Burial of hearts the black widow's malice (7 page)

“
Yes
”. Operk rose in
exhilaration, embracing me in his arms and thanking me, as most of the crowd sat
grey faced in defeat.

Winning more than sixty thousand
coin, he was very pleased, giving me a fair share of the coin, as a gift to
thank me for my
flair
at gambling.

Full from my wholesome meal
earlier, I chose to put my head to rest, ready for a new day tomorrow. Bidding
goodnight to a few of the villagers, I slipped back into my dwelling; laying
down upon my soft bed. For a while I thought about all unlikely events I had
encountered today; far from anything I had ever needed to become accustomed to
back home. The thought of Alexander came to the front of my mind. I was trying
my hardest to keep a strong mind, but with him gone, I was becoming restless
and broken; I closed my eyes, soon my thoughts knitted into one, building up a
repetitive story within my mind; each time the same scene but the characters
changing; slowly I tired and drifted quietly into a deep sleep.

CHAPTER 4

Opening my eyes, I was met by
Bibi sat atop of my chest, staring straight at me; startling me, I leapt back a
touch.

“Rise and shine”. Bibi said,
ending in his usual
squawk
.

“Morning… to you too
Bibi
”.
My voice trailing on each of the words, as I lay half asleep.

I could hear a few too many
people laughing, singing and going about their everyday lives; but at this time
of the morning, surely a minor hint of quiet would not harm anyone. Getting up
from my bed, I bobbed around the room, falling aback as I attempted to get
clothed. Eventually managing this usually easy task, I opened my door, peering
out; the sun typically a welcome sight, this time blinding me, forcing me to
look down as I closed the door behind me.

There was a small stream close by
to the courtyard and my hair was becoming a touch greasy, so I decided to at
least wash my hair.

Dipping my hair in the water, I
was careful for it not to touch the dirt and stones at the bottom. Holding
strands in groups, I cleansed, attempting to rid of any knots that had formed
in the process. A small fish decided to become caught as it swam by; now I knew
my hair was a
mess
, but I never realised it had become a fisherman’s
trap.

Returning, I dried my hair; splashing
water upon Bibi as I whipped my head around, removing any more stubborn knots,
until I felt satisfied that it was smooth enough to the touch.

Zinmbe was waiting outside, eager
to start the second round of
death defying
training as soon as possible.

“Avis, are you ready? We must
begin”.

“Must we?
”.
I said under my breath.

I walked out and gave a pleasant
smile, which in no way was returned; entrapping us both for a moment, in a state
of awkwardness. Heading back to the courtyard, I was not in a pleasant mood,
exhausted from the day before, rudely awoken and now Zinmbe was not even giving
me a simple smile; no doubt today would be thought-provoking… unpleasant most
likely.

“Right, first you are going to
learn the magick passed down to me by my mother and my mother’s mother; I am
sure you understand how that goes. I do know how you are adequate at lighting
fires, so also I know that with a little practice, you will be able to achieve
this”.

“Ok, fire away…
”.
I said giving a slight chuckle as I did.

“This is no laughing matter Avis,
do you want Alexander back or
not
? I am guessing that you
do
, so
you had better
listen
to me”.

“
Sorry
”. I said as
lowering my head.

“Now, beforehand you used the
power of words, today we need to go a step further. The mind is the tool that
creates the words, so the words can be held in the mind to create the result;
do you understand?
”.

“I think so… ”. I said giving a
bewildered look.

Zinmbe had gathered a few logs
from below the forest foliage that were teeming with spiders, placing them at
distances equal to another and enlisting the help of small crumbling rocks,
which she placed at their base to prevent them tumbling over unexpectedly.

“Now Avis, visualise; see the
fire building up within you, from around you, from the sun and the stars; feel
it erupt in your heart, shooting out from within your hands, like the shot of
an arrow striking upon a target”.

 Trying to visualise, I did
as she said. Deeper my thoughts sank, I could feel the riveting power building
up from within me, but my mind was not clear and as I let go just a small puff
of smoke fluttered out; quite comedic I thought myself.

“No Avis, try
harder,
clear
your mind”.

Pushing myself, I cleared out all
a sombre thoughts isolated in my head, concentrating deeper, seeing the fire,
seizing it in my hands, pushing it out from within me, waiting for that moment
where my belief met my will; the feeling burst forth from within me, causing
the log to flare up before us, the spiders running off squealing as they turned
to lifeless ash.

“Tremendous Avis, but still we
need to pursue; with the haste you showed, you would have been
slaughtered
”.

I
spent until sundown practicing, each time improving my technique, growing
stronger, no longer reckless or risqué. My reward for today was the setting of
the sun, the outbursts of light, rustic upon the horizon, as it lavished upon
all that stood before it; the serene beauty pleating the heavens and the
earth.  

Zinmbe started to poke and prod
me to gain my attention.

“Come on, let us go back to the
village. Tonight I believe is going to be a
fun
one”.

 Back at the village, the
evening’s entertainment was in full swing, the melodic sounds of instruments
played fluently were pleasant to hear; songs were sung in plentiful portions
and alcohol ran freely among men and women.

“Let
our children grow old and our whispers be told, of a legend born solely, here
in Yilesul.

Oh
singing a song of a merry old man, a house full of brewers making all that he
can. He drank till the day dawned, then fell to the floor, but the merry old
man came back for some more.

Let
our children grow old and our whispers be told, of a legend born solely, here
in Yilesul.

Now
listen to us closely for you might not hear, that this merry old man was not as
appeared. He was the husband so righteous, a lord you should fear, with a house
full of tables that were rather queer. Each day he would rise, each day he
would fall; but the old man from Yilesul he did never disappear.

Let
our children grow old and our whispers be told, of a legend born solely, here
in Yilesul”.

I was passed a large jug of ale.
It looked well hardened, with thick thread holding the sides together securely.
The smell of the ale caused me to gag, but not wanting to spoil the occasion, I
held my nerve and took a sip of the concoction. It was just as
awful
as
it smelt. My mouth turned inwards, feeling the vile brew building up a layer of
bitter yeast upon my tongue. Closing my eyes for a moment, I swallowed, trying
not to think about how it tasted, but knowing it was not good.

Maul and Werdo had come up behind
me, urging me to drink.

“Come my fine lady, let us be
merry together”. Maul said whilst he not so carefully swayed his drink around
the place.

“I
bet
she will not be
able to handle the drink, being a Malkaretz woman and all”. Werdo said giving
me a cheerful glance.

“Excuse me? I have defeated many an
oaf whom has declared they could out drink me”.

“Then drink it
all
, I
challenge you”.

“Yes show us the
man
you
are”.

Rolling my eyes aback, I unwisely
agreed to their rash challenge. Sitting upright, I took in a large breath,
placing the jug against my lips, I began to swallow; urging me on I continued,
as drink began to trickle down the sides of my mouth onto my newly tailored
clothes. Before I knew it I had drank the entire jug, giving myself an
unsavoury froth moustache in the process. Cheering at my triumph, they handed
me another, causing me to sulk in disapproval, as I fought off the foul taste
and texture left in my mouth.

Another jug, another challenge;
this time they even offered me a fair bit of coin; if I was successful of
course; very well, I thought to myself. Gulping down the ale as if it was a
ship ripping through the water’s tide, I began to feel a touch light headed;
this obviously is a little bit more potent than the alcohol back home.

“Now young fellows, if you would
be as kind as to… pass me… what was it again?
”.
I said
as the signs of the alcohol began to take effect.

Laughter ensued between the pair
as they mocked me, civilly informing me that I was a light-weight drinker.

“I will have you know, I could
table you under the drink, or is that drink the table under you? … Surely the
table does not drink? … You mischievous little men, now look what you have
done”.

Continuing to drink jug after jug
of the rather addictive, yet still unpleasant ale, I began to dance wildly,
singing along with the songs the men and women sang, not even knowing the
words, just making them up as I went along.

Snatching a stale bread roll, I
took a bite, only to spit it back out. My head was spinning out of control, my
feet no longer able to hold me upright. It is time to stop I thought to myself.

Parting company with the rest, I
strayed off up to the courtyard to try regain some composure. Sitting down I
looked over to where the moon had arisen. Confused it seemed like there was
three, but certainly alcohol was to blame for this. I planted my head between
my legs, sobbing in self-pity, how I would welcome something to take this
feeling away from me.

To my left I could hear rustling
in the trees; obviously nocturnal creatures of some kind. Rubbing my dreary
eyes, leaning to a side, holding my head up to the opal sky, none of these
methods worked; I was still just as unable to properly comprehend the world
around me. Then again I could hear the rustling, this time I decided to
investigate; unsteady as I walked closer. Closing in on the sound I wondered
what it could possibly be. Peering at the trees, I tried to make out any form;
I saw a reflection, but how? Getting as close as I dared to go, I scouted the
area before me then again I saw the reflection, it was the moon reflecting, on
someone’s
eyes
.

“Who is there?
”.
I shouted, demanding to know.

With that, a man came shooting
out from where he was hidden. My reactions not as quick as typical, he managed
to tackle me to the ground, forcing my head down as panic gripped my body. His
hand slid to my throat, my heart racing, tears pouring from my eyes, I
desperately looked everywhere around me; a few small rocks were close by.
Thrusting my knee into his stomach he jolted a slight, giving me room to turn,
but just as I did, he came back, lurching onto me with ferocious wrath, ripping
at my hair and sending tough blows into my now bruised sides.

I was becoming weak and bloodied,
my adrenaline was like a furnace about to explode, yet it gave me no advantage.
I was going to die tonight, I thought to myself. I screamed. My eyes now a
stream of misery, I reached out desperately, finally clenching onto a rock, I
turned, smashing it into his temple.

Seizing the opportunity, I stood
up, the alcohol now relinquishing control, giving rule to the overwhelming
dread driving through me. He was blaspheming my name with every sinful word
that could be thought upon, sculpting his hand upon his head, whilst blood
trickled down. I had to get away. In seeing that he was starting to rise, I began
to run, fighting off the pain as I dashed about the trees, catching my face in
barbaric ways upon thorny plants and getting a mouthful of bugs as I ran below
branches they were nesting upon.