Jalia on the Road (Jalia - World of Jalon) (15 page)

Gally lifted Jalia’s head and looked at the large swollen area around her jaw. “I’ll need to treat her at my cottage,” she said, and began leading Jalia’s horse away. Daniel followed behind with his train of donkeys and they were soon on the top of a small hill. The houses of the village were dispersed among the trees on the hill, though there was a cluster of five or six cottages a short distance away.

Gally’s cottage was set back in the trees and away from the houses of the village. As they approached, the heady smell of ripening apples filled the air. Behind the cottage was a small orchard and it was clear the apples on the trees were long overdue for picking.

Beneath the trees were three wicker basket beehives with bees buzzing around them. The hives sat on wide low three legged stools that kept them about two feet off the ground, safe from the damp when it rained.

“I’ve not been able to gather the harvest because the villagers insist I spend all my time treating them. They won’t pay me because my mother never accepted money for healing, but now there is only me and I can’t feed myself and treat them.”

Daniel nodded in sympathy, though he wanted to hear the villager’s side of the story before he passed a judgment. He had learnt that people generally told only one side of a story, and that only what they wanted you to believe.

He helped Jalia down from her horse and into a house that was little more than a one room shack. There was a kitchen area for preparing food on the left. There were two beds on the floor and Gally motioned to Daniel that he should lay Jalia on the nearest one.

Gally looked at shelves filled with bottles and wicker boxers and turned to Daniel. “I’ll need some willow bark to make a brew to ease her pain. If you go into the village, someone will tell you where to find the nearest trees.”

Daniel nodded and made to leave the cottage, pausing only to take a final look at Jalia who lay unconscious on the bed. As soon as he got out of the cottage he began to run.

Gally went to Jalia and felt her forehead. Jalia was burning with fever and mumbling to herself. Gally started to remove Jalia’s shirt and found a wide thin leather belt fastened tight to her body just above her waist. She would never have known it was there without removing Jalia’s shirt. The belt was artfully constructed of the thinnest supplest leather.

As she unfastened it, Jalia’s breathing became easier. Her abdomen was swollen and the belt had been constraining her. Gally lifted the belt and was stunned by how heavy it was. She examined it more closely and found it was laden with gold coins, each cunningly fitted into an individual pouch. There was more gold in this belt than Gally had imagined could ever exist.

Gally’s breathing became labored and she almost fainted. This was a way out of her life as the village slave. But if she stole her money, this woman would hunt her down for certain. Gally thought back to less than half an hour before when she almost drowned with water flooding into her lungs. She couldn’t take that again. She had to escape and that meant the woman on the bed had to die.

She hid the belt under the bed and reached onto one of her shelves. She took down a bag filled with dried yew leaves. Gally took a mortar and pestle, poured in the leaves and mashed them together. Her hands shook and she was close to tears. This was the first time she ever tried to hurt someone with her healer arts, but she knew she had no choice. No one was ever going to help her escape. She had to do it on her own.

Daniel reached the group of houses. After some searching he found Bran and asked him about the location of the nearest willow trees. Bran led him along the banks of the lake to where they could be found.

“Is Gally a good healer?” Daniel asked as they skirted the bank and climbed through some tall grasses and brambles to get to the willows.

“She is better than her mother was and her mother was very good. Gally is almost magical with her potions and her arts, which is why we call her our witch.”

Daniel frowned as something did not make sense.

“So why did you put her on the ducking stool?”

“She dared to ask for payment. We are a poor people and it’s difficult for us to feed our own families. She needed to be taught humility.”

“It seems a little harsh to drown her for that,” Daniel said, trying not to let any trace of irony seep into his voice.

Bran bristled with righteous anger and Daniel backed away a step.

“We caught her preparing to leave the village. How will our babies be born, our old be relieved of their pains, and our young men be treated for injury without her? She’s a selfish witch for trying to leave us and deserves everything she got.”

“Oh I quite agree,” said Daniel, lying through his teeth. He would try and find a way to help this girl, if he could. The people of this village didn’t deserve a healer.

They reached the first willow and Daniel pulled his dagger out of its sheath and began to carve away some of the bark while being careful not to damage the tree. He could see someone had been equally careful in the past and avoided areas too near those previously harvested.

Gally poured warm water into the pestle and stirred the mixture.
 
So much poison would kill Jalia quickly and without pain. Gally didn’t want her to suffer. She sieved the liquor produced into a cup, though in her haste one or two of the leaves fell into the liquid.

Jalia drifted in and out of consciousness as Gally lifted her into a sitting position and held the cup to her lips. Jalia opened her eyes and saw the dark green almost needle like leaves drifting on the top of the brew.

A warning went off in Jalia’s mind. Trained as an alchemist she knew a yew leaf when she saw it. She didn’t really recognize it because her head was spinning, but a snatch of conversation with Marco drifted through her mind. ‘Don’t drink that. you idiot!’ she had screamed at him as he assumed the brew she prepared was tea.

“Poishon,” Jalia said through thick lips and thrust the cup away, sending it rolling across the floor. She grabbed Gally and levered herself into a standing position as the frightened girl stepped back, trying to escape. “Bitchhh” Jalia said, and slapped Gally across the face.

Gally was terrified and horrified at the same time. Without thinking, she punched Jalia in the face as hard as she could. Her fist struck Jalia’s infected jaw. She screamed in agony and fell back onto the cot. The blow struck with such force that the inside of her cheek burst against her teeth, pouring puss and blood into her mouth.

As Jalia lay on the floor spitting the foul tasting liquid onto the floor, Gally recognized that she had to kill Jalia or risk being strung up for attempted murder and began to kick her.

Jalia felt better from the moment the abscess burst. Gally had no idea how to kick someone and she wore soft shoes, so her kicks had little effect except to wake Jalia up. Jalia’s head cleared and, though she still felt awful, she no longer felt as if she was dying.

“Girl’s a healer, even when she’s trying to kill me,” Jalia said quietly as she rolled away from Gally’s kicks and got to her feet. A few seconds later Gally was held against the wall with Jalia’s knife against her throat. She tried to work out exactly how that happened. It was all so fast.

Jalia wondered why she hadn’t already killed the girl and why her knife seemed so reluctant to slit her throat. She pulled the knife away and punched the girl in the face, knocking her unconscious with a single blow from her left hand.

Minutes later Daniel ran into the cottage with the willow bark to find Jalia bending over Gally, tying her hands together with cloth she had cut from a bed sheet. Gally was beginning to wake and stared at Jalia with frightened darting eyes.

“Well this is a bit of a surprise.” Daniel said as he came to a halt.

“She tried to poison me, Daniel,” Jalia said, speaking so clearly that it was obvious to him that the crisis had passed.

“Surely she didn’t, Jalia, perhaps you imagined it?”

In answer, Jalia picked up the cup holding the dregs of the potion and pushed it towards Gally’s lips. From the way Gally struggled and turned her head it was clear Jalia was not mistaken. By common law, Jalia was entitled to kill the girl and Daniel was mildly surprised that Gally was still alive.

“I don’t understand. The locals have treated this girl like dirt, her name’s Gally by the way, but she has never hurt anyone. If you’re going to kill her, Jalia, do it quickly. She deserves that much consideration.”

Jalia hauled Gally to her feet. How she managed such a thing in her weakened condition seemed like a miracle to Daniel. Holding the girl by the rags tying her hands together, Jalia pushed her back towards the open cottage door.

As they approached the door, Jalia reached forward and ripped Gally’s skirt from her, revealing her naked lower half as she wore nothing beneath it. Daniel followed as the girls’ left the cottage, wondering what Jalia was up to. Right at that moment, he was beyond being surprised.

Jalia pushed the girl back across the orchard. Gally looked in appeal to Daniel, but he shrugged. Her fate was out of his hands. What happened to her now was entirely up to Jalia. Daniel’s eyes widened as he saw where Jalia was taking the girl. Jalia stopped and moved closer to Gally, kicking the girl’s legs wide apart and sending her falling to the ground.

She didn’t drop far, as there was a rush woven beehive below her. For a few seconds the girl sat there in silence as angry bees crawled and buzzed between her legs and up her thighs. Then she started to scream as the bees attacked.

Daniel winced in sympathy, but noticed with surprise that while the angry bees buzzed around Gally they avoided Jalia. It appeared that even enraged bees had more sense than to attack certain people.

Jalia left Gally sitting there for less than a minute before dragging her back to her feet. Gally screamed in agony. She screamed and sobbed even louder as Jalia dragged her to the side of the cottage.

Almost casually, Jalia lifted the girl off the ground and hooked the cloth binding her hands onto a gable of the cottage. Gally hung yelling and sobbing a few inches above the ground with her legs gyrating wildly.

Jalia, exhausted by her efforts, staggered back to the cottage and the waiting bed.

“You can’t leave her like that. It’s not decent,” Daniel yelled after her.

Jalia called back to him. “Take her down then, if you want. I’m going to bed.” She slammed the cottage door shut as she went inside.

Daniel approached Gally, her eyes growing round with fear. She kicked at him, fearing he was going to rape her.

He spoke calmly, trying to get her to stop kicking.

“Look, young lady. If you want to come down from there you are going to have to let me help you. You are unbelievable lucky to still be alive, although you might not think so right now.”

Gally let Daniel lift her down. Daniel was careful not to touch her stung areas as he lifted her from the hook. He took her into the cottage, sat her down and bound her legs together. He couldn’t help noticing the places the bees had stung, the whole area was red raw and swollen, and he winced in sympathy once again.

“Stay here and be quiet. If you try to escape, Jalia will kill you for sure and don’t even think of trying to take revenge on her. Do nothing and I expect Jalia will let you go in the morning.”

Next morning, Jalia was still woozy and her body didn’t feel quite right, as if something was missing. But she couldn’t work out what was wrong. However, she was anxious to leave the village as soon as possible.

She looked down at Gally who was still tied up on the floor. “Daniel has told me what this village has done to you. If you had asked for our help, we would have taken you with us. As it is, I can think of no worse fate than to leave you here with this bunch of despicable people.”

Jalia untied the girl’s bonds. Gally stayed on the floor, rubbing her aching body and stared at Jalia with frightened eyes. Everybody she knew would have killed her for what she had done. She still didn’t believe Jalia was going to let her live.

Jalia left the cottage without another word. Gally scrambled across the floor to the door, wondering if Jalia and her man were about to set her cottage on fire. Daniel had Jalia’s horse saddled and waiting outside and they set off down the road as Gally got to the door.

As they disappeared out of sight, Gally became conscious she was still naked from the waist down and that she had many bees’ stingers imbedded in her flesh.

She moved back into the cottage and closed the door. Before she reached for a pair of tweezers and a jar of healing ointment, she looked under the bed. What she saw there made her smile with delight.