by J R Stone
Enoch looked surprised at the King. To his further astonishment, Tzeel left the room without hesitation.
“Your wounds are almost healed thanks to the infusion,” said Enoch. Then, he noticed her lips were hurt. “Did Tzeel hurt you?” he asked.
“No. I need poison, anything that kills fast.”
Enoch, who was about to sit down, stood up. “I won’t help you kill him!”
“I don’t need the poison for him. I need it for myself.”
Enoch was even more perplexed. “I’m not helping you kill yourself, Sarah. What’s going on?”
“When Tzeel told me his wizards were gone, I was relieved. You know why?” She did not allow Enoch time for an answer. “Because I believed everything I had been told about Tzeel. I deeply wanted to believe he was a good man, and the fact that Uno and the others were gone confirmed that assumption. But now I know that you were wrong and that he is, in fact, a monster. I’m sure that they need me for something evil, Enoch. You don’t know what they want from me. Seth doesn’t know either. Tzeel won’t tell me what it is. Would he hide his plans if they were righteous? Whatever it is they have planned – if I die, they fail.”
“They are no longer here,” said Enoch confused.
“They can come back any minute. We’re not safe!” she urged.
“I don’t know what happened, Sarah, but I’m sure that whatever it was, it was an accident. You are wrong about Tzeel. In any case, I’ll talk to Seth. We will find out what their plans are. No one has to die,” he reassured her. “If we don’t discover anything, I won’t help you kill yourself, but I’ll help you escape. You have my word.”
She would have to find another way to put her plan into practice.
“Thank you, Enoch.”
Tzeel came back to the room after lunch. He had given Sarah some time to calm down. When he went into her room again, she was asleep. He wanted to lie next to her, but he feared being rejected once again. He lay down on the divan and watched her sleep. He would do anything to deserve her forgiveness.
VIII
“Sarah, you need to eat,” said Tzeel worriedly. It had been two days since the last time she had eaten anything. “Please, Sarah. You’ll starve to death,” he insisted. “I can’t lose you!”
Sarah did not show any emotion.
“Your mother will be here any minute. Eat for her,” he begged. He believed knowing Ahuva was in Totkan would bring Sarah some comfort.
But Sarah remained imperturbable, staring at the floor. She did not even blink. She was completely absorbed in thought.
To Tzeel’s relief, someone knocked on the door. “Darius is back with Ahuva,” said a male voice.
Sarah looked at Tzeel for the first time in two days. “Bring her here,” she commanded.
Tzeel did not think twice and left the room to do as she wished. He could not stand seeing her suffer anymore, and he hoped Ahuva’s presence would save her from the isolation she had imposed on herself.
She took a deep breath. She did not want her mother to see her in that state. She wanted Ahuva to believe she was fine. That was the only way her mother would agree to do what Sarah was going to ask of her.
Tzeel walked to the main hall. Ahuva was standing by Darius and Victor. She was clearly disappointed to see Tzeel. She expected Sarah to come to her.
“Where’s my daughter? What did you do to her?” she asked. Tzeel was the last person she wanted to see; she loathed him.
“I didn’t do anything to her,” he said calmly. “Please, follow me.” The hatred in Ahuva’s eyes did not bother him; his only concern was Sarah’s well-being. He took Ahuva to his bedroom and opened the door for her.
Ahuva immediately ran to her daughter. She caressed her face, her swollen lips, the wounds on her shoulder. Her eyes filled with tears. “What did he do to you?” she asked desperately.
“Tzeel? Nothing, mother. He wasn’t the one responsible for this,” she said, aware that she would have to do her best to deceive her mother. She glanced at Tzeel, who seemed rather surprised. He did not expect her to lie to her mother.
To make her next words sound as truthful as possible, Sarah thought of Seth. “He’s protecting me,” she said, her words filled with emotion.
Ahuva was confused. She looked at Tzeel; his eyes were fixed on Sarah. He was unmoved, but there was sweetness in the way he looked at her daughter.
“How can the man who took you away from me have protected you from anything?” Ahuva asked.
Sarah had spent the last few days planning the lies she would tell her mother, so they now were uttered with naturality, “He was desperate, mother. A plague was killing everyone in Totkan. I was their only hope.”
Sarah saw that Ahuva was not convinced.
“I’m in love with him,” she said. And that was it. Every sign of doubt dissipated from Ahuva’s face; her mother knew she was telling the truth.
Sarah did not wish to give her mother too much time to think. “I don’t want you to stay here, Mother.”
“Why?” asked Ahuva disappointedly. The glimmer of hope she had experienced was quickly extinguished by Sarah.
“We’re fighting some wizards who want to destroy Tzeel. If you stay, I’ll become vulnerable, more than I already am. I can’t take that chance,” she explained. “I’ll meet you when this is all over,” she said firmly.
She had never been away from her mother this long, and now that Ahuva was there, it hurt having to ask her to go. But she knew it was the right thing to do.
Ahuva addressed Tzeel, who seemed somewhat shocked, “Can you please leave us alone?”
Tzeel looked at Sarah and left. He was trying to figure out what Sarah was doing. He knew she would not want Ahuva to stay because she had told him she wanted her mother to be free to go anywhere she wanted. But he never thought she would lie. Perhaps she had not lied about everything; maybe she did love him. Tzeel felt hopeful.
Ahuva stared at Sarah for a few minutes. Part of her sensed there was something wrong. “Why do I have the feeling that this will never be over?”
“Because you worry too much,” she gave Ahuva a faint smile. “Do you trust me, mother?”
Ahuva kissed Sarah’s forehead. “With my life. You’re everything to me. I love you.”
Sarah wanted to cry, but she controlled herself. She needed to be calm and collected for a few more minutes. “I love you too, mother, and I’ll meet you when this is over.”
Ahuva moved closer to her daughter. She did not want others to hear her. “Have you slept with him?” she asked. She knew Tzeel would have been the first.
“Yes,” she gasped. She did not imagine having that conversation with her mother.
But Ahuva wanted her daughter to speak. If Sarah were lying about her relationship with Tzeel, the more she said, the better the chances of getting caught. “How was it?”
Sarah focused on everything she had felt the first time they made love, trying her best to forget everything else that had happened. “Perfect.”
Ahuva did not expect that. Sarah had actually fallen in love with her abductor. “I see you have very strong feelings for him.”
“I do,” said Sarah trying to hide the repulse she felt for herself.
“He has strong feelings for you too. It’s in his eyes.” Ahuva looked again at her her daughter’s shoulders. Even loving Sarah, it was clear that Tzeel was not able to protect her.
Sarah controlled herself not to look away, or else her mother would suspect that there was something wrong. She needed to be firm. Afraid of exposing herself more than she should, Sarah changed the subject.
“Do you remember the city where we played with the Golden Sun? Don’t say names; the walls have ears,” she whispered. Ahuva just nodded. “Wait for me there. They’re good people. You’ll be safe. Tzeel will give you food, water, and a horse so that you can get there safely.”
Ahuva nodded. She would do what her daughter asked. But first she needed to tell Sarah what was happening back
in the village. With any luck, Sarah would be able to help them.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” she said seriously. “Two days after you left, Yair died. He was the first. Others have died after him. When you left, it was as if what had been keeping them alive had been taken away,” said Ahuva secretively.
“Yair died of natural causes?”
“Yes, he and others.”
“Who else?” she asked cautiously. She feared that something might have happened to Amrath.
“Amasa, Yehosef, Moshe, and Nathan,” said Ahuva sadly.
Tears ran down Sarah’s face; she felt surrounded by tragedy. She stared at her mother. Ahuva had to leave as fast as possible; she was already exposing her to too many dangers. “You need to go now, mother,” she sadly informed as she got up and took Ahuva to the main hall.
Tzeel had decided to wait for Sarah in the main hall. When he saw her again, he noticed something different in the way she looked at him.
Tzeel asked a servant to bring a bag with food and some canteens of water. Sarah walked with Ahuva to the palace’s entrance. “See you soon, mother.”
“I’ll see you soon.” Ahuva got on the horse and looked at Sarah. She wished to believe her daughter, but she could not shake the feeling that she would never see Sarah again.
Sarah waved and smiled. Fearing that her mother would give up leaving, she turned around and got back to the palace. Hiding behind curtains, she watched Ahuva leave. Tzeel stood by her side. “I’ll never see her again,” she revealed.
“Why do you think that?”
She stared at him, “Because you have evil plans for me, Tzeel. I can tell.”
“I would never do anything to hurt you. What do I have to do, Sarah, for you to feel loved by me? For you to realize that I can’t live without you anymore?”
“Tell me the truth,” she begged.
He hesitated.
“You can’t do that, can you?” she asked. Saddened by his behavior, she left the main hall.
Seth watched everything from a distance. When Sarah left, he wanted to go after her, comfort her, hug her, but he could not be disloyal to his brother again. He had to help Tzeel face his feelings.
“Do you love her?” Seth asked Tzeel.
“Yes, brother,” Tzeel replied without flinching.
Not knowing his brother’s plans did not stop Seth from trying to dissuade him. “So, whatever it is that you’re planning to do, just don’t.”
Tzeel looked out the window. “I don’t know if I can. Look outside, brother. Totkan is much bigger than me, or you, or Sarah. My plans are for the city, not for myself.”
“Are they really?” asked Seth incredulously. “Because last time I checked the city was fine. We have never been this prosperous. Our enemies fear us. Food and water are abundant, people are happy, we haven’t gone to war in three years… Tzeel, what else can we possibly want?”
Tzeel pondered. Seth was right. His lust for power had blinded him. They needed nothing else. “Thanks, brother,” said Tzeel placing his hand on Seth’s shoulder.
Tzeel headed to Sarah’s room. He needed to make things right with her. He had to try. He was about to knock on her door when the guard let him know she was not in.
“Where’s she?” asked Tzeel.
“She went down that corridor.”
Tzeel could not think of any other place she would go but the garden. The day was beautiful and she was probably looking for peace and quiet.
He walked to the garden and slowly opened the door. Sarah was lying on the grass, her eyes closed.
Sarah could feel Tzeel looking at her. She wished he had changed his mind and was willing to tell her the truth.
“Forgive me, Sarah, for everything I’ve done,” said Tzeel truthfully. “I love you and I want you to have good reasons to love me. I can be a better man, I know it.”
Sarah opened her eyes. She touched his face. She would give him one more chance.
“Why am I here?”
Tzeel stared at her. He knew that nothing he said would convince her that he really loved her. Nothing, except for the truth. “Uno convinced me that, since my father had died, I had no more reasons to hide my skills. The only problem was that I was not skilled enough to build and rule an empire. He told me that no emperor should have to rely on his wizards when he’s a sorcerer himself. So, if I wanted to turn Totkan into an empire, if I wanted to conquer lands, overthrow kings, and leave my mark in history, I would have to become more powerful. He said that there was a spell that could do that for me if only we found someone from whom to take the power I needed.”
Sarah was not ready to hear that. “You brought me here to kill me?!”
“No! There was no killing involved!”
“No? How naive are you? What did you think would happen? Uno would take all my power from me, and I would live? How?! My power and I are the same thing. He can only get it from me if I die!” shouted Sarah. The astonishment on Tzeel’s face made the answer to her question clear, but she posed the question anyway. “You never thought about it, did you?”
“No. I had no reasons to care,” Tzeel swallowed hard. “But I do now. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Sarah. Please, believe me!”
“I need some time to mull things over before I decide whether I’m able to believe you or not.”
Sarah stood up and left the garden without looking at Tzeel. Knowing the truth made her even more afraid of being there. Tzeel had been played all along by Uno. No one would be safe if Uno and the other wizards got back to Totkan.
Tzeel kept his eyes down. It would be great if he could blame Uno for not telling him things clearly, but he could not. Even though Uno had never said that the spell would kill Sarah, he had never said it would not, and Tzeel had never asked. When he had gone to the village to get Sarah, he was not worried about her life. When things started to change, he had just told himself that he would be able to protect her, but he never asked Uno if there was a way to do so.
He did not want her powers anymore. He only wanted her, safe in his arms.
Sarah knocked on Seth’s door. She did not care if he thought it was inappropriate for the two of them to meet alone. She did not care about anything. She only wanted to talk to him.
Seth opened the door and was about to leave his room when Sarah pushed him back inside.
“Shh!” Sarah closed the door.
“Sarah–”
“I know what you think. But, right now, I don’t care, Seth. I respect you, but there are more important things going on than your fear of upsetting Tzeel.” Before Seth could oppose, she continued, “They plan to kill me.”
“What? Who?” asked Seth confused.
“Your brother and his wizards,” said Sarah between her teeth.
“Tzeel would never hurt you.” He had never seen his brother look at anyone as he looked as Sarah. There was no doubt that Tzeel was in love with her.
“Well, he did shoot me twice. I don’t know why you seem to ignore that,” she said bitterly. “He keeps telling me that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me, but these wounds don’t lie.”
“Sarah, he killed Dionisius, whom we had known forever, simply because he punched you. Do you honestly think that he would let someone kill you?”
“He’s a fool then,” said Sarah bluntly.
When it came to Uno’s influence, Seth could not deny that his brother was not as independent as he wished. “Why? What was the plan?”
“They would take my powers from me and give it to your brother.”
Seth was truly shocked.
“It seems quite absurd to think that Tzeel didn’t consider the possibility that that would kill me, right?” she asked.
Seth swallowed hard. “Uno has a great influence on him, Sarah. Of course, when he went after you, he had no feelings for you. It didn’t matter for him whether you lived or died. Things have obviously changed.”
“You know what, Seth, I would never take you for a fool, but I
guess I was wrong.” Seth raised his eyebrows. Sarah moved closer to him. “Your brother is playing us all. He’s putting on a show. I know where the other wizards went. I’m not silly. Uno realized that his tiny pathetic group of powerless wizards can’t handle me, so they went looking for more wizards, maybe some powerful ones to help them take me down. What’s Tzeel’s part in this? He needs to keep me here. He needs to keep me close. He needs to lie to me.”
Seth shook his head. He did not want to believe any of that. Tzeel was honest about his feelings for Sarah, he could tell.
“Are you playing the devil’s advocate or do you honestly believe that he has no feelings for you?” he asked her.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore, Seth.” Sarah looked away. She did not want to cry.
“You can leave if you want, Sarah. No one knows where your mother is. I’ll make sure your village is safe. Leave. Just go!” said Seth sharply. “Go!” he screamed. Tears ran down her face. “You can’t. You love him. You don’t want to leave,” growled Seth. “If you stay, you will stay with him. I won’t let you stay here and put him through misery. I’m done with your lack of trust. I understand where it comes from, but I cannot understand how everything he has done has not made you trust him more.”
Seth closed his eyes for a second. He took a deep breath.
“Listen, Sarah. I know my brother better than anyone. Trust me when I tell you that he loves you. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for you, including tell you the truth. Please, don’t come into my room anymore,” hissed Seth.
Sarah was surprised at Seth’s outburst of anger. She had gone to his room in search of support, but all she got was an ultimatum. She was speechless. She left and went to her room. She had to think.
She stopped by the window and looked at Totkan. The city was growing on her. And the truth was that Seth was right: she didn’t want to leave Tzeel. The part of her that wished to believe him was screaming for attention. She knew that Seth did not want to see her with Tzeel, and, even so, he would still defend his brother. She doubted he would lie to her to convince her to give Tzeel a chance.
