Also, for helping me with some info on this story, Ruby and Bev had the right to make me add something. Ruby wants someone to get drunk and Beverly wants a whip that plays a big part.
Over the Rainbow
By Myst
Yesterday is gone forever
No turning back the clock
~ Iced Earth, Burning Times
*~*
Cold. It was so cold.
She could barely breath, the pain in her chest was burning her, and brought tears to her eyes everytime she inhaled. Her head pounded and she ached all over. Pain. Her whole body was in pain and she wished she could return to unconsciousness, just to get away from the pain. Except from the pain, all she could feel was that she was chained against a wall, a hard rocky wall.
What happened? Where was she?
The crew was walking in the crowed streets, a carriage full of merchandises in tow that they needed to deliver to some wealthy merchant who lived in the north of the town.
Sinbad leaded, Doubar with him. Firouz walked not far behind them, silently as he observed the people around the street. Rongar finished the rear, Bryn at his side. She enjoyed his silent company since she wasn’t in a talkative mood today.
Sinbad hadn’t talked to her in days and that bothered her. She had tried to ask him if something was wrong, but he had avoided answering her each time she asked him. She finally got tired of getting brushed off and let it go, but it still bothered her. And she didn’t even know why! She didn’t think she did something wrong. And even if she did, why didn’t he just tell her about it?
Sighing, she told herself that she would never totally understand Sinbad. Or men in general.
Rongar waved his hand in front of her eyes to get her attention. She realized that they had arrived in front of the merchant’s house. Or maybe castle would be more appropriated in this case. His men immediately started to transport the merchandises inside the house while the merchant paid Sinbad.
“Thank you for the quick delivery, captain. I suppose you’ll be staying at the inn tonight?” The merchant, Karim, asked.
“We will, but we’ll leave in the morning. We have a busy schedule.”
Karim nodded. “I hope you’ll still want to come to my little party tonight. Good music, good food and drinks. Your crew and yourself deserve some relaxation after a long trip.”
Sinbad quickly glanced at Doubar who was slowly nodded, eyes gleaming as soon as he heard the word ‘party’. “Very well. We’ll be happy to go at your party.”
Karim clapped. “Wonderful!”
Bryn remembered now. The party. Sighing, she painfully opened her eyes. Small room without any windows, so she couldn’t tell if it was day or night. It would have been completely dark if it wasn’t for the small torch near the door, which barely lighted the room and projected on the walls deformed shadows.
She could hear someone breathing next to her, but her head refused to move to see who it was. But she found that she didn’t need to look, she knew it was Sinbad. How she knew, she couldn’t explain. She just knew.
“Sinbad,” she whispered, almost urgently. Using all the strength left in her, she turned her head. He was chained next to her and he seemed to be in a bad shape. There was blood on his forehead and his face was twisted in pain. He didn’t even flinch at the sound of her voice. “Sinbad!” she tried again, a little louder this time.
He still didn’t move. Not only was she worried she was also starting to be scared. He had to wake up. “Sinbad, dammit wake up! This isn’t a good time to sleep!” Bryn groaned. She wished Firouz was here. He’d know what to do. She was torn between shaking him until he’d wake up or take him in her arms. But both of these choices were not possible for the moment since she was chained.
Bryn was tented for a moment to repeat his name over and over again, like a mantra, until he finally decided to open his eyes. Or maybe she could scream until she had no more voice? Maybe that would work better.
Bryn started to laugh softly, and it then turned hysterical. Was she losing it? If she didn’t get out soon, she would. There were those vibes she received from this place and it made her feel sick, sicker than she ever felt before. She smelt evil all around and her instincts were screaming at her to run away, and fast.
She stopped laughing and instead she felt like crying. They had been in bad situations before, but this time, it was worst. Bryn honestly didn’t know how they would get out of here, alone get free of the chains. And where were the others? Were they still alive? She hoped they were alive and not in this horrible place. She could still feel Dermott vaguely, but she was too weak to communicate with him.
“B-Bryn?”
If she hadn’t been chained, Bryn would’ve jumped joyfully at Sinbad’s voice. But since she was, she simply smiled reassuringly at him. “Finally! I was starting to think you were never going to wake up.”
He smiled weakly at her. “Not a chance.” He glanced around the room. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know. I think we’re still on the same island, but I can’t be sure. It’s still foggy in my mind about what happened.”
Sinbad nodded. “Where are Doubar and the others?”
“I-I don’t know. There was only you here when I woke up an instant before.”
“I hope they’re fine. What the hell happened? I remember we delivered the merchandises and then, it’s only a black hole…”
Bryn closed her eyes. “The party…”
*~*
When the Nomad crew arrived at the merchant’s house in the evening, the party had already started. In a background of oriental music, people were eating, drinking, dancing and laughing.
Seeing them, Karim walked to them a welcoming smile on his face. “I’m glad you finally arrived! Eat, drink and enjoy the music!” He took two glasses from a passing servant and gave one to Sinbad. He drank the other one in one shoot and then, threw the glass over his shoulder. It fell near the wall surrounding his propriety in a sound covered by the noise.
Shrugging, Sinbad drank the liquid in the glass offered by Karim. He intended to have fun tonight. He had been under stress for too long and needed to relax. He watched as Doubar already joined a table where a drinking contest was held. He wouldn’t have to worry about his brother having problems to relax, that was for sure.
As soon as he arrived, Firouz immediately spotted an old colleague of his and went to join him. ‘At least, they don’t seem to be talking about work,’ Sinbad dryly thought. His gaze then went to Rongar who stood alone near the wall, a concerned expression in his black eyes as he observed the party. Bryn stood near him, but her eyes were looking up, where Dermott was flying in circles around Karim’s house.
Sinbad frowned. He was about to make his way to them when a hand grabbed his shoulder. Female hand. Sinbad turned around and his blue eyes met green ones. His gaze traveled from down to up. Beautiful.
The woman smiled, his examination didn’t go unnoticed. “I’m Krisa, Karim is my father. You’re Sinbad, aren’t you?” Not waiting for an answer, she continued. “When he told me you would come, I knew I had to meet you. I heard so many tails about you! And I want to know more.”
Sinbad completely forgot about Rongar and Bryn.
*~*
“Oh yeah, the party.” Sinbad sighed. “I remember both you and Rongar stayed apart from everyone. Did you feel something wrong was going to happen?”
“I wasn’t sure. Dermott was nervous and I think Rongar felt bad vibes too.”
“You should have told one of us,” Sinbad gently said.
Bryn let out a bitter laugh but she then winced. Laughing hurt. “I don’t think it would have changed anything. You were too busy flirting with the merchant’s daughter.” As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Bryn regretted them. It was the truth, but it wasn’t the place or the time to say them. Besides, Sinbad was old enough to do whatever he wanted, and if flirting with some rich girl happened to be what he wanted, there was nothing she could do. It wasn’t as if it bothered her that Sinbad was flirting with another girl. Yeah, right.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” Bryn apologized. “We need to find a way out from here.”
“Question is where are we?”
*~*
For the hundredth time since he opened his eyes, Firouz sighed. His eyes never left the door, waiting for someone to open it and tell him what was is purpose here and where were his friends.
He had a headache that didn’t seem to want to go anywhere, he was sure one rib or two were broken, his face burnt and his cloths were a mess. And he was thirsty.
That damn party! He met there someone he worked with before and he had realized too late that they were being attacked. If only he hadn’t get drunk…
“…I haven’t worked much these days, but I have an idea growing in my head about a new project,” Saemus told him.
“With the Nomad, it’s hard for me to work, but I wouldn’t change it,” Firouz said, louder than necessary. He finished the glass he had in his hand. He couldn’t remember how much he drank, and he surprisingly found out he didn’t care.
“It must be something traveling with the legendary Sinbad!”
“You’re never bored, that’s for sure!” Firouz answered, a smile on the corner of his mouth as he glanced at Sinbad, who seemed oblivious to everyone around him, but the blonde lady in front of him. “With our captain being a ladies man, life can never be boring!” Firouz chuckled, feeling light-headed. He wondered why he didn’t get drunk more often. He was feeling so great!
A wicked smile on his lips, he pointed Sinbad, and then Bryn to Saemus. “See those two? Every time they touch, sparks start flying, everyone around them notice it, but them. It’s funny watching them struggling against feelings they don’t know that are there. And then Sinbad goes and kiss some girl he barely met and Bryn gets sad, but fell in denial. But you know what, my good friend? They need each other. They just need to realize it,” Firouz told him, pointing the dozen of glasses on their table. “I think I’ll take another one. This stuff is so good.”
Saemus nodded and was about to say something when people suddenly started to scream. “What…”
“We’re being attacked by the pacha’s guards!” A man screamed.
Firouz looked around for his sword and then remembered it was on his right side. He reached out for it with shaking hands. He hoped he’d still be able to fight in his condition. Maybe that last drink had been too much.
Firouz sighed. If they only knew…
The door suddenly opened and a small man who needed to lose some weight entered. He was wearing black cloths and a long cloak. His skin was as white as snow. ‘He looks like a vampire. Only the fangs are missing,’ Firouz thought grimly.
“I see that you are finally awake. Good. I have a proposition for you.”
“And I have questions. Like where am I and who are you and where are my friends.”
The man smiled. “I think you already know who I am. I am Shin, the Pasha of this island. You are in my palace and as for your friends…Two of them are in one of my dungeon. And what will happen to them depends on your answer to my proposition.”
“What do you mean?”
“If your answer satisfies me, I’ll let your friends go. If not…well, let’s just say I’ll make sure you’ll change your mind.”
Firouz narrowed his eyes angrily, but sighed. “What’s your proposition?”
“I want you to build me the invention you used on the island of Corusar and then you’ll be all free to go.”
Firouz’s eyes widened. “The Ruby-Beamer? You want me to build you a Ruby-Beamer? So you can use it as a weapon? No. Forget it.”
The Pacha gave him a wicked smile. “I hoped you would say no. I love when people choose the hardest way. We’ll see in two hours if your answer will stay the same.”
Firouz gulped. Something bad was going to happen. He didn’t need to be a sorcerer to feel it.
*~*
Rongar knelt down and touched the ground with his fingers. Traces of horses’ steps were still visible on the ground. It had to be them. They passed there hours ago, Rongar could tell by the way the traces were slowly starting to fade away.
Raising up, he ran following the traces. He had to hurry before it would be too late. ‘Maybe it was too late.’ No. Rongar refused to believe so. He had to keep faith that they were still alive. All of them.
Sighting, he ran faster. All of this because of a stupid party…
As soon as people started screaming, Rongar knew this was the bad feeling he had when they arrived. He also noticed that Bryn seemed preoccupied too.
Sword in hand, Rongar ran toward the men in red. He heard someone saying they were the guards of the Pacha. He noticed the Pasha’s crest on each guards’ armors. Why the guards were attacking, he didn’t know, but they were hurting – no killing- innocent people and Rongar wasn’t going to stand there, doing nothing.
He saw Firouz attacking two guards and two others were running in his direction. Rongar ran to intercept them and stop them from reaching Firouz, who seemed to have enough problems fighting only two guards.
A few kicks and they were down. They weren’t that strong, but there were still so many of them. New ones kept coming when the number of defenders kept falling.
The bad feeling, still inside him, grew bigger and bigger everytime a body fell on the ground, lifeless.
*~*
Time passed, and nothing happened. Silence was now flying around the room, only interrupted by a cough from Sinbad once in awhile. Bryn was focusing on Dermott, trying to communicate with the hawk, but her bad condition wasn’t helping at all. Her mind wasn’t at full strength and she felt as weak as a baby. The fact that she hadn’t eaten in hours, maybe even days, lowered her chances to be able to reach Dermott. Using her magic couldn’t even be considered. She’d probably fall on the ground if she wasn’t chained.
If they’d been here to do a sort of mission for some evil guy or because someone wanted them dead, something would have happen by now. But no one came. So why were they here? What did they want with them? They’d die of hunger and from their wounds soon before they knew the reasons why they were captured.
“How are you holding on?” Bryn asked Sinbad in a whisper.
“I wish whoever brought us here would show up and tell us what the hell he wants from us. I need to know if the others are fine, the wait is killing me. “ His eyes watched her. “You don’t look well. You have to hold on, we’ll figure out some way to leave this place.”
“I’m not sure we will. Our only chance would be if the others know where we are and are planning a rescue mission,” Bryn said. “I hope with all my heart that they will because I don’t know how long we’ll be able to stay alive without any food or water while we’re both hurt”
As Sinbad began to answer, the sound of the door opening stopped him from continuing. A small man made his way inside the cell and stood in front of Sinbad and Bryn, smiling. “Hello and welcome to my dungeon! I am Shin, the Pacha of this island and you are my prisoners. I think you noticed that of course.”
“I’m sure you won’t mind if I asked you what is it that you want from us?”
“Not much, I have to say. You aren’t the ones I need something from, you are just a way I’m using to get it.”
Bryn wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. The bad feeling resting in the pitch of her stomach made her shiver. She never felt so scared before, and the vibes she received had never been so real before. If only she could remember how to use her magic better…Perhaps she could have made those chains disappear. Maybe she had the power to teleport people. Sinbad and she could have escaped. She gritted her teeth, a feeling of helplessness overwhelming her.
Sinbad glanced at her, noticing the emotions written all over her face, then turned his attention back to Shin. “What is it that you need?”
“I want your friend Firouz – that’s his name isn’t it – to build me the little machine Admiral Azul used as a weapon two years ago. The fool could have been so powerful if he hadn’t been so stupid. But you have nothing to worry about, I’m nothing of the kind. As I suspected, your friend refused to build the machine. I knew he would, and that’s the reason why the two of you are here. He needs to change his mind and I’m sure he will after he’ll see what happened to the two of you because he didn’t agree to my proposition.” A wicked smile appeared on his lips. “Don’t you think?”
Sinbad and Bryn’s eyes met, the same question in them. What was going to happen to them?
Shin laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. Not yet. I’ll need you as long as your friend’s invention won’t be complete. So no, I won’t kill you. But maybe you’ll wish I did.”
Bryn gulped. “What are you going to do?” she whispered.
Shin clapped his hands and two huge men wearing black pants only entered the room. He walked close to Bryn and caressed her cheek with his finger and brought his mouth closer to her ear. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Then, darkness.
*~*
All Doubar could see as he glanced around the propriety of Karim were dead bodies. To think that not so long ago they were all full of life and laughing. Since he woke up a moment before, he didn’t see anyone alive. They were all dead. And his brother was no where in sight. He also couldn’t find Bryn, Rongar or Firouz. He hoped it was a good sign, that somehow, they managed to escape. But the thought wasn’t so reassuring. If they escaped, why did they leave him behind?
He slowly made his way out of Karim’s grounds, carefully trying to avoid the bodies. Those who killed all these innocent people were going to pay! First, he needed to find who was behind this massacre. He could probably find some answers at the town, fifteen hours of walk to the south.
Looking one last time back, he then headed to the town, holding tightly his sword at his side.
Angrily, Doubar punched the man that gave him a kick on his side. Where the hell did they all came from? One minute ago, he was enjoying his drink and the next, he found himself in the middle of a fight. The merchant’s men had all come to fight and only a few of them were still standing.
Growling, Doubar knocked another man out and searched the crowd for his little brother. He felt relief when he saw him not far away, sword fighting two men, a blond woman standing behind him. Doubar then looked for Bryn and saw her struggling against four guards. He immediately started running toward her to help when he felt something hitting him hard on the back of his head. As he felt, the last thing he saw before the darkness wrapped him was the guards fighting Bryn disarming her.
If only they hadn’t come to his damn party.
*~*
Bryn slowly opened her eyes, groaning. The first thing she noticed was that she wasn’t in the same room as before, but she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. The two guards from earlier stood one on each side of the Pasha, looking menacing. The Pasha had his arms crossed on his chest, a smile on his lips that Bryn didn’t like. Sinbad was next to her and seemed to have been awaken for awhile now.
“Awake at last. I was starting to think I hit you too hard,” The Pasha chuckled.
“What are we doing here?” Sinbad asked calmly.
“It’s simple. For one hour, you two are going to be the toys of my pet, Lin. He doesn’t eat humans, but he likes playing with them. It has been awhile since he had the chance to play.”
Bryn stood up and looked at the Pasha, anger and hate in her eyes. “No. You can forget it. We are not-“
The man on the right of the Pasha moved so fast that neither Bryn nor Sinbad saw him move. The next moment, Bryn was keeling on the floor, wincing in pain. Sinbad, while stepping closer to her, noticed the long whip in the hand of the guard who was now wearing a satisfied smile on his lips. He narrowed his eyes. “That was not necessary,” he said, his voice calm, but he was far from feeling this way.
The Pasha smirked. “Maybe not. But I enjoy causing pain, any kind of pain. The game just started, and it will get more interesting for me and more painful for you of course.” He waved his hand and his guards moved in action. The first one dragged Bryn, still on her knees, toward the door in the back of the room, while the other pushed Sinbad in the same direction.
Opening the door, the guards threw them in the other room and immediately re-closed the door. The Pasha’s voice could still be heard behind the closed door. “Enjoy your time with my pet. An hour can seem so short…” And his laughter…
Sinbad clenched his fists and was about to kick the door to see if it would break down when he heard a curse coming from Bryn. It stopped him. He rarely heard Bryn cursing. He looked at her. She was holding her stomach and her face was twisted in pain, but her eyes still burned with anger. “Are you alright?”
Bryn glanced up at him and removed her hand from her stomach. She fixed the blood dripping on the floor, like drops of rain. The wound wasn’t too deep, so it would heal with time, but it still hurt. But she pushed the pain deep in her mind and raised up to meet Sinbad’s eyes. “I’ll be fine.” She looked around their new surroundings for the next hour. There were in a circular room and statues of demons were engraved in the walls of rock. She shivered. “What now?”
Sinbad shrugged, not sure what to answer. “We try to enjoy Lin’s company as much as possible. It would help if we had our sword…Think you can work a little magic?”
Bryn looked around, trying to find where Lin could be hidden. “I can try, but I can’t promise anything. I wasn’t able to communicate with Dermott earlier. My mind is too weak. But I’ll still try. About this Lin pet…what do you think it looks like?”
“I’m trying not to think about that.”
“That makes me feel so much better,” Bryn mumbled, a small smile appearing on her lips. Even in the worst situation possible, Sinbad always managed to bring a smile to her face. Although she doubted it would stay long on her face.
A cringing sound made them both jump in surprise. Just in front of them, the wall was opening slowly. Bryn, without noticing it, got closer to Sinbad while trying to see what was on the other side of the wall, without much success. It was too dark. “So what’s the plan?”
“I distract Lin while you try some magic tricks. Sounds good?”
“Not really, but I guess we don’t have the choice. I just hope I’ll be able to do something.”
Sinbad took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. “You’ll do it, I’m sure of it.”
*~*
The Pasha was comfortably seated in his chair when his guards brought the scientist to him. He smiled. “Ah, you arrived just in time for the show.” He showed him the carpet on the floor. “Please sit.”
Firouz, deciding it was best to do what he asked for the time being, sat on the carpet, facing the Pasha and remained silent, although he had so many questions to ask.
One of the Pasha’s personal bodyguards brought in front of him a bowl of water. The Pasha clapped his hands and in the bowl suddenly appeared the images of Sinbad and Bryn. Firouz gasped and almost gripped the bowl with his hands, but stopped himself in time. No need to get the Pasha angry. “What’s going on?”
“Your two friends are going to be the playmate of my pet Lin for the next hour because you so gallantly refused to build me a Ruby-Beamer. After this hour, if you still refuse to build me one, your friends will remain with my pet. If you accept, they will go back to their cell. Fun game, isn’t it?”
Firouz gulped as he watched Sinbad attacking a huge lizard that stood on two feet. The lizard, Lin his name is it seemed, pushed him away with a clawed hand and Sinbad went flying into the wall. It then turned its attention to Bryn, eyes closed, who seemed to be concentrating on calling her magic. But before she could do a thing, the lizard swung its tail and sent her crashing on the floor, not far from Sinbad. Firouz clenched his fists. “I’ll build the Ruby-Beamer, I’ll do it. Just get them out.”
The Pasha laughed. “In an hour. That is the price your friends have to pay for your negative answer to me.”
Firouz silently cursed and could do nothing, but watch as the giant lizard played and his friends suffered.
*~*
Rongar stood in front of a huge mansion. He finally found it. He felt breathless, but he finally found it. He hoped it wasn’t too late. He searched around for a way to get in. The main door didn’t seem to be guarded from the outside, but Rongar didn’t want to take any chances. He wasn’t feeling good enough to fight a horde of guards by himself.
Circling around the mansion, Rongar noticed a door on the side, near the back. He smiled. The perfect way in. His sword in hand, he carefully opened the door and took a look inside. No one in view. Good. Now he just needed to find where his friends where. At the end of the room he entered in, there was a stairway leading down.
Taking a deep breath, Rongar decided it was a good place to start looking. And so, he went down.
*~*
“Bryn.”
That was her name. Someone was calling her. Sounded so far away. Far away in the dark.
“Bryn.”
Again her name. Closer this time. She wanted to answer, to tell the person calling her to stop because she didn’t want to wake up. ‘Let me sleep.’
“Bryn!”
Much louder. And something touching her cheek. Feather? Blood? She couldn’t tell. Did she want to know? No. Maybe. A little. Tiredly, she blinked and opened her eyes. A wave of pain hit her as soon as she opened her eyes and she groaned. But the pain seemed to vanish as she looked in the blue eyes of Sinbad.
“Finally. I was starting to think you were never going to wake up,” Sinbad said, using her line from earlier.
The other day? Earlier that day? She couldn’t tell, but she still smiled. Or at least, she tried to smile. “Not a chance.”
Sinbad smiled. “Do you think you can sit?”
Bryn nodded. “I think I can, if you’ll help me.” She managed not to scream while Sinbad helped her to sit, her back leaning against the wall. When her vision stopped to be blurry, she looked at him. “You don’t look so good.” His forehead, which was already covered with dry blood before was now covered with more blood. He had a huge bruise on his left cheek that was going to turn black soon. He was holding his side and Bryn could see it hurt to breathe.
“You should see yourself. I think I look better than you do,” Sinbad joked, but he turned serious. “That damn pet really played with us…I felt like a toy…”
“Yes,” Bryn whispered. “I wasn’t able to do any magic, I’m sorry. Maybe that would have helped.”
Sinbad shook his head. “It’s not your fault. We were both already weak when we faced it. Even if I had my sword I don’t think I would have been able to beat it.”
“I never want to return there again,” Bryn then said, still in a whisper. “But I don’t see how we can get out of here. I can barely stand up.” There was a moment of silence. Sinbad seemed to be in deep thought. Bryn wanted to ask him why he had been acting so distant with her the few days before they arrived on this island, but she felt it wasn’t the right moment to ask. They needed to find a way out.
Bryn was about to propose something when they heard noises coming from outside the room they were in. Bryn gulped. Was he back already? Sinbad must had the same thought. He started to stand up, ignoring his body screaming in pain. They then heard the sound of the key and the door opened. A figure then appeared.
“Rongar!” Sinbad said in a breath, his body relaxing.
Bryn felt the tears coming to her eyes. Never she had been happier to see her silent friend. Sinbad helped her up and she had to lean against him to be able to stay up. They walked to Rongar who smiled, happy to see them.
“We have to get out of here. Is the exit far?”
Rongar shook his head in negation. He pointed the stairs, telling them in signs that the door was near the stairway.
“Wait!” Bryn suddenly said as they were making their way to the stairs. “Firouz…he’s still here. We have to help him. The Pasha wants him to build something called a Ruby…Ruby something…”
“The Ruby-Beamer,” Sinbad said. “It’s an invention Firouz once build. He didn’t mean to build it as a weapon, but someone who saw his invention wanted to use it as one. The Pasha probably heard about it and wants it.”
Bryn looked at Rongar. “Do you have any idea where Firouz could be?”
Rongar remained immobile a moment before nodding slowly. He motioned them to follow him. He hoped his feeling was right. He noticed another door on his way to Bryn and Sinbad. His instincts were telling him to check there. They helped him finding Sinbad and Bryn, so he would listen to them once more.
*~*
Firouz sighed as he observed the plan for the Ruby-Beamer. It didn’t take him much time to draw it, since he remembered pretty much how to build it. He never thought he would build it again.
He stopped working for a moment and closed his eyes. He should have agreed the first time the Pasha proposed him…no, ordered him to build the Ruby-Beamer. Because he refused, Sinbad and Bryn were badly injured. The way the big lizard played with them…Firouz shivered just remembering about. Those images would haunt his dreams for many nights.
Sighing, he got back to work. He would finish to build it, so the Pasha could leave his friends alone. He didn’t have high hopes about their future when the Ruby-Beamer would be finished, but Firouz couldn’t stand to see his friends tortured because of him.
The Pasha entered the room at that moment and smiled at Firouz’s progress. “Very well. I knew the little show would motivate you. Keep working hard. And don’t forget to-“ The Pasha made a surprised sound.
Curious, Firouz turned to look what made the Pasha gasp and he noticed three persons standing in the doorway, angry expressions on their faces. Firouz smiled.
The Pasha soon removed all surprised from his face and scowled. “I will not be interrupted by you. You have no chances against my guards.”
“We’ll see,” Sinbad simply answered. On their way, they picked up their own weapon, so Sinbad threw Firouz’s sword at him.
Firouz caught it easily and ran toward his friends, ready to face the Pasha’s guards. A door at their left opened and a dozen of guards came running in the room. The four of them got ready, although Bryn seemed to have trouble staying on her feet. Sinbad looked a little better, although not much. And that was his fault. He wanted to apologize, but that could wait later.
The guards charged and Rongar ran to fight with the first three. Being the one in the best shape out of the three, he felt it was his duty to fight the most of them. Firouz, with his few broken rips, still started to fight two of them, not caring about the pain. He just hoped no one would kick him there. Sinbad took care of the two guards who blocked his way to the Pasha.
Bryn went straight for one guard, looking at him in the eyes, anger burning. She forgot all the pain and only concentrated on her sword and the man. Before he could move, Bryn plunged her sword through his heart. “That was for the whip,” she calmly said as he fell on the ground.
The battle continued and more guards fell down. The Pasha cursed, took the plan Firouz drew and made his way toward the main door.
“Stop!” Sinbad shouted.
The Pasha turned toward them and smiled. “I’m leaving. The plan will be enough for me to build the Ruby-Beamer.”
“You knew we were going to be at that merchant’s party, didn’t you? That’s why you attacked…and killed so many innocents,” Sinbad continued.
“That’s right, captain. I don’t care much for those fools who died. I had nothing against them, they merely stood in my men’s way.”
“One last question. Where’s Doubar?”
“I don’t know anyone with that name. If it was a friend of yours, then he is probably death. My men were told to bring back Sinbad and his crew and they brought back the four of you.” The Pasha shrugged. “Very sorry. I will be on my way now. I hope you enjoyed your stay in my humble mansion.”
Bryn made a step toward him to stop him from leaving but someone beat her to it. Someone that came from behind the Pasha. He was taller than the Pasha so Bryn immediately recognized the face. “Doubar!”
Doubar knocked the Pasha unconscious and went to hug his brother. “I was sure I wouldn’t make it in time. I’m glad I came when I did.”
“I thought you might be dead,” Sinbad said, trying to control the emotion in his voice.
“They probably thought I was dead, but I was just unconscious. When I woke up, none of you were there and everyone else was dead. I went to the town, the inn keeper told me the way to this mansion and he lend me a horse.”
“A horse is good. I don’t think I’ll be able to walk the way to the town,” Bryn mumbled, feeling tired.
“The lady will get the horse!” Doubar announced, winking.
The five of them made their way out of this mansion. Some of them might never forget what happened, but none of them will ever go back to this place.
*~*
The next day, after a good night of sleep and a good breakfast, the Nomad crew was ready to leave. They were behind their schedule; they learned as they ate breakfast that it had been one week since the party. One hellish week for all of them, but for different reasons.
Bryn silently watched the small waves and her hand touched her stomach. It didn’t hurt as much, but Bryn was sure there were going to be scares left. She had bruises almost everywhere and her head still hurt.
She sighed. They left the pasha at the local jail, where the people would decide his fate. She hoped he would die slowly and painfully. Bryn knew she shouldn’t think that way, but she just couldn’t help it. Maybe with time this hate would go away, but right now, it was all she felt.
“What’s on your mind?”
Bryn glanced at Sinbad, who now stood next to her. She didn’t hear him approach, too lost in her thoughts. He seemed to be doing better. The wound on his forehead would completely heal in a week. Bryn was glad he had been there with her. If he hadn’t be, she didn’t know how she would have managed to make it. “Just thinking about what happened.”
“You should try to forget about it. It’s all in the past now. We can’t change what happened, but we can learn from it.”
Bryn frowned. “Learn what?”
“To never go to parties of people we don’t know.” He smiled.
Bryn laughed softly. She then stared at him seriously. “You think Firouz will stop feeling guilty? He apologized to me at least a dozen time yesterday and he hasn’t been his cheerful self this morning.”
Sinbad sighed and sat on the stairs. “With time, I think it’ll go away. All we can do is support him and show him he’s still a great friend.”
Bryn sat next to Sinbad and nodded. She didn’t want to know anymore why he acted distant with her before the party. It all seemed so far away and unimportant. They went through so much together this past week. Their friendship just got stronger. And maybe, one day, it would grow to something more. In time. Right now, she would enjoy having him near her, and the feeling of her hand in his.
*~*END*~*