Fire in the Heart : The Princess and the Bandit (9781629020112) (24 page)

They walked for nearly an hour in silence until they rounded a slight bend where they could see a flickering light.

Elijah whispered. “Did you hear that?” he asked with his hand cupped to his ear.

They both stopped and listened carefully and then continued to slosh through the water in the darkness. Elijah was able to distinguish three different voices growing louder with each step.

Aiken said, “Get ready.”

“I ain’t going any farther! I say we kill him now!” said one.

“Are you stupid! He knows where the crusaders are being kept! We can make a fortune if we can turn them in!” said another.

The third one piped in. “He is right, do not be impatient. Plus we have orders from Karam.”

Elijah clenched his fists. “Karam’s men,” he whispered to Aiken.

“Bloody hell. This is not good,” said Aiken, shaking his head.

Elijah waved him on. “Come on,” he said as he crept farther into the darkness. The light from several torches flickered brightly against the moist wall, providing them with a welcome relief. Elijah saw the three men first as they continued their argument.

The first bandit spoke again. “Zeke. How much further till we get there?” he asked.

Zeke demanded. “How much further, boy?” One of the other bandits held on to a rope tied to an older boy.

“How much farther?” Zeke demanded again.

But the boy remained silent, so Zeke grabbed the boy’s head and thrust it into the water. “How much farther?” he shouted.

Gasping for air, the boy finally replied, “Just a few more kilometers.”

Zeke dunked him again, holding his head under with both hands. “You speak when you are spoken to! Do you understand?” he screamed.

The boy muttered, “Yes, sir,” breathing heavily.

The first bandit spoke again. “We don’t need him, Zeke. Let’s just kill him! He already told us where they are!”

Zeke paused for a second. “But if he is lying to us, then what?”

Suddenly, the boy cried out, “Please. Just let me go!”

Zeke raised his hand and slapped the boy down into the water. “Speak when spoken to!” he yelled.

Elijah jumped out from the shadows. “Enough!” he shouted.

Zeke’s eyes widened.

Elijah stared at the shaking man. “Has Karam sunk so low that he gets his men to pick on innocent boys?”

Zeke raised his hand. “You! You’re supposed to be dead!” he cried.

“You are popular, Elijah,” said Aiken as he entered the cavern, sword in hand.

Elijah commanded, “I will give you to the count of three to leave this place and leave the boy with us.”

Zeke replied. “Over our dead bodies!” he growled.

Aiken grinned. “We can arrange that,” he said as he stepped into the light of a flickering torch.

The second bandit suddenly shouted out. “It’s the Crusader!”

Zeke broke into a smile. “Well. Looks like the 300 gold pieces are up for grabs again, boys,” he exclaimed.

Elijah stood firm. “Come and claim it if you can,” he shouted.

Zeke gave the command as he hid behind the boy. “Kill them!” One bandit charged forward with sword extended and the other stayed back, bow raised. Elijah charged forward just as the first arrow was released. Elijah dove right, landing in a puddle of muddy water as the arrow zinged over his head. He bit his tongue when a searing flash of pain shot down his lower back and slowly stood back up. He lunged at the archer again and could hear Aiken’s sword crashing against the bandit’s. No longer able to draw back his bow, the bandit threw it down and pulled out a knife, lunging at Elijah’s throat. Elijah leaned back just in time as another wave of pain shot through his back. The bandit swung again, but this time, Elijah grabbed his arm and kicked the bandit in his knee. The man toppled to the ground instantly. Elijah continued to twist the arm until it snapped, causing the victim to scream out violently. Elijah picked up the knife and glanced toward Aiken. Their swords continued to clash together, making Elijah think the bandit had the upper hand. But he was wrong. Aiken’s skill was too much for the bandit to handle. Aiken swung from above as the bandit tried to block the attack, but when the blades met, Aiken’s blade slid down into the man’s leg. The bandit collapsed onto one knee, and Aiken thrust his blade through the man’s chest. He coughed up blood and then fell face first into a puddle of mud. As Aiken pulled out his blade, he whispered, “Forgive me,” and turned away.

Zeke shouted out. “Curse the sands!”

“Runaway with your friends and leave the boy,” commanded Elijah.

“You will not get away with this, Elijah!” shouted Zeke.

“I already have. Go on, get,” shouted Elijah grinning.

Zeke stepped over to his friend and helped the crippled bandit up. Seconds later, Aiken, Elijah, and the boy were alone.

Elijah glanced down at the boy. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes! Thank you so much! That was incredible! How did you learn to fight like that!” he replied.

Elijah chuckled. “I taught myself.”

“Excuse me, boy. What’s your name?” asked Aiken.

“My name is Caleb. Who are you two?” he answered.

“I am Elijah.”

“I am Aiken. Pleased to meet you, Caleb.”

Aiken suddenly frowned. “If I’m not mistaken, were you going to lead those men to the crusaders?” he asked.

“Yes! You’re a crusader too, aren’t you?” answered Caleb.

“Yes, I am. Where are the crusaders?” asked Aiken.

Caleb quickly replied, “They are in the foothills in a gorge.”

Aiken continued, “What are they doing?”

“They are stuck there,” he said.

Aiken exclaimed, “Stuck?”

Caleb’s eyes grew wide. “Yes. There’s a mighty beast pinning them down.”

“Why were you leading Karam’s men?” asked Aiken.

Caleb shrugged. “Because there must be dozens of the crusaders still left alive. There is a huge reward for those who kill crusaders. Zeke was just sent to verify that I was telling the truth.”

Aiken smiled. “Can you lead me to my comrades? I must try and help them!”

Caleb nodded. “For saving my life, I owe you one. I will show you!”

Elijah stammered slightly. “Uh, Caleb. What kind of mighty beast are we talking about?” he asked.

“It’s a ghoul. It is a very vicious beast that dwells in the desert. The crusaders are tired from being in the desert and cannot seem to get the upper hand on the beast. It has already devoured many of them. A ghoul is a cannibalistic beast that feeds on human corpses and living human flesh. It is very scary.”

Aiken turned to Elijah. “I do not like your country, Elijah. No offense.”

Ever hopeful, Elijah asked, “None taken. Aiken, what if we go get the tool for our wishes? Then maybe we can save them.”

Aiken shook his head. “I am afraid it is with my comrades.”

Elijah frowned. “Why have they not used it, then?”

Aiken looked away. “I do not know. It is very odd. We are going to have to find out. How far are they from here?”

Caleb answered quickly, “It will take us a day to get there.”

Aiken stepped out into the dark tunnel. “Come on. We must get there as soon as we can! Before that creature devours more of them!”

Elijah didn’t move. “It’s not something I want to see right away, Aiken,” he said.

Aiken quickly turned around. “If you want your heart’s desires to come true, you do. Come on.”

The three continued their journey into the dank darkness.

Chapter 29

S
and blew in
through the cracks in the wall. Slowly, the darkness receded until it was no more. Aiken threw off the rickety wooden planks and stepped out into the open desert heat.

“Finally! Freedom at last!” he shouted with Caleb and Elijah close behind.

“This is it,” yelled Caleb.

Elijah squinted as he stepped off the last step. “I have never strayed far from Habarga. This will be new to me,” he exclaimed.

Aiken grabbed Elijah’s arm. “I am warning you. It’s nothing but desert and mountains. It’s nothing special. Are there any wells?” Aiken asked.

“Yes. There is one before we get to your friends,” replied Caleb.

Aiken excitedly replied, “Perfect!”

They stood together in the blowing sand and heat and turned around and around. The never-ending vista of dunes and mountains overwhelmed Elijah. He had never seen such unique designs in the land and couldn’t take his eyes from them. “Incredible! I have never, in all my dreams, thought I would see a sight such as this!” said Elijah to the others.

Aiken shrugged. “Ah. It’s not that special, Elijah. It’s just a desert.”

Eventually, Elijah broke the silence. “So where do we go now?”

Caleb took charge. “North.”

The three plodded through the sand under the burning sun. Elijah realized that he had stopped sweating and began to worry. The small containers of water each carried were nearly exhausted. No matter what he thought, he couldn’t take his mind off the pain in his back or legs. He remembered how Nizar fought him so much and began to feel sorry for him. Then he saw Isabelle’s face. He grinned when he thought that she finally stopped being so difficult. Thoughts of Natalia wouldn’t stop. He reached into his shirt, only to realize that he had somehow lost her tiny wooden gift. He tried to remember where he could have lost it, but kept coming up blank. As the heat increased, so did his negative thoughts. But he realized that his old life was now completely ruined. How stupid he was, he thought. Why did he block out everyone’s help? It had nearly killed him, but he realized that he simply couldn’t stop. He had to have Natalia. He loved her so. But he could never have her again. Maybe he could, but how? He would have to talk more about this with Aiken. He screamed inside himself,
Stop, stop, stop
. His mind wanted to spiral out of control, but he couldn’t let that happen.
Look out at the vistas
, he thought. Suddenly, he felt a tiny bit hopeful.
All is not lost
, he realized.
Just keep on going
, he told himself. Hours and many rugged hills later, they finally reached the well. Elijah sped down the rutted surface and buried his face in the cool, clear water. He forced handful after handful of the precious liquid down his throat. Aiken followed suit, and Caleb brought up the rear. They all moaned loudly with each mouthful.

Elijah stopped for a minute and glanced up, only to realize that they were losing their daylight. “Let’s rest here tonight and get an early start in the morning,” he said.

Aiken stood up. “No. We must press forward. My comrades are depending on me to help them!” he demanded.

“No! We are weak and beat for the day, Aiken. It would not be wise to keep going. We need our rest, especially if we are going to have to face this ghoul. Let’s set up camp.” Elijah finally got his way with the three nestled around a blazing fire.

Aiken poked a stick into the blazing embers. “Well, Elijah. I think it’s time for you to finally tell me about the princess,” he said.

Caleb slowly turned toward Elijah.

“What would you like to know?” asked Elijah, shrugging.

“What happened between you two?” asked Aiken as the fire crackled away.

Elijah glanced between the fire and Aiken. “It’s nothing now,” he casually replied.

Caleb exclaimed, “You can’t do that! What happened?”

Elijah grinned. “I just, I just fell for the princess. I fell in love with her and…well in the end, we couldn’t be together,” he said.

Caleb’s fifteen-year-old mind spun, nearly out of control. “Did you kiss her?”

“Yeah, I got to kiss her.”

Caleb’s eyes grew wide and Aiken nodded.

“It was just…a dream that I got to experience for a little while. Then reality set in. She is a princess, and I’m just a bandit. I know it’s stupid, but somehow, deep down inside, I thought it would work. I suppose I was wrong.” Elijah’s voice trailed off.

“Don’t give up hope, lad,” replied Aiken.

Elijah chuckled. “You think I still have a chance with her?” he asked.

Aiken poked the fire again. “Maybe, maybe not. But there is no need to give up hope.”

The tone in Elijah’s voice dropped. “She is going to marry the prince. I don’t blame her. He can make her a lot happier than I ever could anyways.”

Aiken didn’t respond.

“What about you, Aiken? You have anyone waiting for you at home?” asked Elijah.

“No. I did, but that was years ago.”

Elijah replied. “I am sorry…What happened?”

“It was a plague that killed her. I was blessed and survived it. She did not,” whispered Aiken.

“How long were you together?” asked Elijah.

“Twenty-four years. She was the love of my life. A love that I will never get back. That is why you must have hope for you and the princess. If you do love her, you only have one life to share that love with her. I would never give up on that dream, Elijah. Love is too precious to give up on.”

Elijah asked, “Do you have any children?”

“I have two. My son is in abroad studying art, and my daughter is a priestess back at home.”

“Why are you here, Aiken? Why not be with your children?” asked Elijah.

“They do not live at home anymore. When my wife died, it was depressing, to say the least, to live in that home by myself.”

“I understand. I suppose I would have left as well,” replied Elijah.

Ever so quietly, Aiken replied, “Yes.”

Suddenly, a loud scream pierced the dark night air.

Elijah sprung to his feet, knife in hand.

Aiken joined him, sword in hand.

Caleb shouted out. “It’s okay! It’s not close!”

Another shrill scream pierced the stillness. “What do you mean, it’s not close! It sounds like it’s right in front of us?” shouted Elijah, eyes wide.

Caleb continued, “No! Its scream can be heard for miles! It’s not. Trust me. It must be attacking the camp.”

Aiken stepped away from the fire. “What! Then we must hurry!” he exclaimed.

“We would not make it in time. It’s too far from here,” Caleb shook his head as he replied.

Aiken sliced the night air. “Curses!” he cried.

Elijah looked at Aiken when the scream came again. “What a horrific sound! Make it stop!” cried Elijah.