The Seeker - Finna's Quest
Page 13
When it looked like they might finally go, Jamal said, “They are looking straight at us.”
Yasmin patted his back. “Shh. No, Jamal. They’re not.”
Although Yasmin denied it, Finna agreed with Jamal. She felt the sailors’ eyes on her for long moments.
Had he heard her or was it a miracle of miracles? Whichever, the gods smiled on them. The ship changed course and went back out to sea.
With a huge whoosh, the three expelled the air in their lungs. They had not been seen.
“Who were they? Do you know, Yasmin?”
“Not Zafir’s men. At least I don’t think so. I’m not certain.”
“Probably men sent by Sabas, then. That lying, cheating, double-crossing, son of Satan, I knew he wasn’t trustworthy. What was Queen Eleanor thinking?” Finna scrambled to the bow to see where the boat went. “Hey. It’s turning west, maybe to search for us in the next harbor. I say we set sail for Crete.”
“Ashokrulillah, we could beat them to shore,” Yasmin said.
“Yes.” Yasmin’s words echoed in Finna’s head. Thanks to Allah. She pounded her fist in her hand. “And we will beat them to shore.”
Finna jerked her head in the direction of where the boat had disappeared. “While they look for us over there, we’ll have a head start. It’s not that far to Crete and if we get a full blossom of sail, or whatever you called it, we can do that, beat them to shore.”
* * *
And with a cooperative wind, they got a good lead before the men on the other boat sighted their sail. From that moment, their chances of escape diminished.
“They’re gaining on us,” Jamal shouted in panic. “Do something.”
“I think we’re far enough ahead to reach the beach first and once we land, we can find a defendable position.”
Lord, let it be true. There were no other options. “Yasmin, paddle faster.” Finna pulled the rope tighter to further fill the sail as the bigger, faster ship bore down on them. “Jamal, keep the tiller paddle set for the target on the mountain.”
The chase had gone on too long and they were beyond exhaustion. Finna blinked in an effort to clear the grit from her vision. Too much sun and too little sleep had rendered them bleary and painful. Raising her arms to readjust the sail seemed to take more effort than humanly possible. So far, they’d managed to stay ahead of the men, but the shore looked leagues away and the ominous ship, with its two sails, steadily closed the gap. In spite of the blood pounding in her ears, she could hear the men shouting from the other deck and it terrified her.
* * *
Finally, the beach appeared within reach and she scanned the sand. “Five hundred paces beyond the water’s edge, there’s a low cliff I think we can scale. The height will give us an advantage in a fight.” Lord knew they needed every advantage they could get. She hoped it would be enough.
Yasmin searched the bluff. “You think we can get there before they catch us? I’m not sure we can outrun them.”
Finna examined the sea behind her for a promising swell. “We need to catch the right wave. Then we’ll beat them in.”
Yasmin hissed through clenched teeth. “I’m tired of running from the prince’s men, from the queen’s men, and now, most likely, Sabas’ mercenaries.” “I need to fight.”
Finna glanced at the boat behind them. Too close. “You’ll get your wish. We’ll have to fight and defeat whoever is after us before we can safely search for the cave in the hills. But first, we need to land.” She turned her attention to the beach rising before them and lowered the sail.
“This one,” she shouted. “We’re riding it in. Sit low and hold on tight.”
Yasmin made a small adjustment with the trailing oar and then pulled it inside.
The boat soared on the swell of the large wave and Finna’s stomach rose with it. She held her breath. It they had caught it just right, it would carry them high onto the beach. If not—
Before she could finish her thought, they were tossed forward as if hurled from a sling and landed with a sliding slap, slicing through the wet sand briefly before coming to a jarring and abrupt stop.
Several swells behind, the prince’s men struggled to control their craft in an attempt to ride a wave to shore. Given the narrow the gap between waves, Finna knew the chances for their success could be dangerously thin. They had to reach the relative safety of the first low cliff first.
Fatigue was a forgotten handicap as adrenalin surged through the trio. Finna took off shouting over her shoulder. “Grab only your weapons and run for the steep embankment. It’s us they want, not our things. After we kill them, we can come back for our gear.” Finna turned to run backwards. “They caught a good wave. Hurry. They’ll be on the beach in moments.”
* * *
Leeth stood on the ledge of the lower cliff and watched the three run. They would get away. He would see to it they were not caught. A voice entered his head.
The role Finna, and Finna alone, would play in Earth’s survival, had its roots in the intergalactic war taking place far across the galaxy. The time was the same as the Second Crusade, Earth’s twelfth century. He needed Finna to survive that war and the dangerous path back to Earth’s timeline if and when the Overlords deemed it safe. The restraints were killing him. Surely there was a more direct path.
He sighed heavily. For Earth to be saved in the future, he must help her survive, but only according to the rules, the Time Overlords’ rules. For him to antagonize the very people who could prevent him from saving her was stupid. Leeth was many things, but stupid was not among them. However, he firmly believed that as important as her survival was to their precious timeline, they could cut him some slack. He sighed again. It didn’t seem they were of the same opinion.
25
Success
Almost Safe
The second phase of Finna’s escape would soon unfold. Leeth repositioned from the edge of the low cliff to his favorite seat above the flat rocky plateau. It was as comfortable as any stone seat could be and he had used it often. Detection did not concern him. In his dark, gray, hooded robe, he was all but invisible in the shadow of the rock.
* * *
With Yasmin and Jamal close on her heels, Finna scrambled through a narrow passageway to the top of a short cliff where an expanse of flat rock ran for miles along the length of the beach. Behind her, scrub trees grew in profusion in front of a higher cliff dotted with many caves.
“Send Jamal into the short trees to wait for us. This could get messy and we need all the elbow room we can get.”
It was only after a brief argument with his mother that the boy grudgingly did as he was told.
“We have them now,” Finna said, still panting from their rum from the water’s edge. She drew her short sword and positioned her fighting stick. The sword, made for close combat, would be her main killing tool, but the lance, used properly on the narrow ramp, would be useful in defending their position. “They’ll have to fight in a single line in order to reach the top of the ramp.”
The first man emerged through the narrow path. He was a huge, mountain of a brute, shouting obscenities with arrogant confidence. He hesitated at the sight of Finna’s metal tipped lance aimed at his face and swiped at it as if to brush a fly away. It was a mistake.
Finna stooped and slashed his knees, thereby stopping his charge. At the same time, Yasmin leapt over her shoulder and buried the metal tip of her lance into his heart. The man collapsed, momentarily blocking the following brigands.
When the next two marauders awkwardly stepped over the large dead body, Yasmin wedged the tip of her fighting stick into the face of the cliff to block their advance. The closest man took the bait and swung at it with his long sword in a futile effort to cut it in half. With a single powerful downward slash, Finna removed his sword arm. Yasmin yanked her fighting stick free and swept his bleeding body from the narrow ledge. The remaining three men turned and ran like cowards at the sight their dead comrades and Finna gave Yasmin the essence of a smile.
“Good fighting. We caught them by surprise. The next onslaught will not be as easy, though. They’re re-grouping and will charge the last few feet of the passageway in hopes of pushing us back where they can fight us three against two. In that case, we’ll lose our height advantage and they’ll gain numerical superiority.”
* * *
Leeth repositioned closer to better admire the fighting skills of the women, even though he knew from watching the replays, the fight would soon be over. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Damn. He did that every time, held his breath as if it could change the outcome. Too bad every victory didn’t go to the bravest or best. A slip, a hesitation, a precipitous movement, any one of these small things determined survival or a restart.
He prayed the two women waiting on the plateau would not be taken this time, but he’d watched them die too many times to expect a different outcome. Under oath not to interfere, he waited once more with a heavy heart for the three men to make their final charge up the ramp. Lord. How many times must he watch their death in a situation where he could not interfere? This business of waiting for the ideal time was about killing him. He needed a timeline-safe way to accomplish Finna’s redemption that would not change the present future. Present future. Ridiculous. What he needed to change was the future’s future. More ludicrous. How was he going to explain that to Finna once he’d finally accomplished his task?
He viewed the hillside remotely for two rocks small enough to hold, yet big enough to crush the skull of a man. Because he could see from any distance, the search was easy. He located two for the task and repositioned them to the plateau behind the women. Before satisfied their position guaranteed they’d be found, he studied the spot he’d put them and redid the placement several times
* * *
Finna signaled Yasmin with her hands, to take a place close to the ledge while she distracted the men below with taunts and curses. When they were in their best defensive position, they each picked up a melon-sized rock they’d found nearby and held them in readiness behind their heads for the men to arrive. It was a good plan and they waited in eager anticipation.
It didn’t take long. The men charged the crest of the ramp, yelling like they were an army of ten. The first two lost their faces to bone crunching encounters with rock and the third, stopped by the bloody remains of his comrades, turned and raced down the narrow trail.
“Coward,” Finna shouted. She slumped against the wall by the ramp. “I’m tired of killing.”
“Mashallah. What Allah wanted, has happened. We did it.” Yasmin spit on the sand below. “Cowardly bastard.” She scrambled for her spear and with one mighty thrust, ended his hope of escape.
Finna snorted a small chuckle. “I see you are not, tired of fighting, that is. That was a good throw. Now the men on the ship will wait longer before they realize their motley pirates were not successful. We will be safe for a while.”
The two comrades stood atop the narrow ledge with an arm over each other’s shoulder and surveyed the carnage. “We made a mess,” Finna said.
“Yes,” Yasmin grinned. “It’s a relief to be free of killers, even if only for a few hours.” She waved for Jamal to join them from the low trees.
“Let’s get our supplies from the boat and beach it better.” Finna bent to pick up a sword and Yasmin stopped her.
“Wait. Blood is running down your arm.” She examined the cut. “It is deep and needs care.”
“Tie it off with a piece of cloth. There’ll be time to fix it properly after we transfer our supplies to a safe hiding place. We need to find the stolen loot before Sabas, or whoever, realizes his thugs failed. I’m just glad it’s not my sword arm.”
Doing as she was bid, Yasmin finished off the knot and motioned for Jamal to come with them. “Even so, this doesn’t give us much time to find the Queen’s treasure and get the hell out of here.”
* * *
Leeth found moments between life-threatening events often mind numbing and tedious. Yawning, he sat back against the rock and closed his eyes only to be jarred awake within moments by the ruckus from a large seagull hovering in an updraft twenty feet away. “Don’t like me being here, huh. All right. I’m going.” He repositioned to a lower ledge and searched for the women, who had disappeared from sight. Although there were over a hundred caves, he made short work of locating them in a nearby one.
He vized the layout of their new digs and was pleased with their choice. The only way into their cave required slipping through a narrow opening that was ideal for defensive fighting. Like before, they would need that advantage.
Leeth reviewed what he must do and admitted that in trying to save Yasmin and her son along with Finna, he would probably comprise his mission. The family was not part of the Overlords’ plan. Saving three lives and preserving the timeline might prove too difficult.
He considered returning to Heraklion and the Flying Fish Market to restart the original chain of events there, with the goal or taking only Finna, but he didn’t know what to do with Yasmin and Jamal. Remembering his faux pas in lying to her about the possible job at the Monastery of Agkarathou made him grimace with guilt. The twelfth century. He should have known the monastery would be a men’s only club.
At any rate, after witnessing the battles on the first level cliff, he realized, that as good as Finna was in combat, she needed Yasmin. In his heart, he felt there had to be a way to keep all three of them alive without changing events on Earth. Although he had yet to see Jamal’s value, he couldn’t leave him stranded. He needed Finna and would find a way to take and make use of the other two on Torg, as well.
He double-checked the timeline with Brother Braylus. Finna needed to locate the chalices fast. Ignoring his sense of their pending deaths, he closed his eyes and slept.
26
Treasure
In Persuit
Finna paced through the narrow passage from the entrance of their cave into their living area and felt secure in that her selection was easy to defend. Deep inside, it was not only spacious, but it also included a small second chamber. For the short time they would be there, they would be comfortable.
She didn’t know how many caves there were in the cliff face, but it seemed like hundreds. Were Sabas a better, or more willing, mapmaker, the task would be easier. Since he was neither, Finna studied the map and the cliff with the belief that she had to generate a short list of the most likely caves where the two chalices were hidden. God’s Bones. How had she gotten into this situation? She wiped her hand across weary eyes. She needed sleep. They all did, but there was no time.
* * *
Finna and Yasmin evaluated the best approach to the selected caves. Although they had seen no one, they worried there might be guards to the treasure. Furthermore, climbing the face of the high cliff carried its own dangers. Finna beat down her pessimistic thoughts, but it wasn’t easy and she longed for less exciting times.
She and Yasmin carried only lengths of rope
and short swords, leaving their hands mostly free to navigate up the steep rocky slope. Jamal, it turned out, was excellent at the valuable skill of starting a fire and they took turns carrying a small lamp he’d lit and handed to them as they started up the cliff from their own cave. Although it was difficult to climb and not spill the oil, they would need the illumination in the dark.
The path leading up was uneven and almost non-existent and Finna arrived at the entrance of the first grotto with bloodied knees, both hands scraped raw and relief. She wasn’t exactly afraid of heights, but she’d been careful not to look down. Sitting as far back from the ledge as possible, she waved to Jamal, who gave her an all-clear whistle. Although she suspected the boy could climb like a monkey, she’d assigned him, much to his disappointment, as lookout at the bottom of the cliff. She’d done it for Yasmin, who was terrified he would fall.
There was no way anyone inside the cave would not have noticed them. The rocks they’d dislodged in their climb would have woken the dead. It was a good thing Jamal was stationed well back from the cliff face or they’d have flattened him with the displaced missiles.
Finna drew her sword and standing in the center of the narrow corridor, slowly swung it from side to side, measuring the fighting space and planting it to memory.
Once inside, their precious lamp gave off little light, but it was enough to see that other than the remnants of a long cold fire, the chamber was bare. She brushed at the trickle of blood running down her leg and huffed in frustration. There were ten other caves on this ledge and every one of them could be just as empty. There’d be no skin left on her hands and knees by the time they were done. “I’ll walk the perimeter in case we missed another chamber. You check in with Jamal to make sure no one is around.”