Chapter 18

'Hey, you.'

"A moment," Belili said, pulling a little harder on the tangle of dead brush buried in the mud of the irrigation channel. Plants from the fields, dirt, and other refuse landed in the channels and were carried away by the water until they caught on something and clogged the flow. Maintaining the irrigation network, keeping Zabu's fields alive, was a never-ending chore. Yet for some reason, Belili didn't mind as much today. Yes, it was hard labor, but it kept her busy and distracted from all her fears.

What have I been worried about again? 

Standing ankle-deep in the muddy water, fishing for refuse, it was hard to remember why she had been so anxious.

'Armed men are coming for you.'

"What?" Belili looked up at the speaker. The tall figure of a man towered over her. Standing with his back to the sun she couldn't see his face. 

'You need to get up,' the man said impatiently. 

Belili covered her eyes against the sun. "Zabu wants this whole channel cleared before nightfall." Did she know this man? His voice sounded familiar but he was taller and more muscular than any men on the farm.

Losing his patience, the man stepped to the edge of the channel. The moment he leaned forward broad wings flared on his back, stretching out wide to the sides. 

Belili froze in place, gapping up at the feathery limps suddenly protruding from the man's back. She didn't even react when he reached down and seized her under her arms, lifting her up as easily as a child would hold up a doll. 

'I said, get up!' he said. The wings flapped down and a powerful gust of wind whirled up dust and refuse while they shot up into the air.

With a gasp, Belili sat up on her cot. She was immediately awake, her heartbeat drumming in her ears. What was that? She looked down at her arms. The tingling sensation of the wind rushing by her naked skin still lingered. 

'You are awake,' the voice said from somewhere close to her. 'Now get up and jump into the well.'

Belili looked around but couldn't see anybody. She was alone in the dark room. Same as she had been when Tala had sent her to sleep. The cot on the opposite wall was empty since Saras was staying in Gulan's workroom with the other patients. 

An invisible hand closed around her arm and yanked her sideways with one quick pull. 'Did you not hear me?'

Belili found herself on her hands and knees next to her cot. "Urk?"

'Yes, it is I.'

Pulled to her feet Belili was pushed toward the door. 

"What do you want from me?"

'Right now - silence and compliance,' Urk said. 

Giving into the invisible force pushing her forward, Belili parted the curtain that separated the servants' room from the corridor and hurried in the direction of the little courtyard. "I do not understand. What is going on?"

'There is no time,' Urk said a hint of urgency in his voice. 'Now jump into the well.'

It was still dark outside with only the light of the stars outlining the low clay wall of the house's water source. Hurrying toward it, Belili remembered the depiction of the god pressed into the side. A bearded man with eagle wings.

It was him in my dream, she thought. I came face to face with the god Urk himself.

While she swung her legs over the side, she wondered how little it bothered her. But then again, he was already the second god she had met in as many days. No time to think about it now, she thought.

Sitting at the edge, Belili stared down into the black hole. "I cannot swim," she whispered. "I will drown."

'Nonsense,' Urk said as his invisible hand pushed her over the side. 

Somehow Belili managed not to scream while she fell into the black nothingness. Her feet hit the surface of the water and she reflexively closed her eyes and mouth. 

The cold sensation raced up her body as she sunk into the wet. And then her descent suddenly stopped. For a moment she remained in place, water reaching to her hip, the force of her fall dissipating. Then she was pushed up again. It wasn't the feeling of Urk's invisible hands that had bullied her here; it was more like the water itself slowly spitting her out again. 

When the waterline was at her ankles the upward movement stopped. It was a strange sensation, similar to standing in an irrigation channel. The water around her naked feet felt normal but her soles told her she was standing on a soft surface, giving slightly way like mud when she shifted her weight. Taking an experimental step, she staggered and almost fell as it took the magic a fraction of a heartbeat to manifest below her foot again. She flailed with her arms until her hand found the well's wall. Pushing against the smooth clay-lined surface she managed to catch herself. 

"Did you hear that?" The voice came from above.

"Hm?"

"I did not hear anything."

Intruders! Belili thought. Here in Gulan's house? Had the Epi-Khmet snuck over the wall undetected?

"Be quiet, you fools. The workroom is this way."

Belili held her breath, trying not to move as the splashing of water might give her away. 

The sound of steps above disappeared. The intruders had probably entered the corridor leading to the workroom. 

Where Saras and Master Jas'ar are sleeping, she thought, panic rising within her. Would the magus magic stop them? He had been asleep since his meeting with the town's elders. 

I must warn somebody. But how? Who could help them in this situation?

"Urk?" she whispered so low that she was barely able to hear her own words. "Urk… are you there?"

'Of course,' the voice said, sounding so close as if the god was right with her in the well's shaft. 'This is my domain, my land, mortal.'

Belili clenched her fist. There was no time to be afraid. Armed men were sneaking into the room where her brother slept. She couldn't lose Saras the way she had lost her mother. The pain of the sudden memory of that night pushed her hesitation aside. 

"Great Urk," she pleaded, "can you help us against these intruders."

There was a moment of silence before the god replied. 'I am and I did. This is your purpose, mortal. You shall be my instrument.'

"Can you do… more?" Belili asked carefully. "Can you use your magic to chase them off?"

'…it is not on the gods to solve all problems for you mortals.'

Belili tried hard not to show her frustration. Is he really that afraid of the Epi-khmet woman?

She had a pretty good idea who she was but still, these were Urk's lands – his people. At the wall he had intervened to help her but only the slightest bit. Witnessing the god her people had prayed and sacrificed to for generations, the patron deity of the town named after him, shirk his responsibility filled her with complex emotions. Emotions she didn't have time for right now. 

"Can you maybe warn Master Jas'ar?" she asked. If the god wasn't going to fight for his people, the magus was the second most powerful force on their side. 

'No.'

"Why not?"

'…I would have to reveal myself.'

"But you woke me up."

'You are different,' Urk said. 'You can hear me from over here somehow.'

It must have something to do with my ability, Belili thought. Like the night I met Master Jas'ar. I can hear things even the magus cannot. She shook her head. There was no time to think about this right now. If Urk is not going to help us, I must find somebody else. 

"Can you bring me back up?"

'The men are still up there.'

"In the courtyard?"

'No, they went into the house,' Urk said. 'They are going into the healer's room.'

"Then I can sneak out of the front and run to the wall," Belili said. "There are armed men there. That is what you wanted me to do, right?"

'…better be quick.'

As he spoke, the water started to rise pushing Belili up. It barely made a sound and she only noticed the movement it in the dark because she was holding on to the wall with one hand. 

Looking up, Belili saw the sky rapidly coming closer. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered how many buckets of water were needed to raise the water level this much. 

He is the god of wells, after all, she thought. 

As her head reached the level of the well's edge she ducked. 

"Is the courtyard still empty?" she whispered.

'Yes,' Urk said. 'Go and leave through the kitchen door.'

Belili didn't hesitate. She climbed over the side and ran as quickly and as silently as she could. The kitchen was dark but she remembered the layout. She managed to reach the door leading to a backstreet without bumping into anything. It only took her a moment to open the bar that was used to lock the door at night.

If this is still locked, that means they came through the front door. The thought made Belili worry for Gulan and his family who lived in the main house. At least now she could hope not to run into anybody on the backstreet. 

Sticking her head through the door she looked left and right. The street was dark and empty in both directions. 

'They are coming back!'

Belili slipped through the door and pulled it shut behind her as silently as she could. If the men carried a light, they might see the missing bar but there was nothing she could do about that. Then she flew down the street as fast as her feet could carry her. 

Belili ran to the end of the street and turned right, then left at the next crossroad. She didn't know if this was the fastest way but it was the only one she knew. 

She turned into the street leading directly to the wall and almost collided with a dark figure.

"What the…," the man interrupted his own curse. "Who goes there?"

"…guard chief Harbis?" Belili asked, recognizing the man's voice.

"Yes," Harbis said. "Who are you?"

Urk be praised, she thought. 

"I am Belili, master Jas'ar's apprentice," she said aloud. "Chief, there are intruders in Gulan's house. I ran away to call for help."

There was a neighing behind Harbis and Belili noticed the outline of a wagon drawn by a donkey coming up the street. Two men walked next to it.

"Truly?" Harbis asked. "Then we must hurry." He took Belili's arm and started to walk briskly in the direction of the healer's house. The two figures leading the wagon exchanged a glance and followed.

Unable to free her arm, Belili hurried to keep pace with Harbis. "There are at least three or four." She didn't suggest outright that they might need more men to not anger the guard chief. 

"Did you see them?" Harbis asked, never slowing down. 

"No," Belili said. "I heard them while I hid." And then she remembered something. Something she hadn't thought about until now. Before she could stop herself, she tensed up.

"Do not scream," Harbis said, tightening his grip. "Run away and I cut your brother into pieces and feed them to the beasts." 

The threat had been delivered with a flat voice, leaving Belili convinced that Harbis would do it and think nothing of it. 

"They spoke in the Old Tongue," Belili murmured. "Not in the language the Epi-Khmet use."

Harbis didn't respond. He didn't have to. Belili was sure that the intruders were his men. They also knew their way around the house, she realized.

She suddenly felt ashamed for her own foolishness. But then again, what could she have done? Where could she have turned? She didn't know where Ibilsin or the other elders lived. And would they have listened to me?

They reached the house and Harbis pushed the door open, dragging her with him. "Look what I found."

A tall man turned to them, while the guard chief kicked the door shut with his heel. The room was dimly lit by two oil lamps.

"Where did you find her?" Dagan asked. He had a bundle under each arm. 

Are they robbing the house? Belili wondered looking around. There was a small pile of baskets and bags right next to the door. 

"She came to get me," Harbis said, looking from Dagan to the pile. "What are you doing?"

Dagan shrugged. "Not my idea. We were waiting for you." He nodded toward the kitchen. "There is a problem with the magus."

"Of course there is," Harbis grumbled. "I should never have agreed to this." He took Belili by the neck and guided her through the house and out the kitchen door into the small courtyard. 

Two men stood at the other side, next to the entrance to the corridor. When they recognized their leader they looked both relieved and nervous. 

"What is going on?" Harbis asked. "Why are you just standing around?"

"Haldita is down," Dagan said. The tall man had followed them with an oil lamp.

Harbis let go of Belili and rounded on his right-hand man. "What does that mean, Haldita is down?"

Dagan didn't flinch. "He went in to get that box. He made it almost all the way back to the door before he collapsed."

"Is he dead?" Harbis asked.

"Not yet," a new voice said.

Gulan stepped out of the shadow of the corridor, holding up another oil lamp. The light emanating from the small wick illuminated a contemplative frown.

"Can you help him, healer?" Dagan asked.

Gulan shook his head, his eyes wandering from one to the other until they fixated on Belili. "This is why I told you we need Belili here. Where did you find her?"

Harbis pushed her toward the healer. "Out on the street, looking for help."

What is going on? Belili thought. Why is Gulan with them?

The healer took hold of her wrist and turned back, dragging her behind him into the house. "If she lives, we will know that I was right," he said. "The rest of you can help my wife pack."

Looking down at the healer's arm holding on to her, Belili noticed that he had donned the sturdy traveling garments he had been wearing when they had first met.