Anna put a hand on her husband’s shoulder to keep him quiet. “Hush! Here they come.”
Seve and Alicia exchanged amused glances. Uncle Vernon was never politically correct, and always mildly amusing.
“She looks beautiful,” said Seve.
“She does,” Alicia agreed.
Zo looked radiant today. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were brimming with happiness. She held Arkon’s arm as they walked up the temple stairs and entered the holy place together. They came to a stop in front of the priestess.
“Friends and family, we are gathered today to witness the holy bond of matrimony between Princess Zo and Arkon. They pledge their lives to each other for as long as they both shall live.” The priestess tied one end of the cord to Arkon’s hand and the other to Zo’s. “With this bond, do you promise to love each other, to maintain the sacred union of matrimony, and respect and love each other forevermore?”
“We do,” Zo and Arkon spoke in union.
The priestess began the ceremonial prayers.
“I wish they would cut short this part, or at least allow us to sit,” whispered Vernon.
His wife kicked him in the shin.
“Oh!!” He winced and kept his mouth shut.
Tears pooled in Alicia’s eyes as she watched the ceremony. Seve put his arm around her, clearly feeling just as emotional.
“I miss mother and father,” she said.
He pulled her closer. “So do I.”
As the prayer came to an end, the priestess blessed the couple and removed the cord. Leo stepped forward and presented the rings. After the wedding rings were exchanged, everyone congratulated the couple.
Alicia kissed Arkon on both cheeks. “Now you are family, Arkon.”
“Mind you take care of my sister, commander, or you will have to answer to me.” Seve hugged him, grinning broadly. “Of course it’s likely she will teach you a lesson herself if she is ever unhappy with anything you do. Ouch!” He rubbed his arm where Zo had pinched him. “See how good-natured and amicable she is.” He laughed and hugged Zo.
Alicia kissed her sister’s cheek. “I can’t tell you how happy I am.”
“I know.” Zo brushed back the tears from her sister’s eyes. “Don’t you dare cry or I will start too.”
“Enough of that, girls! When are we getting some food to eat around here?” Vernon said in a loud voice.
Laughing, Alicia grabbed his arm. “Let me take you to the garden, uncle. The wedding feast will be served there.” She walked him and his wife to a table in the garden.
It was the perfect day for an outdoor wedding feast. The sky was bright, cloudless, and clear. The gardens were blooming with colorful flowers. Trellis frames, laden with vines, guarded each entrance. Three long tables were set up in the garden. Each table could seat a hundred people. Most chairs were occupied already. Alicia signaled an usher to seat her aunt and uncle. She scrutinized the arrangement. Her instructions had been meticulously followed. Each table was adorned with a pristine white tablecloth and matching napkins. In transparent glass jars, placed three feet apart on each table, she had grown a single red rose, its petals touched with the slightest hint of pink.
Seve came to stand by her side. “Everything looks great.”
“I just wanted it to be a special day for Zo and Arkon, and for all of us. It will be a long time before we can all meet together under happy circumstances once more,” she said as they both watched the happy couple arrive at the garden and meet the rest of the guests.
The bearers began to carry the lunch platters out from the kitchen. Heaping mounds of rice. Oven-baked crisp turkey. Spicy chicken. Lemon scented fish. Hot bread. Jars of honey and butter. Puddings and cakes. Everything looked delicious. Soon the tables were full, and the guests were happily digging in. Cheerful banter and laughter filled the garden as people exchanged news and gossip. Some toasted the couple, while others shouted out wedding night jokes.
“We will meet like this again, Alicia.” Seve gripped her hand. He looked focused and determined. “This war will be over soon enough.”
“Yes. Of course,” she said, her eyes prickling with unshed tears as she realized that she didn’t have the heart to tell him that perhaps such a day might never come in their lives ever again.
Chapter Four
The sun was a bright ball of fire on the clear, azure sky. The humidity was worse than the heat, and there was no sign of relief as no clouds dotted the horizon. The wind was silent; not a single leaf moved on the trees under the shade of which Alicia and her party were taking shelter.
They had just disembarked from the boat that brought them to the mainland, and were now checking supplies and gearing up for their walk inland.
Theodore hefted his pack on his shoulder. “We’ll see you back on the island soon, Princess.”
Alicia helped Maya close her pack. “Buy horses as soon as you can. They will cut your journey time in half, and remember to avoid the main roads. You don’t want to run into Vindha’s mages. Safe journey, my friends.” She clasped Maya’s hand. “May the Goddess be with you both!”
“We pray for your safe return, Princess.” Maya smiled.
Alicia watched them walk on the narrow path that led out from the beach and into the wilderness beyond. Soon, they disappeared from view. Their destination was elsewhere; they would go east to the pass and contact the various kings and queens of the northern kingdoms.
“Should we also continue, Princess?” Jace wiped the sweat off his face with his hand. He bent to tie the tightly rolled blanket to the bottom of his pack.
Although she had hated to deceive her companion, Alicia consoled herself by remembering that there was no other choice. If Zo and Seve knew what she was planning, they wouldn’t have allowed her to step outside the island. “I’m afraid you will have to continue without me, Jace.”
Straightening, he stared at her. He looked shocked. “What do you mean, Princess?”
“I’m not coming with you, Jace.”
Bewildered, he shook his head. “You’re not going to the temple?”
Alicia lifted her pack, and slung it over her back. She was ready to leave. “I’m going to the temple, Jace, but you are not.”
“I’m not?”
He probably thought she had lost all sense. “Someone else will be joining me in my journey to the temple. But you, Jace, have another purpose to fulfill. The ameers! We need them. They must join us in this war. If we don’t convince them to ally with us, Vindha will certainly persuade them, or force them.”
“The keep? You want me to go to the keep?”
He had been evicted from the keep of ameers. The ameers were mages who dedicated their lives to the learning of knowledge, careful study and experimentation of magic. They shunned all contact with the outside world. “You are the only one who can make them see the necessity of this action. I know you can do this, Jace.”
Jace shook his head. “They will not listen to me. They threw me out when I told them I planned to travel to Iram to warn king Seve about the attack on his life. The rules in the keep specifically forbade all mages who reside within those walls to have any contact from the outside world.”
“You must make them see reason.” Alicia stepped back. “Make them understand that Vindha will not give them a choice in the matter. They are all powerful mages. Do you think he will leave them alone? He will either subvert them to his will, or kill them and offer their bodies to the demons? Either way they will not be free as they are now.”
“The ameers have taken a vow to stay away from the world.”
“It’s time to break that vow, for I fear that if they don’t, they will suffer dire consequences. They will lose their freedom and their will. Tell them!”
“I see the importance of this. The keep would surely be in danger of an attack by Vindha. He will not leave them alone to do as they please.” Jace frowned. “But surely someone else can do this? You should have told this to King Seve. Ashar or Arian
could have gone to the keep.” His face brightened. “We can send King Seve a message. He will send those two. I am supposed to go with you.”
“Ashar and Arian both don’t have the power of persuasion that you possess. Wasn’t it you who convinced them to join your cause when you left the keep to come to the island? No. It must be you. Leo has seen it in a vision.”
“But Princess, I can’t just leave you alone…”
“I won’t be alone.” Alicia took another step away from him. “There is someone else who is meant to come with me. Any who go with me from the island will die during this journey. Leo has told me. You trust the boy prophet, don’t you?”
“I do, Princess, but…”
“You must trust me also. I didn’t tell King Seve because he would not have allowed me to come alone. He would have found a reason to defy the prophecy, and I don’t want to be the reason for other people’s death. Now, you must not waste any time. Go to the keep, and convince them to move with you to the island. Seve will have great need of experienced mages. The ameers can’t hope to fight Vindha if they don’t join forces with Seve.”
“But you…”
Alicia paid no heed to the pained expression on his face. “They must understand that the demon mages Vindha is creating are an abomination on this world. They disrupt the natural order of things; they will alter the elements and disrupt the very source of our magic. They don’t just use the elements, they subvert them to their will. If we don’t stop them, if we don’t stop Vindha, this world will cease to exist as it is now. And perhaps, all magic will be lost.”
Jace’s face paled. “That can’t be, Princess.”
“It will be so if we fail to act now. The demon mages are a bigger threat than we realize. Request the mages in the keep, badger them, or plead with them. Do what you have to do, Jace, but take them to the island. Don’t attempt to follow me. You will only be wasting your time. Please do as I say. It’s vitally important for you to trust me on this. Goodbye, Jace.” She turned to walk away. It would be possible, if not easy, for her to deceive or confuse him enough to get away. His skills as a mage were of no match to hers, but she hoped he would see the futility of following her against her will.
She knew that what she was doing was dangerous. It was possible that her selected companion may choose to not join her, although she believed he would come with her. But even if she was meant to do this alone, she would. She had deliberately kept this decision secret from Zo and Seve.
She recalled Leo’s words: “Any who follow you from the island on this quest will die, Princess. You will find someone on the way and he will aid you, guide you, and protect you. You must place your trust in him.”
After hearing that dire prediction, how could she have taken someone along from Iram? And Jace was the perfect candidate to contact the ameers at the keep. For years they had kept themselves aloof from the political turmoil that held the mainland in its bloody grip. But it was time for them to emerge out of their sanctuary, and join the real world in a fight that would determine the course of history for generations to come. No one would be able to stand alone in this war.
As she walked, Alicia observed the countryside; the path along the beach was dotted with coconut trees. She noticed a few thatched huts, but saw no living soul. The land was deserted. She passed a mud hut, its roof half-collapsed. It probably belonged to a family of fisherman who either moved away due to the war or were forcefully enlisted in the army. A torn ragdoll lay against one wall, next to a broken pot; the legacy of a family that once lived and worked on this small patch of earth.
She wondered if they would ever come back. Would life be the same for them? Or for anyone else embroiled in this bloody war? Vindha had changed the world, and perhaps it would never revert to its former self again.
Over grassy lanes and through wild bushes, Alicia walked the entire day until she reached the town that was indicated in her map. Zima had guided her well. She entered the first inn she came across, and rented a small room. Rather than go to the dining area and invite unwanted curiosity, she paid a little extra to have the food delivered to her room. The bed was comfortable and the food warm. She slept early.
The nightmare came as it had for the past three nights.
A man screamed and yelled. His lean, hollowed face was familiar. Did she know him? Alicia wanted to help him, to ease his suffering, but he seemed to be locked behind a sheet of glass or a block of transparent, frozen ice. Try as she could, she was unable to reach him, or rescue him from the horror inflicted upon him. His agony brought tears in her eyes. She cried for him, as she had cried for no other man.
Alicia awoke with a start. She pushed back her hair and realized that her face was drenched with sweat. Throwing back the covers, she walked over to the window and opened it fully, allowing the night breeze to ruffle her hair. The moon and stars twinkled in the dark sky. Somewhere in the dirty and silent lanes of the town, a dog barked. All else was silent.
Who was this man? Had she met him before? Was her nightmare real or a figment of her imagination? It was possible that Leo’s description of the man she needed to rescue planted these images in her head.
Or was it something more? A premonition? A vision?
Confused, Alicia went back to bed. Sleep didn’t come easily. The next morning she bought a horse. The mare wasn’t trained for stamina or speed, but rather was a cart horse. In these miserable times, the owner was desperate to sell her.
“The trade lanes have all but dried up,” he told her as he ran his hand up the mare’s flank. His dirty brown hair was tied with an equally dirty ribbon. “I have raised her from a foal, and she is a good, dependable creature. It pains my heart to sell her, but now that I can’t sell my wares over in the other towns, I don’t have the coin to feed her.”
Alicia handed him two gold coins. “I can’t promise that she will have an easy life with me, but I’ll take good care of her.”
He pocketed the coins. “Thank you lady. You’re going far?”
“Very far.” Alicia tied the bundle of hay, and the sack of oats she bought for the mare to its saddle.
He scratched his head. “In these troubled times a lady like you shouldn’t be traveling alone. Mages scour the land, and they aren’t pleasant to deal with. Why just last week I saw three of them chase a young man on the beach. They killed him with their flying knives, and blue fire and whatnot.” He shook his head. “It was a terrible sight to behold. And you know the strangest thing? They carried his body off with them. Damn them!”
Could it be Vindha’s mages who killed a mage to take his body to the temple. “They carried his body?”
“In a horse cart.”
“Did you see in which direction they went?”
“They went north-east.” He clapped his hand on the mare’s flank. “Well, goodbye, dear friend. I will miss you so. May the Goddess be with you both!”
“Thank you.” Alicia nodded.
The horse, old as she was, made the journey faster. And as her previous owner had claimed, she was indeed dependable. Even if she never bothered to tie her, the mare never left her or wandered off. The two of them traveled companionably for two days before Alicia came across an abandoned village. Once it would have been a bustling, thriving community of fishermen, but it was now an empty, sad collection of burned homes. Alicia passed through the muddy lanes, looking for any sign of life, but didn’t see a single living being.
The clap of her mare’s hooves was the only noise in the forsaken place.
The heat was unbearable. Taking a scarf out from her pack, Alicia tied it on her head. She drank some water from the water bag, and kept the horse moving at a steady pace through the deserted paths. Across the village, in an untilled, plain field, she came across an old man sitting in the middle of a field. Beside him was a large mound of dirt and mud. He was crying.
Alicia stopped the mare. The animal reared, raising its front legs in the air as if sensing something dangerous nearby. “Shh!”
She patted the mare. “Easy does it.”
“She senses the dead,” the old man said. His clothes were filthy and torn. And he looked as if he hadn’t eaten in days.
“What?”
He looked up, tears shining on his cheeks. His hair, unkempt and dirty, stuck out wildly at odd angles. A shovel lay at his feet. “My wife, my son’s wife, her brother, his family, my daughter-in-law’s family, my relatives and friends all are buried in this grave.”
Alicia looked at the earth that been dug and shoveled back in place. The pit looked to be as big as her room back in the castle. The mare reared again. Alicia got off the animal. Holding the reins lightly in her hands, she walked over to the old man.
“I am sorry. How did it happen?”
Fresh tears escaped his eyes. “The king’s mages. Who else? Two years ago they took all able-bodied men in the village. My son was amongst them. Yesterday they came and forced all the young boys and girls to accompany them. My two grandsons and a granddaughter, not one of them above the age of fourteen. They took all of them. People from the village protested, so they killed them with their magic spells. I was away in the forest, collecting wood. I came back to see their dead bodies. I will never see anyone of them again.”
Grief filled her heart. Alicia was lost for words. What could she say? Had Vindha become so desperate for new soldiers that he was recruiting children now? Or was he taking them for some other reason? There wasn’t much she could do. Folding her arms, she offered a prayer for the lost souls.
She put her hand on the old man’s shoulder. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
Shrugging off her hand, he scooted away. “Leave me alone. I want to die. They should’ve killed me also. What use is this life?”
Alicia suppressed the tears that sprang to her eyes. What was it like to lose everyone you loved? How could one live through such a tragedy? “I am sorry,” she said. Taking out some of her food, she wrapped it in a scarf and left it for him, along with two gold coins.
The Warrior Mage (The Power of Three Book 2) Page 4
