Part 4
1300 Words
FOUR
"Just leave her, and let's go!" a male voice hissed.
Pain stabbed through Anahita's arm again – that's what had woken her – and she whimpered, her throat too hoarse to scream. She forced her eyes open, but the hulking shadow bending over her blocked the light. The only thing she could be certain of was that he was the one hurting her.
"Stop," she croaked, batting at him with her good arm.
"When I have bandaged this properly, or you will be crippled for the rest of your life," the man said.
Anahita blinked and turned her head to get a better look at what he was doing. True to his word, he was bandaging her arm, which was already splinted so that it would heal straight.
"Take me home, where it will not matter. Servants will take care of me," she said.
The men exchanged a glance. "Your home is probably destroyed like ours was, and every other village Fakhri attacked. Your home is gone."
"Haidar, we have to go. Leave her. She will only slow us down." The second man glanced around nervously. "They'll blame us for this. We cannot be here when the body is found!"
"And where will we go? Our home is no more, cousin. If we leave her, she will surely die, for Fakhri's men are no better than he is. I will not leave her to pay the price for justice for Nasrin. She deserves better."
"Take me home to the capital. Tell the Sultan about Fakhri. He must know," Anahita insisted. She grabbed the first man – Haidar's – arm and heaved herself to her feet. Up she went...and down again, too, for her legs would not hold her. But she would not give up. She eyed the tent wall, and the inch-wide gap between it and the sand. Fakhri's tent stood at the edge of camp, where fewer people would be disturbed by the screams of his women. For once, this would work in her favour.
She grabbed the jewelled cup Fakhri had swilled wine from and used it to shovel sand away from the tent wall. Soon enough, she'd dug a dent big enough for her to squirm through. "If we go this way, and keep to the shadows, we can reach the camels without anyone seeing us. Do you know where they keep supplies? We'll need food and water – it's a long journey."
"Well, you heard the lady," the second man said. He threw himself into the shallow ditch Anahita had created, and after some widening of the pit, managed to leave the tent. "Come, cousin. Freedom awaits."
Haidar eyed Anahita. "What do they do to escaped slaves in your city, lady? Is it worse than what the desert people do to murderers?"
Anahita wet her lips. "I do not know, but...but...if you are the Sultan's subjects, then surely he will free you for bringing word of what Fakhri did to your village. I swear I will do everything I can to see you freed, for you should never have been slaves in the first place."
"I will take a small chance of life over none at all. You first, lady, and I will follow after," Haidar said.
Anahita nodded, and followed Haidar's cousin. She hissed in pain as her broken ribs protested at bearing her weight, but she did not stop. She could not make it back home alone, and these men could help her.
When she reached the cool night air, Anahita forced herself to her feet, ignoring the pain and the swirling in her head. If she showed weakness now, they would leave her behind. So she gritted her teeth, and headed for the camels.
A heavy hand landed on her shoulder, yanking her back. "What are you doing?" he hissed.
Anahita glared at him. "If we want to get out of here, we'll need a distraction to hold their attention. Releasing the camels to stampede through the camp should do it."
"Or a fire," Haidar said cheerfully, rubbing his hands together as he rose to his feet.
A wisp of smoke curled up from the tunnel they'd crawled through.
"Fool!" Haidar's cousin growled. "I'll get us some supplies. You get her to the camels. If she's not there when I get back, we go without her!" He darted off.
"Shall we?" Haidar asked.
Anahita nodded, and led the way to the camels on the outskirts of the camp. She selected four who had been part of her entourage when she arrived, and led them away from the rest. "Stay here with him," she told them, pointing at Haidar. To him, she said, "These were my father's. They will carry us home." Then she untied the rest. "There is food hidden in the tents, with the men," she said. "Trample the tents and you will find it, but hurry!"
Heads lifted, and they stared at her uncertainly for a moment.
"Food. The men in the camp, the ones who beat you, they are hiding it!" she said. "Go and get it!"
A cloud of sand surrounded her, as the grunting beasts rose to their full height, then lumbered off toward the camp to wreak havoc. Screams erupted. The screams of men, not women, for once.
"Yes," she whispered, elated.
"What did you do?" Haidar demanded.
A shriek sliced through the sandstorm. A sound Anahita recognised. "Vega!" She ran toward her.
"Come back here, girl!"
Haidar's hand reached for her, but Anahita dodged and ran on. She could not leave Vega here. But in the dark, the eagle's tethers were impossible to untie.
"Give me your knife," she said, holding out her hand.
"We need to go back to get Asad," Haidar said.
"I'm not leaving Vega. She is my hunting falcon, and she's coming home with me." Anahita glared at him. "Give me your knife, and help me cut the others free. They will help with the distraction."
She felt the cold hilt in her hand, and closed her fingers around it. The sharp blade sliced through Vega's jesses, and the bird rose into the air with a triumphant shriek.
"You may hunt in the morning. For now, stay with me," Anahita told the eagle, who settled obediently on her shoulder. She made quick work of the other birds' restraints, too.
The other birds eyed Vega warily, not budging from their perches for fear of what the eagle might do to them.
"Attack the men. They keep you prisoner. Once you are free, you may hunt, and all your prey will belong to you, and no one else. I will keep you safe from this eagle," Anahita told the birds. "Fly!"
The falcons rose, a mismatched flock with one deadly purpose. Vega clicked her beak in frustration, and Anahita reached up to stroke the eagle's feathers. "You will fly free at dawn, I promise. But we must get far from here."
She hurried back to the camels, where both men stood, waiting.
"What did you do?" Haidar asked. "I've never seen animals obey like that."
Anahita smiled. "Magic."
"You're a witch?" Haidar's eyes showed white with fear.
"What's that bird for?" Asad asked, pointing at the eagle.
"Vega is what you would call my familiar. My friend." Her only friend out here.
"She'd better not scare the camels," Asad said, climbing onto the lead animal.
Anahita chose the smallest camel and struggled to climb onto her back. Between her broken arm and Vega, she was exhausted as she sank into the saddle.
"A drink for you, lady, for we will not have time to stop until we reach the next oasis," Haidar said, passing her a water skin.
Anahita nodded her thanks, uncorked it, and drank.
Wine coated her tongue, a welcome wetness as it trickled down her raw throat. Then she tasted the bitterness behind it, and it was too late. She tried to curse, but the words wouldn't come.
The opium stole her wits and darkness engulfed her again.
- Writer
