Chapter Ten - On the Way to City of Texō

   She stood there for a while without moving. For that simple moment there was only a deep silence all around, and time was just a stream of something that flowed around her, without being able to touch her. She was trembling with excitement. It was as if the very essence of life was flowing through her and into her, and she absorbed it eagerly. She won, she felt powerful, and she wanted more, much more.. But then it passed and she became Daemonica again - a wounded and exhausted woman who, with the silly game of Destiny, appeared somewhere in the desert with enemies whose number she could only guess at, all around her.

Just then she heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching her too quickly. She knew that the weapons of the men she had just killed were too far away for her to reach before the guards arrived, even if she wanted to consider fighting, which she did not. And running would be just as hopeless. So she stood there, motionless, waiting.

It really only took a few seconds for them to reach her. Just as she had expected, the archers were with them. She wouldn't stand a chance even on better terms. Not that being caught with two dead men near her gave her any hope of survival. Surprisingly, they didn't shoot her on the spot after they passed the first body. But once they were sure she was unarmed, they quickly captured her, bound her hands, and now dragged her somewhere. It wasn't hard to guess that they were taking her to their leader to decide her fate.

Soon she saw several fireplaces surrounded by tents and palm trees. It looked like a small oasis. She had not been able to see any of this before, for she had been literally thrown against one of the rocks that blocked her view. They took her to one of the tents and left her guarded inside. She heard several minutes of heated conversation from the tent. Then a huge black man entered the tent. His chest was protected by massive plate armor and an exceptionally large battle-axe on his back. He shot her a single glance, and there was no telling what the look hid. But for a moment it seemed to her that there was a hint of respect in it. He merely nodded to his men, who immediately grabbed her and led her away. They brought her to a place not far from the tent, tied her to a solitary palm tree by one of the rocks that surrounded the oasis, as could now be seen. This time they didn't leave her unguarded. Daemonica closed her eyes and thought of nothing.

The waiting did not last long. Soon two more men approached her, talking quickly to her guards, who then untied her from the tree. Then they pulled her to her feet and pushed her into the firelight in front of them. Dozens of men, including a large black man, were waiting in the middle of the camp by the largest fire. They stood around it in front of the man who must have been their leader. His overweight body was clad in gold robes, and gold pendants, chains, or fabric adorned every visible part of his body. He watched her with open contempt. He was the only one sitting, everyone else standing around the fire. But he wasn't the most interesting person around. Neither was the hooded man with an unnaturally pale face, whose seemingly unbiased gaze concealed an overly bright spirit. But to the leader's left stood a strange woman. Her face was hidden behind a veil, as tradition commanded in these lands. Daemonica inadvertently thought she must be extraordinarily beautiful. Even though she couldn't see her face, there was something in the look in her eyes and the way she held her body that left her in no doubt that there was a special woman behind the veil. The woman stared at her. She did it without any sign of emotion - there was no hatred in her gaze, no pity, only indifference. No one could guess what was going through her mind.

They stopped in the middle of the circle in front of the leader and she was forced to kneel. But she raised her head and watched the fat man without fear, waiting for what was to come. The leader spoke, but the only thing she really understood from the speech was his name - Shuth'noa. From time to time, as he spoke, there was a shout of agreement from some of the men present. The last words were followed by a loud cry from all the watching men, and then silence. She waited fearlessly for her end. Now that there was no hope of freeing her, even of surviving until the next morning, she was calm. Maybe deep in her heart she still hoped something would happen, but her hope was so slim that she didn't even notice it.

However, she was soon to be surprised again. Instead of executing her on the spot, the guards made her rise again. They seemed to be taking her back to the rocks. Inside one of them was a cave. They threw her in and left two men to guard the entrance. There was no light inside, but Daemonica could hear water coming out of the rock somewhere, and that was all she cared about now. The rope that bound her hands was just too tight to try to untie the knot, and too thick to cut. And so she began to crawl towards the sound of the water. Fortunately for her, the cave was not large at all, and after a few minutes of effort Daemonica reached the small lagoon.

She guessed it was probably the place where all the caravans were taking the water for the next trip when they stopped here. At last she drank to her fullness and then immediately fell asleep. Despite her extreme fatigue, she hadn't slept very long, and certainly not well. She was awakened by another terrible dream in which she was killing herself in the body of the Beast. Her forehead was damp with sweat, and it took her a moment to figure out where she was. There was still night outside, but she felt that dawn was not far off. She took another quick drink, then, in great pain, moved to where she remembered the entrance to the cave. When she finally crawled there, all her hopes were instantly dashed. The two guards were still standing there with their hands on their weapons. She had no chance to escape. So she gave up any attempt.

She made herself as comfortable as possible, leaning back against the rock and closing her eyes. Since she could no longer, and certainly did not want to fall asleep, her thoughts ran far away where the proud towers of Andala still guarded the city where she had been born and lived all her life. She thought of the happy days she had spent there before her father had disappeared somewhere in Xix. It was such an irony that she, the last of a formerly famous and respected family, had to die in the same country as her father, just because she had once hoped to find him there. She remembered him with love and respect. He was always closer to her than her mother. He, who in her perhaps slightly confused memories was afraid of nothing. Then Arnvin usurped the throne, her father vanished, and life in abundance ended for her and her mother..

Sudden sounds from outside brought her back to a reality she had forgotten for a moment, to her own surprise. Now she could see that the sun was slowly rising. The first rays of light pierced her swollen eyes painfully. Soon the guards entered the cave, followed by several slaves who came to fill the bottles with fresh water for the next march. They led her out. When in the light outside they made sure her hands were still tied, they led her to where the horses and other animals waited. They were all loaded with luggage and ready to go.

She never thought she'd be forgiven, not for a moment. She knew last night would cost her her life. But she was still afraid. She did not fear death, but she feared the death Shuth'noa had prepared for her. That endless moment, waiting in the pain of her wounded body, for her lot, without even knowing what the slaver had in store for her, was perhaps the moment when she feared most in her life, for there was no way out. There was nothing she could do about it. She could only wait helplessly for what was to come.

Then at last she saw Shuth'noa approaching, followed by his wizard and the woman she remembered from last night. Hers and the woman's gaze met briefly, but then, with a lazy hand, the slaver motioned to begin. They pulled her roughly to her feet and led her to the horses. They tied her rope to the saddle of one of them. Shuth'noa seemed content to see her courage replaced by fear today.

She had expected him to ride the horse himself, but Shuth'noa just nodded at the woman standing beside him, a cruel expression on his face that suggested the honor she had received and that she might suffer the same fate for refusing. For a brief moment Daemonica saw in her eyes the only hint of emotion she had shown so far - fear. Fear of being forced to take someone's life. But then it was gone, and her face was completely unreadable again. They helped the woman up onto the horse's back, and the other men mounted right after.

They moved. She realized with some relief that it would not be long before she fell and lost consciousness. Even when you're healthy and in the best shape, you never last long. It was a miracle she survived the night... It should only take a few moments. The rope jerked as the horse moved, and she nearly fell even in this relatively gentle movement. It was early morning, and the sun was only rising above the horizon, but the desert sand was already hot. It burned her feet, but to Daemonica it was only one pain of the many that tortured her.

They had only been on the road for some time, the oasis still visible behind them. They were passing another group of rocks when one of the men in front of her fell off his horse with an arrow in his eye. Several other events followed at once.

First that man's frightened horse ran straight into the caravan. Then there was confusion, accompanied by more deadly arrows that fell between them, often hitting their target. Then, just a moment later, the screams of desert bandits charging from behind the rocks could be heard. The horse to which Daemonica was tied reared and dropped its rider. Then it begun to ran frantically, dragging Daemonica with it, to her own horror. The jerk of the rope pulled her to the ground, and she followed it helplessly. Before that happened, she saw the huge black man on horseback heading toward her, holding something heavy in his hand. She closed her eyes full of blood mixed with sand, in anticipation of a swift end. And then, out of nowhere, she lay motionless on the ground, the severed rope in front of her. She could still hear the sound of fighting, the screams and roars of panicked animals not far from her. She didn’t dare move. She wasn't sure if she could move at all.

After a while, nothing could be heard near her. She looked up. There was a funny little glimmer of hope in her heart. Maybe she could try to return to the oasis, maybe she could somehow survive her injuries before she could travel again. Maybe no one would have looked for her, maybe no man from the caravan survived at all... Maybe.

Despite the terrible pain of old and new wounds, she slowly began to creep toward the oasis. It was almost impossible with her hands tied, but she edged forward bit by bit. She tried to get to her feet several times, but she couldn't. She went on anyway. After a while, however, she had to stop to get some rest, though she was well aware that either the men of the caravan or the bandits might return at any moment. As she lay exhausted on the hot sand, she suddenly heard a woman screaming from behind one of the rocks not far from her. She knew whose voice it was, though she had never heard her speak.

As if in a dream, she glanced towards the oasis for the last time. Then she began to crawl toward the rock, from whose direction she could hear the voice coming. She felt she had to hurry, but to do that she needed to get back on her feet. She tried to get up again, but this time another hopeless scream forced her to put everything into it, and she did it. Now she was only a few steps from the rock. She staggered, but eventually reached it, then stopped to rest and decide what to do. She was afraid that her loud breathing (she was no longer able to breathe normally) would warn the enemy, but fortunately nothing of the sort had happened. The woman screamed again, but this time her scream was so desperate it was obvious that the time to think was over. With her hands tied, she took the first stone she found and pressed herself against the rock.

Fortunately for her, the bandit was busy fighting a woman who still wouldn't give up, though it was obvious she wouldn't last much longer. Of the last strength she had left, Daemonica picked up a rock and smashed the bandit's head with it. Then she slumped beside his body and fell into the sweet darkness of oblivion.