The Princess Who Tamed Demons (19 page)

Ankhar and Mhirra each took one of my hands,
swinging forward and using my arms like ropes to jump across the
stream.

"We're hungry Nijka! Show us the food," Mhirra
said, her little body bouncing with anticipation.

"It's Najika," Ankhar corrected.

"Nijka, come on!" Mhirra said, adorably
oblivious. Hand in hand, I guided the children back toward the
house. We would take things one step at a time. That was the
instant when I decided to put my self-pity to bed. I had two
children who'd been given the real shaft, and I wondered whether,
with my murder mystery solved, my new purpose might be to see them
safe and with a future.

~*****~

Chapter 12

Day Fourteen

We stayed the night in Fasima's house with Sir
Brel and the other knights insisting that they would keep vigil
until morning. We were unsure to what extent the rest of Asmyra was
sympathetic to Fasima's cause. Since most of the people here were
ethnic Jafarri rather than Tajmari, I was fairly certain that a
sizable number were receptive to the idea of throwing off the power
of the central government and Tajma's Mosques. I laid awake
upstairs, listening first to the insects, then to the forlorn
hooting of an owl, and finally to the obnoxiously loud mating calls
of some kind of frog. Linn peeked his head in, his beard and
whiskers dusted by moonlight.

"Are you having as much trouble sleeping as I
am?"

I sat up and shrugged. "Guilty as
charged."

Linn opened the spare bedroom door wider and I
saw too faces peeking in.

"We aren't the only ones. Guess who has
visitors?" Ankhar and Mhirra rushed in and took up positions on
either side of me, burrowing into my body like a pair of playful
cubs.

"We couldn't sleep Nijka," Mhirra murmured.
She smelled of almonds and honeysuckle. Ankhar didn't burrow quite
as thoroughly, but he laid a hand on my shoulder.

"Mhirra has nightmares sometimes. I thought it
might help if we slept here with you. We can go if you don't want
us."

"No, stay. You heard Linn. I cannot sleep
either. Having company can only help." I sighed, ruffling the boy's
hair and then turning to stroke the girl's tresses down her back as
she closed her eyes and shifted to get more comfortable. Truth be
told, I didn't mind the added body heat given the dropping
temperatures as night wore on. But I also still felt very much
bewildered that these two had taken a liking to me. In less time
than I thought possible brother and sister were dead to the world,
their tiny bodies relaxed in sleep.

Linn popped his head back in and snuck over to
me. He kept his voice low as only a librarian could.

"You seem to have made two new
friends."

I wondered if we could find someone in the
village to care for them. My inward vow from earlier seemed
laughable now that I had had some time to reconsider it. I didn't
know the first thing about children. I was about to tell Linn that
at dawn we needed to find the village elders and have them make
arrangements for Mhirra and Ankhar.

Instead I found myself saying, "Yes. I guess I
have."

"Any plans for what you're going to do?"
Linn's eyebrows rose.

"It's not my decision to make, is
it?"

Linn's eyes filled with compassion as he
looked at Mhirra, adorably drooling on my sleeve. Then he
redirected that compassion at me, tinging it with something
stern.

"Only you can answer that question, Najika. I
do know this, even from what little I have been able to coax from
the little ones. It seems that they have no attachments here.
Fasima kept them isolated and punished them for the slightest
infraction. Most of the adults they came into contact with were
beholden to her. I doubt that boded well for trust, let alone any
meaningful connection."

"So until now basically they have had only
each other. Is that what you're saying?" My heart felt heavy as I
internalized Linn's observations. Who was I to meddle though?
Hadn't I meddled enough by coming here and taking Fasima into
custody? Would I set off a riot by taking these kids from their
village?

"What would you have me do?"

Linn put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll say it
again. What do
you
want to do? What does your heart tell
you?"

"Hard to know. My mind is drowning out
whatever my heart might want to say." I held back a sigh of
frustration. "My heart…." I stifled a bitter laugh. "That was a
loaded question if ever I heard one." Linn shook his head at
me.

"You know what they need. You worry, yes, and
perhaps those worries have some merit. You worry about upsetting
the people of Asmyra, who will already certainly be angry once they
discover that we've captured their scheming matriarch and taken her
to Tajma to face justice. If your goal is stability and choosing
the safest course, the one where you can't get hurt and don't make
any new enemies, Najika, then you can do that. But even after
knowing you for less than two weeks, I do not think that is who you
are."

There were tears in my eyes. I looked at him,
really saw the librarian's somber face as the moonlight bathed him
in its eldritch glow.

"You don't seriously think I would make a good
mother? What drugs have you ingested?" Yet I thought of the
children I would never have. I was fooling myself if I didn't
acknowledge that my permanent inability to bear a child of my own
was affecting my judgment here. Perhaps that was one more reason to
leave Mhirra and Ankhar in someone else's safekeeping.

"I think you would make a good advocate for
these children," Linn said. He reached down, wiping a tear from my
cheek. "And I think these tears help prove it."

Saying no more, he turned and left me to the
chaos of arguments and counterarguments inside my head. I asked
myself again and again, what was the right thing to do? It was many
hours before I came up with any halfway decent answer, and by the
time I shut my eyes to snatch two moments of peace it was suddenly
already time to open them again. The sun's vibrant rays burst
through the window and roused my bleary eyes.

~***~

"You three sleep like the dead. Up, up,
up
." Linn was kneeling down as he put a bowl of hot oatmeal
near my head, with two smaller bowls for the children.

I sat up, my disheveled hair looking like a
horse had trampled it. My stomach rumbled like thunder, and I
clutched my chest as the delicious aroma of food filled my nose
like the promise of paradise.

"Mmm. Thank you." That was as verbal as I
could get given my lack of sleep. I shoveled the oatmeal into my
mouth, then made sure that Mhirra and Ankhar ate a decent portion
of theirs. Mhirra initially made a face at her bowl, but when I
promised that I would give her spiced chocolates as soon as we
returned to Tajma if she ate enough of her oatmeal, suddenly the
girl began consuming with gusto. Soon, with bellies fortified, we
walked out toward the paddock where the camels and pack mules were
tied. Sir Brel was waiting for me, looking even more anxious than
usual.

"My Queen, I hope you are refreshed and ready
to move. We ride presently."

I put up a hand. "Whoa. Give me a report
first, Sir Brel."

"I do not like how things are developing. I
sent two men to scout the perimeter of this area and see what the
other residents might be up to. We have observed movement along the
road. Pockets of local villagers were seen assembling near the town
square. I have nearly thirty men trussed up and gagged in the
basement of this house. The six of us cannot protect you
adequately, my Queen, especially if the crowd in that square turns
into an unruly mob. We must return to Tajma with due
haste."

The poor knight looked as twitchy as a rookie
squire. I patted his shoulder, hoping my touch would reassure.
"Fair enough. But get me one of Fasima's horses to ride, one with a
good temperament for children. Mhirra and Ankhar will ride with me,
and I'll be damned if I have to squat on a camel for the journey
back."

"The children?" Sir Brel's expression hit
somewhere between dismayed and confused. "My Queen, they will only
slow us down, and speed is of the essence. We can leave them here
and surely one of the—"

"Are you questioning a command from your
Queen?" I said, my voice cracking like a whip.

"No, my Queen! I will get you a fine
steed."

"Good. You have my thanks. Oh, and one more
thing. Make sure Fasima is bound and gagged and tied to the pack
mule at the very back of the column. I want two knights screening
her from sight at all times so that the children don't even catch a
glimpse
of her. Is that understood?"

"Yes, my Queen."

In no time at all I had Sir Brel handing me
the reins of a fine-looking black steed, its body rippling with
muscle in a graceful kind of beauty no camel would ever match, at
least in my eyes.

"Ready for an adventure?"

"Yes, Nijka! Adventure and chocolates!" Mhirra
cried with enthusiasm. I lifted her onto the saddle, then stepped
up into the saddle behind her. Ankhar had been holding Ironskin.
His eyes roved up and down the staff as if it were made of precious
gems.

"Whoa. Have you killed anyone with this? Can
you teach me how to fight?" Ankhar said.

I reached out my hand, snapping my fingers.
"We have to hurry, Ankhar. Come. We can talk about training you
later." The boy's face brightened as if I had just made a blood
pact to teach him how to be the finest staff-master in the Kingdom.
Uh-oh
. I would have to be careful what I said to the
children. Especially what I
promised
them. Better yet, the
smart thing to do would be to make no promises. Once I had Ironskin
situated with its strap slung around my shoulder I reached a hand
out, helping Ankhar leap up behind me and wrap his arms tightly
around my torso.

"Okay, are you holding on tight?"

"Yes, Najika." The boy clenched around me, and
I could tell that he had never ridden a horse before, he was so
tense.

We met up with the column, and I noticed with
satisfaction that one pack mule was missing. Sir Brel was waiting
for the column to form up before having Sir Ferres and Sir Yulrith
bring Fasima up with the rear.

Linn and I were at the head of the column as
we set out, taking a circuitous path that purposely avoided the
center of Asmyra and instead involved crossing open pastures and
cutting across fields of crops. The sun had risen toward the sky
just high enough to beat down on us with the promise of more
scorching daylight to come. I donned the wide-brimmed hat which had
been tied to my saddle, but I couldn't wear it for long. Seeing
little Mhirra squinting her eyes out, I put my oversized hat on her
instead. It swallowed up her whole face, but she didn't seem to
mind it. The little girl used both hands to balance the hat so that
she could look out as the irrigation canals, crops, and foliage
gave way to an endless expanse of sand.

We moved at a steady clip, Linn and I at the
front with Sir Brel holding the middle along with three of his
knights. Two very unlucky knights brought up the baggage train with
a bound, gagged, and furious Fasima in the rear. Linn went back to
check on things, then returned to the front of the column to rejoin
us. I glanced over at the librarian, and it was hard to believe
that his plain robe had once been marked with gold-lettered script
flowing this way and that with a dozen mesmerizing flourishes.
Underneath that robe he was sweating like a pig, though, and I saw
him mopping up the perspiration on his brow every few strides.
Where he looked less than impressive, he made up for it in other
ways. Linn rode his camel with the easy gait of one who had over a
decade of experience with the beasts, making it look effortless in
a way I doubted I
ever
would. Give me a horse over a camel
any day.

Linn threw me an amused look.

"What?"

He said nothing but the way he looked at me,
it was obvious he wanted me to be aware of the picture he was
seeing. I became conscious of the way I held the reins, both my
arms protectively around Mhirra while Ankhar clutched me
possessively from behind. I did feel a little possessive of the two
kids, now that I thought about it. As the horses' hooves churned
through the shifting sand I glared at Linn.

"Nice day for a ride. Our guest back there is
squirming like a banshee possessed."

"I wasn't aware that banshees could be
possessed," I said drily.

"Who is our guest?" Mhirra wanted to know.
Oh boy. You brought it up, Linn. You can take care of your own
mess.

"It's not important, little one. What is
important is that you and Ankhar are going to see a magnificent
castle just a few days from now. And you know what, if you behave
really,
really
well, I might even show you the
Library."

Both kids snapped wide awake at the thought,
though Mhirra's next question was predictable.

"What's a liii-bary?"

I rolled my eyes, and yet I was soon starting
to enjoy the distraction of brother and sister as they asked
questions throughout the morning and early afternoon's journey. The
heat of the day still made me feel like a puddle of water buried
under an avalanche of sand, but between me, Linn, and the two
curious young minds sharing the saddle with me, there was more than
enough conversation to go around. We continued on that way until
lunchtime, swigged water from our flasks and nibbled on some bread,
then remounted to resume the dogged pace. It was nearly
midafternoon when I saw a smudge on the horizon. Gradually the
smudge grew bigger, and soon said smudge broke up into a mass of
not-quite distinctive shapes.