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He’d been on this side of the island before, but rarely. The land was barren, with only scrub brush to dot the horizon. No shade or shelter protected the traveler, as did the forests that surrounded Hacatine’s city of Telamande. It was a desolate country wiped clean of vegetation either by the icy winds from the fjords that tore across the island’s eastern channel, or baked by the sun when the winds had ceased. Only wild hare too tough to eat, and an occasional vulture visited its plains. Even a wizard in chase would not resort to fleeing here.
Reuben walked, his anger prodding his pace, wishing Ruy would somehow lose track of him. He tried concentrating on Lelanie, though whenever he could see her in his mind he cast a suspicious glance at Rosalind, worried that she’d read her whereabouts as well. She smiled every time he looked her way.
Focus, Reuben. Find her. Once you know where she’s at and how she’s doing, you can trick these people, or lead them astray somehow. But think about Lelanie. Think!
The day wore on. The sun burned through the clouds and soon heat slowed the travelers’ pace. Rosalind dropped her pack, her hands on her hips. She wiped her brow with her blouse, her bracelets chiming an unnatural sound.
“Tough country,” she said. Her thick hair now hung in strands matted from sweat. “I’ll have a drink of some of that cold spring water you’ve got there, Ruy.” To Reuben, she called out, “Have you contacted her yet?”
Reuben ignored her and kept walking.
“Hey!” Ruy hailed, his voice carrying an air of command.
Don’t turn back.
The land was gradually rising into foothills, rocky and dry, but scattered cacti covered the landscape. Reuben peered over his shoulder only once. His two companions sat motionless where he had left them.
Maybe they’ll go back home now.
Just when he thought he might be free of them, a blast rang out, echoing through the hills. His heart skipped a beat and he turned to face Ruy, who had his gun barrel aimed at his chest.
The weight of his quiver tugged on his back. Can I shoot before he fires again? Not likely.
“We’re not letting you go yet, Mr. Magic.”
Reuben conjured his power, attempting to heat the musket in Ruy’s hands, just as he had Paulino’s dagger the night before.
“Not a good idea,” Ruy warned. This thing’s filled with gunpowder.”
“Then set it down.”
“Ruy let’s do this peacefully,” Rosalind interjected, slapping her husband’s shoulder. “Reuben, we don’t mean you any harm. But we don’t want to be left here in the wilderness alone, either.” Rosalind whispered something in Ruy’s ear, and he lowered the gun.
“I’m not resting until I’ve found Lelanie,” Reuben said. “I’m not waiting for you to keep up, either. Why you’re even following me, I do not know. I don’t trust you.”
“It was our boat that brought you here. You owe us your trust, at least,” Rosalind said. She gathered her things, glancing over her shoulder at Ruy as she started up the hill. “You really need to find your sweetheart. I mean, in your mind. If we wander around aimlessly, it’s only going to make our journey harder. Time is important.”
Reuben leaned against a lone scrub oak, letting the branch shield his face from the sun.
“Take a rest.” She stood next to him, her voice gentle. “I know you feel her pain. She’s in labor, isn’t she?”
How can she know unless she has sorcery in her blood?
“Who are you?” Reuben asked.
“Just close your eyes and think about her. It’ll come to you. The sooner you find her, the better off she’ll be. The better off we’ll all be. I’ll keep Ruy in line. He won’t shoot his gun again. I promise.”
“I would hope not. The sorceresses of this island have very keen hearing and they roam these hills. If they see us, they won’t bother to take us captive, Especially you two.”
Rosalind’s lips turned into a wry smile. “And what would they do to you?”
Reuben moved away from her, but not before she grabbed his arm. “I saw your spirit in those tokens. You’re in trouble, aren’t you? Both of you.” She chuckled. “All three of you.”
“What is it to you?”
“Ruy and I are committed to helping you reach your destination.”
“Why?”
“We promised Paulino.”
“What did you promise him?” Reuben’s face flared with anger.
“I heard you last night.” He brushed her arm off his. She stepped back. “Something about our child. You promised to steal our child, didn’t you?”
She stood, stunned into silence.
“I’ll kill you before that happens. Both of you will burn and you’ll never see Paulino again. You should go home before you do something you’ll regret.”
She laughed. To Reuben, it was the devious laugh of someone whose secret motives were suddenly revealed.
“A baby thief I am not. It’s no mystery that you’re running from your queen.” Her voice softened again. “You don’t know our people. We run, like you do, from both the people of Alisubbo, and from their enemies. There is no one we can trust. They would all rather have us hang. We have no other existence but to hide, roaming the countryside from one camp to the next. We have no protection save for our soothsaying and fortune telling skills that came from our ancestors who once inhabited your island. We covet your powers, but we’d be fools to rob you of them. Ruy and I can bring you and your family back with us. We’d be more than thankful to have a Taikan on our side.”
“Your side?” He searched her eyes, trying harder than ever to penetrate, but there was a wall he could not pass. “Stay away from me,” was all he could muster.
***
Perhaps Rosalind convinced Ruy to stop his threats. He heard them arguing once. Still no more gunshots rang out that day, and the two followed at a distance. The foothills turned to mountains as the day waned.
Though he wasn’t ready to accept their allegiance, Reuben worried less about their motives and his foresight became clearer. In his mind’s eye, Lelanie lay alone on a bed of pine needles, her long auburn hair the only cushion. Beads of sweat trickled down her cheeks, her lashes held drops of tears. Pain was written on her face and her lips mouthed his name.
“I’m coming,” he whispered, his heart aching to see her, and to relieve her pain. “Show me where you are.”
The vision took him through the heavily wooded forest. Higher he climbed, toward the stone buttes that gave the island its profile. The air grew cooler as the sun fell low, but his hope had ignited a fire that kept him warm. He was headed for a familiar part of the mountain, certain now of her whereabouts, and far enough ahead of Ruy and Rosalind that he thought he may have lost them.
A short distance south stood the cliffs that overlooked the city of Telamande and the queen’s bastion. Reuben was treading in dangerous territory, but he pressed on to the one place of refuge he thought Lelanie would seek. By the time he reached a grove of birch that bordered the steep incline, twilight had come. Shadows melted into dusk and colors turned gray.
“Lelanie?” he whispered.
The forest held its breath.
“Lelanie?” he called a little louder. The rustle of leaves and a groan grabbed his attention. He moved toward the sound but stopped short when a snap of a branch from behind startled him. When an arrow spun out of the trees, he ducked. Another arrow whistled past him. He spun around, releasing an arrow at lightning speed. A body of a warrior woman fell out of the thicket. He ducked into the brush, holding his breath in watch, but stillness returned to the wood.
Reuben crept to where he had heard the groan. Half buried in leaves lay a woman covered by a woolen cloak, face down. Reuben gently rolled her over. Her weathered face cringed in pain and when she moved her hand, Reuben saw the arrow buried in her chest. He knew her. Charlotte the midwife. No one knew about Lelanie’s pregnancy other than Charlotte.
He reached for the shaft that was buried in her flesh, but the woman pulled his hand away. “No.”
“I want to help you,” he whispered. Her eyes dimmed as she shook her head.
“Not the southern entrance. They’re waiting for you. Go to the west.”
That was all she had breath for. Her body went limp; releasing what life she had left. Stunned by her death, he brushed her hair back and whispered a reverent farewell.
Reuben laid the women gently on the ground and stood. They’re holding Lelanie and the child prisoner in a cave? As bait? Rage swelled inside. It was one thing for the witch queen to seek his end, but to hold his lover and her child captive to capture him was more than Reuben could stand. Silent as a deer, he stepped through the forest, following the stone cliffs until they angled west. From there, he hugged the rock walls until cold damp air announced the entrance to the cavern.
It was unlikely this slit on the hillside was guarded. The entrance was so narrow here that very few people were familiar with its existence. A favorite hideaway when he was young, Reuben would come here with his friends and practice magic, play games, or talk with his friends. As a teenager, it was a special retreat for him and Lelanie. It was here they shared their dream of spending a life together, albeit a hopeless dream. They both knew what sort of end Reuben was destined for.
And it was in these caves, though forbidden by tradition, where they first swore their love to one another.
When Lelanie found out she was with child, Charlotte helped to conceal the pregnancy, letting Lelanie live in her cottage in the country. Reuben visited her often, but the closer his time to flee came, the less they had seen of each other. They had hoped eventually he would return and take her away from Taikus to another island where they could raise their child in peace.
Water oozed from the low rock ceiling in a constant drip, breaking the silence of the hollow mountain. Dark emptiness shrouded him as he drew farther into the cave, listening. The deeper into the mountain he stepped, the more certain he was that he heard breathing.
A shout echoed in the distance on the other side of the cave. Voices—and then two gunshots. Ruy and Rosalind with their muskets. Reuben hurried through the dark tunnel, feeling his way along the cold rock wall that led to a junction, a familiar arch into the hollow where he and Lelanie had exchanged their very first oaths.
“Reuben.” A voice whispered from the shadows.
He froze. “Lelanie?”
“Here.”
He felt his way into the alcove where he heard breathing accompanied by a soft whimper. Falling on his knees, he fumbled in the dark until his touch met with blankets and the shoulders of his loved one. A hand took his and lowered it until he felt the warm softness of a baby’s cheek.
With a sigh of relief, his caress met Lelanie’s embrace. Her tears dampened his neck. He kissed her hair, and they held each other until the baby wiggled between them.
“They’ve been in here. They’ve searched for me, but I hid. They know I’m here though, and they know I was in labor, but they don’t know the baby is born. They’ll come again and look for us.”
The baby whimpered.
“Shh,” Lelanie whispered and cradled the child, patting it nervously. “I’m so afraid for him, for you.”
“He’s a boy, then?” Reuben asked.
“Yes.”
Reuben sat next to them.
“You came back so soon?”
“Hacatine is at sea. It was a perfect time to return.”
“She may be gone, but her scouts are everywhere looking for you. If it weren’t for Charlotte’s neighbors, we would have been burned in her cottage. We were warned that they were looking for me.”
“How did they know about us?”
“You forget; this island is ruled by sorcery. What happened to the others? Kaempie and the younger ones?”
“I’m afraid we were all separated. Can you walk? We need to get to safety?”
“Where’s Charlotte?”
Reuben took her hand and squeezed it. “She’s dead.”
With a slight groan, Lelanie bowed her head, and he hugged her. Holding the baby tight against her chest, she rose, and he helped her to her feet.
Once standing, Reuben could tell that Lelanie was weak from her labor. She held his arm, leaning into him as they walked. Strangely, there was no sign that anyone else was in the cave, but they moved quietly as if there were. He supported her as he guided her through the dark. Finally, the moonlight cast a glow on the cave entrance. Reuben moved Lelanie into the shadows, pulled his bow from off his back and an arrow from its quiver, and nodded for her to stay hidden as he scouted the exit.
Crickets sang in the grass. A gentle breeze rustled the treetops. Reuben held his breath, waiting. No other sign of life. He watched the forest for the longest time, wondering if they shouldn’t just stay in the caves until morning. It was the crying of the child that changed his mind. If indeed Hacatine’s warriors had targeted this cave, more would come. Surely someone had heard Ruy’s gun.
“Let’s go.”
She staggered slowly toward him, balancing her weight along the rock wall, holding a squirming baby with her other arm.
“Give me the child.” He reached out his arms as she approached the ray of moonlight where he stood. Though weary, a sparkle still lit her auburn eyes, and she smiled. The night sky cast its cool glow onto her silken hair.
“He has a name,” Lelanie said.
“You named him?”
“Abbott. He will be a father and carry on your heritage. My child will never meet Hacatine’s death sentence. I swear to the North Wind.”
“It’s a good name, Lelanie. A good name.”
Reuben took the little boy in his arms and as he touched the child’s cheek, the baby grabbed onto his finger. “Your mother has declared a life of promise for you, son,” he whispered. “Let’s get you to safety.”
In familiar territory now, Reuben knew the quickest way to the beach where the anglers kept their boats. Getting a dinghy from a watchman, or even borrowing one, would not be difficult.
As soon as they left the cover of the forest and approached the sand dunes on the southern shore of the island, arrows raced at them. With Lelanie and the baby in his arms, Reuben fell to the ground and rolled them both behind a lone stump. The baby immediately cried. Reuben handed Abbott to his mother and drew his bow. Before his arrow was strung, a spark of light flashed from the woods behind them and gunshots rang out, drawing the volley of arrows over Reuben and Lelanie’s head to the dark of the woods behind them. He held his breath, and refrained from moving, knowing full well whom it was that was firing. Only a moment passed and then all was quiet, even the child. Ruy and Rosalind did not stir from their hiding place, nor did any warriors appear from theirs.
Reuben couldn’t wait in the wet sand on the beach forever. They needed to move. He caught sight of a small rowboat tied to a piece of driftwood only a rock’s throw from the breakers. If they moved quickly, he could have his family safely out to sea in a matter of minutes. Now was the test of Rosalind’s allegiance. He turned to Lelanie.
“I’m going to run for that dinghy over there. Follow in my steps. If you hear shooting or see arrows flying, fall to the ground, keep the child close to you and crawl to me.”
“Be careful,” she cautioned.
Reuben took a breath, looking first to the woods, and then to the brush where the warriors had been shooting. “Go!” He crouched low, his eyes set on the skiff. He heard Lelanie breathing as she ran behind him. Just when his hands touched the coarse hemp of the bowline, a shot rang out. Lelanie screamed. Reuben shot an arrow toward the woods and fell behind a piling of driftwood. Lelanie was already low to the ground next to him.
“I’m hit,” she whispered.
He scrambled closer to her. Anger ravaged through his veins when he saw the blood that seeped from her arm. The baby whimpered and squirmed.
“Take a piece of my gown to wrap it with,” she said.
Reuben tore a piece of cloth from her hem as another round of shot came from the woods.
“Those are Alisubbo weapons? Who is shooting at us?” Lelanie asked.
“Robbers,” Reuben answered, his jaw clenched as he tied the wrap. “They followed me here. I think their intent is to steal our child.” Their eyes locked.
“Why?”
“Something about needing more magic for their people. I don’t know.”
Lelanie winced. When she laid her head back on the ground, the moonlight illuminated her tears.
Reuben crawled to the edge of their cover, looking into the deep of the woods. He could see nothing. “Ruy!” he called. “Stop it!”
A shot ricocheted off a stone near his head.
“Reuben, get down,” Lelanie said, but he ignored her.
“Stop shooting. You’ll kill us all. I’ll make a deal with you.”
“Reuben!” Lelanie repeated.
He turned to her. Seeing her in pain prodded him on. “Ruy. You can have us all. Get us to safety and help us raise our boy.”
His offer was met with the quiet of gentle surf beating on the beach.
“Stay there,” Ruy finally called. “Throw down your bow.”
Reuben tossed his weapon into the sand beyond the driftwood, looking once more at Lelanie. She didn’t protest.
***
Ruy and Rosalind helped Reuben and Lelanie escape to the Isle of Refuge with their child. The Taikan family adopted the nomadic life of a gypsy and Abbott was raised by the entire clan. Being the offspring of a wizard and a sorceress, the boy wielded much magic. But with the careful instruction from both his father and mother, and the soothsaying Rosalind, Abbott learned to temper his powers for wisdom and good. He became the delight of the entire tribe, winning special favor with Paulino and the elders. Indeed, this ‘magic baby’ was the tribe’s treasure.
