Rudimentum: Oracle

Chapter 9

Elysia, William and Swift travelled for the day on foot, having no luck finding another old man with a cart heading in the same direction. Every few hours they sat by the side of the road, catching their breath, and soothing their throats with the water in their leather cannisters. They passed farms, small towns, and travellers alike, but the droning open road was like walking on the edge of a sword. Elysia gazed at the trees dotting the cloud-filled horizon, feeling like a duck in an otherwise empty pond ready to be shot by the first hunter that came around.

They spent the next two nights once again within the protection of the trees. Elysia crushed the peppermint leaves she had snuck from a garden and used it to help ward off the mosquitos during the night. Swift called her a genius. William only gently smiled.

And always in her mind were the dark thoughts of what happened to her parents, the images of fire and the scent of smoke. Fear and anxiety for her brother and all those she cared about were shackled to her ankle and she dragged it along with every step.

As the third dusk approached, they spied a travelling troupe of entertainers set up on the outskirts of a city. Their tents ruffled in the slight breeze like giant blooming red, blue and yellow flowers.

Music and laughter reached their ears as they approached. People came and went freely between the city gate and the performers' area, grins often decorating their faces. Children ran wild and giggled with sticks and wooden swords in their hands, chasing one another and kicking up dust. In the short distance, the performers set up their personal camp, a small fire in the middle of a ring of tents with men and women tending to food, horses, and carts.

"It is a travelling troupe," said Elysia, standing between William and Swift, her voice edged with excitement. Her back and feet ached, her legs trembling more with every step, but the thought of a performance, of something to take her mind off the dreadful thoughts that plagued her mind, was a desire hard to ignore.

"I stopped at one once," said Swift. "They were rather good. There was this one girl who could fold herself into the strangest shapes. It looked inhuman." He laughed and Elysia smiled. So far, Swift had done nothing to indicate he wanted to kill or betray them.

"I have never been," said William. He looked around and watched as a group of men and women stood and listened to a man singing and strumming a lute. The man's voice danced around the words and floated through the plucking of strings, reminding William of a better time. And of a future he convinced himself was impossible.

"Let us go then," said Elysia, wrapping her arm through his and tugging him towards the bulk of the crowd. "The sun is setting, and we will make no more progress today. We might as well enjoy what we can. Yes?"

"Yes," agreed Swift, leading the way through the growing crowd. "It's time for Willy here to have some fun."

"It's William or Will," he said allowing Elysia to pull him along. Her eyes glowed brighter than they had in days.

"Same thing," Swift called back.

"Not really," said William.

Elysia laughed out loud and threw off her hood, finding the collective joy infectious. She led him towards a tent where a man standing out front proclaimed the show inside to be one of magic and trickery and one to deceive the eyes. And it started in two minutes.

A pang of longing stabbed her heart. She had always enjoyed studying and using magic and until this was all over, she could never use it again.

"That one," she said pointing to the large blue tent. William was about to protest, but she looked at him and he saw the way the green specks in her eyes shone in the fading daylight.