A Bird for a Heart. EPISODE FIVE: Power and Innocence

Part Fourteen
A Demon’s Bargain

“Girl,” said the Muck Witch, “I beg you not to listen to this beast.”

Tula glanced back at the two of them, the broken woman on the ground with her hair full of smoke and the demon hovering over her like a person-shaped hole in the fabric of the world.

“I crackle with power, Tula Petek.” spoke Kokaibel in that dire voice of his, a voice which sounded of crying infants, roaring flames, and swarms of insects shaped into syllables. “Say the word and I will show you what I can do. Unleash me and I will be yours to serve.”

Tula gazed upon the imploring eyes of the Witch and the dagger smile of the demon. She sensed the dangerous raw power of the inhuman thing, but power was exactly what she needed. The world literally burned around her as she stood weak, and vulnerable. The end, whatever that meant, was coming. If making a deal with this thing that should not be could make things whole and right again would that not be worth any risk?

“Dear. Please. Understand.” said the Witch. “Kokaibel will never let you free once you accept his aid. He grants desires at first but he twists wishes and he will spin you around until you are his slave.”

Tula turned toward the burning city. The vermillion glow of the flames had dimmed, but billowing grey smoke still rose into the night sky. Tula had never been to Aurelia, but heard of its wonders. Kara Lys was a much smaller city and she had lived near it her entire life. Whenever she had free time after working in the market she explored the streets and alleys. Every outing revealed new sights. Aurelia was legendary for its splendor. Travellers spoke of it as tenfold the grandness of Kara Lys. Yet now that golden city lay destroyed in the distance. Every moment that passed a home or shop burned to the ground, gone forever. She would never see the beauty of this city. No one would unless this devastation ended now.

What power could this demon actually have? She thought. Can he do anything to help this situation? Tula decided to test him, to give Kokaibel a harmless task and see if it works.

“Kokaibel,” the Girl with a Bird for a Heart said, her voice cracking just a little, “I accept your offer of assistance. As a show of good faith I request that you heal my companion. Use your power to make the Witch’s leg whole and right once more.”

“As you wish.” spoke the demon.

Maegda’s eyes and mouth opened wide in horror. Before she formed a single word, the shadow-being fell upon her.

Kokaibel wrapped around the Witch like a cloak. Maegda tried to move, but he enveloped her as she struggled. Tula stepped forward, not knowing what to say or do. As she approached, the shadow lifted.

The Muck Witch sat with her knees up and her face in her hands, the splint Tula had applied nowhere to be seen.

“It is done.” said the demon.

Tula examined the Witch. The odd swelling was gone without so much as a red mark on her leg.

“Please rise!” said Tula joyously, “You are well!”

Maegda lifted her face at Tula. The Witch’s eyes narrowed and her nose drew up in disgust.

Tula took a step back at that look. “I had him heal you.” she said meekly, “Your leg is mended. What harm can be in that?”

“You ignorant.” said the Witch.

“You stupid.”

“You spoiled.”

“Self centered.”

“Willful.”

“CHILD!”

“You have sealed my doom. For years I kept him locked away. For years I had his power in a bottle.I could have used it. I could have drank him like wine and used this demon’s might to reshape the world as I saw fit! I could have made my will the law! I have lost in my life more than you will ever know. I could have fixed so many wrongs...challenged DEATH! But I resisted.”

Kokaibel stood silently behind Maegda as she ranted, with that jagged smile somehow apparent on his unseeable face.

A hot tear slid down Tula’s cheek as the Witch continued to berate her.

“For years I held that demon in check! I held myself in check. Not once did I allow myself to accept his promises of power because I knew. I knew if I took that power for myself it would be my undoing. And now here I am. Tainted. Touched by his dark influence. His unholy might flows in my veins. I can feel it. My pain is gone. My body is healed, but I am as good as dead.”

“It’s just a leg...” began Tula.

“It was everything.” said the Witch, “You let him in. No...I let him in, but you...you opened the door. You do not understand. You don’t feel it. The seal has been broken. Now that I have tasted it there is no way I can resist taking more.”

“The city is burning!” Tula said, “The world is burning. We need to help who we can, not stand here. If this demon can help save lives, I don’t care what the cost is. My own life is already forfeit. I have seen what power he has. Down there in Aurelia there must be many who require our aid.”

Maegda stood gracefully. She turned away from Kokaibel and simply said, “No.”

“No?” spat Tula. “What do you mean?”

She paused for a heartbeat before changing her mind and said, “On second thought. I don’t care what you mean. I don’t need you.”

Tula lumbered down the hill.

“I’m going home.” said Maegda as she walked back toward the swamp. “Perhaps with distance and time I can resist the seeds this demon has planted. Believe me, Tula Petek. No good will come of trusting Kokaibel.”

The witch returned to the remains of her hut.

Tula got to the bottom of the hill and turned to look back up the slope.

“Demon,” she said up at Kokaibel, “are you coming or not?”

Part Fifteen - Some Old Friends

Having no other plan in mind, the boy followed slowly behind Enin. Most of the refugees headed roughly the same direction, though there seemed no particular reason for it. A few miles in the distance sat the forest, marking the horizon. Perhaps they hoped the trees would offer shelter for the evening.
The Boy reckoned that at a gallop he could reach the edge of the woods within the hour. Yet Enin maintained a steady trotting pace.

After several minutes he made his way nearly alongside the sorcerer. They traveled silently together for a while.

The Boy saw some figures ahead on the road, two older boys standing beside a prone paksi.

The Boy raced ahead on his mount to greet the travellers.

“Ho there!” he said, “Is your beast injured?”

One of the older lads looked up and the boy recognized him as Darik. Darik had been a cruel and frequent tormentor of the boy for several years on the streets of Aurelia, but now he simply looked weak and frightened.

“We were hoping to get out to the country. Away from this hellstorm, The two of us, Naveed and I.” said Darik, not seeming to recognize the Boy. “We...borrowed a paksi and galloped as fast as we could. The stupid thing fell to the ground and now it won’t budge.”

“You’ve probably exhausted the poor thing.” the Boy said. “That bird was never meant to carry two riders. Certainly not at a vigorous pace.”

A tear streaked down Darik’s soot-stained face.

“Hop on.” said the Boy. “Our paksi are larger and much stronger than the one you have. As long as we do not work them too hard, they should maintain their strength.”

Enin trotted up beside them. “Are these friends of yours, Boy?”

The Boy looked at Darik and Naveed. He knew them both. Naveed was a round-faced boy of perhaps sixteen years. He barely spoke and almost certainly could not read. Darik was taller and broad-shouldered with straight dark hair and tan skin. Many of the girls called him handsome and he never lacked for their affection in spite of his callous nature.

Though they shared years of acquaintance Darik’s face showed no sign of recognition.

“They are strangers to me.” lied the Boy, barely concealing the venom in his voice. He worried that had he told the truth, Enin would realize how much he hated the older lads.
He suspected the sorcerer would refuse them aid if he learned how atrocious Darik and Naveed had been.

“Then tarry no longer.” Enin said, “We have matters to attend to beyond the forest.”

“But they’re going the same way!” said the Boy.

“They would needlessly slow us down,” said the sorcerer. “Besides, there is no point in them running. Soon there will be nothing to run from. Nothing to run to. The world is ending.”

“If you choose not to help them, then I will follow you no longer.” the Boy said.

“Follow me.” said Enin. “Do not follow me. It is all the same. I have no need for you, Boy. I just do not desire to end this life alone. But if you would rather sit with these ruffians on the side of the road or tend to their ailing beast as the world burns, I will not stop you.” With that he urged his mount onward down the road.

“What did the old man mean?” said Darik. “He said the world is ending. Did he mean that? Is he insane? I half believe him. Never saw no fire fall from the sky like this. Me Nan did once, though. Durin’ the war she said. The enemy threw burning barrels of pitch into the city. It nearly burned the whole town to the ground.”

“We aren’t at war.” the Boy said.

“Then what was it then?” Darik said, “You don’t know nothing about no wars. You don’t know if the king were to be at war with another king.”

The Boy looked at Darik and said, “We don’t have a king. Aurelia has never had a king. Ever. It’s a free city run by a council of merchants.”

“How you know that?” spoke Naveed for the first time.

“I read it in a book.” the Boy said. “Reading is good for you.”

“Oh yeah?” said Darik. “You think you’re real smart, eh?”

The Boy did not like the look in Darik’s eye. He’d seen it many times before. There was something about the cruel and stupid that made them become infinitely crueler when you reminded them of how stupid they were.

Darik grabbed at the Boy’s leg.

“You know what?” Darik said, “I’m taking that mount for myself. You don’t deserve it. You don’t deserve shit!”

“Let go!” said the Boy.

“Leggo!” retorted Naveed in a mocking tone.

Darik grasped hold of the Boy’s leg and tried to pull him off the paksi. The Boy gripped the reins, but Darik was strong and nearly had him.

“Give a hand, you donkey!” said Darik to Naveed.

The round-faced lad galumphed over and attempted to grab hold of the Boy’s arm. He caught only a bit of sleeve and pulled.
“Stop it!” The Boy said “This is my paksi. I’m not letting you take it.”

“I remember you now.” said Darik. “You’re that little turd who used to run with Stik and Paol down on Butcher Street, ain’t you? You were always a bit of trouble. Never listened. Always mouthing off to your betters. Yeah. I know you.”

A flood of memories filled the Boy’s head. He hadn’t thought of Stik and Paol in a long time. They were tough lads, not much better than Darik and Naveed, really. The only difference was that they picked on other kids instead of him. Eventually they ran afoul of a real gang and were found in an alley with their throats slit. That was when Saiku Lin found the Boy and took him in.

“Hey ‘Veed,” Darik said to his friend, “remember this waste? I used to box his ears for fun.”

The Boy twisted the reins in an attempt to keep his grip. The massive bird began to twist and shake its heavy head.

Naveed looked up at the Boy’s face and a dim light of recognition appeared in his eyes.

“Oh yeah.” he said, “It’s-”

CRACK!

The paksi spun its thick neck around and hit him square in the jaw. In a flash the lad fell to the ground.

In shock Darik let go of the Boy, leaving him half dangling off the giant bird.

“Yah!” yelled the Boy as he spurred his paksi onward. The bird took off into the night with the Boy nearly falling from his perch.

Darik ran after him but could never hope to catch up with the long legged mount.



Part Sixteen - A Deal Declined

“Child.” said Kokaibel. “Do you think I am some hound that will follow because you command it?”

“I don’t care what you are.” said Tula, “You can follow or not. But you will not stop me from doing what I choose.”

“And what do you think you are doing?”

Tula scanned the horizon. A dark wooded forest stood between the edge of the hill and the burning city. Above the trees spread a glow that could have been mistaken for a glorious sunset. Billows of smoke drifted up from the source of the light. A narrow path shrouded in shadows cut through the middle of the forest.

“I’m going there.” she said, pointing along the path.

“It is dark,” he said, “There will be wolves. There may be worse.”

“What could possibly be worse than you?” she asked.

“Oh, my dear. Precious little in this green world is worse than I.” Kokaibel said, “However, being in my presence is no assurance of protection.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” he said, “for one, I have made no deal with you. I have offered, but thus far you have only requested a sample. I healed the Witch, but if you wish for more from me you must speak the words to unbind me. Release my power fully.”

“I recall what you told me.” Tula said to the demon. “I believe your words were, ‘Unleash me and I will be yours to serve’. Am I not mistaken?”

“I do NOT sound like that. But your words are correct.”

“Demon. I am young. I am weak, and I am in desperate fear for what is to come.”

Kokaibel’s ebon form shimmered like the twinkling of stars in the night sky.

“But,” Tula continued, “if I unbind you then you are mine?”

“Yes.”

“TO SERVE?”

“Yes.”

“I am just a simple girl. I have not travelled the world. Before this ordeal began I had never travelled far beyond Kara Lys. I am what they call a fishlass. My grandmother paid coin to a tutor so that I could read and do sums. She had been often cheated by men in the marketplace because she could do neither. She worked hard to ensure I would be as prepared for this world as she could make me.”

Kokaibel wrinkled his simultaneously grand and yet imperceptible nose at her, “Tula Petek. Why waste my time with this pointless biography?”
“My point, demon, is that I am not as foolish as you think I am.”

She began to walk toward the wood. It started nearly a hundred yards from the foot of the hill. The demon Kokaibel remained behind.

“How so?” he asked her.

Tula turned to face Kokiabel and walked backward away from him with her arms outstretched.

“You say you would be mine to serve. You think you are clever, but if I give you what you want I know that you will be the master and I the servant.”

“Would that be so bad?”

She turned back and trudged onward. Tula did not care if Kokaibel followed. She had gotten used to walking alone in the past several days. Her body had stopped feeling the ache of the road long ago. She had dropped her stick at some point in the swamp and only now noticed its absence. The first day on the road she ate nothing. Her grandmother told her the way to the Muck Witch and explained the rules for seeking her counsel. The old woman could not give her provisions because help from another on the journey was forbidden. The second day she found a vineyard and ate only the fruit that had fallen. On the third day she had run out of fruit, but was fortunate to find a lake full of fish. As the child of a fishing village she was able to snare a few without a line or net but it took much of the day. She roasted her catch on the side of the road and slept in the grass before heading out in the morning. She ate the remainder of the fish just before she began walking again. Not long after she encountered the Boy who had attempted to help her. That seemed so long ago.

Now the sky would be black if not for the glow of the burning city beyond the wood. Her stomach grumbled but there was no food coming any time soon.

“I sense your hunger.” said Kokaibel, his voice just over her shoulder. “I could help. You cannot travel forever without sustenance.”

Without looking at him, Tula said, “What do you want from me, demon? I have already said I will not grant you power over me.”

“Did you? And do I not already have power over you? I have your name.”

“What does that even mean? If having my name has given you power then what more do you seek? You have told me to unleash you, yet you do not seem to be bound. If it was your plan to harm me you could do so by now. I am alone. None could stop you. Yet here I stand in a dark and empty field with a demon who follows me...like a hound.”

“I see, my dear. Then it is finished. I shall leave you on your way.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Clearly you have discovered my game.” Kokaibel said. “Your name gives me a degree of power over you, yes. Well...not so much power as...influence...but still. For me to be truly unleashed you must ask willingly for my power. You must invite me. But since you have no such desire.

“I most certainly do NOT.”

“Well then, madam, Good evening to you. I wish you well on your journey through the forest. Say hello to the wolves for me.

Tula could see the demon attempting to manipulate her. After all, is that not what demons do best? But she was smarter than that. Was she not?

“Then, good evening to you, Kokaibel. May our paths never cross again.”

The girl with a bird for a heart walked alone into the wood.
 

A Bird for a Heart - Episode Four - Demon and Sorcerer

 

 Episode Four of A Bird for a Heart is up at abirdforaheart.blogspot.com You can listen to it right here using the handy dandy player up above ^. But the actual text is available at that link. 

You can also listen to both of my podcasts on the podcast player of your choice.

 

A Bird for a Heart, Episode Three, Void and Flame.

 

 As mentioned before, Nothing Is Wrong will be back in the fall. For the winter, please give my other podcast, A Bird for a Heart, a shot. 

Note- there is some janky-ness in the first tow episodes that I intend to fix, but the third episode is fine as will be every episode thereafter.