A Gypsy Song (The Eye of the Crystal Ball - The Wolfboy Chronicles) (25 page)

“Look out!” Manolo yelled as he was the first one to spot the creature of darkness leaping towards them.

Sara saw nothing but black fur in the air, a paw stretched out in the air ready to hit her with its long claws followed by a deep roar. Just in time she jumped to the side and the black bear landed right beside her. She ran to Manolo, but the bear was quickly on top of her, holding her down with its paw. She felt the claws in her back going through her clothes, ripping the skin on her back. The black bear roared again. It made a giant echo on the mountainsides and the trees in the forest.

Manolo neighed and balked. He turned his back to the bear and kicked him in the face, but it didn’t move. Then Manolo leaped into the air and flew towards the bear spewing balls of fire out of his mouth, hitting the bear, making it tumble to the ground. The bear soon after leaped into the air and grabbed onto Manolo’s back causing him fall to the ground.

“No!” Sara yelled when Manolo’s beautiful white body hit the ground. He lay still and she could tell he was alive but bleeding from his leg. He tried to move but couldn’t. He was in too much pain.

Quickly, Sara was on her feet again face to face with the big black bear. For a time the two looked at each other without a word, without a sound. Finally the bear let out a soft dangerous-sounding growl.

“Sara …The Mighty One,” it said. “You don’t look that mighty to me.” The reddish light in the bear’s eyes flickered.

“Who are you?” Sara asked.

The bear roared.

“I am Vault, the black bear.”

“Why have you come here?”

“I was sent to destroy you.”

“Who sent you?”

The bear seemed to be laughing deep from within.

“Those whom I serve. They want you killed.” The bear watched Sara closely. “Not that I can see why. You seem to be just a little girl,” it said.

“Why do they want me killed?”

The bear hissed like an old angry woman.

“Well I don’t know, do I? And I don’t care,” it said and threw its paw at Sara but missed her.

“How did you know where to find me?”

“I have followed you for days even weeks through the mountains. I picked up your trail right away when I was sent out here. I tracked you day and night – gradually coming closer, through the Singing Cave, Wild Witches Valley through Vamila, the forest of vanity where I almost had you but then I lost the track. You seemed to have vanished into thin air. I went on searching because I knew you had to be here somewhere, and I was about to give up when finally a few minutes ago I picked up your scent again. And here you are.”

The bear raised his head.

Sara took a step backwards.

“Well here I am,” she said. “Come and get me if you can.”

A tremor went through the bear’s body. It came again and again and he seemed to grow stronger and bigger. From its throat came a horrific growling. It grew louder and more rasping, it swelled into a roar that echoed back from the trees and rocks around them. It was the most horrific sound Sara had ever heard. Never again was she to hear anything like it. Then it leaped again and threw Sara to the ground, causing her to severely hurt her back. The bear was on top of her. Growling in her face.

“I am not afraid of you,” she said looking him straight in his eyes. She sensed he could feel that she was fearless and it frightened him. Trying to get her to show fear he growled again and snapped at her with his pointy teeth. But Sara was motionless, even the expression on her face never changed. All she did was keep repeating the great Moeselman’s words in her head.

“Never show fear, they can smell it right away,” he had said. And he was right. Animals of the darkness lived off people’s fear. Without it they could not survive.

By the sight of her fearlessness the black bear seemed to be discouraged. And as she watched this change, something else happened, something that Sara could never have foreseen in her wildest dreams. As she lay on the ground looking the bear straight in his eyes, the bear suddenly disappeared from atop her body. It tumbled to the ground as if some mighty force had attacked it from the forest. Sara heard growling and roaring and sat up. On top of the black bear sat a werewolf. And it wasn’t just any werewolf. It was an acquaintance of Sara’s.

“Sami?”

The werewolf bit the black bear till it whined in pain. Blood gushed out of its throat when Sami finally let it go. Humble and defeated, the bear gave up its mission and limped into the forest. In there they heard it roar and moan until it finally was quiet.

“It is gone,” Sami said, approaching Sara. “It will not be able to survive my bite.”

Sara hurried to check on Manolo. His leg had stopped bleeding but he was still not able to stand. Sara went into the forest and found herbs. She made a bandage from leaves and herbs and told Manolo to get some sleep.

The moon was high in the sky again as she sat down with Sami.

“Where did you suddenly come from?” She asked.

“I have been following you all the way. I saw you leave with Manolo that night and I followed you. I thought you could use my help. And I was right.”

“So you were the one we always sensed was after us?”

Sami nodded.

“I tried to keep my distance to not scare you like that night at the camp.”

Sara smiled.

“Thank you.”

Sami lifted his nose high in the air.

“We are not far from the camp now. I think we can walk the rest of the way in the morning.”

The next morning, Sara woke up next to Sami, who by the time the sun’s beam hit him, had turned into the young boy Sara knew from the cage at the camp. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Then he left the clearing while Sara attended Manolo. She took off the bandage and looked at the wound. It had healed perfectly. She wiped it with the palm of her hand, chanting a song her mother used to sing when she was healing someone. When she opened her eyes, Manolo was looking at her.

“You certainly have gotten your mother’s healing touch,” he said.

“Try to stand up,” she said.

Manolo panted a bit but finally he stood again. Happy to be able to use his leg again he jumped and kicked in the air, the way horses like to do.

“It is completely healed!” he said.

Sara smiled. She was getting quite good at all this healing stuff. Now it was time for her to heal her brother of the strange illness.

Sami came back with a couple of fish he had caught in a small lake nearby. Manolo made a fire and then they ate with great hunger.

When they were done it was finally time to go home.

“Mother … Mother … It is Sara! I am back!”

Screaming, Sara ran towards the caravan where her mother still sat by her brother’s crib. When she heard that sweet gentle voice of her child she raised her head, heavy from all the lack of sleep, and ran towards the door. She opened it and felt the relief in her heart when Sara threw herself in her arms.

“Mother … mother …” she said trying hard to catch her breath.

Settela put a finger over her mouth. “Hush, now. Catch your breath first,” she said.

Sara took a second even though she didn’t feel she had the time or the patience in her heart to wait.

“Mother … I have the cure for Marius,” Sara said. She fumbled with her worn-out dress and found the pocket. From it she pulled the small leather bag.

Her mother looked at it and Sara saw a tear in her eye.

“It is dust from a unicorn’s horn. It is supposed to be very healing, and it will heal Marius’ strange illness.”

Sara handed the leather bag to Settela.

“My sweet child,” she said while caressing Sara’s cheek. “You sure are a Mighty One.”

Sara smiled, and as much as she enjoyed being filled with the love of her mother in her heart again, she felt like they had to hurry.

“Let’s give it to him,” she said.

Settela’s look on her face was that of a concerned mother. She had lost a lot of weight.

“He hasn’t been awake at all for days,” she said.

“Well then … let’s wake him up!” Sara took a leap inside of the caravan and held her hand towards her mother. “Come on, let’s cure him.”

Her mother took the hand and went with her inside. As Sara turned around her eyes met those of Manolo and Sami who stayed outside.

Marius had gotten very skinny and looked barely alive when Sara approached him. His breathing was irregular and only came every once in a while like a small panting. Sara caressed his head and felt his forehead. He was burning up.

“We have to hurry,” she said and looked at her mother who had the leather bag in her hand.

Settela came closer and stood with the bag holding it over him. Then she turned and looked at Sara.

“You will do it,” she said and handed the bag back to Sara. “You have traveled all this way. Your faith is strong.”

Sara took the bag and stood next to the crib. A strange hoarse cough came from Marius and then the boy seemed to have stopped breathing.

“Hurry up!” Settela cried.

Sara opened the bag and poured out the dust on her forefinger.

“Only a fingertip is enough,” she said and then she carefully put the dust on Marius’ small colorless lips, on his forehead and on his cheeks. Then she started chanting a song she had heard her mother sing so often.

 Soon after, her mother started chanting along with her while they were both putting their hands on the child. Marius’s forehead had all of a sudden gotten cold—a little too cold, Sara thought. An anxiety rose in her as she realized that he wasn’t breathing either. She looked at her mother who was still singing with her eyes closed. Settela opened her eyes and looked at Sara and saw the fear in her eyes. Then she took her hand and whispered:

“It is not what you see with your eyes that count. It is what is in your heart.”

Sara felt a lump in her throat. Had this all been in vain? Was he going to die anyway? Did she come too late?

Then she felt Settela’s hand squeezing hers hard almost crushing her fingers. She looked at her mother.

“Look,” she said and pointed at Marius.

Sara looked at her baby brother and still saw nothing. He was motionless, pale and didn’t breathe any longer. Quickly she turned her head away from him while her eyes were filled with tears.

“Look again,” her mother said.

So she did.

This time she actually saw something. A small red tongue sticking out between Marius’ lips was slowly licking the dust off. As it did, the color came back in the lips and soon in the cheeks as well.

Before Sara could begin to smile, the paleness disappeared from his face and soon he opened his eyes and looked straight at Sara.

They couldn’t stop crying. They took him in their arms and took turns holding him and hugging him. They  held him carefully, because he was still weak, but not too weak to give them both a big smile and a cheerful laughter. Sara and her mother couldn’t stop cheering either. They jumped and danced with joy and soon the whole camp could hear them.

Including the great Moeselman.

“What is all the commotion about?” he yelled as he entered the caravan.

When he saw Sara with the smiling Marius in her arms he couldn’t help tearing up as well. He grabbed them both and lifted them up. Then he brought them outside the caravan and lifted them high in the air.

A crowd of people had gathered outside. They all stared at Moeselman holding his two children high up in the air.

“Sara is back and she has cured her baby brother,” Moeselman roared through the camp. “Look at her, for she is truly a mighty sorceress!”

Then the crowd burst into a great cheer of joy that later was told could be heard for miles and miles away.

22

A PRICE TO PAY

That night, the
dancing in the camp wouldn’t stop. After weeks and weeks in despair and sorrow they needed to be happy and carefree all night. For once it wasn’t the elder that told stories to the younger around the campfire, it was Sara and Manolo that got to tell their story. They told about how they lost the stallion in the Singing Cave, how they fought the crows and were caught by the big Orael in the Wild Witches Valley, about the Desmans that saved them, the giant speed-talking snail, the cave with the treasure and Beads of Souls, the Griffin, the Forest of Vanity, the elves in the bog, the City of Lights, the Nightmare Mountain and the Dead Land where they had fought Sensisaron and gotten the crystal ball. They talked for many hours about their great adventures and all the Romanies listened quietly, since they had never heard such an extraordinary story.

Sara’s mother sat her down on her lap and hugged her. Marius had fallen asleep and every now and then they  checked on him but he seemed fine. Settela could hardly believe it. He had even been drinking some milk before he fell asleep. The fever was gone and he seemed so calm and well. When Sara and Settela had sat there for a while, Sara heard her mother heave into a deep sigh. The smile on her face was the happiest smile Sara had ever seen.

They stayed at the same camp for another week while Marius grew stronger and gained a lot of weight in no time. When they found him to be strong enough they packed everything and left.

They traveled for weeks and came further south where they wanted to spend the winter. They reached the town of Seville in Andalusia. Here they stayed for thirty days, performing at the local market.

Sara enjoyed being home with her family and tribe again. She took care of her baby brother and played with him most of the day. He grew and grew and soon he started to crawl all over the caravan making it more difficult for Sara to keep an eye on him. One day she accidentally found Sensisaron’s ring in her old clothes. She had completely forgotten about it and now it looked like it was worth nothing. The red ruby stone was dull and looked like any other stone. It seemed almost impossible that it could ever have held such a great power over people. Sara shook her head and put the ring in her box of jewelry. Soon she forgot all about it.