ROAD TO CORDIA Read online

  “Don’t make me beat ya then. Ee’llie was always making me beat her. Come on.”

  Dazed, she let him drag her a few feet and almost bumped into him when he stopped suddenly.

  T’eem stood there, blocking their way but making no other move to help Ja'Nil.

  “What are ya looking at? I tolds ya to move them barrels.” T’eem just continued to stand there. “Okay,” sighed the innkeeper as if he was making a big concession. “I aims to marry up with her, but ‘fore I do I’ll let ya get a lick a her. After dinner been served and ya finished carrying out the slops ya go on up to her room. I’ll give ya an hour, but no more. Now, that’s generous, ain’t it? Well, ain’t it?”

  T’eem nodded.

  “T’eem,” said Ja'Nil. “I don’t want to marry up with him.” The innkeeper turned on her and raised his hand. T’eem reached forward and caught the raised hand, holding it away from Ja'Nil’s face.

  “What the fook you think ya doing?” The innkeeper was outraged.

  “Don’t want her all beat up,” mumbled T’eem.

  “You just get them barrels moved or you ain’t getting no part of her.” The innkeeper turned and shoved Ja'Nil. “Get on into the inn. Ya wanta eat, ya gonna work.”

  * * *

  She was put to work scrubbing out the dirty pots and kettles. “Keep an eye on her,” he ordered the cook. “I’m going to be marrying up with her tonight.”

  The cook just grunted, but made a point of keeping Ja'Nil well away from the door.

  She was not the only girl working in the inn’s kitchen. Jaz, a few years older than Ja’Nil, was kept busy sweeping the stone floor and scrubbing out the soot covered brick ovens. There was something horribly wrong with Jaz’s face. The top of her mouth was split right up to her nose. When she spoke, it was almost impossible to understand her. That was why it took several minutes before what she was saying sunk in.

  “Yas marry ups wit him, I gut ya.”

  “What did you say?”

  “Yas marry wit him, I kill ya,” hissed the girl.

  Ja'Nil stared at her in horror. What was wrong with the world? Suddenly there was danger everywhere she turned. Her hands started trembling. She wanted to burst into tears, lie down on the floor, kick, scream, and have a full-blown tantrum until someone put the world right.

  “Why do you want to kill me?” she asked in a voice that trembled.

  “He gonna marry up wit me. He say he get me real healer. Fix me up fine.” The girl took a threatening step towards Ja'Nil, raising the handle of her broom threateningly. Dust, dirt, and cobwebs showered down on Ja'Nil.

  “I’m not going to marry him,” Ja'Nil assured her. “I don’t want to marry him. I don’t want to marry anyone. I just want to go home.”

  “Me don’t care wheres ya go, just go.”

  “Jaz,” yelled the cook. “Get away from her. Do your work.” Jaz flinched as if she had been struck. “Yez, Yez,” she told the cook, but before she turned away she leaned into Ja'Nil, her eyes intensely crazy. Ja'Nil couldn’t bear to be so close to that deformed face. “Don’t yas forget,” the girl hissed at Ja'Nil, “I gonna guts ya.”

  The cook, a bulky woman who smelled of sweat and burned onions, thrust herself between Jaz and Ja'Nil. “Ya finished with them pots?” she asked Ja'Nil. “Here, eat this.” She put half a loaf of coarse bread and a glass of brownish liquid into Ja'Nil’s hands. “Gonna need your strength tonight.” Her smile was sly and knowing.

  The bread was smeared with some sort of grease instead of mare’s butter. Ja'Nil retreated to a stool in the corner where she could keep an eye on everyone. She gulped the bread and washed it down with the brownish colored water. Only, it wasn’t water. Whatever it was, it burned going down, hitting her stomach like a hot stone, making her gasp, cough and breathe through her mouth. “What was that?”

  The cook laughed, “Make things easier for ya tonight.”

  Easier?

  From where she sat, Ja'Nil could hear the roars of laughter and yells of drunken men in the main parlor where T’eem and another man passed out mugs of booze as fast as they could pour them.

  The innkeeper came into the kitchen, rubbing his hands and smiling his reptilian smile. “Busy night.” He stood over her rocking back and forth, smiling indulgently at her. Ja'Nil blinked dazedly up at him. There seemed to be two of him. Then one of him melted into one, no, two hims. Now all she could see of him was his yellow smile.

  “Nows, ya not to worry none. I’ll be marrying ya soons as things quiet down out there,” he assured Ja'Nil.

  “What about Jaz?” Ja'Nil heard herself saying. Her voice sounded as if it were coming from a long way away. She stood up slowly, supporting herself by resting her hand on the crumbly wall. “You promised her a healer. You’re supposed to marry her. She said so.”

  The innkeeper turned a scowling face on the cringing Jaz. “Youse just waits ya turn, girl.” He reached out and grabbed the deformed girl by the hair. “Ya ain’t gonna give me no trouble, is ya?”

  “No, K’epper, no trouble,” Jaz whined. She did not attempt to break free of his hold, just stood passively waiting for whatever he dealt out.

  Ja'Nil watched with a strange disconnect. Would he hit the girl? Instead, he shoved her away.

  Unfortunately, he then turned back to Ja'Nil. “Ya comes wit me.” He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her along behind him like a fish on a trotline. He pulled her up a narrow, dimly lit staircase. She stumbled after him, her mind a jumble of half formed images and plans; she would hit him over the head and escape. What would she hit him with? She would knee him in his… ah… balls and escape. What if she missed? He’d be mad as all the hells that ever were, wouldn’t he? Before she could settle on a plan, they arrived at a child size door. It screeched loudly as the innkeeper used both hands to open it.

  As soon as he let go of her, Ja'Nil turned to run, but the sudden movement caused her head to spin. The innkeeper grabbed her around her waist, spun her around and shoved her through the tiny door, scraping her head on the lintel as he pushed her through. Then he slammed it shut. Ja'Nil landed on her knees, her head spinning, her stomach threatening to give up the bread she had recently eaten. Behind her, she could hear a bolt being thrown across the door.

  After a moment her stomach settled. Her head no longer felt as if it were spinning like a Daisy Top, now it seemed to be floating off somewhere on its own, light as a feather, while the rest of her body moved with the slow motions of an underwater swimmer. What was in that drink the cook had given her?

  She had landed on her knees. Her head was down, her eyes closed. Finally, she raised her head and looked around. She was in some sort of storage place, an attic, filled with strange shapes, odd pieces of wood, dust and spider webs and creepy-crawly sounds. At least there was enough light to see things. There were two large dormer windows, both open at the top for ventilation. A magical purple light came through the windows, making everything it touched look otherworldly, and in the case of the attic, both shabby and dangerous. The purple light! She had forgotten it was the six-month rise of Purple Moon. No wonder the inn was so busy.

  Many people believed the moon had healing powers. There were always celebrations and ceremonies on this night. It was said that perfectly healthy people would dance naked in its light in the hopes of living forever. Ja'Nil had never actually seen anyone do that, but she had heard about it. How would the Purple Moon affect the innkeeper?

  She had to get out of here.

  The ceiling was too low for her to stand so she scrambled on her hands and knees to one of the windows. It overlooked a courtyard filled with men who were either drinking, fighting, cheering on the fighters or just baying at the moon; definitely not a means of egress.

  The other window overlooked the stables and the hill where her aunt was buried. There was no one in sight.

  There were two problems; she was three floors up and the window, although slightly open at the top, absolutely refused to open from
the bottom.

  Well, she thought, either I wait here for him to come and “marry” me or I can… She picked up a slab of wood that was lying on the floor, swung with all her might and smashed out the bottom windowpane. Shattered glass flew everywhere. She continued smashing until the frame was as free of glass as she could make it. All that smashing felt so good she considered attacking the top window, too. But as much as she had enjoyed it, smashing windows was not the point.

  She poked her head out. Still no one around. Still three floors up. Ja'Nil sat down and took her shoes off. She tossed them out the window, then rear-end first, she climbed as carefully as she could through the broken window. The walls of the inn were in terrible shape. She felt carefully with her toes for notches and irregularities. She started down.

  Aside from two small cuts from the broken glass in the window, she did pretty well until she was about six feet above ground. The brick under her feet crumbled, her fingers slipped and slithered across the rough wall, and down she fell. She landed on her rear, rolled unto her stomach then staggered to her feet. Ouch! Her hip. She took a few careful steps; it hurt, but she could definitely walk.

  She was sitting on the grass, putting her shoes back on when T’eem, carrying a barrel over one shoulder, came around the corner. He stopped as soon as he saw her.

  “How’d ya gets out here?”

  She pointed up at the broken attic window. His eyes followed her pointing finger. When he registered the broken window his mouth dropped open, then he grinned. “K’epper gonna be mad enough to blow his eyeballs outta his head.”

  “Don’t tell,” she pleaded.

  He studied her. “K’epper said I coulds have ya once.”

  “Have me?”

  “Ya know,” and he made a gesture with his hands.

  She stared at him wide-eyed.

  Unable to meet her gaze, he looked away.

  “I have to go now.” She hesitated. “T’eem?” Her voice pleaded.

  Still looking away from her, he nodded, hoisted the barrel back onto his shoulder and walked off.

  “Thank you,” she called after him.

  He didn’t look back.

  Now, to get as far away from The No Name Inn and K’epper as possible, and as quickly as possible. Despite the ache in her hip, and the weird, disconnected feeling in her head, she limped off.

  CHAPTER 6

  As she traveled, the moon poured down its purple light, covering the world with beauty. Even the air seemed to smell different, like sweet wine that soaked into her very soul. She was as light as a jinni puffball able to drift on the purple breeze all the way home to safety. Nothing could hurt her. Smiling to herself, Ja'Nil wandered into the nearby trees. She could hear a brook off somewhere, singing in the wilderness. She followed the sound. Around her, small insects played their joyful concert. What a wonderful night.

  “Beautiful purple woods,” she sang to herself as she wandered further and further from the inn and deeper and deeper into the forest. At times, she danced clumsily in a circle, pointing her toes and giving little jumps. “I’m just a pretty puffball in the woods,” she sang. She imagined herself a graceful, curvaceous creature, admired by all the wood-folk. Perhaps when she returned to her village she would make her living as a dancer. And a singer! “Why not,” she sang to no known tune. “Alas and alack, just a poor little dancer am I.” She was reaching for a high note on alas and alack, but it came out more as a screech. Screechy enough to make one of the wood-folk, in this case a large, buck-toothed rabbit, bathed in the last of the magical purple light, leap with fright and bound off. Ja'Nil blinked in surprise and slowly looked around her.

  The moon was setting, the purple deepening into darkness. All around her, dark shadows swayed and moved with the wind that had sprung up. She wrapped her arms around herself and planted her feet more firmly on the ground. Her head was no longer floating as light as a feather, instead it had settled with painful vengeance into a headache. Her stomach roiled. With a gasp, she leaned over and was thoroughly sick. Ugh!

  Still on her knees, she spat and spat trying to clear her mouth of the horrible taste. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move and spun around. Bad move. Empty stomach or no, she gagged again. There was something moving out there! Something with glowing eyes. She staggered to her feet, grabbed up a fallen branch, and turned to face whatever it was. Had she really seen something? She was dizzy again. She staggered away into the forest. The branch that she held was rotted through and it broke into pieces, as it banged against trees. A line of a song that a traveling Player had once sung kept repeating itself in her head. “Something wondrous, this way comes. Something wondrously wicked.”

  Was it just her imagination, or was she really was being followed? Overhead a large shadowy figure glided past. The air, disturbed by its passing, brushed against her skin. She ducked. Behind her, she heard an animal scream as flying death caught it up.

  “It’s just an owl,” she told herself. “Nothing is following you. Get a grip.” That’s what her mother always used to say to her father, get a grip. But her mother always laughed when she said it, and Daddy always winked back at her. Ja'Nil couldn’t find anything laughable about her situation. She plunged further into the forest.

  It wasn’t bravery that finally stopped her flight. She was in the middle of a forest. Purple Moon was down. Every step she took was a step into pure darkness. Trees banged into her, vines caught at her, holes tripped her. For all she knew she was traveling in circles. Maybe she was even returning to the inn! Exhausted, she sank down cross-legged and leaned against the rough bark of a tree to await First Sun’s rise.

  Still leaning against the tree, she straightened her legs and turned on her side, slowly slipping down until she was stretched out, full length on the thin grass. Making a mumbling irritated sound, she swept away some pebbles that lay under her cheek. With a sigh, she turned halfway onto her stomach and cradled her head on her hands. She slept.

  ***

  White Moon rose. It shed its pale light down through the trees onto the clearing in which Ja'Nil slept. Into the clearing walked a great wolf.

  His coloring was silvered, and disguised by the moonlight, but his eyes were a piercing yellow. Carefully, he moved within an arm’s length of the sleeping human and studied her intently. The two cuts she had sustained climbing out of the window were still seeping blood. Involuntarily, he licked his lips. Saliva dripped from his jaws. He moved closer. His paws were bigger than both her hands. He opened his mouth wide and stretched his long body from his rear to his head, closing his mouth with a wolfish grin. His nose almost touched her face. He sniffed her sweat-dried hair, the dusty attic smell on her torn tunic, the dew soaked leather of her worn boots, the child-woman odor of her. Of a sudden, there was the sound of crunching leaves. The wolf whirled, his lips drawing back in a silent snarl. Without another look at the sleeping Ja’Nil, he melted back into the forest.

  CHAPTER 7

  Unaware of the wolf, Ja'Nil slept on. She is back on her father’s boat again. She finally reaches her little brother, Yonny. He clings to her, sobbing, terrified of the unforgiving waves that break over the rails and bury him under their breath stealing weight. She lifts him into the dingy and ties his harness to an imbedded ring. Between sobs he tries to talk to her, but the storm snatches his words out of his mouth and whirls them away. She shakes her head at him. “I can’t hear you,” she screams. He screams back at her, but this time there is a sudden lull in the roar of the storm and his words are as clear as the village chimes calling people to prayer.

  “Daddy, I want Daddy!” His little face is pinched with cold, his eyes almost rolling with hysteria.

  “Stay here,” Ja’Nil says and turns to make her way back to their father. Before she reaches him, another wave crashes into the boat, throws her against what‘s left of the bridge and smashes her head unto the deck, cracking a rib. Her left arm snaps like a twig. The world spins away.

  Moments pass.
She opens her eyes. She lies on the deck: dazed, soaked, cold and disoriented. Her left arm is bent at an impossible angle; blood seeps from a cut on her head. She turns her head slowly and looks over at Yonny. He has slipped out of his harness and is crawling towards her. “No,” she screams. “Stay there, stay in the dingy.”

  * * *

  “You’re dreaming,” said a voice. A real voice.

  She sat up quickly. A man sat cross-legged about five feet away from her. He had built a small campfire and he was busy munching on a roasted gundi bird leg. Before Ja'Nil even had time to be afraid, the smell of roasted bird reached her. Her stomach cramped with hunger.

  “Can I have some of that?” she asked.

  He motioned to a tin plate lying near the fire. Half of a gundi bird lay there with rivulets of rich fat pooling at the bottom of the plate.

  “Thank you,” she said, reaching for the food before he could change his mind.

  “You’re welcome.”

  She ripped off the gundi bird’s third drumstick and tore into it. It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

  “Would you like something to drink?” He offered her a pear-shaped stone flagon.

  “No thank you,” she said, remembering the drink the cook had given her.

  “It’s just water,” he assured her as he took a swallow from the bottle himself. “I got it from the brook over there.”

  By this time, Ja’Nil had stripped the gundi leg down to the bone and was looking wistfully at the remainder of the bird. “Go on,” said the man, “Help yourself.”