Chapter 6

It wasn’t as simple, of course. Ikhaya ran into obstacles almost from the instant she decided to go find her mother. Both of them, she supposed. She had never realized how much planning went into packing up and leaving.

“Are you sure you even want to bring the wagon?” Jamie asked doubtfully. “It’s awfully slow, and time matters right now…”

Ikhaya froze. It had never occurred to her not to take the wagon. She had lived in this wagon her whole life, all of her possessions were in it, and she had always traveled with it. It did take longer than a lone horse, she allowed, but it was her home. And with her mom just disappearing, the very idea of leaving her childhood home almost sent her into a panic.

“But...but…” she had no real reason to bring it and she sat there, mouth moving but saying nothing for a minute before Jamie put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

“I know it’s hard,” Jamie said. “But you know what needs to be done; you just don’t want to do it.”

Well, that was true enough, Ikhaya allowed. She supposed this was part of growing up, this letting go. It dawned on her that for all that she was 22, she had a lot of life experience to pick up. She had never left home, never been on her own, and always had her mom to fall back on. The idea that she was now working without a net was mildly terrifying. Yes, Jessie was there, but she wasn’t her mother. She had been with Jamie for as long as she could remember, and she had always deferred to Sophie in parenting decisions. Jessie was more of an aunt, really, and that is not the same thing as a mother.

“I guess I’ll leave it. But what is going to happen to it? I can’t just abandon it.”

Jessie and Jamie shared a glance. “Well, we’ve be discussing that. Jamie is going to stay here.”

Jamie’s mouth formed into a straight line, but she nodded. “I don’t like it, but someone has to mind the store. There has to be a home for you to come back to.”

Ikhaya embraced Jamie warmly. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“No thanks needed for this. We all have jobs to do and this one is mine. Jessie will look after you, but I need you to promise to look after Jessie.” Her voice shook a little at that and Ikhaya squeezed her harder “No,” Jamie, said, pushing back gently. “If I start crying I won’t stop.” she clarified, wiping her eyes as Ikhaya released her.

“I’ll watch out for Jessie, I promise,” Ikhaya swore. Jamie smiled at her easy promise, knowing with the advantage of years, that the future was hard to predict. She could promise all she wanted, but they were going places they had never been and would encounter things they never imagined. Shit was going to happen.

She watched Ikhaya fidget, obviously ready to be on her way. The young, always in such a hurry. Still, it was her mother. Mothers. Gods, what a tangle. She sent up a prayer for Sophie, hoping some of the Gods were listening.

Sophie was disoriented, blinking in the dimness, blind. She felt cold, her body was shivering, but she couldn’t tell if she was standing or sitting or lying flat. She tried to listen, to hear something, but her brain didn’t seem to work right.

How long she remained there, she had no idea, she only knew that suddenly she could see things. She was lying on a floor, stone covered with a threadbare carpet. No wonder she was cold, she thought, and then realized her brain had kicked back on as well. She lifted her head, slowly, testing for pain, but there wasn’t any. Just as slowly she sat up, hindered by her left arm, which she had been lying on and was completely asleep. She sat, cross-legged, cradling her arm, wincing as it started waking up, pins and needles all along its length. Taking deep breaths, she looked around, only to scramble to her feet and back up quickly.

Robert lay behind her. Or what was left of him. His body was black, his skin dry and stretched over his bones, no fat or muscle left. His lips, dried and shriveled, had pulled back, leaving a ghastly grin on his face.

“That the problem with humans,” came an accented voice from the door. It was rich and low, that voice, and it sounded like her daughter.

Her first glimpse of her daughter’s mother, was like looking forward in time. There was a moment where she could see two people, her daughter and an older version of her, until it merged into the woman before her. There was grey in her hair, just enough to lighten it but not enough to make her look old. Lines bracketed her eyes and mouth, but her skin was clear and the same color as her daughter’s, like coffee with a dash of cream in it. The main difference was her confidence and the aura of power that emanated from her. She was in control and she knew it.

“Humans have very low tolerance to magic if not born with it.” she said, walking into the room, the drapes of her robes flowing around her long legs. She walked so certainly, so sure of each step. “It causes some unfortunate side-effects.” She stopped next to Robert’s body, and stared at it impersonally, like a specimen. “Who shot him?” she asked seeing the wound in his chest.

“I did.” Sophie replied, inclining her head.

“Nice shot. Too bad he was already dying and couldn’t be stopped. It almost worked. Still, he’s a failure in more ways than as a poor magical host.” Those intelligent eyes came to rest on her, piercing. “You are not my daughter.”

“Nope,” Sophie replied. “I am not.” She stepped away from the wall, meeting confidence with confidence. “Where I come from people introduce themselves. Especially when they invite you to their home.”

Amusement lit the woman’s eyes. “Got some courage, do you? Well now, that’s nice.” She turned to face Sophie fully. “My name is Ikhala. Ikhala, Ruler of the Jewel of the South, Creator, User of Magics.”

“Sophie.” she replied shortly, feeling her name drop like stone in its simplicity.

“Sophie. Come, Sophie, you are my guest, it seems. Let me give you the tour, and then you and I are going to have a conversation.”

Sophie stepped forward, nodded, and indicated Ikhala should go first. “By all means, let’s get started,” she agreed, with more bravado than she felt. Icy fingers were running up her spine. Was it going to be torture? This woman was cold, calm, and in control. That made Ikhala all the more terrifying when she reflected on what she had been told of her. A scientist, doctor, and witch all in one. Smart, lacking a conscious, and probably pissed off. The Gods only knew what she would do.

They were on the road the next day, despite Ikhaya’s grumbling.

“We needed to be prepared, and you know it,” Jessie responded. “And I deserved a night at home before leaving.”

That shut Ikhaya up. Damn, how could she be so selfish? Jessie had been gone for so long already and hadn’t even been home one night yet. Jessie nodded justly at the silence and on they rode. Lily and David road behind them, coerced and bribed to come with them.

“I will take you to the border and no farther,” Lily announced firmly. “No payment will get me into her domain.”

“But we’ll need guides once we’re there! Escorting us to the border is next to useless; we can easily get there ourselves. It’s over the border that we need help. It’s a foreign culture, we need more than just directions!” Ikhaya pointed out, anger creeping in no matter how hard she tried to stay calm.

In the end, they agreed on going to the border and then re-adjusting as needed. The decision was undecided until then. It was the best she was going to get, so she took the bargain. Still, bargain or no, Ikhaya felt the two of them were likely to make a break for it at any moment. They barely knew them; the only reason they trusted them at all is because they worked for her father. That bit of history was all they had to tie them together and Ikhaya was afraid it wasn’t enough.

“You look like her,” Lily said, riding up beside her. “Remarkably so.” Those red eyes of her’s were very hard to look at, but Ikhaya managed. “Everywhere you go, you will be recognized. The minute you enter her domain, she will know.”

A shiver went up Ikhaya’s spine. “What would you have me do? Leave her there?”

Lily gave a half shrug. “She’s your mother, I understand. But think about what she is thinking right now.”

“What do you mean?” Ikhaya asked, confused.

“Your mother sacrificed herself for you. Are you going to make that meaningless by handing yourself over to what she was protecting you from? She could be dead, you know.”

All the air rushed from her lungs as she remembered that awful feeling of thinking Sophie was dead. No, she was alive, she knew it. Didn’t she? She felt herself being pulled in two directions, the desire to find her past conflicting with her mother’s wishes. In the end, Jessie settled it.

“I’m going to save Sophie, whether you come or not. Could use someone to watch my back.” Jessie stated, looking at the road ahead. “You couldn’t just let me walk into the fire alone. She’d kill you.”

Ikhaya laughed. “God, she’d be mad. She’s going to be mad at both of us anyway, and you know it.”

Lily sighed behind her and Ikhaya heard David mutter softly, “That was a very nice try. It almost worked.” Ikhaya grinned. It had almost worked, but she was headed to the Jewel of the South to rescue her Mama despite them. On she road, visions of a heroic rescue running through her mind, trying desperately to drown the worry and fear that threatened to overwhelm her.