Horns and Halos, page 12
Bushyasta looked over the few people standing in front of her, gave a side glance to me and Draki by the buildings, and then turned back to everyone. Slowly, she hooked her finger and curled it toward herself a few times. Those standing by her held out their tattooed arms, and she cackled. She slapped one, two, three hands away and grasped the fourth by the wrist, and tugged him out of the lineup.
Turning with his wrist still in her grip, she raised his hand in the air, yelling triumphantly, “We have a winner!”
Janet wailed. Both her and Marcel fell into a heap as tears streaked their tired faces. A unified, “No!” erupted from their mouths.
“Take your place, young man,” the she-devil ordered.
Emotionless, he stepped up to the pole, and I watched as the chain on him started to come to life. It undulated and looked like something was swimming under the surface. Suddenly, it pushed out of his skin at the same time that the chain on the pillar burst out of the carvings. Splinters of wood rained down as the chains swayed in the air and headed for Elijah. He bowed his chest, raised his chin, and shut his eyes, ready to meet his fate.
“NO!” It was bellowed louder than any wail from his parents, and it sliced through the still, morning air. “STOP!”
As if by command, the chains paused in their movement, and the she-devil spun on heel. “Oh? Are you offering yourself instead?”
I ran out from where I had been watching. Following slowly behind me was Draki. Only Bushyasta and I saw him. Thankfully, she made no remark on this. I looked at Elijah and then his parents and finally to the gates to the village.
“Go away, Sia!” Elijah commanded angrily. “This doesn’t concern you.” He swiped his arm through the air. “Leave!”
“I’m not going anywhere! I can’t walk away from you when your life is on the line!” I yelled back.
The she-devil pursed her lips to the side. “Oh, my. Lover’s quarrel?”
I glared at her, “Let him go.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “This is my domain, little one. You can’t come in ordering me around.”
I looked to Elijah and then to her. “This isn’t fair. They don’t deserve this.”
“This is what they agreed to!” she barked back.
“Let him go. Please,” I begged.
“Are you taking his place?” she asked.
“No!” Elijah roared.
I thought about it, and Bushyasta sighed. “I’ll tell you what. Knowing of your own issue that you have, I’ll cut you a deal. I’ll let him go ...” she went still and smiled like she had gone insane, “if you can get two to take his place.” She giggled then and spun around with her arms up in the air. “What say you, sleepy villagers? Who will stand up here and take his place?” Silence was the only reply. “I’ll sweeten the deal, I won’t take a sacrifice for ... mmmm, three years.” She held up three fingers and showed them to any who might not believe her. Again, there was no reply. She turned to me and playfully pouted. “Oh, dear ... I don’t think I have any takers.” She stomped her foot and made whining sounds, but they slowly turned into cackles of glee. “Silly girl. Did you honestly think that these people were worth saving?” She laughed even harder. “It’s kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten.”
I felt like my heart was being squeezed with every word she spoke. I needed to come up with something, a way to save him, but I was drawing blanks. The she-devil turned away from me and waved me away. “If you’re done with your interruptions, I need to get back to what I was doing.”
“We’ll do it,” Janet’s voice was hardly audible.
“What was that?” Bushyasta asked with a narrowed look in the mother’s direction.
Marcel stood up and put a hand on his wife’s shoulder as she remained kneeling on the ground. “We’ll take his place,” Marcel said proudly.
The she-devil gave a short, breathy laugh and shrugged her shoulders. “If that is what you want, go for it. I’ll uphold my end of the bargain.”
“Let him leave with Sia,” Janet said softly.
“Let him what?” Bushyasta questioned.
“Along with your bargain, I want you to allow the boy to leave with Sia,” Janet stated with a touch more courage.
“You’ll both willingly take the boy’s place?” the she-demon asked with a curious look. They both nodded in reply.
“Please, no! Mom, dad,” Elijah bellowed with hurt splitting his voice in two.
“I’m not watching my son give up. I’ve already lost a daughter, I’m not burying you too!” Janet screamed.
“Very well, it’s a deal,” Bushyasta announced and then snapped her fingers.
The chain on Elijah was torn out of his flesh, and he hit his knees screaming in pain. Through his staggering cries, everyone hugged themselves like they could drown out the sounds with the action. Two, large, black chains whirled around the pole and then darted for Marcel and Janet. The chains twirled around their bodies and they cried out, and I could see them bite their lips to hold back from screaming any louder. They held onto each other’s hands until the chains ripped them apart and slammed them into the pole. There was a burst of flames, a spray of embers, and plumes of smoke. I turned away, but the sound of Elijah wailing would haunt my dreams. When I turned back around, I covered my mouth and felt the first sting of burning tears hit my eyes. Janet and Marcel’s faces were now carved into the pole, and they were resting, temple-to-temple, together. Their faces were forever frozen with a bittersweet smile. In that look, I saw a parent’s love. They willingly made a sacrifice that few would make, but they left behind Elijah who never got to say goodbye.
Tears dripped down my face, and I felt Draki’s hand on my shoulder. “Looks like we’ll have a guest on our trip.”
I really didn’t like myself at that moment. I forced myself to watch Elijah fall apart and touch the etched faces of his parents while the rest in the village shook their heads as they shuffled their feet back to their homes, leaving the young man to weep alone.
Carefully, I approached Elijah and knelt down next to him. My hand reached out and gently laid upon his back, and he flinched like I burned him.
“I-I’m so sorry.” I hated those words as I spoke them. I couldn’t find anything more comforting or heartfelt, just I’m so sorry.
He sniffled while keeping his eyes on the freshly carved expression of his parents. “I knew they were going to.”
“I didn’t mean to cause—”
“They were talking about it just before you came. It’s not your fault.” He drew in a shattered breath and exhaled it like he would break down again. “They were talking about ways to save me. Mom wanted to send me away. Dad said Bushyasta would never let us go.” He looked like he was memorizing every dip and curve of the wood under his hand. “They just wanted me to be free,” he whimpered.
I put my arms around him and he let me. I was glad that he didn’t push me away or blame me, even if I felt like I was still somehow at fault. That was an emotion I would never be able to rid myself of.
“You’re free now,” I whispered.
“But at what cost?” he expressed with fresh tears in his eyes, and he wept all over again.
Chapter 11:
The Skin of Our Teeth
I didn’t want to be the one to tell Elijah that we had to leave, but we did. When a devil gives you your freedom, you take it before they change their mind or alter the rules. After adamantly whispering to him how we needed to gather our things and head out, he looked around the village like it had become something new and dangerous to him. But I saw—deep down—that there was an excitement there beyond the sorrow.
Back at the house, we separated to pack up and then met back in the kitchen to eat before we’d head out. We had packed everything that we could carry between the two of us and ate while we stuffed the little room left in our bags to the brim with food. We had everything that we’d need for several days: food, water, blankets, and medical supplies. While we finished up, I had a thought hit me.
“Elijah?”
“Yeah?” he said, sounding a touch lifeless.
“Is the reason why you asked me about what it was like out there because you heard your parents talking about ... you know?”
He stopped and was suddenly very still for a long time. “Yes,” he said, finally. “I knew that they were going to, but I ... I hoped that they wouldn’t. They were my parents after all. Part of me wanted to protect them, but the part of me that wanted to be saved dared to dream about a life far away from this place.”
I nodded. “Oh.”
He half-laughed. “I cried for a whole week after I heard them talking about it. Every night their words haunted my thoughts.” He looked up at me. “Then you came, and I didn’t feel so lost anymore. You were a blissful distraction from everything.” He smiled, and it faded as he licked his lips and looked off to the side. “About last night ...”
I reached out and touched his hand. My eyes trailed over the dried blood stuck to his skin and followed the jagged scar that replaced what was once a tattoo. I bit my lip and shook my head at him as I met his gaze. “Not here. Not now.” I wanted to make sure we got out of here alive and to stop him from talking about the kiss. “We need to leave. You were given a rare chance.”
“A rare chance indeed,” Matulia stated from the door.
My heart stopped beating before picking up in tempo. Were they going to kill him out of jealousy? Joyfully celebrate his freedom? I didn’t know. People could be scary things. Sometimes, the worst monsters didn’t have horns and broken halos. They had a moral compass that pointed to a different north. Those were the scariest monsters of all because—in their mind—they weren’t lost.
“Matulia,” Elijah breathed.
“There is no time. Follow me,” she said and then turned to wait for us on the porch.
A little weary of trusting someone, we looked to each other with a moment of reluctance. It wasn’t like we had a lot of options, though. We threw on our backpacks and headed out the door to meet up with her. Today, she didn’t wear her elaborate headdress and red paint. She was wearing a pair of stonewashed jeans and a tattered t-shirt.
She watched all sides of the house as we approached. After seeing us come out, she looked to the surrounding buildings and we instinctively followed her gaze. No one was there. She was in front of us when we turned around, and she held a finger up to her lips.
“You have your freedom now. Meaning you two could be offered to that devil for someone else’s freedom or used as slaves. There have already been whispers of it.” I opened my mouth to speak, but Matulia shook her head. “If you want to get out of here, you need to follow me.” She cautiously and quickly scanned the area around us and then darted to the next building over.
We followed the weaving path that Matulia led us through, dodging every person and crowded area possible. Sneaking in through the back of the home, we waited as the village leader gently closed the door. She hurriedly grabbed me by the hand and swiftly led me to the living room. After letting go of me, she shoved a massive chest out of the way and quickly folded the carpet over itself. What was unveiled was a trap door.
Pulling it open, Matulia said, “This was put in here by the founders of the village. They had hoped to use it to escape. Only, there is no outrunning a devil.” She shook her head. “Half the village died that night. For the few granted freedom it has been a way to flee when needed.” She looked at us with sadness in her eyes. “I’m sorry that this is all that I can do for you.”
Thwack! The front door opened suddenly.
“What are you doing, Matulia?” A male asked after stepping inside the home.
She rose up with a gasp and moved me behind her. “I think we both know what I’m doing.”
Elijah poked me with his finger and when our eyes met, he gave a pointed look to the machete strapped to my hip. I gave the faintest of nods and then went back to watching those at the front door. Three men shadowed the entrance. Two were the guards I had seen when I first came. The other I hadn’t seen before today.
“Are you mad? Don’t you see what we’ve been given here? It’s a way out of the life we’ve been living,” Gerald said.
Matulia stepped forward, her stance protective. “They’re free.”
“Which is exactly why we should keep them here. They aren’t bound by the rules that we are. They could do the work—”
“They’d be no better than slaves,” she yelled.
“We’d treat them better than slaves and you know it,” Gerald defended.
Alan pointed to me as he spoke to Matulia like I wasn’t standing right there. “One of them is a female. We wouldn’t have to worry about the she-devil killing off stragglers ever again. We could have a slew of new workers.”
“They’re kids!” Matulia snapped. “They are free. We should let them go. They never asked for any of this.”
“They should stay and help us all from dying! We were born into a life we never asked for! We finally have a way to survive and you’re going to take that from us?” Gerald tilted his head with hurt swimming in the sea of his desperate gaze.
Alan stepped forward, his voice careful and his arm outstretched like he was trying to talk a weapon out of a frantic person’s hand. “What would your husband and son think? If you could save them with labored workers that were treated kindly and respected, would you still send them away knowing that you are sending the rest of us to death, including them?”
The protective arm that Matulia had raised slowly fell, and she quickly looked over her shoulder to Elijah and me. I froze. The panic in my eyes was for all to see. I didn’t want to be a laborer. I didn’t want to be a glorified slave. I didn’t want to be a babymaking machine. I didn’t want these people to suffer, but this isn’t the life that I wanted. I could see Matulia’s heart being swayed. But she shook her head and furrowed her brow.
“They wouldn’t have wanted me to keep them here. This is our curse, not theirs. We are letting them go,” she commanded with finality.
Gerald’s face twisted in anger. “I’m not going to stand back and watch you take this away from all of us.”
He lunged forward and Matulia did the same. They slammed into one another and started to wrestle feet away from us. I heard the trap door open behind us. I wanted to help the village leader, but when the other two came to us, Elijah chucked a chair at the duo and grabbed my wrist to pull me away.
“We need to go,” he yelled, tugging at me.
We had only gone down a few steps when I felt the urge to look back. I didn’t want to leave Matulia like that. When I turned around, I saw her get hit upside the head with a wooden statue swiped from the surface of the chest. Instantly, she went down and blood trickled down the side of her face.
“Run,” Matulia croaked.
The statue was raised and brought down. Elijah tugged at me and I stumbled down a few of the steps. I heard the sound of something breaking mingle with wet splatters. I knew. My mind knew, even if I didn’t see it happen. I screamed and wailed out wordlessly while Elijah kept dragging me through my breakdown. This wasn’t a devil and pacts, this wasn’t fighting for survival, this was cold-blooded murder from a fellow human being. This kind of death hit me differently.
“Mat-u-lia-a-a-a!” I cried helplessly.
Any other words were snatched when I saw the first body standing over the trap door. Elijah jerked me, and I didn’t need any further convincing.
We ran.
The air in the tunnels was rich with the scent of mildew and must, and the summer heat was intensified by the humid air suffocating the small space. Instantly, I was sweating as we tried to outrun the villagers through the pitch-black while carrying overflowing supply bags. I let go of the duffle bag in my grasp. Who cares about extra belongings? You can’t do anything with stuff when you’re dead. As soon as it hit the floor, one of the men chasing us tripped over it and fell. I heard Gerald yell and swear as he tumbled.
“Don’t look back,” Elijah said between panting breaths.
I should have listened. Why do they tell you not to? It only makes you want to ... regardless of the circumstance. So, of course, I looked behind us and instantly regretted the action. Alan and the nameless villager were mere feet behind us and straggling far behind them was Gerald. Not able to control it, I whimpered and turned to face the front.
“Get your blade ready,” Elijah warned me. “We can’t outrun them.”
It was a cruel truth, and the evidence of it was the footfalls that were now closer behind me than they had been a moment before. My tears had mingled with the growing sweat on my face. My lungs burned with every breath. I couldn’t even spare a word as we ran. My free hand fumbled over the clasp that kept the blade in place.
Out of nowhere, I had someone dive at me and tackle me to the ground. I screamed and clawed at Elijah’s hand as our grip on each other was lost.
“Elijah!” I screamed right before I slammed into the rough ground below. I heard my blade slide across the tunnel and hit a wall nearby. It was too dark to see much of anything. I tried to turn over, but Alan’s weight was keeping me pinned to the floor, and I growled as I flailed helplessly, trying to free myself from under him.
“Just give it up. You’ll only hurt yourself. We can lose the boy, but we have to keep you,” he explained, his mouth right next to my ear. As he forced me to my feet, I thrashed about and looked for my machete. Calling out to the villager that caught up with Elijah, he said, “Don’t waste your time if he fights too much. We’ve got the girl.”
“Let me go!” I yelled.
A stinging pain flared over my cheek as Alan struck me with all his might. I saw a burst of starlight invading my vision, and all sound was muffled for a moment.
“I told you to stop struggling!” Alan barked in my face.
“Don’t move.” This time, the voice was Draki’s.
I wobbled for a moment and looked out the corner of my eye. The devil’s face was resting on my shoulder as one of his arms rose up to hug my waist. “Don’t move,” he repeated in a husky voice. I kept my eyes on him as I heard my machete sink into flesh.
