“I wonder why they were torturing that child,” Arkon said as he removed the cowl from his head and settled on his gelding. “It couldn’t be because he was a thief?”
“There wasn’t any time to ask.” Zo grunted as she also removed her cowl. Her face was streaked with raindrops. She coughed. “In any case, it was probably for sport. What could they have hoped to get from a young child?”
Arkon didn’t answer. He was wondering about the same thing. Why would two mages use their time to torture a small child? Had it really been a diversion from their usual pursuits or did they have some other motive on their mind?
Well, they would never know now.
As dusk fell over the land, the rain stopped altogether. The sky turned a crimson red, and dark, deep shadows lengthened in the forest. Soon, it was near impossible to see ahead. They made their camp under an elm tree. The tree trunk was wide enough for them to rest against, and its branches were dense enough to protect them partially from rain, if there was any at night.
The ground was mushy and wet. It would be an uncomfortable night, more so because they couldn’t risk making a fire. The mages would be up by now, and perhaps looking for them. It wouldn’t do to give away their position. Arkon fed the horses and started wiping his gelding down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the princess’s graceful motion as she wiped her mare, murmuring to the animal in a soothing voice. Erob hurriedly groomed his own horse and plopped down on the grass, looking disinclined to talk.
In her attack against the mages, the princess had displayed exquisite control and formidable power. Arkon realized it would have been an easy matter for her to kill them. Her rage over Ria’s death hadn’t dissipated. She was still grieving for the healer, and the mages could have been a good target for some of her pent-up anger. They didn’t have any warning at all, and also no time to react. Still, she chose to render them unconscious.
This made him respect her more. She knew her limits – and had value for life, even if it was someone she loathed. Although, he suspected, as they progressed further, they might not have the luxury to be so kind to their enemies.
After finishing the lengthy grooming process, Arkon prepared a dry meal of cheese, bread and dried apricots. Later, they all wrapped themselves in their cloaks, and went to sleep.
The night was uneventful. At dawn, Arkon woke to the sounds of a bird chirping on a branch right above his head. He rubbed his eyes, and sat. With one hand, he pushed back his hair and stood.
Turning around, he froze.
Just beyond the shadow of the oak tree sat the little boy Zo had saved last night. He was sitting cross-legged on a large rock, staring at them. Even as he saw Arkon stand, his attention remained fixed on Zo, and he remained quiet and still. For a moment, Arkon didn’t know what to do.
What was the child doing here? Why hadn’t he run off to join his parents? And how had he found them?
Another paralyzing thought struck his mind; if this child managed to find them with such ease, was it possible that the two mages were not far behind?
He sensed Zo stir and looked at her. She sat up with a fluid grace. Her hair, short and messy, tumbled over her face and she shook her head, as if freeing herself from the last remnants of her sleep.
“Ummm…we’ve a visitor,” he said.
She turned her head, and saw the child. “What’s he doing here?” She frowned and patted her hair.
Arkon gestured with his hand, and motioned for the child to join them. The boy stood and walked forward. He was wearing the same clothes as last night. If possible, his face was even dirtier. His hands and feet were caked with dirt. It was clear he’d slept on the open ground.
“Where did that little tyke came from?” Erob woke. “Is he the same boy?”
Arkon nodded. “He is.”
“Why didn’t you go home, boy?” Standing, Zo towered over the child, glaring at him.
Arkon placed a hand on the child’s shoulder. “Perhaps he doesn’t have a home?”
“Well…” She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, her mind clearly elsewhere. “Give him some food, and show him the way to the nearest village. I’m going to wash, and change.” Picking up her pack, she disappeared behind the tree.
Arkon sighed. Trust the princess to dump this mess in his lap once more. What did he know about children? What was he supposed to do? He looked the boy up and down. “You could do with a wash too, and you too,” he said to Erob.
Picking up his water skin, he tipped it and motioned for the child to wash his hands. The boy complied meekly. After his hands were reasonably clean, Arkon gave him two pieces of bread and apricots. As he sat to eat, Arkon attended to the horses, giving them water and oats. He loosened the reins so the animals could graze the grass.
The child finished the meal quickly, taking in ravenous bites of the bread as if he hadn’t eaten for weeks. Arkon gave him two more pieces of bread before he appeared satisfied. Zo returned. She had changed her clothes, and tied her short hair back. An astonished look crossed her face when she saw the child still at their camp site.
“I believe I shall take a bath,” Erob announced theatrically.
“About time,” muttered Arkon as their guide vanished behind the trees.
“What’s the child still doing here?” Zo tied her pack to her mare, and patted the animal on its flank.
“He doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave.”
“Hey, boy! Where are you parents?” Zo knelt next to the child.
The boy looked at her. With one grubby hand, he reached forward to touch her face.
Zo straightened. She wrinkled her nose. “He needs a wash. I can smell him a mile off.”
“Perhaps he doesn’t have parents?” Arkon worried. Could they leave the child in the forest alone? What would he do? What if the mages caught him again? “Why were those bad men after you?” he said to the boy.
The child looked at him and shrugged.
“Well, at least he can understand us. Perhaps, he can’t speak?” Zo inspected the child with narrowed eyes. “Give him a wash,” she instructed Arkon. “We’ll leave him at the nearest village.” She sounded disgusted with her own decision. “Can’t just leave him wandering the forest on his own,” she muttered and stomped off to rest at the foot of the tree.
Arkon suppressed a smile, and motioned for the boy to get up. No matter how hard the princess tried, it was evident she found it impossible to subdue her softer side. Well, since he was due for a wash himself, he might as well take the child along. As soon as they came across a village, they would dump the boy, and move on. Somebody was bound to take care of him.
With the child in tow, he walked to the stream to wash. They had already wasted enough time yesterday due to the rain. If the goddess was willing they would make good time today.
Chapter Eight
All their plans to get rid of the child proved useless. He was like a bloodhound, following them each night with an uncanny sense of direction. Every evening they found him sitting by their fire, and even if they chased him away, he was back by dawn, staring at Zo with a piercing gaze.
Twice Arkon grabbed him by the ear and took him to the nearest village, giving him into the care of a generous family. Erob threatened the child with a stick, once even banging him on his butt. Only Zo’s ferocious growl stopped him from hitting the child more.
On the afternoon of the fifth day, they forded a bulging river, holding on to the horses to keep themselves afloat. Zo was sure the boy would not dare to follow them across the dangerously roaring river. To her disbelief, he was sitting by their campfire by evening, sneezing away. Zo gave him a cup of hot water in which she mixed a prepared dose of healing potion made by her sister Alicia.
She glared at the child as he drank the potion.
“We can’t just leave him to follow us around the countryside. He is likely to drown or die if he keeps at it. At the next village we should buy some clothes for him,” she told Arkon.
Er
ob raised his hands away from the heat of the fire. “You don’t mean…surely, you don’t intend to take him with us all the way to the plateau?” he sputtered.
“He’s planning to come with us, no matter what we do.” She wiped a hand over her brow. “The boy’s a menace, but we’ll have to take him along, or else he will kill himself trying to follow us.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” Erob grumbled. “He’s of no use to us, and it’s going to be a nuisance to take care of him all the way through.”
Zo stood in front of him, and planted her fists on her hips. “You want him to cross the next river and drown?”
“They aren’t any more rivers on our way,” he said.
Zo lifted her eyebrow. “He could be stalked by a lion, eaten by a hyena pack…”
Standing, Erob faced the princess. “Fine. As you wish but I’m not taking any responsibility for him.” Dusting his hands off, he walked in the direction of the stream.
Arkon cleared his throat.
Zo glared at him. “You’ve anything to say?”
“If we don’t take him under our protection, he would most likely die but taking him along would slow us down.”
“We don’t have a choice. Hey, stop that!” Zo lifted her pack out of the child’s hands. “Give him some food,” she told Arkon.
“Great. First a cook, now a babysitter,” he mumbled.
“Did you say something?” Zo turned to frown at him.
“No, princess.” He sighed and stood. “I’ll see to it that the child’s well fed.”
“Good.” Zo wasn’t happy with this turn of events. The child was bound to be a liability but she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him at the mercy of wild animals out in the hazardous land. What’s more, she sensed pursuit.
Someone was tracking them.
Her magic had long ago detected the presence of other mages who were following their tracks. They were still far off, but they were moving in the same direction. Leaving the child behind meant letting him fall in their hands, and she knew what they would do; they would kill him.
She had already seen enough massacres to last her a lifetime. Whether she chose it or not, the child was now her responsibility.
As she waited for Arkon to bathe and feed the child, she took out the leather diary of the old mage they had encountered in the village. Even though she had searched through its pages many times, it was impossible to understand the language. It was an arcane script she couldn’t identify. She used magic on it to see if it revealed any secrets, but none of her spells worked. It meant that no magic existed to protect the writing. Instead the writing itself was a code. As she ran her fingers over the faded black words on the first page, she wondered why the old man died trying to protect it.
Arkon returned with the boy. The child snuggled up to Zo, staring at the diary.
“What’s your name?” Zo asked him.
“I don’t think he can talk.” Arkon went to the horses to give them water and grain.
“Leo,” whispered the boy. His gaze was fixed on the diary page, almost as if transfixed by what he saw there.
“What?” Zo looked at Arkon. Both of them stared at the child. This was the first time he’d uttered a word.
“Your name is Leo?” Arkon sat in front of the child, and used his fingers to lift the boy’s chin. He stared into the child’s mesmerizing eyes. “Why didn’t you tell us before?”
“Why the hell didn’t you talk before?” Zo barked out the words as the boy raised his hands to pick up her pack. He seemed to have an innate fascination with her things. “Where are your parents?”
“All dead.”
No wonder the child was always following them. He had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Probably he felt safe with them because they had saved his life. She snatched her pack away from his prying hands, and shoved the diary inside. They had no option left but to take him along. She would decide what to do with him later. Perhaps once he felt secure, he would agree to stay with another family.
Once Arkon and Leo returned, they resumed their journey. The boy sat alongside Zo on her horse. He didn't seem to mind the punishing pace they set. Instead, he appeared happy to be with them. At night he shared a blanket with Zo.
Zo was concerned with the trackers who were chasing them. They were getting closer. She could feel the fetid breath of their evil magic in her bones. She debated telling her companions about them, but discarded the idea. The worry was an extra burden they could all do without.
Late afternoon, they reached the edge of the chasm that blocked the path to the mountain of Ibarjan.
“Oh, dear goddess!” Zo breathed out the words.
A massive army was spread over the land, directly across their path. Horses, men, tents and wagons all melded into one long sensuous body. It was impossible to see the far end of it. Smokes rose from the many fires that burned deep within their camps. They were too far away to hear any noise, but an army of this size was equivalent to a large town, and Zo was sure that if they neared its tail end, the din from the wagons, men, and horses would be deafening.
“How big…?”
“Nearly three thousand strong,” Arkon said with awe.
Zo felt the shock in her belly. Three thousand strong was a huge number. No one could withstand against an army of that size. What chance did the other kingdoms have? None! They would never be able to assemble a force of such gigantic proportions.
King Vindha was intent on uniting the whole of mainland under his banner. Zo already knew that, but now seeing the army, the thought finally penetrated her mind and became an absolute reality.
“The war is upon us,” she said, finally able to reach the conclusion she’d been unwilling, or unable, to make until now. No one kingdom could remain neutral in this fight for freedom. This wasn’t merely about a fight between two nations. This was about the liberty and basic rights of millions of people, all belonging to different kingdoms.
Whether they chose to do so or not, Iram would have to become involved in this war. It would be impossible to stay aloof. In any case, once the whole mainland was under his control, surely Vindha would turn his attention to their tiny island.
“We’ll have to skirt around them” said Erob.
A worried note crept into Arkon’s voice. “If we’re caught in their camp, there would be no chance for escape.”
Zo looked to their left, away from the army. The chasm circled the forests beyond which stood the majestic lone mountain. If they turned to the left, they would have to follow the edge of the chasm for leagues before they could access the path towards the mountain. Once on the mountain, they would have to circle back towards the plateau. The way to the left was longer. It would add several days of travel to their journey.
To their right, the army blocked their path. The map clearly showed the shortest path, but that would lead them through the enemies’ camp. If they skirted around them, it would take several days, and not only that, it put them at risk for detection by sentries and spies.
Erob scratched his scalp. “We could wait for them to move out,” he suggested.
“It might take days. Armies are notoriously slow. The supply wagons move first and set up camp, the main body follows and the revelers and riffraff trail behind at their own pace. And see how they are setting up tents even now.” Arkon pointed with his finger. “They might rest here for days before resuming their journey. Let’s all move back into the forest. I don’t want to stand here and risk running into a scouting patrol.”
They eased back into the relative safety of a copse of trees.
“We can’t wait for them to move. Can’t we walk through them? They might think we belong to their camp,” said Zo. She could create an illusion but if they ran into a mage, her spell could be easily detected. Magic left traces, and anyone on the lookout for its use would be able to pinpoint its source straight to them. It would be a risky endeavor.
“I can pretend to be a cook, or a stable hand,” Erob smir
ked. “ The great hulk here could pretend to be a newly joint recruit…but what of you and the child? Perhaps you could pretend to be…”
Zo’s ferocious glare caused him to shut his mouth. “I was thinking of using magic,” she said. “It would be dangerous though. If one of their mages probed, the illusion could shatter while we are in the middle of the camp.”
Arkon pursed his lips. “If we’re caught…”
Zo nodded. She understood his fears. Even while crossing the camp, someone may challenge them, ask to see their identity. If they were caught, it would mean a battle, and she didn’t have the power to fight the great number of mages that were bound to be present with an army of this size. No. They would have to come up with another plan.
Clearly, there was only one alternative left. Zima had specially told her to not to do it. Ancient magic lurked there, she had warned. It would not be safe. But Zo saw no other choice. Also, she didn’t really believe the old woman’s tales. What could be so wrong if they went into the chasm? It was a short cut. The chasm wasn’t wide. It would take them half a day to climb down, and up again. By nightfall, they would be able to cross the forest and reach the foot of the mountain.
Of course they would have to leave the horses here. But then the forests beyond the chasm were overgrown and dense. The horses would be of no use there. So it didn’t matter much if the left them at the edge of this gorge.
“We’ll go into the chasm.” Having made her decision, Zo slipped off her horse, and motioned for Leo to also get down. “Give me that.” She snatched the old man’s medallion from Leo’s hands. Every chance he got, the boy took it out of her pack. Four times she’d found him running his hands over the opaque moonstone, staring into the air as if he was able to see something none of them could.
“Why does he keep taking it?” Arkon scowled at the boy. He slid off his horse and patted the animal on the flank.
“This…and the diary. He looks at the pages as if he can read them but when I ask him, he gives me a blank expression,” grumbled Zo. The moonstone had some hazy silver lines in it that twinkled in the sunlight. “Here, you keep it.” She slipped the chain over the boy’s head and tucked the medallion under his shirt. “But only until I can find that old man’s heir. If ever I find him or her, you’ll have to give it back. Deal?” She raised her hand to shake on it.
The Demon Mages (The Power of Three Book 1) Page 10
