Tagan's Child

by ammyford1

  “There are worse things to believe in when you are faced with problems to overcome.”

  Suddenly the phone in the charging dock rang.

  Ahran cleared his throat and answered it.

  I listened to him speaking to whoever it was, desperately trying to pick up any thread of what he was saying.

  When Ahran hit the hang up button I was none the wiser.

  “Is it Toby?” I asked hopefully.

  “Yes, one of Halsan’s agents has reported that Toby spent the night he was kidnapped at a tavern in a small town in the heart of Bazeera’s territory.”

  “Really? Does he know where they went from there?”

  “Nobody has been able to contact him since. The tracking device in his phone shows that either he or his phone has not moved in the last 24 hours.”

  “Either way not a good sign?”

  He shook his head ominously.

  “So what are we going to do?”

  “We’ll head to this tavern and see if we can find out where Bazeera’s men and Toby were headed.”

  “Is it far?”

  “It should take about 12 hours by road.”

  I glanced at the clock. We should get there in the early hours of the morning. I felt a glimmer of hope but it was a frustratingly long drive. Maybe it was what I needed, it would at least give me time to think about what Ahran had just said. He had made it sound so easy, but I had my safe life, the cafe and Toby to think about. Did being with him mean I would have to give all that up? My head ached, and I shut my eyes and rubbed my temples. “I suppose it’s good that we have a more concrete lead, it just takes so long to get anywhere here,” I said, unable to hide my impatience.

  “Ramia is much bigger than the world you are used to, we could still catch the train if you wanted to, but you know the risks.”

  “No let’s just get there as fast as we can by road,” I said with a sigh. It would take longer but we had a better chance of survival.

  I was thankful that Ahran didn’t push me any further about how I felt and we settled into what was a more highly charged silence, there was so much more to say but neither of us broached the subject over the next 12 hours.

  Ahran’s phone had charged and I was able to phone the hospital back home to find out how Audrey was doing. She had gained consciousness and was on morphine to help her cope with the pain. She was asleep when I phoned and was unable to speak to her. I would have done anything to have heard her calm reassuring voice. Her doctor told me that her stroke hadn’t been too serious but she would require some fairly intensive physio to help her overcome the reduced mobility on her left side. I was overwhelmed with relief that there had been no lasting damage.

  We stopped twice en route. Ahran and I talked about things on more neutral territory, but from time to time I noticed the tension in his jaw. He had laid his cards out on the table, shouldn’t I be thrilled? If only I could allow myself the luxury of what I wanted to feel. What chance of happiness did we have when one of us would have to sacrifice everything we held dear? But the most terrifying prospect was allowing Ahran any closer than he already was. As things stood, the chances of my heart coming out of this unscathed were poor.

  I laid my head back on the seat and closed my eyes to give my brain a rest. I really needed some time away from Ahran to think, but the situation made that impossible. Eventually, I fell asleep and this time dreamt that Ahran, Toby and Audrey were walking away with their arms linked and laughing over their shoulders at me. I was trying to run towards them with huge superhuman leaps but the bigger the leap the further they seemed to move away. My heart was pounding and I opened my mouth to scream in desperation but nothing came out. Perspiration ran down my back from the exertion of jumping and I finally fell into a heap on the floor utterly exhausted and no longer able to see them, all I could hear was Ahran calling my name from a distance.

  “Sophie? Sophie!”

  I woke with a jolt and opened my eyes to find Ahran leaning towards me gently shaking my shoulder. “You were dreaming.”

  I rubbed my eyes in an attempt to make them focus. I took a deep breath and stopped myself from flinging my arms around his neck and never letting go.

  “Please tell me I have slept for two days and that you have found Toby,” I said, sitting on my hands as an insurance against any impulsiveness on my part.

  “I’m sorry, you’ve only been a sleep a couple of hours and we’ve arrived at the tavern.”

  It was late and we were parked outside a pub that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the East End of London. It was three stories high at the end of a row of shops and had a rather British looking pub sign showing a yard of ale swinging above the door.

  “This is some kind of joke, right?” I glanced over at Ahran.

  He looked slightly apologetic. “There are some people in Ramia who like to try and create a piece of the old world.”

  “It’s like a scene out of Oliver Twist,” I snorted.

  “I am sure the landlord would be very pleased to hear that he has successfully created an authentic piece of Dickensian London,” Ahran added.

  “You’ve heard of Dickens?” I asked in surprise.

  Ahran nodded. “We are encouraged to read other-world literature at school. Don’t forget we spend much longer at school than you do, we have to fill our time somehow.”

  I chuckled. “It just seems so morbidly appropriate. Besides I thought Ramians thought Sapiens were inferior, why would they want to try and emulate them and their world?”

  “Earth holds a certain enchantment among Ramians. We know that somehow we are descended from Earth and even though there are many things that are better about Ramia there are many here who regard Earth as exotic. Especially those who have never visited it.”

  I had come across this mentality before when I had travelled around Australia on my year out. Some people still considered Britain as home even though they had lived in the southern hemisphere most, if not all, of their lives. It seemed very strange to learn that the same phenomena existed among an alien race in a completely different universe.

  “So Ramians are descended from humans on Earth?” I struggled to understand how this could be.

  “Yes but we don’t know how or when. It is our world’s biggest mystery.”

  “Blimey!” The origins of the Ramian race hadn’t even crossed my mind.

  Ahran nodded as if to say ‘strange but true’.

  “Come on let’s see if Fagin can shed any light on Toby’s whereabouts,” he said with a wry smile.

  Chapter 18

  Inside, the place was lit by an inadequate number of wall lights and most heads turned in our direction. I took a cursory glance around. Apart from me, the girl serving behind the bar, and a scantily clad girl half-heartedly winding herself around a pole on a podium at the other end of the bar, the rest of the clientele were male. It was all rather seedy and I felt decidedly self-conscious as at least fifteen pairs of eyes watched us approach the bar. Ahran held my hand and gently pulled me closer to him as he addressed the barmaid.

  He spoke to her in Ramian. She didn’t answer but nodded her head in the direction of a short and slight, for Ramian standards, middle aged man, with a bushy moustache and shifty eyes at the other end of the bar. Our arrival had not gone unnoticed by him and he made his way over to us. Much to my surprise he spoke in heavily accented English.

  “We don’t see a human for three years and then two come along in as many days.”

  Oh my god! He had seen Toby? My heart began to beat harder. The place was uninviting and hostile and by the way the landlord was eyeing us he wasn’t particularly happy to welcome two more newcomers. In fact, it was hard to imagine a smile lighting up his face in any situation. The thought that Toby had been here filled me with hope and horror in equal measures.

  “Can you describe the human you saw two days ago?” Ahran asked, towering over the man who leant nonchalantly against the bar. He didn’t appear in the least bit i
ntimidated by Ahran’s size.

  “Now why would I do that?” The landlord replied with a sneer. There was something about him that oozed menace.

  “Because I am asking you nicely,” Ahran said with forced patience.

  The landlord snarled something at Ahran in Ramian and started to walk away from us. Before I knew what had happened, the man slammed backwards over the bar. Ahran gripped his throat, the tips of his thumb and fingers disappearing into the soft tissue below the man’s jaw. Ahran’s body was coiled with barely contained violence and he was speaking to the landlord in a low, threatening voice. It turned out that Ahran was more than a match in the menace stakes as he held the disagreeable little pit-bull against the bar. The landlord struggled for breath, his face getting redder and redder. I nervously looked around to see if anyone was about to leap to his rescue but everyone had suddenly begun to mind their own business, carrying on with their conversations as if Ahran and the landlord were invisible. The barmaid glanced over disinterestedly as she dried a glass and I gave her a weak apologetic smile. She didn’t respond and just carried on with what she was doing. How often had she witnessed something like this? Come to think of it, how often had anyone here witnessed a scene like this? I marvelled at how Ramians could think that humans were primitive and inferior. This place was unsophisticated and intimidating and they were clearly used to violence. They were no more evolved than some of the low-lifes on Earth.

  Just as I was beginning to think that Ahran’s hand had been around the landlord’s neck for a bit too long, he straightened and released him. The landlord made an attempt to look unruffled but he was visibly shaken, his shifty eyes scanning the bar to see if anyone had noticed the humiliating exchange. He eyed Ahran with thinly veiled contempt although there was a hint of wary deference that hadn’t been there before.

  He snapped at the barmaid and she disappeared out the back.

  Ahran took my elbow and steered me towards an empty table in the corner.

  Once we were sat down, I leant towards him. “What did you say to him?” I whispered.

  “I explained that we wanted to find out where Toby’s kidnappers may have taken him and made it clear that if he prevented us from making our enquiries then I would make sure he’d be in no condition to run a business.”

  I got the impression that Ahran was being less graphic than he had been with the landlord. I’d had glimpses of this side of Ahran and they were so at odds with what I knew of him.

  “Why are we sitting here?”

  “He has sent for one of the girls who spent the evening with Bazeera’s men whilst they stayed here.”

  “This place is a brothel?” I squeaked

  “Not strictly, but if any of the clientele require female company,” he said delicately, “then the landlord can arrange it.”

  “Bloody hell! Toby spent the night in a brothel,” I hissed. “Jesus Ahran! I thought Ramia was supposed to be some kind of Utopia but not only are your people capable of kidnapping an innocent child, they don’t think twice about bringing him to a place like this.” The thought of Toby spending the night here made my blood run cold.

  “I didn’t say all Ramians were perfect, some are just as open to criminal activity and depravity as Sapiens are.”

  “Huh!” I looked away in disgust. The thought that Toby, through no fault of his own, was tangled up in this mess made me feel sick to my stomach.

  A tired looking brunette, who had to be in her late thirties, dressed in a short denim skirt and tight fitting t-shirt approached our table. Ahran stood up and pulled out a chair. The woman looked at him in surprise. Was she so unused to a man showing her any manners? She gave him a genuine smile which made her look ten years younger. She sat down and folded her hands in her lap. I immediately felt sorry for her. What kind of life did she have here?

  Ahran spoke to her in Ramian and she nodded her head.

  “Please speak in English then so that this lady can understand what you are saying.”

  “Did you see the human boy that was with the two men you…” he paused trying not to offend her, “entertained the other night?” Ahran asked.

  “Yes, he sit over there,” she said in broken English and pointed to a table that was at the opposite end of the bar to the dancing podium. I was thankful for small mercies.

  “Did he look okay?” I interjected, wanting some shred of hope that he was alright.

  She shrugged. She said something to Ahran in Ramian and he translated for me.

  Ahran hesitated. “She said he looked pale and tired.”

  I put my hand to my mouth to stifle a sob.

  “Did he go with her and the men upstairs?” I asked falteringly.

  “No!” The woman spat, clearly offended.

  She leant towards me. “I do not choose this,” she said gesturing around her, “but my children, they have to eat.” Her eyes bored into me.

  I regretted questioning her judgement. “I’m sorry. It’s just that little boy you saw is the only family I have,” I said.

  “This is no place for children,” she said, as if it was my fault Toby had been here.

  “Did either of the men mention where they were going?” Ahran asked, breaking the tension between me and the woman.

  Her eyes darted over to the landlord who was now behind the bar serving somebody before bringing her attention back to Ahran. She sat back and folded her arms across her chest. Whatever she knew she wasn’t telling us anymore.

  Ahran reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He laid a note on the table in front of her and she quickly picked it up, but not before darting another look to her boss to check he wasn’t watching. He was talking to one of the punters sitting at the bar and had seemingly forgotten we were still here. I didn’t blame her, this poor woman was trapped in this dreadful place and she clearly needed all the money she could get.

  She spoke quickly and quietly in Ramian.

  “She says that they didn’t say much, one of the men used his cell phone a couple of times and she heard him mention, ‘the Island’,” Ahran said, acting as interpreter.

  “Do you know what island they were talking about?” I asked the woman.

  She shook her head.

  “Thank you, you have been very helpful.” Ahran shook her hand and surreptitiously handed her another note.

  “I hope you find the boy,” she said, standing up and looking at me with pity.

  I gave her a shaky smile. She made her way back to the bar and sat on a stool. The landlord spoke to her and she nodded at whatever he had said. They both turned in our direction.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” Ahran said, standing up.

  I was more than happy to do as he suggested and he guided me back through the bar with his hand at the small of my back. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the landlord scowling at us. I half expected a mob of thugs waiting for us outside, but the street was quiet.

  “Do you think they’ve taken Toby to this island she mentioned?” I asked once we were inside the car.

  “It would seem likely.”

  “Do you know where it is?”

  To my dismay, Ahran shook his head. “No, but I know someone who might,” he said. “I have a friend who lives not too far from here. We used to work together. If anyone knows anything about a mysterious island belonging to Bazeera, he will.”

  “Can we go there tonight?” I asked hopefully.

  “It’s late, I think we should find somewhere to stay and go there tomorrow,” he replied.

  I couldn’t help feeling disappointed that I would have to wait until the morning before we could follow our latest lead.

  “Did you see anywhere where we could stay?” I asked.

  “We passed a large hotel about four kilometres back, we might be able to get a room there,” he replied.

  “That’s good,” I said wearily.

  We drove to the hotel and parked in the car park out the back. It must have been one or two in the mornin
g and I was doubtful we would get a room at this time of night, but the young, and remarkably cheerful, lad at the night desk informed us that they had one double left. We checked in and headed up to our room which turned out to be a little tired looking, but comfortable and clean. My heart skipped a beat as I eyed the double bed. In spite of my tiredness, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist Ahran if he came near me.

  I quickly showered and cleaned my teeth and in under ten minutes I was crawling into bed. The sheets smelt fresh and homely. I closed my eyes, my heart pounding as I waited for Ahran to shower but when he came out of the bathroom, he didn’t get into bed. Instead, he went to the wardrobe and pulled out some bedding. It was clear he was about to make a bed up on the floor.

  I couldn’t let him give up a night in a comfortable bed especially after having driven almost non-stop since this morning. “You don’t have to sleep on the floor,” I said, sitting up and feeling not a little bit rejected.

  “I think it’s better for both of us if I do,” he said as he laid the blanket and pillow on the floor at the bottom of the bed. His hair was wet and he was just wearing his boxers. My hands itched to touch him.

  “We are both exhausted and need a good night’s sleep,” I argued, suddenly panicked by the thought that I wouldn’t be spending the night in his arms.

  “I’ll get more sleep on the floor.”

  His words stung.

  “Oh, okay,” I said, trying to keep the hurt from my voice. I knew he needed to rest but the thought that he didn’t actually want to share a bed hadn’t occurred to me. He’d had a day to reconsider his feelings, maybe he’d realised that not only did he not want to be with Talina, but I wasn’t what he wanted either.

  “Try and get some sleep,” he said as he settled down into his makeshift bed.

  I could feel tears pooling in my eyes. He had obviously realised that our situation was hopeless. I reached over and switched off the lamp.

  “Night Ahran,” I said in a small voice.

  “Night Sophie.”

  I lay on my back staring into the darkness as tears slid silently down my cheeks. I missed Toby so much and after this evening feared for his safety even more, but I was also terrified that as a result of my stupid insecurities I had lost Ahran for good.