“Oh thanks, pal, I can’t wait to get castrated for screwing a toad. It’ll be so worth it,” Cassian replied and I laughed in response.
“Easier than a horse,” I pointed out and he broke a grin. “We’d better get going before Egos sends anyone else to look for us. Do you feel like telling me how well guarded this treasure is?” I asked as I pulled on my boots and a shirt. I tossed Cassian a shirt too and he eyed it like it might burn him before shrugging it on without thanking me.
Entitled much?
“It isn’t guarded as far as I know; just hidden.”
“So how many men do we need to bring?”
“Six?” he suggested with a shrug. “There's a lot of treasure there. It might take quite a few men to carry it out.”
“That sounds like my kind of haul.” I smirked as I led the way back down to the den. If Cassian came through for me on this then I was sure to get out of Egos’s bad books and I could get back to the good life.
While Aladdin picked six men from those who'd volunteered, I waited by the exit. A man with no teeth glared at me and I folded my arms, resting my back to the wall in my best impression of someone who didn't give a shit. And in all honesty, I didn't. I'd be getting out of here in the next thirty minutes.
The toothless cretin stuffed a finger up his nose as he continued to glare and I couldn't conceal the disgust on my face. A shudder ran down my spine at the uncleanliness of these rats. At least Aladdin took pride in himself - maybe a little too much. But this particular guy clearly hadn't washed in at least a month. And if I’d been a betting man, I would have placed a thousand kuruş on it being more than three.
“What you lookin' at?” he snarled.
My eyes drifted to the abandoned sword lying behind him and anger flared inside me as I realised it wasn't just any blade. It was a curved scimitar inlaid with the royal seal on the hilt and it sat in a scabbard of tanned red leather. That was one of the Emperor's weapons gifted to him by the Forken Empire in the south. I'd heard about the wagon going missing on its journey to Osaria a few weeks ago.
I eyed the man before me, clenching my teeth – yes I have teeth you beastly ogre.
I glanced at the scimitar again, thinking out my next move. It wasn't stealing if I intended on returning it to the Emperor. But then again, how the hell was I supposed to steal something from one of The Forty Thieves? That was the equivalent to beating a bird at flying.
“I'm trying to work out what you remind me of,” I said airily, taking a step closer, sure that sword was going to cost me more than a punch. Worth it? Guess I was about to find out.
“Huh?” he grunted.
“Well you either remind me of a pig-ugly dog, or a dog-ugly pig.”
He lunged at me, stumbling as he went. It hit me in a moment of ecstatic clarity that this guy was blindingly drunk. I shoved him as he came at me, meaning only to throw him aside, but he staggered, smashed into a table where five men were sitting and fell down on top of their wine, spilling it everywhere.
A brawl broke out and I grinned, unable to believe my luck as I darted forward and snatched up the sword.
I didn't have anywhere to conceal the large blade so I strapped it to my hip and rotated the belt so it hung behind me. I returned to the wall, pressing my back to it, vaguely watching the street folk beat each other to a pulp while my heart thundered in my chest.
Am I thief?
No I'm taking back what was stolen. If I destroy this lamp maybe the Emperor will thank me...maybe he'll let me return to my old life.
Idle wishes.
I gritted my jaw, spotting Aladdin moving toward the brawl with six men at his back. My gaze scraped across those he'd chosen. All of them were big with large bags on their shoulders. I sensed he'd picked the ones he thought could carry the most.
Greedy shit.
As Aladdin walked past the fighting men, his hands slipped into their pockets and whatever he found went straight into his own.
I pressed my tongue into my cheek, wondering what the hell was the point in these men banding together if they were constantly undermining one another. My training had taught me to look out for my comrades, have their backs under any circumstances. We would have gone to the sun and back for each other in the name of the crown. Not that we’d had much of a friendship beyond that.
Aladdin arrived beside me, biting into a shiny red apple he'd thieved. He held another one out for me and my eyes narrowed. The sweet scent reached me and my stomach growled. The small bread roll Pip had given me hadn’t been enough to satisfy my hunger. And before that, I’d been living on cold gruel in the dungeon for three days. What I’d give to have a hot breakfast handed to me right now...
“One time offer.” Aladdin waved the apple under my nose and I snatched it. I held it close to my shirt about to shine it on my clothes when I thought better of it. Who knew when these items had last been scrubbed? But would I catch more off of them or the apple..?
As I brought the fruit to my lips, I spied a curly black hair sitting atop it and thrust it back at Aladdin.
“I'm not hungry,” I grunted.
He frowned, pocketing the fruit before tugging open the hatch and leading the way out of the den.
Thank Osaria I'm leaving this craphole at last.
I waited for the others to go first, continuing to conceal the scimitar behind my back before I followed them and slammed the hatch above my head.
As I dropped down into the dark passage, Aladdin noted the weapon at my back without saying a word. His eyes glinted with amusement for a moment before he whipped the cape off his shoulders and threw it over my head.
I swore under my breath as two of the gang members grabbed my arms and guided me along the tunnel. The change in the air soon told me we'd exited the den but they didn't take the hood off until we'd marched on for several more minutes.
Aladdin finally tugged the cape off of me, wrapping it around himself instead despite the heat wafting through the streets. The storm had only just settled and people were still keeping indoors. Sand coated the buildings and had turned the world into a swathe of beige and gold.
The morning sun beat down on our backs as Aladdin and the others stood around me in a crescent.
“Lead the way then, Cassian.” Aladdin held out a hand, gesturing for me to go ahead.
I moved along the street, gaining my bearings before taking a left towards the edge of the city. The gang followed on silent feet and anyone who spotted us quickly shrank into the shadows. Everything about Aladdin and his men screamed trouble, and I supposed the way I was dressed now marked me as one of them too. I'd always been gazed upon with respect and intrigue, but the way the civilians’ expressions darkened and their eyes widened told me they didn't think anything of the sort about me now.
I will get my life back after this is done. I have to.
We soon left the city far behind and we reached the verges where a few farmers and tradesmen milled about at the point where the roads met the Lyrian Desert.
I called upon the knowledge Gothel’s magical pill had gifted me, my instincts tugging me in the direction of the cave. It felt as though I'd trodden this path before. And I didn't like the idea that her poison still trickled through my veins.
The desert rolled away from us, great dunes rising like mountains in the distance, an amber sea shifting under the pressure of the wind.
“Where now, mate?” Aladdin asked.
I pointed at the desert and the gang frowned uneasily.
“I ain't walkin' out there. That desert holds nothin' but death,” one of them said gruffly.
“Shut up, Jadar,” Aladdin bit at him. “The treasure isn't going to be easy to get, is it? Otherwise anyone would have it.”
Jadar grimaced and the scars on his face twisted menacingly.
My gaze landed on a row of camels behind a tradesman, their reins tethered to a line of fencing.
“Anyone got any coin?” I asked the group.
Jadar pulled out on
e fat kuru and I rolled my eyes.
“That's enough for a camel’s asshole, anyone else?” I asked and Aladdin shrugged before looking to the others.
Between the seven of them they produced a couple of worthless earrings, a broken watch, a piece of desert glass and a pile of lint.
“Great,” I muttered, waving it away as they tried to hand it to me.
Aladdin reached to his hip and lifted a sword – wait, my shitting sword!
“Hey,” I snarled, moving closer to take it from him.
He grinned, fingering the precious weapon as if he owned it. “You're a thief,” he commented.
I clenched my jaw as my stomach knotted at the accusation. “That sword is the property of the Emperor and I intend on returning it to him.”
“Sure you do, thief,” he mocked, handing it over. “Or you can buy us a few camels with it.”
I stroked the hilt as I reattached it to my hip, securing it tighter this time as I turned to face the animals. “I'm not parting with this. It's owed to the Emperor.”
No harm using it in the meantime though...
“Why do you give a shit about the Emperor?” Aladdin hissed. “His laws got you locked up in a dungeon. You would have died just 'cause you looked at his pretty daughter for five seconds.”
“You've seen the Princess?” Jadar gasped then the others shifted toward me with a hopeful lust in their eyes that built a fierce wall of defence in my chest.
“What did she look like?” asked the bald one who had half an ear missing.
“Tell us,” the stocky one demanded.
I clamped my lips together, my hand on the hilt of the sword as they stepped even closer. I decided to offer them lies, just like I had my torturer. “She's beautiful of course. Raven hair...eyes the colour of the night sky, lips like two butterfly wings balancing delicately on her face.” Ha, suckers.
Jadar shivered, releasing a groan.
I wouldn't give you the truth to pleasure yourself over if it cost me my life. Which it almost had.
“Go go go!” Aladdin's voice suddenly called to me.
I spun around, spotting the tradesman on the ground with a bloody nose as Aladdin dragged the group of camels toward us. They grunted their anger as he forced them to follow him and I shook my head at the shameful act as he handed me one of their reins.
“Wait a second,” I growled, my heart beating out of tune.
“No time to be a law-abiding citizen, Cassian!” Aladdin barked at me, climbing up onto one of the beasts.
I cursed under my breath, dragging myself onto the back of the camel before me and spurring it into a run. The others had to ride together between the remaining three animals and Aladdin and I easily took the lead as our two steeds galloped onto the Lyrian sand and raced up the nearest dune.
Cries of anger followed us from the city, but we didn't look back. Aladdin threw me a wild look and a laugh ripped from my throat.
This didn't just feel good. It felt like freedom.
Holy shit, what the hell did I just do?
We rode on through the day, leaving the city far behind until all that surrounded us was sand. The sun hung like a giant orb above us, the heat unrelenting. Jadar produced a gallon of water from his bag and we passed it between us regularly, though it was running low already. I didn't much like sharing saliva with Aladdin’s hygiene-free pals, but it was that or die of thirst before I made it to the cave.
By Osaria, I hate germs.
Gothel's magic guided me like the path was etched into my mind. We headed west for several hours before taking a turn toward the north.
Soon, I spotted a huge rock on the horizon roughly shaped like a giant eagle. I grinned, kicking the camel into a fast pace to reach it.
The gang hollered as they took chase, evidently thinking we were close to our prize. But we weren't there yet.
We passed under the shadow of the hulking rock form and my breathing stalled. The horizon glistened, a wave of heat rippling on the edge of forever. It glimmered then changed, the sand seeming to shift as a rainbow of colours fanned across the dunes.
A prickle of magic washed over me and an oasis appeared, stretching out ahead of us in place of the endless desert. Two lush green mountains which shouldn't have existed in the Lyrian sat right at the heart of it. The rush of a stream and the call of birdsong sent my heart pattering.
I turned to the gang to find them smiling wickedly at the sight before us.
“Where next?” Aladdin asked keenly.
I jerked my head toward the mountains then kicked the camel into a fast jog. The sand turned to grass beneath its feet and the animal released a honk of excitement at the prospect of water.
We soon delved into a deep forest of palm trees where the air was thick with moisture. I sighed under the shelter of the shade, the cooler air a blessing. A chorus of tropical birds sounded all around us and the gurgling of a river called us on.
It wasn’t long before we found it and paused to let the camels take a drink. Aladdin drew his steed up alongside mine as the gang dropped down and hurried into the river to quench their thirst. I was anxious to get moving, wanting to get my hands on that lamp in case Gothel had already found someone else to bribe into coming here. A triumphant smile pulled at my lips. That lamp was going to kiss the edge of my new sword. I reached for its hilt but found it missing.
A glint of sunlight caught my eye and I turned to find Aladdin flipping the scimitar over in his grip, having unsheathed the blade after he'd stolen it. Again.
How does he do it? It's like he has invisible arms.
“That's Forken steel,” I said, reaching for it but he held it away.
“And it's Forken beautiful,” he chuckled.
I gritted my teeth, wondering if he knew the worth of that blade. It was the strongest material in the twelve kingdoms. The Forken's were renowned for their beautiful and near-invincible weaponry, and luckily for my Emperor, he had an alliance with them.
Aladdin handed it back to me and I surveyed him curiously, unsure why he was happy for me to keep it.
“Your fingers are lighter than any thief I've ever known. Is it some magic?” I asked, sheathing the scimitar again and tying it at my hip for the third time today.
“No,” he said. “It's pure skill.” He winked at me in that way that said he owned the world and I released a snort of amusement. How did someone with absolutely nothing to his name have so much confidence? As if he was a far richer man. Perhaps he was already spending the treasure in that cave, presuming his wealth.
I knew it was bad form for me to allow The Forty to get their hands on that trove. But it was a trade-off that would allow me to destroy the lamp. And frankly, I was starting to give less of a shit about my code of conduct since I had no one to answer to right now. But if I one day managed to expose Gothel for what she was, I’d no doubt be welcomed back into my old position. My truant tongue would have to learn to behave again. I’d return to the company of my thoughts where I let out my inner frustration.
That worked before. It can work again. I just need to focus on getting this done then figuring out how to prove what Gothel is.
The gang returned to the backs of their camels and I led the way on, anticipation crawling through my veins as we followed the river upstream.
As we passed into a crevice between the two mountains, the roaring of a waterfall caught my ear. I encouraged the camel into a gallop, the thieves crying out excitedly as they followed. My heart thumped harder as the wind rushed over me.
The river turned a sharp bend and there before us was the incredible falls. Higher than any I'd ever seen, tumbling down a sheer cliff. Rainbows danced between the spray, the water so blue it shamed the cloudless sky.
I dismounted the camel, tying its reins to a tree before advancing on the towering waterfall. I drew my scimitar, a creeping sense of danger flooding over me from this place. A strange humming filled the air which had everything to do with magic.
Aladdin quick
ly joined me and followed me into the river. It wasn't too deep, allowing us to walk through its depths. As we drew closer to the falls, the water pulled us forward. A strange whispering filled my ears but I couldn't make out the words which seemed to be spoken in some ancient language.
I stepped beneath the falling water and it didn't pound down on my flesh as I expected; instead, it trickled over me in a wave of heat. The sensation slipped beneath my skin and an inch of fear found my heart as I fell under some power.
We emerged in a wide cave on the other side, stepping up onto a flat expanse of rock. The eight of us hurried to its edge where the cave dropped down into an enormous garden. Instead of fruit, gemstones hung from the branches of the trees, nestled amongst glowing red flowers and leaves so bright they sparkled. It was magic, pure and simple. And I wasn’t going to lay a hand on any of it but that lamp.
Aladdin's men muscled past us with whoops of excitement, but my gaze stuck on the one thing in this place that mattered. A single beam of sunlight cut through a hole in the roof of the cave, falling on a pedestal at the far end of it, illuminating the bronze lamp upon it.
I know that lamp is powerful, I just don't know how exactly. But I'll have it in pieces before I ever find out.
A fierce determination took hold of me as I took a step forward. Aladdin planted a hand on my chest to stop me.
“That's what you want?” He pointed at the lamp and I nodded firmly.
“That's all,” I growled, as his eyes twinkled with some thought. My muscles tensed, my heart galloped. I was so close to finishing this.
“Why?” he demanded.
My tongue swelled with heat and suddenly the answer burst from my lips, though I willed it not to. “I think it holds some magic, some power that Gothel wants. It must be immeasurably valuable.”
I clamped a hand over my mouth and Aladdin gazed at me eagerly.
“It's mine,” I snarled, heat pumping through my veins. “Everything else in this place is yours.”
Forbidden Fairytales- The Complete Series Page 10