The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 (29 page)

Getting to the
bungalow had been tricky. Without Cathy in my head, I had to dig
through my own memories and find the right path. We eventually
arrived, but only after circling the docks a couple of
times.

Ms. Okoro was sitting
close to the bungalow, staring out onto the ocean. It was a shame
to disrupt her peaceful meditation, but she turned her head towards
us as we approached. She smiled warmly at me when she recognised
me.

“
It has been a long
time, Andy,” she said.

“
An equally long time
since I have heard that name,” I replied, shocked at hearing my own
name. “How are you, Ms. Okoro?”

“
I am fine,” she
smiled, standing up to face us. “But do you not go by Andy
anymore?”

Ms. Okoro was a
petite woman with a fragile frame. How she had given birth to a man
like Donkor makes my head hurt but she always says that ‘everyone
was small once’. I still think she has some secret magic she isn’t
telling anyone about.

“
That name,” I
started, “is for a person who no longer exists in a place that is
no longer there.”

“
How mysterious,”
Cathy said sarcastically.

“
I’m sorry,” I said,
getting a little embarrassed. “Lady Sandra Middleton of Davalin,
this is Ms. Okoro, aunt to the Empress and mother to the man we are
looking for.”

“
Please just call me
Elbele, my Lady,” Ms. Okoro said with a slight bow. My
embarrassment grew at realising I had never known her first name.
“Is there something this humble, old lady can do for you two? I’m
assuming it has something to do with the note I have received
recently from Donkor.”

“
It is possible,”
Cathy answered. “We came here to discuss an alliance treaty between
the two nations because the Evenawks have been brainwashed into
going to war. Our reception at the palace was a bit...chilly, but
Kairu has informed me that he knows someone who can help gather a
volunteer army.”

“
Kairu?” Ms. Okoro
asked intrigued.

“
It means the same as
Moumno in the Nao language,” I answered.

“
It sounds like it
would fit in perfectly around here,” Ms. Okoro replied before
turning to Cathy. “You are right about the palace, my Lady. Things
have been...difficult since my brother’s passing. Morowa has been
strange since you saved her from her kidnappers.”

“
After seeing her at
the palace, I had a feeling it was that. What has happened since I
was last here?” I asked before remembering I still had to play a
role. I turned to Cathy. “I know we have to hurry, but could we
spare a minute, my Lady?”

“
Of course,” Cathy
nodded. “She was a friend of yours and I would be equally as
interested if the roles were reversed.”

“
Come inside then,”
Ms. Okoro said. “If we are going to speak ill of the Empress, it is
best to do it indoors. Treason is treason, after all.”

She led us inside and offered us a seat
at the thin, wooden dining table. When we sat down, she hurried to
the kitchen and filled a kettle with water and offered us some tea.
We both accepted and Ms. Okoro sat down at the table while the
water was on the heat.

“
Now,” she started,
“what do you remember about Moro after you saved her?”

I shook my head. “Very little. I was
more focused on getting her back than checking on her condition. I
remember her cracking a couple of jokes with Donkor, I think.”

Ms. Okoro nodded.
“That was Donkor’s assessment too. She seemed relieved to be saved
and back home. Sadly though, it didn’t last long. The poor girl
started having nightmares every night. She wouldn’t talk about them
and got extremely defensive when asked about it, but you could tell
they were taking their toll on her.”

“
How long was she
held prisoner?” Cathy asked.

Ms. Okoro shrugged and the kettle
started whistling. “A week, maybe two. It’s hard to pinpoint the
exact day her caravan was hit.”

She stood up and crossed the kitchen to
the kettle. She poured us our tea and returned with the cups. We
exchanged thanks and waited for Ms. Okoro to sit down and get
comfortable again. When she settled, I motioned for her to
continue.

“
It was around that
time the Emperor got sick,” Ms. Okoro said. “People say it was his
worry for his daughter that made him ill, but Nali never took care
of himself very well to begin with. I told him, Nassu watch over
his soul, that his unhealthy ways would catch up with him, but he
could be a stubborn old mule. Anyway, Moro didn’t take his death
well and started to believe those silly rumours about her being the
cause. She is now a tangled web of guilt and grief wrapped up in
the shell of a traumatised little girl.” She shook her head. “I
want to help her but there’s no getting her to open up. She
immediately starts shouting that she is fine and storms
out.”

I sat in stunned silence for a minute
as I tried to absorb the story. So much had happened since that day
I had brought her home and it didn’t help those guilty feelings of
mine. I regretted never coming back and visiting her.

“
I know that look,”
Ms. Okoro said. “You feel guilty because you think you failed her.
But ask yourself this; what could you have done that would have
been different from me or anyone else that was close to her? She
needs to open up but it has to be in her own time. She has to make
the first move and I pray she does it soon. Until then, we have
your business to discuss.”

“
Yes,” Cathy said.
“We need to find Donkor.”

“
At any other time I
would say you’re in luck, but we live in interesting times,” Ms.
Okoro said. “Donkor still comes and visits me every other week and
this is usually the time he visits, but I received a letter
instead. When you showed up at my door, Andy, I knew something big
was happening.”

She stood up from the table and
disappeared into the back of the house. I put down my half drunk,
cold tea and leaned back in my chair. Cathy finished her drink as
Ms. Okoro returned with a piece of paper. She handed it to me and I
studied its carefully handwritten message.

To Mom,

I am sorry but I cannot come home. I
will come home twice next week to make up for it. The Birds are
building something strange close to the border and attack everyone
that gets too close. I need to stay here and keep everyone
safe.

Stay safe yourself. I love you.

Donkor

I handed the note to Cathy and she read
through it quickly. “It’s just like we thought,” she said. “And now
we know its position.”

“
The Evenawks have
been building these...things that help spread the brainwashing
signal,” I explained to Ms. Okoro. “We figured they would have one
close to Nesqa and with Donkor’s help, we can remove
it.”

“
General Kobo’s men
at Ghanlar Outpost would then join your volunteer army,” Ms. Okoro
smiled. “I knew I was right to wait for you.”

“
You knew we were
here?” Cathy asked.

“
Just because I’m out
here on the coast doesn’t mean I don’t hear whispers in the wind,”
she said.

“
We should probably
head out now then,” I said. “Get a head start, camp for the night
and make it to the outpost in the morning.”

“
What’s your rush?”
Ms. Okoro asked. “Stay the night here. You’re less likely to be
eaten by predators. The outpost will still be there in the
morning.”

“
We’ve been running
around like crazy hoping to get everything ready before the
Evenawks try to invade Balendar,” I explained.

“
Bah!” she exclaimed
with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You kids and your rushing
around everywhere. When are you going to learn to relax and enjoy
the small things? You can still get everything done without
constantly being in a rush.”

“
It’s hard when
everything can feel like it’s weighing you down,” I
responded.

“
Here’s the best
advice I can give you,” she started. “Take time to enjoy the little
things in life because if you keep rushing, you are just going to
leave everything and everyone behind.”

I was silent at her
choice to say ‘everyone’ and thought about what would happen if I
left Cathy behind. Already I regretted not getting to know Empress
Morowa better so I could help her. What about the others I consider
my friends? Were they actually friends or just travelling
companions? How well did I really know them?

Cathy turned to look at me before
turning back to Ms. Okoro. “Looks like we’re staying the night,”
she said.

“
Good,” Ms. Okoro
smiled. “I’ll get the guest beds ready.”

*****

The night had been
restless, but short. Thoughts and images plagued my mind for most
of the night until I finally crashed from the exhaustion. I was
awoken by Cathy when she sat on my chest. After throwing her off
with magic, we enjoyed a small breakfast before saying our goodbyes
to Ms. Okoro.

The mighty forest
awaited us as we started on the path up to the small farming
community of Bauda. From there we could find a safe haven before
starting towards the Ghanlar Outpost. I predicted we could be there
by the end of the day, but part of me was hoping to run into Donkor
sooner. I had that story about me dropping the axe in battle to
tell him.

The trip through the forest was
pleasant as we travelled more slowly than we had been. We debated
topics and I avoided walking into any of the trees after the first
time. I had quickly healed myself with magic before determining
that I hadn’t hit anything toxic on the tree and would be fine. My
pride, however, was a different story.

“
Come on, hurry up,”
Cathy whined. “The village is just up ahead and I want to get out
of here. It feels like something is watching us everywhere we
go.”

“
I’ll agree to that,”
I said, picking up my pace.

“
You better not be
walking slowly because of what Elbele said,” Cathy said. “There are
times and places where you can slow down and there are times and
places where you need to be quick.”

“
Yeah, but it feels
like all I ever do is quickly move through everything,” I said.
“Maybe I should slow down some more.”

“
But she’s just
saying stuff like that. All people her age say that,” Cathy pointed
out. “People hit a point when they realise that they don’t have
much time in life so they need to ‘slow down’ to ‘enjoy’ things,
but that’s not you. Yeah, at any moment we can die during our
quest...”

“
Thanks for the
positivity,” I said sarcastically.

“
...BUT that doesn’t
mean we should sniff every flower or enjoy every rock we pass
because you feel we are moving too quickly,” Cathy continued.
“Every life is different and it moves at its own speed. Never feel
you have to change it because someone sees things
differently.”

“
I don’t...” I
started.

“
You do,” Cathy
interrupted. “I know you, Andy. You aren’t comfortable in your own
skin and you feel you need to be something more. That’s why you got
us involved with everything when we first left the Tower and that’s
why we are standing in the forests of Nesqa right now. I love that
you are the ‘take charge’ type, but never feel you have to do
everything to prove something to people. You are a great person;
past, present and future. If I could go back and decide whether to
invade your mind again, knowing everything I know now, I would
still do it because I can’t imagine spending any time on this Plane
without you.”

I grabbed Cathy’s arm and stopped her.
“I would do the same thing,” I said. “The news about the Empress
and Ms. Okoro’s words had made me doubt things a little.”

“
A little?” Cathy
asked in disbelief. “Have you seen your face? How much sleep did
you get last night?”

I chuckled. “Not
much. I thought I had done pretty well in growing confidence since
leaving the Tower but it seems things became a little shaky after
you left my head. I don’t think I could ever stop wanting to do
more though. We’re here in Nesqa because we need to be, it just
feels right that we are doing our part. I guess the part that
freaked me out the most was ‘leaving people behind’. We’ve
developed an interesting group of friends and it feels like I
barely know them. I want the chance to be able to become closer
friends with them all. And...I...” I scratched the back of my head,
“I worry that if this pattern continues...I might end up leaving
you behind.”

Cathy laughed. “Oh, Andy. You couldn’t
run fast enough to leave me behind. I’ll always be here.”

I laughed. “Not even if I tie you to a
tree?”

“
Isn’t that how this
relationship started?” Cathy asked.

“
Good point,” I
said.

She pulled me into a proper hug.
“You’ll get your chance to be better friends with everyone. There’s
only so much you can do when you are running from mobs of angry
people looking to hunt down Mages. If we survive this, things might
be different.”

“’
If we survive’,” I
quoted. “Always quick with the optimism.”

“
Let’s be realistic
on this one,” she smiled.

The sound of leaves
shaking in the trees caught our attention. We watched the forest
quietly and when we heard another sound close by, we broke away
from our hug. “Seems like something was watching us after all,” I
said.