The Witch Woman's Prophecy

32 | The Pool |

I did not dream of Basata that night. I dreamed of being chased along corridors by a person whose face was hidden in the shadow of a deep hood. I ran through a door and tried to slam it closed, but my fingers were trapped in between the door and the frame. Even in my dream, the pain was terrible and I awoke with a start. My legs were tangled in the sheets and my robe was soaked with sweat. My breathing was shaky as I took long gulps of air to calm my heart, which was pounding so hard I thought it might bruise my ribs. It took me a long time to get back to sleep again.

When I woke, in the late morning, I was tired and irritable, yet a restlessness stirred my limbs. I had an urge to do something that could not be satisfied by carving or just sitting in the garden. The noises of the city filtered into the house. I wanted to be out in the world, to be a part of it instead of brooding over my problems and secrets alone.

Not knowing where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do when I got there, I headed out into the streets and began to follow the crowd further into the city. I was happy to be lost in it, although, as usual, my guards were always within a few paces of me. I had grown so used to them that I scarcely noticed their presence.

The buzz of speech from passers-by surrounded me and I pretended that I was on my way somewhere, on an errand or going to meet a friend. The pretence ended when I found myself close to the central pool called the Wasnami. The day had grown unbearably hot and I wandered into the dappled shade of a palm tree that overhung the pool to cool down. I noticed that the ground around the base of the trunk was wet. Somebody must be employed to water the trees each day to ensure they did not perish in the drought.

I recalled my conversation with Cadu a few days earlier. Did he know of my relationship to the deposed ruler? He had been so friendly and talked to me so openly about his grandfather that I couldn't believe that he bore me any ill will if he did.

The sun shimmered on the small waves in the water. A gust of wind shattered the ripples and turned the surface to a fractured, glittering sheet of diamonds. I put my elbows on the side of the Wasnami and let the breeze dry the sweat from my face.

I couldn't picture what I should do next and I had no sense of what the future might bring. My lack of knowledge of how to talk to the Forgotten People made me useless to the Vorhisti. I had enemies in Polemmy, probably because of being Osriti's grandson, and the next assassination attempt might be successful. I needed to leave as soon as possible, yet I had no work, no way to support myself or a family. I couldn't return to the farm to work it alone and the land near Polemmy was too poor and dry to farm. I was as trapped as the Forgotten People in their metal boxes. I put my head down into my hands in despair.

The sounds of the crowd grew louder around me and people brushed past me as they came to collect water. I was too wrapped up in my own troubles to pay them any heed.

I was still considering my future when a mighty push propelled me over the edge of the Wasnami.

For a moment or two I could not understand what had happened to me and I had to fight the urge to gasp as I plummeted down. Cold water forced itself up my nose and my robe pulled me down and down. I opened my eyes and saw the surface far above me; the pool was deeper than it looked.

As I dropped through the water like a stone, I thrashed my arms around and tried to kick, but my legs tangled in my robe and I sank even further. My lungs were empty and burning, and they tried to pull in air even though my lips were clenched tight. My throat began making futile convulsions and I wanted to scream.

I hit the bottom of the Wasnami with a jolt that ran through me. A cloud of sand exploded up around me which darkened the water and seemed to increase the pressure of the water on my body. Panic filled me as I realised I could not hold my breath for much longer.