Chapter 13

13.1

Seated in the Qmalian Privy Council chamber, Aha Ishobad allowed his senses to wander outside—where great things were going to happen. He could almost smell the sooty altar fire. What a mighty God Jove was. From nowhere, and totally unanticipated, an elemental had materialized. Big Saturday this year would be bigger, and even holier. It had been quite a while when the last human sacrifice was done, but now Jove had provided. How lucky that his lowly servant, Ed, had at least had the scruples to check the purchase for royal symbols. He himself had totally forgotten to, and any quick slaughtering of the purchase would have caused this great opportunity of holding a sacrifice to go begging. And then Big Sat would have been just that, another Big Sat. Truly if everything worked out well, he might give Ed a small raise, but uh-hey, no, all earthlings were weak and stupid.

"Now we wait for the esteemed Aha to tell us what Jove has done for us this year," the chamber secretary said, saluting Ishobad by bowing.

This was the moment he had been waiting for; this kind of respect and attention was something he always craved. Ishobad stood up and approached the podium.

His eyes swept the chamber. The bald heads of the seated lords gleamed back at him. Their eyes shone with rapt admiration, just like Ishobad liked it.

"We have an elemental to offer to Jove this year." The Aha cleared his throat and waited for the announcement to take effect. "The elemental is female, too, and you know those are the ones more favored by our almighty." The aplauses came and he smiled.

"I could have shown her to you right away but I didn't bring her with me last night," he added, "but what I can assure you is that she is under secure guard at my home, and I'll rush and fetch her as soon as this meeting is over."

As the sound of more hand clapping rose, a bad thought crossed his mind. He had not verified what Ed had told him, and the purchase might turn out to be not elemental. That would be a bad thing. Ishobad, however, did not want to worry about it, and again like last night he brushed the doubt away. Ed could not have been mistaken, even though all earthlings were generally dumb. "You are going to like the elemental when you see her. Just wait, lords." He finished his speech, soaked in the closing cheers, then turned back toward his seat.

Just after perching himself in the comfy four-legger, the esteemed Aha was surprised to see a female igaafa walk along the aisle heading toward him. Marching past seated lords who clearly were unamused that this was happening in the middle of an important meeting, the igaafa seemed greatly disturbed. Before Ishobad could fathom what the young recruit was rushing toward him for, the igaafa had already knelt before his chair ready to whisper.

"An important message for you, sir," she said, patting her chin uneasily. "You have to call home, or go there at once."

"What's happening?" Ishobad leaned his head closer to the igaafa's face

"There has been an emergency, but I don't know exactly what."

Jove, what could it be, Ishobad worried. Could it be a fire, a sudden illness? Ishobad stood up from his seat then started pacing down the same aisle, heading to the chamber's reception. Just what the hell could be going on? Big Saturday had been approaching perfectly, now what was this that threatened to spoil his celebration and enjoyment of it?

"I need a phone quick," he demanded of the receptionist as soon as he got in.

The phones in here were the conventional type with a rotary pad. Ishobad worked the dial with fury and only got to breathe when his maid, Narnia, answered.

"Ed has just committed a grievous crime, and worse, he has run away with your purchase." Narnia was almost at the point of crying.

"He has done what?" Sudden anger constricted Ishobad's throat. "Please, don't tell me."

"He nearly killed Slasher; and he is now nowhere to be found, together with the purchase."

"What a damned traitor?" Ishobad choked on his anger.

"You have to please come back home right away, master, and take charge."

"Damn right, I am." Aha Ishobad slammed the phone onto the receiver and rushed out.

His shoes stomped on the hallway lino as he paced back to the chamber. Sweat broke on his forehead even though the hallway was air-conditioned. His fellow esteemed lords looked at him with surprise as he marched for the table where Lord Kayo, the Apex bishop and Lord of The Realm, sat at. He bowed before the bishop and then leaned into his ear. "I have to go back home, Father," Ishobad agonized. "I have just been told something terrible happened."

The Aha had no time to explain everything to the archbishop. A great sense of humiliation engulfed him when he realized he eventually couldn't run away from the duty of informing the bishop that the earthling purchase together with one of his servants had run away, and that it may take a while to find them.

"You are excused, servant of Jove. Go see what's happening," Lord Kayo said in his gruff voice.

Ishobad nodded at the great lord, then again via the same aisle started walking out. Ed escaping with a purchase; this was a first. He certainly would pay greatly for this.

The Qmalian Privy Council Chamber was a grand partition nestled inside an even grander building that also partly served as the main residence of the Apex bishop. A palace of sorts, the whole building could be called. Dwarfing the stately residence to the west, however, was the Purple Mosque, one of the most opulent edifices in all of Egodad.

Ishobad came out of the building escorted by an igaafa who carried his briefcase. The Aha looked around just for once. High up, the eternal flame burnt at the top of one of the spires that jutted out of the mosque complex. Vertically below the spire, right at ground level, was the altar where the elemental's dead body would be burned this coming Saturday. He smelt again that arresting aroma of roasting human flesh. Shame overcame him and more anger rose in his throat as he admitted to himself it might not be possible to catch Ed and the elemental in time for the sacrifice. He would try his best, though. The police also would, as well as the thousands of gaafa helpers in this city.

'They will certainly be caught. They can't get far…'

Ishobad hurried for the parking lot. He reviewed things as he strode. Ed must have taken a liking to the purchase and meant to save her, otherwise he wouldn't have done what he did. 'Dear Jove, I ought to have known that,' he cursed himself.

The realization of that fact—unfortunately for the Aha—raised troubling questions. If Ed had indeed taken a liking to the purchase, didn't that cast doubts on the stories he told? Sure, it must; all logic pointed to.

So what was the truth, Ishobad's mind roiled. The possibilities in fact were numerous. One could be the rosette was totally absent, and Ed had just been trying his luck to save the purchase, hoping no one would bother to make a quick check. Or it may be Ed saw a tattoo similar to a rosette, and thought he could use it to temporarily save the purchase's life. The latter appeared to be the greater possibility, because Ed couldn't have lied about something totally not there, something a quick check could prove absent. That would be the most stupid act any servant could dare do.

Ishobad's mind whirled again. There was a third possibility, and this was the one he wanted to believe in the most. The elemental mark was there on the purchase. And because it was genuine, Ed realized it would result in the purchase being sacrificed so they decided to run away. "Oh Jove, why did I fail to foresee that.

Before concluding on the issue however, Ishobad was hazily aware of a fourth possibility. Ed might have inscribed a symbol of his own on the purchase—which may be why he took long to report. Now Ishobad didn't like this at all and he fought to dismiss it. Ed did not have the necessary intelligence to do such a thing and succeed. He wouldn't even dare try.

As he slid into his truck, Ishobad looked up to the sky and made a short prayer. Jove just help me find them. He immediately felt better after whispering that. Gosh, why had he been so panicky? The runaways would be caught in no time. Ed would pay dearly for his crimes, and the elemental purchase would be delivered to the church. The rosette was good, no one would question anything, and Big Saturday would go as planned. Nothing would ever go wrong.

13.2

Bella and Ed left the metal-working shop and turned into the same narrow lane they'd come via. Thank God, they didn't see the two gaafas hidden in waiting anywhere. It appeared the suspicious youths had given up hope of finding them, and had retreated to their group. That thought brought a little relief to Bella, and now she could concentrate on the other things that troubled her. The efe she wore made her very uncomfortable, and the chain, especially, was rough. She felt so bad about having to walk about with a piece of degrading identification visible to the public.

Briefly she checked it, flipping the crescent back and forth. There was something engraved on one side—three letters: U.E.S.

"What do they mean?" she asked.

"It's just a way of describing our situation," Ed labored to elaborate. "if we'd been travelling using Ishobad's efes they would have had his initials stamped on them."

"Sort of like to show we belong to him?"

"Yes, exactly."

"That's so sickening. Walking in public like that."

She wondered how many times Ed had gone about with Ishobad's efe dangling on him in such a humiliating way. Life must have been hell.

"What anyway does U.E.S. stand for?" she asked.

Ed was uneasy. "Since that shop owner was not our boss, I asked him to make something more general, something that says we have no master and are out looking for work," he explained. "U and E stand for Unemployed Earthling, the 'S' I'm not sure.

Bella felt so sickened. "Servant, you think? Or is it Slave?"

Ed didn't answer.

"Fine, let's go." she took a step.

13.3

The most important thing was done, and the urge to leave Mshikashika had risen, but Ed had long decided efes were not the only thing he would purchase here. There were a few other important things. And even though a place teeming with gaafas was hardly the ideal place to remain for long, Ed felt he had to get what he wanted.

"We aren't quite leaving yet," he said when he noticed the look on Bella's face was to ask them to rush to the bus terminal.

"You mean we aren't completely done yet?"

"No, we aren't."

Although two things were of importance, a radio: so they could keep up with the news, and a watch: so they could accurately time their movements, Ed also wanted to show his adoration for Bella by spoiling her with some clothes.

"Let's get some gear," he decided to make his gift to Bella top of the list.

Throughout his life he had never enjoyed that feeling of buying something special for someone—and even at the most basic level, had never enjoyed the privilege of at least going shopping with another human. Now was the time to, and if he didn't use the chance, there might never be another.

"The efe is enough, Ed, I don't need anything else."

That protest was only moot. What Ed really wrestled with now was what would be appropriate to get her. The clothes she came in from earthy were quite classy, and he could try to get her something just as fancy, but there was a problem in that anything that made her stand out too much from what other slaving humans here wore could sell her out quick. There certainly was a need to blend—because you didn't want to make the work of the enemy too easy.

They turned right into another narrow street, and then walked into a clothier's. Ed relished being with a woman he appreciated. The feeling was beyond anything he could have imagined. Gaafas and efes be damned, he could do this all his life. They scoured the aisles looking for something lovably feminine. Bella had a good eye for the fine stuff, and Ed still wanted to buy her things as special as the money in his wallet could allow, but circumstances, unfortunately, did not permit. Blending was just too crucial. "Chic, but not too fancy," he hinted.

Bella showed she understood; she settled for a middle-of-the-road floral cotton dress that went to her knees. Ed then added a denim skirt with a blue blouse to match.

"One more thing, sneakers." The big male boots she had on made her very uncomfortable.

Bella tried several pairs of girl sneakers then opted for blue converse with white trim and laces.

"Now it's time." Happiness filled Ed's heart. Nothing could ever beat seeing the thankful appreciation in those sweet blue eyes of Bella's.

Ed, though, did not forget the radio and watch. "Allow me to just pick two more things and then we are out of here."