Читать книгу Kingdom of Souls - Rena Barron - Страница 18

Every morning, I say a blessing for the missing children over the ancestor shrine. It’s been three days since my father left and the routine calms me. I clutch my charm from Imebyé while reciting the words. If I followed the Mulani tradition, I would make a doll from well-worn clothes. The Kes require a doll too, but one made of clay. The Litho tradition asks for a sacrifice, usually a chicken. The Zu perform a dance under the moonlight. I add an amulet of Kiva, the orisha of children, for good measure. I can’t trouble myself worrying about mixing two faiths. The tribal people honour one god, Heka. The Kingdom worships the orishas. Right now, whoever decides to answer my prayers will have my eternal devotion.

But without magic, I know the ritual is meaningless. Whatever inkling I might have of Heka’s gift, it isn’t worth much. What good is it to see magic in the night sky if you can’t touch it? I guess I should be grateful that my mind resists the influence of it, but I’m not. It isn’t enough to make a difference. I can’t believe I’m meant to hide in our villa and do nothing. If my fate is somehow tied to the green-eyed serpent – the demon – our paths will cross sooner or later. I should be doing something to prepare, to protect myself.

I miss my father. I need him here with me. I need him to tell me everything will be okay. The entire time he waited to board the ship for the Aloo Valley, I pushed down tears.

‘Don’t worry, Little Priestess,’ he said with a big smile. ‘I will be back before long.’

‘I don’t want you to leave,’ I begged, my voice raw. ‘What if something happens while you’re gone?’ What if the demon comes after me.

‘Rely on your mother.’ Oshhe squeezed my shoulder. ‘I know that she is difficult, but she loves you no less.’

I turned away, a bitter taste in my mouth. Difficult was putting it kindly.

My father gently tugged my chin until I faced him again. ‘She is not as invincible as she pretends to be; she hurts too. More than you know.’

I startle from the memory as Terra sweeps into my room for morning ablutions. She chats about the latest gossip from the market but avoids the topic of the missing children.

I skip my morning lessons with the scribes again to check on Kofi—and meet up with Rudjek in the East Market. He’s been skipping his private lessons too. Even with his griping that Kofi is a little con artist, Rudjek doesn’t hesitate to help with the watch. And I know that underneath the teasing, Kofi likes him too. I once came upon him defending both Rudjek and me to a group of older children. He had tears in his eyes when they told him that we were only his friends because we pitied him.

After I shooed the children away, he asked me if it was true. It hurt that he didn’t know the answer, but I understood. I told him the truth: I was his friend because, like him, I knew what it felt like to not quite fit in at home. And Rudjek was his friend because he thought that Kofi was brave and liked to hear his stories. That was true too.

Even with fear and so much uncertainty in Tamar, the market is thick with people. Smoke from the firepits chokes the air and makes my eyes water. Citizens argue with the grey-clad city guards about the missing children. People say the child snatcher is hiding in the underbelly of the city. No one is quite sure where, so they argue about that too. I push through the throng. When I come upon the place where Kofi and his father usually stake their booth, another merchant is there.

‘Can I interest you in a reading?’ A slight woman in a dirty shift steps into my path and thrusts a bowl in my face. The woman has strange pale eyes, and long, loose braids frame her dark skin. ‘For only three copper coins, I’ll tell your future.’

I give her an apologetic look and turn back to the merchant who shouldn’t be here. ‘Excuse me.’ I push to the front of the merchant’s line. Her patrons grumble and curse under their breath at me. ‘Where’s the regular fish merchant who sets up here?’