Read The Crystals of Tlalli: Awakened Affinities Page 39
her hands or feet anymore. But her legs and arms made up for it in cramping pain and total agony. All she could do was try not to cry and listen to what the men were saying. One of them a big Opia man named Tomkin brought her water and took her to use the bathroom. He treated her kindly, well better then the others did. She sensed he didn’t want to be there. He wasn’t a bad man just a desperate one.
Mostly the men complained about not being paid and having to put up with the little shippa. Rica assumed that shippa was some kind of bad word for the magi. The Magi on the other hand would untie her feet twice a day for about ten minutes and then her hands so she could eat what he gave her. The food was cold but not awful. The first time he had come she had tried not to eat it. He had hurt her. Rica learned quickly she had to eat it or suffer. The Magi didn’t say anything to her except for “Eat this.” And “Don’t try to run away.” As if Rica could run. Her muscles were so cramped it was a wonder she could even move. That first night she cried most of the night. Tonight would be different she promised herself. She had to find a way out of this.
When they stopped to use the bathroom Rica tried to call out loud enough to be heard over the gag in her mouth. The Magi must have heard her and flipped the blanket off her head. The light coming in the window hurt her eyes and she blinked. He untied her gag and offered her water. He looked worried. Rica drank spilling most of the water down her chin to her chest. She shivered. The fear he felt wrapped around her making it hard to think. Why was he so afraid?
“Please. I promise not to try to run away. Please untie my legs from my arms. It hurts so bad I can hardly stand it.” Rica sobbed at the end, so much for her resolve to be brave. The Magi looked at her a moment then seemed to come to a decision and untied her legs from her arms. Rica cried out when she straightened them. It hurt so much she could not think of anything but the pain.
“Make one wrong move and you will regret you were ever born.” The thin man said. Rica nodded. He grabbed her under her arms and pulled her up to a seat. Then he sat across from her. Rica felt the tears run down her face but couldn’t seem to stop them no matter what she told herself.
When they started out again the feeling was coming back into her hands and feet and the electric like needles of pain kept her from hearing anything the men were saying. Soon though the pain stopped and she could listen. The Magi was telling the current driver they were wasting too much time and that he would flay him alive if they were delayed anymore. Rica believed him.
When she could steal a glance out the window she saw they were in the mountains but not the same ones she had been in when they took her. They looked different, snow covered the tops and the trees were strange. They were tall wispy looking trees with white see through blooms that were huge. The trees themselves were tall with white bark and grey leaves. Alien looking landscape was all Rica could think of. The snow started falling and the Magi cursed. The other men were nervous and did what ever the Magi commanded. They were afraid of him too Rica realized. Maybe she could convince one of them to let her go. No dumb thought they were too afraid to even think for them selves.
As the treval bounced along, which was weird because they floated, Rica started to nod off and had the strangest dream. Moyo was in it trying to say something to her, then her head would explode in pain and she would wake up. The pain was like when she had tried to use her magic. Hope surged though her. Moyo was trying to dream speak her! Next time it happened she would try to send him a vision of where they were. The snow was falling fast and the dirt road they were on was narrow and didn’t look like it had been maintained at all. This was truly a road like on Earth. No greenery growing on it, just gravel and dirt. In some places small white trees had started in the middle of the road. The Magi used some kind of oblong box to suppress the trees he said. He had the men dig the trees up and throw them off the road. The treval they were in had damaged ruins the big Opia man named Tomkin said. They would have to hurry or be stuck there. The treval would only float a foot above the dirt of the road and would not float on the snow so the front end was always running into the snow that was rapidly getting deeper. The thin human man Rica thought was a Magi ordered two of the men to shovel the snow away from the front of the treval. If this hadn’t been so serious of a situation Rica would have laughed. The men were afraid of the little trees and were getting tired of shoveling the snow. Rica bided her time; it wouldn’t be long before they were stuck again.
The next time Rica got an opportunity to contact Moyo came when the treval got stuck in the snow again. Rica went in to the vision trance like Moyo had taught her and carefully remembered what she could of the road and the mountains of the snow falling and the dirt road, the strange trees and the men who held her captive. A feeling of acknowledgement washed over her, that’s when the Magi slapped her hard across her face. Rica was stunned by the Magi’s blow.
“I told you no magic little girl. Now you will pay the price for disobedience.” The Magi hit her again and cast a spell at her. Rica felt like her skin was being pulled from her body and she screamed and screamed. When he stopped he readjusted the ruin on her wrist binding. Something about that ruin was preventing her from using her magic or resisting his. But the ruin was smoking now and looked as though it would shatter. Rica sobbed as he tied her arms and legs back up and tossed her back into the back of the treb again.
“Doesn’t he want her alive?” The big Opia man said to the Magi.
“It is none of your concern what he does or doesn’t want. Careful you don’t enjoy my displeasure Tomkin. I could easily feed you to the Flitter trees. I suggest you get back to work!” The last of that was spaced, every word said with cruel intensity. The big man turned and went back to shoveling snow. All Rica focused on was flitter trees. A clue for Moyo next time, she was determined to send that message to him no matter the cost. She forced her self to calm and into the vision trance and sent it fast to him. He was close now she could feel it. The Magi didn’t notice the message she had sent. Maybe it was too short a one to register or the rune had failed altogether. Rica tentatively tried to burn her bonds and they snapped apart! She lay still waiting for the Magi’s wrath, but it didn’t come. Now the bindings holding her legs together and then her arms and hands. Yes! She was free of the ropes and they hadn’t noticed. The Magi was watching the men try to get the treb free of the snow. Rica carefully brought her hands up in front of her and messaged her wrists slowly so as not to draw attention.
Thunk, thunk, the sound of arrows hitting flesh came clearly to Rica’s straining ears. Moyo! Rica could hear the battle being waged outside the treb. She struggled to stand and cried out in pain, this would take time that she didn’t have to get the feeling back into her legs and feet. The back door opened and Zafira climbed into the treb. Rica started toward her but Zafira gestured for her to stay there. Zafira used her healing arts on her. Rica tried to help but was not able to.
Soon the battle was over and Nab had Tomkin up against the side of the treval outside. He was questioning him. Moyo was also firing questions at the man. He begged to be let go, promising he wouldn’t say anything to anyone. Then he started talking. Telling them about some Big high up Magi in Semlor by the name of Jarath. That Rica was gifted in the affinities and had traced a power surge to her, and then he was talking nonsense about Rica’s mother being up there. Rica’s mother was on Earth the man was clearly insane! When they had gotten all the information they were going to Nab put his knife to the man’s throat and looked at Rica.
“No. He was the only one who was the least bit kind to me. Please just knock him out or something. Don’t kill him.” The man looked at her, thanks in his eyes.
Nab shook his head. “As you wish.”
Zafira got a blanket and covered the man when he was unconscious so he wouldn’t freeze to death.
“Do you want to leave food for him too, or weapons?” Nab was clearly upset over the blanket, and was frowning at Zafira.
“No. But Rica wants hi
m alive. And the blanket will make sure he stays that way.”
“Lets go, before you want us to take him with us.” Nab said in disgust.
Moyo flew back to where they had left their treb and brought it up to the scene of the battle. Nab was worried about the flitter trees too.
“What is so bad about the trees they look ok?” Rica was puzzled.
Zafira explained it. ”Those trees were created in the last War of the Affinities when the wastes were created. They are deadly. Those blossoms launch out and wrap around the victim. There are thorns inside that puncher and inject a toxin in to the body. Then the blossom squeezes and tares the body apart. The body then is digested in a matter of weeks. The cord connecting the blossom to the tree is long and near unbreakable. We have smaller ones at home. You remember those little plants we put out around the garden? Those were these trees smaller cousins. We use ours to catch pests that would other wise eat the plants in the garden.” Rica shivered.
“Well these trees will make the matter of getting rid of this mess all the easier. Let’s drag the bodies over close enough for the trees to get them.”