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Reuben
Drenched, Reuben stumbled as the waves rushed past, momentarily knocking him off balance again, leaving salty foam racing between his toes. Working the sand out of his teeth with his tongue, he spat the remaining saltwater that had been caught in his throat and brushed his wet hair from his eyes.
No sign of the skiff, or of Kaempie and Meneka remained, only the rising waves as they receded into the clouds and the dark of night. Chilled by the sea breeze, Reuben fought the tide as he trudged to shore. There, he spotted the fluorescent green light of Silvio’s eyes. The two stood side by side solemnly, watching the waves pound its death march on the beach.
They’re gone.
A cold, empty feeling filled Reuben. His body trembled. “I’m going back home,” he whispered.
“You’ll die,” Silvio assured him.
“I’m going to die, anyway.” We’re fools thinking we could escape. There’s nothing to gain from this. “I never should have left.” He didn’t regret having obeyed his mother. He respected her concern for his life. Still, he harbored a secret that, had he been honest, would have changed even her decision, a secret that weighed heavily on his heart. Now, with his good friend Kaempie gone, there was no sense in continuing.
East of the cloud front, the seaport Taikus glowed in the night. The island was not asleep. Lights of Hacatine’s ships floated in the dark.
“If indeed that’s the queen coming this way, I’ll be able to escape back to Taikus unnoticed.”
“How, without a boat?”
Reuben looked at Silvio. The boy reeked of magic. Light pulsated through his pores so blazingly that his whole body glowed green. But Silvio seemed naïve to its presence, or at least its importance.
“I’ll move east through the woods until I come to the channel of Alisubbo. From there, I’ll swim.”
“And leave me here?”
He hesitated to answer. Kaempie wouldn’t leave the young conjurer, but I can’t stay here with him. My allegiance is elsewhere.
“You can come with me.” Reuben offered.
Silvio shook his head, his eyes fixed steadfastly on the waves. “I guess we’re on our own,” Silvio said.
They stared at the sea. The roaring tide crashing on the shore beat away the last glimmer of hope either of them had of seeing the skiff again.
“Then run.” Reuben urged. “Your magic is powerful. Follow the coast west to the bay, and then veer north. Meet up with those two.” He nodded toward the breakers where they had last seen their friends. “I doubt that they perished. Kaempie is too good a wizard for such an end. Go. Have hope. My heart lies elsewhere.”
He rested his hand on the young wizard’s shoulder. There’d be no reason to tell Silvio why he was going back. The boy was too young to understand the turmoil that haunted him, and they barely knew each other, anyway. Their eyes met. Reuben gave the boy a nod and a hopeful smile, then picked up his bow and quiver. He walked toward the woods in the strait’s direction of Alisubbo.
Please go on, Silvio. Don’t be discouraged. You can survive! Make haste!
Reuben followed the shore along the edge of the forest until rocky cliffs prevented his passage and he was forced to ascend a steep bank. When he reached a flat summit that overlooked the coastline, he turned around and surveyed the beach below. Silvio had gone.
Good.
But the sight on the horizon was not so good. Hacatine’s ships had wind in their sails, traveling east of the fog bank. Closer now, her fleet was set for Bandene.
Run, Silvio.
His heart leapt. He, too, must make haste to the outskirts of Alisubbo. There he’d be safe. No Taikan warrior would come near the city known as the Quaking Fortress. Fear kept its enemies away. Throughout history, whenever Taikans had invaded Alisubbo, explosions of great magnitude shook the ground, causing waves of immeasurable heights along the Straits, and floods that ravaged the shores of the island. It was believed that the winds of the north protected that coastal city. Hacatine would not invade Alisubbo—not until she was certain of her supremacy. Not until the Northern Winds were tamed.
Whether he’d be safe or not when he reached its boundaries, Reuben didn’t know. But it would give him time to use his powers to look into the near future and immediate past. Doing so would reveal whether Lelanie was still safe and what course he needed to take. He had less fear of the city of man than he did of Hacatine and what she could do to his family.
***
The storm in the west blanketed the sky, though no rain fell where he walked. Still drops of moisture from humidity mingled with his sweat as he felt his way through the woods. His bare toes curled around the cold rocks and coarse roots of the trail that eventually widened to a road much like those in Taikus. In the daylight, men traveled here. Rollers more advanced than the stone wheels found on Taikus had cut ruts in the soft dirt that he now followed.
He’d seen the vessels. He and his friends would come to the edge of Bandene Forest to hunt for deer, but occasionally they’d see the odd contraptions rolling on the road. Baskets atop lightweight wheels that were pulled by horses. They carried men, two or three at a time. A wonder to the young Taikans, sometimes he and his friends would hide in the forest just to watch them roll by. Alisubbo’s craft workers were so much more advanced than the wizards of his homeland.
But none of his friends had ever set eyes inside the city. Stone walls and iron gates secured it. Reuben wished his nation would attempt peace with these citizens so that knowledge and wisdom could be shared. But Hacatine’s policy had been to conquer, not to treaty, falling short of both.
Which is why she wants me. The more wizardry she gains, the stronger she becomes. I hate what she does to us. If our child is a boy, then what?
He hurried, and his mind raced quicker than his feet. His thoughts traveled beyond the Straits, anxiously searching the island for his loved one. It wasn’t until he tripped that he realized he’d forgotten to keep watch where he walked, and by then, it was too late. Stumbling to catch his balance, his attempt at catching his fall failed and instead, he flew.
Reuben wasn’t hurt when he hit the ground. Gravel clung to his lips as he lifted his face out of the dirt. He spun his body around to sit and found himself surrounded by four men. Laughing, their bare feet nudged his legs as they spoke in another language. Reuben pulled his hair behind his ears and looked up. He possessed the magic to translate, but he was never quick to use his powers when he was confused.
A tall thin man met his gaze, having dark hair much like his own, but with skin that was a deeper tan, perhaps from the sun, perhaps from a bloodline unfamiliar to Reuben. His hair was shoulder length, and he had a moustache that curled slightly at the edges. When he smiled, his teeth sparked gold, not white like they should be.
“A foreigner stumbling in the woods at this hour?” the man laughed.
Reuben’s magic finally afforded the translation.
“Where’s your money?” the man prodded, nudging Reuben again.
“He’s poor as a beggar, Paulino. Besides these.” The man held Reuben’s bow and quiver full of arrows in his hands, pulling away as one of the other scoundrels reached for it.
Paulino kicked Reuben again. “What are you doing here? Hunting, eh? For what? Owls?”
“No, I’m not hunting.”
“Where are you from, then? What are you doing here? Artur...” he nodded toward the woods. “See if he’s alone.”
Reuben was just as curious as to the identity of these people as they were of him. Their dress was unlike the attire worn by anyone he had ever seen. Loose-fitting pants tied at their waists with scarves of color, sashes strapped across their chests, and beads hanging from their necks were not the modest garb of the men from Alisubbo. If Reuben could steady his thoughts, he’d be able to see their past and perhaps get a clue as to their origins.
“I think he’s alone,” Artur called.
“Ruy, Aldo, get him up.”
“What are we doing with him?”
“We’re taking him to camp. He’s strong, young. Should bring a good price, I would say. Clumsy, though.”
Ruy and Aldo lifted Reuben to his feet and allowed him to stand on his own. “Don’t worry,” Ruy said with a grin. “We’re friendly captors.” When their eyes met, the wizard shot his magic into the depths of the man’s mind. Stunning his victim for only a second, he extracted Ruy’s most recent memory into his own thoughts.
“The officials of the city are looking for you,” Reuben accused. “You’ve stolen some pretty important gold pieces.”
The outburst caused the others to balk. Paulino drew a knife from his waist, but Reuben released Ruy from the spell and set his focus on the weapon, heating the metal with his will. Paulino dropped it, watching the glowing blade smolder in the grass at his feet.
Not sure what they would do, Reuben waited as the men regained their senses. Paulino broke into a laugh as he picked up his weapon and brushed the ashes that had clung to it.
“Magic, is it? You come from across the way? The Magic Island?”
The other two men relaxed.
“We may do some bartering. Come with us, my friend. Let’s talk.”
Ruy slapped Reuben on the shoulder and motioned him to follow Paulino.
***
They walked through the dark woods, descending toward the eastern shore that faced the narrows, a swift moving channel that separated Alisubbo from the island of Taikus. As the thicket of aspen tapered, Reuben caught sight of the dark shape of his homeland on the horizon, just past the small Isle of Refuge, a stepping-stone between the two kingdoms. An ebony mass of a mountain silhouetted against the night sky; Taikus’ nearness wrenched his heart. Somewhere in those shadows hid his lover.
He and Lelanie had been meeting secretly for two years, defying the culture that demanded Reuben wait until after his ceremony to take a bride. But if they followed tradition, Reuben would have been dead before they could ever consecrate their love. When the dreaded day of his coming-of-age ceremony came, when the queen would bleed magic from him, Lelanie had persuaded him to flee. She promised she would escape to the caves with her midwife when in labor and wait for him. All the magical powers within Reuben convinced him this was the night.
The scent of burning wood brought his thoughts back to the trail as they neared the shore. His captors urged him into a small rowboat and took their seat beside him. For a moment Reuben had hoped they would take him directly to Taikus, but they veered east instead, riding the current toward the smaller islet where a campfire glowed in the sand dunes.
The men beached the boats and led Reuben into the settlement. Tents circled an enormous bonfire where the gold of the firelight shone on people cooking and doing other chores. Several children played in the dirt. Savory smells of meat roasting reached Reuben, causing his stomach to growl and his mouth to water. He hadn’t eaten all day.
“Hungry, eh?” Ruy asked as they trudged through the deep white sand. Now that Reuben could see the twinkle in the foreigner’s brown eyes, his smile seemed sincere.
“I am.”
“Come, I’ll introduce you to my wife.” He whistled and waved. The women gave the approaching men their attention, and one child raced across the beach to Paulino and hugged his knees. “Daddy!”
Reuben couldn’t help but think of his own child coming into the world as he watched the father and son embrace. Paulino swept the boy into his arms.
“Rosalind,” Ruy called, and motioned Reuben to follow. “We’ve found a vagabond fallen on the road. He needs a meal, eh?”
“You all need a meal,” Rosalind said. “You were supposed to be back this afternoon. What kept you?”
“Business in the city,” Ruy said with a laugh.
“Business my foot. Most like you’re getting us in trouble again,” an older woman interrupted with a hoarse voice as she moved from the closest tent. She scowled at each of them. “You’re hanged men if you get caught, you know. Most like your families will dangle alongside you. Who’s the stranger?”
“A vagabond. Haven’t even asked his name.”
“Could be a spy.” The old woman’s glare remained as she looked Reuben up and down. When their eyes met he gave her a slight smile that was just enough to iron the wrinkles on her forehead.
“Eat up. If you’re a spy, we’ll know soon enough. Rosalind, get out your tokens and find out his business. Ruy, there’s wood that needs busting up.”
Reuben’s brow rose. Tokens? When Ruy left to gather firewood, Rosalind took Reuben’s arm and led him to a brightly colored blanket near the fire and ushered him to sit.
The old woman set a bowl of meat in front of him and handed him flat bread. Paulino and the other men moved on to their families and disappeared into the tents.
“Thank you,” Reuben said quietly.
“What’s your name?” the old woman grunted.
“Reuben.”
The woman nodded and grumbled again as she walked away. Rosalind sat across from him, spreading her colorful skirt around her, watching him eat. He couldn’t help but notice her beauty, though her stare invaded the comfort that the meal might have brought. He tried to chew quietly.
She was a young woman, with wavy black hair curled around her cheeks and falling gracefully over her shoulders. Braided into her locks were strings of glass beads and a red ribbon. When he set his bowl down and wiped his mouth with his shirtsleeve, she smiled. Her hands jingled with bracelets as she pulled a leather pouch from around her waist.
“This won’t hurt,” she said, tossing a handful of tokens in her palms. “Unless, of course, you’re Navy.”
“Navy?”
“The King’s patrol. Can’t have you spying on us. We’ve stayed hidden for too long. We kill spies. But Ruy is skilled with the sword, and it will be quick. I doubt you’ll feel much.” She tossed the tokens into the air and scooted back as they landed on the blanket.
“The men have a special place where they put the bodies too, so no need to worry about that.” She glanced up, her eyes giving him a once over as though she were sizing him for a grave.
“That’s the least of my worries.” Reuben inched away from her. Rosalind’s strength, confidence, and now her words, reminded him too much of Hacatine’s warriors.
She leaned over, inspecting each crude metal coin that lay between them. Symbols were painted on most, several had etchings of animals, and one was white and had a painting of a human face.
“Oh,” she said. “Oh, I see.” She looked up quickly. “You’re from Taikus.”
She’s practicing sorcery. With coins?
He didn’t answer.
“You’re not too far from home. You miss it.” She brushed some coins to a pile mumbling, “hunter, friends. Your friends deserted you?”
Reuben shook his head. “No. Not really.”
“Well, they’re gone. You’re alone. Trying to get back home. I see. And this.” She held up the white coin that had the face. Their eyes locked. Reuben tried to see inside of her, but there was confusion in her energy. Not sorcery, but a strange power he was unfamiliar with.
“This token is your ticket to a safe passage home. Paulino will be thrilled to know about this! Yes!”
She stood and disappeared into a tent, returning with another blanket. “I’ll talk to him tonight. Here. Stay warm.”
Puzzled, Reuben held the blanket in a bundle as she stood over him. “Be glad you can sleep tonight. We will not kill you.”
That’s supposed to bring me comfort?
In a few moments, Reuben was completely alone by the fire. Muffled voices came from the tents as Paulino and his wife put their son in bed and the other families settled down for the evening.
The blanket that had been given him was exceptionally warm and, though the ground was rough, Reuben found himself comfortable as he lay on his back and looked at the stars. The storm had blown westward, leaving the fresh smell of rain and the musty fragrance of dampened earth. The waters of the Straits sparkled with reflections of thousands of galaxies above him.
He lay quiet, his soul anxious from the turmoil of the day, but still there was an underlying comfort knowing that he had made the right decision to go home. With that, and his weariness, it didn’t take much for him to fall asleep.
He dozed only a short while when the sound of a tent flap woke him. Wrapped in a hooded cloak, Rosalind moved like a ghost and disappeared into Paulino’s shelter. Reuben heard broken whispers at first, and then an even more hushed conversation. She must be telling him about the toss of the coins. He rolled over to his side, thinking nothing more of the midnight visit, until he heard Rosalind again. This time, he could not mistake what she said.
“Think about it, Paulino. A magic baby. This is just what we’ve been waiting for.”
“Shh,” came from the tent and then Reuben heard nothing more until the rustle of Rosalind’s skirts told him she had returned to her own abode. Uncertain what she meant, but suspicious, an icy fear settled in his heart. The coin with the white face, and her soothsaying, haunted him the rest of the night.
***
The people of Taikus had a gift of telling colorful stories to their children. Reuben grew up hearing all kinds of tales about magic horses that galloped over icy tundra to the north, sea serpents that paroled the deep of the seas to the west, and slave traders that roamed the secret crevices of the islands waiting to steal children and sell them to the barbaric tribes that lived in lands far beyond the fjords. He had assumed it was a mother’s ploy to instill fear in their children so that they wouldn’t wander. He had never believed the stories. Not until that night.
Morning came quicker than he had hoped. Fog rolled in from the sea and left the day as cloudy as his sleepless mind. The blankets smelled like wet lambs left to pasture in the rain. The fire smoldered, smoke stirring a cough from his lungs. Reuben sat, looking for dry kindling to toss on the coals, but Paulino called to him as soon as he had stirred.
“You! Go now. Never mind the fire.”
Ruy was on the beach loading oars into the boat. Rosalind, dressed in several layers of brightly colored skirts and a coat made of fur, handed her husband two leather sacks, which he quickly threw into the bow.
The tents were down already, packed onto traverses that other families were carting into the woods. Many more people were at this camp than Reuben had seen the night before.
“Come on. We don’t have a lot of time before the patrol comes this way. Kick dirt on that fire and let’s go.”
This is it; they’re taking me to Taikus!
Reuben hastily rolled the blankets into a ball and carried them to the beach, tossing them into the skiff, which he helped Ruy push into the water. Rosalind stepped in and grabbed an oar, holding the boat steady for the two men to embark.
Odd that she’s coming.
“Are you giving me back my weapon?” Reuben asked before stepping into the boat.
Ruy only nodded, showing Reuben’s bow and quiver were already in the boat.
Though it might have been quicker to arrive in Taikus from the west, Ruy navigated the skiff into a narrow channel that passed the high banks of the eastern side of the island. “A lot more rowing, but it’s safer this way,” he explained. “The king sends patrols every morning in the western waters. Not here, though. It’s too shallow for a frigate.”
“I’ve seen them.” Reuben said. “Our people are deathly afraid of them.”
“That ruler of yours she doesn’t have weapons?”
“She has magic.”
Ruy glanced up at Reuben and eased on his rowing. “Then why doesn’t she use it against Alisubbo? Surely your kind could make the kingdom fall.”
“She has used it. She sent a sea slave to overturn one of their ships several years ago. And when she did, the repercussions destroyed her fleet, not to mention what it did to her precious serpent. The waves from the blast that came from the other ships washed away homes and half our shoreline on the southern coast. She hasn’t the power to match Alisubbo yet.”
“Yet?” Rosalind asked and sent a curious glance to her husband.
Suspicious of their silent exchange, Reuben shook his head but sealed his lips. Our internal affairs are our own. She doesn’t need to know about the harvest of the wizards, nor how Hacatine is after my blood. The safety of my family is at risk with these thieves.
The fog still hung low when they reached a beach safe enough to get aground. Reuben jumped out, prepared to say his thanks and farewell for the escort, but Ruy helped Rosalind out of the boat.
“I’m fine now. I know my way.”
“No, no, think nothing of it. We will help you in case you meet up with trouble.”
“Really, I can travel faster on my own,” Reuben argued, his fears tempering his heartbeat as he slung his quiver on his back.
“We’re coming with you. There are cougars on this island,” Ruy said with a laugh. “And we’ve brought more powerful weapons than yours.”
He pulled a musket from one bundle as Rosalind handed her husband a pouch. Reuben had never seen a firearm before, though once he and Kaempie had come across a deer wounded by a shot in Bandene forest. He had watched the helpless creature die; the meat too mutilated for consumption. It was then that Kaempie explained to him what a gun was.
Reuben stood still, his mouth agape.
“Don’t fret,” Rosalind said. “We will not hurt you. We’ve taken a liking to you, handsome man that you are. Paulino would never forgive us if we let something happen to you.”
“What am I to Paulino?” Reuben’s surprise turned into a scowl.
Ruy laughed. “An investment.” And then he pointed the gun at Reuben. “Since we’ve brought you this far, we’d like something for our efforts—something that the Taikans have.”
“Something like what?”
Ruy shrugged. “Beads, trinkets, something magic.”
“Taikans don’t trade with strangers.”
Ruy laughed. “Who said anything about trading?”
With an angry glare, Reuben cast his power at Ruy to gather the man’s thoughts, but Ruy looked away. “Oh, no you don’t. You got me once; it won’t happen again.”
“Dear Reuben,” Rosalind had been watching the two and now she walked up to him, a sly smile on her face, but she avoided his eyes. She touched his shirt, working her gentle fingers across the neckline, tickling his skin.
“We’re going to help you get to your lover. We want to make sure you’re both safe before we go home. All we ask is the opportunity to bring back a jewel or two. It doesn’t have to be yours, or hers even. Maybe someone you know, or someone you don’t like very much. Just tell us where they live. We’re very good at being discreet. We make a living at it.” She rested her deep brown eyes on his, but again, his magic did nothing. He couldn’t see inside her head.
“It’s either that or we kill you now. What a shame that would be. Just let us follow you. That’s all we want.”
“What makes you so certain you can kill me?” Reuben asked. The couple offered no answer to his question, neither did they relent.
Reuben had never come face to face with a gun before, and he wasn’t sure if he had any magic capable of countering a stream of bullets. With a final reassessment of his situation, Reuben turned toward the sandy shore and walked inland, thinking he might lose them in the hills.
