Diary of a Conjurer (11 page)

“What makes you so certain you can kill me?”
Reuben asked. The couple stood their ground. They offered no answer
to his question neither did they relent.

Reuben had never come face to face with a
gun before, and he wasn't sure if he had any magic that was capable
of countering a stream of bullets. With a final reassessment of his
situation, Reuben turned toward the sandy shore and walked inland
thinking he might lose them in the hills.

L
ela
nie

He'd been on this side of the island before,
but not often. The lands were barren with nothing more than scrub
brush to dot the horizon. No shade or shelter protected the
traveler, as did the forests that surrounded Hacatine's city of
Telamande. It was a desolate country wiped clean of vegetation
either by the icy winds from the fjords that tore across the
islands eastern channel, or baked by the sun when the winds had
ceased. Only wild hare too tough to eat, and an occasional vulture
visited its plains. Even a wizard in chase would not resort to
fleeing here.

Reuben walked, his anger prodding his pace,
wishing Ruy would somehow lose track of him. He tried concentrating
on Lelanie, though whenever he could see her in his mind he cast a
suspicious glance at Rosalind, worried that she'd read her
whereabouts as well. She smiled every time he looked her way.

Focus, Reuben. Find her. Once you know where
she's at and how she's doing you can trick these people, or lead
them astray somehow. But think about Lelanie. Think!

The day wore on. The sun burned through the
clouds and soon heat slowed the travelers’ pace. Rosalind dropped
her pack, her hands on her hips. She wiped her brow with her
blouse, her bracelets chiming an unnatural sound. “Tough country,”
she said. Her thick hair now hung in strands matted from sweat.
“I'll have a drink of some of that cold spring water you've got
there, Ruy.” To Reuben, she called out, “Have you made contact with
her yet?”

Reuben ignored her and kept walking.

“Hey!” Ruy hailed, his voice carrying an air
of command.

Don’t turn back.

The land was gradually rising into
foothills, rocky and dry, but scattered cacti covered the
landscape. Reuben peered over his shoulder only once. His two
companions sat motionless where he had left them.

Maybe they’ll go back home now.

Just when he thought he might be free of
them, a blast rang out, echoing through the hills. His heart
skipped a beat and he turned to face Ruy who had his gun barrel
aimed at his chest.

Dare I move?
The weight of his quiver
tugged on his back.
Can I shoot before he fires again?
Not likely.

“We're not letting you go yet, Mr.
Magic.”

Reuben conjured his power, attempting to
heat the musket in Ruy’s hands just as he had Paulino's dagger the
night before.

“Not a good idea,” Ruy warned. This thing's
filled with gun powder.”

“Then set it down.”

“Ruy, let's do this peacefully,” Rosalind
interjected, slapping her husband’s shoulder. “Reuben, we don't
mean you any harm. But we don't want to be left here in the
wilderness alone, either.” Rosalind whispered something in Ruy’s
ear and he lowered the gun.

“I'm not resting until I've found Lelanie,”
Reuben said. “I'm not waiting for you to keep up either. Why you’re
even following me I have no idea. I don't trust you.”

“It was our boat that brought you here. You
owe us your trust, at least,” Rosalind said. She gathered her
things, glancing over her shoulder at Ruy as she started up the
hill. “You really do need to find your sweetheart. I mean, in your
mind. If we wander around senselessly it's only going to make our
journey harder. Time is important.”

Reuben leaned against a lone scrub oak,
letting the branch shield his face from the sun.

“Take a rest.” She stood next to him, her
voice gentle. “I know you feel her pain. She's in labor isn't
she?”

How can she know unless she has sorcery in
her blood?

“Who are you?” Reuben asked.

“Just close your eyes and think about her.
It'll come to you. The sooner you find her the better off she'll
be. The better off we'll all be. I'll keep Ruy in line. He won't
shoot his gun again. I promise.”

“I would hope not. The sorceresses of this
island have very keen hearing and they roam these hills. If they
see us, they wouldn't bother to take us captive Especially you
two.”

Rosalind's lips turned into a wry smile.
“And what would they do to you?”

Reuben moved away from her, but not before
she grabbed his arm. “I saw your spirit in those tokens. You're in
trouble aren't you? Both of you.” She laughed quietly. “All three
of you.”

“What is it to you?”

“Ruy and I are committed in helping you
reach your destination.”

“Why?”

“We promised Paulino.”

“What did you promise him?” Reuben's face
flared with anger. “I heard you last night.” He brushed her arm off
of his. She stepped back. “Something about our child. You promised
to steal our child, didn't you?”

She stood, stunned into silence.

“I'll kill you before that happens. Both of
you will burn and you'll never see Paulino again. You should go
home before you do something you'll regret.”

She laughed. To Reuben it was the devious
laugh of someone whose secret motives were suddenly revealed. “A
baby thief I am not. It's no mystery that you're running from your
queen.” Her voice softened again. “You don’t know our people. We
run, like you do, from both the people of Alisubbo, and from their
enemies. There is no one we can trust. They would all rather have
us hang. We have no other existence but to hide, roaming the
countryside from one camp to the next. We have no protection save
for our soothsaying and fortune telling, skills that came from our
ancestors who once inhabited your island. We covet your powers, but
we’d be fools to try and rob you of them. Ruy and I can bring you
and your family back with us. We'd be more than thankful to have a
Taikan on our side.”

“Your side?” He searched her eyes, trying
harder than ever to penetrate, but there was a wall he could not
pass. “Stay away from me,” was all he could muster.

A
bbott

Perhaps Rosalind convinced Ruy to stop his
threats. He heard them arguing once, still no more gunshots rang
out that day, and the two followed at a distance. The foothills
turned to mountain as the day waned.

Though he wasn’t ready to accept their
allegiance, Reuben worried less about their motives and
consequently his foresight became clearer. In his mind's eye,
Lelanie lay alone on a bed of pine needles, her long auburn hair
the only cushion. Beads of sweat trickled down her cheeks, her
lashes held drops of tears. Pain was written on her face and her
lips mouthed his name.

“I'm coming,” he whispered, his heart aching
to see her, and to somehow help relieve her pain. “Show me where
you are.”

The vision took him through the heavily
wooded forest. Higher he climbed, toward the stone buttes that gave
the island its profile. The air grew cooler as the sun fell low,
but his hope had ignited a fire that kept him warm. He was headed
for a familiar part of the mountain, certain now of her
whereabouts, and far enough ahead of Ruy and Rosalind that he
thought he may have lost them.

A short distance south stood the cliffs that
overlooked the city of Telamande and the queen's bastion. Reuben
was treading in dangerous territory, but he pressed on to the one
place of refuge he thought Lelanie would seek. By the time he
reached a grove of birch that bordered the steep incline, twilight
had come. Shadows melted into dusk and colors turned to gray.

“Lelanie?” he whispered.

The forest held its breath.

“Lelanie?” he called a little louder. The
rustle of leaves and a groan grabbed his attention. He moved toward
the sound but stopped short when a snap of a branch from behind
startled him. When an arrow spun out of the trees, he ducked.
Another arrow whistled past him. He spun around, releasing an arrow
with lightning speed. A body of a warrior woman fell out of the
thicket. He ducked into the brush, holding his breath in watch, but
stillness returned to the wood.

Reuben crept to where he had heard the
groan. Half buried in leaves lay a woman covered by a woolen cloak,
face down. Reuben gently rolled her over. Her weathered face
cringed in pain and when she moved her hand, Reuben saw the arrow
buried in her chest. He knew her. Charlotte the midwife. No one
knew about Leilani’s pregnancy other than Charlotte.

He reached for the shaft that was buried in
her flesh, but the woman pulled his hand away. “No.”

“I want to help you,” he whispered. Her eyes
dimmed as she shook her head.

“Not the southern entrance. They're waiting
for you. Go to the west.”

That was all she had breath for. Her body
went limp; releasing what life she had left. Stunned by her death,
he brushed her hair back and whispered a reverent farewell.

Reuben laid the women gently on the ground
and stood.
They’re waiting for me? They’re holding Lelanie and
the child prisoner in a cave? As bait?
Rage swelled inside. It
was one thing for the witch queen to seek his end, but to hold his
lover and her child captive in order to capture him was more than
Reuben could stand. Silent as a deer, he stepped through the
forest, following the stone cliffs until they angled west. From
there, he hugged the rock walls until cold damp air announced the
entrance to the cavern.

It was unlikely this slit in the hillside
was guarded. The entrance was so narrow here that very few people
were familiar with its existence. A favorite hideaway when he was
young, Reuben would come here with his friends and practice magic,
play games, or spend time talking with his friends. As a teenager,
it was a special retreat for him and Lelanie. It was here they
shared their dream of spending a life together, albeit a hopeless
dream. They both knew what sort of end Reuben was destined for.

And it was in these caves, though forbidden
by tradition, they first swore their love to one another.

When Lelanie found out she was with child,
Charlotte helped to conceal the pregnancy, letting Lelanie live in
her cottage in the country. Reuben visited her often, but the
closer his time to flee came, the less they had seen of each other.
They had hoped eventually he would return and take her away from
Taikus to another island where they could raise their child in
peace.

Water oozed from the low rock ceiling in a
constant drip, breaking the silence of the hollow mountain. Dark
emptiness shrouded him as he drew farther into the cave, listening.
The deeper into the mountain he stepped, the more certain he was
that he heard breathing.

A shout echoed in the distance on the other
side of the cave. Voices—and then two gunshots. Ruy and Rosalind
with their muskets. Reuben hurried through the dark tunnel, feeling
his way along the cold rock wall that led to a junction, a familiar
arch into the hollow where he and Lelanie had exchanged their very
first oaths.

“Reuben.” A voice whispered from the
shadows.

He froze. “Lelanie?”

“Here.”

He felt his way into the alcove where he
heard breathing accompanied by a soft whimper. Falling on his
knees, he fumbled in the dark until his touch met with blankets and
the shoulders of his loved one. A hand took his and lowered it
until he felt the warm softness of a baby's cheek.

With a sigh of relief, his caress met
Lelanie's embrace. Her tears dampened his neck, he kissed her hair
and they held each other until the baby wiggled between them.

“They’ve been in here. They’ve searched for
me but I hid. They know I’m in here though, and they know I was in
labor but they don’t know the baby is born. They’ll come again and
look for us.”

The baby whimpered.

“Shh,” Lelanie whispered and cradled the
child, patting it nervously. “I’m so afraid for him, for you.”

“He’s a boy, then?” Reuben asked.

“Yes.”

Reuben sat next to them.

“You came back so soon?”

“Hacatine is at sea. It was a perfect time
to return.”

“She may be gone, but her scouts are
everywhere looking for you. If it weren’t for Charlotte’s
neighbors, we would have been burned in her cottage. We were warned
that they were looking for me.”

“How did they know about us?”

“You forget; this island is ruled by
sorcery. What happened to the others? Kaempie and the younger
ones?”

“I'm afraid we were all separated. Can you
walk? We need to get to safety?”

“Where's Charlotte?”

Reuben took her hand and squeezed. “She's
dead.”

With a slight groan, Lelanie bowed her head
and he hugged her. Holding the baby tight against her chest, she
rose and he helped her to her feet.

Once standing, Reuben could tell that
Lelanie was weak from her labor. She held his arm, leaning into him
as they walked. Strangely, there was no sign that anyone else was
in the cave, but they moved quietly as if there were. He supported
her as he guided her through the dark. Finally, the moonlight cast
a glow on the cave entrance. Reuben moved Lelanie into the shadows,
pulled his bow from off his back and an arrow from its quiver, and
nodded for her to stay hidden as he scouted the exit.

Crickets sang in the grass. A gentle breeze
rustled the treetops. Reuben held his breath, waiting. No other
sign of life. He watched the forest for the longest time wondering
if they shouldn't just stay in the caves until morning. It was the
crying of the child that changed his mind. If indeed Hacatine's
warriors had targeted this cave, more would come. Surely someone
had heard Ruy's gun.