The Broken Ones

Chapter 7:1 - Climb every mountain

Ana’s last words to Mack before they left Mack’s cottage was:
-If you see Sam, kill him.
It was for Mack’s ears alone but Soi snatched it up and watched Mack nod silently in response. Ana might not trust anybody, but Mack definitely trusted her. Soi wondered how long they had known each other and before he knew it he had asked Jagger.
-Since I was a little girl. Ana saved me. Mack claims he’ll always be in her debt for it. And each year since she has visited us.
Soi watched Ana’s back as she led the group up in the mountains. Then he remembered that he was nothing more than her guard and shouldn’t bother about her life, other than saving it. He tried to think of something else and his mind draw him to Nibbles. Where had Nebelius Silver gone to? Neither Ana nor Sassa had seemed worried about his disappearing. But it did upset Soi. Though Nibbles always had been a source of uncomfortable and at times scary moments for Soi, he had a sharp eye for contexts which often passed by Soi unnoticed. Now his disappearing was nibbling at Soi’s conscience. He wanted to ask but he couldn’t. But he was lucky, Jagger also seemed to have been bothered by Nibbles lack of presence. She asked Ana the same way she had bothered Soi about why Ana always avoided Soi these last days. Jagger used the same accusing tone but without the deadly glare.
-Where’s Nibbles? Why didn’t he come with you?
-He run.
-What do you mean? Jagger persisted.
-He got scared and run.
Surely not by the monsters, Soi thought which also exactly Jagger’s next question was.
-It couldn’t be because of the monsters that Mack killed.
-No, probably not, Ana answered but it wasn’t enough to satisfy either Jagger or Soi’s curiosity. But Soi bite his tongue.
-Then what did he run from? Jagger continued her stream of questions and Soi was surprised Ana didn’t at least threaten to kill her or say something of how she acted like Soi. But she did nothing but sigh.
-I don’t know what’s making him nervous, and if I knew I would probably run as well.
Soi recognised that immediately as a lie, Ana would never run from anything. But Jagger opened her eyes wide.
-Is it that bad? Is it true about the flute then?
Now it was Ana’s turn to widen her eye. Even Soi had heard about the flute, a myth very well liked and often told in Sofara. Supposedly the flute had the power to control people. But the story often varied from person to person. Soi had even heard that the flute could predict the future, transport you to wherever you wished to be. Or give you whatever you wished for.
The flute played an essential part in many myths. It helped a young man save a princess hunted by monsters up in a mountain, by playing the flute an avalanche started that killed all the monsters. It helped an old man cross a dangerous river by playing the flute and the river sunk and the man could pass the river unharmed. In another story the flute helped a wrongly convicted escape a prison by playing it and makes the guards fall asleep.
Though the flute was entangled in many stories, the myths were seldom about the flute itself, where it came from, who made it and who its owner was. And what powers the flute really possessed. The flute had never seemed like anything more than a myth to Soi. But if new rumours were now spreading Soi had to question the truth of the myths. And then he remembered the two boxes at the Black Eye.
-I guess we know now what was in that box, Soi said with a grim face.
-I already knew, Ana responded to his surprise.
Soi felt a twitch in his chest, what else had she kept from him?
Ana continued;
-I just couldn’t believe it. The pub owner at the Black Eye had probably never seen a flute before that box appeared, he didn’t give a very good description. It was too vague so I didn’t want to share that information with your mayor. But he probably had a good idea of what it contained. Jagger, where did you hear of the flute?
-It was a new rumour. It begun just before you two arrived. Mack told me not to listen to them. Did you really see the flute, Ana?
Jagger’s eyes glowed in excitement.
-No, it was stolen before I got my hands on it. So Sam delivered the flute…
-He did! Jagger exclaimed. –I thought he was on your side.
-He switched, Ana’s face was stern.
-To what side?
Of course Jagger would ask that, she didn’t know the truth about the monsters. But this question Ana didn’t answer, probably determined to keep Jagger in the dark or because the betrayal still stung her heart. She gripped her staff harder until her fingers whitened.

Their small group of three people and Soi’s horse had left Mack’s after lunch and had since then steadily climbed the upward slope all afternoon. Soi felt a chill down his spine each time he looked up at the black tops of the mountains and images of his father on the cliff, bleeding and beaten, flickered through his mind. But he pushed the images away and kept his eyes fixed on Jagger’s red head bobbing in front of him.
The sun was too soon setting but Ana pushed them further for another hour in the dissolving light. When they finally settled down it was dark. Soi helped build a fire and offered to take the first watch. Jagger went out immediately, not used to walk all day. Ana didn’t go to sleep, she sat by the fire and watched the flames dance.
-I said I’ll take the first watch, Soi repeated.
-I heard you. I was just wondering what we’ll do about Sam’s ring.
Soi had totally forgotten about the ring. Since he had been unconscious he had slept undisturbed, he didn’t know if it was because he and Ana had shared room at Mack’s cottage or if Sam had given up. But he knew that the night he had made Ana run out crying he had slept fine, well, at least without any visits from Sam. He hadn’t really slept much that night at all. Then Soi remembered that it was last night Ana had disappeared from the cottage. And just this morning he had threatened her life. It all seemed so distance, so long ago and yet it was not even a day ago. To be moving again, it changed him.
-Do you really think he’ll continue? I think he has other things to worry about.
-He’ll continue.
Ana held the ring in the palm of her outstretched hand. Soi pushed it back to her.
-Then you take it, it’s you he’s really after.
Ana didn’t even protest. Soi watched her through weary eyes. She looked tired and she had been absentminded all day, she had not been her usual self with stinging comments and cold eyes. Soi wondered what had caused the transformation, it couldn’t be that she was still worried about his past. For the second time that day Soi wished that Nibbles was there to explain Ana’s moods to him.
Ana put the ring on her finger and went to bed. By the time Jagger released him from guard duty, Soi decided to keep close to Ana just in case Sam would attack him as well.

To be continued...
J.L.Frick