Fire in the Heart : The Princess and the Bandit (9781629020112) (32 page)

Elijah reached out. “Kun!” he said as he pulled his friend back. “That is not the way to handle this. We will get your statue back. I promise,” said Elijah.

Kun’s heavy breathing filled the tent as he glared at Caleb.

Aiken turned toward Elijah. “He brings dire news, Elijah,” said Aiken grimly.

With each passing minute, Elijah’s face turned more and more colorful. “Why is he tied up?” he yelled, clenching his fists.

“After he shared his news, the boy thought he could get away stealing one of our horses,” replied Aiken quickly.

“Is this true?” asked Elijah.

“I didn’t have a choice. He was going to kill me,” replied Caleb sheepishly.

Elijah frowned. “Who was going to kill you?”

Elijah stared at Caleb. His response seemed to take forever. “…Karam…,” he finally spit out.

Instantly, Elijah felt an enormous pounding in his head. “Karam?” he cried out. A wave of nausea swept through him as his hands grabbed at this stomach.
Karam
, he thought.
This can’t be!
He felt his knees wobble as his head started to spin.

Elijah could barely hear Aiken’s words. “It’s not good, Elijah…”

“What has happened?” said Elijah as he put his hands to his head.

Caleb looked into Elijah’s pale face. “He has…He has taken the palace captive,” continued the boy.

“What? What about Anas and his army?” shouted Elijah. He glanced around for a place to sit.

“They left the palace. We saw the army marching when you headed to the barbarian camp,” added Aiken.

Turning to Aiken, Elijah emphatically asked, “…and?”

Caleb was the one to respond. “He has the sultan and the princess held captive.”

Elijah felt his stomach tighten. “This can’t be!” he whimpered as his knees wobbled again.

“He’s going to kill them, Elijah. He told me to come get you, so that you can watch him execute them! He said if I didn’t find you, he was going to kill them anyways and me! I had to run away! That’s why I stole the horse!” explained Caleb.

Elijah leaned up against the center post. “This can’t be…,” he muttered as he glanced away.

Aiken quietly said, “I am sorry, Elijah…”

Elijah forced his hands through his long, brown hair as he clenched his jaws. He suddenly shouted, “No!” and sent dirt and rocks flying. “No! This can’t be!” he shouted again. “How long until the execution!? How long do I have?” he cried.

“Tomorrow, mid-afternoon,” replied Caleb.

Elijah felt his world crumble.
He had to protect Natalia! He promised her!
he thought.

Sam crossed her arms and stepped closer. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I’m going to him,” Elijah replied.

“Elijah!” exclaimed Aiken.

“He has a small army of bandits, and he has the chimera and its tamer captured. He feeds the chimera with people who disobey him,” added Caleb.

Aiken shook his head. “He will have the defenses of the palace as well, Elijah. There is nothing you can do.”

“I need help. I need help to save her,” he cried.

Aiken replied. “Elijah, it is too late! There is nothing you can do.”

Elijah wiped his hand across his face. “I will not give up on her! I promised her I would be there for her always! There has to be something we can do! I won’t let this happen! I will not sit by and let this happen!”

The tent grew quiet.

“Elijah,” whispered Aiken as Elijah threw open the tent flap.

Kun quickly followed. “Elijah!” he yelled.

“Elijah, wait!” shouted Aiken, right behind.

Elijah thought he was going crazy. His love for Natalia now overwhelmed him.
I can’t let anything happen to her!
he cried to himself
. She must not die at the hands of Karam! She deserves nothing but the best!
he reasoned.

Aiken watched as Elijah held onto his head. “Elijah! Stop!” he shouted.

Elijah quickly spun around. “You expect me to sit by and let her die at the hands of that man!? I love her, Aiken!” he exclaimed.

Aiken’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I know,” he said.

“I love her with all my heart! I can’t let anything happen to her. I must be there for her! If I have to go alone, then so be it,” he said as he pointed over the dunes. “I have to save her. I owe her everything.”

Aiken and Kun listened quietly as their eyes followed Elijah’s raised arm.

“She, she gave me love, hope, a new life. She gave me dreams and goals. I can’t let that go, I can’t let it disappear. If she goes, then all of it goes! I have to do this, Aiken. I can’t lose her.”

Aiken breathed deeply. He stood beside his friend with his hand on his shoulder. “I understand Elijah. Let’s figure this out together,” he softly replied.

Elijah wiped his face again.

“We can’t let him get away with this,” said Kun.

Aiken nodded. “We will figure out something. Don’t go off on your own for this one. Let your friends help you,” pleaded Aiken.

Elijah stepped away. “You can’t get involved. It’s too dangerous. I know Karam, and no one is safe with him. No one,” Elijah shouted.

Aiken again softly replied. “Let’s figure this out, Elijah. Come on. Let’s give it time to sink in to our minds. Then, let’s figure it out.”

Elijah’s chest quickly rose and fell. “If anything happens to her, Aiken, I…”

“I know, I know,” said Aiken, reaching his hand out again. “We will get her back. I promise.”

Elijah looked out over the dunes again, and took another deep breath.

Chapter 43

T
he men were
gathered around the smoldering coals. One of the crusaders let an armful of wood fall to the ground as Darrel and Aiken joined in, discussing the unfolding events in Habarga. Several times, Elijah heard ‘Natalia’ emerge from the crowd. He quickly turned at each mention, worrying about her safety. He hated the thought of Karam and his brutal bandits in the palace. The men’s voices grew louder and louder as he watched from behind.

‘Karam’ and ‘palace’ kept coming up the loudest, though, as Darrel shouted at Aiken. “This is madness! We will not help him take back the sultan’s palace! You have gone too far, Aiken!”

“How have I gone too far? Bandits have taken over the palace! Is it not our duty as crusaders to rid the world of evil?” replied Aiken.

“Not when it means helping our enemies!” said Darrel.

Aiken glanced down for a second. “Have you not read the Word? Love thine enemies? If we can help our enemies, they may become our allies!” his eyes pleading with the man.

Suddenly, Darrel glared. “You fool! You dare risk all our lives just because he saved you from prison!” he shouted as his hand flew toward Elijah.

Elijah stood quietly by the nearby tent.

The men came closer as Aiken continued. “Did he not save your life? Did he not save Edward’s as well? Did he not save all of your lives?” said Aiken as he glanced around. “If it wasn’t for him, you all would be stuck in that gorge with that vile ghoul! Put your selfishness behind you now! We are crusaders! We are called to help the weak!”

Darrel clenched his fists. “You will be the end of us, Aiken!” he shouted.

Elijah dropped his arms and broke through the crowd. “Enough,” he exclaimed.

Aiken turned to his friend.

“I cannot bring you all into this. This is my fight,” claimed Elijah.

“Elijah,” whispered Aiken.

Darrel held up his hand. “Let him speak, Aiken!”

“I will do this alone if I must. I will ask for help. But if you decline, I will not hold one bad thought against you. I completely understand the dangers that this consists of,” said Elijah smugly.

Aiken glanced toward the flickering embers.

“So I ask once, and only once. Who will help me save the sultan and the princess?” continued Elijah with his fist pressed in his hand.

A gust of wind blasted over their heads, releasing its burden of sand everywhere.

Elijah turned to Aiken.

“I will help you, Elijah. It is the least I can do,” replied Aiken.

Kun immediately stepped forward. “My fellow acrobats are probably trapped in the city and I will need to get them out. You can count me in, as well.”

Sam’s delicate voice followed. “I want to fight some bandits!” she said smiling.

Aiken grinned. “Men? Are there any that will help Elijah?” he said. The group stood silent. Then slowly, they split apart as many took their positions behind Aiken.

Elijah’s smile grew even larger.

“You are all fools!” shouted Darrel.

“Is there no one else?” shouted Aiken above another gust.

The others stood motionless, when, all of a sudden, a familiar voice spoke up. “Count me in,” said Edward, hobbling out of his tent with a walking stick.

Darrel spun around. “Have you lost your mind, Edward?”

Edward lifted his eyes to the others. “No, I have finally gained sanity, friend. We fight for power, wealth, and land. But what would our heavenly father ask of us? Is not love the greatest thing to fight for? Is it not the most important thing that we have throughout our brief and miserable lives? This man fights because of love for the princess. I would be honored to oblige him with my sword and shield, so that love will flourish. I would do the same for any of you. Whether it be your mother or father, your brother or sister, your wife, your friends; my sword is sworn to protect those that we love! Elijah, you have my sword.”

Darrel’s mouth dropped open.

“Well said, Edward. Well said,” said Aiken as his hands came together.

“You can hardly walk!” scoffed Darrel.

Edward pressed on his walking stick and tossed his head back ever so slightly. “I can do more damage than you, friend. All you do is complain,” he exclaimed.

Darrel’s scowl grew even deeper.

Aiken immediately replied. “Will you not join us now, Darrel?”

Darrel paused and started shaking his head. “So be it,” he muttered.

Aiken looked toward the other crusaders to see them all nod in agreement. “There you have it, friend. You have the crusaders at your back.”

A loud shout rose from the nearby tent. “Count me in, too!” said Caleb as everyone started to chuckle.

Aiken extended his hand. “And even a little boy,” he said grinning.

“Thank you all so much…I…I don’t know what to say,” said Elijah.

“Don’t say anything,” replied Darrel gruffly, arms crossed.

Aiken shook his head.

“You are welcome, Elijah. It is our pleasure,” said Edward quietly.

Elijah’s eyes sparkled. “So we must head out!” he shouted.

But Aiken threw up his hands. “Wait! Wait. Now that you have us, let’s do it the crusader way. We plan first. Is there anyone in the city we can trust?”

Elijah drew in a breath and grinned. “Yes. I have a few people that we can trust. If I can get to them, they will surely help us in this fight. We can use all the help we can get.”

Aiken nodded. “Yes. Caleb says there are several hundred bandits.”

“And he has a cursed palace as well! How will we get through the walls! We will truly get slaughtered!” chided Darrel.

Kun laughed. “I might be able to help with that,” he said.

Darrel turned and glared. “Oh, really?”

“In our acrobatic shows, we have what you would call black powder. If we would get enough in a single spot, and have someone light it on fire, I promise it would do some serious damage to those walls,” said Kun.

Edward hobbled closer. “How could we get it close to those walls without being killed?” he asked.

Kun continued. “Manipulation. I think I have an idea. I need to get to the city as soon as possible to make the arrangements.”

Aiken pointed to Elijah’s new friend. “I like you already,” he said.

“All right. So I need to get you to the city on the double. Aiken can you lead the troops through the tunnel at night?” commanded Elijah. His thoughts were filled with images of him and Natalia, arm in arm again, smiling. He felt his heart race as the thought of destroying Karam’s hold. Glancing around, he realized that he had the power to see his dream come to pass and he couldn’t wait to get moving.

Aiken asked, “Yes. Why?”

Smiling, Elijah replied, “Because I must go ahead with Kun and make my own arrangements.”

Aiken started, but paused as Elijah’s hand rested on his shoulder. “Elijah, that might…”

“Trust me on this one,” interrupted Elijah. “I know what I am doing….this time,” he said with a wink.

Aiken quickly smiled.

“Can you do it?” asked Elijah.

Aiken nodded. “Yes. We will be ready for battle in the morning.”

Elijah motioned. “Good. I will meet you at the entrance behind the prison. We will prepare then,” he said. He wanted to be sure he scouted out the area before the others arrived.

They looked at each other for a moment before Aiken replied. “Okay.”

Edward readjusted his walking stick. “We will be ready!” he exclaimed excitedly.

“All right, men. Pack up. We are heading out tonight!” commanded Aiken.

The men quickly disbursed and the camp suddenly filled with the rustling of collapsing tents and poles. The only one who lagged behind was a sneering Darrel.

Edward limped over to Elijah.

Elijah’s voice started to falter. “Thank you…,” he said. “Thank you so much.”

Edward’s worn face broke into a smile. “Thank you, Elijah. We will show this bandit leader true justice,” he said.

The wind gusted again, and quickly quieted down. “I know we will,” claimed Elijah smiling.

Edward turned to go. “Well. You better be off. Be careful, friend,” he said.

“I will. You do the same,” replied Elijah. As he watched his friend head back to his tent, thoughts of the barbarians and the herb venture flooded his mind. He remembered how the job seemed nearly impossible as he trudged through the desert. But he still couldn’t believe how well it turned out thanks to Kun’s help.

Edward turned back quickly. “See you tomorrow,” he said nodding.

“What about the boy? He has our statue!” asked Kun.

Aiken responded. “We will take him with us. Trust me. He won’t get away.”

Kun nodded. “Well. We better be heading out, Elijah.”