* * *
I crouched on a hill and stared down at Requel’s village in the late afternoon sun. It sprawled beneath me, similar in appearance to Malak’s but distinctly different. In this village, everyone wore clothes, including children. There was an order to it, a sense of harmony, which Malak’s village lacked. A low wall of thistle and bramble surrounded the village, more to deter wild animals than people. Some of the huts were made of river stone and I spotted a crude cart pulled by an ox.
Very few people were outside the walls this late in the day. Within the village, I spotted females and children and a few scattered males, mostly older. Where were all the younger males?
Big war party came after the snows. Many warriors killed here. Dreams told me so. Unless they were false too.
I nodded, realizing at once I had to guard my thoughts better. “Perhaps they were, perhaps not. Either way, it appears the path has been cleared for a war party to strike at this time.” It appeared Mephistopheles’ had taken extra precautions to ensure a successful raid. “Where do you think Corm is now?”
He is on his way. He will come after nightfall and wait until first light to strike. It is his way.
Then I didn’t have much time. I stood and began to descend.
Where do you go?
I ignored him. I worked my way quickly down the hill, staying to the lengthening shadows. I had no plan. I had no idea what I was doing. Desperation spurred me.
I emerged at the base of the hill and walked out into the open, easily visible, hands raised at my sides in what I hoped was a disarming fashion. Shouts quickly erupted around me as I strode purposefully to the village. More shouts and barked orders followed. Females snatched up children and scurried to the huts. A group of males, faces grim, spears held at the ready, poured from the village and ran towards me.
I stopped, my arms still raised. “I come with a message!” I shouted, improvising.
Spears surrounded me. Their largest warrior stepped forward, his eyes measuring me up and down. He was younger and shorter than me, his body far less powerful than mine. I was certain that didn’t help matters.
“What do you want here?” asked the warrior, his eyes darting left and right suspiciously.
“I have a message,” I replied.
“What is it?”
“I will give it to the chief of the village.”
“You will give it to me!” spat the warrior.
“Are you the chief?” I asked, staring down at him. He glared hard at me but I could tell he was posturing. I held his gaze until he broke it off.
“You will follow me,” he muttered, stalking away.
He led me around the thicket walls to the interior of the village. My eyes scanned for Requel, certain I would know her if I saw her. I saw only a few of the elderly ones huddled under lean-tos, staring and chittering quietly. Most of the women were hidden inside the huts.
I had to draw them out. I stopped abruptly.
“Walk,” said the warrior.
“I have walked far enough. Where is your chief?”
“Walk!” he hissed. The tip of a spear bit through my tunic at my back. I grunted.
“I have a message for this village!” I cried out sharply. “There is a war party coming and they are many!”
The warrior’s eyes bulged and he shouted a command. Three of the warriors peeled off and bolted. He stepped in closer. “Who are you?”
I ignored him. “Hear me!” I cried, turning and shouting. “Come out and hear me now! You must listen! I mean you no harm. There isn’t much time!”
They didn’t emerge from their huts. If anything, they cowered further. I couldn’t blame them.
“Tell me who you are and why you are here!” demanded the warrior.
I spun on him angrily. “I am Sariel and I am here because I am a fool! My coming here has been a mistake from the very beginning. A terrible mistake. And I need to correct it but I may already be too late.”
“I don’t understand,” said the warrior.
“All you need to understand is that there is a war party coming,” I said. “They’re from a village over the hills to the north and east and they will steal your women and children. Get them all to safety. Flee while you can.”
“How do you know this, stranger?” said a cool voice from behind me. I turned.
An elderly female stood before me, arms crossed, eyes concerned. She was thin, her hair gray and wispy, and wore a dress made of cured animal skins dyed a soft red. She held herself up as a female of importance with an effortless regality. She reminded me of Sheerak but her eyes were gentle, wise, and without the haughty edge the other possessed.
“I know this and far more,” I said. “I must speak with your chief.”
“My husband is dead. You may speak with me. I am Fela.”
“Fela, my name is Sariel. You don’t know me and you have no reason to believe me but I’m asking you to gather your people and seek safety. There is little time. The war party is on their way here now and will be here at first light.”
Gasps issued around me. I glanced over my shoulder. A crowd had begun to form. The huts emptied out as they gathered and milled about, their faces terrified, their eyes wide. I did not see my Requel.
“Sitkas, have your scouts found any sign of a war party?” asked Fela to the warrior who brought me into the village.
“I have just sent them out.” He turned towards me. “How many?”
“I don’t know. Far more than you have here.”
“How do you know all this?” asked Fela.
“Because I come from their village.”
And then I saw her. Requel. Standing off to one side, a clay pitcher tucked under one arm.
More questions flooded me. I couldn’t hear them. I stepped towards Requel and nearly stumbled. She was a vision. She appeared exactly as I had seen her by the river.
Her eyes met mine but did not look away.
“Requel,” I said softly, my voice breaking. I stepped closer until I stood two feet away from her. I dared not breathe. I felt hot, stinging tears begin to well in my eyes.
In that moment I knew I couldn’t harm her. Could never harm her.
“It’s me, Sariel. I thought I lost you,” I stammered, knowing I made no sense at all but I didn’t care. “I looked everywhere but I couldn’t find you. I tried. But I didn’t give up. And here you are. You have no idea what it took for me to find you.”
She didn’t back away as I thought she would. Her head tilted, her eyes softened. Was that recognition I saw?
My heart fluttered.
“Look into my eyes,” I said softly, excitedly, my chest pounding. “Do you know me?”
She smiled at me. I smiled back, scarcely believing my eyes, scarcely believing my good fortune.
Her hand swung up and deftly smashed the pitcher against the side of my head. Blinding light flashed before my eyes. I crumpled to the ground. Dizziness swam and blackness encroached.
“Yes I know you!” she shouted fiercely, her tone savage. “You tried to capture me!”
All went dark.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“You tried to capture her?” I asked Malak in disbelief.
I felt him shrug. She was a witch. I was watching her and she was alone. What else should I have done?
I shook my head, disgusted.
The pit I had woken up in was at least twelve feet deep. It rankled, the stench of rotting animals overpowering to the point of nausea. I leaned back into a wall of dirt. The floor felt soft and wet, slick mud oozing uncomfortably inbetween my toes. The moon sailed high above, the night still. If ever I longed for my wings it was in that moment.
My head throbbed where the clay pitcher nearly broke my skull. Good thing Malak’s head was so thick. I pressed my fingers gently to the large lump above my left ear; the split skin radiated pain outwards at my touch. I let my hand drop and stared up at the edge of the pit. It was late, the hour deep into the night. Dawn would come
soon. I wondered if the people in the village heeded my warning and fled.
No, they did not.
“How do you know?” I asked sharply. His intrusion on my thoughts irritated me.
The night is quiet. Corm is here. He would not be watching and waiting if the village was deserted. He would follow and hunt them. Even now his hunters have surrounded the village to prevent anyone from escaping. It is his way.
My heart sank. It didn’t surprise me that Requel’s people hadn’t believed me. I wouldn’t have either if the roles were reversed. But it pained me nonetheless.
I cried out in frustration and slammed my elbow into the wall behind me. Clods of dirt fell to the floor and I clenched my fists. I couldn’t recall the last time I felt so helpless.
Possessing Malak limited me and I regretted it immensely. I could do no more than Malak’s body allowed me to do which was a mere fraction from what I was used to. I didn’t belong on this plane. I didn’t belong in this body. What was I thinking in coming here?
My head began to swim and I exhaled, not realizing I held my breath. Breathe, I told myself. Relax. Stay calm.
Requel still needed me, whether she believed me or not. I’m here for her now. And I had to find a way out of this pit.
I rose to my feet and dug my fingers into the pit wall, intending to scale it. I knew it was useless, I had tried this before. But I didn’t care. I jammed my hands into the soft dirt, making fragile handholds, and began to climb. It was no use. I quickly slid back to the floor. I continued anyway, clawing my way up, rising a few feet before slinking back to the ground in silent misery. I continued on for over an hour, holding back my rising panic, refusing to stop. I clawed my hands into the pit wall, shoveling it away, until my fingers cramped and arms burned.
But my efforts were in vain. I didn’t work my way up; I dug sideways into the earth.
Defeated, I wiped the sweat from my brow and leaned heavily into the depression in the wall I had made. Something hard jabbed me in my back. I turned and probed the object with my fingers, feeling along its length. It was a tree root.
Gripping it with both hands, I yanked on it hard. Dirt sprayed down on me as the root tore free from the wall and rose up the side of the pit. Hope flickered.
Carefully, I tugged on the root. It held my weight. I didn’t know how high it rose and I didn’t care. I began to climb.
Halfway up the pit, the root abruptly stopped as the rest of it was buried. I was still five feet below the rim.
Bracing my feet against the side of the pit, I yanked on the root again. It buckled and tore the pit wall as it raced up another few feet. I climbed as high as I could go. The rim was close now. Reaching up, my hand crested the edge and grabbed a handful of ivy and weeds. I hauled myself up then flipped onto my back.
Exhausted and breathing heavily, I lay there for a few moments, listening. Birdsong had just begun to fill the trees, heralding the coming morning. The obsidian sky had lightened into a dull grey.
I didn’t have much time.
Carefully, I rolled on to my belly and crawled to a copse of trees, taking shelter in the darkness and shadows. If Corm’s hunters were nearby, I didn’t see them.
But they see you. They think you are one of them moving in the dark. They should leave you alone.
Good enough. I began to quietly work my way forward but I didn’t know which way the village lay. The sky turned a soft orange to the east. My progress was stilted as I stopped often to determine my bearings. I had not realized how much I relied on my intuition until it was lost to me. Without it, I felt as if I wore a blindfold.
A cry erupted from far to the right, shattering the stillness. I froze, my heart lurching. Other cries joined in, shrill and startling.
War cries of my people. It has begun.
I tore off in the direction of the attack. Corm and his hunters were far in front of me, perhaps half a mile. I raced through the trees. Other sounds erupted, the crashing of bodies through the underbrush, the shouts of struggle, the screams of the dying.
I broke through a stand of trees then fell to a crouch in tall grass. The village stood in front of me. Several bodies lay dead and bloodied on the ground before the entrance to the thicket wall. Corm’s hunters ran to and fro, giving chase to fleeing villagers. Sounds of fighting erupted from within.
Snatching up a stone the size of my fist, I rose and loped into the village. Crying children and females huddled in a large group off to one side. The village warriors were fiercely outnumbered but still they fought on. Dead males and a few females lay scattered about.
Then I saw Corm.
He wasn’t hard to pick out. He was big bordering on fat and wore a lavish vest, woven with large feathers and beads. A necklace of small bones hung from his neck. A short stone tipped spear rested in his left hand. In his other, he gripped the hair of Requel as she quietly sobbed at his feet.
I charged at him without thinking.
He glanced at me, his eyes flashing recognition. “Malak? Why are you here?”
I smashed the stone in his face. He pitched backwards and landed hard. I scooped up Requel, flung her over my shoulders, and ran. She beat and clawed at my back, then tried to fling herself off. I held her tight.
Shouts erupted from behind me.
The thicket wall loomed in front of us, as high as my chest, and bristled with spiny thorns. I crashed through it, shredding the skin on my arms and legs. Requel cried out, the bramble catching her as well, and she slipped away from me. She fell from my grasp and tumbled to the ground on the other side of the thicket wall. I landed heavily next to her, my torn skin felt as if it were on fire.
Her eyes flashed hatred and she bared her teeth before she scrambled to her feet and bolted away. I caught her ankle and she fell. She twisted on the ground, shouting, kicking out at me with her other foot. I held on.
“Wait!” I pleaded. “Listen to me!”
She landed a blow to my nose. Pain flooded. My eyes teared and my grip fell away. She scrambled to her feet and ran. Through blurry eyes, I climbed to my feet and stumbled after her.
She was swift, twisting and turning in the woods, leading me down one path, then abruptly down another. Fortunately, Malak’s body was even swifter. After several long minutes, I caught up to her near the stream and grappled her to the ground.
“Wait!” I hissed, pinning her arms down. Her head reached up to bite me. “Listen! They’re after both of us now. I only wanted to save you from them. Please, I’m a stranger to these woods. You have to lead us to safety. You’re the only one who can. I am going to release you now. Please don’t run away.” I let her go and leaned back, my hands raised disarmingly.
She scrambled backwards to a sitting position, rubbing her wrists, her eyes glaring. But she didn’t run. “Who are you?”
“My name is Sariel. I won’t hurt you, I promise. We have to hurry.”
She glowered. “You are one of them. You tried to capture me. Why would you save me now?”
“Because I could never harm you,” I said, my voice breaking as I realized I spoke with all the love and truth in my soul. “Or let anyone else hurt you. Not ever again. I could not bear it. I would die first.” She stared at me, head tilted. My heart ached. Requel used to look at me the same way.
Shouts came from the distance. They were close. She heard them too.
“You’re right,” I said, clearing my throat and pushing back the emotion welling up there. “You have no reason to believe me. Run. I’ll lead them away from you as best I can.”
I looked into her eyes one last time as I climbed to my feet. They were still Requel’s, would always be Requel’s, regardless of what body she was in. I smiled fondly.
“It was wrong of me to come here,” I told her, holding her gaze. “It was selfish, I know it, I’ve always known it. I did not mean for any of your people to get hurt. I am sorry, truly. I just had to see you, to talk to you, to know you were someplace within my reach and not gone from my life fo
rever. I felt so lost when you left. It … broke me.” I paused, realizing the full truth of it. “It shattered me and I did not even know it. But seeing you now, looking into your eyes, you’ve made me feel whole again for the first time since I lost you.”
I knew she didn’t understand my words. It didn’t matter. I needed to say them. I swung away and broke into a run.
“Wait!” she called out.
I stopped and turned.
“This way,” she said, moving quickly upstream.
I smiled and followed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
She led me upstream and stayed in the water, stepping out when hard rock or crushed gravel hid our passing. She moved quickly and I was hard pressed to keep up. Her footing was sure as she danced across stones and raced across fallen logs. More than once I slipped and fell on moss covered rock. She didn’t wait for me.
Sounds of pursuit followed us for nearly a mile. At one point we departed from the stream, crossing gullies, scurrying down inclines covered in loose scree, and cut across rocky clearings. I was certain that Corm and his hunters would spring on us at any moment. But the sounds faded into nothing as we pressed quickly on. I lost my bearings long since and followed Requel blindly as she loped along with an easy grace. We intersected another stream and followed it up current.
Throughout the morning, she said not a word. On several occasions, I matched her pace and attempted conversation, but each time she merely increased her speed.
By midday, I found my strength waning. I couldn’t recall the last time I had eaten and my body protested angrily. It seemed as if it constantly craved something – whether food, water, air, sleep, exercise, or relief from bodily waste. It was never satisfied. Why God would instill such neediness in these primordial bodies was beyond me.
By the afternoon, I could go no further. “Stop,” I pleaded, my legs lurching out of sheer habit rather than by any will of my own. My chest heaved, my mouth dry. “Please, I need to rest.”
As usual, Requel increased her speed. I could no longer match her. I stumbled to the ground, splashing heavily into the stream. Cold water rushed over me. I stared at her receding form as she raced around a bend. Exhausted, I flopped onto my back, staring up through the trees at the sky.
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