“If a spirit lies to you, they become your servant until you release them, which was the same thing that happened to Gansukh the Ice Spirit. Because spirits and demons come from the same world, it should work on demons as well. You know what? I’ll just come with you.” Lhandon said as he set his knife down.
He wiped his hands on a towel and followed me to the front gate.
“Hello,” the older man called to Lhandon. “My name is Amraa, and this is my granddaughter, Buka. I was unaware that this rest stop was now being run by monks.”
“Temporarily,” Lhandon said. I saw him trace the rune out of the corner of my eye. He cleared his throat. “Amraa, are you a demon, spirit, or an entity from any other world other than the Middle Plane who hopes to cause harm to us?”
“That’s one way to do it!” Roger cackled. “Straight to the point. I can tell the monk is hungry.”
“Am I what?” Amraa shook his head in disbelief. “Are you asking if I am a demon?”
“That I am,” Lhandon said. “And if you would please answer me, it would be most appreciated.”
Amraa looked from his granddaughter back to Lhandon. “No, we are simply citizens of the Island Kingdom of Jonang. I have paperwork, if you would like to see it. I have paperwork for Buka as well.”
“People carry paperwork here?” I asked.
“It is one of Emperor Hugo’s new laws,” Amraa said with disdain. “It was why we went to the capital city, actually. We had the paperwork made in Zol, but then Buka here decided to test if it was flammable.”
“I’m sorry, Grandad!”
“But if you would like to see it,” the older man said as he reached into his shoulder bag.
“Nope, that will be fine,” Lhandon said, an earnest smile taking shape on his face. “We would be honored to have you as our guests tonight. There are some things you should know, however, before you stay here. But you know what? Before I tell you, I believe we could use some help in the kitchen. Specifically, I think we could use your help, Buka. Do you mind helping while I speak to your grandad out here?”
“I can be super helpful,” the young girl practically shouted. She jumped into the air, pumping her fists. She then realized she was being impolite, or at least she assumed she was, so she bowed her head, apologizing. “I always help Mom and Granddad in the kitchen of the brewery,” she said after her apology.
“Wonderful, wonderful,” Lhandon said, nodding for me to open the gate. As soon as I did so, Buka pressed past me, sprinting toward the kitchen.
“I’d better go with her,” Roger said hurriedly, “just in case Saruul is feeling especially ravenous.”
Amraa and his granddaughter, Buka, turned out to be gracious guests. The young girl was actually helpful in the kitchen, and the older man was sympathetic to our cause. Of course, we hadn’t told him all the details yet, but he was aware that we had faced a little trouble from Emperor Hugo, whom he didn’t like, and that we had fought off the demons at the rest stop.
“Really, it is no trouble to me,” he said as Saruul brought a plate of chopped fruit to the table. There was something that looked like pineapple, although it was pink. There were also slices of blood oranges and a flower that Buka said was edible.
“You now understand what happened here,” Lhandon reminded Amraa, “so we’re not really doing you a favor or anything by letting you stay here. It isn’t our gift to give.”
“Not true. Had we walked up on this place, and had you not come before, who knows…” The elderly man swallowed a lump in his throat. “Who knows what would have happened. So for letting me stay here, you may stay in my place in Zol. We have a cottage, you know, behind the brewery.”
“It’s really too much,” Lhandon said. “We don’t want to bother you. Besides, there are the issues that I discussed outside with you, and the fact that we have people actively looking for us.”
“I would feel dishonored if you did not stay with us in Zol,” Amraa said firmly. “Unless you have another place, which doesn’t seem like you do.”
“We were going to go to the monastery…”
“The monastery!?” He frowned, a series of wrinkles stretching across his face. “I don’t know what the monasteries are like in the other cities you’ve been to on our island, but the one in Zol is a hotbed for iniquity, for monks that prey upon young women, and a head monk who preaches a terrible interpretation of the Path, if you ask me. No, you will stay with us. It is settled. As I said, we have a cottage at the brewery that we use for storage and for when family members come from Ganbold. Also, since you mentioned that being discreet was an important part of your journey, you should know that our brewery is on the outskirts of town, near a path at the base of the Bayan Mountains.”
“There are mountains there?” I asked as I chewed one of the flower petals. It was surprisingly sweet, almost reminding me of a Turkish delight.
“There certainly are. The only mountain range on the island, to be exact. The Bayan Mountains protect the city from some of the storms that come from the outer coast. The inner coast is generally fine, and you can see the beaches from many of the rooftops of our cities. How else can I describe it? Zol is very much nestled in the mountains, with views of the beach on one side, but the protection of the peaks on the other. I am biased, but I believe it is the most beautiful city in the Island Kingdom.”
“Good to know,” I told him as I took out the treasure map that Nyima had given me. “We received this map from a friend near Anand. Can you tell us anything about its location, or the complexity in reaching the place?”
“A map, huh?” he asked as I slid it across the table to him. As Amraa took a monocle from his shirt pocket and placed it over his right eye, I went for another flower petal. The elderly man looked at the map, licking his lips and squinting.
“What is it?” Buka asked, also chewing on a flower petal. “I want to see it!”
Saruul, who sat next to the young girl, reminded her to finish chewing before speaking.
“But I want to see the paper…”
“When do we get to put the kid to bed?” Roger asked. “She’s cute and all, but boy is she a little loudmouth.”
“You’ll be fine,” I told the bird. “And if you’re bored, you can go up to the room and sleep. We’re winding up down here anyway.”
“Who said anything about being bored? And sleep? It’s my job to stand guard.” He yawned, sticking his tongue out of his mouth, which caused Buka to laugh.
“Okay, then go outside and stand guard.”
“Fly guard, Nick. And I’m trying to get up the nerve to do it,” he admitted to me quietly. “I would prefer if you opened a window up there, so I could zip in and out. You know, sleep for an hour, guard for an hour.”
“Yes, I know exactly where this is,” Amraa finally said, removing his monocle. “There used to be a bridge that led to this particular ridge here.” He turned the map to me and tapped on it with his fingernail. “But it was destroyed by a terrible windstorm a few years back. There is another bridge here, but the locals don’t use that bridge.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“It is said to be protected by a terrible spirit. Most people just look at that particular mountain from a distance now; the locals are too afraid to actually scale it using the other bridge.”
“And there’s no other way to get here?” I asked, returning my focus to the map.
“I suppose we could get some climbing gear in town, if you are up for a steep climb.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Lhandon said. “Perhaps we can see about the bridge with the spirit on it. We do have ways to handle those types of entities, and it sounds like it would be doing the city of Zol a favor.”
“It will be dangerous,” Amraa told Lhandon. “But as you say, you do have ways to handle these things...”
“It’s really our only option at this point,” I told him. “Once we arrive and settle in, we can prep for the journey.”
Amraa nodded. “It would be an honor to help you.”
“And it would be an honor for us to accept any help you are able to offer,” Lhandon told him, bowing his head. “And I will take your warning about the monastery to heart. Unfortunately, I still must visit the place as I’ve been told they have a copy of a rare book there that I would like to take a peek at. It is called Conversations with a Hellspawn.”
“I haven’t heard of it,” the man said as he ate an orange, “but if it’s a rare religious book, it’ll be there.”
“I’ve also been meaning to ask you about recent births in the city. I’m actually looking for someone in particular, a boy that was born without crying. Have you heard anything about that?”
“You mean a boy was born and he never cried a single tear?” Amraa asked.
“That’s what we were told.”
The old man thought about this for a moment as he ran his hands through a few scraggly hairs on his chin. “I would have to ask Sarnia, Buka’s mother. She runs the bar at our brewery, and if that’s the word that’s going around, she will have heard of it.”
“Can I go outside?” Buka asked, half a flower petal sticking out of her mouth.
“No, I think it’s best that you stay here,” her grandfather told her. “In fact, I think it’s time for you to go to bed. Finish your flower, Buka. The sooner we leave tomorrow morning, the sooner we’ll be back in Zol.”
“I have to agree with your grandfather. I think it’s best if we all go to bed,” Lhandon said with a warm smile. “Let’s leave after an early breakfast and be done with this place.”
“Yes, and I can speak to some people I know in the city about what has happened here,” Amraa offered. “Of course, I won’t mention you three…”
“Four!” Roger squawked.
“I will only say that the rest stop looked like it was abandoned, and that I saw some graves. They will send representatives from the city, put the place up for auction. It is important that the stop is still here as it is the only one between this portion of the jungle and the city. There are a few small villages, but they’re generally off the beaten path.”
“People died?” Buka asked.
“Don’t worry about that, dear,” her grandfather said, patting the back of her head. “Come, let’s go upstairs.”
“I’ll help with the dishes,” I said as Saruul’s tail lightly grazed against my leg.
“I suppose I’ll head up to my bedroom then,” Lhandon said. “Roger, would you care to join me? Let’s give Nick and Saruul some alone time.”
“Alone time? You really want these two to procreate, don’t you? Fine, fine, even though you can’t understand me, I will come up there and keep you company. Nick, tell him to open the window when he gets in his room.”
“He wants you to open his window,” I told Lhandon as he made his way up the stairs.
“Certainly,” the monk called down to us.
Saruul and I waited a moment until we heard footsteps above us, some heavy and others light and swift.
“Finally,” Saruul said, exhaling audibly.
“Finally,” I agreed as she came into my arms.
“And we get a room to ourselves tonight,” she said after kissing me. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“I’ve been thinking what you’re thinking since we were stowaways on that ship. I hoped we would have more time to be alone together, but no.”
“Especially with your bird,” she said as she turned to the sink and began washing the dishes. I came up behind her and placed my hands on her stomach, kissing the side of her neck. She grazed her tail against the front of my robes. “Someone has missed me,” she purred.
“I really have.”
“Let’s clean up, then go upstairs and…”
“Sounds like my kind of evening,” I said as I continued to hold onto her waist.
“You have to let go of me so I can clean,” she said, her tail grazing me again.
“If you say so…”
Chapter Seventeen: Bully Monks
Needless to say, I slept like a baby after my night with Saruul, happy for the privacy, glad to have a moment to escape from all this madness.
But the morning brought its own share of worries, all coming from my overcalculating mind. So I did what I had increasingly learned to do when faced with a stressful moment.
I meditated.
Sitting with the bed behind me, I practiced the technique that Lhandon had taught us the other night.
I stepped out of my own mind and observed each thought as they came. As much as I tried, I couldn’t stop from going over my encounter with Hugo, even feeling my heart flutter as it had in his throne room.
I was going to have to fight him at some point.
It was inevitable. And it was going to be brutal.
I accepted this and moved on.
Then there was what happened in the courtyard the previous morning, my ability to reverse time. How would I be able to use this in a way that was to my advantage? Would it be possible to learn to control it?
Control.
Release control.
My thoughts silenced themselves for a couple minutes, before a new one surfaced, bubbling out of my brain, visible from my current perspective from the outside looking in.
Once I handled Hugo, I would have to again turn my focus towards figuring out a way out of this world. Perhaps it wasn’t the best choice for me, but I would like to have the option, and I would like for Bobby to have the option as well. Tom too, if he happened to be alive.
I pushed this thought away as well.
A purple light started to beam down on me and I focused on it, my mind finally coming to a screeching halt, everything peaceful for once.
Eventually, Saruul woke up and we had breakfast with Amraa and his granddaughter.
Lhandon came down halfway through breakfast, sweat on his brow, the monk clearly finished performing prostrations. Only Roger slept, the bird tired from a night of patrols.
After Lhandon led one more blessing over the graves, we set off for the city of Zol. Buka could be quite a handful, but with Roger around, she wasn’t able to get very far into the jungle if she did decide to run off.
He ended up flagging her down a number of times, allowing us to locate the young girl, her grandfather scolding her each time.
“But I saw a butterfly,” she moaned as she batted away a few of the flies.
All Amraa could do was grin. “What I wouldn’t give to be as distracted as you, little one.”
The foliage changed as we neared the city. Many of the leaves and flowers started to turn various hues of purple and maroon, some of them resembling the fall colors I had experienced every year in New England.
“The whole damn place turns purple this time of year,” Amraa explained as we circled around a small bend, the dirt path widening. The path had been recently cleared out, evident in the fresh rake marks on the ground.
“Should we use your rune?” I asked Lhandon.
“Not a bad idea,” he said. He was just about to trace it when Amraa stopped him.
“What does the rune do?” the elderly man asked.
“It disguises his face,” Lhandon told him.
Amraa considered this for a moment. “I have an even better idea: if we follow the stream up ahead, we’ll come around the backside of the brewery. This way, we can make things more discreet. You can save your rune for later, if you need to go into town. Besides, this is the more scenic route anyway.”
“Lead the way,” Lhandon said, bowing slightly.
Once we got to the point where I could see the start of the city on the horizon, we turned straight into the jungle, Amraa guiding us down to a babbling brook with vines taking it over, colorful frogs occasionally popping up out of the water, purple leaves floating past them.
There were signs of civilization around the stream, a basketful of discarded clothing, even a few strips of leather hanging over a low tree branch. But we didn�
�t see another soul as we came upon the backside of a brewery made from large stone slabs that had been cemented together with sparkling sand.
Buka ran off, screaming for her mother. She disappeared into a side door, laughing as she did so.
Amraa led us to a cottage at the back of the brewery which was an in-law suite of sorts, with its own outhouse, kitchenette, and several beds. “Please, relax for a bit while I talk to my daughter.”
“We certainly will,” Lhandon said, “and thank you for your hospitality.”
“I should say the same to you,” the old man said with a chuckle as he stepped out of the cottage.
“Whew! I could get used to this,” Roger said, falling onto a bed and claiming it for himself.
“There are three beds, and three humans,” Saruul reminded him. “How about I throw a pillow on the ground for you?”
“How about I throw a pillow on the ground for you?” he shot back. “Just turn into a tiger and sleep on the ground.”
She whipped her tail at him.
“Nick!”
“Call me a tiger one more time, I dare you,” she said, watching him fly around the room, eventually settling on a cabinet.
“Are you going to protect me, Nick?”
“You brought this one upon yourself,” I told him.
“It’s a small space, but it will do,” Lhandon said, ignoring their banter as he took a seat on the floor, his legs crossed beneath him. “In an hour or so, I will go to the monastery with the hopes of reading and copying as much as I can from Conversations with a Hellspawn. Hopefully, the monks here aren’t as bad as Amraa has made them out to be.”
“And if they are? Are you going to use your cold hands on them?” Roger asked.
I sat down on the bed next to Saruul, feeling an afternoon nap come on. I yawned, smiling at her.
Lhandon looked from Roger to me. “What did he ask?”
“He wants to know what you will do if they are bad,” I translated.
The monk slowly pressed himself up from the floor. “I’m sure they will be fine.”
Path of Possession Page 16