THE RESCUE
For one Rihana Bay, it was either fight or become another notch on Erroll Auberjonus' belt. Her decision was made the instant he threw her body down onto a dirty makeshift pallet. Almost blindly, without thinking, Rihana brought her knees up the moment Erroll tried to pin her down. He was smart and saw it coming, but Rihana held her legs in place. He didn't make a sound. That alone unnerved her. Yet, she couldn't allow it to break her concentration. She saw his eyes and that was enough. He would hurt her. He would hurt her badly, especially since she decided to fight.
Rihana's legs were very strong from years of rough play as a girl. Any little sister of a future Medjai Chieftain was taught early on how to fight. There was little pity shown for Bay girls who failed to defend themselves within the family. Rihana took it to heart tonight. She used every bit of muscle she had and pushed with all her might. She felt Erroll's body catapulting backward, giving her precious inches of room to escape. She didn't waste any of it. Although her bound hands made running difficult, she did the best she could. Now, Erroll made noise. He roared angrily as he pursued her. The curses he threw her way were vicious and cruel. She ignored him and ran.
At any other time, the warriors would have raided Kashfi, but not today. Their attack would not be unnoticed as light quickly filled the sky. None of them cared. They knew most of the action would take place somewhere inside the pyramids. Which one? None of them knew. Yet, Ardeth rode swiftly toward the one which flew evil's flag. It was the most obvious, but also the most apt. It seemed that when the Chieftain made his choice, the events unfolding sped up at a tremendous rate.
As they expected, there were guards awaiting them. The warriors, scimitars in hand, flew at the men. If any onlooker happened to make witness of these events, no one would have been able to discern one man from another. The Medjai fought savagely to gain entrance to the pyramid. One man stood in Ardeth's way. On automatic, he slashed under and upward. He heard a thick, sickening thump. It sounded like a knife slicing into a ripe melon. Ardeth recognized it. His scimitar had chopped neatly through the man's head, cutting a gruesome line in his face. He called to his ikhwe who were finishing the last of the guards. They were inside now and nothing would stop them.
Rihana had found a hiding place. She had crouched down and had been in that position for what seemed like hours. Outside, she heard many voices, among them Auberjonus. He was barking at his men to help find her. She had no idea why they hadn't looked here, but she praised Allâh that they hadn't. Suddenly, she heard a great disturbance. Her akh? Could it be? She was tempted to call out, give away her hiding place. She didn't. It could have easily been some of the Auberjonus gang fighting amongst themselves. She wanted to look, to call for help if it was her akh. She was ready to leave this place.
When the commotion began, the men keeping Eve occupied flooded out toward the noise. It gave her an opportunity to find Erroll with his new whore in the making. Before she left to go on her hunt, she eyed a dagger one of the men left behind. She couldn't believe her good fortune. She picked up the dagger, still secure in its protective sheath, and fixed it to her belt. Erroll would rue the day he decided to double cross her.
While Eve made plans to seek and destroy one Erroll Auberjonus, Faras flanked Ardeth to his right. As they made their way through the dimly lit tunnels, they fought sparse groups of men along the paths. All of them were on edge. This was especially true for Faras. He promised Ash he would return and he intended to keep his promise. He was not afraid to die. He never had been. What he didn't want to do was break his word to his wife.
For ten minutes or more, they saw no one, but something was in the air. It was a weird kind of electricity. The fingers of Ardeth's left hand began to twitch. Faras had served under him long enough to know that when Ardeth's fingers moved in such a way, something would happen. Faras tightened his grip on the handle of his scimitar. The warriors rounded a corner in twos. Up ahead, they saw another group of men. Within this group were the elite of the Auberjonus gang. They moved forward silently, a lethal group set for vengeance.
The instant Rihana heard the battle cry, she knew her akh was near. Relieved tears poured down her cheeks. The Medjai would come out victorious. They were not outnumbered this day. Although tempted to flee her hiding place again, she stayed put. If she ran, she would only serve as a distraction. If anyone were to die as a result of her actions, she would never forgive herself. After a very long time, it grew quiet enough for Rihana to hear her own breathing.
"Rihana?"
The moment she heard Ardeth's voice, she cried, "I am here!"
She stumbled out of her hiding place and into the strong arms of Shaji Amin. She smiled before losing consciousness.
Erroll and his two remaining right hand men scurried like mice out of the back exit. They heard and saw what the Medjai did to their gang. Erroll wanted to take no chance in getting caught in that bloody battle. He would leave Rihana Bay behind. He would leave Eve behind. He didn't care. He could find a woman wherever he went. Tokan called to him. He would escape and go to Tokan. To hell with everyone else.
He stepped out into the blinding morning sunlight and felt something dull and unyielding poke into his gut. Eve! The bitch had tried to ambush him. "You fucking whore," he roared at her. She stood before him, trying her best to slice him into tiny bits. She would have succeeded if she had remembered to unsheathe her weapon. "You Rashîm fucking whore," he roared.
Eve, completely flabbergasted, stepped back with her mouth wide open, her facial expression horrified. She watched as Erroll advanced on her, his weapon withdrawn from its sheath and glittering in the sun. She didn't think to attempt fighting back at him. Her only action was to escape, to run. Within moments of fleeing, Eve felt a massive pain erupting between her shoulders followed by a gush of blood. She collapsed to her knees, and then fell face first onto the sand. Erroll came upon her. Without much pity in his eyes, he spat on the back of her head. He then planted his foot on her back as if she were an animal he had hunted. He yanked the blade loose. It gave way with a satisfying sound, ripe and primal. He actually managed to smile for the first time since Rihana ran away.
"Enjoy hell, Eve," Erroll whispered sweetly as he left her behind.
The warriors followed the same path Erroll took to escape. Unfortunately, Auberjonus was just ahead of them enough to have had a good head start. They would not catch up with him on this day. They came out into the sunlight, but saw no one, only the crumpled body of a woman. Ardeth growled out his frustration. Erroll Auberjonus had gotten away again, but not before slaughtering his mar'a.
Ardeth looked to Shaji, who still held onto Rihana. "Take her back to the village. We will take care of the Narrows."
Shaji nodded. "Aiwa, ra'îs."
Once Shaji and Rihana were on their way back home, the others moved forward. Both Ardeth and Faras approached the prone body of the woman. She had been stabbed in the lower part of her neck, almost between her shoulder blades. She lay with her face in the sand. Faras couldn't allow her to stay like that. It wasn't right. Ardeth nodded as if reading his mind. He bent to turn her, but Faras shook his head. He would do it. Ardeth stood back as Faras crouched down and turned the woman to her back. With sudden animated ferocity, she lunged forward.
"I remembered to unsheathe it this time, you bastard," she cried nonsensically, her mouth filled with blood.
Before Faras could react, she buried the dagger to the hilt just under his ribs. The shock and pain were so sudden and immense that he didn't know what was happening to him. It took a moment for him to realize that the woman had wounded him, probably mortally. He couldn't think past the pain, even though his scimitar was within inches of his hand. Ardeth had no problem, however. With swift precision, precision he had practiced all day, he swung his blade in a wide arc, slitting her throat, finishing her in mere seconds.
Faras held onto the handle of the dagger, his hand shaking incredibly. He was on his knees, almost too immobilized by pain to move. He tried pulling at the dagger, but Ardeth was there, stopping him.
"Lâ," Ardeth said harshly. "You will die."
Faras stared into Ardeth's face, trying to make sense of what had happened to him. He wanted to speak, but couldn't. Horrified, he realized that it didn't matter if he removed the blade or not, he was thoroughly certain he would not live to see another day. He had effectively broken his promise to Ash. That knowledge hurt worse than pain from a thousand daggers.
He opened and closed his mouth feebly. "Ah," he groaned. Blood trickled lazily down his chest, wetting his fingers. "Ashlyn…I…my…" He couldn't finish the thought.
Ardeth stood and yelled out to the remaining warriors. It would take them a few hours to return to the Fifth. He didn't think Faras would have the strength to make it, but they simply couldn't sit here, allowing him to die. "We must get him back. Now! Yalla!"
Ash was in the healer's tent when Shaji brought Rihana in. She hugged her friend fiercely. "Did he hurt you," Ash asked as Rihana reclined on a cot.
"Lâ," she said with a tired sigh. "Thank Allâh. I am thirsty and exhausted. Nothing more."
"The men," she asked anxiously.
"They have all fought, but are not injured."
Ash sighed. "Good."
Not long after Rihana made her declaration, her eyes closed. Ash sat with her and watched her sleep as she awaited the return of her husband. Tired as well, Ash nodded off, sleeping uneasily, dreaming that someone was yelling for help. One of the warriors had been hurt. She realized it wasn't a dream when she heard Rihana trying to rouse her, telling her that she must leave the tent.
At that, Ash came wide-awake. The man upon the cot reserved for the most ill was Faras. Rihana was there, desperately trying to steer her away, but Ash shrugged away from her friend. Her feet felt mired in quicksand as she approached her husband. A dagger protruded from his chest, crazily out of place on his person. She hoped it was a trick of the light. As she drew closer, she realized this was no trick. An amazing amount of blood stained his robe and hands. She didn't understand how he managed to still be alive.
"Ashlyn, let the healer see to him," Rihana insisted from far, far away.
Unaware for a moment that he was back at the Fifth, Faras thought he was dreaming when he heard Rihana speaking his wife's name. After a moment, his nostrils detected the sweet, subtle hint of her body's natural perfume. He wasn't dreaming after all. He had made it home.
"Lâ," he managed to croak. "Ash? Where are you?"
She went to his side and took his hand. His other held onto the dagger. "I'm here. I'm with you," she whispered.
Too weak to move his head, he fixed his eyes on her face. His vision had begun to blur. He could barely make out her face. "I told you I would return," he said with a weak smile.
Ash brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it. "You did, my love." His breath came out heavy and shallow. His skin was a terrifying ashen color. "Try not to speak, Faras. Save your strength."
"Lâ," he protested. "I am leaving this life, my Ash. I must say this now before it is too late. I failed you as a gôz…as an abu to our walad." He closed his eyes tightly against the pain attacking him. He felt lightheaded, detached from his body. When he opened his eyes, his vision was clear, her face in sharp focus. He was once told that when close to dying, a man's clarity and sense of the unknown sharpened. He knew it was true. He watched as she cried in that silent way of hers. It had always managed to break his heart. "Let Ardeth care for you. I will see you again, my gôza. Until then, love our little one for us both."
For a brief moment, his grasp tightened on Ash's hand. His grip swelled with his last desperate gasp for air. He let out his last breath slowly, his grip loosening every few seconds until his chest stilled. His head fell back and slid to the side. His eyes remained half lidded as if he were asleep. The hand which held the dagger so very tightly slackened and fell away to his side. There was no noise or movement. For Faras bin Saiyid, there was only peace.
Ash couldn't release his hand. "Faras," she whispered. "I love you. You will always be in my heart."
Although she was not aware of his presence, Ardeth stood next to Ash. He wasn't a man who cried easily, but this was another exception to the rule. Faras was a brave young man, an honorable warrior. He had saved his life today. The young warrior had taken a dagger clearly meant for him. He looked to Rimâd. She still had Faras' hand in hers. She stroked it gently, bringing it up to her lips, kissing it, and rubbing it against her cheek lovingly. Tears she shed, but she held the pain inside. As he watched Rimâd suffer in silence, Faras' dying words haunted him. Let Ardeth care for you.
Hundreds of people were crammed into the healer's tent, but Ash wasn't aware of any one of them. She held onto Faras' hand until the healer pried her away, ushering her into Rihana's care. They would have to begin preparing his body for interment. Faras' people were not interred here, but Ardeth insisted he have a place within the Bay family crypt. The healer explained it was a great honor. Ash neither heard nor processed one word of it. She had only heard Faras' last words about their 'little one.' There would be no little ones for them. He had been taken from her before it could happen. She was shuttled about until she was in a tent she didn't recognize. Of course she didn't recognize it. It was Rihana's.
"Ashlyn, none of us knew you were with child," Rihana said as she set about pouring out a pot of tea she had brought from the dining hall.
Ash's eyes stared straight ahead, looking at nothing in particular. Numbly, she shook her head. "I'm not," she said. "We were going to start before this…" She buried her face into her hands and sobbed. "Too late," she cried. "He was my husband only for a few weeks. Weeks! Now he's gone. Taken by the same bastards who took my sister. He's gone. Gone!"
Rihana abandoned the teapot and went to her friend. She took her unyielding body into her embrace. She didn't try to speak any words of comfort, because none would touch her grief.
Some time later, Ardeth came by Rihana's tent. He saw that his sister had put Rimâd down on her pallet to rest. She slept fitfully, her face flushed as if she had fever. "Is she all right?"
Rihana looked at her brother. "Lâ. She is not. I nearly had to force her to lie down."
Ardeth nodded. "If she is with child…"
Rihana shook her head, interrupting him. "She said she is not, that she and Faras spoke about it before he died."
"All right," he said. "Keep her here with you. Do not let her venture out alone, even to her tent. As soon as Faras is interred, I am finishing Erroll Auberjonus." He approached the pallet where Rimâd slept. He ran his hand gently over her forehead. "Rest Rimâd. I will not give up until this man is in his grave."
Ash awoke feeling logy and disoriented. It took her a moment to realize she was still inside Rihana's tent. Her friend had chosen to sleep in a chair pulled up next to the pallet. It was almost easy to believe that nothing had changed. But all she had to do to realize everything had changed was to look at her tunic. It was slightly stained with her husband's blood. She had feared she would lose him if he went to Kashfi. And she had. Quickly, she stuffed her fist into her mouth to stifle her cries. She then felt hot bile rising into her throat. Moving as fast as she could, she took the chamber pot from under the pallet's frame just in time.
Rihana awoke at the sound of Ash's sickness. She went to her friend with a damp cloth in hand. "Ashlyn, take this."
Ash took the cool cloth gratefully and placed it against her fevered face. "I want to see Ardeth. Please ask him to come."
Rihana nodded. "Aiwa. I will get him for you now."
Moments later, Rihana returned with Ardeth. He had donned a dark blue tunic very similar to one Faras had worn. It was enough to make Ash's stomach queasy again. She couldn't lose her mind yet. She had questions that needed answers.
"You wished to see me," Ardeth said. He did not approach her where she sat on the pallet. She didn't look well. Her face was drained of its color.
"Yes, I do," she said. "Who killed him, Ardeth?"
He swallowed hard. Was this something she needed to hear? "I do not think this will be good for you to hear. I do not believe it will offer any comfort to you."
Ash shook her head in disbelief. On shaky legs, she stood and approached him. "I don't want to know so it will make me feel better, Ardeth. Nothing could do that unless this is all a horrible dream. Who killed him?"
Her eyes were wild, lit with a fire he had just recently seen in his own. "Ashlyn, you do not need to hear this now."
She rushed toward him, pounding her small fists into his chest. "Tell me," she cried. "Who killed him? I am his widow and I damned well deserve to know!"
Ardeth took hold of her arms as gently as he could. He pushed her back a few inches so that he could look into her eyes. Her body had coiled up tightly, like an asp set to strike. "He and I went to the aid of Auberjonus' mar'a. We thought she was dead. I was to tend to her, but Faras took the initiative. She was not dead. She stabbed him with her dagger. In her condition, she thought Faras was her muHibb. I finished her."
"How could this happen, Ardeth," Ash asked, her voice begging him to make her understand. "How?"
It was one question he was not prepared to answer. It was one question he had asked many times after Liliana's death. There was no answer. He was convinced of that now. "I do not know, Ashlyn. I wish I could tell you. I wish I could take it back, but I cannot. The woman who took your husband's life paid for her misdeeds."
It should have made a difference. It should have made her feel something. It didn't. She felt nothing. She honestly couldn't feel her heart beating. Perhaps it had stopped when Faras' did. Revenge wasn't as sweet as she thought. Then again, it might have been Auberjonus' lover who had killed Faras, but all this started at the hands of the madman Ash hated more than any one person on the face of the earth. Maybe when he was gone, maybe when he had suffered as much as Faras had, as much as her sister had, she could feel something again.
"And you are going to kill Erroll Auberjonus," Ash asked steadily.
"Aiwa. I will kill him. I will take his life for all that he has stolen. He will pay in our way."
A look passed between them, a look that had passed before. This one fused them together in a common goal, one so dark and black, that Ash would never understand it, even when she grew to be an old, old woman. She had begun to like this Medjai justice. She had begun to think in that vein.
"I want you to teach me how to fight."
Her statement threw him for a loop. Her request was so unexpected, that he released his grip on her arms. "What are you asking of me?"
"You heard me," she said coldly. "I want you to teach me how to fight. When you go on the hunt, I'm coming along. After I see my husband properly laid to rest, you will teach me. No matter how long it takes. You will."
He didn't like this idea. It wasn't right. She was needed here in the healer's tent. If anything happened to her, Faras would haunt him. Yet, he couldn't argue with her. She wouldn't accept it. Not many women ever asked to join the ranks of the fighters. Then again, not many women were widowed after a few weeks.
"Aiwa. 'Âyiz."
Translations:
Ikhwe—Brothers
Akh—Brother
Rashîm—Stupid
Mar'a—Woman
Aiwa, ra'îs—Yes, Chief(tain)
Lâ—No
Yalla—Come on
Gôz—Husband
Abu—Father
Walad—Child
Gôza—Wife
Rimâd—Ash
MuHibb—Lover
'Âyiz—I will
To be continued…
