Talitha Koum

Chapter 16

TALITHA KOUM

CHAPTER 16

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Instead, the sound of showers began.

Julie tilted her face upward, expecting to get all wet, but the water never came. She frowned, as people began to fall one after the other, collapsing right there in front of her. Those who remained screamed and began racing off, covering their heads, including the fat man.

She rubbed her eyes. She focused again. “What the…?”

These weren’t raindrops. They were arrows! Someone was shooting at them!

The darts pelted down from the sky and landed into the crowd that had encircled her not two minutes ago. Now, they had completely scattered.

One arrow fell within a foot of her.

Her eyes shot wide. She seized Tom by the arms and began to drag him toward the only shelter she could see—the car in the distance sitting on the carts. She hauled him the whole distance, and then pushed and shoved and got the two of them stowed beneath the vehicle that was proving more and more versatile by the minute.

The hail of arrows stopped. New sounds could be heard.

The din of men and galloping horses started in the distance and then built up to a roar until it was all Julie could hear and the ground shook. It was coming from beyond the sand wall, directly behind her. She peeked out from beneath her shelter, just as horses began vaulting over the barrier, winging over and past her head to land into the middle of the square. These horsemen were armed and they started to chase down Julie’s original captors. The torrent of men and horses continued and it seemed the entire clearing was filled with them all at once.

By this time, the fat man’s troops had recovered from their surprise and now managed a counter attack. Julie watched, as men fought and fell in the theatre before her. The smell of blood was thick. Stray horses trotted by without riders on their backs. Sneaking out, she tried to grab one of these but it was too quick as it raced by. She tried another. This one nearly ran her down.

She clenched her teeth. “When is this day going to end?!”

Someone took her shoulder.

Pivoting around, she swung her arm out at her foe.

The man backed away just in time.

Julie dove in for another hit, but the man just kept backing off. It seemed he didn’t want to fight. He extended both hands out in front of him, palms out and empty.

Julie stared at the man’s open hands. Open hands, no weapons.

“Bie-da!” The man shook his head at her. He bowed. He waved and motioned for Julie to follow him. “Lai!” He inched a step toward her and pointed at Tom, still crumpled up beneath the car and the carts.

Julie frowned. “What?” She glanced at Tom.

“Dui! Lai-ah!” He pointed at Tom again. He repeated his gestures for her to follow him, as he kept saying over and over again the phrase, ‘lai-ah’.

Julie kept her frown on her new acquaintance. She gauged him up and down, and then up and down again. “Lai?”

The man’s eyes shone. He grinned. “Dui! Lai-ah! Lai-ah!” He nodded his head silly.

Julie sighed and let her shoulders droop.

Now, here was a man who spoke to her nicely and was neither groping her nor trying to take her head off with a sword. His smile was so wide that she couldn’t see his eyes. And it was contagious. She half-smiled herself.