“They moved yesterday afternoon,” said one of the mages. “I think they got tired of the raids we made.”
“Were you successful?”
“It’s a huge army. Our job is not to defeat it, but to steal supplies, create confusion, and take any offered opportunity to delay their advance. Our people are already following them. We’ll keep on their tails as long as we have the cover of the forest, and then fall back.”
Zo nodded. The raids were no more than a trivial nuisance for an army of such massive proportions, although they probably made the rebels feel as if they were doing something, perhaps contributing to a battle they would never be able to openly fight. She admired the lot of them, especially Ibad, their leader. At least, he was making an effort, however small, to protect his homeland from the king’s vicious minions. It was important to fight for your rights, even if you knew the odds were not in your favor.
“Thank you for your help,” she told them. “We’ll manage from here on.”
One of the mages searched through his pack, and handed her a bundled packet. “Some food supplies. Ibad said you may have need for them.”
“Please tell him I’m extremely grateful for his help, and the kingdom of Iram will welcome him, and all of you, anytime he decides to lead his people there.”
The mage smiled; a quick tilt of the lips without any humor. “We won’t desert our land.”
Zo nodded as she took the packet. They had their priorities and she had hers. After saying their goodbyes, they walked along the edge of the chasm, heading in the opposite direction to where the village of Irri lay. She had no intention of deliberately following the path of the akachima warriors.
The moon rose, a bright, silver, fiery circle against the black sky. They reached the safety of the grove of trees where they had parted with Erob. After settling in for the night, they huddled near the fire, each lost in their own thoughts.
Zo wanted to get home as soon as possible and save her siblings. Later, she would discuss this bubbling pot of violence and bloodshed that was the mainland with her brother. Perhaps it was time they did something about Vindha. If he was the one who had hired someone, most likely Zima, to kill Seve then Iram wasn’t safe for long. Ibad was right; no nation could stand alone for long. But, the question was; what could they do? Iram had a token fighting force of soldiers, and perhaps no more than three hundred mages. Vindha probably had many more people who were adept at magic. How could they fight an enemy that had greater resources and years of experience in war tactics?
Even if they joined forces with the rebels, Vindha’s army would easily outnumber them and he was recruiting more and more people with each passing day. His victory seemed inevitable. Zo put the dreaded thought out of her mind. She would consider it later.
After spreading her blanket, she wrapped herself in her cloak and bedded down for the night. The stars twinkled, bright as ever, in the sky. Her thoughts strayed to Leo. His talent was fickle, and he would need training to hone it. Iram didn’t have any prophets, seers, or fortune-tellers. It would be impossible to find a proper tutor for the boy. It wasn’t enough to just have talent. The important thing was to work at the craft, ceaselessly and with perseverance. He would not amount to much if he wasn’t willing to put in the time and effort to shape his craft to its ultimate potential.
And he did have the potential. In fact, he was brimming with it. It would need a skilled tutor to guide the boy and make him fulfill his destiny, whatever it was.
She didn’t know how it had happened, but the boy was her responsibility now. He was the one who chose her, but she would have to live up to the trust he placed in her. Somehow, she would have to find a way to teach him, train and guide him so he could become a promising prophet.
This too was a worry for another time. Zo closed her eyes, but not before she set up a little spell around their camp’s perimeter to ensure they were not unpleasantly surprised during the night. It wouldn’t do to forget that they were in their enemy’s territory and, at any time, could be under attack.
To her immense relief, the night passed without any incident. In the morning they walked into the nearest village and were lucky enough to find three horses available for purchase. The mounts made it possible to cover the distance at a greater speed. Eschewing the well-traveled paths, they stuck to routes that saw little traffic. On the third day, they came upon a tiny village nestled among orchards of apple and orange trees.
“Ika. That’s the name of this place,” said Arkon as he surveyed the few houses and the lone inn that constituted the entire village.
“You’ve been here before?” Zo longed for a cool drink, and perhaps hot food, if they could get it. A quick meal at the inn would not hurt, and the horses really needed some rest, or else they might collapse. She turned her gelding towards the path that led into the village.
“This was where I grew up.”
Stopping her horse, Zo turned to stare at him. “This? You lived here? Why didn’t you say so? Do you have any relatives here?”
“No. My father and I left this place when I was seven. We never came back.”
The look on his face told her another story.
“Could we take lunch in that inn?” said Leo as he gazed longingly at the neat, well-maintained building.
“No.” Zo turned her horse back. “I don’t think Arkon wants to visit here. Let’s go. We will eat somewhere on the road.”
“Ahh!” Leo moaned aloud.
“No. It is fine,” said Arkon. “We will eat at the inn.”
“Are you sure?”
“I want to see the place. It’s been a while.”
Zo wasn’t sure if Arkon really was up to visiting his birth village, but she didn’t want to disappoint Leo. A hot meal wouldn’t hut also.
As they entered the inn, she was pleasantly surprised to see people inside the inn. Two elderly women and a stooped, old man sat on one of the round tables, while two other tables were occupied with children ranging from age four to twelve. Zo counted seventeen young ones as she walked past them to order at the main counter. Another old man was standing there, ladling piping, hot stew in bowls. A boy of about fourteen years of age stood next to him.
“Here, Nadir. Give these to the little ones first, and remind them not to spill.”
As the boy took off with a heavily laden tray, the old man began to fill the rest of the bowls.
“Greetings,” said Zo.
He looked up. For a moment, a strange, haunted expression crossed his face. “You’re…”
“We are travelers on our way elsewhere,” said Zo. “All we want is some hot food if you can spare any.”
He looked from her to Arkon and Leo. “You’re not from the king’s army?”
“Oh, no. We’re not.” She realized he was scared of them. Perhaps he thought they were mages from Vindha’s army. “We are from Iram.”
“The island?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Nadir came back for another load. Ignoring him, the old man continued to talk to her. “So you live on the island? How is it over there? Has the war started there yet?”
“No. Iram is not involved in the war.”
“Not involved?” The old man stared at her, the ladle in his hand all but forgotten. “So that means everyone on the island is living in peace.”
“Yes, so far.”
Nadir took the ladle and started to pour the stew. The old man dug out two huge loaves of bread from one of the cabinets and placed them on the tray.
“Could we have some of that stew?” Leo hungrily eyed the food that Nadir carried over to the children. “Maybe some bread also? And butter if you have any?”
“Hungry?” The old man smiled. “Well, you have come to the right place, young man. We’ve plenty of food to spare.”
“We will be happy to pay you.”
“That’s good because we can really use the money. My name is Vin,” he said. “Why don’t you join those folks over there, and I will
bring your meal over.”
Zo eyed the table he was pointing to. It was the one currently occupied with the old women and man. “We don’t want to disturb them.”
“Oh, you won’t be disturbing them. We all live here, and they help me run the inn. I am sure they will want to hear about your island, Iram.”
Zo exchanged a glance with Arkon. He shrugged. They went to sit at the table. After the introductions were made, and everyone was reassured that they were not from the king’s army, the old people warmed up to them.
“We are the only ones left in the village,” one of the elderly women, Sheba, informed them.
“Where is everyone else?” said Arkon.
“The king’s mages came close to two years ago, and took all the able-bodied men and women with them. No one was spared except for us, the old ones who were of no use to them, and these young ones.” She pointed to the children who were busy gobbling their food with gusto.
Zo was aghast. “They left the children without their parents.”
“Oh yes. Those who didn’t want to leave the children were chained, and forced to march. It was barbaric,” the second old lady, Arora, said. “If it wasn’t for my sister Ella, we would have all died soon afterwards, but she told us all to buckle up. In the absence of their parents, we were responsible for these children, and it was up to us to make sure they survived. That’s what she said, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yes.” Sheeba nodded. “Ella wasn’t one to mince her words. She gathered all the children, and brought them to the inn. There is plenty of room here. It’s easy to keep an eye on them since there is only one entrance and exit, and the kitchen is big enough to cook for the entire lot.”
Vin brought a tray to the table. “Why don’t you go bring that other tray, lad?” he told Leo. “We don’t get any visitors or travelers now in the inn. It’s just us and the children.”
Leo brought the other tray and distributed bowls of stew, bread, and cheese.
“We don’t have butter, but the cheese is good. I make it myself.”
“How do you get food supplies?” Zo eyed her stew. It consisted mostly of vegetables but there was some meat inside as well. The aroma was delicious. “Do you barter with anyone?”
Sheeba picked up a small piece of bread. She dipped it in her stew, and began to eat. “We grow our own vegetables.”
“And fruits and grains,” said the other old man, Siaz, who had been quiet up until now. “The children help with the planting and harvesting. We grow enough to eat all year round now.”
“And now that young Nadir is growing up, he has begun hunting. He caught a deer last week,” said Vin. “We get by.”
Zo didn’t know what to say. It couldn’t be an easy existence. Four old people and so many children, and yet they seemed to be managing.
“Where is Ella? Your sister?” said Arkon.
“She died four months ago.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” said Zo.
Sheeba gesticulated with the hand that was clutching the bread. “Oh, she was old. And she died the way she would have liked to.”
“Keeled right over as she was picking vegetables for supper. Worked till the last breath of her life,” explained Siaz. “Good lady she was.”
“Did she ever make pots? Clay pots that were painted in bright hues?” asked Arkon.
Everyone stared at him. “Yes, she did. She did that right till the day the mages came and took everyone. She stopped doing that afterwards. Said there wasn’t any point in making the pots if nobody ever bought them. How did you know that?” Vin said.
“I grew up here. My parents lived in a small cottage a little distance off from the main village. Arjun and Rai. I remember once going to Ella to buy new pots with my father. My mother was happy when we brought them home.”
“Oh, yes. Arjun and Rai. That was a good twenty years or so ago. Your mother…” Vin stopped.
“She was killed by mages.”
Zo gasped. “Sorry. I didn’t know that.”
Arkon didn’t quite meet her eyes. “It was a long time ago. Later, my father took me away to Iram.”
For a moment, silence reigned at the table.
Leo belched. He had eaten his stew and a large part of the bread. “Can I go out to feed the horses?”
They had tethered their horses to a post outside the inn. “Vin, do you have a bucket we can use to give the horses some water?”
“Take Nadir with you,” said Vin. “He knows where everything is. And tell him I said to give you some apples for the horses.”
Leo looked a bit perturbed with the idea of talking to the older boy, but went off. Zo watched as he conferred with Nadir. The two lumbered off outside but not before Leo managed to snatch another piece of bread from the children’s table.
“Good lad, that one. Is he your son?” said Sheeba.
Zo and Arkon looked at each other. “Sort of,” said Arkon.
“Ah!” She nodded knowingly. “A stray, isn’t he? What is this world coming to? Everywhere you look there are orphans and young ones left alone to die.”
“He has us now just like these kids have you lot to take care of them,” said Zo.
Arora sighed. “They have us until…”
“Don’t say it,” warned Sheeba. “I plan to live for a long time.”
Vin put the empty bowls on the tray. “Still, we will not be around forever. It’s time we made other arrangements for the children. You all know it’s not safe for them to stay in the village forever. Those mages could return any time and take away the older kids.”
“They have come twice already,” confided Arora. “Luckily, we have a place where we hide the older kids, and they are safe.”
“Every time Nadir goes away hunting I worry until he comes back,” said Sheeba. “What if the mages come across him? They would take him prisoner and we wouldn’t even know what happened to him.” Tears slipped down her cheeks.
Siaz patted her on the shoulder. “There, there. It won’t happen. He is a sensible lad. We’ve taught him to be careful.”
“He is just a boy,” Arora sniffed as she wiped her tears with the edge of her sleeve. “If anything happened to him…”
Siaz patted her on the head. “Don’t worry so. He will be fine.”
“She is right. He will not be fine,” said Vin. “Not unless we move away from this village to a safe place.”
“There are no such places left in Jiambra,” said Siaz.
Vin put his gnarled hands on the table. “You’re right. Jiambra, and none of the surrounding kingdoms are safe now. So we must leave the mainland and go to Iram.”
His words were greeted with silence.
Zo picked up a tray. “That’s a good idea. You are all welcome to the island. Iram opened its borders to refugees a long time ago.”
She took the tray to the counter, and came back to pick the next. Arkon beat her to it. “It’s not going to be easy for them to make the journey,” he whispered as they stood at the counter. “Do you plan to take them with us?”
“We can’t. A group this size will not move fast. We can’t afford to lose any more time, but we can guide them. They are resourceful and will be able to make it on their own, and once they reach Iram, it would be a better place for the children and for them too,” she said.
They returned to the table where a heated discussion was taking place. “Never thought I would have to move away from my birth place. I intend to die here,” declared Siaz.
“Times have changed. We have to think about the children now. They will not be safe here. If the mages take them away…” said Arora.
“Iram is the only sanctuary left open to us now,” chimed in Sheeba.
Siaz pursed his lips. “We’ve always managed to hide the older kids whenever the mages come looking. The cellar in the backyard of the deserted house is as good a hiding place as any.”
Vin put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We will not be able to hide them forever. In a few years’ t
ime we would have to hide more than half of them. The younger ones will grow up too fast. And won’t the mages become suspicious when they see that the group is becoming smaller?”
“And what if we die? What will happen to the children?” said Arora.
Siaz hung his head. “I don’t know. Iram is so far off.”
“It’s a four days’ journey if you walk. Once you hit the sea, hire a boatman to take you across,” said Arkon.
Siaz crossed his arms. “We will see,” he muttered.
Zo cleared her throat. “Well, we have to be off now but thank you for your hospitality. How much do we owe you?”
"Three silver coins,” said Vin, glaring at his obstinate friend.
Zo gave him three silver coins for the food, and three gold coins. “Keep these. Use them for the children. If you do decide to come to Iram, you will need the coins to pay the boatman and to buy supplies on the way.”
They said their goodbyes and walked out. Vin accompanied them. “Thank you,” he said, smiling. “The coins will come in handy during our travel. We will convince Siaz. If we all decide to go, he will not want to live here alone anyway. It is always hard for him to accept change but for the sake of the children, he will come around.”
Arkon shook his hand. “Good luck to you all. If you come to Iram, look me up. I live at the castle.”
The horses were tied exactly where they had left them. Nadir was petting one of them as he fed them apples. Zo looked around for Leo, and found the boy sitting on the stoop of the house next door. He was holding his head in his hands.
Zo walked over. “Leo? What’s wrong?”
He looked up, a tormented look in his eyes. “When we leave, the mages will come and take Nadir and some others away.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What?”
“I saw it…just now when I was giving water to the horse. They came from there.” He pointed towards the direction from which they had entered the village.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “I think so. That’s what I saw.”
Doubting him was pointless. He had proven himself over and over again. “Come on. We need to get out.”
The Demon Mages (The Power of Three Book 1) Page 21