Fire in the Heart : The Princess and the Bandit (9781629020112) (25 page)

“What sort of demonic creature is this?” demanded Aiken.

“It is the ghoul,” answered Caleb.

Elijah paced back and forth, realizing they he would probably have to face this thing in the morning.

Chapter 30

E
scape from this
furnace seemed impossible when Elijah glanced at the brightly burning sun. And it was only morning, he thought. At least in Habarga, he could hide in the shadows. But not here. There were no shadows except for the fleeting sand images caused by a lone bird overhead. The blue sky looked so inviting, he thought, but it also represented something else. It was endless, just like the heat. He felt his heart surge with a momentary freedom as the blue and golden rays mixed together. But the moment disappeared quickly when a sharp pain in his back nearly drove him to his knees. Caleb ran to his side as he stumbled, worried.

Water was not a problem in the city, and Elijah seldom considered its value. But today was a different story as the sun clawed its way upward. He realized that death was almost a certainty if they didn’t reach the Crusader’s camp soon. Hours had passed and hours still loomed. “How much farther?” asked Elijah.

Caleb seemed eager to respond. “Just over that hill,” he pointed.

Elijah felt his blood surge. His tongue cleaved to the roof of his mouth for a second when Aiken replied, “Finally.”

Elijah stumbled again. He kept thinking about his bed back at the hideout.
How long has it been since I actually slept there?
he wondered.
If only I was still in Bijan’s abandoned house. At least I could rest.
The heat grew more intense with each step. Knowing that the rising hill hid their long-awaited surprise didn’t do anything to relieve the profuse sweating. It poured from each of them. Elijah reached up and wiped his brow, trying to stop the intense burning in his eyes. Nothing helped.

The last few steps to the top seemed endless to Elijah. He winced in pain as his back fired shot after shot of disagreement. It screamed at him constantly now, “Stop, stop, stop.” But he knew that was impossible.
If I stop, I’ll die
, he thought. His eager glance captured a deep and wide gorge. It looked like a valley without life, partially shaded, partially illuminated with the searing light. The steep sides were broken up by near vertical ruts, and where they weren’t, the jagged rocks were. Far below, on the other side of a massive set of foreboding outcrops of stone lay an orderly array of tents. They backed up to a sheer rock face, seeming impossible to climb. Men hung to the quickly disappearing shadows as the three looked on.

“There it is! Come on!” blurted Aiken.

Elijah shouted, “Aiken, wait!”

Already several feet over the crest, Aiken turned and motioned, “Come on!”

Elijah stared back at the camp. “Aiken!” he grunted in disbelief, shaking his head. But Aiken didn’t stop, so the others reluctantly joined him.

Caleb’s frantic voice suddenly shouted out, “Wait!”

Aiken turned around. “What?” he yelled.

Caleb stood with arms outstretched. “If you go down there, you will be stuck! That’s why they can’t leave! You will be entering the ghoul territory!”

“He is right! There has to be another way!” said Elijah. He felt his heart race at the sound of that word. He had to lean forward in order to relieve his pain.

Aiken twisted back around. “No! I must go down there! I must!”

“Aiken! You heard Caleb! We need to figure something else out!” Elijah shouted at Aiken.

Barely stopped, Aiken shouted back, “Like what? We are already out of water and food! We have nothing! We will die out here if we just stay out in this sun! There is no shade. Come on, we can figure it out down there.”

Elijah’s eyes grew wide with fright. “Aiken, you know it’s not wise to go down there. What is going on?” he pleaded.

Aiken stood for a moment, taking in the distant camp. “I am sorry,” he said to Elijah as rocks and dirt went flying.

“Come on,” shouted Elijah to Caleb.

The color drained from Caleb’s face. “Are you crazy? I have seen what that ghoul does! You can go.”

Elijah frowned. “And what will you do? Can you really make it back to the tunnel?”

“I have before. They are crusaders. They may kill you if they see you. They are your sworn enemy, remember?” said Caleb as he drew in a deep breath.

Elijah just stared.

“Well, I brought you here, so now my job is done. Take care!” said Caleb, and he was gone.

“Hey!” shouted Elijah. But it was too late as he watched the boy turn out of sight.
Aiken
, he thought.
What do I do? I don’t want to face that ghoul, but I can’t leave Aiken now
. The camp again came into view just when the dryness in his mouth seemed overwhelming. He slid nearly halfway down until he could stand upright and finally caught up with Aiken just after he had entered the camp. The men looked so different than he had imagined. Blond hair, red hair, and beards, fair skin, red from the sun.
What a strange lot of men
, he thought, as they excitedly conversed with his friend.

The crusader talking to Aiken abruptly turned. “It’s the enemy!” he shouted, sword now raised.

“Put your sword down, Darrel! He is an ally!” commanded Aiken, stepping in between the two.

“Like hell he is!” shouted Darrel. The air filled with the sound of steel sliding against steel as the others unsheathed their swords.

“Stop! He is with me!” shouted Aiken.

Darrel scowled. “Were you brainwashed, Aiken?” he demanded.

Elijah stared at the stern man’s dark hair and beard.
For a man only in his thirties
, he thought,
the scar across his cheek seemed out of place.

Aiken quickly replied, “I was not. This is a good friend. Not all of them are bad.”

Darrel’s knuckles tightened around his sword handle.

“Please! Trust me!” pleaded Aiken.

Another crusader joined them, a younger man with blonde hair and mustache. Holding out his sword, he said, “Enough, Darrel. We can trust Aiken and his words.”

“You are too trusting, Edward!” scoffed Darrel.

Edward turned his back to Elijah. “What choice do we have, Darrel? We have lost enough men. I will take any help I can, even from the enemy,” replied Edward.

Darrel scowled again. “Fool! He is probably in league with the ghoul!”

“Nonsense! No one can be in league with that creature.”

Aiken stepped in. “Enough! We are here to help and that is final! Where is my brother?” he asked.

Edward’s eyes fell toward the ground.

Darrel quickly lowered his voice. “He is dead, Aiken. The ghoul took his life a few weeks ago.”

Aiken’s body stiffened as he stared off into the distance.

Elijah quietly walked up to his friend.

They all stood silently, practically motionless, until Edward spoke up, “I am sorry, Aiken. We have lost over thirty men to this creature,” he said somberly.

Aiken wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “How many men are left?” he asked.

“We have thirty-one, but that will change today,” replied Edward. His voice faltered.

“Today?” exclaimed Aiken nervously.

Edward continued, “The beast has come the last seven days, taking two at a time.”

Aiken threw up his hands. “How can you not fight this creature? You have thirty men!”

“This creature is unnatural how it moves! It launches its body at speeds of an arrow being launched from a bow!” complained Darrel.

Edward pointed. “We set up our defenses in that cave,” he said. They all turned toward the corner of the gorge. “But the damned creature dug a tunnel to the back of the cave and started attacking us there! There is no getting away from the beast! We are tired. Our rations are running out, we hardly have enough water. It seems hopeless,” said Edward, voice quivering.

With renewed vigor, Aiken replied, “We can’t give up hope.”

“If we work together, we can defeat this creature,” added Elijah.

“Shut up, sand rat!” replied Darrel gruffly.

“Enough, Darrel!” shouted Aiken.

Edward turned to Elijah. “Excuse him. He has had many bad experiences with your kind,” he said.

Elijah glanced toward the ground. “I understand,” he whispered.

“What do you have in mind?” continued Edward grinning.

Elijah looked at the center of the gorge. “Does this creature like to fight for his meals? Or does he like an easy target?” he asked Edward.

“What do you propose?”

Elijah looked straight into Edward’s eyes. “Tie me up to a pole over there. Use me as bait. When he comes to get me, set your men up around me and be ready to attack,” he said.

“Are you a fool? You can’t do that!” demanded Aiken.

Elijah smiled. “I don’t plan on staying in this gorge, Aiken. I have come too far to get my wish and I will not let a ghoul stand in my path,” he replied.

Aiken just stared.

“Make it look like I am tied up, and I will be ready for this beast.”

“Do you not fear this creature?” asked Aiken.

“Of course I do, but I have taken on the great Radwan himself. I think I can handle a ghoul,” grinned Elijah sheepishly.

Darrel raised his heavy eyebrows. “I say we do it. If he dies, it will be no loss to us,” he said.

“Hold your tongue, Darrel. He saved my life,” demanded Aiken frowning.

Edward continued with Elijah. “You are brave. We will get you ready for the beast. Men, prepare the sacrifice to the creature,” commanded Edward. Within minutes, the able-bodied crusaders began construction of the battle area in the very middle of the gorge.

Elijah paused with Aiken. “You have lost your mind! You can’t do this! You know what they said about that creature!” pleaded Aiken.

A dazed look came over Elijah. “I am tired of playing games and wasting time! Just have my back when it comes!” he asked.

“I have to say, boy, you are braver than you look. This creature, this demon, is the most frightening things I have ever heard of,” said Aiken.

Elijah smiled. “It’s a good thing I haven’t seen it then,” he said.

Elijah continued as the men worked on resurrecting the thick pole. “I didn’t know you had a brother here.”

Aiken nodded. “Yes. We were not that close, but he was still my brother,” he said.

“I am sorry, Aiken.”

Aiken shrugged. “It is not your fault. I will see him again,” he replied quietly.

“In the afterlife, you mean?” asked Elijah.

“Yes.”

Edward quickly interrupted, “The pole is set.”

Elijah asked Edward, “What time does this beast usually come out?”

“Depends. He is attracted to blood.”

Elijah blurted out. “Put blood on me.”

Edward immediately shouted, “Kill a horse!”

Elijah watched as another man scurried away.

Edward explained, “We have been eating our horses to survive. It has been a miserable experience. These horses are as much family as anything. It is hard to put them down.”

A horse’s cry could be heard nearby as the crusader ran his knife under the animal’s throat. Edward turned to Elijah. “Go on, get some blood on you,” he said.

Elijah quickly took off his shirt and walked over to the dead horse. After rubbing the sticky substance all over his body, it dried almost instantly.

Edward watched carefully, “All right, we are ready. We will hide behind what we can. We will be ready,” he said.

Aiken curiously asked, “Why have you not tried out this technique?”

Darrel chided the man. “Because no one is stupid enough to be bait.”

Elijah glared.

Edward pulled out a canteen. “I think brave is the better word. Here you go. Drink up,” he said.

Elijah took and put the container to his lips. He felt his stomach tighten as he breathed in the stench covering his body. “Thank you,” he said.

Edward smiled. “It’s the least I can do. Come on. Let’s go get you set up,” he replied.

Aiken followed. “I will go with you,” he said as the three men walked to the pole. Elijah mounted the small platform and lowered his hands behind.

Edward stepped back. “Good,” he exclaimed.

Aiken thrust his sword behind the pole and met Elijah’s eyes. “For safety,” he said.

“Thanks,” replied Elijah.

“What is your name, son?” Edward asked.

“Elijah.”

“I am Edward. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” returned Elijah.

“We will set up,” said Edward and he turned to go.

Aiken’s voice faltered. “Are you sure about this?”

Elijah slowly nodded. “Never been more sure about anything in my life.”

Aiken glanced back up toward the top of the hill. “Where did our little friend, Caleb, go?” he asked.

“He ran back to the tunnel.”

“Good for him,” said Aiken.

Aiken took a deep breath. “Do not worry. I will be ready to kill this creature,” he said.

Elijah replied, “I know. Don’t worry about me.”

“Too late,” said Aiken grinning.

The sunlight beat against him relentlessly, but he shuddered when images of the ghoul appeared. He stood there, defenseless, with his life in his enemy’s hands. He started to consider the last month of his life and couldn’t believe all that he had been through.
It has been a good life
, he thought. He had been at his highest high and then at his lowest low. He had a love affair with a princess! Then he became a wanted criminal, and now he was defending the crusaders from a vicious beast! Deep down, he wanted to tell Natalia what he was doing and everything he has done. He thought how wonderful her support would be right now. Even through the hardest of times, especially Radwan, he still held on to a glimmer of hope to see her again.
Maybe Aiken was right?
he thought.
Maybe I will still have a chance with her.
But can I really steal her from the prince? She did say she loved me.
His legs started to wobble. His back screamed out in pain, time and time again. The only way to relieve it was to shift his weight, but that didn’t seem to be working anymore as the minutes ticked by.
If only I could wipe my brow. My eyes burn so much
, he thought. He scanned the quiet, motionless camp.
They must already be in position
, he thought. Elijah stared at the blue sky and imagined himself a prince. He found himself walking through the wide thoroughfares filled with people cheering him and his beautiful bride Natalia on. He missed her smell, her touch.
Was it over though?
he wondered. Should he move on and really travel the world? He was a criminal. He still had the silver and the emerald in his pouch.
Maybe I can still have the necklace made for her!
he dreamed.