The king sat up and ran a hand over his face.
"My son. Yes, I know."
"You would let your son die of this disease rather than share the cure?"
"As I told you, to take from it now would mean the end of the tree."
Rasha turned to leave. She wanted to storm out, but she remained tethered to the mermen who'd brought her. She took a tether in each hand and yanked, getting their attention. They both looked at her and then to their king. The king waved at them and they turned to take her back. Rasha's mind raced to find an answer to her dilemma.
24
"HOLD!" A WOMAN'S VOICE REACHED her from behind.
"Mother, do not interfere." The king's voice managed to boom in the chamber.
Rasha yanked again, stopping the mermen from swimming off. They made a slow circle and when she turned around, she saw an old mermaid floating at the side of the king.
"I will speak, you tell half-truths to save what is already gone." She waved Rasha forward. "I am Queen Idara, mother to the king. I believe I can help you."
The queen squared her shoulders.
"There is something, however, you must do for me," Queen Idara said.
"Anything."
"You are a courier so I know this is well within your ability. I will show you where to find The Niramaya Tree. It is said not all who cut from the tree do harm. You must be pure of heart, spirit, and motive. You cut for another, someone you love?"
Rasha nodded. She loved Jak. Chiza was a close friend, and she also did this for her.
"She may do it without causing harm to the tree,” she said speaking to her son but not looking at him.
"If she is not pure of heart? The tree will be gone. Another will never grow in its place,” he said.
The queen swam forward, and she put her hand out and touched Rasha's heart. A warm heat emanated from her hand. The heat spread from Rasha's heart through her chest. Queen Idara lifted her hand and tilted her head as she looked at Rasha.
"Who is the source of your information?" she asked Rasha.
Rasha shifted, uncomfortable with the question. She didn't want to sound crazy, but they insisted and she told them.
"A crone I met in the temple of Chilali. She seemed frail, but she wasn't and after racing after her she finally told me about the cure."
"Yes, if Yada trusted you that's saying something. She has the empathic ability." The queen looked Rasha over from head to toe. "I believe she will do. Come with me." A wave of her hand had the mermen following her out of the nearest door.
Rasha looked back and saw the king's face. His eyebrows had drawn together and his mouth was turned down. She wondered in that moment what had happened to him and his wife.
The swim to the tree took much longer than Rasha expected. They'd been under the surface and swimming for over an hour. Her limbs were tired, and the mermen had to drag her along. The sun was setting by the time they reached the tree. As Rasha looked at it for the first time, she had no doubt that this tree held the power to cure.
The tree's bright white bark was iridescent in the dark water and had an inner glow that grew brighter despite the lack of light. The magenta leaves on the tree swayed back and forth with the motion of the water. It was as she'd seen in the vision that the old woman had shared with her.
Queen Idara stopped a good distance away and helped untie the tether from Rasha to the mermen.
"I'm not sure how much I need," Rasha said. She worried now of taking too much or too little.
"Let your heart guide you and take what will help your people."
* * *
Rasha had to fight the fatigue and swim hard to reach the branches of the tree. It was larger and stronger than she'd thought. She held firm as she used the branches to get as close to the tree as possible. A tree would be like any other medicine she'd encounter, but she wasn't sure which part would hold the curative property. With her sword she cut from one branch that held two hands full of leaves. Then she moved to the trunk of the tree and used her sword to slice off some of the white bark. She clutched the pieces and placed them inside of her satchel and swam away from the tree hard and toward the mermen.
The three were watching the tree with amazement. Rasha turned back in time to see the branch she'd removed grow back in an instant. Even the leaves were replaced. The struggle to stay below the surface intensified, and the mermen tethered her again. The old mermaid continued to watch the tree. She opened her mouth and the softest song she'd ever heard came out. A song of thanks. The mermen joined in her song. Their voices created a harmony that sent a chill through Rasha's skin.
The three of them seemed to extend the glow of the tree. Inside her chest the warmth that the mermaid had placed on her heart grew again and Rasha let it fill her body. It warmed her inside out from her chest to the tips of her fingers and toes. The others must have had the same sensation because as they sang, they smiled at one another. Rasha lifted a hand to her face and stared at the glow pulsing through her. When the song stopped the glow faded. They nodded to each other and began the swim back the way they'd come.
"Thank you, Queen Idara, on behalf of the other kingdoms,” Rasha said for a lack of better words as the king's mother swam alongside her.
"We should thank you. You have proven the legends correct. There will always be those who can cut from The Niramaya Tree. However, most should not venture near it, for fear they will kill the entire tree with their want." When they reached the beach where Rasha had entered, they ascended to the surface. Going up was much easier on her ears than it had been going down.
Before her head broke the surface, Queen Idara reached out and took her arm.
"You made me a promise, remember?"
"Yes, what would you like me to do?"
"My people, as you know, were one of the first to rule the kingdoms of Bolaji. There is a necklace that belongs to my people. It has been passed on from princess to prince for almost one hundred years along with a leather bracelet that goes from prince to princess. We hold the claim on the necklace. We would like it returned to its rightful place."
Rasha knew the necklace and leather bracelet well. She'd worn the leather bracelet around her own wrist for almost a year and had placed the necklace around Jak's neck when they'd become the incumbents. There was little doubt that the prince would agree to exchanging the necklace for the cure. Rasha nodded in agreement. She'd deliver the necklace without fail.
"You have my word as the princess of Chilali," she said and did her best underwater floating bow.
"Your word as a courier means more," the queen said with a wink.
Rasha felt her eyes open wide in surprise "You have it."
Rasha returned to the surface with the satchel full of pieces from The Niramaya Tree. She was more determined than ever to get the cure into the hands of those who'd know what to do with it.
25
THE SUN WAS FADING FAST when she climbed out of the water. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw only the tops of the mermen's heads as they dipped below the dark blue water. Ladi wasn't anywhere to be found. Rasha called for Zele. She'd left the dragon under a nearby tree. Zele didn't need to hunt very often and she normally never strayed far when Rasha needed her. Both of them missing from the beach triggered a warning signal in her mind.
Would Ladi take Zele and go up against the Courier's Keep on her own? No, she hadn't made any impulsive moves other than opening the package. In hindsight, all of her actions were focused, her attempts to help had been calculated. What if something had happened to them?
Rasha paced the edge of the beach as she watched the sun set in the north. She looked down and saw something she hadn't noticed before. A distinct pattern on the sand of something being dragged along. The evenly spaced mounds in the sand could be Ladi's legs. They marked one end of the beach to the other. Zele, however, couldn't be dragged off. She made the call again. But the normal sound of Zele's large wings didn't answer. Rasha grew more concerned when she noted a
distinct slash of claw marks in the bark of one of the trees. Zele had struggled against something.
Rasha pulled out her swords and walked south, following the tracks on the beach. She turned her head to listen for sounds on the wind that blew lightly against her face. The normal sounds of the night reached her. The creeping and crawling things that were only awake during the evening hours. With the cure in her satchel and no way back, she used the light from the moon already showing itself above her to make her way after Ladi and Zele.
A fight somewhere in front of her broke her stride, and she crept up behind it using the trees as cover. The swords clashing took on a more rhythmic tone. She wasn't so sure anymore it was a fight. It sounded like training. Rasha glimpsed the firelight from a campsite and two men hitting their swords together in a slow attack and counter. One faced her and the other had his back to her.
A large cage sat furthest from her position with Zele inside. She wore a shiny new controlled collar and slept at an odd angle. She hadn't curled up to sleep; they must have used a chemical to put her to sleep. Ladi was tied to a nearby tree by her hands with her feet left dangling. Her head lolled to one side and her eyes were closed.
The man whose face she could see was the weaker of the two. She didn't recognize him. He seemed young and inexperienced as he practiced a more complicated defense. The other lead him along until the final blow and, at the last moment, changed things, putting himself on top.
The young man didn't seem annoyed by this, only challenged. He began again. He spoke up this time.
"Next time, I'll win."
"You don't know enough about fighting to win yet," his voice carried a familiar lisp.
"I know enough," the young man said, goading him on.
The other shook his head and turned his back on the young man, leaving himself open. Rasha caught the man's smile and recognized him immediately. But what was he doing out here in the woods with Zele and Ladi? He'd left himself open on purpose, hoping that the younger man would attack and, like all predictable things, he fell in line.
Rasha's hands tightened around her swords as she waited. She didn't wait long as two more men she recognized came into view.
"You have them, I doubted your ability," the man said, his back still turned.
"I've given you no reason to doubt me. Make sure you hold up your end of the bargain. I'm not leaving here without the antidote," said Gorg. His partner stood a step behind him, scanning the trees.
"We shouldn't be out in the open like this, she'll come for them," said Gorg's partner. Rasha couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at the thought that the man was afraid of her.
"Let her come." The other man turned at last and she saw his face for the first time. Prince Omi Gonma of Buku pulled out a small satchel and tossed it to Gorg.
"What do you plan to do with these two?" Gorg asked as the youngest scrambled to his feet and away from Omi.
"She'll get the dreaded sickness and the beast will be an example for the others."
Rasha couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was too much to believe. How did Omi get his hands on the disease and why would he recapture the beasts? Whatever he was up to, it involved using Gorg and his sick family. She almost felt bad for him. Until he walked over and gave Ladi a kick in the hip to wake her. Ladi's head rolled to the other side, and she moaned. Rasha noticed a small twitch in her leg. She wasn't unconscious.
The sound of Rasha pulling out Cutter and Blade made all three men look in her direction, as she'd hoped. Ladi used her legs to attack the young man closest to her. He didn't even see it coming. Close enough now, she kept him restrained while he beat against her powerful legs to no avail.
Rasha rushed both the prince and Gorg at the same time. Gorg reached for his sword before she could. He held it out in front of him. The prince pulled his own sword.
"What are you doing here?" Rasha asked Omi.
"Never mind, I'm taking care of some unfinished personal business," Omi said with a ferocious smile dominating his features.
"You brought the plague. The disease will kill so many people. How could you do it?"
"I have my reasons."
"You'd kill that many people and you have nothing else to say, no message of self-righteousness, not even vengeance?" she said, goading him.
"The disease has yet to touch the people I hoped dead. Until they die, no one will get the cure."
"Well, that sounds like a threat. I have a better idea. Why don't we go after the people that hurt you instead of killing thousands, maybe more, to satisfy your need for justice? Doesn't that sound a little saner?"
"I won't be judged by you. You have no idea how hard it is to reach people in power when you have none."
"You're a prince," she shouted.
A short whistle brought her attention away from the prince. She saw that Gorg had his sword to Ladi's throat. The young boy remained crouched on the ground, clutching his neck. Gorg's partner had also used the distraction to get out of the fight as he dashed back into the woods.
"I'm leaving here with my bit of the cure. What you do with him is your business,” Gorg said. Using a long stick within reach and moving the way Jak had taught her, Ladi swept the sword from in front of her. With the same stick, she delivered a hard whack to his hand that forced the sword from his hand and to the ground. Before he could move to get it, she stepped on it while keeping the large stick at his nose. Despite her hands still being bound together, she'd defeated him.
"I guess that leaves just you and me," Rasha said turning back to Omi.
"I've got the cure, you need me."
"No, I've got the cure, we don't need you at all. Give me one good reason I shouldn't run you through and deal with the consequences later, after everyone is well?"
Omi kept his sword in front of him as he circled Rasha. Once she was in front of Ladi, she didn't give up another inch, forcing him to pace in front of her.
"You were born to the privilege that should have been mine. I wasn't going to kill you, but if you get in my way, I may change my mind."
"Me? I was born to it but have never desired it. Your parents are royals, that makes you a prince."
"True, but my parents abandoned me and they'll pay along with everyone else who stole my rightful throne."
Rasha wasn't sure if she was dealing with a prince anymore or a raving lunatic.
"I don't understand what you're getting at. You have a throne."
"No, I don't. I assumed the identity of Prince Omi Gonma. That is not my real name. I wasn't even born in Buku."
"Who are you?" Rasha asked more confused than ever.
His face contorted in anger and frustration before he turned with a grunt and disappeared into the dark woods.
Rasha couldn't risk losing Zele or Ladi again. She let him go, this time.
"Yahtz," she muttered to herself.
"Do you mind?" Ladi asked. She nodded to her hands to be cut.
Rasha used Blade to slice through the rope and in an instant Ladi had Gorg's sword in her hands.
Zele made a plaintive sound as she woke up, shaking her head. Then she clawed at the collar around her neck.
"No, no, not yet. Let's get you out of there and we'll remove the collar,” Rasha said holding up her hands to stop the beast's frantic behavior. She used Cutter to break the lock and Zele stumbled out of the cage, shaking her head.
"Ladi, can you remove it?" Rasha asked.
"I think so. Give me a minute to find my tools, do you have this one?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure I can handle him," Rasha said looking at Gorg, whose eyes were on the ground.
Zele sat impatiently as Ladi worked on the collar. A moment later, the ineffective device lay on the ground between them. Zele shook herself and took to the sky to remove the rest of her unease.
Ladi came to stand beside Rasha as she dropped her sword and indicated that Gorg should sit down. He plopped himself on the log that Ladi had used to keep her propped up. He still held th
e satchel in his hand refusing to release his grip on it.
"I need to get to my family," Gorg said, his voice filled with worry.
"First, you'll answer our questions. Let's start with how you know Prince Omi?"
Gorg laughed.
"Omi is no prince." Gorg laughed before he continued. "He found us. We discovered a while back that he had the technology to tap into the Courier's Keep and get us ahead of the courier's deliveries. He wanted to give these little controller packages to the newbie couriers to deliver across the kingdoms of Bolaji. What did we care about that? Once that was done, we used you and Jak as target practice. That was our payment."
"Why did you agree to help him spread this plague?"
Gorg's eyes went dark as he glared at her. "We didn't." Then he shook his head. "We didn't know anything about it. When my family got sick, though, I knew it had something to do with this Omi and his plans. I came for the cure and he demanded that we help him with one last job. We snatched your little greenie and the dragon in exchange."
In that moment, Zele returned. Her eyes were clear and she had blood on her mouth. She must have eaten. The remnants of feathers remained in her teeth. Zele bent low and close to Rasha and sniffed in the direction of Gorge before roaring in his face.
"You're all right now. We'll stop this,” Rasha said, giving the dragon a pat on the neck. She turned back to Gorg.
"What do you know of Omi's plans?"
"What I told you is what I know. He didn't share with us his real purpose. But I have my own theories."
"Let's hear them," Rasha said, crossing her arms.
"I don't have all night to jaw with you, I've got to save my family."
"We've all got sick family so you should start talking, and fast."
Gorg sighed as his shoulders slumped.
"He got the plague from the bull-men and the bird-men. That's why he's shipping off the beasts to their part of the world. This time they're using boats off the coast of Sidoa so they don't have to travel over Bolaji lands."
The Courier's Quest (The Bolaji Kingdoms Series Book 3) Page 12