Pandora's Box: Land of Strife: Pandora's Box Series, Book 1

by S. Y. Lee

  It wasn’t much, but Themba was grateful nonetheless. Since the escape from the keep, Themba had evaded capture at first by hiding in the dark recesses of the city, in any nook and cranny he could find, be it a dank alleyway, under a bridge, or just in a pile of unwanted straw baskets. Eventually, he grew a little bolder and wandered into the streets where people shunned him and children pointed. His clothes were so dirty and tattered that he looked nothing like the man who had marched into the Marble Keep a few days ago with his companions.

  Luckily, Thermine was more diverse than Silverbrick and he didn’t stand out here as much as he had in the more affluent city. Indeed, there were more dark-skinned people, rather, there were more people of different colors and creeds in this city, which made it easier for Themba to blend in, albeit as a homeless person. The city guards no longer searched the city for the escapees from the prison cells. They were presumed to be long gone by now.

  Themba hadn’t seen or heard any news about Leo, Sarah, or Karine. He didn’t know what to make of it. The last thing he knew about each of his former companions made him feel despair and loneliness. Since that wooden box had somehow transported him to this world, he had always depended on others to survive. Now, the elf had fled and left them behind. The American had been cornered by the guards and was either recaptured or worse. The British girl was alone in a city where she knew nobody and had no skills to evade the guards. She didn’t strike him as someone as willing to dive headfirst into the muck as he had done, so he was sure she had been caught by the guards.

  He felt the worse about Sarah. They hadn’t been close, but she was the one who paid attention and realized that he wasn’t from this world as well, and he had abandoned her. Not that he could have protected her from harm, but at least they could have ran away or been caught together. It was a selfish thought, he knew, but he just wanted someone to share in his misery and tell him it would be alright.

  Instead, he sat there by the street alone as people passed him by. Most people ignored his outstretched hands and some even tripped over him in their haste in getting from one place to another, like he was invisible. Once in a while, someone would toss him a piece of bread or fruit, or a small copper coin. He had three coins now, though he couldn’t make out the markings on it and he had no idea how much they were worth.

  So far, he had only seen one other homeless person. It was a skinny old man who only wore a rag around his waist and roamed the streets. He must have been a long-timer around the city because the guards and pedestrians ignored him so long as he didn’t pester them. He was bald, though he had a long and untidy white beard and he murmured to himself all day. Themba was certain the man was crazy. His greater fear, was that the old man could be a reflection of the fate that awaited Themba.

  His lips were parched as he tried to swallow some saliva. Today was warmer than it had been in past days and he could feel the energy dissipating from his body. His eyes were partially closed when he saw the red boots marching in front of him. It was a striking color in this city, where most of its residents wore dull colors that seemed to meld into the walls and streets, into a monotonous quilt.

  “Please,” he begged, holding out his palms. These people in uniform looked clean and orderly, and also like people who had money to throw around. However, they didn’t even glance at him as they made their way down the street. They had come from the direction of the Marble Keep and were in a hurry to leave Thermine. He was close to giving up when a young woman knelt before him. She appeared to be with the people in red, though she wasn’t dressed like them.

  "Here, for food and clothing." She took his right hand and shoved a coin into it. She closed his fingers over the coin, making sure he wouldn’t drop it.

  “Thank you,” Themba said. Before he could get a good look at her, she had already stood up and was running after the group in red, having fallen behind. All he could see was her tall figure, her short brown hair, and the quiver slung over her back.

  He had four copper coins, he thought. He wondered if that was enough to buy some food. Bringing his closed fist to his face, he opened it. His eyes widened when he saw a gold coin.

  Chapter 66

  His eyes were closed and the feeling of the wind in his face was so refreshing that he barely felt the strain on his arms as he hung onto the big kite. When he eventually summoned enough courage to pry his eyes open, Leo was pleasantly surprised to find that he wasn’t panicking as much as he anticipated.

  It was largely due to the fact that they were gliding through the thick fog and he couldn’t see beyond his feet. He knew that they were still high up in the sky, but not being able to see the drop put his mind at ease and was enough to calm his own nerves for now. On his left, Karine was staring intently ahead and she subtly shifted her body from time to time to adjust the trajectory of their flight, using the glint in the distance like a lighthouse in a dark and stormy night.

  “This isn’t that bad, huh?” Leo said.

  “It’s exhilarating!” the elf shouted back. She had probably never been this far above the ground and was openly enjoying every moment of it. Leo wondered what would happen if she knew about airplanes and how they traveled around in his world. Then, he started to think about if she could go back with them. He bet she would have a better time in his world, than he was currently in hers.

  Leo’s daydreams were interrupted when he felt the tip of a tree graze the bottom of his shoe. They were starting to get closer to the ground and more importantly, through the fog. Leo’s heart started palpitating faster. The fog was thinning away as the kite kept descending. He could hear water crashing against rocks and initially he thought it was just the sound of the wind in his ears, until they suddenly burst into the clear.

  They were through the fog and Leo could now see the ground and trees beneath them as they sped forward. They were likely still going at the same speed as they were before, but without the guise of the fog, it felt so much faster as they zipped through the scenery. Leo saw the river, and the point where it took a dive into a waterfall, which they were currently heading towards. He was too terrified to say anything, nor could he take the time to admire the magnificent bridge that traversed the waterfall.

  “Leo! Stop it!” Karine shouted. It took him a few moments to realize that he had been kicking frantically, causing the kite to jerk and wobble in all directions. They were off course. The kite was going too fast to land before the bridge, while also too low to make it to the other side.

  Karine shifted her weight over to his side and he felt her shoulders pressing against his, attempting to steer the kite. She was aiming for the bridge, which was a behemoth task given the speed they were traveling at, the difficulty of seeing the mostly transparent bridge, and Leo’s unsteadiness.

  “Just hang on and don’t move!” she shouted into his ear.

  As they flew over the part where the land met the bridge, Leo contemplated for a second letting go and falling to the ground. It was about a seventy-foot drop. Karine would probably be better off on the glider without him, he reasoned, but he hesitated too long and the dirt path beneath him had been replaced by the transparent floor of the bridge. In that moment, he lost his concentration and his left hand slipped, causing the kite to veer sharply to the right and towards the plunging water. He had experienced bad turbulence on a plane before, and at that time, just closed his eyes and braced for the worst. That was nothing compared to his current self-inflicted predicament.

  It took Karine’s quick reflexes and thinking to get them back over the bridge as she leaned all the way onto the other side while Leo tightened the grip of his right hand on the beam. The elf’s split-second decision had saved them as the kite reverted back to their original flight path and approached the surface of the bridge. The next thing he knew, Leo felt the security of the bridge beneath his feet as they touched down.

  However, the kite was still propelling forward at full speed and the two of them had to use their feet as makeshift landing gea
rs and ran a short distance before letting go of the kite. It soon crashed in front of them and shattered into many pieces. Both of them were gasping for air from the adrenaline rush and near plummet to their deaths.

  “I’m sorry,” Leo panted.

  He was ashamed that his fear of heights had nearly killed them, so he was surprised when Karine hugged him tight. She was shaking. “We’re not doing that again,” she whispered into his ear.

  “Agreed.” Leo gulped. He was looking at what remained of the tiny craft that had brought them here from the mountain. They were in the middle of the bridge, about the same distance away from each end of it. He had completely forgotten about his other friends until Karine pushed him away and pointed behind them. As he turned around, he heard two distinct sounds. The hooves of galloping horses on the ground, followed by a loud crash. A familiar crash he had just heard moments ago.

  Chapter 67

  He felt like a new man, or rather, a man reborn. He was reaping the benefits of the kind woman’s act of charity. After he managed to pick himself off the ground, Themba stared at the gold coin in his hand for a long time. He took it to a fruit stall where he asked for an apple, but when the stall owner saw the coin, he turned Themba away. At first, Themba thought maybe he had been given a fake coin, but it turned out, as the fruit seller explained, the gold coin was worth too much. Its value was so high that Themba could have had all the fruit in the stall, and still wouldn’t be fairly compensated for his money.

  The stall owner could have played dumb and cheated Themba of his gold coin, but he was an honest man who had no interest in cheating Themba. Themba suspected the man was being cautious too, since he looked at Themba sideways with suspicion, probably thinking the coin was unrightfully obtained.

  With a vague understanding of the gold coin’s value, the delighted Themba practically skipped to the largest inn in the city which he had passed by several times since being relegated to the streets. He was almost chased out with a broom when they saw his appearance, but their attitudes changed significantly and immediately when he flashed the gold coin. Not only did they kick out a guest to accommodate Themba with their best and largest room, they brought an unlimited amount of food and drink as well. In addition, the innkeeper provided him with a hot bath and sent one of his employees to go procure Themba new clothes.

  That night, Themba slept soundly, unburdened of the fear of rats crawling over his face or a guard recognizing him in the streets and hauling him back to the cold, dark cells of the Marble Keep.

  The next day, Themba was still left with eighty silver coins and he used some of that to purchase a donkey-drawn cart from a farmer who had come to Thermine for supplies. It had taken Themba a while to get the hang of driving the cart and he almost knocked over a stall selling firewood, but eventually he was able to navigate his cart to the city’s entrance.

  By then, with no sign of the escapees, security around the city had laxed and Themba was able to ride confidently pass the guards without being stopped. His new clothes were much nicer than what he had worn back in Silverbrick, and he found himself subconsciously holding his head up higher. Once he was out of Thermine, Themba asked some travelers for directions to Thelmont, and they pointed out the road he needed to follow, which would bring him through the Kallen Valley and on to his destination.

  Without any of his companions, he decided that venturing to Thelmont was his best course of action for getting back home. Hopefully the wizard would be able to help him, or perhaps Eva would have found a way back. He knew it was going to be hard to explain how he had gotten separated from the others, so as he rode at a moderate pace on his cart, Themba started to concoct a reasonable tale. The truth painted him as a coward, something he wasn’t particularly proud of, but he wasn’t going to apologize for being a survivor. At the end of the day, that was what mattered the most and would get him home to his sister.

  *

  He had stocked up on dry food which he ate sparingly during the trip. The cart was able to hold his food and clothes and when it got too dark to continue, Themba would pull the cart over to the side of the road to sleep in it. It wasn’t as comfortable as the bed in the inn, but it was a lot better than sleeping under a tree when he was fleeing Silverbrick with the others. The first night, Themba had foolishly pulled over to the side of the road without tying the donkey to a tree or anything secure. It was only when he had woken up in the middle of a field far from the road that Themba learned his lesson. It didn’t happen again the next night.

  Four days since leaving Thermine, he saw smoke in the distance. While the roads continued, he had come to a hilly region and it was difficult to see far ahead. Themba assumed he was nearing the Kallen Valley where he had been told a community resided. The road bent around short hills and land mounds, but it was clear that it would lead him to the source of the smoke. As he got closer, Themba saw that there were multiple plumes of smoke and he thought it was strange. Something wasn’t right.

  Indeed, as the land evened out and he approached the valley, Themba saw the origins of the smoke. Where a community once stood, houses were burnt to the ground. He didn’t stop. Themba continued riding his cart down the road that ran through the valley community.

  He tried his best to focus on the road and keep going. He couldn’t believe the amount of destruction around him. Who could have done this? Curiously, there didn’t appear to be any casualties or survivors around. It was as though all the people who lived here had decided to burn everything down and run away to start anew.

  Somewhere along the valley, he passed a solitary tree that was untouched by the fire. It was far away from anything else that the flames hadn’t spread to it. The tree looked like it had been there for ages and its lush canopy overshadowed Themba as he rode by. Something about the tree caught his eye that made him stop. In the middle of the trunk, a fresh green apple was nailed to the bark with an arrow.

  He stared at the apple for a long time, trying to determine how it had gotten there. It had to have been as recent as the fires that had consumed this community. After a while, he was starting to feel that this wasn’t a good place to be. He was fearful that the culprits of the fire might not be gone, so Themba guided his cart past the tree, and further into the valley until the donkey came to a stop. The way ahead was blocked by fallen rocks and trees.

  Chapter 68

  Everyone who lived in and around the valley had been rounded up by the Dark Flame and gathered around the large tree. None of the people in this small community were armed and many looked terrified. Most of Clera’s men sat on their mounts and encircled the crowd to prevent anyone from leaving, while the others lingered in their midst, surveying those they had assembled for potential troublemakers. There was no sign of Alister. The Dark Flame afforded him freedom to do as he pleased, and last Caitlin had seen, he was poking his head through the open window of a hut from the outside.

  The Australian was next to Clera in the center of the crowd, under the shade of the giant tree, and she fidgeted on her horse as she looked around. The eyes staring back at her didn’t view her differently from the rest of the menacing Dark Flame troupe. She couldn’t blame them.

  “What do you want?” a tall, rugged man with brown hair stepped forth and demanded of Clera. He wore a tight shirt that struggled to contain his bulging muscles, and he carried himself with confidence, staring Clera in the eyes. His hands rested on the shoulders of a little girl in front of him. Her features were much more delicate, though the color of her hair color was the same tint. Caitlin tried smiling at the little girl to reassure her, but she appeared just as defiant as her father.

  “This is one of the most used routes to Thelmont. We need to block it and cut Thelmont off from aid coming this way,” Clera said.

  “Why? Is Thelmont in trouble? You can’t do that. We depend on the traffic that comes through this valley for our livelihoods. We can’t farm around here, so we get food from Thelmont and traders bring other goods on their journey to t
he city.” The man pointed behind him. He gritted his teeth and a throbbing vein on the side of his forehead was evidence of how upset he was. He was making a concerted effort to keep his temper in check in front of the small army.

  Clera didn’t respond immediately and it looked like she was really considering the man’s plea. The woman in red dismounted and walked towards a cottage nearby. The residents of the valley stepped aside to make a path for her and she disappeared into the building. Caitlin heard someone utter a protest, but it was quickly stifled and she couldn’t identify where it came from. It must have belonged to the owner of the cottage. A few seconds later, Clera reemerged with a green apple and made her way slowly back to the center of the group.

  She held the apple close to her nose and smelled it, and Caitlin thought she was just hungry and going to take a bite, but she didn’t. Instead, Clera bent down in front of the little girl and handed her the apple. Then, she took the child’s hand and pulled the girl with her to the tree. The man tried to hold onto his daughter, but let go when Clera glanced up at him. With the Dark Flame stationed all around and ready to draw their swords, he knew he had to acquiesce. Not resting on his daughter’s shoulders anymore, his hands clenched into fists that were balled so tightly Caitlin feared he was going to lash out at any moment. Clera guided the girl to the tree and turned her around so that her back was against the trunk. The girth of the tree was so wide that the little girl was barely a quarter of it.

  “What’s your name?” Clera asked.

  “Jen.”

  Caitlin was impressed at the girl’s composure. At that age, Caitlin would have probably been in tears by now, crying for her mother, and begging Clera to let her go. But Jen just stood there calmly, looking alternately from her father to Clera.