Alexandru's Kiss

Chapter 2-1

2

Ka’ya brushed the memory of that day aside and focused on the present. Over time, the villagers had grown to fear her. Even Jorge, as powerful as he had grown over the last ten years, kept his distance from her. He sent the other Elders to order her to do his bidding while he hid behind the doors of his hut.

Bitterness rose in Ka’ya’s mouth. She would have left the lot of the villagers to their fate if it had not been for her mother and brother. Dru was finally of an age now that she could spirit him and her mother away. She would have to be careful. Jorge kept both under close watch.

“Ka’ya!”

Ka’ya turned to see her mother hurrying after her. Concern swept through Ka’ya when she saw the dark circles under her mother’s eyes and the faint lines of tension around her mouth. Glancing around, she scanned for her brother. Her mother was never far from Dru’s side.

“Mother, what is wrong? You know that it is dangerous to speak with me. Jorge is still angry from the last time you confronted him,” Ka’ya warned in a low voice.

Mayli’s mouth tightened in anger. “Day in and day out I watch my daughter from afar unable to do anything about the way you are treated for fear of reprisal. I see the Elders make demands of you and the villagers mock you. If I wish to give you food for your belly so you do not go hungry, I will. They should at least let you rest before sending you out again to search for raiders,” she said with a stubborn twist to her mouth.

Ka’ya’s gaze softened and she shook her head. “I have plenty of food. I brought this for you and Dru to eat. How is Dru today?” she asked.

“Better. His cough is easier since you brought the herbs from the forest,” Mayli replied, looking down at the bag she held. “I worry about him, Ka’ya. Jorge has requested that he become his apprentice. Dru’s lungs are too weak to handle the smoke of incense and the filth of Jorge’s hut.”

“When is he supposed to go?” Ka’ya demanded in a soft voice, her eyes narrowing in anger.

Mayli looked up at Ka’ya. “I told him Dru was sick. Jorge demands that he be turned over to him by the new moon,” she replied.

Ka’ya glanced over her mother’s shoulder at the dark gray hut. Her mother was right; Dru would not survive long under Jorge. Two boys and a young girl had already perished under his guidance. Jorge insisted they were accidents or natural causes. No one questioned him. Ka’ya suspected the Spiritual Leader was messing with things he did not understand – a dark power that could prove deadly to the entire village. She needed to escape with her mother and brother before the new moon.

“I need a few more days – perhaps a week to finish securing our passage across the Great Water. Gather what you wish to take and make sure to give Dru the medicine to give him the strength for the journey,” Ka’ya murmured, reaching for the bag of goods.

“Thank you, Ka’ya,” Mayli said, tears shimmering in her eyes.

“I will not let him take Dru and you away from me the way he took Father. At least here, I can see and talk with you,” Ka’ya swore.

She gripped the bag and turned away from her mother. She had much to do before the new moon in a fortnight. Picking up speed, she left the path leading across the meadow and disappeared into the forest. She would return to her home, eat, gather the items she would need, and make sure the trail was clear before traveling to the large city of Perth to secure passage across the Great Water.