Lovers in the Woods (31 page)

“Now, I do not.” He regained his composure.
“You ask too much. I am not made for adventures. I found that out
long ago. I like to live the way I do. There is nothing I desire.
So, no, I cannot help you.”

“Listen, Ranien, I did not deliver Sajitar
out of free will or for money to Sananda. She kidnapped my father
and brother somewhere in Belson Park. She sent me a video of my
brother tied up like a criminal. She had him whipped and what else
I cannot tell. Her message was very clear. She would only let them
go if I brought her Saji. I did.” She took a deep breath. “But I
still don’t have any sign from them. And I won’t get it if I can’t
get out. They might still be in danger. And Sajitar is in danger if
he stays here. I can’t leave and I can’t stay. So I need your
help.”

Ranien had half-turned when she asked,
“Would you like to see your brother again?”

He grimaced, lowering his head. She felt him
torn in half and hated herself for being cruel to a man who had
gained happiness in his life.

His shoulders sagged. “You want to kill
me, Ray.”

“
No, I want you to aid me so Sajitar can
aid you. It’s a deal that will make both sides happy. And besides,
there’s so much more to see in the woods than here. Imagine many of
the plants you see here, growing much bigger in the woods. And
there’s a much greater variety. You have seen it before. How can
you be content with a garden if there are forests out there to
explore? You can reunite with your brother and stay amid the
largest of all woods on Belthraine. Isn’t that
tempting?”

“
Tempting?” He sank on the grass where he
absentmindedly plucked weed from between the flowers nearby. “It is
more than tempting. Remember, I thought my brother had been killed
by a predator.”

Rayenne sat down opposite of him so that
they could overlook the entire garden. The sun shone brightly and
warmed their backs and faces. If the matter had not been pressing,
she would have enjoyed the afternoon.

“And yet, why should I risk my life and my
wellbeing for the sake of a man I do not like? He is not my friend.
He brought much trouble here and still I shall help him get away?
What if the lady finds out?” He shook his head. “No, I cannot do
that. I will spend my life here among the plants and watch them
grow.”

“You could talk to your brother again. Find
out why he stayed away from your parents’ home all this time. And
he would show you the wonders of living with the Horlyns.”

“Living with—” His voice failed.

The horror in his eyes hurt Rayenne bodily.
She had thought the same way about the beasts until she had met
them face to alien face.

“The village in the woods is their idea. They
brought men and women there to start a village. And the Horlyns
take care of them if the people fall sick. Their knowledge of
healing herbs may exceed even yours.”

Ranien gnawed on the information like a dog
on a juicy bone. His face worked, but he found no words.

Rayenne understood his feelings
well. She was still not totally convinced of the
Horlyns’ peaceful
nature.

“My knowledge does not only heal the sick,”
he admitted quietly and without eye contact. “I know that, though I
don’t know what the lady has done with all the wisdom I shared with
her.” He frowned deeply. “There could be more good coming from all
of this.”

“Yes, your knowledge combined with those of
the Horlyns would help the whole planet.”

“People would understand that it is wrong to
exploit the woods and kill innocent beings just for the sake of
trunks.”

Rayenne granted him time to think and took
a look around. A group of young women crossed the garden to a sandy
place where they started playing ball. Their lively chatter and
laughter was carried over by the wind. Ranien did not even spare
them a glance. He had sunken down, turning two leaves between his
fingers.

“
Most people say this is useless, just
weed. I know you can brew tea with it. Maybe it will not heal a
crooked finger, but it tastes quite good.”

Rayenne smiled and kept quiet.

“There are many leaves, roots and stems I
tried in these long years. The bark of some trees is very helpful.
The root of the Winani-bush helps against reddened skin after
shaving. Not to mention the skin, hair or claws of animals.” He
shook his head. “The use of so many living things nature grants us
cannot be measured. Cutting trees will reduce this variety and
finally kill it.” With a grimace, he focused on Ray once more.
“Will the tree cutting end? Will there be help for all living
beings in the woods on Belthraine?”

“I’m no politician, Ranien. I cannot tell
what will happen. But I know that Sajitar, your brother and you can
do much more than you think right now. If your brother and Sajitar
state that the Horlyns are an intelligent life form it will be
harder for the lumberjacks to just cut down their home.”

Ranien sighed so deeply that it sounded as
if the weight of the world and the wellbeing of all of them had
just been laid upon his shoulders. Rayenne wanted to hug him,
realizing that he had just made a step in her direction. She
watched the young women play. Two more joined the joyous group and
amid them Sananda jumped for the ball. She was the smallest of
them, but definitely the one with the most talent. Rayenne was glad
that Ranien had not yet seen her. In the distance, a pair of guards
gave the impression of checking the surroundings for potential
assassins. Rayenne doubted that anyone was able to enter the
premises without being detected.

“When do you want to leave?” Ranien finally
asked.

Ray knew it had cost him. She gently
touched the back of his hand.

“
As soon as possible. If there is a fitting
date because of some party or such, it would be
perfect.”

“Even if the lady parties, there are enough
men watching the building. No, there is no special day or night in
which the escape will work better. It is just at night.” He
squinted at the sun. “I do not like the idea at all. I do not think
it is right to try and sneak away with Sajitar. After all, she
wants him and I don’t like to take away what is rightfully hers.”
He lowered his head to look at her earnestly. “I will stay. If it
works I will turn around and go back to my bed.”

“All right.” Rayenne kept her face blank.

“I will later tell Sananda that I have to
leave to meet my brother. She will not keep me here because she
knows I will return.”

Rayenne forbade her tongue to spill out a
contradiction. There was a snowball chance in hell that Ranien
would get leave from the lady, but she could not say it. She could
never destroy his trust without losing his cooperation. Weighing
the options, she let him believe in Sananda’s honesty.

“When will we meet?”

“After sunset. My room is not far from yours.
I will come and get you.”

“Thank you.”

“Do not thank me. I do not want to do that,
but you leave me no choice if I want to see my brother again.”

Rayenne stood. Happiness mingled with regret
to have forced such a good man. She said goodbye and left for the
porch to pretend she felt great staying close to the mighty,
powerful, manipulating Mrs Wang.

Ranien sighed exasperatedly. Rayenne dragged
him behind her, willingly ignoring his repeating comments of
resistance.

“You will help me, Ranien, you hear me? No
one else can!”

“Why couldn’t I keep my mouth shut? I’m happy
here, Ray, really. I don’t want any trouble with Sananda and this
sure will get me and you in trouble if she finds out.”

Ray halted and turned to hiss in his
face.

“Then we better be quiet so that she won’t
find out. How does that sound?”

“You want to throw me into misery,” he
replied sullenly, but went on with more care for quietness. “I
should be in my bed right now. I’ve got a nice place, you
know?”

They reached the outer wing of Sananda’s
palace. By Ranien’s description there was even a second exit
through which the three would reach the fences much quicker than by
passing through the whole building again.

“How do you know?” she had asked when he had
boasted with his knowledge. Her admiration had done the trick and
Ranien had proudly explained,

“I’m a gardener. Everyone sees me daily, but
no one takes notice that I have ears, too. They allow me to go
everywhere and I’ve been here for many moons. Why shouldn’t I know
about all ways around here?”

He pulled Ray back when they reached a
corner.

“Wait.”

Ray frowned, but obeyed. A moment later she
realized he had excellent hearing. A guard on soft soles passed
them without even looking in their direction. The man appeared
bored and had his pressure gun slung over his shoulder in a rather
sloppy way. Professional experience told her he would never get to
it in time if an attacker showed up. She let out the breath she had
not known she was holding and signaled for him to go on. Ranien
flinched, still a demonstration of resistance, and passed her to
move noiselessly through the last, dimly lit corridor.

Sajitar rested on a pallet and raised his
head to squint at the guests at this nightly hour.

“Nice of you to drop by,” he whispered and
stood. His eyes betrayed the mocking tone. “Couldn’t you wait until
morning? I need my sleep.”

“If you want to joke feel free,” Ranien
grunted and poked the lock with a small knife. “If not, take your
loin cloth and be ready to get out of here.”

Sajitar thanked Ray with a glance. She
grimaced, then checked the corridor to make sure they were still
alone. The guard had not returned, but she knew the man would not
be away for long, no matter why he had been on tour. Sananda had
her way with people who disobeyed. Everyone who worked here would
risk his life just to be recognized and in good favor of the lady
of the house. Such a personal connection was hard to
break.

The lock followed Ranien’s bidding with a
soft click. The door opened and Sajitar moved out of the cell
quickly as if Ranien would, out of sheer malice, close it again. He
checked the other man up and down, surprised.

“Thannis? How can this be?”

“
I’m Ranien, if you don’t mind.” The
gardener put away his knife. “Now, move.” He pushed him forward,
glancing at Ray with the same reluctance he had shown since she had
begged him for help.

“Ranien? Are you related to Thannis?”

“Later,” Rayenne hushed him and smoothed the
reproach with a kiss on his cheek. She smelled Sananda’s scent on
him and flinched. “We have to hurry. This way?” she asked over her
shoulder. Ranien nodded. “Good.” She smiled at Sajitar. “We’ll be
out before the night is over.”

“Never heard a better prospect.” Sajitar
jogged through the corridor, Rayenne at his side, Ranien close
behind. She warned him at the next cross ways and sent Ranien
forward to check.

“They’ll treat me badly if they catch me,”
the gardener pressed. “It’s not only you who’s in danger.”

“
We truly cherish your sacrifice,” Ray
said, and meant it.

Ranien looked away from her. Ray panted,
glancing over her shoulder, one hand on Saji’s arm. She needed the
contact. The sheer need to know she had him back made her stand on
tiptoe to kiss him again.

He smiled, but his face registered
surprise.

“How far?”

“Ten minutes to the fences. It’s up to Ranien
to guide us out of this globe.”

“A globe? I don’t understand.”

“
Neither do I. Just follow him.” She made
sure they were still alone and ran after Ranien, who was already
ten steps ahead. Here, the beauty of the palace was but a shadow of
the main wings. Though clean and orderly, the walls were bare,
furniture simple and undecorated. No one had bothered with
knickknacks on shelves or walls. Rayenne imagined that the
not-so-cherished guests spent their days away from the exclusive
abodes she had come to know. Sananda was a shrewd person who would
be brought to justice sooner rather than later, thanks to her own
gardener.

Ranien tried the door and found it open.

“No one walks here,” he informed them with
the shadow of a proud smile. “I guess no one truly knows it’s
here.” He went outside to turn and hold the door for them to
pass.

A cool breeze touched their sweaty faces and
they listened to the noises of the night. Rayenne checked in every
direction, nervous to get away. There was much ground to cover and
no place to hide once they left the spacious patio. It was the
hardest part of their escape and Ranien had warned her that the
garden could be seen from every window. If there were guards, in
spite of Ranien’s statement that the men walked there randomly,
their escape would come to an abrupt end. Yet, he stepped into the
clearing, looked back toward the windows and put finger and thumb
together.

With her heart beating in her throat,
Rayenne took Sajitar’s hand and they followed the gardener as
quickly as they could along the paths, past wooden benches, bushes
and pieces of art, some taller than a man.

The moons shone above, illuminating their way
so that they did not stumble. They made good progress and Ranien
smiled over his shoulder, pointing ahead to a group of trees.

“That’s the border,” he told them and sped
up.

“I didn’t know he was so eager to get away,
too.”

Rayenne nodded, unable to talk. Fear clung to
her throat like a weight. She would only rejoice once they were
safe at Belson Park. To ease her mind, she imagined how it would be
to present the missing witness to the judge. She would declare that
he had helped her escape and was innocent concerning Wang’s crimes.
He would tell every detail of Sananda’s evil doings to finally put
her behind bars. And then she would find her father and brother
even if she had to manhandle Sananda to make her spill out their
hideout. The prospect made her feet light.