I jumped to my feet and swung around, my knife ready in my hand. My mouth was dry, dry as the sand and rocks beneath my feet.
'No!' was all I could manage to say.
A tall man dressed in dark desert robes had stepped out from behind the rocks surrounding the clearing. His face was hidden by a dark scarf and his sword was pointing straight at Naamiya. She'd started to draw her own sword as she spun around to face the stranger, but her hand dropped away from the hilt once she realised that his gleaming blade was a hand-span away from her throat.
I wondered if I could throw my knife at the man before he could injure Naamiya, but he glanced at me with cold, dark eyes that seemed to see right into me and I knew that I had no chance.
'Drop the weapons. Now!' he shouted at us.
I let my knife fall onto the sand where it landed with a dull thud. Naamiya drew her sword out and squatted to place it on the ground then stood upright to look the stranger straight in the eye. He slid the sword away from her with his booted foot, his eyes were fixed on us and the tip of his sword pointed unwaveringly at Naamiya's throat the whole time.
'Who are you?' asked Soni.
'Gerdian,' said the man in a husky voice, then he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. At the sound several more men came out from behind the rocks at the edge of the clearing and surrounded us. They were all dressed like their leader and their weapons were pointing straight at us.
'Search them,' said Gerdian. The tone of his voice showed he was used to giving commands and having them followed without question.
A brown-robed man stooped to pick up my knife and stuck it through his own belt while another man searched us. Soni frowned and stared straight ahead as she was being searched. Naamiya stood with her head held high, but she muttered some curse words and spat at the man who searched her. I was angry that the man's hands seemed to linger where they did not need to. My own search was briefer and I tolerated it without a word. I was just glad that Soni and Naamiya weren't being slaughtered in front of me.
These men had been waiting for us. Were they bandits? How had they known we would be travelling this way?
'Gerdian, what are you going to do with us?' asked Naamiya, as if she had plucked the thought from my mind. Her voice was steady and I admired her for it. I knew that my own would be a mere squeak at best.
'You're not important,' he said, waving at Soni and Naamiya. 'He's the only one I want,' he said, looking at me.
'What are you going to do with us?' repeated Naamiya.
Gerdian thought about this, frowned and pushed back his scarf from his forehead to wipe away the sweat. 'I haven't decided whether to kill you two here or set you loose in the desert to take your chances. The end result will be the same, I expect.'
Terror of the sisters being murdered in front of me like my own family made my legs weak and my hands shake. A bead of sweat ran down from my forehead into my eye, but I did not dare to move a hand to wipe it away despite the sting. Yardin's prophecy was coming true again. More people dying because of me. I took a deep breath.
'Don't kill them or I won't go with you. Release them and I will do whatever you want,' I said, doing my best to speak in a confident voice. I knew this was a hopeless plea but it was the only thing I could think of to stop my friends being killed.
Gerdian chuckled, the noise came from deep inside his chest and made his whole frame shake. 'Oh, you think you're that important to me, do you, little boy? Well, let me tell you what will happen. I will decide what happens to you and your friends, not you.'
My bravery drained away from me like sand through open fingers. I was not important enough to be able to determine my own fate, less still that of my friends. I scowled back at him, refusing to show my fear.
Gerdian squinted at me. 'Still, I like your courage, boy. We will take all of you to Hericle. He can decide whether the women have any worth. Give them some water,' he ordered.
His men obeyed him and we gulped down as much water as our captors would allow. Then we were forced to carry our packs and stumble on. We were all weary and footsore, even though we were no longer thirsty. We had raced across the desert all the way from Polemmy, only to be captured as soon as we got into what we had assumed would be the safety of the mountains. None of us had enough energy left to spare for resisting or even talking.
One of our captors led the way and we trudged along behind him with the rest of the men following us. The path was rocky and I had to watch every step to ensure I didn't slip over or twist an ankle on a loose stone.
The mountains had looked small as we approached them through the desert, but now I had a much better appreciation of their size. They seemed to grow higher with every step I took. All the time I had spent climbing dunes and leading camels through sand had strengthened me, but still my legs ached with the effort of having to climb so high and my lungs burned as I struggled to suck down enough air.
At last we reached a pass between two mountains and we were allowed to stop there for a while to rest, drink and eat. Our captors gave us some of our own food and ate the rest themselves.
All too soon, Gerdian prodded us and told us that it was time to move on, and I stood up, groaning with the effort of making my aching legs obey me. The mountain pass narrowed as we walked along it and the sides closed in so that we walked through a narrow passage between steep rock walls. It would be a perfect spot for an ambush. If anyone was above us they would be able to fire down at us or drop stones on us, but Gerdian did not seem to have any worries about this. He must know that he is safe, I reasoned and tried to clear my mind of worries.
At last we emerged from the pass and the land beyond the mountains spread out in front of us. The country on the other side of the mountains was less barren than the desert, with patches of greenery and stunted trees. It was not lush, but after the sameness of the sand dunes and the bare mountain slopes, my eyes felt less parched when I looked at it. I wanted to be under the shade of those trees more than anything; for a while my steps felt lighter, but the burst of energy soon left me and I felt even more weary.
Walking downhill was easier at first, but the steepness of the path soon made my calves ache from keeping my weight back so that I didn't fall over and I struggled to keep my balance. A fall here would mean deep cuts and bruises at the very least and probably much worse.
Halfway down the mountain, we were allowed another short break for food and water before we were urged back onto our feet again. I stumbled with exhaustion and Soni fell twice, though fortunately she did not injure herself. Naamiya trudged along with her head hanging down.
As twilight cast its purple shroud over the sky, we rounded a large rock that had hidden the rest of the path from our sight and found that we were at the foot of the mountains.
Ahead of us were some simple huts, built from wood and rocks. A fire pit was blazing in the middle of the huts. The smell of roasting meat drifted towards us on the air and my mouth flooded with saliva. Wooden frames behind the huts held animal skins that had been stretched out to dry, and a pile of chopped firewood was neatly stacked up near to the fire. The place looked orderly and not at all the kind of place that I would have expected a band of bandits to inhabit.
Gerdian told Soni and Naamiya to sit down near to the fire. They sank down onto the sand without saying a word. He grabbed my arm and led me towards the huts.
'Hericle! We found him!' shouted Gerdian.
A tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair that was dusted with white at the temples strode out of the largest hut. He stared at me for a breath or two as though he was devouring me with his eyes, then he pulled me to him and wrapped his thick, powerful arms around me in an embrace that threatened to crack my spine. When he released me from his death grip, he kissed me on both cheeks.
'My son! You are here!' he shouted in a voice that shook my bones within me.
***
Bet you weren't expecting that! Do you think Thamet's life will get better now?
Any feedback good or bad is truly appreciated, I am trying to make this the best story I can. Please let me know if you find anything confusing or if you think I've left anything out.
And finally, if you liked it, please press the little yellow ⭐️ to let me know!
Anni X