Chapter IX

“Witch seed! Witch seed!”- shouted the mad crowd and in the bloody twilight, the glass-eyed people of Ardiel were encircling Lucius,- with eyes full of fear and anger.

They set the house on fire, dragged out a half-asleep woman with her son, and took them to the center of the village. The lights from torches were dancing around while Lucius was being dragged by the crowd…

He could not see Laili and inexplicable fear would not leave him that the girl was still in the house, that was burning like a death-pile …

The icy cold water made Lucius feel its strength. He was the first to surface, and the air breathed in brought spring fragrance into the lungs, - the smell of life and revival. But that did not last long, as he instantly disappeared back into deep dark parts of the river. The light in the air twinkled like a faraway shimmer.

Lucius knew swimming - he had learned at the lake in his village, but fighting against the whirlpool with the rusty skills turned out to be impossible. The water he had breathed in made him cough and slowed him down. Desperate for air, whirlpool churned Lucius around until he no longer knew up from down. He was about to lose consciousness when someone dragged him up, and he knew it was Uriel.

“Hold her with hair and try to out-swim the current,” Lucius heard, and in seconds he was holding Laili in one hand and was fighting against the current with the other.

Blondy swam back toward the whirlpool while Lucius was trying to save himself and his sister. Michael was nowhere to be seen.

Lucius felt the slow-flowing stream and realized the riverbed was expanding. The hope of survival filled him up with new strength. Laili’s cries, which were difficult to hear in the river, meant that the girl was still alive and Lucius was doing his job well…

“No! Please no!” screamed Lucius desperately, when his mother was being tied to the stake and people were putting the twigs to her feet …

The wet clothes closely stuck on his body, made the swimming even more difficult. With every movement of his hands, he thought he could not cope with more, but the energy that he had felt or the willpower would not let him give in to those thoughts…

People’s screams were heard even in the open riverbed, but they did not bother or did not dare to help the boys and were watching them from the bank of the river…

Then the current relaxed its grip, and he tried to escape it, just in time for the next enormous wave to break over his head and push him back under. Each time he surfaced, the process repeated itself, until he was battered and winded, and still out of his depth.

Laili was no longer with him. Instead of fear and panic, he just felt overwhelmed, helpless and undignified; he let his baby sister down, he could not save her… It was dark and cold in the water, there was only one little dot shimmering in the air. As he struggled, an intense pain bloomed at the top of his chest, spreading downwards and inwards. Then, the shimmering light started coming closer and Lucius stuck out his head from the water. Some powerful hands had grabbed him and were taking him to the bank. Lucius forced himself not to close his heavy eyelids. That was the only remaining feeling that connected him to the conscious world.

The vomiting sensation woke him up. As soon as he came round, he searched for Laili. The child was lying next to him. Pale and scared, she did not utter a word but was just blinking her eyes. Lucius relaxed a little, seeing his sister alive. He tried to sit up, but he was so weak that he could not manage. Two tall men were standing close by, looking down at him. Lucius pointed at Laili to ask how she was, but they answered well before he could pronounce his question. This time, he heard a calm voice. He did not know who was speaking, but that voice did not belong to those men.

“The girl is alive, but I don’t think any of you can avoid becoming ill,” said the calm voice. “There are more kids in the water,” he said.

“I won’t go back to the water even for five gold coins,” snarled one of them.

“I will add five more,” the voice said.

“For ten gold we can even bring a mermaid.” the strangers ran into the water.

Lucius sat up, leaning onto his elbows. The hope-filled up his mind. Two men were swimming towards Michael and Uriel.

“Give this to the sailors,” he heard from behind, and when he turned around, the men gave him a leather satchel. Lucius took it with no hesitation and as soon as he grabbed the satchel, the man turned around and left. He was tall and thin, dressed in all black and carrying a stick. One would not say he was dressed lavishly, but he looked much tidier compared to the other citizens of this city. Lucius stared at the figure with amazement. There was something extraordinary in that man, but what - he could not guess.

Lucius’s strength came back, and he sat up. The sailors were already bringing Michael and Uriel toward the place he was sitting. Uriel could already swim on his own, but you would not say the same about Michael. Lucius crawled towards Laili, helped her sit up, and hugged her. She was shivering from cold. He patted her on the back and tried to warm her hands up…

As soon as they got closer to the shore, Lucius seated Laili back on the ground and was struggling to go towards the sailors to help them, but before he stood up, they had already come out from the river. Uriel was walking on his own, whereas Michael was being carried by the sailors. Lucius moved towards them as quickly as he could, but his legs started trembling and he was about to fall when Uriel helped him to trudge. On his pale face, his eyes seemed unusually large.

“How is he?” asked Lucius about Michael.

“I don’t know,” Uriel whispered. You could hear the fear in his voice. Lucius turned to the sailors with the same question, but they only asked angrily where the man had gone.

“I don’t know,” Lucius kneeled next to Michael, trying to feel his pulse, but he could feel nothing, so he quickly started massaging his chest, the same way his mom used to do. He shifted his head so the water could come out from his mouth and nose. Lucius looked after Michael, bringing him around. He did everything his mother used to do to the drowning people. Blondy said nothing. He did not want to interfere. Lucius could not tell how long it took him to make Michael breathe again. The sailors had already left. Michael was very weak. He could barely speak and found it difficult to stand up without help.

Uriel helped Michael while Lucius was holding frozen Laili. He did not know where he was going; he was just following the boys and was surprised they could even move. Boys had lost the track of time, but when they left the city, Lucius realized they had already been walking for a while. They walked up the hill, approaching a flat place where the forest got denser.

Having been walking for a while in the forest, they came across a hut so unexpectedly that Lucius could not even notice it.

It was a dark, shabby shack with a broken roof here and there.

Uriel unlocked the door and everybody went in. The hut was dark, which made it impossible to see. Gradually they got used to the darkness and they could already see a bed with broken legs in the corner and with some clothes on it. Blondy helped Michael to the bed and asked Lucius to lay Laili on the clothes.

“Where are we?” Michael sounded hoarse. Lucius knew there was no way he could escape the fever.

“This is our future house,” answered Blondy.

“Then, why did you make us look for the shelter all day?” asked Michael.

“I will explain it later. Now we have to find wood and light up some fire, or else we will freeze”, answered Blondy. The fear had disappeared in his voice. Michael tried to get up, but Uriel stopped him.

“You must rest, Lucius and I will look for the wood.” Michael was really weak, otherwise, he would not give up that easily.

“Hold Laili close to you. This will keep you both warm before we get back,” ordered Blondy before he left the hut. It was unbearably cold in the hut. The boys searched for the twigs without a word. They did not even have any strength to talk. As if everything was not enough, Lucius felt his fever rising. He already had a sore throat, and he started looking for herbs. However, it would have been difficult to find herbs for four people (It was obvious Uriel was also feeling bad).

“Is there anything like a kettle or just something to boil water in the hut?” he asked Uriel.

“No,” he answered shortly. It was difficult for him to talk. So Lucius did not ask him anything else. They had survived the water, but would they outlive the fever?! In the only room of the hut, there was a fireplace. They put the twigs there too. Blondy kneeled at the fireplace and started rubbing two twigs together. Lucius picked several herbs and started crushing them on the wooden floor. Michael was playing with Laili. They both sneezed a lot as if they were competing. Lucius finished crushing the herbs. Uriel was still trying to light a fire, but with no success, which provoked occasional swear words. Laili was in a better mood. She no longer looked like a scared, pale, shivering little girl. Lucius smelled smoke and heard Uriel’s joyous cry. Even though one could not yet see any fire yet, the smell was enough to congratulate Uriel, who smiled and went back to the fireplace. Soon the fire was roaring in the hut.

“If we go on like this, the twigs will soon run out,” said Uriel. Lucius had never thought he would ever be so happy to see the fire. Although the hut was getting warm and even lightened up a bit, the kids were still cold, so they sat around the fire.

They glanced at the fire flames dancing on the dark, ashy bricks and despite the burning heat on their faces, they were not willing to leave the place. They had taken off the clothes which were drying in the room. Michael coughed, reminding Lucius that he had made some herbal mass. He stood up and distributed it among all three of them.

“I know it tastes terrible, but we have no other option,” he added. All three ate the handful of crushed herbs without a word. Even Laili did not protest. Encouraged by his friends, Michael also chewed the black mass of herbs (it tasted so bad that it made him shiver).

“Even though it will not make you better for long, but it will help you for now.”

“What shall we do then?”

“I need a kettle or some kind of utensil to boil water in it and make some medicine,” said Lucius. “This is not enough for Michael and Laili. They have to lie down for several days and take as much fluid and medicine as possible. So I have to gather some herbs, otherwise, these are not enough for even a day”

“We have to fetch some twigs too, or we will run out of them before twilight,” said Blondy, looking at the pile of twigs, which seemed to Lucius as more than enough.

After several minutes of fighting and Michael’s protest, they decided Lucius would go to the forest to find some medicine and gather twigs. As for Uriel, he would go to the city and try to find a kettle and maybe even some clothes for boys.

They shifted the broken bed to the fireplace so Laili would be warmer.

Uriel headed towards the door, but before he left, Lucius stopped him and gave him the purse.

“I was to give this to the sailors, but I thought we’d use it better.”

“Fantastic!” said Uriel happily and left for Mondelay.

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Lucius gathered all the twigs together and tried to remember the place. It was difficult to find as many medicinal herbs as he needed, so he had to go deep into the forest. He almost got lost, but wandering around for a while, he found the place he had collected the twigs…

It was already getting dark when he finally reached the hut with all his twigs and herbs. Uriel had not yet returned from the city. Michael and Laili were asleep. Lucius added some twigs to the fire. He could not make any herb tea before Uriel brought the cooking utensils, so he sat down to rest. Hearing the kids’ calm breathing made him unusually relaxed, as if an invisible fairy, who would always protect them from any imminent harm, had filled the hut with kindness.

Lucius felt warmer, so he stood up. The fire had brightened the place up. The cobwebs were seen scattered on the ceiling and walls. There were some crumbs fallen from the ceiling. The only window was blocked up with the planks… ‘Why would Uriel make them search for the house if he knew this hut existed? When will he uncover his secret?’, burdened with thoughts, the boy was pacing up and down the hut.

He soon stopped and started sorting out the collected roots of the herbs. Maybe they were not the best of the best, but that was all he could find, and he was forever grateful to God for help. While collecting some twigs, he found a smooth stone to crush the herbs with.

While Lucius was getting ready, Uriel opened the door with his hands full of presents. He had brought a big sack and a sooty pot. Lucius checked the pot. It was clean inside and would not leak.

“We need some water.” He turned to Uriel.

“There’s a stream nearby.” Uriel grabbed the pot and left.

Lucius hung the utensil with water on the chain. While the water was boiling, he crashed the herbs into a smooth stone. Blondy had also brought the three wooden mugs from the city. He opened up the satchel himself and gave a pair of trousers and a shirt to Lucius:

“That’s for you, you’ll have something to change into,” he said in a frail voice.

Uriel woke Laili and Michael up. The dress was big for Laili, but it would fit in the future.

“But, where did you get all this? How?” Michael asked Blondy.

“There was enough gold in the satchel,” Blondy answered shortly.

Lucius prepared everything according to his mom’s rules.

“What’s that for?” Blondy grimaced in disgust.

“That’s for us,” Lucius tried to smile.

“I know that, but why should we drink it?” Blondy would not give up.

“Because we jumped into icy water, then we walked in the streets all soaked. We will be very lucky if we don’t get a fever, but Michael and Laili already show some signs of it. We have to take medicine on time, or else there will be no tomorrow for us.”

“Okay, we give up.” Michael shuddered in disgust. He still could feel the terrible taste of the previous medicine.

Lucius filled up the wooden mugs with herbal decoction and handed them to others. As they did not have the fourth glass, he would have to drink it later. It was not strange for Laili to drink herbal decoctions, so she calmly drank her portion of the potion. The boys were still holding theirs, hesitant.

“The sooner you drink, the better… And it does not taste that bad,” he added to calm the boys down.

Lucius’s last words encouraged the boys- Michael drank everything in one big gulp, whereas Uriel sipped slowly, but still finished his drink.

“It did not taste that bad.” Michael and Lucius looked at each other meaningfully.

“The key thing is for it to do its job…” said Uriel thoughtfully.

Laili’s eyelids were getting heavier, and she was yawning. Lucius took her up carefully. She went to sleep quicker that way. Indeed, she fell asleep in several seconds, so Lucius put her down on the clothes and sat next to the boys near the fireplace. Both of them were staring at the fire. They were strangely similar and strangely different at the same time. The flames brightened their faces. Michael was brunet, whereas Uriel was blond. Michael had short hair and a pale complexion; Uriel, on the contrary, had long hair, combed towards the back, and darker skin. When Lucius first saw Michael, he was sitting in the dining hall in the shelter. Although Lucius noticed a slim boy eating his food, he could not make out his face. The only reason he paid attention was that nobody would sit next to him at the table, and if he could feel something back then, he would definitely feel pity. The second time when he glimpsed Michael in the hall, the boy passed him by and saw how others also observed him. If he could feel something then, he would feel irritation, because, as it seemed to him then, the boy was only interested in his appearance and did not miss a single chance to look in the mirror to admire his looks. The third time he saw Michael was when he went into his room to beat him up, but he slipped on oil and even got a fist in his chin. The most distinctive meeting was when Michael was waiting in line to get whipped. He was the smallest in the line, the weakest too, so weak that Lucius wondered how he had even stood in the line, but then he walked to the pillar in the center of the yard and Lucius realized that his prejudice about him was all wrong, he was very different. Michael kneeled at the pillar and looked at the kids with glassy eyes. Lucius felt he had already seen that look somewhere. And that boy who was getting whipped and did not utter a single word differed from the boy he had known before.

Lucius saw Uriel after the first fight when he was thrown onto the ground. Maybe because of that, Blondy, who even had a distinctive and elegant way of walking and a proud smile on his face, looked as if he had something in common with everybody. He held himself and talked in such a manner that even the lord would be envious of his skills. Lucius and Michael were stunned by his fighting skills, too. He fought masterly with a spear and barehanded. He must have been amazing in a sword fight, too. While he believed Michael had a soft and narcissistic personality, Uriel seemed a more proud and strong person from the very beginning. Between Uriel and Michael, it was difficult to say which one was more distinctive looking, although they had almost nothing in common. Uriel looked through his golden eyes and that must have been the most peculiar and different thing in him compared to Michael, but it was the eyes that made both of them similar in Lucius’ eyes. Or, perhaps, it expressed their eyes that radiated unique power.

The fire was crackling. The boys did not make a single sound, as if they were waiting for each other to start.

“Should we put off our talk?” started Uriel and this sentence that must have meant a question sounded different to Lucius. They did not answer, more precisely, they would have, but Uriel answered his question:

“I guess on this chilly night in this warm hut, where we feel feverish and at the edge of falling with illness, is the best time to talk about this… Then, I have nothing else to do but to start my story.”

“This story begins well before today’s search for the shelter, and how odd it may sound, it includes my father in it. Everything started with him falling in love with a girl when he was young. He had courted a lot of girls, but he fell in love with that woman and intended to marry her, but he was not allowed. The girl was born beneath his family and, according to Rahail’s rules, that kind of marriage was not accepted. They say that the couple wanted to elope as they already had a baby, but my grandfather found out about the plan and it fell through. The woman my father loved so dearly disappeared from the royal court. The boy, however, stayed with my father, following my grandfather’s wishes.”

“Nobody knows why the woman ran away, but it is believed that all had happened to the baby and the grandfather did not break his promise - the child was made a legitimate heir…”

“Soon after, my father was forced to get married, and I was born.”

“My elder brother was taken a hostage by the country that is known as a carrier of the throne, people say that woman came back and my father was with her for a while, but my grandfather, the king at a time, soon found out and that woman disappeared from Cairthebys for good. Since then my father started drinking, and this is how I always remember him - drunk. This is how life was before my brother’s return. My mother had already passed away two before. One thing you could say about my brother was that he was not an ordinary man. After returning, he did things no other man had ever thought he would. But this is a different story. The grandfather had already died, and my father took the throne over. However, as everybody said, in reality, my brother was ruling the country.”

“Finally, my brother disappeared too, just like his mother, which was a colossal blow to my father. He reminded him of the only woman he really loved, and he could never marry. He gave up on ruling the country and was rarely seen in the palace. Father drank, visited prostitutes, hunted and walked around, dressed shabbily. Many people frowned upon his behavior and a lot of lords supported my uncle as the king. My father did nothing but wander about and if he had to fight anywhere, as people said, he really enjoyed it. During one of his trips, one of his young warriors got injured. My father sent him to the nearby village to get treated together with some of his subordinates and soon joined them dressed as the commander. In this very village, he met the woman he always loved, and the rest of the story you know much better than me, Lucius.” Uriel did not even look at Lucius.

“Only the wounded warrior survived the death with poison, but when I found him, he was already mad. From his story, I learned about a boy who had burned alive Rayan Arc de Ludgar, the man I called my father… My uncle had already taken over the Al-Moravid’s throne and raised me as the future heir, but I excused myself from the court to look for my father but what I learned was his death.”

“No one could tell me where to find the boy, but what I knew for sure was that he went towards the city and I realized the boy who could poison and burn twelve men would definitely reach the city if he desired so. I was aware of how you and your sister looked (from the description provided by the man who had saved you), that’s why I came to Mondelay alone and looked for the boy and his sister. Two winter months passed that way, but I could find nobody.”

“I had just left Mondelay when I heard about the attack. I learned the guardsmen were about to enter the city, so I joined them in disguise. We were late and came to see the ruined city and slaughtered people as if the abomination itself was embodied prowling around. The fire was burning everywhere, and we could only see that the fear and pain had consumed the entire city before we rode into the rich neighborhood surmounted on horses. At the entrance, however, we saw an amazing sight. In one of the local lord’s gardens, the laughter of two boys broke the silence of the night. They were playing with a little girl and having the time of their lives. It was such a strange sight that even the guardsmen halted their horses and, instead of fulfilling their duties, stared at the children playing in the garden full of blood. I instantly realized who that little girl and the boy were, but I could not grasp why would anyone be so cheerful in such a bloody place filled with corpses. What were they doing in the kingdom of death…

I did not know what I would do when I found you, Lucius, but I had to find you after that night.

Mondelay is not that small, it was difficult to look for you, I almost lost hope once again. But once when I was wandering around the city, I saw you running away. I watched your fight from the corner and still don’t know to this day why I intervened. I wanted to get to know the boy who was my half-brother and the murderer of Rayan Arc de Ludgar, or to take revenge on my father. Maybe both. That’s why I proposed searching for the shelter. I wanted to talk to you, to get to know your personality, and even kill you if I decided on this scenario. That’s why I suggested leaving Laili to that woman. I wanted to carry out my plans without the girl, but she did not stay. Then I proposed voting and sharing the time with Laili and chose such a place to look for the shelter, where you could find nothing. Michael had to take Laili first, and I followed you so that I could trap you in one of the dead-end streets. It was easy to do, but I soon realized you were not really looking for a house. Maybe from the beginning, you wanted to find a shelter, but later you wandered around with a different purpose. You too were following someone, and I became intrigued. That somebody was a beggar and kept moving from one place to another.

He moved several streets away and sat in the street with his head tucked in his arms, only one hand reaching out for elms-he must have been new to the trade and embarrassed to look in people’s eyes. You took out a small piece of bread, maybe one left from the day before, looked at the beggar for several minutes, put a piece of bread in his lap, turned around and blended in with people so quickly that he could not see you, even if he looked up. He quickly devoured the bread and extended his hand to beg, then he suddenly started coughing... I realized what you had done. When I approached the man, he was already dying… Lucius, why did you kill him?”

“He was from my village… He was one of those who had burned my mom alive,” Lucius heard his voice.

“I see, I understand you,” said Blondy and continued. “At that point, it was time to come to the meeting place. Disturbed by the sight of the dying man, I could not see where you went and, to tell the truth, was no longer sure if I wanted to kill you. Your merciless behavior would double my desire to kill you, in normal circumstances, but I saw such pain and misery in your eyes that my desire disappeared. I did not know what that was, just an interest or something else, but back then I did not want to admit to myself that I no longer desired what had brought me to Mondelay. I tried to hate you. I made myself think you were a coward and you could only behave ‘bravely’ when hiding behind the poison. That’s why I took you towards the arch bridge. I knew those boys would see and follow us. I thought you would run and abandon me and Michael, but when you came back with a spear…

We needed a shelter, that’s why I brought you here- to my hut… I never felt the real life in the castle, my brother made me see it when he came back to Cairthebys. I talked to him about the motherland, about love, about everything my uncle had taught me, but the only thing he said was to forget all that…” Uriel did not finish the last sentence.

“Killing you would have been my uncle’s choice, but my brother…”

“Lucius, I am no longer willing to kill you or plan to return home as the prince fulfilling his duty,” finished Uriel, his story.

Blondy was still staring at the fire. Lucius, however, felt empty. This had already happened to him once. He stared at the fire. He observed the playful dance of the flames until they started dying out. Michael stood up and threw some twigs in there, and the yellow flames continued dancing before they died out again. This continued till morning. No one had said a word. They only looked at the fire kept alive by Michael…

Together with the dawn, emotions came back to Lucius. He felt he had to tell his side of the story to Uriel. He took a deep breath and started telling the story, which Michael had already heard. The sun was already up in the sky when he finished. The silence filled the room again. There was the only firebrand in the fireplace, but Michael did not rise to add any twigs anymore. They sat like that in the cold and silence until Blondy said- “I understand.”

“I will find some food, you must rest,” said Uriel. Lucius did not know if Blondy would come back, but he wanted him to, because the person he had burned with his own hands turned out to be his father, and he did not want to be alone with that kind of burden on his shoulders. Blondy was the one with whom he walked around all day and nearly drowned in the river. In such cases people usually reveal what Lucius did not know before Mondelay: one cannot forget the person who stood next to you through thick and thin…

Lucius lay down and closed his eyes and heard Michael add some wood to the fire, trying to warm the room up. Soon the fire started roaring and crackling. Lucius felt the warmth (not only from the fire) consume his body before he fell asleep.