The Mage's Daughter 2: Book Two: Enlightenment

by LeRoy Clary

  El entered and stood just inside the doorway listening to the words tumbling from them, telling him about the man hiding behind the tree instead of the tables and shelves they needed. He peeked out the door.

  “Stay here, I’ll go see what he’s doing.”

  “No,” Sara said. “This is our business.”

  “Until your father gets here, consider me your protector.”

  Sara made a grab at his shirt to hold him, but El slipped outside and walked up the opposite side of the street from the watcher. Prin caught a glimpse of the man, again, hiding behind a different tree. He stood deep in shadow, body still shielded by a trunk that was too thin to hide an ax handle. On impulse, she raced up the stairs and went to the window, moving quickly from one to the next, as if she was busy with housework. But as she turned, she found his head was tilted up, watching her intently. And behind him crept El, a club or tool clenched in his fist.

  El wrapped his forearm around the neck of the man and struck him on the head at the same time. The watcher slumped, and El supported him, walking him across the street and to the warehouse door that Sara held open.

  Prin met them at the bottom of the stairs. “Is he hurt?”

  “I hope so,” El said, lowering him to the stone floor, none too gently. He released the limp body and let it fall the last foot.

  The man was perhaps twenty, incredibly thin, and his clothing was shabby, filthy, and ugly. His hair was oily, dirt had worked its way into the creases of his face, where there were frown-lines, but no laugh-lines. A front tooth had been chipped at an angle, and his face and hands wore several scars. He hadn’t had a good life, Prin decided, and it was about to get worse.

  Blood oozed from his temple, and a lump swelled. El rolled him over with his foot none too gently. The man’s eyes opened, his face filled with fear, and he tried to scoot away. El said, “Lay still, or I’ll give you another knock on your head.” He held the tool higher to threaten.

  The man froze.

  Sara said to him, “What were you doing out there?”

  “Mindin’ me own damn business, miss. You got no right.”

  Sara turned to El. “I don’t have time for this. Will you please beat him until he’s ready to talk? We’ll be in the loft making tea. Would you like a cup?”

  “No, don’t hurt me,” the man shouted before El could reply.

  Sara had already turned away. She looked over her shoulder. “What were you doing out there?”

  “The mage paid me to watch the little one.”

  “Her?” Sara demanded, pointing at Prin.

  Prin felt the chill of fear, colder than her finger had been.

  “All young girls who arrived in Indore the last thirty days. He’s payin’ for them all to be watched.”

  El said, “Watched for what?”

  “He’ll ask us questions about them in ten days. If we watched for all that time, he’ll pay us a full copper. There’s that one girl he wants.”

  Prin said, “Describe her.”

  “Between ten and fourteen-years-old. Yellow hair, but maybe she changed its color.”

  “How do you know about these girls? Who told you who they are, so you can watch them?”

  “The first days after he came, we asked sellers at the bazaar, the tradesmen, the constables, anybody that sees strangers. Then we told the mage, and if he says so, we watch.”

  Sara turned and fully faced him again. “So, you have discussed us with that mage?”

  “I just told him what I found.”

  “Discussed,” Sara automatically responded with the correction. “What precisely did you tell him?”

  “The people I talked to say her father sells spices, but she’d be about the right size, even with no hair.”

  “What else?” Sara demanded.

  “Some say she’s been here too long.”

  “But you still watch?”

  He cringed as if hurting—or expecting a blow. “The mage pays us, even if it’s the wrong girl.”

  El said, raising his club again to threaten the man, “Why would he do that?”

  Sara answered, “He’s looking for a girl in hiding. When he talks to the watchers he hires, he’ll ask questions that will eliminate most of them. I would expect he will reinvestigate the few who are left on his list very carefully.”

  Prin said, “What do we do about this man?”

  El added, “You don’t want him running to this mage with his tales. But, I may have a solution. Two of them, in fact.”

  Three sets of eyes fixed on the carpenter. Sara said, “You’ve been a good friend. What are you thinking?”

  “My cousin owns four merchant ships, all small, but he earns a good living. He takes on men who wish to learn to sail at times. I could speak with him.”

  “No,” the watcher said immediately, scuttling away, fear in his eyes.

  Sara took him by his shoulder and drew him closer. “Why not? El could have one of his men beat you until you can’t talk, or cut your tongue out. But enough of threats. Think about your life so far, and what it will be like tomorrow and the day after. It’s not a pretty thing.”

  El reached out and took him by his greasy hair, turning the man to face him. “She’s right, my friend. You have no job, someone threw away the clothes you wear. Besides, you’re so poor you don’t even eat every day, do you?”

  The man shook his head.

  El continued, “I’m offering you a chance. A future, and skill to last a lifetime working on my cousin’s ship. You should be on your knees thanking me.”

  “What do I have to do?”

  El placed an arm around his shoulder and said, “Come with me.” He glanced at Sara, I’ll be back later. Don’t go out for any reason.”

  When the lock snapped closed, Sara said, “He’s a good man. We were lucky to find him.”

  Prin said, “He could turn us in for a reward from the young mage. I’d worry, but for the way he looks at you when you’re not looking at him.”

  Sara giggled, “I’m not blind. Get up to the loft and begin your lessons.”

  Prin raced her to the top. She recited the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes, then the combinations of letters like sh, ch, and st, and the sounds each of them makes. Her printing had become so good Sara recognized all the letters. Some needed more practice, but she had progressed to the point of reading familiar words. Sara had made a list three columns long of words she would see in the books repeatedly, mostly three and four letter words.

  But Prin was impatient. She wanted to read a book. Sara had taken the first page and rewritten it, splitting the words into syllables she could sound out. While she worked on reading the page, Sara settled where she could keep watch out the window at the street. She probably didn’t think Prin noticed.

  Prin asked for help several times but found she could often make out a word by reading the one before and after. Soon, she put Sara’s paper aside and attacked the second page in the book. She made her way slowly down three full lines before asking for help.

  “You’ve really got it,” Sara declared with a broad smile that didn’t quite look real. “It will just take more practice.”

  “You’re worried. I can tell.”

  “Think about how much money that young mage must be spending to research all the young girls who arrived in Indore in the last month, and I’m wondering how many other mages, bounty hunters, and assassins came with the mage.” Sara kept her attention focused on the street.

  “What did you expect to see out there?” Prin asked, setting aside her book.

  “A few people hunting you in a city much smaller than this would be hard to evade, but here I expected we could hide and all would be well.”

  The relationship between them had often been strained, and awkward much of the time, as each adjusted to their roles. Prin had trouble acting the part of the younger sister, but Sara didn’t like taking direction from a girl not much older than a child.

  Prin hesitated while t
hinking. When she spoke, she had again assumed the role of authority again, “I am fifth in line to the throne of Wren, if you also count the King as one of those ahead of me. As I’ve told you, two of those will not accept it because of age, and the king’s son is said to be ill and have no interest in ruling. Killing me almost assures the next person in line the throne. Or the next, with one more murder.”

  “Do you want to be the queen?” Sara asked.

  “I was a fire starter for most of my life, so my goal was to one day become a cook. Nothing more. The idea of being queen won’t fit into my head.”

  “Then, announce you will give the throne up! This can all be over.”

  “No, I can’t do that. While I’m not sure if I want it,” she hesitated before completing her thought out loud. “What I do know, is that I won’t be forced off it. Besides, I promised Sir James I wouldn’t give it up. I gave my word.”

  Sara said, “Oh, Prin, be sure of what you do. You have to know this is the right thing to do.”

  “I am.”

  “How can you be so certain?”

  “Last night I thought about it and considered giving up the crown and finding a place to live in safety, a hole to crawl into and leave all that behind me, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. After deciding I have no choice because of who I am, I looked at the painting of my mother and father. They were both smiling. They were telling me I was doing the right thing.”

  Sara said, “Then that settles it.”

  “I might even be a good queen. I’ve lived as a servant. I’ve seen what wretched lives they live. Maybe I can make a difference.”

  Prin paced the floor as if she hadn’t heard. She spun on a heel and said, “Know what else? I need to know what is happening at home. I need a few spies to help and feed me information. I need find out who is behind doing this to me and then I’m going to squash them.”

  “How are you going to do all that?” Sara asked softly, cowed by the vehemence in Prin’s voice.

  “I have gold, probably enough. My father had friends. Sir James had friends. I’m sure they will help. And most of all, I have you.”

  Prin put her head down and started sounding out syllables as if she intended to learn all of them by the end of the session. She was still hard at work when a knock sounded. Sara went to answer it and brought El up to the loft.

  He perched on the edge of the kitchen table. “I took that guy who was outside spying on you to my cousin, and he is now locked in a closet aboard a ship that sails tonight. Not my cousin’s ship because none of his departs until tomorrow and I wanted that man away from here. My cousin called in a favor.”

  “That’s great,” Sara said. “But it also gives that poor man a chance to become a sailor and learn to work while he eats every day. His life will be better.”

  “But I have bad news, too. This mage that appeared suddenly in Indore has the entire city talking and hunting for a girl as if he’s possessed. He’s hired more than just the men who are watchers, and has offered fantastic rewards for information--rewards beyond anything we’ve ever seen or heard of. The person who finds the girl will never have to work again.”

  Prin felt herself blanch, but Sara continued speaking, “What is so special about her?”

  “Nobody knows. But in the bazaar, I found he is not the only one searching or offering rewards. They say a steady stream of bounty hunters and worse have crossed the mountain pass to the west for days and days, all trying to find that one small girl.” His eyes flicked to Prin. “I’m sure this will all end soon, but if that girl is smart, she will leave this city. . . if she is here.”

  Sara said, “The roads will be blocked.”

  “There are other ways.”

  “El, what are you trying to tell us?” Sara demanded.

  He winced at the sharpness of her voice but said, “I am making no accusations, I am just a builder who knows nothing. We, the three of us, are simply having a conversation. I cannot tell what I do not know if anyone should ask or torture me, but there are things I do know. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people are searching for a girl that looks very much like Prin, and I wouldn’t want such a mistake to be made. She might be innocently arrested at any time, perhaps this very day, so we’re talking as friends to prevent a terrible error from being made.”

  Sara said, “El, you’ve helped us since we arrived and we won’t allow you to do anything that will get you into trouble.”

  He flashed a smile at Sara and said, “Business has been good lately. I need to expand and wonder if you would consider renting me this warehouse to use as a shop for my work? It would mean you would have to live elsewhere, but when you return, it would be here waiting.”

  Prin couldn’t help but speak up. “You said there might be a way to leave Indore?”

  He spread his hands as if giving up. “If I rent your warehouse I will deliver several large wooden crates of tools and materials here. There are also completed projects that I ship with my cousin across the sea. Some of those wooden boxes would be placed on carts and loaded onto a ship that sails before dawn tomorrow.”

  “Your cousin knows of this? And the risk?” Sage asked.

  El said, “I told him you are my friends and he agreed. We do not like the way the mage and other newcomers are threatening a child. All passengers on ships are being searched.”

  “Would he let us out of the crates?” Prin asked, trying to imagine an entire voyage on a ship locked in a crate.

  As El nodded, Sara said, “Would any of the crew know about us?”

  “Not until the ship sails. Most of the crew are relatives, but all are trusted. There are only five, besides the owner. It is a small cargo ship.”

  Sara and Prin exchanged a glance that said they agreed.

  El said, “There is one other thing. It is a merchant ship. There are no cabins or luxuries. Both of you would have to work as crew. Sara would help cook and clean, and Prin would work as a deckhand, no different from any of the rest of the crew. It will not be easy.”

  Prin said, “Our dog. What about him?”

  Sara quickly explained and asked if El could find the dog seller and make up a story. Prin added, “Tell him we’ll pay, but he needs to take care of him until we return.”

  “I know the man and will carry your message. Now, the hunt for you is intensifying as we speak, so I have already asked four of my men to bring crates, and they will arrive soon. However, I want both of you to stay out of sight until they leave because I don’t want them linking you with the girl who is on everyone’s lips.”

  Prin said, “Is there any mention of two girls?”

  “None. That helps you, so far.”

  “What can we take with us?” Sara asked.

  El used his arms to show the approximate size of the crates. Prin had pictured containers as tall as her, with room to move around—almost a small room. The crates he described were less than half that. He said, “Four. Just four small crates for you and all your belongings you take. And you will ride on a bumpy cart to the ship, but I suggest that you gather what you need to take. Before my men who deliver the crates are out of sight, I should be nailing the tops on.”

  Sara said, “Is that much of a rush really necessary?”

  “People are going crazy out there in the streets. Everyone wants to get rich by finding the girl. It’s like they found gold near here. Where the mage is doing his business, people are lined up with small girls they are trying to sell to him. Others are grabbing girls who were born right here, and the mage is rewarding all who present a small girl to him, no matter the color of her hair. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  The carpenters knocked on the door, and the girls raced up to the loft to hide, grabbing whatever they needed to take while they were there. Prin headed for the painting first and pulled to a stop before bursting into tears. Things had been going so well in her life, and now it had all fallen apart. Her father looked upset and concerned, but a tear fell from her mother’s eye.
<
br />   Prin reached out and touched the tear. The tip of her finger was wet. She touched it to her tongue, and it was salty. Then she carefully removed the picture and wrapped it in several layers of clothing. She put it into her leather satchel. Prin grabbed her backpack and extra clothing, and then the two enchanted books from the bazaar and part of her writing supplies.

  El climbed the stairs. “Ready?”

  “How long will we be inside?” Sara asked.

  “Men are watching the crews of ships, all who board, so it would be best if you didn’t come out until the ship has sailed.” He carried an armful of clothing downstairs to where three wooden crates waited on a small wagon with iron wheels.

  Prin said, “I thought you said four.”

  “My men found three already made up. If you have to leave anything I’ll take care of it for you.”

  To Prin, Sara looked ready to protest she couldn’t fit into even the largest one, but she climbed into it and curled up on her side, knees pulled under her chin. Their things went into the smallest crate, and Prin climbed into the last. She fit, but it was cramped. She’d expected holes for breathing, but there were none. The boards had shrunk, and there were small gaps she could see out. The gaps would let plenty of air inside. If she held one eye closed and the other close to a crack she could see what was in front of the crate, but nothing else.

  The pounding of a hammer jarred her, making it all seem somehow more real as her body jolted with each blow. Then the movement of the wagon began, and she realized she should have used clothing to cradle her head. The wagon bounced, lurched, bumped, and swayed as the iron wheels rolled over every uneven brick in the roadway.

  Her head struck the bottom, and the top of the crate, many times, until she wanted to cry out for it to stop. The consequences be damned. She would be bruised and probably cut, but Sara hadn’t called out to quit, so neither would she.

  With all the jarring and bouncing, she couldn’t get her eye positioned to see, but she heard the activity of the bazaar, the swirls of loud music intended to attract customers, the shouts of vendors telling the world of their quality and how inexpensive their goods were. Nearby, she heard an argument between two men who used all the swear words she’d ever heard, and more.