” Isaz protested. “I’ve got no-one here to defend me.”
“You have us,” said Ikai. “You’ve been at the Shelter for a while. I trust you.”
“Isaz is one of us, that’s true,” said Kyra, “but it’s also true that Karm’s helped me on several occasions… and he could have turned me over to the Guard. I don’t know…”
“Who’s telling the truth and who isn’t?” Albana said. Her almond eyes were half-closed. “If there’s one thing life’s taught me, it’s that you can never trust anybody. For that reason I don’t believe either of them.”
“How do we sort this out, then?” Kyra asked.
“I think there’s something more here than meets the eye,” Albana said.
“What do you mean?”
“One of them isn’t telling the truth… but how is it possible that they’re both with us now? Coincidence? Really? One of them isn’t who he says he is, and happens to come across us, four of the Heroes? The most wanted individuals of all? I don’t believe it’s just coincidence. There aren’t many of those, and the most logical explanation is usually the right one.”
“A spy?” Ikai asked. He too was thinking about the possibility of a secret betrayal.
Albana nodded vehemently. “One of them’s a spy, and very probably either has already betrayed us, or else is going to.”
Kyra was reluctant to accept this. “That’s impossible!”
“Albana’s right,” Ikai agreed. “It’s no coincidence that whichever of them’s lying is here among us. This is betrayal.”
“I can get the truth out of them, if you want me to,” Albana said to him.
He read what was in her eyes, and knew it was within her power.
“It won’t be pleasant, though…”
He bowed his head. “All right then, do it.”
“Let the Surgeon tend to the wounds first,” begged Kyra. Ikai nodded.
Afterwards they were tied to the oak, one on each side of the thick trunk so they could not see each other. Miratos was tending to Romen inside the cave, and Honus was watching both him and Albana from the entrance.
Kyra and Urda watched Albana in silence.
“This is your last chance,” she said. “Confess now and you might come out of this alive. Once I start, I won’t stop. And there won’t be any mercy.”
“I’m telling the truth,” said Isaz.
“I have nothing to fear,” said Karm.
Albana drew the black daggers, then with a whiplash movement of both arms threw them at the two prisoners. The daggers stuck in the oak, one finger’s-breadth from their heads. Their eyes widened in horror, and they stiffened. She concentrated and with an incantation, invoked her Power. With a turn of her wrist, she produced a thread of unnatural blackness from her hand. As if it were alive, it danced sinuously and silently, expanding like a mist of horror. The watchers were held, fascinated and aghast. The two prisoners, with growing unease, watched the approach of the mist, like a black adder searching for a prey to sink its fangs into. The mist swirled around their bodies and covered them completely, from head to toe. Isaz and Karm began to whimper with pain as their faces vanished into the darkness. Albana murmured under her breath, and the mist thickened. The moans turned to screams of real pain. The two of them yelled as if a thousand flesh-eating beetles were devouring them.
In a deep, serene voice Albana said to them: “The one who is telling the truth has nothing to fear. The pain will go very soon. The one who is lying, though, will suffer this torture until he dies.” She murmured a few words more, and the torture intensified. By now the cries of pain were unbearable.
Ikai and Kyra turned to her, but she took no notice. She raised her arm and gave another turn of her wrist. The screams stopped as if swallowed by the mist, but the suffering went on.
Amid a gloomy silence, the torture went on for an eternity. But now that they could no longer hear the two prisoners, it was impossible to tell which was crying and which was not.
Finally Albana raised both her arms and twisted her wrists.
They heard a cry: “Stop it! For the love of Oxatsi, by all that’s most holy, stop it!”
“Confess,” said Albana.
“I confess! It’s me! It’s me!”
Albana turned her wrists again and the sinister mist vanished, revealing the bodies of both men. They were unharmed.
Ikai went up to the oak and faced the culprit.
“You had my trust, my affection, so why? Why, Isaz?”
“I had no choice,” he said. He was sobbing with pain. “They gave me no choice.”
“Who are you spying for?”
“Torkem, Sesmok’s High Priest…”
“Free Karm,” said Ikai.
Honus hastened to set his friend free. Karm fell into his arms.
“What have you told them, you treacherous rat?” said Kyra.
“Who you are. Torkem ordered me to set up an ambush to catch you. They want to bring you to the capital alive, to make a public example out of you in the main square.”
“So the people can see the heroes die and know there’s no hope,” Albana commented.
Ikai drew his sword. “What else have you told them?”
“Nothing, I swear. I didn’t have a chance.”
“Do they know about The Shelter?”
“No. They know it exists, but not where it is.”
Ikai looked at Albana, who shook her head.
Kyra punched Isaz hard in the stomach. “You bastard!”
Karm stood up and turned to Ikai, “Will you grant me the justice I’ve been looking for, so that my sister’s soul may rest in peace?”
Ikai thought about it. He did not wish to kill this man, who had been his friend and his companion. But he was a murderer and a spy for the enemy, and he could not be left alive. He glanced at Albana, who nodded. He turned to Urda, who nodded in turn. Then he turned to Kyra.
“Grant him his justice,” she said.
Ikai turned to Karm, “I grant it to you,” he said, and offered him his
sword.
“Nooo!” Isaz cried in desperation. “Have mercy!”
They left the spot, leaving Karm alone with Isaz. Inside the cave, Ikai said to the group: “I have a very bad feeling about this. We need to get to the Shelter as soon as we can.”
“Do you think that traitor might have told them where it is?” Kyra asked.
“Most likely.”
“In that case it won’t be there by the time we arrive,” said Albana. “The Enforcers wouldn’t lose a moment destroying it.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” said Ikai bitterly.
“What are we waiting for, then?” said Kyra. “Let’s go!”
The sword pierced Isaz’s heart. The last thing his eyes saw was the four Heroes of the Senoca galloping away free.
Chapter 23
They marched without stopping. Ikai could feel an emptiness in his chest he could not get rid of. Isaz’s betrayal had affected him deeply, and what was worse, left him with a fear for the lives of his mother and all the others at the Shelter.
“They’ll be all right, don’t you worry,” said Albana, who was riding beside him.
Ikai spurred his horse. They were already going at a gallop along the sand of the endless beach. To his left Mother Oxatsi, in all her emerald splendor, followed them in this race against time.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
The sea breeze whipped his face and tousled his hair, and he felt a brief relief. He did not want to think the worst ‒ his nature was not a pessimistic one ‒ but it was the most logical conclusion… and he always let reason guide him. If Isaz had given them away, then Sesmok would destroy the Shelter and kill everyone in it.
“They have to be all right,” said Kyra as she came up to them on her horse. His sister’s flaming hair flew in the wind and her ruby eyes gazed fearlessly into the distance. Clinging to her waist was Miratos the Surgeon. Ikai wished with his whole soul that his sister was right, but his mind told him the opposite. He glanced over his shoulder. Further back Urda and Romen were sharing a horse, with Karm and Honus sharing the last mount.
“They’re lagging further and further behind,” said Albana. She too was watching them.
“Too much weight,” Ikai said. He looked aside at his sister.
“Leave me behind. You two go on. I’ll follow as soon as I can.”
“We can leave him here and come back for him later,” Ikai said, with a nod towards Miratos.
“No way!” Kyra said flatly. “This one’s coming with me. I’m not going to let him leave my side, not after all it took to get hold of him!”
Ikai calculated the distance. It was not far; they could make it by nightfall if the horses held out.
“All right, little sis. We’ll go ahead. Don’t run your horse to death.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
“Very well then. We’ll see you at the Shelter!”
“Good luck!” Kyra said. There was concern in her eyes.
Ikai nodded and spurred his horse. Albana followed at once, leaving Kyra and the rest of the group behind as they set off along the final stretch of beach.
It was almost nightfall when he recognized the island in the distance. They were following the coastline. They had left the huge beaches behind them and were now riding along rocky cliffs.
He pointed ahead. “We’re there!”
Albana had already glimpsed the Shelter. “I’m not sure these poor beasts will last the course.”
“They’ll have to,” said Ikai.
But he too had doubts. He did not know much about horses, which were a luxury reserved for Proxies, nobles and the Guard. As a Hunter he had been trained in their use and care, but all he really knew was how to ride, together with the basics of looking after them. He was pleasantly surprised at how well the two horses had held out. When they had been made to cross the Boundary he had thought they would die. But those noble steeds had recovered from the traumatic experience. It had been hard work calming them down when they came back to their senses after crossing. They had been terrified. But now they knew that horses could cross the Boundary, even at the expense of some trauma. Necessity forces us to experiment and learn things we’d never imagined.
They turned a bend, and the island was revealed. The tide was high, lapping against the imposing cliffs. Against an orange sky, with the sun returning to the lap of Mother Sea, Ikai saw something which filled him with dread.
From the center of the island there rose a column of black smoke.
“Oh no!” he cried, and felt his worst forebodings had come true.
“It’s a big fire… and it’s coming from the village,” Albana said uneasily.
“No, no, no!” He cursed. The image of his mother and the other refugees, all dead amid an inferno of burning houses, came to his mind.
“The pass is underwater,” Albana said. “We’ll have to swim.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. We have to help them.”
They reached the pass and dismounted. He was ready to dive into the water when Albana caught his arm.
“Wait!”
He turned.
“If we swim over we’ll be an easy target for whoever might be waiting for us on the other side.”
“I don’t care.” He pointed at the black smoke rising sky-high. “We’ve got to help them.”
“The Guard and the Hunters are waiting for us ‒ or something worse, the Executors. It’s madness, Ikai, we have to think up a plan.”
“There’s no time, I must help them or else they’ll die… they’re my responsibility!”
Albana gazed at him, took his face in her hands and kissed him. She kissed him with a mixture of wild passion, tenderness and admiration. He felt an explosion of intoxicating feelings, and for an instant his senses swam.
“Go, but for Oxatsi’s sake, don’t let them kill you!”
“What about you?”
“I’ll take another route. We’ll have more chances that way.”
He nodded. He was about to dive into the water, but checked himself. He turned to her and kissed her, with unbridled passion, putting all the love, fire and anxiety he felt into that kiss. Then he leapt into the water.
He swam as if possessed. The anxiety for Solma’s fate and the rest of the refugees was eating him up from within. When he reached the island he got to his feet and looked towards the watch-post: it was deserted.
Where the hell are the Arken brothers? Why is nobody on duty? This looks bad. He ran to the village, through forest and jungle. He went so fast that he tripped and stumbled several times, but managed to keep his balance and avoid falling. At the edge of the village he stopped. If he kept on he would come into the open and be seen. He crouched, then from his hiding-place in the underbrush watched the huge column of smoke. He could hear shouts and voices from the village. He narrowed his eyes to see more clearly, but the glare of a great fire momentarily blinded him. He opened and closed his eyes several times until he recovered from the glare.
And then he saw what was happening. A dozen houses in the center of the village were burning. The people were running everywhere, trying to put the flames out. But there was no sign of Guard, Hunters or Enforcers. He could not believe it. He came out into the clearing and went on looking for the enemy, but they were not there. All he could see was the refugees fighting desperately against the flames in an attempt to save the village.
When he went closer he saw Idana carrying a pail of water, with her face smeared with ash. He ran to her.
“Idana!”
She stared at him in amazement. “Ikai! How? When did you get here?”
“I’ll explain later. What’s happened?”
“Lightning hit two of the houses. They caught fire as if they were made of straw, and we couldn’t stop it spreading to the next ones.”
“I see. And my mother?”
“She’s all right, don’t worry. We took the sick and children to the mill by the river. They’re safe t
here. The others are here trying to put the fire out.”
He stared at the terrible scene, the frantic efforts of the refugees to fight the fire while the flames destroyed their homes. Albana appeared at a run from the river.
“If we don’t control it now, it’ll destroy the whole village,” she said, and pointed to the center, where the flames were massive.
Ikai was watching his people’s uncontrolled, desperate efforts. “We need to get things organized. They’re running around like headless chickens, and they aren’t going to manage to put it out.”
“But how?” Idana asked. “What do we do?”
Ikai saw the Arkens and called them over. “Go with Albana and pull down the neighboring houses. We need a barrier to stop the fire spreading.”
“How do we do that?” asked the father. “The flames are too strong.”
“Albana will deal with it. Don’t be afraid of what you see her do. It’s for the good of everyone.”
Albana put her hand to her disc of the Shadows round her neck, charged with Power. “I’ll demolish them, don’t you worry,” she said, and took the father and his two sons with her.
“Come on, we have to organize the others,” Ikai said to Idana. He ran to them and made them form a human chain from the river to the heart of the flames, and the water began to reach where it was most needed. Two other groups beat the smaller outbreaks of fire with wet blankets and branches to stop them spreading.
After many hours of struggle they managed to isolate and reduce the main fire, and by dawn they had put it all out.
Idana, exhausted but happy, hastened to prepare balms for burns after helping those who had inhaled smoke.
“What a welcome, brother!” Kyra said with a malicious grin. She sank down beside Ikai where he was sitting on the ground, exhausted.
He smiled at the gibe. “You might all have hurried a bit more, instead of getting here when it’s already over and we don’t need you.”
