The Focus Stone (The Tome of Law Book 1)

by Matthew W. Harrill

  Zya turned her attention back to the boy in front of her, who was still holding tightly to Ju. “Now, you are going to let go of the boy, slowly. You are going to lean forward and kneel on the ground, then you are going to lie down like your friend there.” The other boy had put the bow to the side and was in the process of lying down. “Got that?”

  “Yes,” he half whimpered.

  “Now this point will be following you all the way down and if you try to get away from it the point will follow you and then some, do you understand me?” He whimpered another feeble reply. Inside herself, Zya could not believe she was in control of a situation such as this. She was normally more reserved, but like the situation with the bandits something just seemed to take over, but in a different way to this. Emotion was flooding through her like the bore on a river, and she could barely keep herself in check. All she knew was she needed to get herself and Ju out of this situation as swiftly as was possible and rejoin her companions – the only obvious source of protection around here. As the boy released Ju, he dodged around to hug Zya. She stopped him with a warning glance. “The bow, Ju, quickly.”

  Ju ran over to the other boy who dared not move and retrieved the bow, wiping the muck of the courtyard off onto his clothes. Even with the sheen of the horses' spoils on it the bow looked majestic. Ju retrieved his quiver of unbroken arrows and notched one. It looked comical to Zya seeing such a small boy struggling with the large bow, but evidently Ju had had at least some success. The partially moving form on the ground was testament to that. Her captive jerked as he slipped slightly on the cobbles of the yard. “Easy, you wouldn't want the villages prize bull to lose a crucial part of his anatomy, would you?” The thug seemed to at last twig who had a hold of him, and he started to turn and look. “Down, now,” ordered Zya.

  “Where has the man gone who had me?” asked the boy. “There was no man, but content yourself that you have been bested by a mere girl.”

  As Ju tied the boy's hands with some cord, the boy answered her. “You do not sound like a girl.”

  Zya pressed the point slightly harder, bringing tears to his eyes. “You speak again and you will never sound like a man.” He whimpered in response. Zya looked up to check if the way was clear. The scuddy streaks of cloud that had come over the horizon suited her mood at the moment. She knew they had to be off, and that they had to move quickly. Ju tied rope around his one -time captor's arms. The knot was not great, but it would suffice to let them escape before the boys got their wits about them again.

  “Ju, is there anything else you need?”

  The boy, still slightly shaken, shook his head. “I had a pack with some clothes in it, but another of them took it and ran off just before you got here. There was nothing I really liked in it anyway.”

  Zya rose quickly, and motioning to Ju, ran towards the exit onto the square. She had not counted on there being someone else who had gone. At least she thought that she thought that. Zya sheathed her dagger, and as she did so, the peculiar rush of emotion she had felt vanished. Zya stopped in her tracks, trying to figure what had just happened to her. Ju nearly bumped in to her as he was running so close. Zya managed to catch him with an arm before he collided with her. In his blind rush of panic he was only half aware that she was there. “Be careful, Ju,” Zya cautioned her young friend. “This may not be over until we leave the village.”

  “Oh this is far from over, my little darling,” said a voice that sent a wave of dread through Zya's entire being, a voice she had hoped she would never hear again. She turned back to be confronted by Frilzae and his two lackeys. Zya reached for her dagger, but as she started to move, she found two sword points levelled at her. Frilzae was unarmed, but was not afraid to let others do his dirty work, it seemed. “My dear Zya, I am so glad to find you here.” Frilzae sounded calm and confident. His voice was better suited to a snake, but his look of sweaty nervousness had disappeared. He looked Zya over with the gaze of a predator about to pounce, eager for the kill. Whereas before, Frilzae had left her feeling uncomfortable, now he made her feel naked. It was a feeling she hoped she did not have to feel for long.

  “You won't get away with this,” Zya warned in as menacing a tone as she could muster. “My father will be here for me at any moment.”

  Frilzae sneered. “Hollow words, girl. I personally watched your pathetic troop leave a long while back.” Zya glared defiantly at him, knowing that this was not her best course of action.

  “They know I am gone and they will come looking for me.”

  “That may be so my dear, but by the time they get here they will not know where to find you, or your beggar of a friend.” Frilzae turned and shoved one of his men, causing him to stumble into the courtyard. “Go and untie my cousin. Bullen, are you all right?” Frilzae called over to one of the boys on the ground.

  The large thug answered. “Yes cousin, I was just surprised by the whore with the man's voice. Ade has been hurt by an arrow though.”

  Glancing down at the boy still doubled up, Frilzae dismissed him the way one would an apple. Zya knew this man did not care for any life except his own. He reached out and ran his hand down her face, causing her to shudder. He did not notice, as he was lost in some fantasy of his own creation. “Oh yes, you will do fine for me, young lady. Perhaps when I have finished with you, I might give you to my cousin as a plaything, for the hurt you have caused him.” Not for the first time panic rose through Zya, but something told her to keep calm.

  Bullen came and stood next to his cousin, appraising Zya as Frilzae had just done. “Can I have her? Really?” The same gleam of evil flashed through his eyes as it did through Frilzae. They all looked mad, drooling over her.

  “Of course, cousin, but not until I have had her. You wouldn't want to harm her and have me lose my share, would you? And after you have had her maybe some of the others might like her too.” Zya could see that Bullen had not just been making advances for his own sake, and she was quite repulsed by the knowledge that such a practise went on anywhere, let alone in a supposedly peaceful village such as this.

  “What about the boy?” asked Bullen of his cousin.

  Frilzae considered this a moment. Ju was small and insignificant, but he had caused a hurt by his actions and would probably suffer as a result. “He might make good dog food. We will take him along too, and decide what to do with him later.” The boy who had been firing the arrows wrenched the bow away from Ju, and to Zya's surprise it did not break or even bend when he did so. “This is mine now,”

  he growled at Ju in what could only be described as a spiteful voice.

  “Now. We are going to walk out of here like nothing has happened,” Frilzae announced in his moment of triumph. “If anybody stops us, we are going to the council hall to pick up a gift that we missed giving to the travellers. If either of you thinks to shout or run, you will have a foot of steel in your ribs before you have done anything, so I suggest caution. You got that?”

  A now trembling Ju nodded his head. Zya felt sorry for him, the poor boy was almost in tears. For her part, Zya stared defiantly at Frilzae, not nodding her head. He stared back, unblinking, obviously lost in one of his deranged fantasies. Satisfied that his captives were sufficiently cowed, he indicated for his two armed lackeys to lead the way. They strolled on out of the inn's gate as if their little mission had been accomplished. It was odd to Zya that they had never once spoken aloud in Frilzae's presence. The man truly did like his mini empire. Frilzae passed through the gate and violence suddenly erupted like a thunderstorm on either side of him. Before she knew what was happening, Frilzae had dropped at her feet, and her father, seemingly out of nowhere was circling the second of Frilzae's lackeys.

  Cahal managed to knock the other weapon bearer cold by using the flat of his sword quite harshly on the back of his head. The man lay sprawled on the street. Her father meanwhile had his sword held low, flicking out at his opponent. The lackey, though no match for her father, was still a credible opponent. H
e was dangerous because he became desperate. The clash of metal on metal sent ringing chimes across the square, but Tarim fended the man off with ease.

  Cahal watched in appreciation as Tarim gave the man a master class lesson in swordplay. Each thrust was parried and answered with a flashing riposte, making the man tired, but leaving Tarim with an increasing advantage. His opponent grew frustrated, which was his biggest error. Tarim had taught Zya that remaining calm and focussed was the key to accomplishing nearly anything. To remain steadfastly determined despite the odds was your best chance to solve any problem. She could see that her father was practising his words now. He looked calm, and if anything this was winding up his opponent.

  The man grew increasingly desperate, and this was his downfall. As he tried to swipe at Tarim's head, her father dropped to one knee and ran him through the middle. The dead man stared without comprehension at what had been just done to him, looking around at them all. Tarim pulled his blade free and the man collapsed to the ground with a shudder. Zya ran to her father and he hugged her briefly.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, his dark eyes full of relief and concern.

  “I am okay, Father. Ju was in a predicament, but we managed to fall into an even worse one.”

  Cahal started towards Bullen and his friend, who took one look at his face and bolted. “You were never in any danger, Zya. We arrived just after those three, and waited to see what they would do.”

  Zya turned to Cahal. “You mean that you let us believe that they were going to take us and do the Gods only know what to us? Why?”

  Cahal grinned a grin that was nothing short of downright evil. “There is always something to learn, Zya. Today's advice of the day is 'Do not let yourself get caught in a hostile situation with only one exit'. The same goes for you, young lad, especially if you want to become a guard.”

  Ju, who had lost his fear in the excitement of the sword fight was grinning, but lost his grin when he realised he was being admonished. “I am sorry, sir. It was my fault, I led them in there because it was the only place I thought I would be safe. I thought I would have a chance from in there.”

  Cahal nodded in satisfaction. “Let the lesson end here then. The places we are most familiar with may not be the best places to flee from people, but it is only natural for us to go there.” He appraised the situation; the bodies littering the floor were bound to attract attention, even in a village that had so suddenly become a ghost town.

  “What say you, Tarim, shall we get out of here before we attract any more unwelcome attention?”

  Tarim agreed by turning and walking across the square, drawing the others after him. “Sounds good to me, my friend.” As they walked briskly to the head of the street that led to the bridge, Zya kept a check on the windows of the houses. The same situation as before, she surmised. Still the people that had retreated into this scared shell that was simply not manifest while the travellers had been here were twitching at their windows. The curtains still flickered as people were caught out by a sudden stare, and doors could be heard shutting and opening from either side of them but never when they walked by.

  In the garden of a large house a short way down the street, Zya was thrilled to find Red saddled, and eager to be off. The other two horses shared the feeling, as was obvious to both Zya and Ju. She calmed Red with a brief touch to the nose, but as she climbed up, Zya could still feel his eagerness to be off. Hoisting up Ju behind her, she started Red off into a brisk canter, and eventually a gallop. She was careful not to let him get carried away though, as even the most sensible horse could lose its intelligence in the heat of the moment. Looking back, she could see that her father and Cahal were close behind on their mounts, but off in the distance, people were running out across the other side of the square. Zya had no idea why the people would suddenly chose now to erupt from their houses, nor did she want to stay around to find out.

  The great distance of the bridge road was eaten up quickly by the steady gallop of the three horses. There was no need for words, if any could have even been heard. Zya leaned forward and let herself feel the energy as Red bounded forwards. Ju held on tightly to her back at first. She knew from the time she had known Ju that although he cared greatly for horses, he was an inexperienced rider. With time, he lessened his grip, but when they reached the bridge across into the woods he was still not fully at ease, but he was getting there. Zya reined in and let her father and Cahal catch up.

  Tarim reined his mount in and turned back towards the village. “What was the commotion across the square about?”

  Cahal leaned back casually in his saddle, checking his sword was loose in its scabbard while he did so. “I have no idea, but something tells me that we had impeccable timing back there.” The noise from the apparent commotion did not reach the bridge, and the silence was eerie.

  Looking back at the semi-completed wall that was the defence of the village, Zya felt that the ghost town it looked like would soon become a reality. She could not tell why, it was just one of the thoughts that came to her as of late. She knew then that despite the friends she had made in passing, she was glad to be leaving, and nothing could be done to help anyone still there. “Can we go, father? It would be best if we got some distance between the village and us. The more the better.” Tarim nodded in agreement as he surveyed the land around them.

  Where the village ended, the countryside suddenly began, even if it was cut off by the wide swathe of water nearby. The grass was relatively short, and all trees had been cut back to prevent bandits from attacking the Northern merchants. Despite the manufactured look, it was pretty. Wild flowers of many hues had begun to reclaim the road where upkeep had slackened. Zya felt sorry for whatever it was that this village was going to go through, but she knew that they had to get away. Looking at the open countryside for one last time, the four people crossed the stout stone bridge that had seen the passage of countless beings, and plunged into the darkness of the boar woods.

  The openness of the countryside was lost to them as they rode cautiously down the damp track that led into the forest. It was the complete antithesis to the order across the river. Zya looked back one last time as the river disappeared from view behind a mass of brambles that erupted from the side of the track. This place was one left to its own devices, one allowed to grow whichever way nature dictated. The sky was lost in the gloom as the trees writhed and battled for sunlight. Mysteriously, enough light reached the floor to allow the undergrowth to grow, hence the mass of brambles everywhere. That the road was open at all was testament to the stubbornness of merchants to sell their wares.

  The track narrowed in places, but never narrow enough to prevent passage of a wagon, for which all of them were thankful. The silence allowed Zya to reflect on what had just happened. It seemed a world away now, even if the distance was still not a great one. Something bad was going to happen to those people, Zya was sure of it. It would reach out and touch all of those that could fall under its spell, but as to what it was, Zya had not a clue. Maybe Anita would be able to help her figure it out when she got back to the travelling group. Another thing that she thought about was what the thug Bullen had said. Zya turned in the saddle, so she could see Ju. “Ju, what happened back there? When I saved you, what did I sound like?”

  Ju looked at her for a second, and then shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know. I don't remember much of it. I remember a deep voice telling me to go and get the bow, but when I looked up you were there, and the deep voiced person was not. I thought I heard him again, but I don't know where he went to.” Ju cradled the bow almost like a mother would cradle a baby. He felt affection for it. It was probably the only thing he had ever been given out of friendship, and Zya could see how much it meant to him. She felt the same way about the dagger her father had given her. That affection from both for Tarim seemed to cement in some way a bond between them. The voice that Bullen had claimed spoke still nagged away at her as they continued riding. Zya felt as if she knew it i
n a way, but how she could ever know confused her. She brushed the pommel of her dagger in reassurance. It had proved a vital ally in a time of need.

  “Well this is a happy little place, isn't it?” Zya turned in her saddle to see Cahal staring around at the twisted trees and the walls of brambles.

  “Actually, it is perfect,” replied Tarim. This is not called the Boarwood for nothing, my friend. The meat from the wild pigs that roam here goes to feed entire populations in the surrounding region. That is why the wood has been left to grow exactly as it always has done. The pigs are numerous, but only because man has not encroached upon their environment. From what I learnt in the village, they come here to hunt only so often. Different villages take their turn, but are only allowed a certain amount. The balance must be maintained, or the pigs would be wiped out.”

  Cahal nodded. “As is the way of things. Still there is not much to stop poachers entering the woods.”

  Tarim looked ahead in Zya's direction. “What say you to that Ju?”

  Ju grinned, a rare sight since the episode back in the village, and missed by all. “Everyone knows that the bridge is one of only two ways into the woods. The other is on the North side. You cannot get to the woods from upstream, as there are next to no places to land a boat, and the land above the wood is near impossible to pass.”

  “A child knows all of this?” Cahal said in disbelief.

  Tarim nodded. “The whole village knows this. It is common knowledge. What we did not see, we weren't permitted to see, is that right Ju?”

  “It is a secret they tell us not to tell strangers about, because they don't want to upset the forest. The priests say that the forest gives us life because we allow it to live. If that were upset, then the pigs would die, and we would be forced to slaughter all the cattle for food. The people of my village value the cattle for milk, and would not kill them. So they keep the pigs safe.”