Foretold

Chapter 16

Alex stared at the slick walls, frustration building.

Daedalos sat in the mud at the far end of the pen, watching in silence as Alex kicked the wall.

“Agh!” Alex yelled, mouth filling with rainwater when he did.

“That’s not going to work, Alex.” Daedalos said over the wind and rain.

“I don’t care! I just… don’t care…” Alex sunk down into the mud, cradling his head in his hands and rocking back and forth. “What are they going to do to her for helping us?” He asked, his throat constricting, and tears flowing down his cheeks, barely noticeable in the rain.

Daedalos looked away. “They might have her whipped… Or…” He swallowed hard. “They might kill her. What she did for us… It was a huge risk. When she got caught helping us, she signed a death warrant because…” He was cut off by a slam and a yelp outside their prison door.

“What in the world?” Alex shouted.

Daedalos shook his head. “Alex, shut up, now.” He hissed in Alex’s ear.

Alex stared at him, astonished.

Then their prison door opened, and Vasiliki rushed in. “We have to go… Like, right now!” She gasped, barely audible over the wind.

Alex gaped at her. “You… How did you…”

She shook her head. “Later, Alex.”

He moaned. “Later… Of course… If there is one.” He muttered.

She grabbed his wrist. “Come on! We’re getting out of here. I can’t explain now.”

He shook his head, but he followed her quickly and quietly just as Daedalos was doing.

Neither of them asked any questions when they reached the edge of the jungle and Sophia Andromeda was waiting with three supply kits. She shoved them at the three companions. “Go. Hurry up.” She gave all three of them a rough push towards the jungle. “And don’t you dare consider coming back. You take care of these two, Vasiliki.”

Vasiliki nodded. “I wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise.”

Sophia Andromeda nodded, and then she handed Vasiliki a well-crafted bow of ash before hurrying into the rain back towards the village.

“Well, you heard her, boys! Move.” Vasiliki herded them into the jungle.

They followed her lead, and the three companions melted into the darkness.

***

“Vasiliki, can we please rest? We’ve been traveling for nearly six hours by my count, and I think my feet are going to drop off if we continue.” Alex tried to keep his tone level, but a hint of his annoyance crept in nonetheless.

Daedalos was plowing on with determination, but a sheen of sweat covered his face, and he looked like he might pass out at any moment.

Vasiliki glanced back at them.

The rain had stopped hours ago, and she had forced them to press on as far into the jungle as possible despite the darkness and the danger that one of the night predators might attack them. If they were too close to the village, then when the search parties were sent out, they would be caught, and next time, they wouldn’t escape.

She sighed, glancing up at the sky where the moon was hanging low and already dawn was beginning to lighten the sky. Then she glanced back at them again. “Alright… We’ll stop.” She suppressed a yawn. She was tired too, she realized. More tired, perhaps, than she cared to admit.

The two men groaned, and then collapsed onto the ground, laying down and not moving.

Vasiliki had to smile. Daedalos was doing better than she’d expected, but Alex… Well, Alex should’ve been doing better since he was a mountain-climber. He’d told her that at one point when she’d pointed out the large mountain range that formed the jungle’s backbone.

She sighed again. Another yawn.

The men were already falling asleep, and so she curled up next to Alex, laying her head on his chest. The sun began spilling over the horizon as she drifted sleepily. His arms went around her, and he pressed his face into her hair, sighing in his sleep-hazed reality. Then they were both asleep, and the three companions drifted off into slumber, safe at last from the dangers the Praelia tribe presented.

What other dangers lurked, they couldn’t know, but for now, they weren’t in any danger, and they could finally rest.

***

Kyrene whirled on the women who brought the news of the escape. She wasn’t truly angry, and part of her wanted to laugh and smile at how frightened the women were by her posturing, but she couldn’t because then they would know she’d had something to do with the escape.

With any luck, Vasiliki, Daedalos, and Alex would be far away from the village. So far away that when Kyrene sent search parties out, they wouldn’t be found. If they weren’t that far away, there was nothing Kyrene could do or would do if they were caught. She would have to surrender them over to tribe punishment. That meant death at least for the men and maybe for her daughter too.

That thought sobered her laughter. Vasiliki had to have listened to her instructions to run and not look back. Her daughter and the other two were safe.

“You say they escaped? How?” Kyrene demanded, hardening her tone to flint.

The other two women glanced at each other and shifted from foot to foot uneasily.

Finally, the older woman spoke. “My Queen, Adara and Gryta were on guard. They say that your daughter knocked them both out. They were unprepared for her attack, and it was raining hard. They both have bruises on their faces that support their story.”

Kyrene glared at them. “Fine. Bring the two of them to me. I want to know exactly what happened. You two may go. I will conduct the investigation to discover exactly how my daughter escaped. Send search parties out to try to find them before it’s too late. But be careful not to go outside of the usual three mile radius. If they aren’t within that radius, then forget it.” She curled her lip in faked disgust. “If my daughter wants to be a man-lover, let her go. I don’t want her to rule on this throne if she’s going to just flip everything we’ve ever known upside down in a day.” She paused, thinking about what to say next. “But, I do think some changes are necessary within our tribe in order to make sure nothing like this happens again. My daughter taught me a very important lesson about men and how to prevent this sort of thing. So, please collect all of the tribe members into the central square. I need to speak to everyone.”

The two women bowed, directing their gazes at their shoes. “Yes, my Lady!” They chorused.

She waved her hand languidly. “Off you go then.”

They bobbed another bow, and then they left, heading off to get Adara and Gryta.

When they were gone, she slumped back in her throne, sighing. This wasn’t going to be an easy day; she could tell.