The Silver Arrow

by Larry Itejere

  “I may have found our entrance,” Samuel said. “Those mounds are underground vents; they were crafted to look like natural rock formations, but if you look closely, you will see that they are too evenly spaced to be sporadic. Whoever did this did not want to be noticed, even in the desert. Hopefully we will leave as unnoticed as we came.”

  Samuel pointed to one of the mounds among the vast numbers spread across the land.

  “That one,” he said, and three of the Ackalans placed their hands underneath the exposed part of the disk-shaped mound, tipping it on its side to reveal a hole the size of a cart wheel.

  Samuel dropped one of his arrows into the hole, counting until it hit the ground. Since it wasn’t deep, he jumped in and called for the others to join him, which they did in succession, calling for the next person once they were out of the way.

  The first thing they noticed inside was the rancid smell that clung in the air. The area around them was covered with broken tools and dirt mingled with human remains that were pushed against the corners of the cave.

  “He is here,” Samuel said. From what he could see, they were enclosed, except for a small section that appeared to be boarded.

  He walked over to the boards, not completely sure what to do, but he placed his hand on the wood and concentrated. Nothing happened at first; then he saw a subtle ripple as the boards suddenly expanded and collapsed into shreds.

  Samuel grabbed a handful of the pieces of wood. They turned silvery and stretched out into perfect arrows that he placed in his quiver.

  Behind the boards was a passageway, as Samuel had hoped, and he walked into the dark tunnel with the Ackalans following. For several minutes, they walked in pitch blackness.

  “Thousands of people are being held here, and we are not to be seen or noticed,” Tremay said, making it clear that their purpose was only to get the Anamerian.

  Staying within the shadows, they made their way through areas that were partly lit, unnoticed until they came to an open exit. Samuel raised his hand, stopping everyone behind him. He peeked into a vast canyon and spotted three armed figures with wolfish eyes on the opposite side of a suspended bridge. A dozen armed Agoras were crossing the bridge and heading their way.

  Samuel had been calm up to this point, but that disappeared when he saw the Agoras that were heading their way. Distinct memories of Elye dying, with an arrow in his chest, flooded his mind. The loss of his father and brothers to these monsters pushed him over the edge, and with an uncontrollable rage, he stepped out into the open. He reached for an arrow, but there were now only shreds of wood. One of them pricked his finger, but he felt nothing except anger. The glow that was once around his eyes was gone.

  The Agoras seemed surprised, but before they could react, Tremay and the Ackalans leaped into the open from the corners where they were hiding, as if from thin air. Within minutes, the Agoras were all brought down.

  Samuel stood there, angry for not being able to take revenge for his family. His emotions drove away any concern about their mission or the advantage of stealth they had just lost. His anger burned like hot steel against the world. He did not care about his ability failing. They had been spotted by the three armed figures who were charging across the bridge to meet them. Six of the Ackalans rushed to meet the Norians, their weapons still covered with the blood of the Agoras.

  “Are you all right?” Mosley asked Samuel, who was still enraged.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “We need to go,” he said, tapping Samuel on the shoulder. His touch pushed Samuel into motion, and he ran after Mosley toward the bridge.

  All this time Samuel thought he had control, but seeing the Agoras brought the memory of his loss back like a wound reopen. Across the bridge, Samuel’s rage was still subsiding as he walked past two Ackalans that were pulling away one of the dead Norians. The second Norian was being moved to a dark corner of the cave, away from the entrance that they were once guarding.

  As Samuel walked into the tunnel, he remembered initially spotting three. Where was the third? They hadn’t traveled far when he spotted the last Norian sprawled on the ground. He drew his eyes away from the creature.

  Tremay called to him as he was unlocking a cell.“Over here.”

  Samuel rushed down the slight slope to a cage built into the wall. Inside the cage was a man covered in dirt, but he recognized the face immediately. Iseac.

  His hair was tangled in dirt and his cheeks hollow, with his eyes sunken. His clothes were in tatters and he looked at them in shock.

  He walked inside. “I did it.”

  “Samuel,” Iseac said, his voice rusty, “I wasn’t sure if the connection I was feeling was true until I saw you standing there. I guess I’m not as crazy as I thought. Help me up. There is someone I need to find. She is being held here because of me.”

  “We will come back for everyone else later,” Tremay said, “but first we must get you to safety.”

  “No!” Iseac replied with as much strength he could muster, trying to pull away. “I would rather die than leave her here,” he thought.

  “I know where she is,” Iseac said instead, as he leaned against Samuel. “Follow me.”

  In the dark from behind iron bars, eyes stared at them. It showed the faces of people who had lost all hope, too frightened to act on their own. No one reached out or cried for help; they just stared in silence.

  They made their way through an open area. In the center, steps rose into what looked like an altar at the top, all made of marble. The Ackalans scanned the area as they made their way around it.

  “Two guard her door,” Iseac said before they turned into the hallway.

  “Wait here,” Tremay said, signaling for three of his men to come with him. It wasn’t long before they heard the thudding sound as the monstrous charge they could hear was cut off.

  “Now,” Tremay said and they made their way to a thick wooden door. One of the Ackalans unlocked it with the key he had taken from one of the creatures and pushed the door open. Iseac let go of Samuel and walked into the room.

  “It’s me, Iseac,” he announced as he leaned down to help Elena, who looked at him, surprised. She took his hand for support and they walked out of the room. She was younger than him, from what Samuel could tell, and like Iseac, she too was covered in dirt.

  “Do you know a way out of here?” Tremay asked.

  “No,” Iseac replied.

  “Then we head back,” Tremay said, turning when Elena spoke up.

  “I know a way, and it’s not far from here,” she said.

  “Show me,” Tremay said in that commanding voice that demanded absolute obedience, and they made their way back, taking a different exit at the grand room with the marbled tile.

  As they hurried through the tunnel, Samuel couldn’t help but wonder if his brother and mother were here, too, and alive.

  The part of the tunnel they were now taking was different. The farther in they went, the more spread apart the fire posts became until they were in complete darkness.

  At the end of the tunnel was a heavy wooden door inlaid with iron. They only needed to use the pulley to roll the chain up in order to open the gate. Two of the men ran over to begin opening the gate, and that was when they discovered the missing piece. A single rod that locked the chain, which held the pulley in place, was missing. Without it, they were at a dead end and needed to find another way.

  Chapter 27

  Hope Rekindled

  It was obvious that they could not use this exit unless they had the rod, so they began making their way back. As they passed the first sets of cells, which had five sections, Samuel thought he heard the faint voice of someone calling his name.

  “Must be my imagination,” he said to himself. Then he heard it again. It was weak, but he did hear it. He knew only someone from his town would recognize or know him by name.

  He turned and began frantically making his way back in the general direction they had come as Mosley and another Ackal
an ran up after him. Samuel hoped that whoever it was knew something about his family and where they might be. He searched through the faces in the first cell he came to.

  No one looked familiar, so he hurried to the next one, but again he did not recognize any of the faces. Was his mind playing tricks on him? He was beginning to wonder as he moved to the third. No one there looked familiar, either; resting both hands on the iron bars, discouraged, Samuel looked down and saw a young man with dark hair.

  “Who called my name?” he asked, not caring that his words were projecting, his tone edged with frustration.

  No one answered. As he turned to leave, someone spoke up.

  “Him,” the person said, pointing to a figure on the ground. The person on the ground raised his head and the expression on Samuel’s face changed.

  “Over here,” Samuel cried, dropping to his knees as everyone else wondered what he was doing.

  Mosley was the first one to reach Samuel.

  “Open the gate,” Samuel instructed. “It is my brother.”

  The gate was barely open when Samuel rushed to Faray, ecstatic. Faray was still getting to his feet when Samuel swung his arms around him, lifting him off the ground. Nothing at that moment mattered, even as everyone inside and outside the cell stood watching them.

  “I thought I had lost you.”

  “I thought I had lost you, too,” Faray replied.

  “We have to leave now,” Mosley said, interrupting both of them. Samuel released his hands around his brother.

  “Where is Mother?” he asked, overlooking Faray’s state, who had visible scars all over his gaunt body with his tattered clothes hanging loosely on him.

  “She did not make it,” he said regretfully. “And there was nothing I could do.”

  Not wanting to dwell on what he could not change, Samuel asked. “Can you walk?”

  “Yes, with some help.”

  “Good!” Samuel said, knowing they weren’t safe yet. “Then we need to go.”

  He placed one of Faray’s arms over his shoulder and was starting to head out when Faray spoke up.

  “Stop!” he said and Samuel did.

  “We have to help them.” Samuel had forgotten about the other prisoners, whom he now recognized as being from Chartum-Valley. The prisoners’ eyes begged to be free.

  “You can all come with us if you can keep up,” he announced in a voice loud enough for everyone in the cell to hear.

  “They know we are here and are coming!” Iseac said, cutting in right after Samuel, his tone emphasizing the urgency for them to get going. “We cannot head that way,” he said, pointing in the direction they were heading.

  “Then we will go back,” Samuel said in response.

  “You know we don’t have the missing piece,” Iseac said.

  “I know, and I think I can get that door open.”

  It was as if finding his brother had given him a new hope. Without further questions, they hurriedly made their way back. As they did, Samuel started clearing his mind.

  “I need everyone to stop and wait here,” Samuel instructed a few yards from the gate. He let go of Faray, who had been leaning on him for support, and walked into the dark alone. Using Gabram’s lessons, he slowly began the process of connecting to his true self.

  The Ackalans watched and listened for signs of their coming assailants. It wasn’t long before they heard it−the sound of heavy boots heading their way with increasing speed; they were closing in on them fast.

  The Ackalans stood, ready for whatever was coming, while everyone else stood behind them. Suddenly they saw a soft glow in the area that was once pitch black.

  “Over there,” a voice from with the small group said, pointing in Samuel’s direction. Soon they all turned, except the Ackalans, who were focused on those that were coming. Everyone else stared in amazement at the glow.

  His aura was in the shape of a grown man. His eyes were bright and his hair glowed like pure silver. He took an arrow from his quiver and placed it on his bow, which he pointed just over the group’s head and released. The arrow disappeared in a flash, splitting midflight like lightning bolts. A loud thudding sound, followed a second later by the sound of things dropping to the ground, reverberating off the tunnel wall. Samuel took the rest of the arrows except two from his quiver. In a twisting motion, he molded the arrows into the shape of the missing rod.

  Locking them in place, he began to spin the wheel. With each rotation, the gate grindingly began to rise as streams of light and a gust of cool air flowed into the tunnel.

  “Everyone out,” Samuel commanded in a voice that filled the cave. It wasn’t a loud voice, but they all felt it. The group started running, all shielding their eyes as they emerged out of the cave.

  Their assailants had stopped running, but they were still making their way toward them.

  Faray, like everyone around him, could not hide the shock in his face. It wasn’t just the mystery of his brother’s transformation. How far had he shot, he wondered, knowing that Norians were fast creatures and should have been upon them by now. He had seen them dash from one side of the tunnel to the other within minutes. He had a lot of questions, but for now they were free and his younger brother was still alive, and that was enough.

  When Iseac looked at Samuel, he could only think of the silver statues he remembered holding as a boy in the cave; “the statue with the arrow,” he said to himself, and he knew now, more than ever, that he needed to find the other two. If the others could do the same things as Samuel, he couldn’t imagine what would happen if they were captured and used by Sullivan.

  Once they were all out, including Samuel, he waved his hand. The gate rolled down, slamming shut with a force that caused a puff of dust to rise at the base.

  “Hopefully no one will be able to use that exit for a while,” Samuel hoped. He turned and began making his way to the others, with his eyes and form slowly changing back to normal.

  Elena could not believe Iseac came for her. Somehow, he had found a way. And even though they had no provisions, she was confident they would survive. For now she was happy to be with Iseac, and she squeezed his hand.

  It was still morning, and the sun was already warming the cool desert. They had made it out without any casualties. As they looked around, the knowledge of where they were sank in. Their exit had put them at the edge of the desert, with no shade in sight, and the sun was rising.

  Their captors had purposefully assigned some of the prisoners to work in this area so they could see that even if they somehow managed to escape, there would be nowhere to go, and they would die in the desert. They made sure enough people worked outside to see what their fate would be, hoping the word would spread. So it was no surprise to them that they ended up on this side of the tunnel, since it was the only way out they were aware of.

  “We need to find shade before the sun gets high enough in the sky,” Tremay said, as if reading Samuel’s thoughts.

  “Iseac, do you know of a location near our current position where we can find some shade?” Samuel asked.

  Anamerians were living maps, and Samuel hoped Iseac knew of a place where they could find refuge from the sun.

  “Yes,” Iseac said. “Follow me,” and they began making their way in the opposite direction, away from the desert.

  As they made their way across the barren landscape, Iseac hoped they were all ready for what was coming. The thing that had been perching in his mind seemed to have come alive since their escape. While he could not explain what was happening to him, he could feel something coming, and he realized that could only mean one thing.

  “I need to speak with Samuel and Tremay alone for a minute,” he said to Elena, who was standing by his side, her fingers twined in his. “Please get Samuel for me.”

  She released her fingers from his and made her way over to Samuel.

  “Iseac would like to speak with you,” she informed Samuel, who was walking with Faray.

  “Of course, I will
be back in a minute,” he said to Faray.

  Since their escape, Tremay had made sure he or Hildra, discreetly stayed close to Iseac. He wasn’t going to lose him again.

  When Samuel arrived, Iseac told them about the former Patron who was behind his capture. He did not bother to describe the former Patron; it wasn’t relevant at the time. The point was, they now knew what was coming and needed to prepare.

  “He did something to me,” Iseac continued, “that somehow allows him to see and know the same things I know.”

  It now made sense to Samuel why it felt as if Iseac were at two different places at the same time.

  “He is coming and we need to be prepared,” Iseac said.

  “I will take care of them.”

  “No! He already knows about your ability through me, and I believe that is why they are coming.”

  “For me,” Samuel said.

  “Yes…but I have a plan.” They listened as Iseac explained. “And we need to find somewhere safe for these people,” Iseac continued, thinking of Elena. “The people in the tunnel get their water from a natural spring not far from our position, but we will need to get them there as fast as we can.”

  “I will get the men ready, and this is yours,” Tremay said, handing Iseac his quarterstaff before making his way to Hildra.

  “Samuel, the spring is buried deep in the ground. Do you think you can access it?”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Good, then we better get going,” Iseac said, sounding like his old self with his controlled demeanor.

  It soon became clear to Iseac that at the pace the former Patron and his men were approaching, they wouldn’t make it to the spring. Most of the slaves were weak and the sun was beginning to drain their remaining strength. They would have to carry out their plans before reaching their destination.

  Chapter 28

  Course of Action

  Grains of desert sand subtly shifted under their feet before they heard it: the faint sound of a large mass heading their way. They did not have to guess who or what would be about at this time of day, several hours after their escape. They could only hope it wasn’t what they were thinking, even though in their hearts they suspected otherwise.