“Which is?” I asked.
She smiled. “To make the hosts better.” She paused and looked at each of us in turn before finally continuing. “Of course, better is subject to interpretation.”
No one spoke as the information sank in.
I licked my lips. “So which one have we been talking to? The Avenyts or the host?”
She smiled. “The host, of course. That’s the difference between their thinking. The Dark Avenyts believe that the host is flawed and must be tightly controlled for their own well-being. However, the Light Avenyts do not believe in directly interfering with the decisions of the host. They also believe the host is flawed, but that the only way they will improve is to make mistakes and learn from them.”
She paused, and her eyes flicked to the right. “Uy says I’m getting off track. I do tend to do that. Oh, and Uy is my Avenyts. Her full name is Uylendiseeizna.” She nodded. “So tell me about this charm that is causing you so much trouble.”
“Well, Zofie has lost her will, and Abe has gone silent. But they have spoken to me when I’ve been in trouble. For instance, right before your people found us, Abe, speaking through Zofie, warned me to be nice to you. During one of those times, he mentioned that Zofie was working on him from the inside.”
She looked up as her daughter returned and again sat behind her. “That is interesting. Perhaps we should go visit them.”
I looked up in surprise. “Go visit?”
She glanced over her shoulder to the girl behind her. “Keep watch.”
The girl nodded.
Kaleefah looked back to me and gave one of those toothy smiles. She held out her hand.
I gingerly took it. Not sure what I was getting myself into.
To my surprise, she held out her other hand toward Cabrina. “You too, child. You must see the damage you have wrought.”
Cabrina gave the hand a look of loathing. Her eyes briefly flicked toward the door as if she was considering running.
Kaleefah wiggled her fingers. “Are you afraid to meet those you’ve injured?”
Cabrina stared at her a moment. “Yes.”
Kaleefah gave a broad smile. “Good, there’s hope for you yet.”
Cabrina slowly stretched forward, but the elder quickly reached forward and snatched her hand.
Kaleefah looked to the others. “We’ll be back in five heartbeats.”
The hairs on my neck rose as I felt a powerful surge of myst, and for me, the world suddenly changed. I found myself standing in a place of all gray: everything around me, for as far as the eye could see, was a dull light gray. I had been to this place before. It was the realm of curses.
In front of me stood Kaleefah, and even though she was of a different species, I could tell this was a younger version of herself. All her wrinkles were gone, and she was a brilliant yellow color. She was dressed in a pale robe of a similar shade. It was painful to look at her because of how she contrasted with the gray world. While she was beautiful, it was obvious she didn’t belong here. Like me, she was visiting.
Looming beside her was the stick figure of a curse—arms and legs nothing more than simple lines, with a large circle for a head. Uylendiseeizna. And like the other curses of this realm, this one had a symbol inside her circle head—a tropical flower I was unable to identify. And as I had with other curse figures, I sensed movement inside her head from tiny gears rolling about and giving off specks of light, rapidly whirling and flashing. It was almost hypnotic.
Beside her stood a very surprised Cabrina. She was looking around wild-eyed and seemed ready to panic. On her shoulder sat a smaller version of a curse stick figure. Like the others, this one had a circle for a head, but there was no symbol inside it. It had to be No-name.
She patted Cabrina on the head. “Be calm. There is nothing to be frightened of here.”
“Oh yeah,” Cabrina answered. “Then w-w-why are you scared too.”
I felt a presence behind me and turned to see someone I was completely unprepared to see. Zofie. She had both hands balled into fists and was beating on some kind of invisible barrier. She was yelling at me, but there was no sound.
And beside her stood a curse I knew instantly. It was Abe—a stick figure with the single eye of his curse anchor in his round head. Only, he was frozen in place. If I looked closely, I could see that the tiny gears in his head were motionless.
I ran to Zofie and placed my hands against the barrier. “I can’t hear you,” I yelled.
She stopped pounding on the invisible wall and gazed at me forlornly. So close and yet so far.
“This is interesting.” Kaleefah came up beside me. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She reached out with a single finger and touched the barrier. The tip of the digit glowed, and when she pushed, the barrier stretched slightly, but it did not break.
Uy leaned to Kaleefah and whispered something in her ear.
Kaleefah nodded. “You’re right. This is some sort of charm.” She looked back at it in puzzlement. “But why is it here? Curses are blind to charms. And why is Princess Zophia in there? A charm can’t do that.” She gave a very snakelike hiss.
Uy again leaned down and whispered.
She looked to Abe and stepped to stand in front of him. “Can you understand me?”
Abe remained motionless.
Kaleefah gave another very snakelike hiss. She suddenly reared back, her right hand starting to glow, and smacked the barrier hard. The entire wall quivered and took up the glow, but like the surface of a lake, it quickly settled.
Uy leaned down and whispered to her again.
Kaleefah turned in my direction and gave me a considering look. “Didn’t you say that Princess Zophia had talked to you?”
“Yes, but it was only briefly and usually at the worst possible times—like when we were going to be killed.”
She growled deep in the back of her throat. She looked over to Abe and peered at him closely. She pointed, talking to Uy. “See that part there in his making. It’s off to one side. It doesn’t exactly match. I think something has been added.”
Uy again whispered to Kaleefah.
“You’re right, there are other parts scattered about. It’s like he was put together from leftover pieces.” She looked up at Uy. “But what has that got to do with this barrier?”
Uy turned her head in my direction. I blinked, and she instantly stood before me. Grabbing me by the neck, I was lifted off my feet. I couldn’t breathe and struggled to get free. But, while she may have looked like just someone’s line drawing, she was incredibly strong. Too strong to break loose. I felt the world begin to fade.
“Stop it!” I heard Zofie shout. I turned panicked eyes toward her and saw Zofie leaning close to a small hole in the barrier.
Uy put me down. As soon as my feet hit the ground, the hole started to close.
She leaned toward it. “It’s Abe’s ability to change luck. It interferes with the charm. But only for a few seconds after the danger passes.”
“Zofie!” I yelled and ran to the barrier. “What can I do?”
“No time,” she yelled, the hole rapidly closing. “I’m fine. Abe wakes up periodically, usually when this part of him becomes active. But most of the time, he stays motionless. But whatever you do, don’t cut the charms off. They’re booby-trapped....”
And then the hole closed. Zofie continued talking for a few seconds before realizing no sound reached us. She slapped the barrier in frustration.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, and Uy stood next to me. I took a step back, fearing she was going to grab me again, but she put her stick figure hands together and bowed her head.
“She’s saying she’s sorry for grabbing you,” said Kaleefah, stepping closer. “It was to see if endangering you would do something to the barrier. And it did.” She made that hissing sound again. “But how this is interacting, I don’t understand.”
Uy leaned down and whispered in her ear again.
Kaleefah n
odded. “You’re right. We must leave now.”
I turned to the barrier and laid my open hand against it. Zofie came forward and did the same from her side. She looked ready to cry but was fighting not to.
“I’ll get you out of there,” I said. I put my other hand over my heart and pointed to her. She smiled sadly and did the same.
“And now we must leave,” said Kaleefah.
Suddenly, I found myself back in my body in the hut. Fumiko was beside me, a look of concern on her face. I smiled at her. “I’m all right.”
She looked relieved. “You wouldn’t say anything.”
I nodded. “I got to see Zofie. Her will... I don’t know, soul? Is behind a barrier. But she’s all right. Abe and her both.”
“I’m sorry,” announced Cabrina from the side. She was looking down. “I didn’t mean to cause either of you pain.”
I opened my mouth to reply but was interrupted by one of our guards rushing in. She spoke urgently to Kaleefah in their native language.
The elder made a growling sound in the back of her throat. “It looks like you were followed after all.”
She quickly got up and moved to the door with the girl shadowing her. We followed her outside.
It was dark now, and all the stars were out. But to my utter surprise, that wasn’t the only thing we could see in the sky.
Far away, there was what appeared to be a giant glowing eye high up in the sky over the river. A beam of bright light shot out of it, and it would sweep back and forth along the ground. Even from this distance, you could tell it was looking for something.
And it was coming closer.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
In Plain
Sight
Fumiko pointed. “What is that?”
Kaleefah didn’t answer at first, studying it intently. The river people gathered along the shore with us and talked excitedly among themselves.
The elder finally turned to the leader and talked with him. After a brief exchange, he nodded and went over to huddle with his warriors.
After her discussion, she stepped toward us. “That, I imagine, is someone looking for you.”
“But what is it exactly?” I glanced back toward it. “Whatever’s attached to the eye has to be huge.”
Kaleefah chuckled. “It’s not some giant monster. Instead, it’s a myst working. A type of one we haven’t seen since the great war. You’ve definitely attracted the attention of someone with a lot of resources.”
I cocked my head to one side. The great war? Just how old was she?
Ever the practical one, Fumiko asked. “Do we need to run or defend against it?”
Kaleefah shook her head. “No, we just need to...”
Loud drums interrupted her. I jumped at the sound. Four of the villagers had set up large drums close to the central fire and were beating them to a spirited rhythm. The villagers began to gather around them.
“What are you doing?” I leaned toward Kaleefah. “Are you calling for reinforcements?”
The elder shook her head and pulled her mouth back into her version of a smile. “No, when you want to hide something, the best place to hide it is out in the open.”
Some of the villagers had started singing. It was getting hard to hear Kaleefah.
“I don’t understand.”
Spraggel clapped me on the shoulder. “My boy, don’t you see. We’re going to have a party!”
A villager woman, one of the honor guards, ran up with several necklaces. She passed them out to us.
“Put those on,” instructed Kaleefah. “It will help you blend in.”
I put it on as instructed but felt no different. I then did the same to Zofie, and to my surprise, her appearance—hair, skin coloring, and fascial structure—changed to that of a young village woman. Spraggel, Fumiko, and Cabrina quickly donned theirs and became villagers of similar ages and heights.
Kaleefah nodded at her handiwork. “Those will also mask your myst signatures. Now all that’s left is to have a little fun and wait for those things to pass.”
“What about Oddfrid?” I asked.
She nodded again. “Already taken care of.”
Fumiko leaned forward. “Won’t they be suspicious that we haven’t noticed them?”
Kaleefah shook her head. “On the contrary. They’ll be suspicious if we do notice. That thing would normally be invisible, but we’re able to see it because of the barrier around the village. It shows all invisible things.”
“Barrier?”
She nodded. “It’s how I earn my keep. Keeping all the pests away.” She grinned and pointed at the giant eye. “Even the myst ones.” She pushed me toward a knot of people around the fire. “Now mingle. No more than two of you together at a time. And leave the princess with me. I’ll have her sit at my side. She’ll look like an attendant.”
I turned to say something to Spraggel but found he wasn’t there. Looking around, I saw him holding a clay cup, and using hand gestures, was trying to talk with one of the older ladies. I couldn’t help but smile. Spraggel may be older than the Creator himself, but he definitely knew how to get around.
Fumiko leaned close. “I’m going to patrol the perimeter. I’m not comfortable with this subterfuge, and I want to be ready in case it goes bad.”
I nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on Cabrina.”
She was immediately off toward the edge of the activities.
I didn’t have to look far for the youth. She was glued to my side. Even through her disguise, it was evident that she was nervous.
I glanced up at the eye. It was nearly on us, and I didn’t want to give it the least indication we didn’t belong.
I leaned toward Cabrina. “Kaleefah says we’ll be all right. I don’t think we have anything to worry about. So try to relax a little.”
Cabrina shook her head. “You misunderstand. Those don’t frighten us. We’re afraid of all the gathered people.” She licked her lips. “Neither of us have experience with this sort of thing.”
I smiled. “Then, the appropriate thing to do is to face your fears.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the crowd standing around the firepit. She reluctantly followed.
The gathered crowd made room for us, and those close by were smil-ing. They didn’t seem very concerned about the watcher above.
Closer to the firepit was a wide, open space. A group of the villagers had formed a circle, holding hands and dancing to the beat of the drums. I did a double-take. Spraggel was in the midst of it, laughing with the older woman I had seen earlier.
I sighed. That man.
At some signal, the ring in the middle broke apart, and the younger girls all ran to join it. Another young girl about Cabrina’s age took her hand and pulled her forward. She nervously looked over her shoulder at me, and I motioned for her to go. She reluctantly let herself be hauled away.
The steps were simple, and Cabrina easily mimicked them. And while her expression was more restrained than the others, she too smiled with her new friends.
I had moved so that I could keep watch on Cabrina, as well as the approaching eye. It took every ounce of control I had not to look at them when they arrived over top of us. The eye paused, seeming to watch us closely. But after several agonizing heartbeats, it finally moved on. I sighed deeply, realizing I had been holding my breath.
After the giant eye had moved down the river, I sat next to Kaleefah, who was intently watching the dancing. Zofie, in her disguise, knelt beside her. I couldn’t resist taking her hand and kissing it. “Do you think they will be back?” I asked.
Kaleefah bobbed her head. I think she was attempting to shrug. “I’m not sure, but I doubt it. The amount of myst needed to maintain the eye is huge, especially from a distance.” She turned to look at me and grew serious. “But you must leave in the morning.”
I had expected this. They had granted us a tremendous courtesy by protecting us. But there had to be limits. We had just put the entire village in danger.
“I understand,” I said. “But will Oddfrid be well enough to travel by then?”
Kaleefah looked back to the dancers. “My student will not be going with you. It will take him weeks to recover enough to even think of using his myst.”
She reached her large multijointed hand over and patted my own. “Fear not. I will not make you walk all the way to the Kuiojia Empire.” She leaned forward and pulled back those teeth in the semblance of a smile. “I will open a portal for you.” Her smiled faded. “I also need to give you some information. I debated about letting you know this.”
The elder considered me for a moment. She then signaled over her shoulder to the young one behind her. The girl immediately got up and then knelt between us. She looked nervous.
Kaleefah ran her hand down the younger’s head, smoothing her downy feathers. I could tell this was a gesture of affection for her.
“My daughter has something she needs to tell you,” said Kaleefah. “You see, I had planned to accompany you to the Kuiojia Empire, but this one has forbidden me. When I asked her why, she didn’t want to tell me at first, but it eventually became too much for her to bear, so she finally did.”
I waited for her to proceed. I couldn’t help but wonder what was so important.
Kaleefah stroked the girl’s hair. “Why don’t you tell him,” she urged.
Haahleefah looked up at me. “I have reached the age of...” and then she said something which had a lot of hisses and clicks in it—a word no human could pronounce. She continued. “This means I can catch glimmers of the futures to come.”
“A foreteller?” I asked in disbelief. They were things of legend.
Kaleefah nodded. “For a few females of our kind, there is a brief period of time, just before we grow old enough to reproduce, where we can see what might happen. Haahleefah has that ability. And she saw something in your future.”
I looked to her expectantly, wondering what it could be.
She paused and turned big eyes up to me.
“One of your party is going to die.”
I stared at the ceiling of the hut, trying to see into the shadows flickering there. A dim myst lantern provided the slight illumination needed for them to frolic in the corners of the supports. I was too exhausted not to rest, yet my brain too full to even consider sleep. The implications of Haahleefah’s foretelling kept running through my mind.
Assassin of Curses: (The Coren Hart Chronicles Book 3) Page 25