Fire in the Heart : The Princess and the Bandit (9781629020112) Read online

Bijan’s voice rang out. “Over here!”

  Elijah turned around. Bijan stood in the alley across the street. Elijah immediately ran to him.

  “Well. How did it go?” asked Bijan, his voice shaking.

  With a grin, Elijah said, “I have something for you.” He then reached into his shirt and pulled out the portrait.

  Bijan took one glance and tears filled his eyes. He lifted his hand and gently traced the image.

  Grinning, Elijah said, “She is amazing, Bijan.”

  “Yes, she is,” he said as he started to sob.

  Elijah reached out as Bijan continued. “Thank you, Elijah, so much. I…I have my treasure…”

  “Are you going to be okay?” asked Elijah.

  He nodded. “Yes. If you don’t mind, I need some time alone.”

  “Of course. I took a bar of silver and the emerald,” replied Elijah.

  Bijan stared at the portrait in the moonlight as Elijah turned and walked away. He squeezed the bar and stone and smiled. I have to hide this in the hideout and then go meet Natalia! he thought.

  Chapter 13

  When he realized how fast he was moving, Elijah stopped and took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe his good fortune. He didn’t have to steal anything, yet in his hands were the impossible, especially for a bandit. He felt like the richest man in the world and couldn’t wait to deliver his priceless goods to Markis. The artist would surely make the most perfect gift, one fit for his princess, and then she would be his—forever! His chest felt as if it was ready to explode with excitement as his blood surged through his veins. After another deep breath, his head felt clearer. Then he was off to the hideout.

  The lights were flickering and caused the place to be filled with a warm glow. Home, he thought as he stood there, ready to enter. Everything seemed normal and Elijah breathed a sigh of relief just as Firas broke the silence. “Elijah! Where have you been?”

  Bayan looked up from his meal. “Elijah?” he said.

  Not saying a word, Rasha ran up and threw her arms around him.

  He felt his heart settle as they greeted him. “Hey, everyone,” he said. “What is going on here?”

  Firas frowned. “You tell us! We have not seen you in days! What have you been up to?”

  “Sorry! I have been a little busy, I suppose,” he replied, glancing toward the floor.

  “You suppose?” replied Bayan.

  Elijah pulled at his collar and tried to smile.

  Rasha, by his side, asked, “Have you seen the princess?” Her warm eyes peered into his.

  Immediately, Elijah smiled. “Yes, I have.”

  Eagerly, Rasha continued. “How is she? When is she coming back to see us?”

  “I am going to ask her tonight,” replied Elijah with newly found confidence. He started to laugh and then cut it short.

  Rasha tugged on his shirtsleeves. “Can I go with you?” she asked.

  “Um…well…” He didn’t know what to say, but he didn’t want to hurt her either.

  In a quick moment of sensitivity, Firas tried to rescue the situation. “That means no, Rasha.”

  Her drooping eyes made Elijah feel badly. “Maybe next time, Rasha,” he whispered with a smile.

  “Did you have a good day, Elijah?” asked Firas.

  Turning back toward the entrance, Elijah said, “Great! But I have to head out. I am already late!”

  Bayan’s next words stopped him cold. “Well. It was great seeing you. I guess we will see you next week.”

  Elijah fired back. “Nonsense! I will be back. I promise! I will see you all later!” Now, he was in even more of a hurry to leave. He felt the tension from his friends, but ignored it. He knew Natalia was waiting and his heart was throbbing in his throat as he pictured her in the garden—alone. Just as he reached the door, Isabelle walked in. “Hi!” he said as she passed by, but she didn’t say a word. Elijah hesitated, but just shrugged before he stepped outside. Once on the rooftop, Elijah made his way toward the palace, bounding over the rooftops faster than he had ever gone before. Birds fluttered from their roosts and bursting out in relentless squawks, but he wasn’t around long enough to matter. Close to the market, the fires flickered in the square, illuminating the festive acrobatics scene. Suddenly, two high rope flyers emerged above the roof line, but only for a split second as they made their way into each other’s hands. Elijah remembered the fun he and Natalia had when they first saw them. He felt the same excitement tonight when they came into view, but he wasn’t about to stop. Natalia was waiting on top of the house where they had met the night before. Everything was working out perfectly. He scaled the last wall, pulled himself over the edge, and there she was, the gentle breeze blowing in her hair. “I am so sorry I’m late! I had kind of a wild day,” he said.

  They quickly embraced, but Natalia remained quiet as he held her. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  She smiled. “Yes,” she whispered, turning her head away.

  As soon as she turned, he noticed a bruise on her cheek. “What happened! Who did this to you?”

  She lowered her head. “It’s nothing,” she said, voice shaking.

  Elijah raised his voice every so slightly. “Who did this to you, Natalia?”

  And then came her reply. “My father…”

  Suddenly, the sound of Dario’s voice and him slapping his daughter flashed through his mind. “This shouldn’t happen to you. I don’t care if he is the sultan! He shouldn’t do that to you!” he said as he clenched his fists and turned away.

  Natalia gently touched her hand to his chest, causing a great calm to come over him. Seconds later, he drew in a breath as he closed his eyes. “It’s okay. It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m with you,” she replied.

  Suddenly, Natalia giggled. “You would have been so proud of me,” she said.

  Elijah cocked his head. “Is that right?”

  Nodding, she continued. “Hmmm. I belched!”

  “Really?”

  Natalia’s voice raised in pitch. “Yes, I did! In front of everyone! The entire room was just shocked!” She laughed and continued, “You should have seen their faces! Oh, it was glorious!”

  Elijah joined her laughter. “Oh, that’s great! Oh, that’s just wonderful! Did the prince run away?” He quickly pulled her back into his arms.

  “Oh, he won’t be coming back!” she replied.

  Elijah shook his head as he stared into her eyes. “That’s great! You actually did it! You’re amazing! Oh, this is so great! When does the next prince come?”

  Suddenly, Natalia looked down. “That’s something I need to talk to you about.”

  Elijah felt the thumping in his chest intensify. “What is it?”

  Natalia’s voice started to crack. “I cannot do that same thing again. My father…he…he said horrible things to me after I did that.”

  Elijah blinked. “That’s why he hit you?”

  She slowly nodded.

  “I’m sorry, Natalia. I…”

  She lifted her finger to his lips. “Shhhh. It’s okay. I don’t regret a thing.” She dropped her hand and let her fingers follow the outline of his chest. “I felt so free in there, Elijah. I felt like I was my own person! I was like you!”

  Elijah smiled and ran his hand through her hair. “But I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

  Natalia let her eyes barely narrow. “It’s worth it,” she replied.

  They stood there for a moment and then she excitedly said, “I have something to show you!”

  Elijah chuckled. “What is it?” He wondered what she was thinking. What could she have to show me, he thought. He felt that thumping in his chest again.

  She whispered, “Follow me.” Pulling at his hand, she quickly led him toward the palace. She only let go wh
en they were climbing down from the rooftop. Soon, they reached the street across from the palace and stood for a moment, hand in hand.

  Breathing faster, Elijah formed a question. “So what do you want to do with this other prince?”

  Natalia threw her head back slightly and grinned. “I don’t know. I was hoping you would have some ideas?”

  “I might have one. Since you took care of the first, I’ll get the second,” gleamed Elijah. He watched her move before him, completely dazed by her beauty. He kept telling himself that he would do anything for her, anything at all.

  Natalia exclaimed, “Really!”

  “Of course!”

  Elijah felt the smoothness of her hand against his face. “Oh, you are so wonderful. You know that!” she said as he shied away.

  “You know I can’t stop thinking about you?” whispered Natalia in his ear.

  Elijah looked back into her eyes. “It’s good to see we are on the same page.”

  Natalia laughed. “I wish we could just see each other normally. And not having to do this ridiculous nighttime sneaking around nonsense.”

  “One day, it won’t be like this,” replied Elijah with a wink.

  “You promise?” asked Natalia.

  “I promise.”

  Elijah put his arm around her and pulled her closer. The palace just came into view as they turned the corner.

  Elijah glanced around. “Where are we going?”

  Natalia stopped suddenly and exclaimed, “Here we are!”

  Standing before a rock wall and trimmed bushes, Elijah asked, “What is it?”

  She giggled as she quickly clasped her hands together. “It’s a secret passage.”

  Elijah eyes grew wide. “What?”

  Natalia started poking around through the bushes against the wall. “Hmmmm. It was built to use in case we were overrun and had to evacuate. Come here. You see the rock formation?”

  “Yes.”

  “See how it’s different here?” she queried.

  “Yes.”

  She took a deep breath, “Well,” and pushed against the rock. Suddenly, a grinding sound gave way to a dim flood of light as the wall slowly formed a narrow opening.

  “That is incredible!” shouted Elijah.

  A huge smile appeared across Natalia’s face.

  “Why are you showing me this?” asked Elijah.

  Natalia replied. “Because I trust you. And if anything ever happened to me, you could come save me.”

  “Are you in danger?” Elijah pulled back.

  “No, but you never know,” she coyly replied.

  “Natalia. What is…” A sudden movement out of the corner of his eye forced Elijah to stop and turn toward a shadow by a tree. “Who?” he whispered.

  He held his finger to his mouth and grabbed Natalia’s arm just as the shadow disappeared from view.

  Elijah yelled, “Get inside!” and shoved her through the narrow opening. He immediately ran after the fleeting figure, down the main street, just outside the palace. Elijah could see the man’s pants and turban, but couldn’t close the distance fast enough for more. Before he knew it, they were both surrounded by a large crowd.

  Elijah jumped up to see over their heads, but felt horrible. Their white and black turbans all looked the same. As he stood there, his pulse slowed down slightly, allowing him to distinguish a random conversation. “You heard of the bandits roaming the town, haven’t you?” the man said. Elijah’s ears perked up.

  Another man joined in. “I have. They killed the weapon smith, and they killed two guards.”

  The first man replied, “A bad bunch they are. We need to be careful, a lot of young people are joining this brigade of thieves.”

  The other shook his head. “What a sad time we live in,” he said.

  Elijah interrupted. “Who runs these bandits?” he asked, causing both men to stop and stare.

  The first voice quickly answered. “We don’t know. They say the crusader in the prison does, but we do not know for sure. You can’t trust a crusader. Those animals should all be put to death.”

  Elijah didn’t smile. He thought about Aiken and wondered how he was and if this is who they were talking about.

  “The sultan better be careful. It would be a sad thing to lose this city due to a bunch of bandits,” whispered the second man, eyes narrowing.

  The first man quietly added, “May the gods protect us,” he said as he nodded to his friend.

  Elijah thought, I need to talk to Aiken, and then disappeared into the night.

  Chapter 14

  Elijah stared at the two men when he realized what he had just heard. He knew that he couldn’t let this treasure of knowledge go to waste and immediately headed toward the prison. Who was behind the weaponry killings that night? ran through his mind, over and over. And what about that man who was following Natalia? pounded in his brain. Maybe he was from the same group? he thought. I have to find out! he muttered as he turned down the main road toward the prison. He felt his blood start to boil as he considered Natalia’s safety and couldn’t believe how his situation with her had so turned. Those thoughts quickly left when he realized that even though he now had silver and an emerald, he didn’t have a clue as to what was her favorite animal. What would he have Markis make? he wondered as he squeezed together his sweaty palms. But now, that did not matter. The secret passage was a far greater problem, and he knew it was all his fault. If she wouldn’t have trusted him, this would never have happened. He couldn’t help but think of the possibility that someone was watching them all the time!

  He had never felt this kind of pressure before. Feeding his friends never felt like this, even with the guards chasing him. He held onto the hope that Aiken would have the answers he was looking for. The prison area was quiet, and the few passersby didn’t pay him any heed at all. They were all heading toward the city center and the bustle of acrobatic activity still going full swing. A string of men on camels slowly plodded past, and his next sight was the dirty brown stone of the prison. There, beside its formidable walls stood the devastated weapons shop, now completely dark. The low, prison windows, peered out at him, beckoning him closer. Stooping down, he was greeted with only thick, dark silence. The next cell one wasn’t empty though. A younger man was chained to the back wall.

  Suddenly, he jumped. “Looking for me?”

  A set of blue eyes stared at him from yet the next window over. “Aiken?” exclaimed Elijah.

  “Yes, yes. I am still in one piece,” came his half-hearted reply.

  Elijah knelt down, shaking slightly.

  Aiken calmly asked, “Yes?”

  “I need information. I believe you have it.” Elijah quickly glanced down the street.

  Aiken shrugged. “Well, that depends. What information are you looking for?” he replied.

  Elijah paused. “Who killed the weapons smith? Who killed the guards?” he finally blurted out.

  Arms crossed, Aiken stepped back into his protective shadows. “Now, why would I tell you that?”

  Elijah frowned. “Why wouldn’t you?” he asked.

  Aiken smiled. “Information is power. If you help me, I will help you,” he replied as he again closed in on the bars.

  But Elijah shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that, Aiken.”

  “Oh, it doesn’t? And how does it work?”

  Then Elijah leaned closer. “I need your help. Please! I just need to know who killed those men,” he pleaded.

  The moonlight struck against Aiken’s dirt-streaked face. “Well, I just need out of here. Help me get out, and I will tell you the name of the killer.”

  Elijah glanced to the ground. “How am I supposed to help you? I am just a bandit! There is no way I can get through the guards and free you. I am s
orry! If I could, trust me, I would!”

  Aiken clenched the bars. “When you want something bad enough, you can achieve whatever you set your mind to,” he said.

  Suddenly, Elijah raised his voice. “Many people’s lives are at stake! I need to find out who this is! Someone very dear to me is in trouble now! I need help! Please! Just give me the name!”

  But Aiken wouldn’t budge. “Sorry. Can’t help you,” he affirmed and started to turn. But then he stopped. “Karam,” he said.

  Elijah had stood up to walk away and abruptly stopped. Looking back, he didn’t say a word.

  Aiken repeated himself. “His name is Karam.”

  Elijah felt his blood rush to his head. “I knew it,” he exclaimed.

  Aiken asked, abruptly, “You know him?” Elijah could see his face clearly now.

  “Yes,” whispered Elijah sharply. “I can’t believe he has fallen this far!”

  “Then you know it’s best to stay away from him,” said Aiken, pointing at Elijah.

  Elijah grimaced. “He threatens the one I love! I will confront him!”

  Aiken’s stern voice echoed in Elijah’s ears. “Elijah!” he practically shouted. Aiken continued, “I know men like him. He is power hungry and he will do anything to achieve his goal, even if it means killing others,” he said, shaking his head.

  Elijah leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “I do not fear him.”

  Aiken whispered loudly, “Then do not fear him, but respect his ambitions, for if you don’t, it will kill you. He would kill you, Elijah, without a moment’s hesitation. You have been warned.”

  Elijah stared down into the opening and nodded. “Thanks, Aiken,” he replied.

  Aiken reached out his hand, fingers spread. “Could I now persuade you to help me? Remember! Whatever your heart desires, I know a way it can come true!” he repeated.

  Elijah knelt. “I have everything I could ask for,” he replied, grinning. “Thanks anyways, though. Take care, Aiken.”

  Aiken sighed as Elijah disappeared around the corner.

  On his way back to the hideout, his thoughts raced about how he must confront Karam! He refused to put Natalia in harm’s way! He felt his chest thump when the image of that shadow by the secret entrance played back in his mind. He suddenly screamed inside, Not on my clock!