Ebudae (13 page)

Karla’s voice came from the cell. “Bring him
out to the room. I won’t have him in here any longer.”

“Glav, grab that arm,” Frank said. A
groaning sound followed, likely from Jovias. It was good to know he
was alive. Ebudae was surprised that they had succeeded. The
chances of finding the man had been slim. She wondered if there was
a reason they had imprisoned him instead of killing him.

Ebudae held back while everyone else moved
into the other room. Juggles was about to hold back, but Pelya put
a hand on his shoulder and guided him out. He looked back at Ebudae
who smiled encouragingly and waved him to go.

Pelya stood in the doorway while Ebudae
dashed back. She opened the creature’s cell door and saw him
standing where they had left him. Something about the creature made
Ebudae think it was male. “I’m leaving you a knife for protection
and the door will be slightly open. Wait until our voices leave and
then you’re on your own. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” It said.

Ebudae stared at its mesmerizing eyes for a
moment and studied the pasty skin. It was beautiful and strange.
She wanted to know more, but dared not linger. Tossing the knife on
the ground, she said, “Good luck.”

She left the door open a crack and took a
step towards Pelya. The screech of magic ripped through the air
from the room ahead. Pelya came into the hall and put her back
against the door, her eyes wide. “Wizard and swordsmen.” She drew
her sword and glanced through the door. Ebudae dashed forward and
the two girls rushed into the room.

The scene was one of chaos. Three swordsmen
in yellow and black tunics were rushing forward while a wizard in a
yellow robe was preparing another spell. Lizor was swinging his bar
at the first swordsman and Ebudae saw the object hit the man in the
shoulder, breaking bones underneath from the force.

Frank was on the ground, bleeding from a
fatal wound. A swordsman standing over him had blood all over his
blade. Juggles was climbing over crates to the side of Lizor in the
hopes of getting to the wizard. The third swordsman was attacking
Aphry and Glav who were standing over Karla who was covering Jovias
with her body. Pelya leapt forward to help them while Ebudae cast a
fast nullification spell on the wizard.

It was an advanced spell she had learned
from a series of ancient tomes on wizard-to-wizard fighting and she
had always wanted to test her skills against someone else. One of
the biggest disadvantages of her solitude was that it prevented her
from interaction with other wizards.

The wizard was shocked when his energy
evaporated into the air around him. He frantically looked around
before his eyes rested on Ebudae who had already begun the next
spell. He stared open-mouthed when he should have been trying to
prepare another spell.

Ebudae was depending on Pelya to keep her
safe from the swordsmen while she cast. It was frightening, but
they had always looked out for each other that way. While
concentrating on the wizard, she didn’t see the sword pierce
Aphry’s stomach just before Pelya arrived. Nor did she see the man
who had killed Frank swing his sword at Lizor. The big man parried
with his bar and the weapons hit each other with such force that it
broke the swordsman’s wrist. He screamed in pain and grabbed the
wrist with the other hand as the sword clattered to the ground.

The wizard pulled something out of a pouch,
suddenly realizing that he needed to defend himself. It was too
late. Ebudae released the spell, thrilling at the force of the wind
slamming into her back and blowing her hair forward. A small orb of
purple and black energy sparkled with lightning as it flew from her
hand into the wizard’s mouth just when he took a breath.

The effect was horrifying as it expanded
into his head, causing it to explode with a crackling effect that
sent bits of skull and grey matter onto the ceiling and wall behind
him. The body fell to the ground, convulsed for a moment, and then
lay there twitching.

Ebudae looked for the next target to aim her
magic at. Lizor swung his bar into the head of the guard with the
broken hand, crushing the man’s skull. The swordsman whose shoulder
had been broken was dead from Juggles’ knife.

Aphry was lying on the ground in shock while
clutching the wound with blood-covered hands. Ebudae saw Pelya
disarm the last swordsman with a deft move. Then she put her sword
at the man’s neck.

“I yield!” The man put his hands in the
air.

Pelya took a step back, holding sword at the
ready. “I accept.”

Then Glav stabbed the man in the side of the
neck.

“NO!” Pelya screamed. “He
yielded
!
You just
murdered
him!”

Glav was startled and let go of the knife as
the swordsman desperately grabbed at it, gurgling blood as he fell.
Pelya lifted her sword as though to kill Glav.

She restrained herself as Glav held up his
hands defensively. Pelya settled for moving forward and punching
him in the face with both fists wrapped around the hilt. Glav’s
nose caved under the blow and he fell to the ground, crying from
pain and surprise. “You murdered him!” Pelya screamed again.

There was no one left for Ebudae to fight,
so she moved to Aphry and leaned over to look at the wound. Pelya
and the others joined her, except for Glav who was busy holding his
broken nose while sobbing. Karla stayed with Jovias who was leaning
against a crate.

“It is a fatal blow,” Juggles said from over
Ebudae’s shoulder.

Tears streamed down Aphry’s face and a
trickle of blood appeared from the corner of her mouth. Pelya
looked at Ebudae expectantly. The one magic Ebudae was terrible at
was anything related to healing. However, her grandmother had given
her vials of healing salve. They were expensive and the condition
was that Ebudae would have to tell her grandmother the truth about
why it was used. “Ebudae . . .” Pelya looked at her and gestured to
the hurt woman.

The only reason Ebudae took the vial of
healing salve out of its secret place was because Pelya was
suffering from the deaths around her and the anguish covered her
features. The stopper on the vial came out easily. Ebudae removed
the woman’s hands and poured the glowing, blue liquid onto the open
wound.

She used all of it because that’s the only
way it would work properly. Divine enchantments, such as healing,
required either complete faith or complete use for the Gods to
impart their blessing.

The salve flowed into the wound, drawing the
nearby blood with it. It took a few seconds for the injury to close
and the blood to flow back into the corner of Aphry’s mouth. The
woman looked at Ebudae in surprise as she took a deep breath and
sat up straight.

“I have to explain that to Grandmother,”
Ebudae accused, shaking the vial at Pelya while standing.

“I’m sorry,” Pelya said with tears in her
eyes while also standing.

Ebudae softened. “Don’t be. You were right.
I just hate . . .”

“I know.” Pelya drew her up in a hug. Then
the warrior burst into tears and Ebudae comforted her.

“Will that work on Frank?” Juggles asked,
squatting over the dead man.

“It was all I had,” Ebudae lied. “And if
he’s dead, it wouldn’t work anyway.” That part was true.

Aphry stood, an expression of amazement on
her face. “You saved my life. I know how expensive healing salve
can be . . .”

Ebudae buried her face into Pelya’s
shoulder, much as Pelya’s face was buried into hers. Going with
Carnies was turning out to be a bad idea and she had no idea how
they were going to get away with everything that had happened.
There were dead bodies and witnesses left behind.

“How did you find me?” Jovias asked in a
cracked voice.

“Joma told us that he sent you here,” Karla
told him. We broke in and found a secret passage.” She looked
around at everything. “Jovias? This is bad.”

“They brought me to this room and beat me
until I signed over our stage. They kept beating me and then they .
. .” A look of horror crossed his face and tears flowed from his
eyes.

“I hate to interrupt, but I think I hear
voices.” Juggles pointed at the secret passage back the way they
had come. “We should go.”

“Yes. Let’s go.” Jovias stood. He wobbled,
but Karla steadied him.

“What about Frank?” Lizor asked, pointing at
the body.

“We don’t have time,” Juggles said. He
stepped over the body of the wizard, doing his best to avoid
looking at it, and then he closed the door. “We have to go
now
.”

“Lizor will carry our friend.” The big man
reached over, picked up Frank and hefted him over his shoulder.
Lizor glanced at the body of the swordsman he had killed and looked
away. Ebudae could tell that he was shaken as well.

“We go out the other door and pray it takes
us somewhere safe,” Aphry said, leading the way. Glav was glaring
at Pelya while holding his bloody nose. When Aphry moved, he was
right behind. Juggles gestured for Karla and Jovias to go and then
Lizor. Then he followed Pelya and Ebudae, closing the door behind
him.

Ebudae worried about the creature they had
left in the cell, wondering if it would be able to escape.

Chapter
8

The passage led to more storerooms and other
halls before reaching a large space filled with people imprisoned
in cages. Ebudae stared in horror at the looks of hopelessness on
their faces. Ragged clothing hung from their gaunt bodies.

“Slavers.” Jovias’s voice was coarse from
his ordeal. “They were going to ship me out once the contract for
the stage was registered with Carnival Administration.”

His voice drew the notice of some of the
people in the cages. Most looked at them in fear, but one woman
reached a bony arm through the bars. “Please . . . please.”

Pelya went to the cage, taking her picks
out. She began using them on the lock. Aphry stepped forward. “We
don’t have time for that. Let’s go.” Pelya looked over her shoulder
with narrowed eyes. The young woman’s determination knocked Aphry
back a step.

Aphry composed herself the best she could.
“We’re not supposed to be here and I don’t even know where here is
anymore. If we help these people, whoever has them trapped will
probably find us and put
us
in the cages.” She wouldn’t look
Pelya in the eye. “I’m sorry. I like you, but I’m scared.”

She walked toward a set of large double
doors at the far end of the room. Karla, Jovias and Glav followed.
Lizor guiltily looked over his shoulder then he followed them still
carrying Frank’s body.

Pelya turned her back on them, opened the
cage door and stood aside to let the prisoners out. Ebudae turned
to Juggles. He looked at the backs of his departing companions and
then at Ebudae. “I will stay until they are free,” he gestured at
the prisoners, “And then I must go with them. A troupe stays
together through danger.”

“Thank you, Juggles,” Ebudae said
gratefully. “I’m going to place wards on this last door. It should
buy us some time.”

Pelya rushed over. “Let me try to relock it.
I can’t believe they’re just leaving like that after everything we
did for them,” she muttered under her breath, clearly angry.

The prisoners struggled out of the open
cage, pushing each other in desperation. Juggles went over to help
one that had fallen and to keep them from hurting each other.
Ebudae took a brush and flask of magically enhanced ink out of her
largest pouch. She drew two runic symbols on either side of the
door. A click sounded from the lock and Pelya dashed to the next
cage. Her skills under pressure impressed Ebudae even more.

It took a minute to draw the symbols. When
she was done, Ebudae put the ink away and covered the brush in a
small cloth. She should clean it, but didn’t have time. Three more
ingredients were required. She took them out of a pouch and began
the casting. It lasted for another full minute and she concentrated
the entire time, even though she was afraid that their followers
might break through the door before she was done.

When she looked back, Juggles was helping
people out of a third cage along with the help of a couple of
braver captives. The others were running or staggering out of the
wooden doors as fast as they could. Pelya was working on the fourth
cage with two more to go.

Ebudae took a step and swayed for a moment.
She had used quite a bit of magic by that point and hunger was
eating at her belly. She could sense tiredness too. Then she felt
her back becoming warm and a burst of energy heat her bones.

She knew what it was even though she
couldn’t concentrate on it. When she and Pelya were eleven, they
had saved a mother dragon’s child. The dragon had pinned them to
the ground and marked them painfully. Something about the mark
prevented either from ever talking about it and the memory faded
from their minds most of the time. It also became invisible until
something activated it.

However, Ebudae had come to realize that
hers allowed her to cast greater magics while protecting her from
their harmful effects. Magic was only supposed to be used after
maturity was reached, the later the better for an individual’s
health. Ebudae had begun at the age of seven. It should have killed
her years ago, but the mark had removed the negative effects and
kept her strong and healthy. It was protecting her now, when she
was in danger and had already used substantial power.

The worst part of it was that the mark
covered her entire back like wings and it was bound to her bones.
When the mark activated, it caused a burning sensation in skin and
bones. If she used too much of it, the heat would be severe.

Ebudae chewed on another energy bar and
looked around. Pelya finished the fourth cage and moved onto the
fifth while Juggles helped the people out. There were smaller cages
with animals of various sorts on shelves around the room. Most of
the creatures were supernatural to a greater or lesser degree. Some
were dead, showing how little the slavers cared about them.