Diary of a Conjurer (10 page)

Ruy slapped Reuben on the
shoulder and motioned him to follow Paulino.

The Camp

They walked through the dark woods,
descending toward the eastern shore that faced the narrows, a swift
moving channel that separated Alisubbo from the island of Taikus.
As the thicket of aspen tapered, Reuben caught sight of the dark
shape of his homeland on the horizon, just past the small Isle of
Refuge, a stepping-stone between the two kingdoms. An ebony mass of
a mountain silhouetted against the night sky, Taikus’ nearness
wrenched his heart. Somewhere in those shadows hid his lover.

He and Lelanie had been meeting secretly for
two years, defying the culture that demanded Reuben wait until
after his ceremony to take a bride. But if they followed tradition,
Reuben would have been dead before they could ever consecrate their
love. When the dreaded day of his coming of age ceremony came, when
the queen would bleed him of his magic, Lelanie had persuaded him
to flee. She promised she would escape to the caves with her
midwife when in labor, and wait for him. All the magical powers
within Reuben convinced him this was the night.

The scent of burning wood brought his
thoughts back to the trail as they neared the shore. His captors
urged him into a small rowboat and took their seat beside him. For
a moment Reuben had hoped they would take him directly to Taikus,
but they veered east instead, riding the current toward the smaller
islet where a campfire glowed in the sand dunes. The boats were
beached and Reuben was brought into the settlement where tents
circled a large bonfire. Women moved about, the gold of the
firelight shining on them as they cooked. Several children played
in the dirt. Savory smells of meat roasting reached Reuben, causing
his stomach to growl and his mouth to water. He hadn’t eaten all
day.

“Hungry, eh?” Ruy asked as the trudged
through the deep white sand. Now that Reuben could see the twinkle
in the foreigner’s brown eyes, his smile seemed sincerer.

“I am.”

“Come, I’ll introduce you to my wife.” He
whistled and waved. The women gave the approaching men their
attention and one of the children raced across the beach to Paulino
and hugged his knees. “Daddy!”

Reuben couldn’t help but think of his own
child coming into the world as he watched the father and son
embrace. Paulino swept the boy into his arms.

“Rosalind,” Ruy called and motioned Reuben
to follow. “We’ve found a vagabond fallen on the road. He needs a
meal, eh?”

“You all need a meal,” Rosalind said. “You
were supposed to be back this afternoon. What kept you?”

“Business in the city,” Ruy said with a
laugh.

“Business my foot. Most like you’re getting
us in trouble again,” an older woman interrupted with a hoarse
voice as she moved from the closest tent. She scowled at each of
them. “You’re hanged men if you get caught, you know. Most like
your families will be dangling alongside you. Who’s the
stranger?”

“A vagabond. Haven’t even asked his
name.”

“Could be a spy.” The old woman’s glare
remained, as she looked Reuben up and down. When their eyes met he
gave her a slight smile that was just enough to iron the wrinkles
on her forehead. “Eat up. If you’re a spy we’ll know soon enough.
Rosalind, get out your tokens and find out his business. Ruy,
there's wood that needs busting up.”

Reuben’s brow rose.
Token
s? When Ruy
left to gather firewood, Rosalind took Reuben's arm and led him to
a brightly colored blanket near the fire and ushered him to sit.
The old woman set a bowl of meat in front of him and handed him
flat bread. Paulino and the other men moved on to their families
and disappeared into the tents.

“Thank you,” Reuben said quietly. She only
grunted.

“What's your name?”

“Reuben.”

The woman nodded and grumbled again as she
walked away. Rosalind sat across from him, spreading her colorful
skirt around her, watching him eat. He couldn’t help but notice her
beauty, though her stare invaded the comfort that the meal might
have brought. He tried to chew quietly.

She was a young woman, with wavy black hair
curled around her cheeks, falling gracefully over her shoulders.
Braided into her locks was a string of glass beads and a red
ribbon. When he set his bowl down and wiped his mouth with his
shirtsleeve, she smiled. Her hands jingled of bracelets as she
pulled a leather pouch from around her waist. “This won’t hurt,”
she said tossing a handful of tokens in her palms. “Unless of
course you’re Navy.”

“Navy?”

“The King’s patrol. Can’t have you spying on
us. We’ve stayed hidden for too long. We kill spies. But Ruy is
skilled with the sword and it will be quick. I doubt you’ll feel
much.” She tossed the tokens into the air and scooted back as they
landed on the blanket. “The men have a special place where they put
the bodies too, so no need to worry about that.” She glanced up,
her eyes giving him a once over as though she were sizing him for a
grave.

“That’s the least of my worries.” Reuben
inched away from her. Rosalind’s strength, confidence, and now her
words, reminded him too much of Hacatine’s warriors.

She leaned over, inspecting each crude metal
coin that lay between them. Symbols were painted on most, several
had etchings of animals, and one was white and had a painting of a
human face.

“Oh,” she said. “Oh I see.” She looked up
quickly. “You’re from Taikus.”

She’s practicing Sorcery? With coins?

He didn’t answer.

“You’re not too far from home. You miss it.”
She brushed some of the coins to a pile mumbling, “hunter, friends.
Your friends deserted you?”

Reuben shook his head. “No. Not really.”

“Well, in any case they’re gone. You’re
alone. Trying to get back home. I see. And this.” She held up the
white coin that had the face. Their eyes locked. Rueben tried to
see inside of her, but there was confusion in her energy. Not
sorcery, but a strange power he was unfamiliar with. “This token is
your ticket to a safe passage home. Paulino will be thrilled to
know about this! Yes!”

She stood and disappeared into a tent,
returning with another blanket. “I’ll talk to him tonight. Here.
Stay warm.”

Puzzled, Reuben held the blanket in a bundle
as she stood over him. “Be glad you can sleep tonight. We’re not
going to kill you.”

That's supposed to bring me comfort?

In a few moments Reuben was completely alone
by the fire. Muffled voices came from the tents as Paulino and his
wife put their son in bed and the other families settled down for
the evening.

The blanket that had been given him was
exceptionally warm and though the ground was rough, Reuben found
himself comfortable as he lay on his back and looked at the stars.
The storm had blown westward leaving the fresh smell of rain and
the musty fragrance of dampened earth. The waters of the Straits
sparkled with reflections of thousands of galaxies above him.

He lay quiet, his soul anxious from the
turmoil of the day, but still there was an underlying comfort
knowing that he had made the right decision to go home. With that,
and his weariness, it didn't take much for him to fall asleep.

He had only been dozing a moon's fall to the
horizon when the sound of a tent flap woke him. Wrapped in a hooded
cloak, Rosalind moved like a ghost and disappeared into Paulino's
shelter. Reuben heard broken whispers at first and then an even
more hushed conversation.
She must be telling him about the toss
of the coins.
He rolled over on his side thinking nothing more
of the midnight visit until he heard Rosalind again. This time he
could not mistake what she said.

“Think about it, Paulino. A magic baby. This
is just what we've been waiting for.”

“Shh,” came from the tent and then Reuben
heard nothing more until the rustle of Rosalind's skirts told him
she had returned to her own abode. Not certain what she meant, but
suspicious, a cold fear settled in his heart. The coin with the
white face, and her soothsaying haunted him the rest of the
night.

Return

The people of Taikus had a gift of telling
colorful stories to their children. Reuben grew up hearing all
kinds of tales about magic horses that galloped over icy tundra to
the north, sea serpents that paroled the deep of the seas to the
west, and slave traders that roamed the secret crevices of the
islands waiting to steal children and sell them to the barbaric
tribes that lived in lands far beyond the fjords. He had assumed it
was a mother's ploy to instill fear in their children so that they
wouldn't wander. He had never believed the stories. Not until that
night.

Morning came quicker than he had hoped. Fog
rolled in from the sea and left the day as cloudy as his sleepless
mind. The blankets smelled like wet lambs left to pasture in the
rain. The fire smoldered, smoke stirring a cough from his lungs.
Reuben sat, looking for dry kindling to toss on the coals, but
Paulino called to him as soon as he had stirred.

“You! Go now. Never mind the fire.”

Ruy was on the beach loading oars into the
boat. Rosalind, dressed in several layers of brightly colored
skirts and a coat made of fur, handed her husband two leather
sacks, which he quickly threw into the bow.

The tents were down already, packed onto
traverses that other families were carting into the woods. Many
more people were at this camp than Reuben had seen the night
before.

“Come on. We don't have a lot of time before
the patrol comes this way. Kick dirt on that fire and let's
go.”

This is it; they're taking me to Taikus!

Reuben hastily rolled the blankets in a ball
and carried them to the beach, tossing them into the skiff, which
he helped Ruy push into the water. Rosalind stepped in and grabbed
an oar, holding the boat steady for the two men to embark.

Odd that she's coming.

“Are you giving me back my weapon?” Reuben
asked before stepping in the boat.

Ruy only nodded, indicating Reuben’s bow and
quiver were already in the boat.

Though it may have been quicker to arrive in
Taikus from the west, Ruy navigated the skiff into a narrow channel
that passed the high banks of the eastern side of the island. “A
lot more rowing, but it's safer this way,” he explained. “The king
sends patrols every morning in the western waters. Not here though.
It's too shallow for a frigate.”

“I've seen them.” Reuben said. “Our people
are deathly afraid of them.”

“That ruler of yours, she doesn't have
weapons?”

“She has magic.”

Ruy glanced up at Reuben and eased on his
rowing. “Then why doesn't she use it against Alisubbo? Surely your
kind could make the kingdom fall.”

“She has used it. She sent a sea slave to
overturn one of their ships several years ago. And when she did,
the repercussions destroyed her fleet, not to mention what it did
to her precious serpent. The waves from the blast that came from
the other ships washed away homes and half our shoreline on the
southern coast. She hasn't the power to match Alisubbo yet.”

“Yet?” Rosalind asked and sent a curious
glance to her husband.

Suspicious of their silent exchange, Reuben
shook his head but sealed his lips.
Our internal affairs are our
own. She doesn't need to know about the harvest of the wizards, nor
how Hacatine is after my blood. The safety of my family is at risk
with these thieves.

The fog still hung low when they reached a
beach safe enough to come aground. Reuben jumped out, prepared to
say his thanks and farewell for the escort, but Ruy helped Rosalind
out of the boat.

“I'm fine now. I know my way.”

“No, no, think nothing of it. We've come to
help you in case you meet up with trouble.”

“Really, I can travel faster on my own,”
Reuben argued, his fears tempering his heartbeat as he slung his
quiver on his back.

“We're coming with you. There are cougars on
this island,” Ruy said with a laugh. “And we've brought more
powerful weapons than yours.” He pulled a musket from one of the
bundles as Rosalind handed her husband a pouch. Reuben had never
seen a firearm before, though once he and Kaempie had come across a
deer wounded with shot in Bandene forest. He had watched the
helpless creature die, the meat too mutilated for consumption. It
was then that Kaempie explained to him what a gun was.

Reuben stood still, his mouth agape.

“Don't fret,” Rosalind said. “We're not
going to hurt you. We've taken a liking to you, handsome man that
you are. Paulino would never forgive us if we let something happen
to you.”

“What am I to Paulino?” Reuben's surprise
turned into a scowl.

Ruy laughed. “An investment.” And then he
pointed the gun at Reuben. “We just need to know a little about
your island. After all, though we're men, we aren't subjects to the
King. In fact, we're a free people. Since we've brought you this
far, we'd like something for our efforts—something that the Taikans
have.”

“Something like what?”

Ruy shrugged. “Beads, trinkets, something
magic.”

“Taikans don't trade with strangers.”

Ruy laughed. “Who said anything about
trading?”

With an angry glare, Reuben cast his power
at Ruy in an attempt to gather the man's thoughts, but Ruy looked
away. “Oh no you don't. You got me once, it won't happen
again.”

“Dear Reuben,” Rosalind had been watching
the two and now she walked up to him, a sly smile on her face but
she avoided his eyes. She touched his shirt, working her gentle
fingers across the neckline, tickling his skin. “We're going to
help you get to your lover. We want to make sure you're both safe
before we go home. All we ask is the opportunity to bring back a
jewel or two. It doesn't have to be yours, or hers even. Maybe
someone you know, or someone you don't like very much. Just tell us
where they live. We're very good at being discreet, we make a
living at it.” She rested her deep brown eyes on his, but again his
magic did nothing. He couldn't see inside her head. “It's either
that or we kill you now. What a shame that would be. Just let us
follow you. That's all we want.”