Psychic

3. Korrik

Kiyo left at night on his own, pretending he was going out to run a simple errand. In the bathroom of a store in the city, he changed his usual outfit into that of a desert nomad and rented a camel. Kiyo was no navigation expert but he remembered that Lestat had gone off in the direction of the coast. It was lined with jagged mountains separating it from the desert dunes.

Kiyo's camel was fast enough for him to arrive at the coastal ridge while it was still dark. He followed the bottoms of the mountains, looking for evidence of nearby civilization. He found a path that weaved between the mountains and he could smell the salt of the sea carried on the wind blowing through it. This particular path was called Red Back Pass and it led to a small gypsy camp known as Korrik.

As Kiyo followed the well-traveled path, he noticed the giant Red Back Spiders that the pass was named for, climbing along the crags. They had not noticed him and were crawling eerily silently for such massive creatures. "Not sure I want to brave that on my own," Kiyo mumbled to himself. "At least I know where he went. Let's get out of here."

When Kiyo turned his camel around, Lestat dropped down from the top of the pass, in front of him. The camel made a flustered sound, taking a few steps back. "You think I didn't know you were following me," Lestat grumbled as he winced, standing slowly from the crouching position he had landed in. "You can smell that guy a mile away." He pointed at the camel's face then pulled his hand back to cover his mouth and nose. "Gods, what are feeding that thing?"

"It's not mine but I still found you, didn't I?" Kiyo grumbled, restraining his camel.

"I let you find me, moron."

"How'd you manage that jump?"

Lestat smiled and shook his index finger at him. "Family secret, General. You know, if you're going to insist on following me, we're going to have a scrap on our hands."

"Really? Wouldn't that would mean you have something to hide?"

"No. I just don't plan to let the spawn of the corrupt Empire into my home. I'm not guilty of anything but if you insist on moving forward, I will be."

Kiyo smiled and bowed his head softly. "As you like but don't think my leaving means I believe you're innocent."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself," Lestat shrugged. "Just know that if you do come back, I won't be the only one waiting for you."

*   *   *

Kiyo returned to Laridion as promptly as the desert permitted him to do so. When he arrived at the palace, he immediately went to find Tolaymus, who he encountered in the hallway. He hurriedly explained to him what happened when he was confronted by Lestat.

"Oh, this is unacceptable," Tolaymus scoffed, taking the threat Lestat made as a personal offense.

"So, how are we supposed to respond?" Kiyo wondered curiously.

"Who does he think he is? Guilty or not, for threatening a General you should have cut him down on the spot."

"I wanted to tell you first."

"If I must confront the enemy in his home then so be it. I will explain the situation to the Emperor. We'll leave tomorrow morning. We each take twenty soldiers, including the lieutenants so as not make too much of a scene upon our departure."

"But if you tell the Emperor I followed the prisoner-"

"If it means I must tell a lie to ensure our civilians know their place then that is what I must do. He does not need to know you pursued the boy."

*   *   *

When Lestat entered Korrik, the gypsy camp where he lived, he found his cousin, Rai, at the end of the mountain pass. She was sitting on a boulder at the bottom of the mountain eating half a loaf of banana bread. She was rather short, being only four feet and ten inches at the age of twenty-two. Her extremely long black hair ended at the bottom of her back, starting out straight and waving toward the bottom. Her clothes were faded, worn in and torn some spots and mostly made up of layers upon layers. All gypsies dressed the same way. It was something that made them noticeably different from other races.

Her shirt was light orange with puffy sleeves. She wore a dark red waist cincher that stood just under her breasts, making them look even bigger than they already were on her small body. Rai had two skirts that she had cut herself at a slant, one of the left and one on the right, so both were visible. She sometimes wore pants under her skirts but since it had been hot lately so Rai only wore her skirts. Though most gypsy women preferred simple sandals, Rai wore a pair of boots sent to her by her uncle. They were the newest looking part of her outfit so they did not match. They appeared to be part of some armor since they had metal greaves over the shins. Tied loosely around her neck, was a light purple handkerchief, which she sewed herself to function as a small bag. It was her version of a pocket. There was usually a rag across her forehead, pretending to be a headband, to keep her hair out of her face.

"Hey," she stood up when she saw Lestat.

"What're you doing so close to the pass?" Lestat asked her.

"Debating whether or not I should go get you. Marca told me you got arrested. What happened?"

"Eh, not much," he answered easily.

"Rose is going to be pissed you took so long getting back. She's going to kill your ass."

"So you took this long debating whether or not to come for me?" Lestat asked her as they started walking together to his mother's caravan down the beach. She smiled at him and shrugged. "Wow, I appreciate the concern. I could've been dead, you know."

"But you weren't, were you?"

"Hey," he touched her shoulder and stopped walking. "Hang on." She waited to see what he had to say. He whispered, afraid someone might hear him, "one of the Emperor's Generals followed me to the pass."

"Dude..." Rai's eyes widened as she covered her mouth with her hands. "Are you for real right now?"

"I sent him back, okay? I told him if he came back, we'd be ready."

"Well aren't you a fucking genius." She threw her hands up dramatically, "yeah, taunt the motherfucker. They'll be sure to let that go," she snapped sarcastically. She closed her eyes and rubbed them both with her fingers. "He'll be back for sure now."

They entered his mother's caravan together, pushing the strings of beads on the door, out of their way. She stood up from the table she was sitting at and approached them. Gently taking Rai's face in both her hands, she kissed her forehead, leaving a bright red lipstick stain, which Rai quickly rubbed away with the back of her hand as soon as she turned her attention to Lestat. She grabbed him by his blond hair and pulled his head down to her level. "What took you so long, idiot?" she snapped, smacking his head repeatedly with her other hand.

"I just ran into some issues, Ma," he struggled to escape her grasp until she finally let him go.

His mother, Rose, seemed suspicious of his answer at first but she smiled and handed him dinner roll off her plate. "Useless boy. Get out of my sight. Go see your sister. She's been waiting for you all this time. Out at the water."

"Okay, okay." Lestat was all too happy to oblige and went back out of the caravan.

Before Rai could go leave as well, Rose stopped her. "You stay, baby." Rai turned to Rose, a bit nervous about what she might want. "What took him so long?"

"He was arrested. Marca told me. He said that when they let him go, a General followed him back to Red Back Pass."

"Well..." Rose fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth, looking down at it. "That's just what we need but you're smart. You'll figure it out."

"A General, Rose?" Rai sighed heavily. She pulled one of the chairs away from the table and dropped herself into it. "I prevent spider bites and move heavy objects. I teach little kids how to fight to protect themselves from regular people. Generals are not regular people and I wouldn't know where to start with them."

"You don't need to waste time worrying. If they are coming, they are coming. There's no point in worrying. Prepare. I'm not concerned."

"Nobody expects you to keep us safe. I have to do that and if I can't do it, we're probably all going to die."