After a while, when the children were all asleep, I finally stripped off my filthy bandages and clothes and sunk into the tub of tepid water, wincing as it enveloped all my stings and cuts. I was barely able to stifle a cry when I bathed my more severe injuries. Pulling away the bandages that had been stuck to my wounds had reopened them. They were worse than I originally thought.
My fingers were swollen and discolored and even thinking about bending my fingers hurt. The wound in my shoulder pulsed along with my heartbeat. I cupped water in my good hand and washed it as best I could, but I nearly passed out in doing so. I panted as the world around me spun, and I lay back against the tub, trying to will away the dizziness.
Cracking open an eye, I poked at my shoulder again and saw little red veins of infection spreading out from the wound. The skin around it looked like one of Kadam’s paper maps. Yellow seepage trickled down my arm. Where they’d ached dully before, my hand and shoulder now felt like they were on fire. I ducked beneath the water and used my good hand to smooth back my shaggy hair.
As I sat back in the tepid water, I felt the emotion of the past few weeks overwhelm me. How had I screwed up my mission so terribly? Ana had been abducted and abused by a monster. I had over a dozen young children depending on me, and the chances of saving all of us were slim at best. Even if we found a safe haven, I had no idea how to draw the adult Anamika from her young form, and I reasoned that returning to our time might not even be possible.
I needed an ample supply of luck, but the chasm between where I found myself now and the completion of a successful quest felt as vast as the cosmos, and I had no means to leap across the void. My thoughts drifted and I must have fallen asleep. I sloshed water over the brim of the tub as I jerked awake and saw the fire had died down and my fingers were wrinkled and tender.
Climbing out of the tub, I used my old shirt to dry my body and picked up the new tunic that had been left for me. The material was soft and comfortable and it fit my frame perfectly. Again, I wondered who our mysterious benefactor was and if they’d ever show themselves. When I was dressed, I sat down in front of the dying fire, leaned back against the wall, and cradled the phoenix egg in my lap, hoping it would give me more wisdom or show me what I was to do in my dreams.
I didn’t dream of where I needed to go or what I needed to do. Instead, I dreamt of Bodha, the city of light. Someone walked ahead of me though I couldn’t see the face. I knew it was a woman, though, because I heard her laugh. “Come, Sohan,” she said. “Come and let the trees heal you.”
She led me to a copse of fire trees, and one of them stretched down a branch to touch my cheek, then it moved to my shoulder and prodded my injury. I hissed and stepped back.
“No,” the woman said. “Trust the fire. It will cleanse the poison from your body.” When I hesitated, I felt a hand on mine, pulling me into the trees.
After I stood amid the trees and they lowered branches, wrapping them around my body, she tried to move away. “Don’t leave,” I said. “Please.”
The woman paused for just a moment and then returned to me. She slid her arms up my chest and around my neck and pressed her body against mine. I held on to her tightly, bearing her weight easily as the trees lifted us into the air. Warmth pulsed around me, burning me from the inside out. I cried out in pain but she stroked my hair and whispered in my ear that it would be over soon.
I buried my face in her neck and breathed in her scent—jasmine and roses—then wet her shoulder with tears that dried up on her skin that burned as hotly as my own. Eventually, the heat subsided and the trees slowly lowered us to the ground, but I held on to her. Letting her go would be unbearable. She stayed with me and we just clung tightly to one another, both of us finding solace and companionship.
When she finally pushed away, she touched my newly healed shoulder and smiled, and I was about to discover who she was when she shoved my shoulder again. My eyes snapped open and I realized it was morning and my young captain was trying to wake me up. “I’m awake,” I said just as he was about to jostle me again. I was about to tell him not to touch that shoulder when I realized it didn’t hurt.
I yanked at the neck of my tunic and peered at my shoulder. It was completely healed. I lifted my palm and then turned it to see the back, then flexed my fingers. They bent easily, and the only signs of my previous injuries were a few new scars. The truth stone lay next to my thigh and it pulsed with warmth. “Thank you,” I said to it quietly, putting my healthy hand on top.
Turning to the boy, I instructed him to make sure all the children ate and that the camels were watered. He immediately set about the task. While he did so, I picked up a mango and a piece of flatbread and headed over to Anamika. She sat up against the wall, her arms wrapped around her drawn-up legs. I took it as a good sign.
I sat down next to her and held out the food. “You must be hungry,” I said. She just looked at me warily. I tried to make my tone soothing. “Did you know,” I said, using my knife to cut sections of the mango, “that the tree this fruit came from grows four different kinds of mangoes? It’s quite remarkable. I’ll have to tell Sunil about it when we see him. Perhaps I will bring him a cutting.”
“Su…Sunil?” Her voice was scratchy as if she’d worn it out with crying or screaming. I tried not to wince.
Popping a piece of fruit in my mouth, I nodded. “It’s quite delicious,” I said. “Of course, I’ve only tried one of them so far. The others might not taste as good as they look. Here, try a piece.” I offered her a slice of mango and she took it hesitantly.
Not wanting to intimidate her, I concentrated on slicing another piece and eating it and was gratified when I glanced up and saw her nibbling on the edge, juice wetting her fingers.
“I’m feeling a bit full myself,” I said, shifting to get up. “Here, you take the knife and eat as much as you like while I have the others gather more for our trip.”
I handed her the rest of the mango and the knife. Her green eyes widened when I pressed the knife in her hand, and at first she stared at it like it was a snake, but then her jaw clenched as her fingers tightened around the hilt. She nodded and bit into the mango without using the knife at all.
Turning away, I ate a piece of flatbread as the children washed up and prepared to leave. The young boy came in from outside. “We found these bags,” he said, holding up one in each hand. “They were stacked up outside the cottage door.”
“Good.” I smiled. “See that you pack them with fruit, bread, and meat. Take everything.”
He nodded and set about his work.
A girl added, “And there were empty flagons near the well. We already filled them with water.”
“Wonderful. Let me know when everything is ready.”
It took the children less than ten minutes to gather everything. They laid the bags across the backs of the camels and hoisted themselves up, the older ones positioning the younger ones between them. When Anamika came out of the cottage, walking slowly toward us, I paused by my camel. “Pick a beast,” I said, trying to sound like I didn’t care where she rode.
I would have preferred she stay with me but I didn’t want to push her. She headed to the last camel, but it was crowded with five children clinging tightly to one another. Then she came back to mine. “Can I ride with you?” she asked.
“Hmm,” I rubbed my jaw as if considering. “I suppose. Do you take up much room? I’d hate to get pushed off the back.”
Her slight smile felt like a victory. “Not too much,” she said.
“Okay, we’ll give it a try.” I held out a hand, and she hesitated and looked from it to my face before finally placing her hand in mine. After she and I were settled, I clicked my tongue and the camel shifted awkwardly to its feet, giving a little cry of protest.