* * *
When dawn arrived, Marwan awoke slowly, peacefully—happily. As he was laying there reminiscing on his journey to the Spirit World the night before, he thought he heard someone walking through the forest, hidden by the denseness, just beyond the next clump of trees. He sprang to his feet in anticipation of the unknown. As he jumped, he caught a glimpse of someone, or something, big. Marwan wasn’t sure if he should follow the sound or hide instead, but in that split-second decision he decided to find out who or what it was. He cautiously went through the trees, off of the trail. The forest was getting denser and the looming feeling of the unknown was getting stronger, but just before he decided to not go any further, he saw what appeared to be a black bear running on all four legs. Marwan stopped abruptly in wonder. A sign, he thought. Bear is watching over me after all. The bear disappeared again through the thick foliage and Marwan decided to not give it any more chase.
After eating a little bit and giving thanks to the magical forest for taking him to the Spirit World, Marwan left for his village. He wanted to see his mother when she returned and to confront Pa about what had really happened the other night. Marwan was filled with a newfound sense of optimism and hope, which had never felt quite like this. He felt like he was soon to be at the beginning of a journey, a transformative mission to discover himself and, subsequently, the secrets of the Universe. He smiled as he walked along the dusty paths out of the forest and back home.
A little while later, Marwan was thirsty again and decided to stop at the same marshy tributary he had stopped at the day before on his way into the forest. To his surprise, the camp he had seen and thought deserted looked freshly disturbed. The campfire pit was still warm and the ground looked like it had been walked on. Marwan looked around but didn’t see anyone, again. Is someone watching me right now? The hairs on the back of Marwan’s neck stood up as he realized he was probably being watched the day before, too.
“Show yourself!” Marwan yelled into the seemingly empty marshland. He looked around again—left, right, then left and right again—but still no sign of anyone.
Then he heard something not too far in the distance—the sound of twigs cracking on the ground. He knew someone was walking not too far away. Marwan looked around and found a branch that would serve as a club if need be. He silently walked towards the spot he heard the noise, but curved towards it from the side, rather than directly to it. He wanted to have the element of surprise should he need it to defend himself against some rogue thief.
Marwan was surprised when he saw the person walking towards where he had just been. It was a woman. Why didn’t I see her yesterday? Then Marwan realized that he had been virtually silent when he had arrived the day before, having no one to talk to and making no noise while drinking from the water.
She was crouching low, like a huntress. She is beautiful, he thought. In fact, she’s perfect looking. What could she be doing out here? Marwan summed up the situation and decided that this beautiful stranger couldn’t be too dangerous to approach.
Marwan stepped out of the bushes that were concealing him, towards the woman. She looked at him, and at first Marwan thought he saw a sad, troubled expression written all over her face. But that expression changed suddenly as she saw Marwan. With a hateful, angry tone, she yelled, “I will not change!”
She started running at Marwan and he could see she was holding a long knife made out of bone. She had a look of wild evil in her eyes; her appearance was now more like a bloodthirsty savage. Her teeth were gritted and it seemed that nothing would stand in her way as she charged to attack Marwan.
For a second, Marwan was almost afraid. But then he realized he was almost twice her size and probably a better, more skilled fighter, too. As she closed in, it became apparent that she would not stop. She leapt at him from a few feet away. Marwan dodged left and swung the branch he had picked up minutes earlier around at her feet, knocking her to the ground. Marwan didn’t waste any time and pounced on her while she was still stunned, pinning her arm to the ground and sitting on her body with all of his muscular weight.
“You can’t change me! You won’t change me! I’ll kill you! Kill you! I’ll make you afraid—make you fear!” The stranger was yelling hideously and Marwan felt chills down his spine. She had a passion to her words and manner that was unmatched by the strength of the greatest warriors. Marwan hadn’t been concerned before, but he was growing more and more wary of the situation and guarded by the second. He was sure the stranger was crazy and had lost her mind.
The stranger was grunting and groaning under the weight of Marwan and trying with all of her chaotic will to escape. But there was no use against the bulky Marwan with her simple, sheer brute force. The size difference between the two was too great. He grabbed her bone knife and tossed it aside.
Marwan pleaded, “Calm down, stranger. You cannot possibly know me.” The woman continued to violently squirm.
Marwan contemplated what to do for a split second and decided to keep up his attempts at peace. “My name is Marwan. Please calm down and tell me why you’re out here all alone. I mean you no harm.”
The stranger stopped struggling and looked deep into the back of Marwan’s eyes, almost like she was looking into his very soul. She laughed wickedly and although she looked too perfect to be real—almost like an image of what a perfect woman looks like, her laugh was eerie and cackling.
Marwan continued, “What’s your name, stranger? Can I let you up—will you be peaceful?” Marwan hoped that the craziness was over.
Instead of answering him, she said, “You do look like him—yes, yes, you do. But you are not him, it is true. Get off me, I will spare you—for now.”
“I think it is I that am sparing you, stranger. If you haven’t noticed I am twice your size, and obviously the more skilled warrior. But so be it.” Marwan got up, off of her and the stranger jumped to her feet without taking her eyes off Marwan.
Marwan asked, “What are you doing out here all alone? Are you looking for someone—a ‘him’, as you said?”
“I am close to finding him again—the one who seeks to ruin me. I am looking for Rowan. I know that the one they call Aiden has traveled through here not too many days ago, no doubt looking for Rowan as well.”
Marwan felt shivers down his spine again and all the hair on his head seemed to stand up at the mention of the name Rowan. He decided to not say anything about his vision the night before.
Marwan said, “And how does this—Rowan—seek to ruin you?”
Dodging his question again, she said, “If you can give me information on his whereabouts, in exchange I have money and power as payment.”
Marwan was intrigued by the offer of power and thought he could play along for a moment. Maybe she was crazy or maybe she knew something he didn’t—after all, she knew about the name Rowan, and he rationalized that maybe this was all meant to be happening for a hidden reason.
“I might have information. What types or kinds of power do you know about or have?”
The stranger smiled devilishly and seemed to relax just a smidgen at the confirmation that Marwan was interested in obtaining power.
“I can teach you a curse to bend your enemy’s wills to your ways—or perhaps a love spell is what you desire to know?”
Marwan thought about the love spell option. He was hesitant at providing any information about Aiden—mostly because of what Inanna told him, but he didn’t exactly take this outlandish stranger seriously, either. As he thought about the possibility of finding true love, he felt again the loneliness he had felt before welling up from deep within. I want to find a companion badly, he thought. Being around this stranger was making Marwan forget about the feelings he’d felt in his vision.
“Maybe I can tell you about Aiden if you can teach me a love spell?” Marwan wrinkled his nose and pursed his lips sideways as he said that, thinking twice about having just given the notion of a spell his attention and energy.
Th
e stranger put her hands together in delight and tapped her fingers against one another. She muttered to herself, “Yes. Where there is Aiden, there is sure to be Rowan. Good—very good.”
Then she looked up at Marwan again and said, “Sit with me a moment and tell me what you know. I will teach you the spell after my thirst for information has been quenched.”
Marwan said, “Okay, let’s sit—but I only have a few minutes. I need to get back to my village to see…” Marwan didn’t finish his sentence and decided to not divulge the complete truth.
He continued, “I need to attend to some business matters.”
Marwan then decided he wasn’t going to give up any information on Aiden without knowing this stranger’s full intentions.
“Tell me, stranger, what do you plan to say—or do to Aiden when you find him?” As Marwan said that, he saw an eagle circling in the distance. The eagle caught his eye for a moment before he turned his attention back to the stranger.
The stranger sat up straight and when she spoke again, her face was devoid of any emotion. “I just need to ask him if there is any way we can reconcile our differences. That’s all.” The stranger then flashed a stunning smile that seemed very convincing. She seemed to lose the hatefulness that she first had and donned a cloak of elegance. If she had looked this way when Marwan first saw her, he would have mistaken her savage look for someone important, or even an ambassador, like his mother.
Marwan was stunned and blurted out, “Your beauty reminds me of my mother Maji’s beauty. It is rumored to be unparalleled in this region except, perhaps, by you, stranger. Where are you from?”
Instead of answering, she narrowed her eyes at Marwan suspiciously. The hate returned to her eyes. She said, “And I suppose Pa is your father, too?”
Surprised and distrustful at the stranger’s knowledge, Marwan sensed something bad was about to go down and stood up, backing away.
“Yes, Ensi Pa is my father—why?”
The stranger snarled. “Oh, yes, Rowan, I know you. I know you far too well. You are somehow different and yet I knew it was you.” Her voice was rising louder and louder with each and every word she said.
“I know you from my dreams—from my past. You never stop—but I will win this world! I hate you!” The stranger was now screaming in rage. She was screaming so loud with a rattling craziness that her eyes brimmed with wetness and she started hyperventilating in between the words, “I—hate—you!”
She spied her knife laying in the grass and quickly picked it up. Marwan jumped back a few more feet from her. Then he distanced himself a few more feet, but never took his eyes off her. To Marwan’s relief, the stranger didn’t charge at him again—but she did hold a wicked glare. They stood staring in each other’s eyes while Marwan was trying to think about what to do next. As they continued to stare, Marwan started to feel woozy. Suddenly the stranger started chanting under her breath, still fragmented by the broken sobs.
“Frozen in space, confused by my stare
Lower you fall, stunned and unaware
Muscle turns weak, reeling in doubt
Limber and limp, all feeling seeps out”
Marwan started to fall to the ground and lose consciousness. He tried to rip his eyes away, but no matter how hard he tried, Marwan couldn’t break the stare that he and the stranger were holding. As he laid on the ground and his surroundings started to fade, he saw the strange woman walk up to him. She curled her lips into an evil, torturous smile.
“My name is Julia. Don’t ever forget it.”
Marwan couldn’t hold thoughts or consciousness any longer. He knew he had just had a spell or curse of some kind cast on him. But right before Marwan blacked out, he saw something else—a black bear appeared, running from the bushes and storming at Julia. That was the last thing he saw before passing out.
A Spell, A Prayer, & A Wish: Prequel of The End of Fate Trilogy Page 5