Chapter 6

  Neera heard the deep voice before she saw the person it belonged to. The voice was right next to her. It wasn’t raised in anger, but there was a simmering power and frustration that Neera wouldn’t like to be on the receiving end of. Neera felt her hand encapsulated by warmth. The warmth of another person. The hand was rough, filled with callouses. Neera tried to squeeze the hand, but there was no strength left in her. The pain in both her shoulder and the back of her head reminded her of what had happened. She had been attacked by an evil spirit, and barely escaped with her life. Slowly the world around her came into focus, as her mind became clearer. She was able to pick out some of Illiya’s words.

  ”How…survive…Should be dead.”

  Neera took a deep breath and tried to use her voice. She managed to make a pathetic sound, but Illiya quickly hushed her with a hand over her mouth.

  “Shh…hurt…careful…danger…sleep.”

  Neera didn’t need to be told twice. The mere effort of listening was enough to exhaust her completely and she fell back into a deep slumber.

  In her sleep she was haunted by visions of the dark cold room she had lived most of her life in. The walls closed around her, as evil spirits sprouted from the floor coming closer slowly. She woke up in cold sweat, panicked and ready to fight, but was immediately soothed by the hand running through her hair. Illiya was sitting by her beside the bed, looking as regal as ever. But her brows were furrowed and black bags hung under her eyes.

  “You look like shit.”

  Neera’s voice was raspy and her mouth felt so dry it was difficult to open it to talk. Illiya laughed quietly, and removed her hand from Neera’s hair, much to Neera’s discontent.

  “I could say the same to you.”

  “Yeah well I was almost killed what’s your excuse?”

  “I couldn’t trust anyone else to keep you safe. We might have killed all of the possessed people we could find, but the root of the problem still remains.”

  Neera blushed slightly, but decided to focus on the last part of the sentence more. Neera had probably misheard the protective edge in Illiya’s voice.

  “So there’s still not enough iron?”

  “No, the mother of the child told us the story of what’s happening. She felt bad about her husband attacking you, even if he was possessed.”

  Neera felt slightly nauseous. She had killed the kid’s dad. Bashed his head in with a rock. The child would probably never truly recover, and would most likely spend the rest of his life cursing Neera. The weight of his hate was already a heavy burden to carry.

  “The price of iron has skyrocketed recently, so parents have been stealing other people's iron to give to their babies. Hence all the evil spirits. ”

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  There was an ice cold undertone in Illiya’s soft voice. Her eyes were hard, and clearly looking beyond the small room they were in, like she was looking straight at the face of the culprit. Neera was afraid to ask. She felt that the knowledge might lead her down a road where she couldn’t turn back. But she had already cast her lot with Illiya, so rather she knew exactly what she was dealing with.

  “Why? Why is there not enough iron?”

  Illiya sighs, and she turns her gaze from the horizon back down to Neera’s beat up face. Illiya looks like she’s considering telling Neera. It takes her a few moments before she talks.

  “This is a conversation best had with Joell and Laya. You should all know what we’re dealing with.”

  Neera wasn’t truly satisfied with that answer, but Illiya’s tone made it clear that she wasn’t in the mood to discuss the topic right now, Instead Illiya changed the topic.

  ”What I really want to know is why you didn’t turn into an evil spirit when the possessed man bit your shoulder.”

  Neera shrugged, how would she know. But it was strange. Neera knew she was immune, but she had no idea that her immunity would stretch so far.

  ”But get some more rest, we can figure that out later when we get in touch with his holiness.”

  Neera swallowed. Part of her knew that she would be meeting important people when she got to the empire. She should be used to the fake glamour of royalty and power, but the royals she had met in her captivity were ants compared to the important people of the empire. Overwhelmed Neera leaned back into the pillow, closed her eyes and let exhaustion overtake her.

  It took almost a week before Neera could truly walk around again. She had spent a week going slowly insane, but Joell and Illiya had put her on bed rest until they determined that she was better. Being stuck inside the four walls felt a little like being back in the castle in the mountains, and Neera had to do everything in her power to remain calm. Luckily Layla spent most of her time entertaining Neera. Layla claimed Illiya had sent her away from the discussions with the villagers, saying that she lacked diplomatic discretion. Laya thought it was all nonsense, but the more Neera got to know Laya, the more she could see reason in Illiya’s words.

  Neera had barely seen Illiya during the week. Only at night would the woman visit Neera for a short while. The moon illuminated the woman, like it was hiding underneath her skin. The two of them would talk quietly about what had happened during the day and the progress with the villagers, and Neera found herself looking forward to these peaceful moments with Illiya.

  Finally Joell had given Neera the okay to go outside, and she almost ran out the door. But she suddenly came to a halt when she saw how changed the village had become in the short week she was inside. People were walking around. Some stopped to say hallo to each other. Children were playing in the street. The sound of chatter filled the air. Neera saw Illiya exit a house with an old dignified woman. They were in deep discussion, but stopped when a villager called out to them, waving and greeting them. The soldiers tents had been erected in the middle of the square and they were mingling with the villagers who passed them by. Neera walked up to Illiya and asked what had happened in a voice filled with curiosity.

  ”I’ve given them some money to buy iron. It’s a temporary measure, but it should be enough for now.”

  Illiya furrowed her brows, like she was unsatisfied that she couldn’t do more. Neera was moved by how much Illiya seemed to care about these people that she had never met before, or would meet again. It was so different from the nobility that Neera had met when she was a prisoner in the castle. Perhaps this was how someone with power ought to act. But Neera knew that Illiya made it look easy, and Neera respected her even more for it.

  “But we need to leave tomorrow at day break, we’ve already been delayed too much, and we will probably meet some more obstacles.”

  Neera heard the well hidden bitterness that creeped into Illiya’s voice at the last word. Neera wondered what obstacles would cause this powerful woman to worry.