“Jay! Jay!” Gnaeus said, his hands outstretched in an embrace, as if to a long lost friend. “My dear friend, is this the 'other' friend you were talking about?”
Gnaeus was holding Arcana’s free hand. He attempted to kiss it, but Arcana pulled it back.
It was a surprise that Varak did not wake up to do something about the exchange.
Arcana looked towards Judas, who just shrugged.
“You are all welcome to stay in my room,” Gnaeus said, winking at Judas, “I’ll make the arrangements immediately.”
Arcana turned to Judas, but Judas shook his head.
“Sorry Gnaeus but we already have a room,” Judas said.
“Are you sure?” Gnaeus said, disappointed. “Well, if you change your mind, just ask.”
“I am sure,” Judas said with finality.
“At least let me help your friend there,” Gnaeus said as he helped carry Varak to the room. Judas did not have time to decline.
“Oh,” Gnaeus said, protesting under the weight of Varak.
They put Varak on the bed.
“We can take it from here,” Judas said to get rid of Gnaeus.
After they closed the door, Arcana asked, “Who was that? Anyone we should be concerned about?”
“An old acquaintance who refused to help when I asked him to,” Judas said. Arcana didn’t press for details.
Arcana looked around the small room.
“It isn't much but it will do,” Arcana said as she looked at the room.
Then handed him four silver coins “You did well getting us a place for the night,” Arcana said, “considering this inn was probably full. Two silver coins for what you gave the innkeeper, and two more for our stay today and tomorrow.” Judas didn't ask how Arcana had known how much he had paid the innkeeper.
“I will need some time to heal Varak,” Arcana said.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Judas and Arcana exchanged glances.
He walked to the door and opened it by an inch. It was one of the serving maids, come to bring dinner. The innkeeper was beside her.
"Is your friend going to be all right?" The innkeeper said, a look of worry on his face. “Is he ill?”
"He is a bit feverish,” Arcana said, “but nothing a good night's sleep won't cure.”
The innkeeper nodded. "If there's anything else you need, just talk to me,” he said smiling as he closed the door. Arcana thanked the man.
Judas made sure to bolt the door, then he closed the window.
Arcana knelt and leaned over Varak, whose breath was now heavy. Sweat covered Varak's face.
Arcana did not think they were still within the jinn's range, but there was no other choice.
Arcana put her blade on top of Varak's wound. The red veins had spread to his entire chest and upwards to his neck. Judas watched as she began to weave the blade in circular motions as she recited words of power. To his eyes, there was nothing to indicate that something extraordinary was happening, but he knew, or rather, felt it was there.
The hairs on his skin rose, and he saw that the red veins began to recede. Very slowly at first, but it healed faster and faster until it all disappeared.
After a few more moments, Arcana relaxed.
“It’s done, Varak is safe,” then she turned to Judas and embraced him. She felt so soft.
“Thank you for helping carry him here,” Arcana said, as she pulled back, “for building the stretcher, and for finding a way to get us a room in this inn. We should be relatively safe here with the Praetorians about. They are not our allies, but they will be the first ones to fight the jinn at the first sign of it. Even a jinn will have trouble fighting the Emperor's Black Guards.” Varak was still unconscious, but his breathing no longer appeared to be labored.
“Your power to heal,” Judas said, “where does it come from?” He too was a healer, but mostly he healed people through nutrition, exercise, herbs, and prayer. His way of healing took time to take effect, allowing the body to heal itself naturally. Arcana’s healing, however, was different. It involved an unseen, unnatural force that Judas had seen done by only one other person in his life, and that person happened to be his Master.
“My power comes from the Zohar,” Arcana explained. “This dagger channels energy from the pieces of the Zohar scattered all over the world. Only those who possess both the knowledge and this dagger can use it.”
“It allows me to draw a trickle of power from the Ten Fragments scattered all over the world,” Arcana continued, “but only a trickle. If the Ten Fragments were united, then its potential would be limitless. That is one of the advantages to possessing the knowledge.” Somehow, Arcana had not given up on convincing him to receive the secret and enter a contract with her. But Judas would not budge.
“Doesn’t that bother you?” Judas said. “I mean, if you passed such knowledge to me, you’d be leaving the fate of the world in the hands of a criminal.”
“A falsely accused criminal,” Arcana corrected. “One who did not leave us behind, when he could have ran away.” Arcana smiled. It was such a sweet smile that it was worth all the trouble that Judas had gone through.
They spent the rest of the night eating in silence. The warm meal was a welcome delight, for Judas had not eaten anything since the last village... True, they had eaten leaves and herbs that Arcana had gathered in the forest, but Judas didn't count those as food, as they tasted more like grass than anything.
That night, Judas did not mind sleeping on the hard, wooden floor, and he was surprised to find that Arcana did not complain either.
The next day, Judas woke up to a man's loud call.
He never thought he’d be glad to hear it. “Wake up, it’s time to move.”
Judas grunted in protest, it was still too early and he could use just a little more sleep. Varak prodded Judas on his side with the tip of the scabbard.
That did it.
“Is that the way to thank someone who just helped save your life?” Judas looked around, rubbing his side, Arcana was no longer in the room.
Varak looked at him, but did not say a word of thanks. “If you think that I trust you just because of accomplishing such a small thing, then you’re mistaken. I never needed your help in the first place, my blood would have fought off the curse of the jinn's blade.”
Varak was wearing his full plate armor. It turned out he must have gone out to retrieve it while Judas was asleep.
“A little thank you would be nice,” Judas said. But Varak just glared at him with that dangerous look of his, so Judas to keep quiet.
When they were ready, they went outside and found people gathered around. Judas wondered what it was, so he asked the closest person.
The villager turned to Judas.
“They caught a demon,” the villager announced.
Chapter 4 – Demonness
Arcana and Varak looked at each other.
Was it possible that the Black Guards had somehow caught the jinn that was chasing after them? If so, they were very lucky to have stayed here.
“The demon was caught by the Praetorians?” Arcana asked.
“No, the Praetorians are gone,” the villager explained, “this demon was caught by our town guards and with the help of a several villagers.”
Arcana frowned in disbelief, as it was impossible for ordinary people to catch demons or jinns. Judas had moved closer to see for himself if it was indeed a demon.
“It’s not a demon, it’s just a woman,” Judas said to Arcana. The villagers had tied the woman to a wooden stake. “They’re planning to burn her alive.”
“Of course, it’s a demon taking the shape of a woman,” the villager defended, “what else could it be?”
“How do you know if it’s a demon or a woman?” Judas said. “Have you considered if she’s innocent?”
The villager shrugged. “If she’s innocent,” the villager said, “then she will go to heaven. If she’s a demon, then she deserves what she
gets. Let the god of death decide who’s right or wrong.”
Judas shook his head in disbelief.
“Besides,” the villager said, “if it’s not a demon, it’s probably a sorcerer or a witch. Whichever it is, she deserves to be killed.”
Arcana’s eyes grew cold, then she pulled the two away from other people’s hearing. “I do not sense anything demonic, nor do I sense any power from this woman. I should be able to tell from this close, but there is nothing.”
“We can’t keep putting ourselves in danger for people we don’t even know,” Varak warned, but Arcana wasn’t listening. Arcana looked like she was planning to meddle again, like how she did with Judas.
“First we adopt a criminal,” Varak said, “now we adopt a witch too?”
But Arcana ignored Varak.
“This is why humanity is not ready for the power of the Zohar,” Arcana said under her breath, “the blood of the innocent is in their hands. We must keep the secret only to ourselves, and wait for the right time to give it to humanity.” Arcana lifted her blade. Was she planning to fight?
But Arcana handed the blade to Judas, along with a small purse.
“I haven’t agreed to your contract yet,” Judas protested.
“Just hold on to it for safekeeping,” Arcana said. Judas knew what she was trying to do. She was trying to get him used to holding the blade, showing him that it was all right. “Do not worry, I will not give you the knowledge, only the blade. There will be no Blood Oath to make you responsible for it. I will have it back from you once this is over.”
Judas shook his head, but to no avail.
“If they catch us,” Arcana explained, “we can handle ourselves, and worse comes to worst I still have some strings I can pull. But if they find this in our hands, they will ask the wrong kind of questions, and the wrong kind of people will find us. In the meantime, this is safer in your hands, Judas.”
Judas sighed and agreed. There was no harm if he just held on to the blade of the Zohar for her. He took the small blade from her hands, and with that, Arcana disappeared into the crowd. Varak followed close behind.
Judas cursed mentally.
You seem to attract the wrong kind of company, Judas, the inhuman voice inside his head spoke. Judas pushed the thought away.
A few moments passed.
Then a commotion started in the middle of the crowd.
Judas groaned helplessly. These two had a knack for putting themselves in the center of all trouble, it was no wonder that the two were the only ones left of their clan. Though Arcana seemed to have a plan, Judas didn’t like it one bit.
After a few moments, Varak and Arcana broke through the crowd with the woman they just rescued following close behind. Local guardsmen chased after them. The two made a point to avoid looking in the direction of Judas, otherwise, it would have given Judas away.
Judas took several steps back, trying to disappear amongst the crowd. He watched in silence, as Arcana and Varak and the freed captive escaped.
Now what?
Maybe he should go back to the inn and wait for them there. He turned and began heading in that direction, but a few moments after he started, he heard commotion from behind. He looked to find more than a dozen guards, and in their middle Judas saw Varak and Arcana in chains.
Great.
Now he had to find a way to get them out. Sure, Arcana had offered a plan in case they got caught, they had ‘connections’ high up. Judas looked for the woman who was accused of being a demon, but there was no sign of her. From the look on Arcana’s face, they had probably bought her time so she could escape. At least something good came out of it. Despite being caught, Arcana and Varak didn’t struggle. Arcana was confident that they could get out of this, that she had strings that she could pull.
Judas hoped that she was right.
Judas followed the crowd to where the guardsmen were taking his two companions. While he believed in Arcana's and Varak's skills, and while it was likely that they could get out on their own, he wanted to make sure that they were all right. The guardsmen took the two to the city prison. Arcana and Varak would be held there until a trial could be held.
Judas took a step forward, but a hand on his shoulder held him back. Judas turned to see a woman whose face was hidden under her hood.
“Wha-?”
The woman put a hand to his nose, silencing him. Then the woman pulled off her hood slightly, revealing her face for a brief moment.
It was the witch woman. Or the demon woman. Whichever she was.
At that moment, however, one of the villagers spotted him from the crowd and pointed at him.
“Hey!” the villager called, it was the same villager they had asked about what was going on earlier. “That man is with them!”
The local guards turned to him.
“This way,” the witch woman called.
Left with no choice, Judas followed her and ran.
Chapter 5 – The Ancient
“They went in that direction,” the ragged old man said, pointing with his pouted mouth.
At that, the footsteps of the local guards faded in the distance.
“Come, come,” the old man whispered. “They're gone, but hurry.”
The two hastily stood up and followed the old man into an inner alley. “I hope you don't mind our humble accommodation,” the old man said, “which you will see later.” In this part of the city—Judas realized it was a city and not a town—the buildings grew larger, and the population grew denser. Had it not been so, it would have been difficult to lose their pursuers.
“We don't own any land here,” the old man explained as they walked, “but since no one wants the land we stay in, we can use it as our place. For so long as the ones in power don't decide to force us out.”
The old man walked in front of them, leading the way into the complex system of small alleyways that ran deeper into the city.
Judas and the witch woman followed quietly. He looked at her, and she in turn eyed him from the corner of her eyes.
“I've been around here for two years now,” the old man rattled on. The old man's clothes were blackened in several areas from the dirt of the streets. His hair was white, unkempt, and grew in tangles. But the old man's strides were sure. “And I've seen all sorts of folks who got in trouble with them Roman Guards. Why, even the Local Guards side with the Romans, quite ironic don't you think?”
Judas nodded for the old man to continue.
“Considering,” the old man said, stroking his grey beard. “its the Romans who conquered our land. And today, the youths serve the Roman Military, oppressing the poor with their taxes.”
As they went deeper, the streets lined with more and more of the homeless. Their dirty faces looked up as the three passed.
“Ho there, Vashni,” the old man called as he passed them by. “Ho there, Yahsar! Ho there, Shiras!” The homeless tipped their hats or nodded their heads to the old man.
The old man stopped in front of a man who had several crates beside him.
“What's up old man Busho?” the crate-man called.
“Mahdim,” the old man said, “we need two beggars clothes that'll fit for them.” At this, the crate-man wasted no time and took out several ragged clothes, handing them to Judas and the witch woman.
The two understood and donned the ragged clothes. This would help for them to blend in, in case their pursuers came back.
“That's better,” the old man Busho smiled a gap toothed grin.
With their disguise, the two followed Busho as he headed deeper into the den of the rejects of society, until they reached what appeared to be the hub.
“I told you not to expect much didn't I?” Busho turned to them.
Here, the homeless lined every corner, some huddled about, talking, Some lay down on the streets. Some kept warm by the fire. The smell of sweat, dirt, and earth was thick in the air, a rancid sweetness.
“But you two can stay here,” old man Busho said, “
wait things out until it's safe. You are always welcome here, and feel free to always come back if you need somewhere to stay in the future.”
“Thank you,” Judas said.
Judas thought about Arcana and Varak, but he couldn't do anything about that now while the guards were looking for him.
“Why help us?” Judas said.
“The enemy of the Roman Empire are our friends,” the old man said as he stretched his back, his bones cracking as he did. “Oh, oh,” the old man grunted.
Another set of footsteps came from behind, this time it was the sound of metal greaves on the cobbled stone road and the clinking of chain mail. These were not the same as the local guards, they were better equipped Roman Guards. While the local guards were militia, civilians equipped with weapons and leather armor and drafted from the local populace, the Roman Guards were fully armed, and most of them were veterans, tried and tested in battle.
Judas and the witch woman moved toward a corner, careful not to draw attention. They sat and huddled with the others. The old man grumbled and headed off to meet the guards.
The Roman Guard who apparently was the Captain, described to the old man the two that they were looking for. Judas counted about about a dozen of the Roman Guards. In contrast, there were hundreds of homeless people here. But while there were many times that number of homeless people, the homeless people could do little against them should the Roman Guards decide to rely on violence.
“As you can see,” the old man said, waving his hand to the others who were huddled around, “it is only poor beggars here. We are living in peace, in a small plot of land owned by no man. We don't break any laws. We don't cause trouble for no one. We are thankful always for your work in keeping the peace, Captain.”
The only reason that no one wanted this small piece of land was because it was close to the landfill, the garbage dump of the city.
"Maybe we should force it out of him," one of the guards sneered.
Judas tensed. If the old man got into trouble because of them, Judas wouldn't be able to bear it. The Roman Guard Captain scanned the area. For a moment, the Captain's eyes fell on Judas.
The Lost Book of Chaos: How to Divide the World (The Secret Wars of Angels 1) Page 8