Chapter 11:

A Devilish Deed

Basta waited for the cloak of darkness to cover and hide him before sneaking into the sleeping camp. He had been watching for the fire eater play with his fire for what seemed like hours. Finally the man slowly got up, stretched his arms above his head, and commanded the fire to leave. The fire was snuffed out, leaving an eerie darkness.

The man turned to walk to his small tent when Micka jumped him from behind. The fire eater let out a short cry, but was soon lost as Micka hit him over the head with a rock.

"Careful Micka," warned Basta, stepping into the clearing. "I want to give them the message, but he must be alive to deliver it."

"Right boss," said Micka stiffly.

"Carry him into the trees. There was a set of caves back there that will do just fine for our 'dirty' work." Micka just grunted as he heaved the fire eater onto his back and followed Basta to the caves.

The walk to the cave took a little over a half hour, which gave Basta enough time to think on the day's events. He had almost had her, but she had slipped though his fingers once again. He could not help but notice the small bump of her mid-section, and he knew that the time was running out. The child would be born, and would disappear; and all in a few months.

He could not let that happen; he would not.

Roxane slipped off of the roof and on to the street below. She glanced around quickly taking in her surroundings. The ally spread out from either side of her, but soon each side disappeared into a turn. If she went to the left, she would surely end up back at the pub and that was not something she wanted to do. If she took a right, she would end up somewhere near the markets. She made up her mind and quickly ran to the right.

The twists and turns of the allies were starting to confuse her, but she kept running. She had to get away from Basta, and quickly. She could see the ally getting lighter and lighter, telling her that she was almost to the market. She slowed herself to a walk and ran her hand over her tangled hair. She knew she had to act normal if she wanted to escape from Basta's grasp again.

The light of the ally soon showed the bustling market. Roxane stood in the shadows of the ally and glanced around the busy square. There was no sign of a black bear or his master; making Roxane feel slightly more uneasy. She stepped into the sunlight of the market and slowly meandered through the racks and carts, trying to think of a plan.

Her plan came to her as she looked at the cart full of the jewelry; the same cart that the green necklace had come from. One word filled her mind as she tried to finish her plans.

"Caves." She had wanted to go back ever since she had left.

The rest of her plan unfolded in her mind. She would hide out in the city until darkness fell, and then she would sneak back to the Little Blue Bird and gather her items before heading to the caves. She would then find the Prince and beg for his forgiveness. She hoped beyond all hope that he would still love her; still care for her; still hide her. She sighed and melted back into the shadows of the allies to await the darkening sky.

Basta took one of the smaller caves to perform his devilish deed. He was sure no one else would be here on the eerie night, so he never checked the other caves. Micka walked up behind Basta, cleared his throat, and said, "He is in the back."

"Good," replied Basta. "Now all we have to do is let him wake." Micka smiled a wicked grin and turned to watch for the fire eater waking up.

The darkness fell around Roxane like a warm blanket. She had always liked the night time as a child; but as she had grown older, her likes had changed. The dark had always brought Basta, but she was going to make sure that Basta would never be the darkness again.

The city patrol walked the streets, making sure no one was out after curfew. A man started to walk down the alley that Roxane was in, but stopped when his fellow guard called to him. Roxane let out a breath of air she was holding and continued to creep through the darkness.

The pub was just around the corner, and carefully Roxane walked the allies. She did not want to run into Basta at this hour of night when not another soul knew where she was. She reached the door of the pub with no problem and quickly knocked at the door.

Quickly the door swung open with Meja standing in the door. "Gracious child!" she exclaimed. "Where were you today?"

Roxane did not answer, but instead rushed into the main room of the pub and through the hall door. Meja ran after her, but did not catch up to her until Roxane was up the stairs and into her room.

"Where are you off to?" questioned Meja with a worried tone.

"You do not need to know," snapped Roxane as she quickly placed her few belongings into her sack.

"Why ever not?" demanded Meja.

Roxane turned to her with what at first looked liked fire in her eyes, but was soon seen as fear, and said, "The less you know, the less chance of being sought after."

Meja nodded and turned to leave. She took a few steps to the door and then said, "I will have food for you downstairs."

"Thank you," said Roxane in a soft voice. She watched as Meja closed the door behind her and then turned back to the task at hand. She had her dresses and money, so all she needed was her long, black cape. She swung it around her shoulders, grabbed her sack, and then headed out of her room.

It was drawing towards midnight when things in the caves started to happen. "He is starting to wake," said Micka as the fire eater's eyes started to flicker open. He moaned as he tried to roll over, but Basta's foot stopped him.

"Not so fast fire boy," snarled Basta. "First we need to have some entertainment." With that, Basta drew his knife.

Roxane had made it out of the city gates, but barley. The guard had tried to have some fun with her, but she had been persistent and only left with a slightly lighter coin purse. The night sky seemed to fold around her, and an eerie fog was starting to fall. She knew she had to get to the caves before something got her, and that made her go even faster.

She walked the half hour it took to get to the caves; and by the time she got there, it was drawing onto the midnight hour. She started towards the large cave she had taken refuge in before when she heard the voices inside a smaller cave. She recognized both voices and felt a shiver run up her spine.

"We are going to have fun with you," said Basta.

Roxane silently placed her bag on the ground and crept up to the edge of the cave. She peeked in and saw Basta and Micka over a body. It was not until Micka moved that Roxane saw who it was.

Dustfinger.

Basta leaned over the fire eater and carved a long gash into the man's face. The man screamed in pain as he thrashed his body around under Micka's weight. His head swung back and forth as he tried to escape the knife, but the blade still reached and carved into the smooth skin. The aftermath was three gory gashes that soon filled with blood.

Basta smiled at the man and leaned over him and quietly whispered, "That was for helping the girl." He stood up and then sent a series of shark kicks to the man's ribs and said, "And that was because I just don't like you."

Basta motioned to Micka and then walked out of the cave with his apprentice behind him.

Roxane had closed her eyes as Basta leaned over with the knife, but she had heard the screams. Those would haunt her for the rest of her life. She had opened her eyes as Basta sent his foot rapidly into Dustfinger's ribs. Roxane had even felt the pain of her friend. Basta and Micka started to walk towards her, and she quickly hid behind a large rock beside the mouth of the cave. She watched as the two men faded into the dark, and then she rushed into the cave.

She knelt beside Dustfinger and carefully touched his face. Dustfinger gasped in pain and opened his eyes to look at Roxane.

"Get the fire elves," he whispered.

"I can't but I can bandage you up a little," pleaded Roxane.

"Send Sareah to the elves. She knows where they are at."

Roxane nodded, and then set to work at cleaning up his face. She then got up, but then turned to ask, "Will you be alright?"

"The White Women will not come tonight if you hurry."

With that, Roxane hurried out of the caves, gathered up her bag, and hurried to the camp in the clearing.