Chapter 18

Helena was beyond confused. One minute she had standing by the stone statue watching her handsome escort being led away by his friend. As she stood waiting for him to come back three people approached her, two men and one beautiful dark-skinned woman between them. Helena realized she was staring at them when the woman smiled at her and she immediately averted her eyes. The woman and her crew came to where she was standing beside the statue. Helena shuffled from foot to foot as she waited.

“Aren’t the sculptors of Eyrotia talented?” the woman said to Helena. Her voice was light and melodious like the voice of a singer and Helena immediately felt at ease with her. She turned to see the woman running her hands all over the sculpture in appreciation. When the woman smiled at Helena she smiled back.

“I was just saying the same to my companion,” Helena said to her with a wave of her hand towards where Demeus and Torlan had disappeared. The woman’s eyes travelled to where Helena was pointing but soon her eyes fastened on Helena’s wrist.

“Are you from here?” she asked.

“No,” Helena replied. She turned back towards the statue and rested her right shoulder on it.

“Oh, you must be a merchant’s daughter then,” the woman said. She extended her hand to Helena. “My name is Inga and these are my brothers,” she said indicating the men who stood at either side of her. None of them said a word but they inclined their heads to Helena in greeting and she did the same. “What is your name?”

“Helena. Are you a singer?”

The woman laughed. “A singer? Well, if that is what you call a poor woman who sings eulogies to people for a few scraps of coins then yes I’m a singer.” She cocked her head to the side and said, “Helena. What a beautiful name, right brothers?” The men nodded. Inga chuckled and sidled closer to Helena. “Do you know that of all the gods the only one who no one has claimed to see is the supreme god Demeus? Many have seen Oya, Torlan and many others but none have claimed to see Demeus.”

Helena didn’t know what to do with that information so she simply nodded and assumed an expression of interest. She looked back quickly to see if Torlan and her insufferable escort were coming back already but there was no sign of them. She sighed and made a mental note to kill him when he came back for her. The woman was saying something that she wasn’t listening to and those the woman seemed harmless and friendly something about her put Helena on edge. Maybe it was the men who stood silent behind Inga or maybe it was the fact that Inga’s smile was beginning to look strained. Either way, she found herself interrupting her as she tried to move away.

“I am so sorry Inga, I appreciate your coming to talk to me and tell me what I need to know about the gods of Eyrotia but I should look for my companion and get going now.”

She turned to leave and stopped short when she felt a small yet firm hand grab her wrist. It was Inga’s hand. The men beside her had moved closer, half trapping Helena in their midst. Helena looked around them frantically. No one was paying them any attention and with the way Inga was smiling anyone passing would have thought they were simply friends having a nice conversation.

“That’s a really nice bracelet you have there, Helena. Isn’t it brothers?”

“It is,” one of the men said. His voice was deep and hoarse and it brought fear to Helena’s heart as she realized what these people were.

For a few seconds, she considered taking off the bracelet and giving it to Inga to avoid trouble but she changed her mind, she loved the bracelet as much as she cared for the man who had gifted her with it, if only he would come now so he could do away with this people.

“What do you want?” she asked instead.

“This bracelet and any other jewelry you have.” Inga was no longer smiling. There was a deadly sinister look on her face as she held Helena’s hand more securely in hers. Helena looked down at where Inga held her, she thought about using her powers to blast these three thieves away from her but that would attract unnecessary attention and then she would have a much bigger problem to deal with. Or she could shout for help and draw attention to herself.

“Don’t even think about it,” one of the brothers spoke in a low tone beside her as she opened her mouth to scream. Then she felt the cold sharp tip of metal at her back and sweat began to form on her forehead. “Shout and I will pull your heart through your back, do you understand me?”

Helena rather loved having her heart beating in her chest so she nodded in the affirmative and closed her mouth.

“Good,” Inga said in approval. “Now come with us. Come like we are friends and take us to where you have hidden your other jewelry, we will simply take what we want and go back to our business. Don’t worry about your precious jewels, they’ll fetch us a fortune and your father would replenish your lost treasures. Now move.”

Helena’s feet stumbled but she caught herself and followed them. Inga was a very bold woman and Helena suspected she was the head of the gang, as they walked along the temple heading towards the door Inga smiled her charming smile and greeted people who passed by them. Helena glanced back over her shoulder once hoping to catch at least Torlan’s eyes but one of Inga’s brother’s pushed her head back to face the door.

And so they led her out of the door of the temple. Once outside Inga seized Helena’s hand tighter and half pulled and dragged her towards the opposite side of the temple square where there was an alley. Helena prayed silently in her heart that someone would see that she was being led away against her wish and come to her rescue.

Where was Ramus anyway?!

Demeus’ heart caught in his throat as he saw the hem of Helena’s gown disappear at the corner of another alley. Ignoring Torlan’s call for him to slow down he ran towards the alley and did his best to pursue Helena’s abductors through the tight space. His shoulders were almost too wide for the narrow space and many times he had to turn to use his side to push through the alley. But it only got narrower and narrower and the smell of the alley was beginning to irritate him, it smelled like death and human waste. The thought of those thieves dragging Helena through something as dirty as this made him see red so much that when he could barely pass the narrow alley anymore he placed both hands on opposite sides of the wall and was about to use his powers to push them when Torlan caught both of his hands in an iron grip.

“You will risk the chance of exposing yourself, you idiot!”

Instead, Torlan had led him in another direction which he assured Demeus would take them directly to where the thieves would be headed and sure enough as soon as they got to the opposite end of the alley the gang of thieves was just dragging Helena through it with knives in the hands of the two men dressed in black.

Helena’s head was bowed and she closed her eyes. She could save herself now that the alley was empty and no one was around to witness her use her powers against the thieves. She bunches her hands beside her and started to summon her powers when she felt a sudden push. She opened her eyes and saw that one of the men was on the floor on his back with someone on top of him, choking him.

“Ramus!” she cried out excited to see him.

Torlan on the other hand was beating the other man. The only one left was Inga and she was narrowing her eyes at both Demeus and Torlan. Helena twisted out of her grip and ran to Demeus to assist him with Inga’s brother. Demeus brought his head up momentarily distracted by her and the fact that she was alive. He started to say something to her but stopped and looked behind her where he saw Inga running towards her with her knife aimed at Helena’s back. Before he could react Helena was up swiftly and she deftly positioned her right shoulder under Inga’s arm and lifted her off the ground, over her head and onto the floor, breaking Inga’s hand in the process.

The brother who Torlan was beating escaped Torlan’s merciless hands, grabbed his sister and fled. Helena pulled Demeus up from the other brother and they watched him flee too. Before Helena could thank Torlan and Demeus for saving her she found herself pressed against Demeus’ chest as he hugged her tight.