Back in the village, the young woman was taken care of. They were invited to stay for a few days and for once Avia accepted. Both Jadoog and Putt were upset, and it was not a good thing to go separate ways in the mood that was. Osapi kept out of it and for that she was glad. Even if he might have a point of view of someone watching from a distance, he had not observed them long enough to know more than the surface. He was also too young. Yes, she was afraid Osapi would take party for Jadoog for the wrong reasons. It would be no ideal situation for any of them to have Putt along now when she had an apprentice to care for. Their options to take on missions would be limited. Osapi had every reason to keep her grandson away. Yet, she could not bring herself to hand Putt over to Jadoog. It was her responsibility to make sure he was safe, and this wizard had proved himself unworthy. Putt would understand this if he got a few days to calm down.
On the third day Mutaram, the elderly leader of the village, came and fetched them. She demanded Putt to stay, and the four of them left and walked out of the circular building and up the hill, towards where they kept their cattle. Up there was the woman. She stood watching the view over the valley with vacant eyes. She had a simple but clean dress and was accompanied by a few others. On the way up there, Mutaram turned to them.
“We don’t think she’ll ever get well. The time has come. I thought you wanted to be present.” As they continued, Osapi sent Avia a question with his eyes. She had a bad feeling and turned her head to find Jadoog. He was pale, almost green in his face. She felt the content of her stomach make a turn. It had only been days since they returned. It was too soon! She watched the others pass the woman, giving her hugs and kisses, without getting any responses in return. Mutaram waved them forwards. It was their time to say their goodbyes. Had Osapi understood what it was all about? She stepped up to the woman and stroke her hair, watching her vacant eyes. How she had hoped to be long gone before this happened. Osapi and Jadoog followed her lead, and then they joined her.
“Whatever happens now, just stay put and keep quiet” she hissed to them. She wondered if Jadoog would faint. Osapi seemed to handle it, but she was not sure if he had got the pieces together yet.
The woman was gently pushed down on her knees, and Mutaram took place behind her.
“Our dear Furait. You were stolen from us, both in body and in mind. Your body has returned, but your mind has not. We hereby release your spirit from this dead mind so that you can find a new life.” Then she pulled a dagger and with one quick move slid the woman’s throat open. Avia caught Osapi’s reaction in the corner of her eye and grabbed his hand in a hard grip, forcing him to stay put. They watched her blood pump out of her body and finally slump down on the ground. Osapi turned and hurried away, back to the village. She did not blame him.
He hated to leave. He liked the boy, and he had enjoyed the little time he had had as his master. But Avia had not only been angry and firm in her opinion, but she had also become rude and unfriendly in a way he did not tolerate. Yes, it had been stressful to watch the woman she rescued die, but Jadoog was no fool. He got the hint. Avia wanted to be on her way out of there, but not until he was safely out of her way. It was time for him to leave. What would happen to Putt? Though he formally was no longer his master and had no responsibility for him, his heart told him differently. Abandoning Putt felt wrong. Life was, however, no fairytale. You always ended up hurting people one way or the other. You could not walk through life without affecting those you met, and no one gave the promise those effects would be positive. At least he had not sneaked out in the dark. He had said his goodbyes to Putt like an adult. The boy had expressed things about his grandmother that made him think Avia would have a great deal of trouble with gaining Putt’s trust again. The boy had blamed it all on Avia. Though Jadoog agreed, he kept it to himself and had paved the road the best he could for Putt and Avia to work together by saying his grandmother only wanted the best for him. Putt had disapproved, and Jadoog had left.
The path was the same which had taken him to the village up in the mountain. It was the only route unless he wanted to retake the pass. He walked fast. It was downhill, but he was also eager to get away from the whole troublesome affair. At nightfall, he was exhausted. He did not bother to make a fire. He shewed on some dry meat in his pack and fell asleep.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The search
When Avia awoke the next morning Putt’s bed was empty. It did not take long before it was clear he was not somewhere around. All his belongings were gone too. She shook Osapi awake and demanded immediate departure. With her apprentice close behind, she more or less ran along the path downhill to catch up with the treacherous Jadoog. He was the guilty one. Her obedient, timid little Putt would never leave on his own unless Jadoog talked him into it.
They hurried along the path as quickly as they could. Avia would have run if Osapi had not claimed he was too tired. She suspected he was worried for her but knew it was useless to ask her to slow down for her own sake. During other circumstances, she might have considered it sweet, but this day she wanted to lay her hands on Jadoog and get her grandson back.
In the afternoon they caught up with him. But he was alone and claimed he had not seen Putt since he left them. Avia was perplexed but too exhausted, upset and suspicious to get the truth into her mind that Putt had gone alone. Osapi, who had been silent about this matter all day, broke in. He actually placed himself between them and with his hands on her shoulders and said in plain words what she had not wanted to understand:
“Master, Putt left you. If Jadoog had known, he would have waited for him somewhere close by. He has walked for over a day. Putt ran away on his own. And we need to find him!” Jadoog nodded in agreement.
“It’s soon dark” he pointed out. “And if he left last night, this will be his second night in the wild. He knew I took this route. All we need to do is backtrack and search for him.” Avia shook her head in disagreement.
“Then we should have passed him on our way to find you.” Jadoog grinned.
“You were looking for me” he replied. “One of the first things a wizard learns is to keep out of sight.” Avia frowned at him. “Not physically as you warriors can. But mind-wise. If you rushed down that path without thinking about him, it didn’t take much for Putt to keep it that way.”
“He’s been your apprentice for seven days or so!” Avia moaned annoyed. Jadoog shrugged.
“He’s talented.” Avia did not want to hear.
“Let’s go!” Osapi stopped her.
“Master, listen, would it not be better for Jadoog to search on his own? We wait here, make camp, get a friendly warm fire started.” Avia cringed. She did not trust Jadoog, but she could not deny the reason in what he said. If Putt had run away from her and stayed out of sight from them when they passed today, it was less likely for her to find him, than for Jadoog. She nodded. She saw the nod the two men gave each other before Jadoog left up the path. Were they planning something together, or was she getting paranoid?
“I’ll go hunting,” she said, shrugging off the effect Osapi had on her sometimes. She hated to feel manipulated. Hunting always cleared her mind. Manipulated was the wrong word. Osapi tried to make her see a truth she did not wish to see. He had spoken it out aloud - Putt had fled from her. Now she understood the content of the words.
When she came back to the camp, Osapi had had a fire started, and Jadoog had returned. He paced back and forth and stopped when he saw her.
“I’m not sure if you’ll believe me” he began, “but he said he’ll not get near you unless you let me become his master again.”
“Where is he?”
“Up the path. Go and talk to him, please.” Avia handed the rabbit over to Osapi and left the cozy fire for the night again.
The forest ended for a clearing. When they passed there the first time, Avia had thought that since it was quite steep, there must have been a landslide some years ago. The grass had returned, but it would take yet ano
ther ten years before the trees had done the same. Out in the clearing, she saw a silhouette on the path ahead.
“I won’t follow you any longer” Putt declared. “I love you, granny, but you don’t know what’s best for me. I do.” Avia walked closer.
“I do know what’s best for you” she protested, sitting down on a rock. She saw his tense figure a few steps away. “At least right now. I don’t know if it’s common for parents or grandparents, but I thought I knew what was best for you, I really did. But I was only anxious for your safety. It’s not necessarily the same.” She watched Putt. He had not moved. Or spoke.
“Putt, I’m sorry. I truly and honestly am.” She held out her arms to him, desperately wanted to hug him and feel his love. She felt awful. She heard a sob, and suddenly the boy was in her arms, clinging to her. They sat like that for a while.
“About Jadoog…” she said at last, and she felt his body tense under her arms. “He’s welcome to be your master.”
“Really?!”
“Yes.”
“You should show me the place your mother lived someday,” Jadoog said. They sat by the campfire all four of them. The rabbit was all eaten, and they enjoyed each other’s company.
“Tomorrow?” Avia asked. “It’ll take a month or so to get there, though.” Jadoog shook his head.
“It’s no rush. I’ve got an apprentice now, and he’d better be ready for what we may face when we get there.”
“You know, my mother meant no harm with what she did.”
“Few does. Feel no guilt about it.”
“About a year then?”
“A year will be perfect, I think” Jadoog answered. “Where?” Avia considered.
“Do you know about Pueriti? A town up north?” Jadoog shook his head. “It’s more or less to follow the road north from Posita” she explained. “You’ll find it.”
“Pueriti it is” Jadoog confirmed. Avia’s mind returned to Oon Barsate and Hockheba. She ought to let it go. Whatever happened it was not her problem. Yet she felt cheated, and she did not like unfinished business. Maybe she and Osapi should return to Kaid Pah and pay her a visit.
That night Putt crawled up to her and put his arms around her.
“I love you, granny,” he said. She hugged him back.
“I love you too.”
THE END
Caged Warrior Page 15