Post by Fireland on Apr 18, 2013 15:48:24 GMT -5
Episode 3 - Abiding Souls (part I)
Chapter I
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
She heard the horses racing down the hill behind her. They were coming after her. She kept running, her heart wanting to explode in her chest. She couldn’t breathe anymore. Her body ached so badly, desperately asking for a rest, for air, but she had to keep running. She knew what they had done to her sister Lila.
The horsemen were getting closer. She couldn’t escape from them, her body was worn out and she knew she wouldn’t be able to run anymore. She tried to find a shelter, somewhere to hide in the forest, where she hoped the horsemen wouldn’t be able to find her. It was well after dark and it was foggy : she still had a chance to escape the deadly fate that would be hers if they ever found her. She crawled under a log and waited, desperately trying to catch her breath as quietly as she could, but she had run so much, she was panting heavily. He heart started racing full speed when she heard the dogs. Her last hopes were shattered. She knew she wouldn’t come out of that forest alive. She closed her eyes and started sobbing. The dogs soon found her. It was over.
***
The Nomad had left Basra with a cargo to deliver on a nearby island, a trip that had taken the ship less than ten days, back and forth. The crew visited Sammar and Maalik once they returned to Basra and were relieved to find the old sorceress and her grandson happy and peaceful. However, they still didn’t know where Caipra was, nor what could have possibly kept her from coming back to her home, after she had defeated the demon. Sammar felt the elder sorceress was still alive, but she was clueless as of her wherabouts. She still felt weakened because of the recent events that almost killed her ; hence, she wasn’t able to gather enough energy to cast a new spell in order to reach for her old friend.
The crew had left Sammar’s house relieved, yet a bit disappointed and worried, especially Maeve. They had been sailing for a few days now, most of which Maeve had spent in her cabin, browsing through every single magic book and parchment she owned, desperately trying to find a spell that would allow her to contact the elder sorceress. Bryn tried to help too, but most of the writings in the documents Maeve owned were written in a foreign language. As much as she wanted to help, Bryn couldn’t, and the redhead sorceress was now left alone to ponder about the issue.
Sinbad had just finished his shift. It was almost mid-night when he went below deck, heading to his cabin for a good night sleep. As he walked passed Maeve’s cabin, he heard paper noises. He glanced at the soft light dancing under her cabin’s door. She was still awake and obviously, still browsing through her books. He knocked softly on her door and heard her voice inviting him to come in. He walked in and quietly shut the door behind him. She was sitting at her desk. Dozens of books and old parchments were piled on her desk. She looked tired.
‘’Any progress ?’’ he asked, leaning against her desk. He glanced at the book she was reading and frowned when he saw the strange alphabet all over the pages.
‘’Not much,’’ she admitted. ‘’And unfortunately, I won’t be able to reach Caipra any time soon with the spells I have found so far.’’
‘’Why not ?’’ he inquired. ‘’I remember you successfully contacted DimDim, two years ago.’’
‘’DimDim was sent in another dimension because of a magical spell. The spell I used to briefly communicate with him allowed me to create a breach in this magical dimension. It was a counterspell, if you prefer.’’
‘’I see … and I presume Caipra is not under a spell.’’
Maeve shook her head. ‘’She’s not dead either. So the spells I would normally use to communicate with magical or even deceased entities don’t apply here. And, needless to say, I’m not powerful or trained enough to conjure her to appear here, like Sammar would have done had she been in a better shape.’’
Sinbad couldn’t resist stroking Maeve’s hair. The sorceress closed her eyes to fully enjoy his affectionate and comforting gesture. His gentle touch sent shivers in her whole body. ‘’I know you’ll think of something, and it will work.’’ Sinbad told her, smiling.
‘’I have thought of something. I would need Bryn’s help, though.’’
Sinbad raised his eyebrow. ‘’Dare to elaborate ?’’
‘’In a very ideal situation, I could use her medium abilities as a channel so Caipra could talk to us through Bryn. However, I don’t know how to do that. Caipra could reach for Bryn if she wanted to, she’s powerful enough. I, on the other hand, don’t know how to make Bryn reach for Caipra.’’ Maeve sighed.
Sinbad nodded. ‘’You and Bryn are both clever and talented women. Keep faith in yourselves, I’m sure you will succeed.’’
She smiled to him, thankful for his trust. Sinbad wished her good night and left.
***
The next day, Bryn and Maeve decided they would give a try to Maeve’s idea. The night before, after Sinbad had left her cabin, the Celtic sorceress had slipped into her bed thinking about the spells she could use on Bryn to allow Caipra to communicate through her. She had slept well and felt she had gathered enough energy to summon a complex spell. The brunette had immediately accepted to help Maeve. Their recent confessions to one another had quickly allowed both sorceresses to trust each other. In temper as well as in magic, they completed each other. Maeve had a certain knowledge and control over her powers, while Bryn didn’t ; on the other hand, Bryn truly was more powerful than Maeve, and her sensitiveness to entities was more accute.
The two girls settled in Bryn’s cabin for their experiment. The brunette lied in her bed while Maeve sang a strange incantation about opening the gates in someone’s mind. After multiple tries, they both sighed out of frustration. It really didn’t seem to work.
‘’Can’t you conjure a spell that would send me to sleep ?’’ Bryn asked Maeve. ‘’Maybe Caipra could talk to me through my dreams.’’
‘’That’s not a bad idea,’’ Maeve answered thoughtfully. ‘’Although, I don’t know any sleeping spells.’’
Bryn stared at her and smiled mischievously. Maeve’s eyes questioned her. ‘’Firouz does have a lot of medicinal herbs in his cabin, doesn’t he ?’’ Bryn asked her. Maeve giggled. ‘’Alright, we can ask him, although I have to warn you, it might confuse you more than it will enable you to fully control your medium powers.’’
Maeve left Bryn’s cabin for a few minutes. When she came back, Firouz was following her. He looked deeply annoyed. ‘’Expect this to be the one and only time I will ever accept to do that,’’ he told both sorceresses. ‘’I really shouldn’t administer such powerful medicines to a healthy person.’’
Powerful indeed, for Bryn fell asleep in less than ten minutes.
Maeve closed her eyes and concentrated. She summoned another spell inviting Caipra to access Bryn’s dreams. As she did two years ago when she was trying to reach for DimDim, she kept repeating for Caipra to come to Bryn and talk to her.
On deck, the crewmen grew agitated when they saw what looked like a black tornado coming their way, but it faded as it reached the Nomad. It was now a small cloud rotating above their heads. Suddenly, they felt an icy wind blowing upon their faces and through their body and bones.
‘’What the hell is that ?’’ Doubar asked. Sinbad looked at his brother. ‘’Maeve !’’ they both exclaimed.
Doubar handed the tillar to another crewman and he and Sinbad ran downstairs, followed by Rongar. The three of them bursted into Bryn’s cabin. Maeve had fainted and Firouz was trying to wake her up. They felt shivers down their spine when they saw Bryn rise slowly and sit in her bed. She opened her eyes ; they were glowing with that yellow light that indicated she was having some sort of magical trance. But what was particularly creepy was her facial expression : it was demonic. A diabolical laughter escaped from her lips. It frightened all men.
‘’No, you won’t !’’ Bryn scowled to them.
‘’Won’t what ?’’ Doubar asked her. Even for a man of his stature, he was terrorized by the sorceress’ evil grin.
‘’Go away !’’ Bryn yelped.
The men stepped back, ready to exit the room, but Bryn’s expression suddenly changed. It softened, and she now looked terribly sad. Her brows furrowed.
‘’Please, don’t go’’, she pleaded in a childlike voice. ‘’I didn’t want them to harm you.’’
‘’Who would have harmed us ?’’ Sinbad asked her.
‘’The demons. They would have taken her body and mind if I hadn’t told them to go away.’’ Bryn – or whoever was talking through her - answered pleadingly. She sounded like a scared little girl.
‘’Who are you ?’’ they heard Maeve ask the entity.
Doubar, Sinbad and Rongar turned to the Celtic sorceress. She was now awake and Firouz was helping her to stand up.
‘’I’m a little kitten,’’ Bryn answered softly. ‘’Help us.’’
The crew stared at each other, puzzled. ‘’Maeve, is this some some kind of riddle ?’’ Sinbad asked her. Maeve shrugged.
‘’Well, if Dermott can talk to you even though he’s a hawk, I guess a cat could do the same.’’ Doubar muttered.
‘’Please, please help us.’’ Bryn begged.
‘’What do we need to do ?’’ Maeve ask the entity. ‘’Where do we need to go ?’’
‘’Where we are, it is called Barah.’’ Bryn answered. ‘’Please help us.’’ This last plea, Bryn had pronounced it with a voice so desperate that it literally crushed their hearts. Suddenly, Bryn fell back on her bed and gasped. Firouz and Maeve checked on her. Bryn felt dizzy because of Firouz’s sleeping potion, but overall she was okay. She couldn’t remember anything.
‘’Did it work ?’’ she asked Maeve.
‘’Not quite,’’ Maeve answered. ‘’Caipra didn’t talk through you. But someone else did. And whoever it was, this person desperately wanted us to help her.’’
Chapter II
Sinbad felt tired. They were heading toward Barah, an island he had never heard of, but had estimated was roughly ten days away from the ship’s position when the spirit asked for their help. They were on the eighth day into their journey, yet they couldn’t see any land. The wind wasn’t strong enough. At least, they had enough supply for a whole month if ever they didn’t find Barah right away.
He didn’t feel like going to Barah. For all he knew, this spirit might have tricked them. But Maeve and Bryn had insisted. The brothers had talked about this while searching through their maps to find this mysterious island. They found out both of them were reluctant to make such a long trip based on an anonymous spirit that asked for their help. However, and they were not particularly proud about it, they had surrendered to the girls’ repeated requests : they simply couldn’t resist the two sorceresses. When they announced their destination to the crew, both captain and first mate made it sound as if it was in fact their own decision to sail toward this mysterious island of Barah. Coming back to the galley, the brothers had glanced at each other knowingly. They would have to watch their backs : the girls made quite a team, and although the sorceresses might not have really been aware of this (at least not yet), they already had the two brothers wrapped around their little fingers.
Sinbad ended his evening shift at the tiller and handed it to Rongar, who would take the next shift until dawn. Sinbad stopped by Maeve’s cabin before reaching his own. He knocked softly on her door. Nobody was in the galley, so he presumed she might be sleeping, just like everybody else. He heard footsteps and sighed of relief when she opened the door. He would have felt disappointed if she had been sleeping, and he would never have dared to enter her cabin while she was sleeping. For the past week, he had come by, every single night before going to bed, to have a chat with Maeve and to kiss her goodnight. Usually, a soft kiss against her forehead or cheek. He didn’t want to rush her into anything. She had taught him, the last time they had kissed.
She opened the door and he walked in. He closed the door behind him. ‘’Have you found anything about the spirit who contacted us?’’ Sinbad asked her, knowing she had spent the day browsing in her books, trying to find out who the mysterious entity was.
‘’There are many possibilities,’’ Maeve answered, ‘’Ancestor’s spirit, they often morph into animals or other symbols. It could explain why the spirit implied they were many. It could also be a foreigh mythical creature that I’ve never heard of. If it’s the case, then it could be anything : nymph, fairy, some deity’s avatar…’’
‘’No chance the spirit could only be an animal ?’’ Sinbad asked her. The crew was still puzzled by the identity the spirit had displayed.
‘’It could be, but I don’t see how an animal would have enough power or knowledge to speak to us through Bryn.’’
‘’Dermott speaks to you, doesn’t he ?’’ Sinbad replied, barely noticing her uneasiness.
‘’He does … but it’s not the same,’’ she answered equivocally. Sinbad must have thought she was implying some technicality about magical spells that he didn’t know about, because he didn’t insist. She felt relieved.
Sinbad smirked. ‘’Well, in this case, I’m open to any suggestion. I just don’t see myself spending days questioning each and every cat that might pass by, until I find one who finally answers me.’’ Sinbad teased her. Maeve giggled. His hand reached for the doorknob, but instead of opening the door, he turned to her. ‘’Good night’’ he whispered, leaning in to kiss her forehead. When his lips brusehd against her skin, he changed his mind. His free hand reached for the back of her head ; entangling his fingers gently into her hair, he pulled her face closer to his and reached for her lips, which he kissed softly. She responded with as much tenderness. She stepped closer, her body brushing against his. Sinbad then broke the kiss. He was well aware of his own weaknesses. He knew he was to blame for initiating such intimacy, but he preferred to leave before he surrendered to his instincts.
Before he could open the door, she kissed him once more. Then, as suddenly as she started kissing him, she broke the kiss. Sinbad frowned.
‘’An eye for an eye, I underst…’’
‘’Shhhhhsh !’’ she interrupted him with another kiss.
Her lips left his and she kissed her way down to his chin. Instinctively, Sinbad lifted his head slightly to allow her to trail down her soft kisses along his throat. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the feeling and allowing himself to feel vulnerable. She moved her hand up against his chest and shoulder until she reached his nape ; she entangled her fingers into his hair. Her touch made his whole body shiver. She whispered to his ear ‘’Good night to you too’’, then she suddenly stepped back, her eyes mocking him.
The time stood still. Sinbad’s hand still rested over the doorknob.
Any other time, with any other woman, Sinbad would probably have surrendered to his urge after what he perceived as an unmistakable invitation. But Maeve wasn’t any other woman. Though he couldn’t quite explain it, for the first time in his life, he felt totally paralyzed by a woman’s desire. It was even more puzzling to him because he usually felt comfortable initiating affectionate gestures with Maeve, like he did in Sarania, when they were on the hill, or in his tent. But now, he didn’t dare to move. He could only acknowledge the fact that the context was different, then. They had just reunited, he had feared for her life after witnessing Crimson’s unrestrained bloodthirst. They were both overwhelmed to see each other again. The tension they had to deal with after she came back on the Nomad simply didn’t exist, in Sarania. Now, things were different. They had fought, they had almost reached a breaking point where they would have called it quits. It was also one of the reasons that kept him from grasping her and kissing her right now, in the heat of the moment : he cared too much about her to sabotage their newly restored romantic relationship, especially after Maeve had made it clear she wouldn’t allow any of his untamed behavior anymore. She knew how she wanted to be loved, and the lustful gestures he had been used to for years now simply wouldn’t do it.
He knew what he felt for her was way more profound than carnal lust. Not only his body and his heart were drawn to her, but his soul as well was longing to melt with hers. It suddenly occured to him that even though he had had different types of relationships in his life, with variable degrees of intimacy and closeness (if any) with these women, he had actually never made love to a woman before. Before and after Maeve, no women had ever been deserving of the young captain’s heart.
Sinbad felt it wasn’t for him to decide what would happen next. He wanted to stay with her. However, he felt unable to cross the the line. If she asked him to leave, he would do so. If she decided otherwise … then he would make sure to be worthy of her trust. After everything that had happened between them, after all the pain he had inflicted her, the sole fact that she still wanted to offer him her heart, her body and her soul was the ultimate sign of trust. Thus, he wouldn’t only make love to her, he would adore her and worship her. Strangely, it felt both tantalizing and downright frightening … but deities have always inspired such contradictory feelings among men.
Maeve reached for his hand and removed it gently from the doorknob. She stared into his eyes and he immerged his into the depth of her gaze. She wanted him to stay ; the decision he was waiting for her to make, she had made. He stepped forward, filling the space between them. While he embraced her waist with one arm, he reached for her cheek with his other hand and he kissed her lovingly. How long they’ve kissed before they started removing their clothes, or who first started undressing the other, neither could tell. They made love slowly, tenderly, savoring each touch and every second of it. But even in the heat of the moment, Sinbad was unable to say the three dreaded words his heart wanted to scream to her. Only one suddenly escaped from his lips : her name. He could have said any word he would have felt like saying, Maeve wouldn’t have cared. The word he choose was trivial. The way he said it however, truly sounded to her ear like the ‘I love you’ they were both unable to pronounce.
***
Maeve woke up several hours later, wrapped in Sinbad’s arms. From the pale light she saw peaking through the grid on her ceiling, she could tell the sun would rise soon. She stirred, which caused Sinbad’s hand to fall from her hip to her stomach. She felt his fingers fondling her belly gently as he slowly awoke. But instead of opening his eyes, he groaned and turned to lie on his back, obviously wanting to sleep some more. Maeve giggled.
‘’Come on, you lazy’’, she teased him softly. ‘’It’s almost dawn. You better leave before the entire ship learns where you’ve spent the night.’’
‘’I don’t care,’’ he mumbled, still half asleep.
‘’Well, I do.’’ she replied more authoritatively.
Sinbad opened his eyes. He gazed at her and a mischievous smirk appeared upon his lips. He raised his eyebrow and started chuckling. ‘’Are you really kicking me out of your bed ?’’ he asked the sorceress. ‘’I take it you’ve only used me.’’
‘’Oh, poor thing’’, she replied with an overly compassionate voice. ‘’Of course, you wouldn’t know about sneaking out of a woman’s room the morning after,’’ she teased him. He chuckled ; he couldn’t deny it and she knew it perfectly well.
‘’Hmmm, but I would never do that to you,’’ he answered, grinning.
‘’I should feel special, then’’, she replied with sarcasm. ‘’Now, get up and leave’’, she ordered gently.
Defeated, he sat on one side of the bed, stretching his arms and back slowly. Maeve couldn’t help but stare with appreciation at his well tanned body, her eyes following hungrily each of his movements as he contracted his muscles. He got up and reached for his clothes, on the floor. After he finished putting his clothes on, he turned around to look at the sorceress. She sat in the middle of her bed and had instinctively covered her nudity with her sheets. She blushed slightly when their eyes met. Her modesty brought a smile upon Sinbad’s lips. Where had the fiery sorceress’ confidence gone ?
‘’You’re not going to tell the guys about this, are you ?’’ she asked shyly. Sinbad walked over to her and sat beside her. ‘’I won’t, Maeve.’’ he promised her, stroking her hair gently.
He walked to the door, opened it and after making sure nobody was around, he exited her cabin quietly.
Maeve rolled on her side and grabbed her pillow. Her mind started wandering and she started thinking about the night’s events. She bit her lower lip and snorted as she realized how careless they had been. This fact brought painful questions in her mind, about his behavior with all those other women and the possibility that he might have escaped from his responsabilities. They would need to talk about this issue the next time, before anything else happens between them, and it already felt awkward to her. She sighed and fell back asleep, hoping her dreams would temporarily make her forget about her concerns.
Chapter III
Maeve looked around, lost and confused. Where was she ? On her left, she saw the ruins of what she believed used to be a castle. The sky was grey, the trees were grey, everything was grey. It sent chills down her spine. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized she was in Sarania. She heard a muffled sound coming from behind her. He sounded as if something, or someone, was scratching the soil. She turned around. That’s when she saw it.
She couldn’t say what it was, but it was the most hideous creature she had ever seen in her whole life. His blood-injected eyes were staring at her. The monster licked his lips. Maeve felt nauseous when she saw what looked like a piece of flesh hanging on the side of his mouth. His teeth were dripping with blood. The creature lowered his head and she lost sight of it, because of the ruins. She was terrorized, but she had to know.
She had to know what it was eating. She trembled as she stepped forward, hiding behind what used to be a corinthian column. She took a deep breath and looked behind the column. The monster was devouring its prey hungrily. Maeve felt like throwing up. The prey had been slayed and eviscerated. The creature kept plunging his teeth inside the bleeding wound, ripping her flesh.
It was a woman’s body. A woman with long, black hair. Her dead gaze had stilled in an horror expression. When she slowly turned her face to her, staring at her, Maeve tried to scream but no sound escaped from her mouth. The woman’s mouth moved. She was trying to say something to her.
‘’Pandemonium’’, she whispered before the creature ripped her heart from her chest.
***
Maeve awoke abruptly, her heart racing in her chest. Instinctively, she ran her hands over her body, making sure she wasn’t injured. She sighed of relief : it was a nightmare, just a horrible nightmare. It wasn’t true, even though it looked so real. Maeve’s eyes glanced around. She was still on the Nomad, in her cabin. She could hear the sailors’ footsteps above her head and hear their voices coming from the deck. From all the fuss, she knew they had reached Barah and prepared to anchor the ship. She sighed when she heard Doubar’s cheerful laughter echoing through the galley.
She got up, trying to brush the horrible scenes from her nightmare off her mind. The only thing she wanted to concentrate on was what the woman had said. It was another riddle perhaps, but she needed to find out how it was related to the ‘’kitten’’ spirit.
But first, she had to find a way to talk to Sinbad about the previous night while they were still on the ship and had still some sort of privacy. She walked on deck after she had breakfast and saw Sinbad was at the bow. He was alone, for now. She walked to him. He smiled warmly when he saw her.
‘’Hi,’’ he said softly. For a moment, she felt like losing herself into his beautiful blue eyes.
‘’Sinbad, we need to talk about something,’’ she glanced around, making sure nobody could hear what she said, ‘’alone.’’
Sinbad frowned. ‘’Why do I have the feeling this is going to be awkward ?’’
She sighed. ‘’Because it will.’’
Sinbad stared at her blankly for a moment, then he sighed and glanced away. ‘’I see. As soon as I’m done with my shift, I’ll come to you.’’
She turned around and left. She knew his mind was probably racing by now, but she really couldn’t say more. The topic they had to discuss was rather uneasy. She waited less than half an hour before she heard footsteps coming toward her cabins and a knock on her door. He walked in. Even though he tried to keep his composure, she could tell he looked worried. He had been wondering about her intentions and even though he couldn’t imagine why she would ever do that, especially after the night they had spent together, part of him feared she would actually tell him it was over.
Maeve’s heart melt when she saw how hesitant he was. She kissed him tenderly, hoping her loving, welcoming gesture would make him feel more at ease. Maeve sat on her bed and Sinbad leaned his back against her desk. His eyes questioned her, eager to know what she wanted to talk about.
‘’Sinbad, I don’t know how to say this…’’, she said, then she noticed his eyebrows had furrowed and she realized she sounded as if she was about to dump him. She cleared her throat. ‘’No, actually, there’s a question I’d like to ask you.’’
‘’What is it, Maeve ?’’ he asked.
She gathered some courage and took a deep breath : ‘’If I asked you how many children you think you have, what would your answer be ?’’
He stared at her, aghast.
‘’I would say none,’’ he finally managed to answer.
‘’Really ?’’ she asked, raising her eyebrow. She hated to sound so skeptical, but she couldn’t help it. ‘’Why are you so sure ?’’
Sinbad frowned. ‘’Is this a serious question?’’ She stared at him, waiting for his answer. It was extremely awkward. He snorted. ‘’I know I don’t have any, that’s all.’’
‘’Hmm. That’s interesting. I wonder how you would know this for sure.’’ she insisted, trying to sound as if she was simply thinking out loud.
Sinbad flushed. He started to understand where she was getting at with all this. Even before he had been intimate with a woman for the first time (thanks to his first crew, they didn’t want to be captained by a boy, they wanted to be captained by a man. They had literally pushed young Sinbad into a wench’s arms) he had spent enough time with older sailors and heard enough coarse and drunken chattering in order to educate himself about the basics of the birds and the bees. He had never really paid attention to what he believed was some female esoteric knowledge about moon cycles ; he didn’t understand it, either. Men had told him the safest way to prevent unwanted offspring was to learn to ‘’control’’ themselves. This conversation felt offensive to him, because he had always been careful and the fact she didn’t seem to believe him bothered him even more. He decided he wouldn’t be the only one in the spot and feeling uncomfortable. If she wanted to play this little confrontation game, he would play along.
‘’You’ve been with men before’’, he stated. ‘’I suppose you must have some knowledge concerning our methods, since you’re not surrounded by children, either.’’ He smirked, and she was the one blushing now. Only, he was clueless as how much of a nerve he had hit. ‘’Are we done, now ?’’ he asked her abruptly, eager to end this awkward conversation.
‘’Not really.’’ she replied in the same manner. Her answer startled him. He sighed loudly, but she continued. ‘’So, you’ve bedded many women in your life. You believe none of them ever carried your child. And you believe this, because you’ve always been...cautious ? Is it ?’’ she resumed.
His eyes narrowed. ‘’Yes. Now can we get this over with ?’’
She ignored him. ‘’That sounds like a safe method indeed.’’ she continued.
‘’Yes, it is. Are we done yet ?’’
‘’And you’ve never failed useing this method, have you ?’’ she insisted.
He opened his mouth to protest once again, but he froze. A frown appeared on his forehead. Maeve raised her eyebrow, mocking him, as Sinbad finally understood what she meant.
‘’I’m sorry,’’ he apologized. ‘’I don’t know how I’ve allowed this to happen.’’ He looked concerned. ‘’Should I be worried about anything ?’’ he finally asked.
She chuckled. ‘’We need to be more careful, that’s all.’’ she replied.
He nodded and walked to the door. But instead of opening the door, he turned to her and asked ‘’Why didn’t you simply tell me about it ? That was pretty much the strangest and most awkward conversation I ever had in my life.’’
She smirked. ‘’I had to make sure you’d always keep that in mind’’.
Chapter III
The crew pulled the longboat on the shore. They were on the island of Barah and it looked deserted. Bryn stood still, her eyes closed, and she concentrated on her feelings. She didn’t know how long she had been mediting when she heard Sinbad call her name.
‘’Bryn’’, he repeated, putting his hand on her shoulder. ‘’Is everything okay ?’’
‘’Yes,’’ she nodded. ‘’I think we should walk south.’’ She pointed.
The crew followed the shore until Dermott started screeching. Maeve released the hawk and he flew over a hill. They followed him and saw a village surrounded by walls, before them, down the valley.
As they were about to walk through the gates, they glanced at each other. A strong smell emerged from the village and floated to their nostrils. They all knew what that scent was. Bryn gasped and they all turned to her. Their eyes widened in shock when they saw what she had seen.
A gallow’s pole stood in the center of the small clearing, where the body of a young woman was hung. From the aspect if it, she had been there for more than a week. The crew coughed and restrained themselves from retching as they looked at the woman’s torso. She had been slit open. Maeve’s heart skipped a beat. The woman had long, black hair. It was her, it was the woman from her nightmare. She felt dizzy and nauseous as the graphic scenes from her nightmare flashed mercilessly into her mind. Rongar noticed the sorceress was fainting and he grabbed her by the waist, holding her against him.
‘’Maeve, are you okay ?’’ Sinbad asked worriedly.
‘’Yes … let’s … get out of here,’’ she answered. She couldn’t tell them about her dreams, because if she did, she would have to remember herself of all the details and it disgusted her too much.
‘’We can’t let her like that’’, Doubar protested. Rongar nodded, even though the idea of approaching the corpse repulsed him. Deep down, he knew Doubar was right. It was shocking to let a poor woman’s body out in the open. Both men stepped closer to the pole, reaching for their swords to cut the rope. Before they could do anything, they heard a loud voice ordering them to step away from the woman.
The crew turned around and saw a man, probably a soldier, standing by the gates. ‘’This wench will remain where she currently is, for she has been tried, condemned and executed by His Excellency.’’
‘’You haven’t executed this poor woman’’, Doubar roared, ‘’You have butchered her.’’ Rongar grasped Doubar’s shoulder to prevent him from starting a fight.
‘’She serves as an example.’’ the man explained. ‘’It is why we can’t remove her from there and bury her yet.’’
‘’Which crime was she convicted of ?’’ Sinbad asked.
‘’Sorcery and murder’’, he replied. ‘’Just like her sister Lila, who was executed two years ago’’.
‘’How much time will you keep her there ?’’ Firouz asked him.
‘’As long as His Excellency feels adequate,’’ the man answered bitterly. ‘’We have been ordered not to remove her without his permission.’’
‘’Who is this man you call His Excellency ?’’ Bryn asked.
‘’The man who rules this island. Ever since he has been appointed as our governor, he has decided to purify this island from the demons, or so he says.’’
‘’You don’t seem to appreciate him that much,’’ Maeve frowned. ‘’Why do you obey his orders ?’’
The man looked at her as if she was dumb. ‘’Didn’t you see what he did to this woman ?’’ he exclaimed, pointing at the corpse hanging from the pole. ‘’All he asks is for us to be righteous. He will purify the land from the evil spirits and those who help them.’’
‘’Righteous ? All the while promoting barbarian executions,’’ Doubar mumbled.
The man nodded. He stepped closer. ‘’He despised her greatly. She … risked her life to help someone. And he dispised her even more, and decided to execute her as a personal revenge.’’
‘’Do you think she is the one who spoke through me ?’’ Bryn asked Maeve.
Maeve shrugged. ‘’I don’t know. It makes no sense. Why would she refer to herself as a cat ? She could have told us her name.’’
‘’If she’s a witch, it is well known in folklore that witches often have black cats … maybe it’s the only explanation we need to look for.’’ Firouz suggested.
Maeve shook her head. ‘’No. It’s not. I can’t explain it properly, but I feel she’s not the one who asked for our help.’’
‘’We will find out who this person was.’’ Sinbad told his crew.
‘’Possibly someone who knows magic, if she was able to communicate by dreams’’.
The man seemed to ponder Sinbad’s word. ‘’I shouldn't tell you this ... but there’s only one person who might be able to help you on this particular matter. Her name is Isha. She is rumored to have some magical knowledges. She is also Lila’s daughter….’’ The man tilted his head. ‘’She lives in the outskirts of the forest, now.’’
Chapter IV
They knocked on the door. A young woman answered. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw how many people stood outside in front of her door. Her eyes gazed at Bryn and Maeve and she frowned.
‘’No, no ! I’m not working anymore. Huh, huh, no. It’s over.’’ She protested vehemently before trying to close the door. Sinbad grabbed the door with his hand, pulling against it to keep it open.
‘’We came to see a woman named Isha’’, Sinbad told her.
‘’I am this woman, but I fear you’ve been wrongly informed. I don’t offer my services anymore.’’ The men glanced at each other, puzzled. Ishla pushed against the door, desperatly trying to close it, but Sinbad maintained his firm grip. She snorted when she realized she wouldn’t be strong enough to shut the door. She pouted and reluctantly invited them in with a wide hand gesture.
‘’Thank you’’, Sinbad told her as the crew entered her house. They looked around. The room where they stood was decorated tastefully. A shelf was filled with bottles, jars and other items that could be a sorceress’. Isha crossed her arms and stared at them.
‘’Fine, let’s get this over with. But I have to warn you, the price is 30 dinars.’’
The men flushed.
‘’My dear, we are not … we don’t want to…’’ Firouz stumbled upon his words.
‘’What Firouz is trying to say is … we … we don’t…’’ Doubar was bright red.
‘’Really, that’s not the kind of service we …’’ a very embarrassed Sinbad started, but Isha interrupted him.
‘’I don’t have all day.’’ she replied harshly. She turned to Bryn and Maeve. ‘’So, do you want to prevent it or to get rid of it ?’’
Both girls gaped in astonishment, but before they had a chance to answer, Isha continued, ‘’If you’re here expecting me to take care of your *mistake*, I require whoever out of those men is responsible for your condition to pay me in advance.’’
The men were stunned and blushed even more, embarrassed by her straightforwardness. Bryn and Maeve glanced at each other.
‘’You’re a midwife ?’’ Maeve asked Isha. She was not expecting such a young woman, and apparently an unmarried one, to have enough knowledge on this matter.
‘’Yes, as were my mother Lila and my aunt Rhea’’ Isha’s eyes narrowed. ‘’Isn’t it the reason why you are here ?’’
‘’We met someone in the village’’, Sinbad told her. ‘’He suggested we pay you a visit.’’
‘’Why for ?’’
‘’An unknown spirit contacted us’’, Bryn answered. ‘’She asked for our help and told us to come to Barah in order to free her and others, too.’’
‘’I don’t know magic.’’ Isha replied. ‘’And neither did my mother nor my aunt. They were wrongly accused of being witches.’’ She walked to the door and opened it widely. She pointed outside.
‘’Now, leave my house. I’m the only midwife remaining on this island, there is no way I am risking my life because of stangers blabbering around that I am some kind of evil sorceress.’’
‘’Does the word pandemonium means anything to you ?’’ Maeve blurted. From the look on Isha’s face, she knew she had hit a nerve.
‘’Who told you about this ?’’ Isha scowled.
‘’Your aunt Rhea. She told me in my dreams.’’
The crew stared at her, startled. Isha shivered. ‘’It is a land of sorrow and grief,’’ she answered, almost in a whisper.
‘’Pandemonium, isn’t it a word meaning …’’ Firouz started.
‘’The abode of all demons.’’ Isha interrupted.
‘’I feel this place is linked to the spirit who contacted us.’’ Maeve insisted.
‘’Maeve, are you saying it is a demon who contacted Bryn ?’’ Doubar exclaimed.
‘’I’m not sure.’’ Maeve answered. ‘’But your aunt wanted me to know about this place.’’
The midwife sighed. If Rhea had told a sorceress about the pandemonium, she had a purpose.
‘’It used to be a sanctuary. When His Excellency was appointed governor, he destroyed it. He thought it was unholy.’’
‘’Where is it ?’’ Sinbad asked Isha.
‘’Travel east’’, Isha answered. ‘’You will find what remains of the sanctuary.’’
***
*Dermott !* Maeve instinctively cried out when she woke up. *Dermott, where are you ?*
The hawk didn’t answer. He was probably asleep, thus couldn’t hear his sister. Maeve rolled on her side. Bryn was sleeping. Even though Maeve felt relieved she was not alone in her tent, she still couldn’t get the horrible images from her nightmare off her mind. She had had the exact same dream. In the dark, Bryn’s dark hair looked like the dead woman’s from Maeve’s nightmare. It sent chills down her spine. Maeve started being overly aware of every sound the forest made : every branch cracking, the soft breeze flowing through the trees. The sound she had grown so accustomed to that she used to never hear anymore, now screamed at her so loudly that it made her insane.
She got up and without thinking, she rushed to the only place she knew she would feel safe.
Sinbad awoke abruptly when he heard someone step into the tent he shared with Doubar. A dark figure appeared before him : he instinctively reached for his sword.
‘’Maeve’’, he whispered when she stepped closer to him and sat beside him. ‘’Is something wrong ?’’
She opened her mouth to speak, but she glanced at Doubar instead. The gentle giant was well asleep and snoring loudly.
‘’Trust me, you’re not going to wake him up,’’ Sinbad chuckled. ‘’Tell me why you’re here.’’
‘’I don’t know. I just …’’, she hesitated and he could tell she felt uneasy. ‘’I’m having nightmares.’’ She finally admitted. She looked down, expecting Sinbad to tease her. He didn’t. He reached for her chin and gently lifted her head up so she would look into his eyes.
‘’Come’’, he whispered, raising the cloak he used as a sheet as an invitation for her to lie down beside him. Without hesistation, she slipped under the warm covers and cuddled against him. He held her firmly into his arms and he fell asleep. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling safe in his protective embrace. No monstrous creature could ever come and get her while in his arms.
Doubar woke up at dawn. He stretched himself and turned to his side to reach for his sword before getting up. He was startled, then started chuckling softly as he witnessed a redhair guest had found her way into his brother’s arms during the night. Sinbad stirred when he heard his brother chuckling, he opened his eyes. His eyes caught his brother’s mischievous gaze. He smirked and glanced at the beautiful sorceress who was still sleeping by his side. He delicately brushed a strand of her hair off her face. She moaned softly and her eyes fluttered open. She gasped when she realized she had slept the night through with Sinbad and by now, everybody would know about it.
Doubar quickly left the tent and joined the others around the firepit. ‘’Have you seen Maeve ?’’ asked a worried Bryn. The Celt was not in the tent the girls shared, but nobody had seen her leave the camp.
Doubar started chuckling. ‘’Lass must have sleepwalked her way to our tent, because I found her cuddled into Sinbad’s arms this morning. Fully dressed, though’’. The others gaped in astonishment and started chuckling and patting each other’s shoulder, feeling it was somehow a collective victory that the couple had finally decided to move a step further.
‘’Guys,’’ Bryn warned them, ‘’Be kind to her. She must really feel shy and self-conscious about this.’’
‘’Don’t worry, we won’t tease her too much,’’ Doubar answered, laughing.
As he spoke, the couple walked out of Sinbad’s tent and Maeve indeed looked as if she was expecting everybody to question her and tease her badly about the fact she had spent the night with Sinbad. She felt relieved when everybody greeted them as usual.
Still, she sat beside Bryn, further away from Sinbad. Rongar handed her a bowl.
‘’Thanks’’, she reached for her purse and grabbed a fork.
Firouz cleared his throat. ‘’Here, I think you might prefer a spoon.’’ he stressed. The guys cracked up as the couple flushed.
Chapter V
A few hours later, they stepped into what looked like the ruins of an old temple, just like Isha had described to them. Maeve looked around. It looked so familiar. Then, it striked her : these ruins, she had seen them before They were the same she had seen in her nightmares, just like the woman hanging down from the pole was the woman who had talked to her in her dreams. Maeve felt breathless and her heart started racing. Will the creature she saw in her nightmare be real, too ? Will it emerge from the ruins just like it did in her nightmares ?
Maeve leaded the crew further into the ruins, toward what looked like a garden. Bryn felt her anxiety rising and fear spread in her whole body. Something horrible had happened here, she could tell.
Maeve scouted through the ruins, in every corner. The crew glanced at each other. The redhead was obviously looking for something, or following one of her instincts, but they didn’t know exactly what she was looking for and didn’t know how to help. She looked both anxious and terrorized.
Then, Maeve stopped. She stared at a wreaked column. The corinthian column she had seen in her dreams. She stepped closer and saw what looked like a grave behind it. It was not identified, but the way it stood, out of the open, suggested someone had purposedly placed it there to be seen.
Without thinking, responding to a sudden urge, Maeve kneeled to the ground and started frantically scratching and digging with her bare hands. The others wanted to contain her and calm her, but Bryn held the men back. She had felt it too. The spirit’s grave was there. And since the woman had told Maeve where to go, they had to let Maeve find her. After a few minutes, Maeve stopped digging. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
‘’Maeve, what is it ?’’ Sinbad asked.
‘’Have you found her ?’’ Doubar asked.
She didn’t answer. She reached down and with much delicateness, she wrapped the tiny skeleton in her blue cloak, then she cradled it in her arms. The sailors’ eyes widened in shock when they saw Maeve’s motherly gesture. Two words escaped softly from her lips : ‘’Little kitten’’.
The whole crew had tears in their eyes when she pronounced the spirit’s name, because they now knew the spirit was not an animal. It was a baby.
A baby that didn’t have a name. A baby that didn’t live long enough to have one. The only name she ever heard, in her short life, was the sweet nickname her mother had whispered lovingly to her ear as she welcomed her into this world.
End of Part I.
Chapter I
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
She heard the horses racing down the hill behind her. They were coming after her. She kept running, her heart wanting to explode in her chest. She couldn’t breathe anymore. Her body ached so badly, desperately asking for a rest, for air, but she had to keep running. She knew what they had done to her sister Lila.
The horsemen were getting closer. She couldn’t escape from them, her body was worn out and she knew she wouldn’t be able to run anymore. She tried to find a shelter, somewhere to hide in the forest, where she hoped the horsemen wouldn’t be able to find her. It was well after dark and it was foggy : she still had a chance to escape the deadly fate that would be hers if they ever found her. She crawled under a log and waited, desperately trying to catch her breath as quietly as she could, but she had run so much, she was panting heavily. He heart started racing full speed when she heard the dogs. Her last hopes were shattered. She knew she wouldn’t come out of that forest alive. She closed her eyes and started sobbing. The dogs soon found her. It was over.
***
The Nomad had left Basra with a cargo to deliver on a nearby island, a trip that had taken the ship less than ten days, back and forth. The crew visited Sammar and Maalik once they returned to Basra and were relieved to find the old sorceress and her grandson happy and peaceful. However, they still didn’t know where Caipra was, nor what could have possibly kept her from coming back to her home, after she had defeated the demon. Sammar felt the elder sorceress was still alive, but she was clueless as of her wherabouts. She still felt weakened because of the recent events that almost killed her ; hence, she wasn’t able to gather enough energy to cast a new spell in order to reach for her old friend.
The crew had left Sammar’s house relieved, yet a bit disappointed and worried, especially Maeve. They had been sailing for a few days now, most of which Maeve had spent in her cabin, browsing through every single magic book and parchment she owned, desperately trying to find a spell that would allow her to contact the elder sorceress. Bryn tried to help too, but most of the writings in the documents Maeve owned were written in a foreign language. As much as she wanted to help, Bryn couldn’t, and the redhead sorceress was now left alone to ponder about the issue.
Sinbad had just finished his shift. It was almost mid-night when he went below deck, heading to his cabin for a good night sleep. As he walked passed Maeve’s cabin, he heard paper noises. He glanced at the soft light dancing under her cabin’s door. She was still awake and obviously, still browsing through her books. He knocked softly on her door and heard her voice inviting him to come in. He walked in and quietly shut the door behind him. She was sitting at her desk. Dozens of books and old parchments were piled on her desk. She looked tired.
‘’Any progress ?’’ he asked, leaning against her desk. He glanced at the book she was reading and frowned when he saw the strange alphabet all over the pages.
‘’Not much,’’ she admitted. ‘’And unfortunately, I won’t be able to reach Caipra any time soon with the spells I have found so far.’’
‘’Why not ?’’ he inquired. ‘’I remember you successfully contacted DimDim, two years ago.’’
‘’DimDim was sent in another dimension because of a magical spell. The spell I used to briefly communicate with him allowed me to create a breach in this magical dimension. It was a counterspell, if you prefer.’’
‘’I see … and I presume Caipra is not under a spell.’’
Maeve shook her head. ‘’She’s not dead either. So the spells I would normally use to communicate with magical or even deceased entities don’t apply here. And, needless to say, I’m not powerful or trained enough to conjure her to appear here, like Sammar would have done had she been in a better shape.’’
Sinbad couldn’t resist stroking Maeve’s hair. The sorceress closed her eyes to fully enjoy his affectionate and comforting gesture. His gentle touch sent shivers in her whole body. ‘’I know you’ll think of something, and it will work.’’ Sinbad told her, smiling.
‘’I have thought of something. I would need Bryn’s help, though.’’
Sinbad raised his eyebrow. ‘’Dare to elaborate ?’’
‘’In a very ideal situation, I could use her medium abilities as a channel so Caipra could talk to us through Bryn. However, I don’t know how to do that. Caipra could reach for Bryn if she wanted to, she’s powerful enough. I, on the other hand, don’t know how to make Bryn reach for Caipra.’’ Maeve sighed.
Sinbad nodded. ‘’You and Bryn are both clever and talented women. Keep faith in yourselves, I’m sure you will succeed.’’
She smiled to him, thankful for his trust. Sinbad wished her good night and left.
***
The next day, Bryn and Maeve decided they would give a try to Maeve’s idea. The night before, after Sinbad had left her cabin, the Celtic sorceress had slipped into her bed thinking about the spells she could use on Bryn to allow Caipra to communicate through her. She had slept well and felt she had gathered enough energy to summon a complex spell. The brunette had immediately accepted to help Maeve. Their recent confessions to one another had quickly allowed both sorceresses to trust each other. In temper as well as in magic, they completed each other. Maeve had a certain knowledge and control over her powers, while Bryn didn’t ; on the other hand, Bryn truly was more powerful than Maeve, and her sensitiveness to entities was more accute.
The two girls settled in Bryn’s cabin for their experiment. The brunette lied in her bed while Maeve sang a strange incantation about opening the gates in someone’s mind. After multiple tries, they both sighed out of frustration. It really didn’t seem to work.
‘’Can’t you conjure a spell that would send me to sleep ?’’ Bryn asked Maeve. ‘’Maybe Caipra could talk to me through my dreams.’’
‘’That’s not a bad idea,’’ Maeve answered thoughtfully. ‘’Although, I don’t know any sleeping spells.’’
Bryn stared at her and smiled mischievously. Maeve’s eyes questioned her. ‘’Firouz does have a lot of medicinal herbs in his cabin, doesn’t he ?’’ Bryn asked her. Maeve giggled. ‘’Alright, we can ask him, although I have to warn you, it might confuse you more than it will enable you to fully control your medium powers.’’
Maeve left Bryn’s cabin for a few minutes. When she came back, Firouz was following her. He looked deeply annoyed. ‘’Expect this to be the one and only time I will ever accept to do that,’’ he told both sorceresses. ‘’I really shouldn’t administer such powerful medicines to a healthy person.’’
Powerful indeed, for Bryn fell asleep in less than ten minutes.
Maeve closed her eyes and concentrated. She summoned another spell inviting Caipra to access Bryn’s dreams. As she did two years ago when she was trying to reach for DimDim, she kept repeating for Caipra to come to Bryn and talk to her.
On deck, the crewmen grew agitated when they saw what looked like a black tornado coming their way, but it faded as it reached the Nomad. It was now a small cloud rotating above their heads. Suddenly, they felt an icy wind blowing upon their faces and through their body and bones.
‘’What the hell is that ?’’ Doubar asked. Sinbad looked at his brother. ‘’Maeve !’’ they both exclaimed.
Doubar handed the tillar to another crewman and he and Sinbad ran downstairs, followed by Rongar. The three of them bursted into Bryn’s cabin. Maeve had fainted and Firouz was trying to wake her up. They felt shivers down their spine when they saw Bryn rise slowly and sit in her bed. She opened her eyes ; they were glowing with that yellow light that indicated she was having some sort of magical trance. But what was particularly creepy was her facial expression : it was demonic. A diabolical laughter escaped from her lips. It frightened all men.
‘’No, you won’t !’’ Bryn scowled to them.
‘’Won’t what ?’’ Doubar asked her. Even for a man of his stature, he was terrorized by the sorceress’ evil grin.
‘’Go away !’’ Bryn yelped.
The men stepped back, ready to exit the room, but Bryn’s expression suddenly changed. It softened, and she now looked terribly sad. Her brows furrowed.
‘’Please, don’t go’’, she pleaded in a childlike voice. ‘’I didn’t want them to harm you.’’
‘’Who would have harmed us ?’’ Sinbad asked her.
‘’The demons. They would have taken her body and mind if I hadn’t told them to go away.’’ Bryn – or whoever was talking through her - answered pleadingly. She sounded like a scared little girl.
‘’Who are you ?’’ they heard Maeve ask the entity.
Doubar, Sinbad and Rongar turned to the Celtic sorceress. She was now awake and Firouz was helping her to stand up.
‘’I’m a little kitten,’’ Bryn answered softly. ‘’Help us.’’
The crew stared at each other, puzzled. ‘’Maeve, is this some some kind of riddle ?’’ Sinbad asked her. Maeve shrugged.
‘’Well, if Dermott can talk to you even though he’s a hawk, I guess a cat could do the same.’’ Doubar muttered.
‘’Please, please help us.’’ Bryn begged.
‘’What do we need to do ?’’ Maeve ask the entity. ‘’Where do we need to go ?’’
‘’Where we are, it is called Barah.’’ Bryn answered. ‘’Please help us.’’ This last plea, Bryn had pronounced it with a voice so desperate that it literally crushed their hearts. Suddenly, Bryn fell back on her bed and gasped. Firouz and Maeve checked on her. Bryn felt dizzy because of Firouz’s sleeping potion, but overall she was okay. She couldn’t remember anything.
‘’Did it work ?’’ she asked Maeve.
‘’Not quite,’’ Maeve answered. ‘’Caipra didn’t talk through you. But someone else did. And whoever it was, this person desperately wanted us to help her.’’
Chapter II
Sinbad felt tired. They were heading toward Barah, an island he had never heard of, but had estimated was roughly ten days away from the ship’s position when the spirit asked for their help. They were on the eighth day into their journey, yet they couldn’t see any land. The wind wasn’t strong enough. At least, they had enough supply for a whole month if ever they didn’t find Barah right away.
He didn’t feel like going to Barah. For all he knew, this spirit might have tricked them. But Maeve and Bryn had insisted. The brothers had talked about this while searching through their maps to find this mysterious island. They found out both of them were reluctant to make such a long trip based on an anonymous spirit that asked for their help. However, and they were not particularly proud about it, they had surrendered to the girls’ repeated requests : they simply couldn’t resist the two sorceresses. When they announced their destination to the crew, both captain and first mate made it sound as if it was in fact their own decision to sail toward this mysterious island of Barah. Coming back to the galley, the brothers had glanced at each other knowingly. They would have to watch their backs : the girls made quite a team, and although the sorceresses might not have really been aware of this (at least not yet), they already had the two brothers wrapped around their little fingers.
Sinbad ended his evening shift at the tiller and handed it to Rongar, who would take the next shift until dawn. Sinbad stopped by Maeve’s cabin before reaching his own. He knocked softly on her door. Nobody was in the galley, so he presumed she might be sleeping, just like everybody else. He heard footsteps and sighed of relief when she opened the door. He would have felt disappointed if she had been sleeping, and he would never have dared to enter her cabin while she was sleeping. For the past week, he had come by, every single night before going to bed, to have a chat with Maeve and to kiss her goodnight. Usually, a soft kiss against her forehead or cheek. He didn’t want to rush her into anything. She had taught him, the last time they had kissed.
She opened the door and he walked in. He closed the door behind him. ‘’Have you found anything about the spirit who contacted us?’’ Sinbad asked her, knowing she had spent the day browsing in her books, trying to find out who the mysterious entity was.
‘’There are many possibilities,’’ Maeve answered, ‘’Ancestor’s spirit, they often morph into animals or other symbols. It could explain why the spirit implied they were many. It could also be a foreigh mythical creature that I’ve never heard of. If it’s the case, then it could be anything : nymph, fairy, some deity’s avatar…’’
‘’No chance the spirit could only be an animal ?’’ Sinbad asked her. The crew was still puzzled by the identity the spirit had displayed.
‘’It could be, but I don’t see how an animal would have enough power or knowledge to speak to us through Bryn.’’
‘’Dermott speaks to you, doesn’t he ?’’ Sinbad replied, barely noticing her uneasiness.
‘’He does … but it’s not the same,’’ she answered equivocally. Sinbad must have thought she was implying some technicality about magical spells that he didn’t know about, because he didn’t insist. She felt relieved.
Sinbad smirked. ‘’Well, in this case, I’m open to any suggestion. I just don’t see myself spending days questioning each and every cat that might pass by, until I find one who finally answers me.’’ Sinbad teased her. Maeve giggled. His hand reached for the doorknob, but instead of opening the door, he turned to her. ‘’Good night’’ he whispered, leaning in to kiss her forehead. When his lips brusehd against her skin, he changed his mind. His free hand reached for the back of her head ; entangling his fingers gently into her hair, he pulled her face closer to his and reached for her lips, which he kissed softly. She responded with as much tenderness. She stepped closer, her body brushing against his. Sinbad then broke the kiss. He was well aware of his own weaknesses. He knew he was to blame for initiating such intimacy, but he preferred to leave before he surrendered to his instincts.
Before he could open the door, she kissed him once more. Then, as suddenly as she started kissing him, she broke the kiss. Sinbad frowned.
‘’An eye for an eye, I underst…’’
‘’Shhhhhsh !’’ she interrupted him with another kiss.
Her lips left his and she kissed her way down to his chin. Instinctively, Sinbad lifted his head slightly to allow her to trail down her soft kisses along his throat. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the feeling and allowing himself to feel vulnerable. She moved her hand up against his chest and shoulder until she reached his nape ; she entangled her fingers into his hair. Her touch made his whole body shiver. She whispered to his ear ‘’Good night to you too’’, then she suddenly stepped back, her eyes mocking him.
The time stood still. Sinbad’s hand still rested over the doorknob.
Any other time, with any other woman, Sinbad would probably have surrendered to his urge after what he perceived as an unmistakable invitation. But Maeve wasn’t any other woman. Though he couldn’t quite explain it, for the first time in his life, he felt totally paralyzed by a woman’s desire. It was even more puzzling to him because he usually felt comfortable initiating affectionate gestures with Maeve, like he did in Sarania, when they were on the hill, or in his tent. But now, he didn’t dare to move. He could only acknowledge the fact that the context was different, then. They had just reunited, he had feared for her life after witnessing Crimson’s unrestrained bloodthirst. They were both overwhelmed to see each other again. The tension they had to deal with after she came back on the Nomad simply didn’t exist, in Sarania. Now, things were different. They had fought, they had almost reached a breaking point where they would have called it quits. It was also one of the reasons that kept him from grasping her and kissing her right now, in the heat of the moment : he cared too much about her to sabotage their newly restored romantic relationship, especially after Maeve had made it clear she wouldn’t allow any of his untamed behavior anymore. She knew how she wanted to be loved, and the lustful gestures he had been used to for years now simply wouldn’t do it.
He knew what he felt for her was way more profound than carnal lust. Not only his body and his heart were drawn to her, but his soul as well was longing to melt with hers. It suddenly occured to him that even though he had had different types of relationships in his life, with variable degrees of intimacy and closeness (if any) with these women, he had actually never made love to a woman before. Before and after Maeve, no women had ever been deserving of the young captain’s heart.
Sinbad felt it wasn’t for him to decide what would happen next. He wanted to stay with her. However, he felt unable to cross the the line. If she asked him to leave, he would do so. If she decided otherwise … then he would make sure to be worthy of her trust. After everything that had happened between them, after all the pain he had inflicted her, the sole fact that she still wanted to offer him her heart, her body and her soul was the ultimate sign of trust. Thus, he wouldn’t only make love to her, he would adore her and worship her. Strangely, it felt both tantalizing and downright frightening … but deities have always inspired such contradictory feelings among men.
Maeve reached for his hand and removed it gently from the doorknob. She stared into his eyes and he immerged his into the depth of her gaze. She wanted him to stay ; the decision he was waiting for her to make, she had made. He stepped forward, filling the space between them. While he embraced her waist with one arm, he reached for her cheek with his other hand and he kissed her lovingly. How long they’ve kissed before they started removing their clothes, or who first started undressing the other, neither could tell. They made love slowly, tenderly, savoring each touch and every second of it. But even in the heat of the moment, Sinbad was unable to say the three dreaded words his heart wanted to scream to her. Only one suddenly escaped from his lips : her name. He could have said any word he would have felt like saying, Maeve wouldn’t have cared. The word he choose was trivial. The way he said it however, truly sounded to her ear like the ‘I love you’ they were both unable to pronounce.
***
Maeve woke up several hours later, wrapped in Sinbad’s arms. From the pale light she saw peaking through the grid on her ceiling, she could tell the sun would rise soon. She stirred, which caused Sinbad’s hand to fall from her hip to her stomach. She felt his fingers fondling her belly gently as he slowly awoke. But instead of opening his eyes, he groaned and turned to lie on his back, obviously wanting to sleep some more. Maeve giggled.
‘’Come on, you lazy’’, she teased him softly. ‘’It’s almost dawn. You better leave before the entire ship learns where you’ve spent the night.’’
‘’I don’t care,’’ he mumbled, still half asleep.
‘’Well, I do.’’ she replied more authoritatively.
Sinbad opened his eyes. He gazed at her and a mischievous smirk appeared upon his lips. He raised his eyebrow and started chuckling. ‘’Are you really kicking me out of your bed ?’’ he asked the sorceress. ‘’I take it you’ve only used me.’’
‘’Oh, poor thing’’, she replied with an overly compassionate voice. ‘’Of course, you wouldn’t know about sneaking out of a woman’s room the morning after,’’ she teased him. He chuckled ; he couldn’t deny it and she knew it perfectly well.
‘’Hmmm, but I would never do that to you,’’ he answered, grinning.
‘’I should feel special, then’’, she replied with sarcasm. ‘’Now, get up and leave’’, she ordered gently.
Defeated, he sat on one side of the bed, stretching his arms and back slowly. Maeve couldn’t help but stare with appreciation at his well tanned body, her eyes following hungrily each of his movements as he contracted his muscles. He got up and reached for his clothes, on the floor. After he finished putting his clothes on, he turned around to look at the sorceress. She sat in the middle of her bed and had instinctively covered her nudity with her sheets. She blushed slightly when their eyes met. Her modesty brought a smile upon Sinbad’s lips. Where had the fiery sorceress’ confidence gone ?
‘’You’re not going to tell the guys about this, are you ?’’ she asked shyly. Sinbad walked over to her and sat beside her. ‘’I won’t, Maeve.’’ he promised her, stroking her hair gently.
He walked to the door, opened it and after making sure nobody was around, he exited her cabin quietly.
Maeve rolled on her side and grabbed her pillow. Her mind started wandering and she started thinking about the night’s events. She bit her lower lip and snorted as she realized how careless they had been. This fact brought painful questions in her mind, about his behavior with all those other women and the possibility that he might have escaped from his responsabilities. They would need to talk about this issue the next time, before anything else happens between them, and it already felt awkward to her. She sighed and fell back asleep, hoping her dreams would temporarily make her forget about her concerns.
Chapter III
Maeve looked around, lost and confused. Where was she ? On her left, she saw the ruins of what she believed used to be a castle. The sky was grey, the trees were grey, everything was grey. It sent chills down her spine. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized she was in Sarania. She heard a muffled sound coming from behind her. He sounded as if something, or someone, was scratching the soil. She turned around. That’s when she saw it.
She couldn’t say what it was, but it was the most hideous creature she had ever seen in her whole life. His blood-injected eyes were staring at her. The monster licked his lips. Maeve felt nauseous when she saw what looked like a piece of flesh hanging on the side of his mouth. His teeth were dripping with blood. The creature lowered his head and she lost sight of it, because of the ruins. She was terrorized, but she had to know.
She had to know what it was eating. She trembled as she stepped forward, hiding behind what used to be a corinthian column. She took a deep breath and looked behind the column. The monster was devouring its prey hungrily. Maeve felt like throwing up. The prey had been slayed and eviscerated. The creature kept plunging his teeth inside the bleeding wound, ripping her flesh.
It was a woman’s body. A woman with long, black hair. Her dead gaze had stilled in an horror expression. When she slowly turned her face to her, staring at her, Maeve tried to scream but no sound escaped from her mouth. The woman’s mouth moved. She was trying to say something to her.
‘’Pandemonium’’, she whispered before the creature ripped her heart from her chest.
***
Maeve awoke abruptly, her heart racing in her chest. Instinctively, she ran her hands over her body, making sure she wasn’t injured. She sighed of relief : it was a nightmare, just a horrible nightmare. It wasn’t true, even though it looked so real. Maeve’s eyes glanced around. She was still on the Nomad, in her cabin. She could hear the sailors’ footsteps above her head and hear their voices coming from the deck. From all the fuss, she knew they had reached Barah and prepared to anchor the ship. She sighed when she heard Doubar’s cheerful laughter echoing through the galley.
She got up, trying to brush the horrible scenes from her nightmare off her mind. The only thing she wanted to concentrate on was what the woman had said. It was another riddle perhaps, but she needed to find out how it was related to the ‘’kitten’’ spirit.
But first, she had to find a way to talk to Sinbad about the previous night while they were still on the ship and had still some sort of privacy. She walked on deck after she had breakfast and saw Sinbad was at the bow. He was alone, for now. She walked to him. He smiled warmly when he saw her.
‘’Hi,’’ he said softly. For a moment, she felt like losing herself into his beautiful blue eyes.
‘’Sinbad, we need to talk about something,’’ she glanced around, making sure nobody could hear what she said, ‘’alone.’’
Sinbad frowned. ‘’Why do I have the feeling this is going to be awkward ?’’
She sighed. ‘’Because it will.’’
Sinbad stared at her blankly for a moment, then he sighed and glanced away. ‘’I see. As soon as I’m done with my shift, I’ll come to you.’’
She turned around and left. She knew his mind was probably racing by now, but she really couldn’t say more. The topic they had to discuss was rather uneasy. She waited less than half an hour before she heard footsteps coming toward her cabins and a knock on her door. He walked in. Even though he tried to keep his composure, she could tell he looked worried. He had been wondering about her intentions and even though he couldn’t imagine why she would ever do that, especially after the night they had spent together, part of him feared she would actually tell him it was over.
Maeve’s heart melt when she saw how hesitant he was. She kissed him tenderly, hoping her loving, welcoming gesture would make him feel more at ease. Maeve sat on her bed and Sinbad leaned his back against her desk. His eyes questioned her, eager to know what she wanted to talk about.
‘’Sinbad, I don’t know how to say this…’’, she said, then she noticed his eyebrows had furrowed and she realized she sounded as if she was about to dump him. She cleared her throat. ‘’No, actually, there’s a question I’d like to ask you.’’
‘’What is it, Maeve ?’’ he asked.
She gathered some courage and took a deep breath : ‘’If I asked you how many children you think you have, what would your answer be ?’’
He stared at her, aghast.
‘’I would say none,’’ he finally managed to answer.
‘’Really ?’’ she asked, raising her eyebrow. She hated to sound so skeptical, but she couldn’t help it. ‘’Why are you so sure ?’’
Sinbad frowned. ‘’Is this a serious question?’’ She stared at him, waiting for his answer. It was extremely awkward. He snorted. ‘’I know I don’t have any, that’s all.’’
‘’Hmm. That’s interesting. I wonder how you would know this for sure.’’ she insisted, trying to sound as if she was simply thinking out loud.
Sinbad flushed. He started to understand where she was getting at with all this. Even before he had been intimate with a woman for the first time (thanks to his first crew, they didn’t want to be captained by a boy, they wanted to be captained by a man. They had literally pushed young Sinbad into a wench’s arms) he had spent enough time with older sailors and heard enough coarse and drunken chattering in order to educate himself about the basics of the birds and the bees. He had never really paid attention to what he believed was some female esoteric knowledge about moon cycles ; he didn’t understand it, either. Men had told him the safest way to prevent unwanted offspring was to learn to ‘’control’’ themselves. This conversation felt offensive to him, because he had always been careful and the fact she didn’t seem to believe him bothered him even more. He decided he wouldn’t be the only one in the spot and feeling uncomfortable. If she wanted to play this little confrontation game, he would play along.
‘’You’ve been with men before’’, he stated. ‘’I suppose you must have some knowledge concerning our methods, since you’re not surrounded by children, either.’’ He smirked, and she was the one blushing now. Only, he was clueless as how much of a nerve he had hit. ‘’Are we done, now ?’’ he asked her abruptly, eager to end this awkward conversation.
‘’Not really.’’ she replied in the same manner. Her answer startled him. He sighed loudly, but she continued. ‘’So, you’ve bedded many women in your life. You believe none of them ever carried your child. And you believe this, because you’ve always been...cautious ? Is it ?’’ she resumed.
His eyes narrowed. ‘’Yes. Now can we get this over with ?’’
She ignored him. ‘’That sounds like a safe method indeed.’’ she continued.
‘’Yes, it is. Are we done yet ?’’
‘’And you’ve never failed useing this method, have you ?’’ she insisted.
He opened his mouth to protest once again, but he froze. A frown appeared on his forehead. Maeve raised her eyebrow, mocking him, as Sinbad finally understood what she meant.
‘’I’m sorry,’’ he apologized. ‘’I don’t know how I’ve allowed this to happen.’’ He looked concerned. ‘’Should I be worried about anything ?’’ he finally asked.
She chuckled. ‘’We need to be more careful, that’s all.’’ she replied.
He nodded and walked to the door. But instead of opening the door, he turned to her and asked ‘’Why didn’t you simply tell me about it ? That was pretty much the strangest and most awkward conversation I ever had in my life.’’
She smirked. ‘’I had to make sure you’d always keep that in mind’’.
Chapter III
The crew pulled the longboat on the shore. They were on the island of Barah and it looked deserted. Bryn stood still, her eyes closed, and she concentrated on her feelings. She didn’t know how long she had been mediting when she heard Sinbad call her name.
‘’Bryn’’, he repeated, putting his hand on her shoulder. ‘’Is everything okay ?’’
‘’Yes,’’ she nodded. ‘’I think we should walk south.’’ She pointed.
The crew followed the shore until Dermott started screeching. Maeve released the hawk and he flew over a hill. They followed him and saw a village surrounded by walls, before them, down the valley.
As they were about to walk through the gates, they glanced at each other. A strong smell emerged from the village and floated to their nostrils. They all knew what that scent was. Bryn gasped and they all turned to her. Their eyes widened in shock when they saw what she had seen.
A gallow’s pole stood in the center of the small clearing, where the body of a young woman was hung. From the aspect if it, she had been there for more than a week. The crew coughed and restrained themselves from retching as they looked at the woman’s torso. She had been slit open. Maeve’s heart skipped a beat. The woman had long, black hair. It was her, it was the woman from her nightmare. She felt dizzy and nauseous as the graphic scenes from her nightmare flashed mercilessly into her mind. Rongar noticed the sorceress was fainting and he grabbed her by the waist, holding her against him.
‘’Maeve, are you okay ?’’ Sinbad asked worriedly.
‘’Yes … let’s … get out of here,’’ she answered. She couldn’t tell them about her dreams, because if she did, she would have to remember herself of all the details and it disgusted her too much.
‘’We can’t let her like that’’, Doubar protested. Rongar nodded, even though the idea of approaching the corpse repulsed him. Deep down, he knew Doubar was right. It was shocking to let a poor woman’s body out in the open. Both men stepped closer to the pole, reaching for their swords to cut the rope. Before they could do anything, they heard a loud voice ordering them to step away from the woman.
The crew turned around and saw a man, probably a soldier, standing by the gates. ‘’This wench will remain where she currently is, for she has been tried, condemned and executed by His Excellency.’’
‘’You haven’t executed this poor woman’’, Doubar roared, ‘’You have butchered her.’’ Rongar grasped Doubar’s shoulder to prevent him from starting a fight.
‘’She serves as an example.’’ the man explained. ‘’It is why we can’t remove her from there and bury her yet.’’
‘’Which crime was she convicted of ?’’ Sinbad asked.
‘’Sorcery and murder’’, he replied. ‘’Just like her sister Lila, who was executed two years ago’’.
‘’How much time will you keep her there ?’’ Firouz asked him.
‘’As long as His Excellency feels adequate,’’ the man answered bitterly. ‘’We have been ordered not to remove her without his permission.’’
‘’Who is this man you call His Excellency ?’’ Bryn asked.
‘’The man who rules this island. Ever since he has been appointed as our governor, he has decided to purify this island from the demons, or so he says.’’
‘’You don’t seem to appreciate him that much,’’ Maeve frowned. ‘’Why do you obey his orders ?’’
The man looked at her as if she was dumb. ‘’Didn’t you see what he did to this woman ?’’ he exclaimed, pointing at the corpse hanging from the pole. ‘’All he asks is for us to be righteous. He will purify the land from the evil spirits and those who help them.’’
‘’Righteous ? All the while promoting barbarian executions,’’ Doubar mumbled.
The man nodded. He stepped closer. ‘’He despised her greatly. She … risked her life to help someone. And he dispised her even more, and decided to execute her as a personal revenge.’’
‘’Do you think she is the one who spoke through me ?’’ Bryn asked Maeve.
Maeve shrugged. ‘’I don’t know. It makes no sense. Why would she refer to herself as a cat ? She could have told us her name.’’
‘’If she’s a witch, it is well known in folklore that witches often have black cats … maybe it’s the only explanation we need to look for.’’ Firouz suggested.
Maeve shook her head. ‘’No. It’s not. I can’t explain it properly, but I feel she’s not the one who asked for our help.’’
‘’We will find out who this person was.’’ Sinbad told his crew.
‘’Possibly someone who knows magic, if she was able to communicate by dreams’’.
The man seemed to ponder Sinbad’s word. ‘’I shouldn't tell you this ... but there’s only one person who might be able to help you on this particular matter. Her name is Isha. She is rumored to have some magical knowledges. She is also Lila’s daughter….’’ The man tilted his head. ‘’She lives in the outskirts of the forest, now.’’
Chapter IV
They knocked on the door. A young woman answered. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw how many people stood outside in front of her door. Her eyes gazed at Bryn and Maeve and she frowned.
‘’No, no ! I’m not working anymore. Huh, huh, no. It’s over.’’ She protested vehemently before trying to close the door. Sinbad grabbed the door with his hand, pulling against it to keep it open.
‘’We came to see a woman named Isha’’, Sinbad told her.
‘’I am this woman, but I fear you’ve been wrongly informed. I don’t offer my services anymore.’’ The men glanced at each other, puzzled. Ishla pushed against the door, desperatly trying to close it, but Sinbad maintained his firm grip. She snorted when she realized she wouldn’t be strong enough to shut the door. She pouted and reluctantly invited them in with a wide hand gesture.
‘’Thank you’’, Sinbad told her as the crew entered her house. They looked around. The room where they stood was decorated tastefully. A shelf was filled with bottles, jars and other items that could be a sorceress’. Isha crossed her arms and stared at them.
‘’Fine, let’s get this over with. But I have to warn you, the price is 30 dinars.’’
The men flushed.
‘’My dear, we are not … we don’t want to…’’ Firouz stumbled upon his words.
‘’What Firouz is trying to say is … we … we don’t…’’ Doubar was bright red.
‘’Really, that’s not the kind of service we …’’ a very embarrassed Sinbad started, but Isha interrupted him.
‘’I don’t have all day.’’ she replied harshly. She turned to Bryn and Maeve. ‘’So, do you want to prevent it or to get rid of it ?’’
Both girls gaped in astonishment, but before they had a chance to answer, Isha continued, ‘’If you’re here expecting me to take care of your *mistake*, I require whoever out of those men is responsible for your condition to pay me in advance.’’
The men were stunned and blushed even more, embarrassed by her straightforwardness. Bryn and Maeve glanced at each other.
‘’You’re a midwife ?’’ Maeve asked Isha. She was not expecting such a young woman, and apparently an unmarried one, to have enough knowledge on this matter.
‘’Yes, as were my mother Lila and my aunt Rhea’’ Isha’s eyes narrowed. ‘’Isn’t it the reason why you are here ?’’
‘’We met someone in the village’’, Sinbad told her. ‘’He suggested we pay you a visit.’’
‘’Why for ?’’
‘’An unknown spirit contacted us’’, Bryn answered. ‘’She asked for our help and told us to come to Barah in order to free her and others, too.’’
‘’I don’t know magic.’’ Isha replied. ‘’And neither did my mother nor my aunt. They were wrongly accused of being witches.’’ She walked to the door and opened it widely. She pointed outside.
‘’Now, leave my house. I’m the only midwife remaining on this island, there is no way I am risking my life because of stangers blabbering around that I am some kind of evil sorceress.’’
‘’Does the word pandemonium means anything to you ?’’ Maeve blurted. From the look on Isha’s face, she knew she had hit a nerve.
‘’Who told you about this ?’’ Isha scowled.
‘’Your aunt Rhea. She told me in my dreams.’’
The crew stared at her, startled. Isha shivered. ‘’It is a land of sorrow and grief,’’ she answered, almost in a whisper.
‘’Pandemonium, isn’t it a word meaning …’’ Firouz started.
‘’The abode of all demons.’’ Isha interrupted.
‘’I feel this place is linked to the spirit who contacted us.’’ Maeve insisted.
‘’Maeve, are you saying it is a demon who contacted Bryn ?’’ Doubar exclaimed.
‘’I’m not sure.’’ Maeve answered. ‘’But your aunt wanted me to know about this place.’’
The midwife sighed. If Rhea had told a sorceress about the pandemonium, she had a purpose.
‘’It used to be a sanctuary. When His Excellency was appointed governor, he destroyed it. He thought it was unholy.’’
‘’Where is it ?’’ Sinbad asked Isha.
‘’Travel east’’, Isha answered. ‘’You will find what remains of the sanctuary.’’
***
*Dermott !* Maeve instinctively cried out when she woke up. *Dermott, where are you ?*
The hawk didn’t answer. He was probably asleep, thus couldn’t hear his sister. Maeve rolled on her side. Bryn was sleeping. Even though Maeve felt relieved she was not alone in her tent, she still couldn’t get the horrible images from her nightmare off her mind. She had had the exact same dream. In the dark, Bryn’s dark hair looked like the dead woman’s from Maeve’s nightmare. It sent chills down her spine. Maeve started being overly aware of every sound the forest made : every branch cracking, the soft breeze flowing through the trees. The sound she had grown so accustomed to that she used to never hear anymore, now screamed at her so loudly that it made her insane.
She got up and without thinking, she rushed to the only place she knew she would feel safe.
Sinbad awoke abruptly when he heard someone step into the tent he shared with Doubar. A dark figure appeared before him : he instinctively reached for his sword.
‘’Maeve’’, he whispered when she stepped closer to him and sat beside him. ‘’Is something wrong ?’’
She opened her mouth to speak, but she glanced at Doubar instead. The gentle giant was well asleep and snoring loudly.
‘’Trust me, you’re not going to wake him up,’’ Sinbad chuckled. ‘’Tell me why you’re here.’’
‘’I don’t know. I just …’’, she hesitated and he could tell she felt uneasy. ‘’I’m having nightmares.’’ She finally admitted. She looked down, expecting Sinbad to tease her. He didn’t. He reached for her chin and gently lifted her head up so she would look into his eyes.
‘’Come’’, he whispered, raising the cloak he used as a sheet as an invitation for her to lie down beside him. Without hesistation, she slipped under the warm covers and cuddled against him. He held her firmly into his arms and he fell asleep. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling safe in his protective embrace. No monstrous creature could ever come and get her while in his arms.
Doubar woke up at dawn. He stretched himself and turned to his side to reach for his sword before getting up. He was startled, then started chuckling softly as he witnessed a redhair guest had found her way into his brother’s arms during the night. Sinbad stirred when he heard his brother chuckling, he opened his eyes. His eyes caught his brother’s mischievous gaze. He smirked and glanced at the beautiful sorceress who was still sleeping by his side. He delicately brushed a strand of her hair off her face. She moaned softly and her eyes fluttered open. She gasped when she realized she had slept the night through with Sinbad and by now, everybody would know about it.
Doubar quickly left the tent and joined the others around the firepit. ‘’Have you seen Maeve ?’’ asked a worried Bryn. The Celt was not in the tent the girls shared, but nobody had seen her leave the camp.
Doubar started chuckling. ‘’Lass must have sleepwalked her way to our tent, because I found her cuddled into Sinbad’s arms this morning. Fully dressed, though’’. The others gaped in astonishment and started chuckling and patting each other’s shoulder, feeling it was somehow a collective victory that the couple had finally decided to move a step further.
‘’Guys,’’ Bryn warned them, ‘’Be kind to her. She must really feel shy and self-conscious about this.’’
‘’Don’t worry, we won’t tease her too much,’’ Doubar answered, laughing.
As he spoke, the couple walked out of Sinbad’s tent and Maeve indeed looked as if she was expecting everybody to question her and tease her badly about the fact she had spent the night with Sinbad. She felt relieved when everybody greeted them as usual.
Still, she sat beside Bryn, further away from Sinbad. Rongar handed her a bowl.
‘’Thanks’’, she reached for her purse and grabbed a fork.
Firouz cleared his throat. ‘’Here, I think you might prefer a spoon.’’ he stressed. The guys cracked up as the couple flushed.
Chapter V
A few hours later, they stepped into what looked like the ruins of an old temple, just like Isha had described to them. Maeve looked around. It looked so familiar. Then, it striked her : these ruins, she had seen them before They were the same she had seen in her nightmares, just like the woman hanging down from the pole was the woman who had talked to her in her dreams. Maeve felt breathless and her heart started racing. Will the creature she saw in her nightmare be real, too ? Will it emerge from the ruins just like it did in her nightmares ?
Maeve leaded the crew further into the ruins, toward what looked like a garden. Bryn felt her anxiety rising and fear spread in her whole body. Something horrible had happened here, she could tell.
Maeve scouted through the ruins, in every corner. The crew glanced at each other. The redhead was obviously looking for something, or following one of her instincts, but they didn’t know exactly what she was looking for and didn’t know how to help. She looked both anxious and terrorized.
Then, Maeve stopped. She stared at a wreaked column. The corinthian column she had seen in her dreams. She stepped closer and saw what looked like a grave behind it. It was not identified, but the way it stood, out of the open, suggested someone had purposedly placed it there to be seen.
Without thinking, responding to a sudden urge, Maeve kneeled to the ground and started frantically scratching and digging with her bare hands. The others wanted to contain her and calm her, but Bryn held the men back. She had felt it too. The spirit’s grave was there. And since the woman had told Maeve where to go, they had to let Maeve find her. After a few minutes, Maeve stopped digging. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
‘’Maeve, what is it ?’’ Sinbad asked.
‘’Have you found her ?’’ Doubar asked.
She didn’t answer. She reached down and with much delicateness, she wrapped the tiny skeleton in her blue cloak, then she cradled it in her arms. The sailors’ eyes widened in shock when they saw Maeve’s motherly gesture. Two words escaped softly from her lips : ‘’Little kitten’’.
The whole crew had tears in their eyes when she pronounced the spirit’s name, because they now knew the spirit was not an animal. It was a baby.
A baby that didn’t have a name. A baby that didn’t live long enough to have one. The only name she ever heard, in her short life, was the sweet nickname her mother had whispered lovingly to her ear as she welcomed her into this world.
End of Part I.
