“I take the upper floor” Avia informed Osapi and leaped up the narrow, squeezing staircase. No chance for a discreet passage anyway. The floorboards also told of her presence. She cursed the builder in her thoughts for doing such lousy job. She reminded herself if there was an opponent up there, his or her feet would cause noise too. The stairs ended in a hallway with three doors, one in each direction except for the way she came. Closed doors. She went for the middle one, just to do something unexpected. In the room lay a woman on the floor, tied and gagged. Her eyes were closed. Was she asleep or unconscious? She checked the room, and no one was hiding in a corner.
She closed the door and opened another. With a roar a man ran at her, sword lifted. Amateur, she thought, took a step aside, throw out a foot and tripped him. He tumbled to the floor. Then he did not heed the sword pointing at him and the option to yield. He got to his feet attacking once again. Avia ducked and placed her own blade in his belly. He stared at her and backed away, leaving a hole where the sword had been. He stared at the blood as he took a final step backward, tumbling down the stairs, painting it red on the way.
Avia checked the third room for good measure before she felt the situation safe enough to pay attention to their prisoner. She untied the gag and cut her ropes, but the woman remained what appear to be without consciousness. The hair was short. As the last woman who had been kidnapped from the village of Qaryat had been described. The others were not here. They had three men downstairs to deal with as well so she left her and walked down, passing the body of the man she fought. Osapi had the situation under control.
“You’ve snatched many women” Avia thundered. “Where are the others?” No answer came from any of the three men. Most warriors would take the route leading to torture, but Avia mistrusted any answers coming from a person under that kind of pressure. Why would you tell the truth just because you were afraid of more pain? You just wanted it to stop and could say anything you thought would do so. She considered what method to use.
“You know the two of us will deal with this” she began. “We think you’re guilty of bringing women here against their will and if you don’t prove otherwise, we will kill you. If you’re guilty and give us a clue of where we can find the other women it will help you survive our visit.” Yes, they could still tell lies. You could always, in any situation, tell a lie. It was not something you could avoid. She waited for an answer. When she did not get any, she walked around the one to the left. He did not meet her eyes.
“You. Have you anything to say?” There was no answer.
“On your feet” she commanded, and he rose. She jammed her sword up his belly, cutting through every vital organ before puncturing his heart. A quick death, but not a clean one. Blood flooded. The man was dead before he reached the floor. A man who thought some people lesser than others, who considered it alright to trade and sell a woman like cattle. She did not feel guilt for such kill. Maybe he could have been able to relearn and change his view of things, but who would do it? Where would she take him?
The other two men stared and their dead comrade. She noted Osapi staring at her. The two men began babbling all at once, gibberish as they both spoke in panic and at the same time.
“Calm down!” she yelled, annoyed. “One at a time!” They shut up as quickly as they started. She pointed at one of them with her dripping sword. “You were saying?” And the man flooded her with words about who innocent and deceived he was.
“Shut up, you coward” she barked and pointed at the other. “You? Do you know anything about where the other women are?”
“We sold them” he squeaked, shrinking before her eyes. “The lands in the east pay a good price for beautiful, untouched, grown women. They are hard to get. Most girls are married when they are fifteen or so. But here, they wait until she is eighteen or even twenty.” Avia shifted position and put her knife under his chin feeling his foul breath on her face.
“Have you ever considered how much you men would be sold for if it was obvious on your dick if you had had sex or not?” she hissed with fury. “Have you ever considered how much joy and money it would bring me if I could sell you and your unused penis.” To her amusement, he flushed. Cute. A grown man thinks about his virginity as something to sell, and he turns red as an apple. “To whom did you sell them?” she demanded, still with her knife pressed to his skin. He perspired. A lot. And it stank.
“A-a-a m-m-man” he stuttered.
“Half of mankind fit into that description.” She backed away, not as much for his sake as for her own. She felt too disgusted. About the men but also about herself. She had killed an unarmed man just because they were out in the cruel, uncouth lands. “You’d better limit the number of possible people down a little bit more.” The other man found his voice and told them about a man and his wagon. He gave them a description of the man’s appearance and possible destiny. She felt hopeless. Would she tie them and bring them back to the village? They had the woman upstairs to deal with too. It would not be easy to keep two prisoners if she could not walk or slowed them down in another way. And she could not muster the will to kill them, no matter how repulsive they were.
“Get out of here.” The two men stared at her, and probably Osapi as well. “Get out of here, now! Leave and never come back. And do something better with your lives.” It connected at last. The two kidnappers hurried passed her and Osapi and left the building. Avia followed them and saw them run away down the road. Osapi turned up by her side. They watched the fleeing men in silence. When they were out of sight, Avia sat down on the doorstep. It was wide enough for them both to sit comfortable and her apprentice joined her. She needed to confront her actions and emotions one time or another.
“Do you think it was wrong of me to kill the man?” Osapi might have made a slight shaking of his head. She was not sure. Maybe it was wishful thinking.
“You’re the master.”
“You think I should have killed them all?”
“Not my decision” he answered, diplomatically. Avia studied his eyes and his face. She thought he would have liked to say ‘yes.' But if he did he kept it to himself. She did not need his approval.
“So, doing something a group of people thinks is wrong gives them right to send someone to kill them?” she asked.
“Not always kill, but yes, I think so.” Avia watched the mountains. It sounded so easy, but it was not. No one would blame her or hunt her for the kill of this unarmed man. Yet it was not the way she wanted it. She wanted someone who watched out for everybody’s rights, stopping her if needed. A god would have served that purpose, but they rarely interfered in the more tangible way she was looking for.
“Let's say a group of people thinks stealing pebbles from their land is a serious crime, and a stranger does take some pebbles and leaves, would it be correct for them to chase the stranger and kill him?”
“For stealing pebbles?”
“For committing a serious crime in their eyes.”
“Stealing pebbles can’t be that serious” Osapi answered perplexed. Avia sighed. Abstract reasoning did not seem to be his strongest asset. Pity. On the other hand, he could keep life simple that way. Taking laws and its consequences to the extremes was exciting, but many found it annoying that she made things so complicated.
“Could you go inside and take care of the woman?” She did not want to return inside. Osapi nodded and rose. “Remove the body from the staircase before you take her down, will you.”
“Good thinking.” He walked inside, and she was alone. She took a deep breath and let the air bring out all the foul mood when she exhaled. Done was done.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jadoog
Running was not Jadoog’s best trait. He hurried the best he could towards the pass, but he did not nearly make as fast progress as he wished. Those bastards had taken Putt. The two men had sought them up in his and the boy’s cave. It was odd because there was no reason for them to take that detour. Jadoog had felt the radia
tion of their thoughts, and it had been those of ownership and trespassing. The men had used the cave before. And then came the feelings of greed, but when he realized it was Putt they desired, he had had no time to act before he was knocked down by a firm fist in his face. The fire had turned to ember when he came to his senses again. By then Putt and the two men were gone. Jadoog had taken up the pursuit in the most likely direction - up the pass. He had not spent time running to the village and checked if they had passed there. How many kidnappers were in the area, after all? What was most likely? That these two men came from the same gang, or that they came from a completely different place? Jadoog hoped for the first. If not, at least it would bring him faster to Avia who was better suited for these kinds of things. He was a wizard, not a warrior. He despised fighting and embraced peace and conversation.
When the mountainside became too steep to even think of running, he became so frustrated he asked himself if it was safe for him to continue in his state. Lingering with his feet on the loose rocks he took a deep breath. He did not have Avia’s self-control. Now when he really needed to do some magic, he was too upset. If he had been at peace, he could have searched for their minds, halting them, making them stop. It was not something he had done much, and now he was unable to do it. Wizards in trouble were powerless. It was so ironic he almost had to laugh. He eased upwards.
At the top of the pass, the night was falling. He judged they had at least four hours head start to begin with. It was likely they moved faster than him up the hill, so he guessed they were six hours ahead of him. They would stay for the night, but he did not have to. No more than half an hour at least to gain his focus and cast some spells that would keep his energy up. The good thing with that spell was that once he had regained his full stamina, the spell was done. If he lost focus, then it did not matter for his strength. He sat down on a flat rock and collected his thoughts and put his anger and frustration away. Putt needed his help, and if he could not do this, he was not worthy to be his master.
The woman did not speak at all on their way back to Qaryat. At least she could walk on her own which was a relief. They did not learn her name nor what they had done to her. Avia suspected she had been given some form of drug and hoped it would wear off in time. She probably had her virginity intact, but there were a lot of things a man could do to a woman apart from that detail and still enforce his power and her surrender.
What they were not prepared for was that there were six kidnappers, not four.
As they walked up to the pass from where they came, two other men crossed it in the opposite direction. One of them carried a long bundle loaded over his shoulder. They nodded to each other as travelers do.
It was something about them that unnerved Avia. She had time to walk a few paces before she figured out what it was - they had recognized the woman traveling with her. They might have reacted to her short, dirty hair and vacant look but they had not stared in that way. They had looked away and quickened their pace.
“Excuse me” she called back to them. The two men paused and turned. They were both strong men, armed with swords and knives. “What do you have in that package?” A question they had no reason to answer in any case. It was not her business. But their reaction to her question could carry information, nevertheless.
“Not that it’s any of your concern, but it’s cloth” replied the one carrying the package. He had long raven hair in a ponytail and an equally black beard. They remained facing her as if waiting for her move. The roll on his shoulder was open at both ends as if the outer fabric was rolled around something. Did you not protect your excellent material by closing the ends, keeping dirt and rain from it?
“Oh, may I buy some?” she begged, moving closer. They backed away. Osapi maneuvered the woman out of the way and made her sit down.
“No. No, it’s not for sale” the second man chirped. His voice did not match his features at all. It was almost as high-pitched as a woman.
“Please?” What a charade when it came to it. They knew that she knew there was something wrong with their load and yet they hoped to escape her. Her bow hung on her back, string loosened. No way she could make a quick move there. Osapi turned up by her side, hand on his sword.
“You heard what my master said, didn’t you?” he barked at them. “She wants to buy from you.” Avia took her bow and strung it in front of their eyes. They knew then the situation would become a battle if they did not comply.
“It’s nothing of value” the bearded man tried. Avia was done with the bow and pulled an arrow from the quiver. She put it to the string and took her aim.
“Don’t treat me like a fool! Your fellow partners in crime are dead, and I want to know what you have in that package! Put it down, carefully. Now!” She pulled the string back, making herself ready to send it away. Anyone with any knowledge of the weapon knew you did not hold it that way for long. Either you shot the arrow, or you slacked the pose. A long hold might result in an accident with her losing grip of the arrow. The two men exchanged a look, and then the bearded man put the roll over his shoulder down on the ground with slow movements. Moments before he was done, the high-pitched man drew his knife and threw it. Avia let go of her arrow instantly. She felt his knife rip through her right arm as the man fell backward, heart pierced by her arrow. Before the pain got too serious she pulled a new arrow out of the quiver and within a blink of an eye she had put it straight in the chest of the bearded man. His knife fell out of his hand before he threw it. He tumbled to his knees, blood oozing from his mouth staring at her. Her arrow had punctured his lung. This could take a while. Osapi had drawn his sword, and now he gave her a look.
“Shall I?” Avia nodded and Osapi rammed his sword through the man’s heart, shortening the pain and the inevitable death. She turned to the package and untied the ropes. With the help of Osapi, she unfolded it. With disbelief, she gasped for air. Inside the bundle was Putt.
Feet in a hurry down the hill made them spin around, Avia with an arrow ready by the bow. It was Jadoog. He came to an abrupt stop when he saw them. Avia returned the arrow to the quiver.
“Oh, good, you caught them” Jadoog panted while he was catching his breath.
“How do you explain this?” hissed Avia and pointed with the bow at the unconscious Putt. Avia saw Osapi backing away from the sparked conflict to tend to the woman who had begun to cry and had her hands over her ears and closed eyes. Though Jadoog must have sensed her fury, he gave her a face of a moron, not getting anything.
“Do you hold me responsible for them attacking us?”
“No, for you not defending him!”
“Defending him?!” Jadoog burst in anger. “Do you think I let them take him?! That I didn’t do what I could to keep him safe?” Avia clinched her jaws. Of course, he had, but it was not enough. He was not her. She would have kept him safe.
“Do you ever think I’ll let Putt stay with you now?”
“Can we argue later and tend to your grandson for a moment?” Jadoog glared. Avia felt her cheeks go hot. He was right. And what was worse was that the one she blamed for all this was the one who thought about it first.
They kneeled by Putt. He was breathing and seemed sleeping, but he could not be roused. With her fingers, Avia searched for a bump on his head, but she did not find any.
“Drugs?” she asked Jadoog. She had little knowledge about herbs, but she knew some could make people go to deep sleep. He nodded.
“Likely.” Avia saw him sweep his hands over his body. “Yes. And he’ll wake up soon. The drug has almost lost its effect.”
Putt was still confused, but he followed the others without much argument. They had explained to him that two men had drugged him to sleep and carried him for over a day, that the men were dead now and they were returning to Qaryat with a woman kidnapped from the village. Avia and Osapi had killed the men and Jadoog had caught up, following their tracks. So far he got it all. He did not remember the men entering the cave and had woken up in
Avia’s strong arms walking up a hill.
What he did not understand was why Avia was angry with Jadoog. In what way had he done something wrong? They had stayed in the cave and strangers walked in and knocked Jadoog down, what could he have done differently? And even if he made a mistake, what about it? Speak your peace and let it go. After all, nothing could change the past, according to his granny’s own words. At least before she got angry with Jadoog.
The woman they brought with them was strange. Avia had told him she was the one kidnapped and they had rescued her, but according to Jadoog they had given her some kind of drug he was not sure would ever wear off. Was she going to live the rest of her life as some form of a ghost or living dead? It scared Putt. To explain, his grandmother had pointed out that he was lucky they did not give the same drug to him as if this made Jadoog’s guilt greater.
When they made camp, Avia was still furious. She did not even bother to question his master’s ability to keep him safe; she bashed him straight off that Putt would follow her and not be his apprentice any longer. Putt yelled in protest. So did Jadoog, though, he was annoyingly adult in his way to express himself. Putt wanted him to make some prominent noisy argument. Something his granny could not ignore. But he did not. Jadoog behaved as he had been taught was called a civilized behavior. Opposed to his own where he gesticulated widely and was improperly loud. His master had argued and had not considered his yelps as helpful in the verbal war. To his annoyance, he was considered a boy too young to make decisions of his own.
Putt did not notice they were celebrated as heroes when they returned to Qaryat. He was too shaken. When he had finally found a new life, it had been taken away from him by his own granny. For reasons that were utterly absurd. It was like she thought this choice of hers was the best for him. But it was not. He knew that. What his master had taught him so far had been so right, so perfect. Jadoog could not be wrong for him. It could not.
Caged Warrior (The Warrior and the Wizard Book 1) Page 14