Karam slowly turned toward Elijah.
“What are you doing?! Don’t kill him! Don’t…” shouted Elijah.
In a long and drawn-out voice, Karam shouted, “Are you trying to break our deal, Elijah? I thought you said you would not get in my way.” Elijah glanced around at the advancing bandits. “Are you breaking that deal?”
“No!” Elijah screamed.
Karam sneered, “I didn’t think so.” Then he turned to the man on the ground. “I will hang your head on our city gates. I will hang your arms and legs at all corners of the city. And I will send the rest of you to the sultan himself.”
Elijah shuddered as he stared down at the ground. He squinted and wiped his stinging eyes. The thud, thud, thud in his chest returned with a vengeance.
As Karam advanced, the prince’s hallow voice cried out, “No! No! Please! No! Don’t hurt me! I…”
Elijah didn’t expect was he saw next. Karam quickly slid his sword into the prince’s chest and watched his blood ooze out onto the gravel.
Elijah squeezed his eyes shut. Once again, he started to black out. He turned to his friend, up high on the mountainside, but seeing him didn’t remove the anguish now building in his soul. It only intensified when he looked back to the black-haired man standing over the dead prince.
Suddenly, Karam shouted, “Take the caravan to the base! Leave the bodies! Except for the prince.” He slowly grinned. “We have work to do on him.” Then he turned. Before he walked away, he caught Elijah’s eyes and smiled, his white teeth bared.
That’s all it took for Elijah to start heaving onto the broken rocks before him.
Chapter 16
The crawl back to Karam’s base was nothing but torment for Elijah. He kept thinking how the princess was suffering at the hands of her father, that Isabelle and Nizar probably stole his silver and emerald, and how he helped a mad man kill a prince. Inside, he cried that the prince’s death was his fault. Several times along the way, he stopped breathing and stumbled forward. Had it not been for Karim, he would have hit the ground, but his faithful and wise friend held onto his arm and wouldn’t let him go. No thought was good enough to revive him now. Even fleeting ones of the princess weren’t enough to capture his imagination. Every time he saw Karam’s back, he winced harder and longer. He couldn’t quit asking himself, What will my friends think? Will I even have any friends? Then he remembered what Karam was going to do with the man’s hands and he became overwhelmed. “Why me?” he cried. “Why me?
In his stupor, Karam walked up. “Well done, Elijah. I am impressed. You have helped me a great deal today.” His boldness was coupled with laughter. “Who would have ever thought that the rat thief would be so much help?”
Elijah’s face didn’t even twitch.
“Well, now, you work for me,” exclaimed Karam.
Elijah muttered. “What?” He didn’t raise his head.
Karam continued. “Yes. I am sorry, Elijah. This is how it must be.”
Elijah felt like a squirming worm. “That wasn’t part of the deal!” he shouted.
“It is now,” shouted Karam in return.
Karim stepped in between the two. “How dare you!”
“Quiet, fool!” shouted Karam as he glared into Karim’s eyes.
Desperately, Elijah pleaded, “I filled my part of the bargain!”
Karam laughed. “And now, you will do more. All you have to do is get information from the princess. That is all. Tell me when the next prince is coming, tell me what the sultan is doing. Do this for me, and you and your precious little princess will be safe. If you do not do this, I will personally deliver that pretty little head to you.”
Elijah turned red. “You! If you dare touch her!” He stood only inches away.
Karam grinned, “Then do as I say and she will keep her head.”
Elijah clenched his fists.
Karam’s eyes narrowed. “We will be watching you, Elijah. One wrong move and…” he stopped and ran his hand across his own throat.
They were silent.
Then Karam turned to go. “Report to me every time you meet with her. And trust me…I will know when you are with her,” he commanded and walked away.
Elijah couldn’t move. He was transfixed as nearly 200 men passed him by. Karim stared off into the distance. Elijah’s voice broke. “What have I done?” he winced.
Karim shook his head and joined the others.
Alone, Elijah fell to his knees. “What have I done?” he said, but no one heard.
Elijah tried to locate a familiar landmark, but everything now seemed the same, the low roofs, the busy streets, the onion domes. Nothing aided him in finding his way home. He couldn’t collect one clear thought. He felt as if his chest was going to burst wide open with the pressure and pain of the morning’s events. It was as if everyone and everything rejected him. He felt hopeless.
Karim and he did not say a word until they arrived at the front of the building. Desperate for some form of consolation, he secretly hoped Karim would say something, anything to allay the tremendous pain within.
Karim finally broke the silence. “What are you going to tell them?” he asked.
“I…” Elijah could only stammer.
Elijah glanced up at the sky for a moment and tried again. “I won’t tell them anything.”
Slowly, Karim responded, “Is that what you think is best, Elijah?”
Then the words flooded out of Elijah’s mouth. “What am I supposed to tell them? That I failed them? That I assisted in the murder of thirty men? What do I tell them, Karim?”
Karim shook his head. “Hide it as long as you want, but you did make a deal with a demon, and you will suffer the consequences for it.”
Elijah strained his voice. “I thought it was for the best!”
“And you were wrong. Your passion for this woman has blinded you of what is right and wrong.”
Elijah’s eyes glazed over. “That’s not true!” he cried.
“You will see it, Elijah. I pray that it is not too late when you do.”
Elijah’s legs nearly gave way as he stepped over the last low wall. He thought of his pillow and bedroll and didn’t want to talk to anyone. Karim led the way into the main room, smiling as he entered.
Nizar was the first to greet them as he sat beside Isabelle. “Well, well, what have we here?”
Elijah slowly lifted his head. “Good morning, everyone,” he said as he tried to smile.
Isabelle stared at him silently.
But Firas was his usual self. “Hey, Elijah! Hey, Karim!” He and Bayan were busy eating from a platter of red, green, and yellow fruits.
Bayan had just stuffed an entire banana into his mouth and, grinning, waved.
Rasha quickly bounded up and wrapped her arms around Elijah.
Nizar started to laugh. “So, Karim. Are you sleeping with the princess too?” The room became strangely quiet.
Karim walked over to the side table and put his sword down. Without looking back, he disappeared through the doorway.
Nizar turned up his nose. “What’s his deal?” he asked.
Elijah turned away from Nizar. “Nothing. Isabelle. Can I talk to you?” he asked.
Still, Isabelle remained quiet.
“Oh, now you want to talk to her? Haven’t you been ignoring us this whole time? Is she now…?” chided Nizar as he scowled at Elijah.
Elijah suddenly raised his voice. “Not now, Nizar! Any day but today, okay?”
Nizar started to grin. “Is something wrong? Did the princess dump you?”
Elijah ran over to Nizar and jerked him off his chair. “Not now!” he shouted.
Nizar shoved Elijah against the table. “Get off me!” he yelled.
Firas dropped his food and jum
ped up. “Hey, hey! That’s enough. We are okay, right?”
Elijah turned back to Isabelle. “I need to talk to you,” he demanded.
Nizar continued to chide. “Is this about the silver and the emerald you have hidden from everyone?”
Elijah forgot about Isabelle as his jaws tightened.
“Oh. I am sorry. Did you not want everyone to know?” queried Nizar.
Before Elijah could say anything, Firas interrupted, “Silver?”
“Emerald?” asked Bayan.
“Elijah?” said Rasha.
Just then, Karim reappeared and stared at Elijah.
Nizar kept probing. “What is it for, Elijah? Where did you get it? Is it for us? Or is it for you?”
Elijah took a deep breath. “None of your business!” he replied.
Nizar stepped closer. “Well, I think it is, seeing that we all depend on you. Did the princess give this to you? Are you going to be a noble while we all sit here and rot?” he demanded.
Elijah glanced around and started to feel alone and afraid. His voice shook. “You don’t understand!”
Nizar threw up his nose at Elijah. “I don’t want to understand! None of us do! You betrayed us!”
Elijah cried, “No!”
Nizar went over to his bag and held the silver and emerald for all to see. “You see! This is what our leader hides from us!”
“Give it to me now!” shouted Elijah.
Finally, Isabelle spoke, “Will you leave us for the princess?”
Elijah glared at Nizar. “Give it to me, Nizar.” And he took a step closer.
Nizar pulled his hand back. “We could sell them! Do you know how much food and shelter we could get for this?”
“It’s not for you, and it’s not for me. Give it to me now,” yelled Elijah, knowing that he must make his move soon or lose the valuables for good.
Nizar had reached his resolve. “No,” he yelled.
They stood face-to-face. “No more games, Nizar!”
Nizar passed the silver and the emerald to Isabelle and then unsheathed his sword. “I’m not playing any games, Elijah,” he said.
Elijah slid his sword out of its case too. “Enough!”
Firas shouted, “Wait! Stop!”
Bayan took a couple of steps back when Isabelle again broke her silence. “You would turn your back on us for the princess?”
Elijah raised his sword. “Give me the silver! Now!” he demanded.
Then Karim started walking toward Nizar.
“Give it to me, Isabelle!” said Elijah as he pointed his blade toward her neck.
Nizar glared at her. “Do not even think about giving it to that traitor!”
Karim suddenly demanded, “Put your sword down, Nizar. Just let him have it.”
But Nizar wasn’t ready to give in. “What? You dare take his side!” Karim didn’t hesitate and punched Nizar square in the mouth. He fell to the floor instantly.
Rasha gasped.
Then Karim turned to Isabelle and demanded, “Give him the silver and the emerald.”
She shook her head. “Why?” she cried.
“You can’t stop a man with passions burning like a raging fire. He will get it back one way or another. Just give it to him.”
She then slowly gave Elijah the treasure and scowled. “Don’t come back here,” she said.
Elijah glanced down at the silver and emerald and then at Karim as he disappeared again into the other room.
Elijah glanced around and lowered his head. “I am sorry…I am so sorry,” he said. He covered the silver and the emerald with his blanket and headed back out into the scorching sun.
Chapter 17
Elijah sat on a street corner all day long as his mind spun in circles. The day seemed to go by so slowly. He sat there, wondering what he was going to do. If Natalia ever found out what he did, it would be over. Maybe he should call it off between the two. It was the only right thing he could still do. “I can’t mess up anymore, I can’t do it. I won’t mess up her life! I won’t do it!” He looked up at the sky; he felt so hopeless. He looked up as the sun was setting. “I will end it. I must, if I don’t, I will ruin her life as well.”
Nothing in this city ever seems to change, thought Elijah as he sat, leaning up against the corner wall. Every once in a while, he would glance up, only to view the same obscure faces. No one looked his way, no one at all. It was as if he didn’t exist except for when one person, a large lady carrying a crying baby, tossed him a small silver coin. It was enough to break his train of thought, though, from the relentless judgments he issued to himself. His friends didn’t want him, and now, neither did he. A loud ruckus caught his attention as a soldier chased after a boy. The shop owner was close behind, yelling, “Thief, thief.”
Thoughts of stealing instantly took his mind back to Natalia and how she wanted to be a thief, just like him. He shook his pounding head as he tried to hold on to images of her beautiful face, but they swirled away, just out of reach. He thought, If Natalia ever found out what I did, it would be over. Maybe I should cut it off between us? Maybe Karim was right? He couldn’t think of another thing to do to right the situation. But his mind raged on. I can’t let her down, I can’t. I won’t destroy her life! I won’t! he thought as tears streamed down his cheeks. He glanced up, but even the blurry, blue sky refused to give him any hope. Slowly, he stood up, wiping his face with the back of his hand. I will end it. I must. If I don’t, I will ruin her life, as well, he affirmed as the sun started to set in the western sky.
He took his leave of the thoroughfare and scaled the nearest wall. Within minutes, he could hear Natalia climbing. She turned and smiled just as he jumped over a low wall and immediately ran into his arms. He drew in a deep breath as he felt her warmth and strength around him, and for the first time that day, he smiled. When he pulled back, the first thing he noticed was her outfit, no longer commoner’s clothing, but rather, some sort of dancing ensemble.
He quickly drew back to her and whispered, “Hey, you.”
“Hey, you,” she replied.
A surge of fear welled up within him when images of the dead prince swirled back into his mind. He fought to ignore the throbbing sensation at the back of his neck. It became worse with each passing thought.
Natalia excitedly said, “I can’t believe you did it! The prince never showed up! What did you do! How did you get him to go away! You are so amazing!” The sparkles in her eyes instantly captured Elijah.
But as soon as he realized what she had said, the throbbing returned. “It’s nothing. I just…scared him off…,” he said as his voice trailed off.
Natalia laughed. “Really! How did you do it?” she asked.
Elijah winced slightly and quietly asked, “I…Natalia? Can…I hold you?”
She paused. “Of course, you can,” she replied as she let his arms encircle her body.
Almost instantly, his heart slowed down to a crawl as he drank in her smell, her touch, her beauty. He felt imprisoned by her love, completely spellbound. This moment brought him his first freedom of the day. It seemed, to him, like an eternity had passed since he was able to dream of this moment, the moment that his heart ached for. Her eyelids barely flickered when he lifted his hands and ran them through her hair.
Natalia rested her head on his chest and quietly asked, “Whatever happened to the man that was with us at the secret passage?”
Elijah gently stroked her hair again and replied, “It’s taken care of.” He felt his chest suddenly tighten.
Natalia snuggled closer and said, “I knew you would, Elijah.”
Elijah saw her cheeks rise slightly, but he found it impossible to enjoy the moment. He glanced at the neighboring roof and saw two shadows, motionless. Elijah closed his eyes, but the images wouldn’t l
eave.
Natalia gently pulled away. “Hey, I want to give you something. I carved this myself,” she said and grabbed his hand. Elijah felt something small being placed into it and wondered what it was.
He held it up in the moonlight and asked, “What is it?” as he stared at the carving of a small bird.
“It’s a hummingbird, the most precious creature on earth.”
Elijah suddenly grinned. “Is this your favorite animal?” he asked.
Natalia broke into a smile from ear to ear. “Of course! Legend has it that they carry hopes and dreams. They are sweet and carry love for those who have none.”
Elijah turned the small wooden object in his fingers. “I’ll remember that,” he replied, smiling.
She quickly raised her eyebrow. “You better!” she said.
Another movement, close by, caught his attention. A shadow darted across the corner of the roof. Elijah shook his head and closed his eyes.
Natalia turned her head, “What is it?” but looked quickly back.
Elijah shrugged. “When is the next prince coming?” he asked.
“Huh? Oh, in two days. He will arrive sometime in the morning.”
Elijah nodded as she continued, “I don’t know how we are going to get rid of this one. His name is Anas, the prince of Artelon. His father is said to be immortal. They call him the God-King. He has the largest army the world has ever seen. And he always gets what he wants. But I am sure if we put our heads together, we will figure it out, won’t we?” He was able to focus only on her cute giggle, but couldn’t remember everything she had just said.
His eyes quickly turned down. “Yeah,” he whispered.
Natalia pulled back a little. “I am actually supposed to be at a dance rehearsal for the prince. I just came to give you this,” she said.
Elijah took a deep breath and replied, “Thank you so much, Natalia. This means so much to me.”
Natalia touched the bird. “Well, whenever you hold this, remember that my hopes and love are with you always.”
Elijah swallowed hard and continued to fight the horrible feelings rushing through his thoughts and body.
Fire in the Heart : The Princess and the Bandit (9781629020112) Page 12