Ebudae (29 page)

“She went off without any light. The milky
eye is blind, but what about the red one?” Pelya asked.

Frath raised an eyebrow. “What makes you
think the milky eye is blind?”

“Well, when an eye is milky like that,
that’s what it means . . .” Pelya had seen blind people with
similar looking eyes.

“I suppose you have a point, but she’s not
blind. A wizard captured her and performed experiments on her.”

“That’s terrible!”

“Her life has been terrible,” Frath
admitted. “She’s impressive for having survived all of it. Anyway,
her eyes used to be pink. The wizard did something to take all the
color out of one eye and put it into the other. Thus one is milky
white and the other is red.”

“That’s just weird. Then she’s not
blind?”

“Not exactly. She can’t see like us. From
what she’s told me, she can see hot and cold with the red eye and
souls with the white one.” Frath shrugged. He got up again,
impatient for Erma to return. “I wish I had put on my chain shirt.
I feel vulnerable without it.”

“What do you mean she can see souls?” It was
fascinating to Pelya. She hoped Erma would be a while so she could
keep asking questions. There was no such luck.

“See soul wrapped in your warm body.” Erma’s
rasping voice came from the darkness behind them. She hadn’t made a
noise. “Also see souls that no longer have bodies. Worst souls are
laced with evil, looking for living creatures to destroy.”

Pelya couldn’t stop herself from jumping in
surprise. She stood and turned to see the spooky eyes peering out
from her shadow-hidden face. “That’s . . . a bit scary.”

“V
ery
scary. Sometimes they look for
me, but rats distract them.” Erma came close. She had to look up
because of her hunched posture and shorter height, but it unnerved
Pelya anyway. “Rats like you, say you’re decent to them.”

Pelya shrugged. “They’ve always been decent
to me.”

Erma thought about that for a moment. “I
like you too. Come with me.” She took Pelya’s arm again and led her
into the darkness. Pelya looked to her father for guidance, but he
just shrugged and followed with the lantern in hand.

It was hard to see as they traveled along
ancient streets filled with crumbling stones and rubble. Each of
them was excellent at sneaking around in places they weren’t
supposed to be in, so they made very little noise. The darkness
held unknown mystery. In some areas, walls closed in as though they
were in a long forgotten alley and in others, the light didn’t
reach anything. Pelya suspected they were plazas or once beautiful
parks.

It was cooler underground, though still
humid. Water from condensation dripped wherever they went.
Occasionally, the sound of decaying stone or the rumble of a beast
would echo in the distance. Pelya recognized a few of the beastly
sounds from past experiences, but others were new to her. The
scents were strong and varied. She could smell waterlogged stones,
droppings from various creatures, and aromas from plants that
thrived in the damp, dark environment.

After a short while, they saw torch and
lantern light ahead. Erma stopped at a corner behind some crates
and whispered, “Stay close, keep quiet.”

Pelya didn’t have a choice but to stay close
as Erma was still holding her arm with a powerful grip. There were
voices ahead and she began to get excited again. Erma had Frath
extinguish the lantern and put it on the ground in a corner. The
moss-covered buildings surrounded a larger one that rose to the
ceiling high above. Scattered empty barrels and crates bordered the
edges of the encampment.

They hid behind some of the crates as two
alert guards in yellow tunics with three black stripes walked by
with hands on their weapons. Pelya squatted in a patch of mushrooms
and hoped the guards didn’t hear her squish one of them under foot.
It was nerve wracking, but the men were looking for monsters in the
dark, not people sneaking around.

After the guards went around a corner, Erma
snuck to a large building very close to the one connecting to the
warehouse. A murky entry was unguarded and she pulled Pelya in
there. Frath followed and didn’t seem alarmed.

They ducked and looked out a window facing
the building. Four of Blavoci’s men sat on benches outside wooden
double doors that were much newer than the building. Food cooked in
a pot over a firepit and two tents were set up nearby. Lanterns on
poles lined a large avenue extending in the distance to the
west.

Erma pointed at the road and spoke in
whispers. “Slaves in wagons go that way. More slaves come back.
Tall souls with musical voices go that way too.”

“Tall souls?” Frath asked, also in a
whisper.

“Not human souls, high off the ground and
sing in many voices. Not important.” She pointed at more dark
buildings in the distance then back at the four men around the
tents. “Two more guards out there. Kill guards and rescue slaves in
building.”

“No,” Pelya replied, matching her volume to
theirs. “I don’t want to kill anyone.” The excitement turned to
panic. She did her best not to show it and mentally kicked herself
for saying it in front of her father.

“I agree,” Frath whispered without even
looking at her. He was intent on studying the scene. “This is going
to be difficult though and we may have no choice. My biggest
concern is whether or not any wagon trains are coming up that
road.”

“There are not.” The words came from above
and behind them, spoken simultaneously by two voices.

Pelya turned in her crouch and put a hand on
hilt, looking for the people who were speaking. Frath rolled to the
side and drew his sword. Erma scurried back into a corner, a dagger
in her right hand.

The melodic voices came from the top of a
partially collapsed staircase. Pelya could see violet irises in
upside-down teardrop shaped eyes. “It will please you greatly that
I am your friend. The young human woman and her associate enabled
my escape for which I am thankful.” It was the creature she and
Pelya had released from the prison under Blavoci’s first
warehouse.

“A tall soul,” Erma whispered in fear. “Did
not see it through stone, very quiet.”

“Pelya, do you know what it’s talking
about?” Frath spoke quietly, but he was inching forward, ready to
fight if it attacked.

“Ebudae and I unlocked its cell door and
left it a knife when we rescued Jovias. I think it’s safe to put
your sword away, Daddy.” Pelya was certain of it. The creature was
odd, but there was something noble about it.

“I am not an ‘it’, I am Rojuun,” the
creature insisted as Frath sheathed his sword. Carefully, the
Rojuun made its way down the broken rocks of the stairway. “My name
is Zaan Thurrrn. I heard you speak of rescuing human slaves. You
will be pleased to assist me in rescuing Rojuun prisoners as
well.”

Zaan Thurrrn looked much healthier than he
had in the cell. Pelya noticed Ebudae’s knife on his belt as well
as three others. Somewhere he had found clothes and taken time to
bathe. His pasty white skin was clean and his black hair was pulled
into three thick braids that fell past his shoulders.

“What in the world are you?” Frath asked in
awe.

Instead of answering, Zaan asked Pelya, “Is
your father person stupid? I just said that I am Rojuun. Perhaps he
is deaf?”

“Hey, I’m not stupid,” Frath said louder
than he should.

Pelya motioned for him to keep his voice
down. She didn’t like Zaan insulting her father, but everything
about the Rojuun creature was odd. “He’s never seen a Rojuun
before, but he’s very smart and not deaf.” “My name is Pelya, my
father is Frath and our friend is Erma.”

“Greetings to all of you. You are pleased to
meet me.”

“We are?” Frath asked. Pelya raised an
eyebrow and felt a corner of her mouth rise in amusement. The
Rojuun had a superior way of speaking.

“Of course. Humans are the servant race and
are always pleased to be of assistance to their Rojuun masters.”
Zaan said it as though to think otherwise would be stupid. At
seeing their incredulous expressions, he crossed his upper arms and
sighed. “It is obvious that this has not been explained to you.
Perhaps you are offended by the inevitable. So be it. I will
pretend to treat you as . . . equals for now.” The word equals came
out of his mouth as though it tasted badly.

“How gracious of you,” Frath replied
sarcastically. Pelya was just glad he was keeping his blade
sheathed.

“Isn’t it though? I find that I handle
humans rather well. You are grateful for that.” Zaan looked proud
of himself in the dim glow of the torchlight through the
windows.

Pelya couldn’t help the giggle that escaped.
“You said you want to rescue Rojuun prisoners. We want to rescue
human prisoners as well as any slaves, so it makes sense to help
each other, but we’re not sure how to get past the guards without
killing them.”

“You are a smart feju. I shall cast spells
to put them all to sleep. It is easy enough.” His voices wove
through each other as he spoke. It wasn’t loud, but there was
something beautiful and entrancing about them.

“You just called my daughter a feju. What
does that mean?” Frath asked threateningly.

“You are an impertinent human, but I shall
answer. Feju means female. Meju is male.” Zaan rubbed his chin
thoughtfully with one of his upper hands. “I must admit that I have
forgotten the human terms for male and female, so I use our Rojuun
words. It is not difficult to understand your human speech, but you
have unusual terminology for many things and I do not have time to
waste on them.”

“You said you could cast spells to put the
guards to sleep. Why haven’t you done that and rescued your friends
already?” Pelya asked, ignoring both her father and the lofty
attitude of the Rojuun. She glanced out of the window to make sure
the guards hadn’t noticed them talking.

“I do not know how many more humans are
inside,” Zaan explained logically. He sat on a crate and crossed
his legs while putting his lower set of hands on a knee. With his
upper hands, he used gestures to emphasize his words. “It would be
difficult for me to fight many humans even though I am a skilled
warrior. In addition, I do not know spells to open your locks and
finding keys would consume time. Lastly, it has taken time for me
to recover and I am still weak, though I hesitate to mention that
in case you might not be an ally. My instincts tell me you are
however, and I will take the chance.”

Pelya found his eyes and voices to be
fascinating. Zaan was interesting and she wanted to know more about
him. “My father and Erma probably don’t trust you, but my instincts
tell me that you are an ally too. If you put the guards to sleep, I
can unlock the doors. Daddy is the best warrior I know and I’m good
with a sword too.”

“I know your words to be true because I saw
you fight after you released me. The honor you showed in giving
mercy to the meju guard you defeated earned my respect as did
punishing your associate when he murdered the meju guard.” Zaan
lowered his head approvingly.

Pelya blushed at the compliment. “Thank you,
Zaan. I’m glad we released you. The fact that you’re a wizard makes
it even better.”

“I am not a wizard.” He was offended. “Magic
is natural and inherent to the Rojuun unlike humans. None of your
wizards match Rojuun in power and skill.” Zaan held his head
high.

“I apologize. I’ve never met a Rojuun, so I
don’t know anything about your race.” Pelya didn’t mean to insult
him, but she wasn’t about to feel guilty for not understanding.
Plus, she was sure Ebudae could handle this Rojuun or any
other.

“I don’t mean to interrupt the conversation,
but if we’re going to do this we should get started,” Frath
said.

“You are hasty, Frath Human, but correct in
this instance.” Zaan stood, towering above them. Frath frowned at
having to look up at someone, a sensation that was rare for him.
Pelya turned toward the window again and jumped when Erma reclaimed
her arm. The rat-faced woman hadn’t said a word throughout the
conversation and didn’t seem inclined to now.

“I will cast the spell and the guards will
sleep for hours. A slight adjustment will cause it to jump to the
patrolling humans as well.” Zaan moved to the window. His gestures
were different from Ebudae’s. The four graceful hands moved in a
dance as he spoke words of power. Pelya noticed that the
supernatural winds of magic affected him just as it would any human
wizard.

She looked out the window just as he
released the spell and braced his feet to compensate for the wind
hitting him in the back. All four guards near the tent fell to the
ground in instant slumber. She couldn’t see the patrolling guards,
so had to take Zaan’s word that they would be asleep too.

Frath was the first out with sword drawn,
followed by Erma who dragged Pelya yet again. Zaan moved silently
as he followed them to the building and the locked wooden doors.
Frath searched the unconscious bodies for a key and found one. By
the time he got to the doors with it, Pelya had just finished
picking the lock. She slipped the picks back into their pouch and
put it away into her tunic.

“Where did you learn how to do that, young
lady?” he challenged with eyes narrowed.

“Uncle Bobbell taught me.” Pelya prayed he
wouldn’t take the picks away. A pained look crossed his face at the
mention of his childhood friend and he let the matter go.

“Everyone ready weapons or spells. I don’t
know what we’ll find in here,” Frath told them. He looked impressed
when Zaan readied knives in his lower hands and set his upper hands
in position to cast. The Rojuun was an odd addition to their group
and Pelya was surprised by how they were including him out of
necessity when they would normally act with more suspicion given
adequate time.