The Thief

by Rama Nugraha

  She was unable to finish her sentence, looking hesitant.

  “You can say it, Aunty. I am aware,” Tannu whispered clearly as his consciousness had just returned. “I will die very soon.”

  Irirana held his hand even tighter. His eyes were widened frantically, still wanting a clear explanation and that made everyone in the room tense.

  “Nearly all of his organs are malfunctioning, Lady.”

  “Have you injected him some Rasilin?”

  “I did. It did not work. For it to work, it needs red blood cell to function, but Sir Tannu’s blood…”

  Aunt Muri stood up, taking something from her pocket. It was a small tube, in it was dark liquid spotted with glistening white spots. Aunt Muri looked at the liquid briefly before handling the tube to Irirana.

  “Sir Tanu’s blood is as dark as soot. It contains too much bilirubin. I assume it is now poisonous. I’ll have Jarol confirm it in the Development Center. One thing for sure, Rasilin cannot stand against such blood.”

  Irirana stared at the blood sample, turning it around, examining the dilution rate of the dark liquid. She looked utterly concerned.

  “And the white spots… I don’t know what that is.”

  “So the only medical examination that you used is Fahila?”

  Aunt Muri nodded, putting back the blood sample to her pocket as Irirana gave it back. She scooted closer to Tannu. Slowly, she opened the buttons of his pajamas. She wiped the yellowish skin filled with rashes and scars. Tannu whimpered in pain.

  Aunt Muri pressed some parts of his body around his ribs and abdomen. She closed her eyes, regulating her breathing. She was in a deep focus as she whispered.

  “Na lee, Fahila.”

  The hair in on the back of her hands stood. Her eyes shone in a cyan glow.

  Datan heard about this once before. Fahila, a healing technique that integrated science and magic. It was an ability to detect an illness with bare hands. It was said that Fahila could only be performed by Healers form Natuna. They communicated with the ailing person’s body, which responded through vibration.

  Tensely, Datan stared at the process through Irirana’s shoulder. Tannu’s body reacted indeed. It was as if there was life force squirming under his skin, his organs, perhaps. The way it moved was so bizarre. Tannu groaned louder, he thrashed around as though the organs in his body was struggling. His skin became even more yellow, and he was drenched in sweat as his pores expanded.

  Aunt Muri’s jaw clenched. She took her hands away from his body, feeling sorry. The man was now panting. Fahila was indeed known for its pain scale for the patients. Aunt Muri sighed, wiping the sweat in Tannu’s forehead with a small towel.

  Tannu bit his lip, his head turned to the left. “Curse you, Aunt Muri,” he moaned. “My stomach feels like it’s been stirred.”

  “Well, there is arteries as well as aorta inflammation in your heart. One of your lungs had sunk. Your capillary is also damaged. These had caused your blood to fail to absorb oxygen.”

  “Yes, my life is about to end. I already know it from the whispers.”

  “His heart failed the earliest due to the black blood. It caused bilirubin waste piled up, which is why the skin turns yellow. Rasilin is supposed to help with this but we know it’s impossible in this case.

  “There’s also swelling in the spleen, and the kidneys had completely stopped functioning. Blood transfusion could help but his blood has become very different that it will not match any blood type. Trying to transfuse blood will only result in instant death.”

  “You made my head hurt more, Aunt Muri. My stomach is burning up.”

  “I tried to give him Ercil through some tube, just so his body could attain some nutrition,” Aunt Muri glanced at Irirana, looking helpless. “But I just never see something like this, Lady.”

  Irirana scrunched her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed.

  “What I’ve described,” Aunt Muri pushed back her glasses. “It hasn’t even included the cause of his brain damage. Perhaps it’s because of his blood as well. It is a miracle that he could come home alive. And I still need plenty of examination.”

  No one in the room made any sound as they listened to her explanation. Their mouths were sewed shut. Irirana stood still staring at Tannu, who was now grinning at the ceiling.

  The stuffy air in the room made people sweat. The satin curtain in the window was rustled by the afternoon wind. The atmosphere in the room was gloomy and suffocating. The only sound heard was Tannu’s shallow breaths like a broken pumping machine, chocking miserably.

  “Get out of my way, Filia! I want to see Uncle Tannu!” a kid was screaming outside. “Don’t stop me! Uncle Tannu promised to bring me Candy of a Thousand Flavors! Mother! Mother! I want to see Uncle Tannu!”

  “That’s enough Petan!” someone sternly said, must be the person named Filia the kid mentioned. She sounded angry. Maybe she was blocking the entrance of the house so that the Kid—Petan—could not get in. “We cannot disturb him right now.”

  “You’re lying! Mother! I want to get in! Mother!”

  Datan swallowed. No one said anything though they exchanged panic glances, knowing that children were at the entrance. Especially because those children were Irirana’s. Datan saw Irirana’s hand, which was holding Tannu’s, trembled. She knew exactly what was happening.

  “No, please don’t let him in, Lady,” Tannu begged. “This room couldn’t handle his cry. I have the candy in my satchel… there aren’t many of them… but oh please, Lady. Please… stop crying.”

  Irirana nodded, wiping her cheeks. “I understand, Tannu,” she said.

  “Number 21 once warned me that something terrible will befall the Surface, Lady. A disaster, a threat to all lives.”

  Irirana’s face was colored by fear. She turned around, her gaze swept the people and ended in Datan, who understood right away. She turned back at Tannu. “Tell me Tannu. Slowly,” Irirana whispered trembled from worry. “What happened exactly?”

  Tannu coughed. “May I ask for a glass of red cane first, Lady?”

  Chapter 17

  The First Mission

  Datan was asked to leave the house along with some of his comrades like Bonn, Akio, and Ogit, who were Royan Two. In the end, only those of Royan One—like Toni and Siley—were allowed to listen to the story of Tannu’s journey to Urimenil. Petan threatened to not go home, insisting to wait for his mother in front of the house with Filia. No one could manage to persuade him otherwise for at least one full hour.

  Since the gloomy afternoon, Irirana was seldom seen in the Hall of the Royans, nor were Tony and Siley. The situation had become worrisome. Royans who were in the room were reluctant to talk about what happened. The townspeople started to speculate what actually happened to Tannu. They assumed that Tannu was struck by a plague which roamed the Surface almost four thousand years ago, during the Age of Five Continents.

  Aunt Muri did not confirm the speculation. She was yet to give a detailed explanation of what actually happened. One thing for sure, she said, Tannu experience blood poisoning.

  On the other hand, one week after Tannu’s arrival, Datan was summoned. Kanas asked Datan to come to his office in the west wing of the castle after a game of Leih. His workspace was in the shape of a hexagon and had two floors. It had a small backyard where shrubs of blood orange were planted, the scent of which could be smelt from across the room. There was also a small library filled with books of witchcraft and summer plants.

  In the room were a lot of ceramic decorations. There were plenty of pots of plumeria and adenium. The wall was filled with other hanging, tiny plants, each of which seemed to come from different part of the world.

  “I’ve decided it,” Kanas said, his eyes never left the scattered documents on his table. “Your first mission, it is.”

  Datan’s heart raced in enthusiasm.

  Kanas lifted his head and look at him. His stare was intense and odd like there was an ulterior motive behind it. He
allowed Datan to sit, smiling slightly. He told Datan that he offered this task after a whole lot of considerations. He had monitored Datan’s capability through his observation and he had also calculated the obstacle that Datan might have to face according to the collected information. Kanas decided to give him a task meant for a Royan Two.

  “I hope Lady would understand. There is no task available for Royan Three, whilst ones for Royan One and Two had piled up,” Kanas gripped the corner of the table. His eyes stared at Datan intensely. “And I know you can’t wait any longer to start moving.”

  Datan knew that was a golden chance he cannot lose. “Where?”

  “Fardas. In the house of Thar Ubaga Jarhal.”

  Datan felt his nerve tensed. Was his mission infiltrating the house of the Thar?

  “Someone would pay you a fortune for this,” Kanas added. “Perhaps around two thousand Kurrs.”

  Datan almost fell off his chair. He stared wide-eyed at Kanas, almost thought that his superior was joking—though apparently, he was not. Datan never imagined that he would hear such sum of money be uttered. Both of his knees ached. He stood up, walking back and forth, hand on his hip and the other one patted his head vigorously.

  With such a reward, what exactly was the item Datan had to procure?

  Kanas narrowed his clear sapphire eyes. “Are you interested, pan? Do you need time to think about this?” he asked. “The reward was actually nineteen thousand and fifty-one Kurrs. It quite an amount for a beginner like you.”

  Datan’s steps were stopped as he looked at the other once more. “I’ll do it,” he decided.

  Kanas smiled. His right hand took a piece of blood orange from a bowl next to his elbows, eating them contently. He pushed the bowl at Datan’s direction, offering him some.

  Datan took one piece. He looked at the coarse texture of the fruit and the inside which was as thick as blood. He ate it, chewing slowly. He enjoyed the taste of sweet with a hint of sourness the moment the essence seeped through. He had only tasted blood orange twice in his life because the fruit was actually very expensive and quite rare.

  Bushes of blood orange only grew in white land, which was in the Middle Land of Bavarat. The soil of Kanas’ small garden was white and lush. Clearly, he took the soil right from Sapros, Bavarat. He had to pay a fortune for that.

  “How was Tannu?” Datan asked, suddenly remember the pitiful man.

  Kanas swallowed the blood orange he was chewing, then he sighed. “There isn’t any meaningful progress in his health,” he said gloomily. “What happened to Tannu is something beyond us. Aunt Muri thought that there was… something in his body. Some evil chemical. Perhaps it was a misused scientific discovery,” he said as spite was apparent in his face. Datan could almost hear his unspoken curses at whomever it was responsible for Tannu’s illness. “Aunt Muri wiped Tannu with Holy Water once—hoping that it will make his soul more peaceful.

  “But it did not work. He became hysterical and experienced paranoia in the middle of the night. Unum might have been wrathful towards him, for He punishes him with such torture.”

  Haedin Healers who believed in Unum relied on Holy Water as the medium to banish negative energy residing people’s body. Aunt Fira said that this practice came from Haedin people of Natuna at the end of the Age of Three Realms. Once, Aunt Fira actually cleaned him with Holy Water when he was ill from cold fever for a month.

  Well, Datan did get better afterward and he actually felt more peaceful and happy if that made sense. Up to this day, he still could not understand how that worked. Surely, there was something in it, some potion with endorphin, perhaps.

  Datan left Kanas’ office feeling pity towards Tannu. Aside from that, though, he was ecstatic. He was holding a grey folder, in the front of which was written “II” in red ink. He took long steps, his heart swelled in happiness. He greeted everyone he met on the way home.

  ◆◆◆

  Golden shimmer glowed in the windows, passing through a young man’s broad shoulders before it fell upon the surface of the table in the living room. Datan sat silently, feeling his blood boiling in excitement. He was overwhelmed for quite a while, staring at the files of his first mission. There were two copies of the file. The total number of pages of the file was nearly fifty pages. In it were included handwritten notes, illustration, maps, and bios of many people.

  Infiltrating a Thar’s house? Datan thought that this debut mission would be amazing.

  Datan realized that he would need full concentration in order to study the entire documents. He did not want to leave out any information. He tried hard to forget other things that were bothering his mind such as: why did Toni hit so hard? How could the fireball suddenly fell into the goal? How could Datan continue the match without experiencing overheat in his body?

  Oh, Leih truly was an addicting extreme sport.

  Datan went to the kitchen, making kass bread with some chocolate spread, which lately he had come to love. The green bread invented by Marra people was actually good and fun to chew. He had just sat down and opened his mouth when he heard a frantic knock in his door.

  Datan groaned before approaching the door.

  An employee from the Room of Reception smiled widely at him. “Sir Datan, pan?” he made sure. “Kahisar Irirana is waiting for you in her dwelling.”

  Datan did not know what the call was for, but the next thing he knew he was following the man in the castle’s corridor, passing through oval windows he had never visited. There was sand on the floor and the scent of red seagrass was clear in the air, resembling the scent of lavender but sweeter. They stopped in front of a giant door at the end of the corridor.

  “Please, Sir Datan. Kahisar Irirana awaits inside.”

  Datan was astonished by the large door with a carving of a hooded owl. This time around, it had a scar in his forehead. It woke up at Datan’s arrival. Its eyeballs looked like orange pearls, shifting as it examined Datan from head to toe, then it blinked. After that the door slid open to two sides, splitting the owl which now had its eyes closed again.

  Datan saw an open space behind the door. It was a land of greens and flowers in the slope of a mountain. A Marran house stood gracefully across the land. Next to it was a giant flamboyant tree, and under its green leaves, patio furniture was arranged neatly. A light breeze brushed against Datan as he walked across the lawn, while the door behind him closed. He could hear the faint sound of a waterfall in the distance.

  Filia Phi. Astanelta, Irirana’s eldest foster child greeted Datan with a wide smile in front of the door. “Welcome, Uncle Datan!” she greeted.

  The slender girl smiled. Her eyes resembled a copper marble, gleaming as they met light. Her wavy two-toned hair swung to her front slightly as she greeted Datan whilst both of her hands were on his lap. Filia was the next of Marra bloodline after Irirana.

  “Mother had been waiting.”

  The inside of Irirana’s house smelt like red seagrass. It had beautiful wall layered in colorful sand, painting a flowery slope on the side of a beach. There was a window designed especially for birds to perch and it had a spacious room, the floor of which was covered in a wool rug.

  Irirana accompanied Petan as he played with Konlu—enchanted sand which could be formed into anything imaginable. Petan screamed at the sight of Datan, running at him. The boy circled his arms around Datan’s thighs as if he was seeing a long-lost hero. Irirana laughed, while Benji, who was sitting on a rocking chair next to a bookshelf, shrugged in disgust.

  Datan smiled wryly. It was never easy for him to get along with children. “Hello, Pe,” he greeted. He wriggled a little so that the boy let him go. He lifted his head. “There is something you want to discuss with me, Lady?”

  “Yes. It is about your mission.”

  Irirana then told Benji not to tease Petan so much. Then, he asked Datan to follow her into the floor beneath them through the stair next to the fireplace. The stairs ended in front of a mahogany door, in front of it was writte
n: ‘Not a Playground!’

  Irirana’s workplace was next to the door. It was spacious enough and had neatly-arranged furniture and decoration. There was a large aquarium filled with crystal clear water, inside of it was air bubbles from the sponges and silvery light from a row of water lantern balls. It hosted marine biotas, including fish, gleaming anemone, even colorful corals.

  The veranda was right on top of a cliff, the edges of which were fenced. Magnificent orange sky hovering over the vast ocean and lush jungle was crystal clear from there. Filia said—according to Irirana—the veranda was the worst part of their house. Datan understood why she felt that way, for even he almost choked when he saw the height of the slanted room.

  Next to the bookshelves, an owl perched on a branch coming out of a stone. It turned its head around, looking at Datan. It was the same owl as the one from Datan’s initiation day. From up close, Datan could see clawing marks between its black feathers in its forehead.

  Datan suddenly remembered the craving in the door.

  “Kiar is the last of his kind, the Urtaya,” Irirana told him. “A mystery, this one. People say misfortune will befall a country if Urtayas fly over it.”

  Datan held his own hand as he thought of Urtaya. What kind of creature was it actually?

  Irirana noticed Datan’s curiosity. “I shall tell you the whole story some other time,” she said. “Alright. Now about your mission, Datan.”

  Datan frowned. “What about it?”

  “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Irirana said. “I know you’ve already been assigned your first mission.”

  Datan sighed. “Give me a break,” he started. “I have only found out for half an hour.”

  “A little birdie told me that I might have to suspect Kanas’ behavior. You know, Kanas do surprises sometimes.”