I rushed from my hiding spot, staying light on my feet and as crafty as night. I came up behind the two men, readied my strongest arm and plunged my short double-edged sword through a man’s back and into his heart. He made a grunt and fell to the dirt floor, his life cut off in a moment.
Akiko, after seeing my attack, leapt from her hiding place and proceeded to plunge her knife into the second man’s side. He screeched and began to reach for a weapon at his waist. Akiko removed the knife and stabbed him over and over until he fell to the ground in agony.
Grabbing my short sword with both hands, I positioned myself over the groaning man and drove the blade through his skull. Both were lifeless and still and I hoped our little scuffle hadn’t drawn any attention from any person passing by. I assumed that no one was foolish enough to be walking around in the dead of night, none as idiotic as these two.
I grabbed one of the men’s ankles, swung him around and dragged his body to the pitch black corner beside the door. Akiko did the same with the other man. I found a burlap sack and covered the corpses the best I could. I didn’t want the young child to see them. She likely heard some of the ruckus from outside and was probably terrified.
Heading to the door, Akiko’s voice stopped me. “What are you doing? Don’t go anywhere near the door. It’s too risky!”
“I have no choice. The child could give us away.”
Sticking my head through to the outside, I scanned the surrounding shops and deserted street. I was surprised that the landscape had lightened and looked up to see the moon peeking from behind some clouds. Off to the right, below a scraggly tree, I noticed the scant moonlight highlighting the child sitting and playing with a few sticks she’d found. I was relieved that she was a fair distance from the shop and likely hadn’t heard much of the fray at all.
I hated the idea of wandering out into the open but I had no other option. I scurried over to the child quickly. Craftily, I grabbed her arm, placed a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, hauled her to her feet and dragged her toward the shop. She came without resisting.
When I got the girl inside, Akiko closed the damaged pieces of the door and went to work repairing and sealing it the best she could. The opening had to look as normal as possible to discourage any other thieves. The shop was completely compromised without it. Akiko was managing well.
Placing the child on the rough hewn bags where we’d been resting before the kafuffle, I squatted before her and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Ganya,” she whispered.
“What kind of name is that?”
“It means clever,” she said quietly.
“Who were the men who broke in to the shop?”
“My papa and my uncle.”
“Where’s you mother?”
“Dead.”
“How did she die?”
“Purging.” Her voice held no emotion.
“Lie down and rest now.”
She obeyed and was asleep in no time. Her soft snores filled the room with an eerie comfort. The orphan would make a good addition in Brone and Almana’s home. They needed a child and the girl would make a good restitution for the losses they’d endured at Casimer’s hand.
I looked over to see Akiko still working on the door. I let her finish it while I sat down beside the sleeping child. Sleep evaded me and I determined to stay awake and vigilant until Brone picked us up at first light.
After an hour of work, Akiko managed to rig the entrance so that it was enter proof. She came to join me on the rough hewn bags and sighed loudly as she settled down.
Silence floated between us for an hour as we were both lost in thought.
I worried about the change in plans. We had been instructed, by the revolution, to stay with Brone and Almana for many weeks. We had been assured that we would be well fed and protected as we adjusted to Dwarkaa society. We’d also been promised that the two of them would teach and train us of the dangers here and the schemes we would need to survive. But now, we would be thrown into a dangerous world right from the start with no training at all. We would have to learn as we tried to stay alive, not the best strategy of adjusting to a new culture. Our initiation to this farrin would be much more ignoble than what either of us had imagined.
“There’ll be no more sleeping tonight,” Akiko whispered.
I didn’t answer her.
“I don’t like this change of plans,” she whispered again. “Our lives will be in much greater danger.”
She was speaking what both of us already knew, what we’d both been pondering in our silence.
“How much time do you suppose we have until morning’s light?”
I decided to answer her. “By the position of the moon, I’d say we have another two or three hours.”
Time crawled as we waited for the first hint of dawn. When faint rays began to filter through the slight spaces between the boards of the shop, I stood and paced. Soon I began to hear a sound I was not familiar with it. A crunching noise grew louder and louder and announced that something was rolling over the dirt road. Soon the contraption, whatever it was, stopped before the shop.
A voice filtered through the door. “What in Casimer’s name?”
The voice was Brone’s. I hurried over and explained, through the roughly repaired wood partition, what had happened. He waited while I undid the skillfully rigged door and opened it for the man. His brow was furrowed as he strode inside. I closed the door and secured it again.
“What happened here last night?” he asked.
“Intruders forced their way in. We took care of them.”
“Where are they?”
I pointed to the corner. Blood was smeared on the dirt floor, sign that we had dragged them over.
“How am I to get rid of them?”
Frustration filled my chest. “I think that is the least of your concern. We saved your shop from thievery and from financial ruin. Getting rid of bodies is the easy part.”
“Well, yes, that is true,” Brone confessed.
Akiko came to join us. “Just leave them there for now. Or we could take them with us; dump their bodies on the way.”
“No, not during daylight. I will have to make another trip.” Brone looked deep in thought as he stared at the covered corpses in the corner. Then he came out of his reverie and said, “We need to load the wagon with produce, cover everything with the burlap bags. I have a big sheet of fabric that I can use to conceal your presence. You two will have to stay hidden until we get to the market.”
“How long is the trip?” I asked.
“It will take us until noon to get there.”
“You need to know that you now have three people to hide.”
“Three?” he asked.
I pointed to the back of the shop where the child was curled up, still sleeping peacefully, a burlap bag for a blanket. “She belonged to one of the men. Her father is dead.”
“What of her mother?”
“Also dead, at the hand of Casimer.”
Brone turned worried eyes to me. “What am I supposed to do with her?”
“Take her as your own. She’s an orphan. Almana needs a child.”
“We don’t want any more pain or loss.”
“The child could bring comfort and not pain.”
He shook his head and sighed heavily. “Let me think about it while we travel. She will have to remain completely silent on the trip. If she causes any trouble at all, I will drop her off in a poverty stricken section of the city and she can fend for herself.”
“Agreed,” I said. I was confident he would decide to keep the child, give his coverling, Almana, some hope.
We all worked to load the wagon. Akiko and I dragged the produce of baskets to the door and Brone loaded them from there. My first view of the large beast tied to the wagon caused me to stop and stare as I examined the unusual creature. The animal stood tall and proud and snorted in superiority. Long hair extended from its neck and another tuft stuck out from its back side. I’d never seen such a regal and pompous looking creature before. Strength oozed from him as he strained against the ropes and shook his head. Brone had restrained the animal with some sort of rope contraption and tied it to a metal pole and hook to keep the animal in place.
The thing Brone called a wagon was another item I’d never before seen, not before setting foot on Dwarkaa Farrin. There were round metal objects attached to a large wooden box. That’s what must have made that crunching sound I heard, metal grinding against the gravel street.
Akiko and I didn’t venture outside until it was time to crawl into the back of the wagon and cover ourselves. I grabbed the child, lifted her into my arms and darted outside. The scant light that teased the horizon was not enough to highlight our activity outright, unless someone happened to be up early and wandering the streets. So far the street was empty except for us. I pushed Ganya in ahead of me and then crawled beneath the large fabric that would conceal us. Akiko crawled in last.
The long trip was difficult and rough as the wagon bumped and jostled over rutted gravel roads, then over cobble stoned streets that were well aged, uneven and full of holes. The roads kept switching between gravel and cobble stone and I didn’t think my ribs could handle one more bump or jostle when the wagon finally slowed and eventually came to a standstill.
Noises the other side of the fabric filled my ears. We were definitely surrounded by a crowd which I was thankful for and would make it easier to exit the wagon without detection.
There was rustling of the fabric at my feet and I looked to see Brone lifting the cloth. “We’ve arrived. I’ve positioned my wagon so that the back end faces an alleyway. As I’m unloading my produce the two of you can exit and escape through the alleyway at my back. The safe house is approximately 15 streets to the east. You will recognize the area because a fire ripped through there a few years ago and everything is still blackened from the smoke. Some buildings in that area are completely gutted due to the fire.”
“I thought you said the contact for the safe house worked here at the market?”
“There’s too much risk in introducing you here. I will speak with her and let her know the situation. Hide in the alley beyond the last burned complex and she will meet you there.”
“So where are we to go in the meantime?”
“Travel to the neighborhood where these women live. You will have to wait out the rest of the day in the alley. Try not to draw attention to yourselves. The names of the women you’ll be looking for Enyo and Bodil. Now go, before you are discovered.”
Akiko asked, “What will happen to Ganya? Have you decided?”
“That is none of your concern. Now go.”
I turned to Ganya, who was staring at us with round eyes, and said, “Remember to stay completely silent. No speaking.”
“I need to go pee.”
“You let Brone know. He will take care of it.”
She nodded and I wondered if I’d ever see her again.
Brone grabbed a basket and started to unload his wares. I shimmied my way to the back of the wagon and slid off, taking the bags of supplies Almana had given us. I looked back at Ganya one last time and silently wished her the best. Her eyes locked on mine as she took a bite of the thin piece of bread I’d given her.
Hurrying toward the alley, I reached it, turned and watched Akiko do the same and we began our journey.
