Of Winds And Quakes

8. The Raid

Year of the Lilies
Torrid Season
The River
Kintil

Alysia

I LAY STUNNED ON THE WET GROUND, my fingers are digging into the dirt, my hair and dress are plastered to my body and I'm sobbing; the salty tears roll down my cheeks and some seep into my mouth.

I don't know how long I've been lying down here but I know that it's been long enough for the storm to be an ugly memory of a few moments ago. The soft wind that blows is icy and sends shivers down my spine.

The hair on my body stands on end and I feel goosebumps rise on my skin. My head is throbbing aggressively and my heartbeat has lessened to a numb thump in my chest cavity. And one name pulsates in my throbbing, aching head.

Mavli.

I really am a witch. What have I done? I find it extremely unbelievable that I caused such a great storm and in the Torrid!

Maybe I'm more powerful than I thought.

What has gotten into me? Am I so weak that I can't control my own emotions? Why did I lose control so easily? Have I let my guard down so abruptly? What will the people say? What would my parents say? I can already hear their chants of witchcraft and if Mavli lets what happened slipped, I'll be lynched!

There is a dull ache in my chest and salty rivulets rolling down my cheeks. A sob breaks free and I let myself cry. I don't try to quiet down or hush my sobs but I let it erupt from me and my body shudders and shakes violently. The tears are not for the fear of being lynched but for the fear of losing my sister because of my selfishness. I didn't even stop to consider how she felt, I was so blinded by my own opinions that I didn't see that I was hurting her.

I continue to cry, exhausting my reserve of tears. I don't mind if I'm found or if someone sees me, I cry with all my might.

I'm a bad sister. Selfish doesn't even come close to the word. How is it that I didn't realize that Cirok has been Mavli's dream? Granted, her dream seems shallow and stupid but Mavli is my sister and her happiness is my happiness. Seeing Mavli smile is one of the most beautiful and genuine rewards of my life.

I can't believe I spoke against her engagement, it is the thing she wants so badly in life. She must hate me for as long as she lives. Recalling the hurt in her voice breaks my heart the more and the sobs continue to quake through me vehemently. Her name blinks like a beacon behind my eyelids.

I know what I must do; instead of lying on the ground and weeping, I rather go after my sister.

I stagger to my feet, when the pain shoots up my legs and cause my knees to buckle, I welcome it. I blink and I feel the skin of my face is now tighten due to the dried tears. My dress and body is soiled with dirt but the stains on my dress are the least of my worries.

I raise my eyes and see the horde of people running back from the market. The  old wooden bridge shudders and creaks under their stampede. Something thick, maybe fear or anxiety, dilutes the blood in my veins and flows to every cell of my body. My eyes narrow in a dumbfounded stare and I pick out alarming features of the running people; torn clothing, bleeding cuts, bloody clothes, cries and screams.

It takes my ears a while to pick up their cries in the wind. "Run away!" " The masked people have burnt our market!" "It's a raid!" "Run for your life!"

Something red-hot and furious surges through me and gives strength to my legs. She's the only thought I have as I let my stunned legs run away from the river, past the bewildered people who don't understand why a girl would be running towards danger instead of away from it, over the creaky wooden bridge that has existed even before the birth of my parents and to the market that has served as a common ground for our kingdom and neighbouring kingdoms.

The scene that welcomes me is one that I could have never imagined even in another lifetime. The smell of sulfur, the tendrils of smoke that twirls up to the heavens with ghostly fingers, the ashy remains of stalls, the shuddering ground under the hooves of a hundred horses, the masked faces that sent shivers up my spine, the cries and wails of people in cages.

My eyes burn and a cry threatens to erupt from my mouth. My people are held in cages like animals, they are almost naked and bloody and near dead and stripped of their dignity as humans.

My fingers are tingling and I hear a familiar roar in my ears, but I have to keep my cool, I have to hold still if I'm to ever find my sister.

The earthquake doesn't build up from a low hum of vibration beneath my feet into a destructive force that will make the enemies succumb. It doesn't flow with my aura like the storm did. It doesn't obey me, it rebels.

Before my own eyes, the remaining stalls that survived the fire crash to the ground simultaneously with thin clouds of dust and a faint rumble. Horses go haywire and gallop halter skelter and the sudden earthquake causes the earth beneath them to cave in.

I see myself running further into the chaos. My eyes are searching, my heart is calling out. Mavli. Mavli. Mavli. People are yelling and shouting out prayers, horses are throwing off their masked riders. I see myself being thrown off balance and my face scrapes on the ground as I plunge down. I turn my head and catch a mask staring at me, not the mask though but the hardened eyes behind it. Even in this mayhem, the eyes plot my capture.

My weeping heart is relieved a bit when I hear my people's cry of joy as the quake causes the cages to fall down with a loud crash and the doors of the cane cages fall open. I hear the people's  loud cheers as they escape.

Jumping to my feet, I make to follow them but something falls from the sky and plants itself firmly into the ground in front  of me causing me to halt in my race to freedom. I stare at it recognizing it immediately. An arrow. My father used to hunt with arrows, shooting down squirrels, rabbits, deer, bats and birds.

The reverberating gallops of hooves gets closer. I'm paralyzed with fright and the earthquake has drained all the life out of me. Around me, the masked riders are shooting more arrows and recapturing the people. Where is Mavli? Has she escaped? What if she hasn't?

I'm so confused, I don't know what direction to run to, I've never felt more afraid in my life.

Then in a heartbeat something hits my arm and sinks into the flesh of my forearm. The piercing pain travels up my forearm to my shoulder and makes me fall to my knees. I know that I can still run, I can still escape. An arrow to the arm is not deadly, I still have a chance. I don't care that if I run, other arrows are bound to follow and I'll fall to my death but a small voice tells me that Mavli is not safe. Though I don't want to believe it, I am determined to make things right with my sister. Power surges through my veins but it's not enough to cause anything, it's not enough for me to take charge with.

I close my eyes, I squeeze my eyes shut because I'm afraid, I don't want to see the mask and the hardened eyes behind them. I don't want to see the look of triumph in the eyes of my capturer. So I close my eyes shut and focus on one face: Mavli's.

My ankles are grabbed and my body is dragged against the harsh stony ground. The skin of my back burns and the tiny burns take to seep blood. The stinging and burning takes through me. I tune out the cries of death around me, I tune out the chaos. I want escape from this nightmare even if it's only for a while.

My body is picked up and thrown into a cage and the door is slammed shut. I'm tensed and everything part of me aches and hurts and burns. I need to release some of the tension so I let my bladder relax and the warm liquid flows out from behind my legs. Sighing, I welcome solace.

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Your author, Lixxie.