Seventh Courier

They bounded over broken trees and mangled bushes. The twilight made it incredibly hard to see but neither Roan nor Tada cared much about that. Panic fueled them as their flight through the woods was progressing at a reckless pace. Neither dared to look back at their pursuers. They didn’t need to. The heavy gait of the bendiveers could be heard as they stomped and jumped from fallen tree to fallen tree. The hunters were not far behind.

What previously took them several hours to traverse only took minutes now. However, the breakneck speed came at a cost. Roan was certain he had twisted his ankle and he could feel blood flowing down his arm from a puncture wound. Tada didn’t fare any better. Blood flowed out of his nose as he ran. His face had smacked a branch when they jumped off the bluff. It was certainly broken.

“Tada, look! The path! I can hear the water flowing in the canal! We’ll be able to run much faster there! Let’s go!”

They pushed themselves even harder and leaped over one last fallen tree. They landed hard on the solid soil of the worn old game trail. The instant his feet touched earth a glowing circle appeared underneath Tada. The air around him rippled as if being pulled down like a sheet off a clothesline and he was forced to his knees. A similar circle appeared underneath Roan as well but it shattered immediately and had no effect on him.

In a split second that seemed to stretch on for an eternity, Roan saw the bendiveers jump from the darkness of the woods and pounce on Tada. His cries were quickly muffled but one word could be heard with resounding clearness:

“Run.”

Roan took off immediately. His body was moving but he didn’t remember making a conscious decision to do so. And that command to run, was that really Tada? It sounded different and was as if it was coming from all around. He shook his head and tried to focus again on running with all his might. The bendiveers were gaining on him based on their heavy footsteps.

A bend to the right was coming up. After that it was a straight shot down hill back to the estate. Even though they were slaves, the laws in Arlen were clear. Harassing the slaves of another was strictly prohibited.

Okay, just have to make it down the hill! The master will surely do something about this and get Tada back! I can’t believe this is happening!

Roan rounded the corner to see two bendiveers reaching for him in mid-dive. Instinctively, he tried to jump over them but tripped on on of their heads and felt his upper body fling itself forward. Pain exploded from his ankle and his vision flashed white for a brief second.

He expected to hit the ground but to his amazement his forward momentum kept increasing. He wasn’t lowering at all! In fact, he looked up to see that he was flying over the path! His back muscles burned and ached as if being stretched to their limits. His speed was increasing and he could no longer hear the heavy feet of the bendiveers.

Wind whipped past him and amazement gave way to fear as the woods began to get sparser and the fields of the estate came into view. How do I land? What do I do? I’m going way too fast!

He twisted his body slightly to the left and then in turn he moved that way while careening towards the fields. Before he could try anything else he saw that the quartermaster’s hut approached fast. Try as he might, he wasn’t able to turn any more. The collision was imminent. He balled his body up as best he could and protected his head. With a loud crash, he hit the thatch roof of the hut. Pain, noise, and heat were all that he experienced for a brief moment and then…nothing…

—

“…Wake up…”

Roan didn’t feel anything. Everything was white. And the voice he now heard echoed as if in a large empty chamber made of stone. He couldn’t see or feel his body. However, he had enough sense to know he could speak.

“I’m awake. Who’s there?”

“You aren’t prepared to hear my name, Magician.”

“Magician? I’m not a Magician. I’m a slave. My name is…”

“Roan. Roan Kamikiri. Magician and Courier of the Seventh Comb.”

“Comb? Ah! That wooden comb I found in the grotto! What do you mean by courier?”

“Do not let them get it. You obeyed my voice and ran. Obey me once again. Do not let them get the comb. Great destruction will come if it is not returned to where it belongs!”

“Obeyed your voice? That was you? How did you make my body move on it’s own like that?”

“Because, you are a slave indeed. However, the man you call master is not your master. I am.”

“Who are you? What are you?”

“Did you not hear me? I am your master. No one may subjugate you but me. If you wish to be truly free. Bring me my comb. And I will rid you of your shackles.”

“I don’t understand!”

“You will in time. I’ll send you one of my other slaves. They will show you the way. Now, it is time to return you to your body. Begone…”

Feeling and color, pain and warmth, sound and the foul taste of blood flooded back into his senses. Roan’s consciousness slipped away.

—

“No, I didn’t see it personally but the bendiveers did pick up it’s scent.”

A pause filled the air as the man in a hooded earth toned cloak sat on a large root with his back against an old growth tree. A faint halo glowed around his hooded head.

“I thought that they had captured both of them…what? Yeah, there were two of them not just one. But they didn’t have it when we first saw them.”

Heavy bendiveer footsteps could be heard approaching along with the sound of something being dragged in the dirt.

“Rest easy, I’ll find it. The one who broke the seal must either be a naturally gifted magician or cursed beyond compare. Heaven forbid both. I don’t want to be reckless….what? Is that concern I hear? Didn’t know you cared! Hey, if you want, I have a fantastic vintage that would pair nicely with…okay okay! It was in jest! I swear! Relax, it’s only the fate of the world at stake.”

The bendiveers dropped Tada’s broken, bruised, and bleeding body in front of the hooded man. He mumbled something and the halo around his head faded. He jumped off the root that he was sitting on. His feet landed in front of Tada just as the slave was slowly sitting up on his knees.

“Hello there, let’s talk about that piece of worm-ridden scum that ran and left you behind.”