"Well listen, I have an offer for you," Hamric said. They all looked interested, even Yac. "A few hours walk from here, down towards the sea, is the village that Tye comes from." Everyone looked at Tye, but he just shrugged. "It's a small place," he said, "only a few houses really."
"I know the headman, I will be able to find you work there," Hamric continued. "If you don't want to do that, I will give you all some supplies and you can head back east or go wherever you like."
"Really? That would be great!" "Yes, please!" Davor and Doran said. "I will think about it," said Yac sullenly.
"Think about it indeed," Hamric said softly. "You will not get any better offers." And with that, he kicked out the fire, signalling time for bed.
Tye lay in the darkness again, curled up with Little Bear, thinking hard. So Hamric knew Gwar the village headman! What else did he know that he was not letting on? Tye did not think for long though, within a few moments he was fast asleep.
***
When they woke the next morning, the storm was still blowing hard. Hamric went out for a bit but came back in and said “it is too soon. Maybe later.” They all did some chores, making breakfast and tidying up the cave, and then sat around waiting.
After an hour or two, Hamric stood up, put his head out of the door for a moment and then said, "I think we should try now." They wrapped themselves in thick cloaks that Hamric bought out from somewhere and tied scarves round their faces. Tye picked up Little Bear and he snuggled in under his tunic, where Tye then bound him. The last thing that he wanted was his little goat running away in the middle of the storm. Little Bear didn’t seem to mind though, maybe he realised that if ran away this time he really would be lost.
"Have any of you been in the Boreas before?" Hamric asked when they were ready. They all shook their heads. Although he had lived through several, Tye had never actually walked out in one. Like most of the villages, they locked themselves up in their houses and refused to come out until it was over.
"Well it is like nothing you will have experienced before," Hamric said grimly. "It is said that the Boreas is sent by the devils and the djinns of the sky to try and trap humans. It is usually death to go out in it; the howling is enough to drive any man mad, the stinging sands can blind and choke you and the confusing winds and obscured sun will tempt you out in the wrong direction and send you falling over a precipice.”
"Now, we are going to be tied together, so you will not be able to go far but do not under any circumstances, undo the rope around you. You might see or hear things in the storm, visions and mirages. Do not believe them, they are sent by the djinns and the devils to try and tempt us deeper into the wind. Look down at the floor, place one foot in front of the other, and keep going. Ready?" he looked at each of the boys in turn, and they all nervously met his gaze. He then picked a coil of rope off the wall, tied it round his waist, and then with a few metres slack between each of them fastened it round everyone’s waist. "Remember, do not under any circumstances, undo the rope. Now, let's go," he said and flung the door open.
At first, sheltered by the walls of the canyon, it was not too bad. The noise was not too loud, the wind was not too strong, and they could walk almost normally. But as soon as they stepped out of the protecting cliffs, the full force of the storm hit them. If he hadn't been roped to Davor and Yac, Tye would almost certainly have lost his footing and fallen over.
The sand immediately got under his hood, through his scarf and down his throat and into his eyes. He could feel it burning all the way to his stomach, making him retch. He coughed immediately, and had to swallow dust and sand before he realised that his mouth was open. He blinked several times, and gradually the stinging stopped. His hands, holding onto the rope were exposed though, and the razor sharp sand bit into his flesh like a thousand tiny mosquitoes, trying to strip him to the bone.
The noise of the storm was intense. Mostly, it was a whining, keening wail, like the high pitched scream of an animal being slaughtered, but underneath was a deep roaring sound, like rushing water or huge waves bursting upon a shore. It was a terrible and terrifying sound.
After about twenty minutes, the ground underfoot changed. Rather than the loose rocky ground, he could feel occasional bits of grass and earth. Tye realised that they must be out of the canyons now and heading down the slopes towards the village, but it was difficult to tell in the swirling orange light.
After an hour or so of trudging, Tye also thought he could hear something else. He concentrated and realised that he could hear voices. Soothing soft voices, not the screams of people being tortured by Djinns. He concentrated harder. They seemed to be calling his name, saying they had something for him. Not food or gold, but something else, someone else.
His mother! It was his mother calling out to him Tye realised. A mother that he had never known, offering love and warmth that he had never experienced. ‘Tye, Tye, come and join me,’ the voice seemed to say, ‘we can be together.’ Without thinking, Tye’s hands started fumbling at the rope around his waist. He had to go to his mother. ‘Tye, Tye, come and join me….’
There was a sudden wriggling under his tunic, Little Bear was kicking him! He shook his head like he was in a dream, and then he came crashing back to reality. Hamric had warned him about the voices in the storm, about how they would try and trick him into going out deeper into the winds. If it hadn’t been for Little Bear, he would have succumbed to them! He put a hand inside and felt the baby goat nuzzling against him, maybe now they were even.
Yac in front of him was jerking on the rope. Tye put a hand out to steady himself and then started shuffling forward too, step by step, looking down at the floor, trying to ignore the sand whipping around him and the wind buffeting him. It was hard, but he found that he could do it.
It seemed they walked for hours. Tye had no idea where they were going, uphill or down, east or west, but every footstep became an effort, a never ending trudge into the deep orange gloom. He had almost given in to the tempting voices and slipped loose from the rope and wandered deep into the storm away from the others. He shuddered as he imagined himself lost in the wind, being a victim of the djinns. Who knows what they would have done to him! Death would have been the least of his worries then. Strangely, he could no longer hear their voices pretending to be his mother. Perhaps when they realised they would not lure him out they gave up on him. Perhaps they were trying someone else.
It was strange that he had been tempted by his mother when he had never known her though. His aunt and uncle were very cagey about his parents and refused to talk about them at all. All he knew about her was that she was from the village and had died soon after he was born, but of his father he knew nothing.
Suddenly he bumped into Yac in front of him who had stopped abruptly. Tye tried to shout out to him and ask what was wrong, but the wind whipped his words away. Then the rope suddenly went slack, and the Yac lurched into the gloom. In horror, Tye realised that Yac had slipped the rope from his waist and was heading towards the Voices in the Storm!
Chapter 9 – Escaping the Boreas
Within seconds, Tye could no longer see Yac. He had completely disappeared into the swirling yellow storm. Suddenly the burly figure of Hamric was before him, pulling on the rope until Davor and Doran were close too. "Stay here, stay together,” he put his face close to Tye’s and shouted. “DO NOT MOVE!" and then he too plunged into the maelstrom.
The three boys huddled close. The storm if anything seemed to intensify, the winds lashing them like whips. Talk was impossible, all they could to was hold on to each other and try and not fall over. The seconds turned to minutes, the waiting seemed to last forever.
What would happen if Hamric didn't come back? Tye had no idea where they were, and knew that they were as good as dead without him. They could either stay here and choke in the sand, or wander round until they fell off a precipice. Either way, the end was cert
ain. The voices which had quietened down began again, calling out to him. Tye shuddered. If Hamric didn’t come back soon, their voices would join the howling dead chorus out in the storm.
Tye saw some dark shapes moving in the storm. Was it Hamric? He squinted, unable to make out exactly what was out in the swirling winds. Was it a djinn come to steal their souls? Was it an iffrit come to make slaves of them? Whatever it was, it looked monstrous and it was coming their way!
Tye’s heart started pumping in terror, and his hands began fumbling with the rope around his waist. He would rather take his chances out in the storm than just sit here like a sitting target. But before he could slip the knot and run into the storm, the shape was upon them. It was Hamric! And he Yac was in his arms.
If Tye had felt scared, one look at the boy in Hamric’’s arms made him realise that whatever he had felt, was nothing compared to what Yac had been through. His face was frozen in an expression of pure terror, his eyes were rolled back in his head and froth was bubbling at his mouth. He looked like he had been to the land of the dead and back.
Hamric slung the unresponsive Yac over his shoulder, checked the ropes binding them and shouted "Follow me!" to them. Tye, Davor and Doran needed no further encouragement and they hurried into the gloom after them, this time keeping each much closer together. Being able to reach out and touch each other felt a lot safer.
Time seemed to disappear again. There was no way of knowing how long they walked for; it felt like hours of slow trudging to Tye, but it may only have been minutes. Occasionally rocks or paths would appear out of the gloom only to be swallowed again by the winds. They seemed to be going downhill, but there was no real way of telling.
After what seemed an age, the storm seemed to slacken around them. The winds started to drop and the voices began to quiet. It was almost as if the djinns had admitted defeat in their attempt to lure them out and were now retreating. It was still difficult to see, but maybe there were shapes ahead of them.
Suddenly, a wall loomed up in front of them. With a shock, Tye recognized it as one of the farm buildings in his village. He recognized a couple of other structures; firstly the goat shed, then old Rak’s place, then they were in front of the door of the communal long house and Hamric was hammering on the door. After what seemed an age, it opened up, and the scarred face of the village headman appeared, no doubt thinking that the djinns were at the door. Tye heard some words shouted between them, and then suddenly they were in and safe!
It was even gloomier in the longhouse than it was outside in the storm. The room stretched back about thirty metres, the solid stone walls and thatched roof keeping out the winds. The villagers used it to store goods and grain, and sometimes people in times of emergency. Now though, only the headman was here. During the Boreas, one person would volunteer to stay there during the storm and open the doors to strangers. None of the other village houses would answer their doors, afraid that it might be the desert spirits come to take them away. Tye sighed, it would be another night before he was home.
As if reading his thoughts, Hamric said "You can rest now boys, we will not be going anywhere tonight," and he lay the still unconscious Yac gently down. Davor and Doran flopped gratefully to the floor, exhausted, both physically and mentally from the trek through the storm but they were obviously worried about their friend.
"Is he... is he...." Davor began tearfully.
"Have the djinns..." Doran's voice carried on for him "have the djinn's stolen his soul?"
Hamric laughed. "No, I don't think so. I found him not far from us in the storm. He had fallen over and knocked his head. He will be fine when he wakes up, just with a bit of a headache." He seemed to be showing no signs of fatigue, despite carrying Yac for what must have been several miles. Tye began to wonder at his strength and endurance; he would not have been able to manage more than a few paces carrying him.
The headman appeared with a water skin. "There you go," he said gruffly, without looking at them. They took and too took several big gulps of water, before turning to bathe Yac's face.
Tye had known Headman Gwar since he was born. He was a thin middle aged man, with nervous darting eyes and a face scarred by pox. He was not a strong leader and was headman only because he owned more land than anyone else. Gwar was notoriously mean, and although he had never been nasty to Tye, he had never shown him any kindness either. Still it felt a bit strange that he had not even acknowledged him.
It took a while for Tye to get Little Bear out from under his tunic, and by the time that he got the goat settled, Hamric was deep in conversation with Gwar. They kept glancing furtively at him and the boys and they seemed to be talking about them. It must be about Davor, Doran and Yac staying on here, Tye thought. It would all be sorted in the morning.
The brothers were still fussing over Yac, wiping his face, and loosening his clothing. "I can feel the bump on his head," Doran was saying to Davor. "Splash a bit more water on his face," Tye said. "Perhaps it will wake him up."
As if on cue, Yac groaned and opened his eyes. "Where am I?" he said and tried to sit up. "Ow! My head hurts!"
"Don't worry, you are safe now." Davor said.
"Where are we? What happened?" he looked around confused.
"We are in Tye's village," Doran continued. "You wandered off into the storm. Hamric had to go and find you, and then carried you all the way down the mountain. He saved your life."
"Hamric, saved me? He went into the storm...." Yac trailed off, seemingly unable to believe what Doran was saying.
"What do you remember from the storm?" Tye asked him curiously. "Did you hear the voices?"
Yac screwed up his face, concentrating. "I remember...." he trailed off. "We were in the storm, and then..." he stopped as if he had decided something. "No, I remember nothing. We were walking in the storm, and then we were here. I cannot remember anything from the storm." For some reason, Tye did not completely believe him.
He yawned sleepily and nestled deeper into his cloak. Hamric was still talking to Gwar, but the brothers and Yac were settling down to sleep. Little Bear came and curled up next to him, a comforting warm presence. He was home now and safe. He would see his Aunt and Uncle in the morning, maybe get a beating for getting lost in the storm and worrying them, but after that everything would go back to normal.
Chapter 10 – The Attack on the Village
“Tye, quickly, wake up!" he felt someone shake his shoulder urgently, bringing him suddenly back from a delicious sleep.
"What!" he sat bolt upright. It was still dark, and he could only just make out the face of Davor above.
"Shhh! Something is happening and it doesn't sound good. I was awake and heard someone come in. They spoke to Hamric and the headman, and then they all left a few minutes ago. Before they went though, Hamric saw that I was awake and told me I should get us all ready to go!"
"Why, what's happening?"
"I don't know. Now help me wake the others."
It took them a few minutes to wake them both. Yac was especially hard to rouse; he was in a very deep sleep, and his face was curiously calm and peaceful. "What is it!" he grumbled. “Can't it wait? I was dreaming of..."
Before he could finish though, the door banged open and Hamric came barging through. "Quick boys, the village is about to be attacked!" he shouted.
Quick as a flash they were all up, asking questions. "Who?" "Where?" "Has anyone been hurt?" they all asked together. Hamric held up his hand. "Pirate raiders have attacked the next village. They landed in the cover of the dying storm a few hours ago. One of the villagers escaped and bought word to the Headman. He is out gathering up everyone else so they can hide in the mountains. We don't have long, the raiders will be here in less than half an hour."
Tye felt a huge sense of relief. His Aunt and Uncle were unharmed. Although he did not feel particularly close to them, he did not wish them any harm. He sc
ooped up Little Bear, popped him in his tunic again and wrapped himself up in his cloak. "What can we do?" he said.
Hamric looked round at them. "OK, this is the plan. Davor, Doran and Yac, you will help the Headman lead everyone into the hills. You are old enough to help carry goods and cattle, and if necessary wield a club. Tye, you will come with me. We are going to head to the pass and to see if we can slow the pirates down. I don’t know the path and I will need you to show me the way.” Hamric spoke with such calm confidence, like a general speaking to his troops, that they all felt better. “Ready?" he asked. They all nodded.
Hamric threw open the door. Outside, the storm had died down to just a light wind. Dawn was breaking over to the east, and the village was lit with a grey light. Gwar, the headman, was shouting instructions to the people coming out of the buildings. Some looked a bit panicked, but most were calmly gathering up their possessions and leading their domestic animals out of the village. He looked for his Aunt and Uncle, but he couldn’t see them. Pirate raids were not unknown, but they usually had more notice as they were able to spot the ships coming in.
Hamric clapped the brothers and Yac on the shoulders, and pushed them towards the people. "Help them," were his final words. They ran over and started to help the most overburdened people carry some goods. Hamric then he turned to Tye and grinned. "Ready to fight some pirates?" he asked with a gleam in his eye. Tye nodded nervously. He wasn’t sure, but Hamric seemed almost excited by the prospect. Who was he? Tye suddenly thought. Gwar the headman seemed to know him, he knew all about the village, and he knew Tye’s name. The prospect of violence seemed to bring him to life. What was his background and where did he come from?