The light wielders, p.24
The Light Wielders, page 24
He grinned and rubbed his hands together. “Help with what?” he asked.
“You remember when the creature attacked the temple, it spent ages attacking the walls. The walls that still had wielding magic in them from when they were built. It was eating that energy.” Elang and the others all nodded. “We can use that. Elang and I will build something out here, in the middle of nowhere that will draw the creature to it. We shall fill it with enough wielding magic to keep it occupied while we head north. There are so few settlements out here, it is unlikely that it would head anywhere else. What do you think?” she asked, biting her lip.
Kemala smiled broadly. “I think it is a good plan.” Her smile turned wry. “Besides which, it is the only one we have.”
“What do you need?” Baskoro asked.
“Enough leaves and grass and wood to make a big fire. Elang will need as much energy as he is able to handle.” Angkasa took off her pack and sat cross legged in the grass. She patted the ground beside her for Elang. He joined her. Angkasa raised her face to the sun that blazed overhead in a brilliant blue sky. She drew in as much of the energy as she could until she buzzed inside and out. She watched as the others scurried around and built up a large fire just in front of them.
“That should be enough. Elang?” she asked.
“Yes, that is definitely large enough,” he said. “Where are we going to build this… thing? And, um, what are we going to build?”
“Over there.” Angkasa pointed back the way they had come and drew an imaginary line across the landscape with her finger. “We will build a wall with mud and earth and grass and branches taller than a person and as wide as we can make it.”
“Certainly.” Elang sounded unsure and she turned to him.
“Add as much as you can to what I am doing. Both our energy together will make it tastier than just one person’s magic on its own.” She grinned at him.
“Tastier,” he repeated, shaking his head. “Okay. I am ready.”
Angkasa lit the fire, and they watched the flames dance until the heat warmed their faces. Angkasa dug deep into the soil and began to draw it upwards. Her design was to make a wall this side of the hole that would be left behind by the earth. The creature would drop down into the hole and then be faced with a towering wall. The wall would collapse once it sucked all the magic out, but she hoped that would take it some time. She still hoped it was a long way behind them too. She was not adept enough to work out how far away it was. She had not had enough practice at this. Yet. More earth and some bushes rose to meet her earth. They were wrapped in energy that was subtly different to her own. Elang’s. She tentatively reached out and touched it. She could feel him! It was full of the essence of Elang, of what made him who he was. She liked it. She marvelled at it. She had never wielded with anyone before. Could Elang sense her within her wielding? She pulled herself back to the task in hand which had stalled slightly. Gently she wove Elang’s wielding into her own, braiding the two together. She hoped it would make the wall stronger and also more enticing for the creature. On they worked. The wall grew wider and taller. It was nearly what she had envisioned. The other energy began to falter and fray and she let it go. She was only half aware of the gasp from Elang beside her. She hoped he would be alright and hadn’t overtaxed himself trying to keep up. She had the whole of the sun’s light at her disposal. How could he keep up? She continued until the wall was taller than the creature and stretched far across the grassland and in a gentle curve back towards the way they had come. Then she released it. She slumped and stopped herself from toppling sideways by thrusting out her hand to brace her body. Someone pressed a water skin into her hand, and she drank greedily. She blinked hard and observed with her mundane eyes what she and Elang had wrought. She gazed at it. It was massive.
“Did we really do that?” she breathed.
“We did,” Elang said from beside her. His voice was proud. She turned to him. His face almost glowed with his pride and excitement. Her other companions were standing staring at the construction.
Kemala turned to her. “That is impressive. If I were the creature, I would be desperate to get my claws on it.” She grinned fiercely. Diah gave a choking snort, as if she were trying not to laugh. Angkasa grinned and then chuckled and before long she was laughing out loud. The others chuckled too.
“I have no idea why that was so funny, but oh, that felt good,” Vikal said as his laughter died away, and he rubbed a tear from his eye.
“Do you two think you are able to walk a bit further?” Kemala asked. “However incredible this construction is, we ought to try to achieve some distance between us and it. We don’t want to give the creature two sources of food at once.”
Angkasa and Elang pushed themselves to their feet with groans and slung their packs back on.
“I think we can walk a bit,” Angkasa said.
They set off slowly. Everyone turning occasionally to take another glance at what she and Elang had built. Angkasa couldn’t resist peeking a couple of times herself. On the second occasion she caught Elang’s eye as he was turning back. He grinned and then dropped his gaze.
“I felt you, when you guided my wielding,” he said softly.
Angkasa jumped and didn’t know where to turn her attention. She had wondered and now she had her answer. She didn’t know what to say.
“It felt just like you. Even if I hadn’t known beforehand that it was you wielding, I would have been able to tell.”
Angkasa risked a glance at him. His warm brown eyes were gazing straight into hers and she couldn’t look away. His eyes had flecks of amber in them. She smiled slowly back at him.
As they continued walking, Angkasa couldn’t resist one last look over her shoulder at the looming structure that she and Elang had created. Her heart swelled with the sight. If someone had asked her two weeks ago what she could accomplish with wielding, her answer probably would have been ‘nothing’. But look what she could do! She was not useless. It might still be of little relevance in a rice farming community, yet now she was aware of other things she could do. Other places to spend her life. She also wanted to try wielding with someone else again. What might it be to wield with a large group? At the end of this journey, she would find out.
As the structure passed out of sight behind her, Angkasa hoped that it would be enough to delay the creature long enough to free the wielders and open a controlled portal to send it away again. The time was approaching when she might need to use wielding as a weapon once more.
“Elang,” she said. He turned his face enquiringly to her. She hunched her shoulders, not sure how to phrase her query. “What do you think about using wielding against other people?”
Elang chewed on his lip for a moment. “I feel so many things, Angkasa. Regret and sadness and guilt. But it won’t stop me. We have to do this and if mercenaries or this Pratam get in the way, I will use whatever I possess to continue. I will deal with the guilt afterwards.” He gave her a lopsided smile and she bowed her head. Yes. She too would do what was necessary.
***
That night they camped in the northern foothills. It was just over two days journey to reach Jayapura. Before that they needed information. Diah and Vikal had scouted the land around them and located a village sat in a fertile valley just north of their position. There was no sign of mercenaries so they decided first thing in the morning they would head to the village for supplies and to ask questions.
Angkasa found it hard to sleep that night. To be so close to their goal was unsettling. Soon they would need to make decisions and perhaps fight again. But also, it meant that the mission would soon be over. A heaviness filled Angkasa’s chest. She wanted to free the wielders, of course she did, and to be rid of the creature. Still she was enjoying the company of her new friends and the freedom this journey had brought her. She had also learned so much about wielding. What would happen to them all afterwards?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Angkasa
T he village was so similar to Angkasa’s own she felt a pang behind her ribs. What were her parents doing at this moment? Did they miss her? She pushed the thoughts away as she felt tears prickle at the back of her eyes. A cart pulled by buffalo rumbled past, its contents covered by cloth. Children ran around playing and women bustled along with baskets or bundles. The packed-earth road was dry and dusty with deep ruts from the carts and wagons. This would be a quagmire in the rainy season. Chatter came from ahead. No doubt from the market square. This was where they were headed. Angkasa did not keep her head down as she once did, and she ignored the desire to hide her left hand. She would no longer be embarrassed by her strange limb. She also continuously scanned the area for anyone suspicious. The group in turn were watched from a few of the doorways where elderly women swept out the houses or sat on their doorsteps for a short rest. These women gazed in open curiosity at the travellers. If the village was like her own, they wouldn’t see visitors that often. At the centre of the village was the market square. It was simply an open area where everyone from the village came to buy or sell goods and produce. Usually this was done by trading one thing for another. Though coin was welcomed too. Some things always required coin. Some folk had stubby tables with their produce and tattered awnings above to keep off the sun, or the rain. Others had spread their goods out on mats and sat cross-legged behind them. Angkasa began to search for a gathering of older folk. They would be standing around and chatting about local issues. Or gossiping, as her mother would call it good-naturedly. Something that Aunty Guritmo had loved. Near mats covered in dried herbs stood a gaggle of men and women. The men pretended they were not listening but were filled with as much avid curiosity as the women.
Angkasa nudged Kemala. “Those people will be most likely to share information. Particularly if we share something with them. I wouldn’t mind some of those herbs for my tea.”
Kemala peered at the group from the corner of her eye. “I think you are correct. Let’s go.”
The two women wandered over to study the herbs carefully laid out on the mats. The chatter noticeably quietened as the gossips realised that two strangers stood among them. Bright eyes watched them as Angkasa handled some herbs and sniffed their earthy scents to check they were still fresh.
“I have nothing to trade. Will you take coin?” Angkasa held her hand out to Kemala who took a shiny coin and dropped it into her palm. The woman who owned the stall licked her lips as her gaze followed its path.
“I suppose coin will do,” the woman said nonchalantly. Though her eyes were alight, and her hand shot out to accept the coin Angkasa handed over.
“Come from far, have you?” the stall holder asked, not able to withhold her curiosity.
“From the south,” Kemala said evenly.
“Oh. We don’t get much news from that way,” another woman turned to join the conversation. Angkasa tucked her herbs away and said nothing. Kemala also said nothing. Was she trying to draw these women out first?
“Anything interesting happening down that way?” Another woman jostled for position near the strangers. Angkasa’s other companions were roaming the market and purchasing supplies. Every so often one of them would stare over at them.
“Well. We did hear of some mercenaries roaming the land. Taking people. Bad business,” Kemala said, shaking her head.
“Kidnapping folk? That shouldn’t be allowed. Anyone doing anything about it?” someone sounded indignant from within the group now crowding round them.
“Oh yes. There was a group of warriors that took care of it,” Kemala managed to say this with a straight face. Angkasa wondered if anyone would realise that she was talking about them.
“Have you seen anything unusual up here lately? Strange folk, strange sights?” Kemala asked, as casually as she could.
The people stared at each other or scuffed their feet in the dirt. They wanted to say ‘yes’ and offer some juicy gossip back, though most, it seemed, had nothing to say.
“I saw something.” A hunched over woman hobbled towards them leaning heavily on a gnarled wooden stick. “It was very strange,” she added as she finally reached them. Her eyes were all but invisible within the wrinkles and folds of her face, yet they were clear and intelligent.
“What did you see?” Angkasa asked kindly.
“I was up at Batu. My eldest son now lives there with his wife and I was visiting my first grandson.” The old woman’s face crinkled in a wide smile. Neither Angkasa nor Kemala hurried her, though Angkasa wished to.
“Anyway. These men all dressed in pieces of leather and weapons everywhere! Oh, we kept away from them, there were so many of them! They had covered wagons with them and carriages. They had boarded over the windows of the carriages. Now, don’t you find that strange?” The lady blinked at them.
Angkasa nodded encouragingly. Kemala was tapping her foot and had crossed her arms.
“Some of the boys were racing along with the men. I was glad my grandson was too young for such behaviour. They were shouting at the men and asking what was in the wagons.” The woman stopped to catch her breath and shake her head disapprovingly. “The men cursed and shoved the boys, and some of them drew weapons! Oh, such behaviour. If there had been any decent folks from Jayapura with them, they wouldn’t have dared carry on like that. Just hired thugs thinking they were better than us. The adults of the village came and pulled the boys away and the thugs moved on. Good riddance to them!” The lady pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose to show her dislike for such behaviour.
Angkasa shared a look with Kemala. Windows boarded up. So that the occupants of the carriages had no access to light. No decent folk with them. Did that mean that Pratam had not journeyed with them? Was he still in Jayapura?
“Where is Batu? We are new to this area and have unfortunately not heard of this village,” Kemala asked.
“Oh, you must visit. It sits just two days north of here. Just below Jayapura. That is where my son sells his goods,” the old woman told them proudly. “Imagine, someone of my family selling goods in the great town of Jayapura with the high families.” She grinned, her mouth virtually toothless.
“I think we must surely visit. Where were those thugs travelling? We don’t wish to run into them,” Kemala continued.
The old lady crinkled her forehead in thought. “They would have been heading away from Jayapura and along the road towards the rising sun. There was all that funny stuff up that way a few months past too.” The woman tutted, turned herself around and hobbled off.
“What is Jumali coming to that we have thugs up here and mercenaries kidnapping innocents down in the south?”
Conversation and arguments sprang up and Kemala made the appropriate noises before she indicated that they should move away from the rest of the villagers so any discussions would not be heard. She gathered up the others who had not been privy to that conversation and relayed it.
“I think we can assume that those wagons and carriages were carrying the light wielders. From what the woman says, it sounds as if they are headed towards where the original portal opened.”
“Pratam probably assumes if one opened there before, it will again. He could be correct. We know there are areas in Jumali that already had their own magic. Perhaps such places are easier to open portals,” Angkasa suggested.
“What we don’t know is whether Pratam is with them,” Kemala said. “From what the old lady said, I would suggest not.”
“The lady said that this Batu was two days’ walk from here,” Vikal said. “If that was at her speed, we may well make it there quicker.”
“Yes. We should head there and then decide on our next moves. Perhaps we will stop at this Batu and see if they have further knowledge of Pratam and his whereabouts. If people from there regularly travel to Jayapura, they may know more,” Kemala said.
Angkasa could hardly accept that in just a few days they would be at their final destination. It seemed a lifetime ago that she had been at home hearing distant rumours of mercenaries and a creature. A shiver ran through her. It was still out there. It would come. They had only slowed it down. She couldn’t sense its presence, so it was still far away. Was it still eating her and Elang’s magic at the wall? Hopefully, it would be long enough for them to reach the wielders. They had to be in charge when the portal opened so that they could direct the creature back to its world. They couldn’t leave it to Pratam, who might not care where his portal opened and certainly would have no real interest in ridding the world of the creature. He had not cared about the consequences when he opened a portal the first time.
The companions strode away from the market, leaving the villagers to themselves. The men had managed to purchase supplies of food. They had also bought many more candles and some lanterns. They had received some odd looks, but no one was going to turn down multiple sales.
Angkasa reflected on the difference between the two sides of the land she lived in. Everyone she had met on the western side was open and friendly but so many on this eastern side seemed afraid of strangers. She mused on this. The difference between the two sides might have something to do with how far apart the villages were, how isolated each was from the other. The land here was not as forgiving. The hills were steeper and less ready to grow rice and there was all that marshy forestland. She had never once had thoughts on what this side of Jumali might be like before this journey. Indeed, she had never thought on it at all. She rarely considered much further than the next village. A prick of shame rose in her. Jumali was her home. She should care about the whole of it. She had learned that what happened far away to the north could still influence the whole land. If they were successful in their mission and she decided to return to the temple in the mountains, perhaps she would suggest new missions to send out wielders and warriors all around the land. They could search for new recruits, but also spread news from one place to another. Join the people together. The two sides might be separated by a mountain range; still they didn’t need to be indifferent to each other.
