by Mike Shelton
“I don’t know, Darius. It was very dark, but there was a flame in his hand.”
“We better follow him.” Darius took a step out from around the bush.
Trying to move silently, the two followed Merek east through the trees. Soon, they came to the edge of the trees and the Blue Sea stretched out in front of them. The afternoon sun sparkled on its waves, the sails of a few boats floating in the hazy distance.
Merek had disappeared. Maybe he was a wizard.
“Where to now?” Kelln asked walking back and forth at the edge of the trees.
Darius opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a weathered hand grabbed his face from behind, covering his mouth, while another arm moved around and held his chest tight. Darius fought against it and tried to pry the man’s hands off of him. Kelln turned around and drew his sword.
“Don’t even think about it, Kelln,” Merek said. “I have your friend here.”
“Let him go,” Kelln yelled.
“Not until I know what you two are up to,” Merek said. Dark work clothes hung on his toned body. Brown eyes glared at Kelln from under black shaggy hair hanging down to his shoulders. “Obviously you had a miraculous recovery.”
“Are you a wizard?” asked Kelln. “Are you going to kill us?”
“Excuse me?” Merek coughed, then laughed. “Why would you ask me that?”
Kelln nodded his head toward Darius with a look that asked Merek to let him go. Once he did, Darius jumped away from the older man and put a hand on his bow for support.
“What are you two doing down here?” Merek asked. He pointed at Kelln. “You are supposed to be sick.”
“Why did you come back to the cabin?” asked Darius, watching Merek closely for any sign of danger.
“Again?” Merek questioned. “Ahh. You saw me here the other night. I thought I heard someone else.”
Kelln folded his arms across his chest and tried to glare at Merek. “Are you a wizard?”
“Why do you keep asking me that?” Merek glared at Kelln, then turned and eyed Darius. “If I was, why would I tell the son of the king’s councilor? At the very least, I would be run out of Anikari. At the worse, I would be put in the dungeon or somehow made to disappear.”
“We don’t kill people for having magic.” Darius said.
Merek raised his eyebrow with a questioning glance. “I wouldn’t be too sure. Either way, I assure you, I am not a wizard.”
“They how did you make a flame appear in your hand?” Kelln asked, obviously still not convinced.
Merek laughed, then dug around in a pocket on his pack and lifted out a small can. It was filled with wax and a long wick. “A portable light. In the dark, with my hand cupped, you only saw the flame.”
Kelln turned red and tried not to look at Merek. Merek laughed again. “All right. We got that one out of the way, but not why you are here.”
“Why are you here, Merek? You should be back with the work crew, too.” Darius pointed west. “Won’t they miss you?”
“Did you see what I saw in that cabin, boys?”
The two looked at each other. Darius didn’t want to admit anything first, but it didn’t seem like Merek was going to kill them.
“What did you see?” Darius asked Merek.
Merek’s face turned red and he stomped his foot. “Look, we are wasting valuable time here.” He walked up to within a foot of Darius and glared down at him from a height of about six inches higher. “Did you see that boy move an object with his mind?”
Darius nodded. “Yes.”
“He’s a wizard,” Kelln said.
“What’s his deal on calling everyone a wizard?” Merek asked Darius. “Just because you do magic, or appear to do magic, doesn’t make you a wizard. There is a lot of mixed blood in the farmlands and around the Realm from the wizards of old. Many of them will never be able to do any more than a parlor trick or two. That doesn’t make them a wizard.”
“Then why are you following him?” Darius didn’t back down. He too was frustrated with the situation. “As you said, we are wasting time here, while that boy gets further away.”
Merek let out a long breath, grabbed Darius’s shirt, and brought his face to within inches of him. “I am trying to save him.”
Darius put his hand out against Merek’s chest, pushing him back. “Us too,” he said. “We were going to get him away from the man who would sell him to the east.”
“So, that’s what they do to them.” Merek appeared thoughtful. “I hadn’t heard that before, but it makes sense.” He motioned the two boys to follow in front of him and to continue walking toward the water.
“Where are we going?” Kelln asked, looking back over his shoulder.
“To find the boy before it’s too late,” Merek stated. “Now move. I’m not letting you two out of my sight.”
* * *
Chapter 5
Darius marched in front of the trio. It was hours later, and the sun had begun to cast long shadows out over the coast of the Realm. They stopped when they came to a small rise in the land. Merek pushed the boys down from behind. With a grunt, Darius nursed his knee after hitting a rock.
Peering back over the small hill, Darius saw what Merek was hiding them from. A small campfire reflected its orange and yellow flames on the small waves of the blue sea. Gathered around the campfire were a group of boys and girls surrounded by a few gruff looking men.
“It’s Astil.” Kelln pointed.
“Who’s Astil?” Merek asked.
“The boy we saw in the cabin last night,” Darius said. “The one we are here to save.”
“Looks like it’s going to be a little harder than you first thought,” Merek said. “What was your plan when you found him?”
Kelln shrugged. “We hadn’t come up with one yet.” The wind blew Kelln’s red unruly hair around and he tried to pat it down, but it didn’t do much.
Merek groaned. “That’s why you shouldn’t be out here.”
The three men walked back down from the hill and into a small group of pines growing at the edge of the coast line.
“And what was your plan, Merek?” Darius asked. “Seems to me, with that many people down there, Kelln and I have helped to even the odds.”
“You?” Merek laughed. “What do a couple of city boys know about fighting? This one,” he pointed at Kelln, “could blow away in the wind.”
Kelln put his hand on his sword and began to pull it out.
“Put that away, boy.” Merek said. “I know who you are. You’ve talked about your blade, swords, and forges enough this past week to figure out your father is a swordmaker. I trust you know your weapons, but those men have been fighting for years.”
“We just need to outsmart them,” Darius said.
Merek nodded his head. “I can tell you’re the thinking one, Darius. What are your thoughts?”
Darius thought a moment. He had taken basic tactics in school already. “Well, in a direct assault, we would be out numbered, so we have to make it appear like we have more people than we do.”
“Good.” Merek said. “I like it so far. We also don’t have much cover between us and them since they are close to the beach, so we have to wait until night.”
“What about the highway crew?” asked Kelln. “Won’t they be suspicious with us being gone so long?”
“You were very convincing with your sickness, Kel,” Darius said. “They may not expect us until morning.”
“What about him?” Kelln pointed at Merek.
“I’m actually not even part of the crew.” Merek’s eyes lit up. “I just wandered in and started helping. If the crew leader looks at his list, I’m not even there.”
“Why would you do that?” Kelln scrunched up his face.
“So I can find and help boys like Astil there.”
Kelln pursed his lips in thought, then he shrugged and motioned for Darius to continue. Darius thought hard and put together a plan piece by piece.
Th
ey waited until dark to instigate their plan. In the meantime a new group arrived below, bringing the count to 8 boys and girls and 6 men guarding. Two of the men stood on permanent patrol, circling the campsite in widening circles. Another man stayed at the edge of the water with a telescope, looking out to sea.
Darius had walked a path behind the small hill and cleared any rocks and sticks in his way. Part of the plan would rely on his speed.
Soon, all grew quiet. The guards changed and walked in a wide circle around the camp, but their attention was waning in the darkness. Moving in closer to the path of the guards, Kelln followed one and Merek the other. At a verbal signal in the form of a bird whistle from Darius, Merek and Kelln used their sword hilts to hit the back of the guards on the head. Merek’s went down without a sound, Kelln’s man turned and tried to fight him off before Kelln sliced a gauge across his thigh and he went down with a roar.
The sound alerted the men down below. They yelled up to the guards and just as the one was going to answer, Merek came over and kicked him in the head, knocking him out. Merek grunted in the nighttime air and told the camp that all was fine.
Merek picked up four small logs they had hollowed out a bit on top. A small amount of wax and a wick had been put in each one. He lit one, then the next. Soon all four glowed. Cupping their hands over the flames, the three of them made a wide arc around the camp and then moved outside the perimeter of the west side of the camp. They placed the logs on the ground behind some grasses. With the incoming ocean breeze, the flames danced around and peaked out from the moving blades of grass.
From the camp below, someone was moving with a small torch. Worry spread through the remaining men. They called out to their guards, but this time no one answered. Darius stood on the northwest side of camp and took an arrow. Dipping it in the lighted wax for a moment it caught fire and he shot it up high into the air. Dropping down into the group, it hit the tip of a man’s shoe and he yelled out in surprise. Darius didn’t want to kill anyone. Running as fast as he could to the next light, Darius went through the same routine and shot another arrow up in the air again. This time the arrow came down and stuck into the bedroll of one of the men, lighting it on fire.
Two more times, Darius shot a lighted arrow up in the air, each time it came down in the midst of the camp. Fear and frustration ran through the camp. The kids were now awake and asking what was going on. One of them began to cry. Darius smiled at their luck. The crying would cover the sound of their approach.
On hands and knees, the three crawled silently in the darkness. The men in the camp were arguing on what to do. One said to stay there, one wanted to go and find who was shooting the arrows, and one wanted to just run away.
“Ship ahoy.” The last man stood on the waterline and now uncovered a lamp, the bright candle traveling out over the ocean in the dark night.
Darius couldn’t believe it. A ship. Really? Who knew how many people were on board? They stayed quiet watching what would happen. In the starlit night and with lights on the ship, Darius watched while a small rowboat lowered down from the ship. It surely carried a number of men – how many, he couldn’t be sure in the darkness.
He notched another arrow and drew back on the string. Squinting in the darkness and trying not to let the firelight interfere with his shot, he took a deep breath, zeroed in on the man by the water and shot. The arrow landed in the arm holding the lantern; the man dropped it and yelled in pain.
At the same time, Merek and Kelln ran into the camp from the north and south side, holding their blades over their heads, surprising the three remaining men. One turned to fight Kelln, but somehow tripped on a log and fell face first in the sand. A few of the children, aware of a rescue in process, grabbed his sword and jumped on his back, pushing his face further in the sand.
Another man came up against Merek, but it turned out the mysterious man was quite a fine swordsman. Darius watched Merek move from side to side and weave in and out and around the kidnapper. There was really no contest. Eventually tired, the man was viciously attacked by Merek, who sliced him on the arms and legs before the man dropped his sword and claimed surrender. Merek, pulling a piece of rope out of his pocket, tied the man’s hands.
Kelln fought the remaining man. They dueled back and forth in the black of night, stars shinning overhead and the lap of waves in their ears. The children stood to the side and cheered Kelln on.
His short friend was tiring, Darius could tell, even from his distance from the camp. Notching his bow with a new arrow, he focused it on the man his friend was fighting. It would be hard to get a clear shot, given the conditions.
“Kelln, get down!” Darius yelled and before he could verify whether his friend obeyed or not, he let the arrow go. Pointed directly at the man’s chest, it hit him squarely and he fell to the sandy shore.
From the ground, Kelln peered back in his direction, the firelight making his bright hair even redder. Darius leaned over, hand on his knees. His stomach roiled with disgust. He had been hunting before, but this was the first man he had ever killed. He wanted to throw up and go and clean himself. He felt dirty and bad. He wondered if there could have been another way.
Darius believed in justice, and knew he was justified with what he did, but the law and justification weren’t everything. Things had to be right, also. It was definitely wrong to capture those with magical abilities, but still he didn’t want to kill anyone over it.
Darius ran down the hill toward Merek and Kelln, helping to tie up the men’s hands that were knocked out. Standing back up from the last man he took a hard glance once again at the one he had shot.
Merek put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s never easy, lad. But you did what had to be done.”
Darius kept his mouth closed and held tight and only nodded at Merek. He shoved the event to the back of his mind for now, though he knew he would have to come to grips with it at some point.
The children came up to them, some as young as seven or eight, the oldest being only a few years younger than Darius and Kelln. They asked what was going to happen, a few were crying. Darius, being an only child, didn’t know how to handle them. However, Kelln did have experience with younger sisters, and stepped in. Dropping down on his knees, closer to many of their heights, he coddled them and spoke softly, quieting down those that had been crying.
Darius looked around and wondered what they should do next.
* * *
Chapter 6
After the children were settled down, Darius found himself at the edge of the water. He peered out over the black sea. The ship’s lanterns bobbed in the distance, sending a gleam of light on the approaching smaller boat. Darius guessed they had less than an hour.
“Any more ideas?” asked Merek, walking up next to him.
“Let’s dig around in that pack of yours and see what else you have in there.” Darius pointed.
Merek retrieved the pack from the top of the hill and brought it closer to the firelight. He bent over and began pulling out rope, candles, flint, and knives.”
Darius gave him a questioning look. Merek’s pack was full of strange things. Finally reaching down deep to the bottom of the pack, he tugged and eventually pulled out a small bundle wrapped in cloth and tied with a small string.
Darius leaned over closer to peer into Merek’s pack. The older man unwrapped the package and Darius’s eyes went wide. He had seen something similar at the King’s celebration. “Explosives.”
“They’re called fireworks.” A grim smile spread across Merek’s face. “You know who’s in that ship right?”
Darius shook his head.
“That’s an Eastern Kingdom ship, boy. I’ve seen them in Mar. If they’re down this far, then what the man with Astil said was correct. These men were smuggling children out of the Kingdom and selling them to the East.”
Darius’s eyes grew wide and he shook his head. Being raised in the upper district of Anikari, he couldn’t believe so much evil existed in the worl
d. “These children don’t deserve that.”
Merek’s lips tightened and his voice came out in a quiet, but firm whisper. “You know who they are, Darius? All of them have some sort of magic powers. What if they grow up into wizards?”
Darius thought carefully. He had been taught his entire life, and especially so by his father, that magic was evil and wrong. Oh there were a few minor practitioners who performed supposed magic like palm readings and healings, but nothing more than that around Anikari. Rumors abounded about more powerful magics in other cities, but Darius hadn’t ever seen magic – well until he and Kelln had seen Astil move the cup the other night.
“Children should not be sold,” Darius said firmly. That much he understood. “Whether they have magical talent or not or from the farmlands or the city. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly.”
Merek seemed to relax a bit. He put a hand on Darius’s shoulder. “Glad to hear. You are rare among the nobles, Darius. Don’t forget that.”
“What do you know about me?” Darius pushed hair out of his eyes.
“I know your father doesn’t think the same.” Merek’s voice was rough. “He persecutes the farmers, but even he doesn’t sell children like these scums.” He spread his hand around to the men.
Darius didn’t want to talk about his father’s politics anymore. Stepping back from the water and closer to the fire, he cocked his head for a moment. Walking further away from the fire and back up the small embankment, he saw a glow in the distance coming their direction. It was moving closer at an alarming rate.
“Someone’s coming.” Darius ran back to the campfire. “Put the fire out.”
Merek ran back up to where Darius had come from and Kelln grabbed a few of the children and doused the fire with sand. Smoke spread thick around them and many of them started coughing.
All of a sudden the man Darius had thought to have killed coughed and began to moan. Darius moved over to him and looked down at the smuggler. “How?” was all he could say, feeling something lift inside him. He hadn’t killed a man after all.
