Key & Locke: The Five Moons Series Read online

  “I see you’ve been busy, my friend.”

  “I wanted to surprise you, so you wouldn’t have more work once you got back.” She gave me a huge grin that showed some of her adult teeth growing in.

  I smiled, kneeling down to meet her eyes. “That’s my girl. Hum invited us over for dinner tonight. Now, I know that you really dislike Henry…”

  A slight pink appeared on her cheeks. “Stop teasing, Avira, that’s not nice.” She pouted and she looked away embarrassed.

  “You’re right, I’m sorry,” I chuckled. “Why don’t you grab the peaches and we’ll make our way over. I know that you’re dying to taste some of Mrs. and Mr. Bhund’s cooking instead of mine.”

  A laugh escaped Vi. “Maybe-e-e.”

  “You could try harder to appease me, missy.” I mused her hair and laughed. “Alright,” I straightened and stretched my arms above my head. “Grab your things and we’ll go.”

  Coming out of the tent, the sun began to slide down in the sky and the wind brought a cooler temperature into the camp. Families greeted us as we passed, everyone knew each other because we lived in such close quarters and traded supplies constantly.

  A couple minutes later, we approached the little area that Hum’s family built in front of their tent. A large fire blazed in the center with flat tree logs surrounding it to be used as seats.

  Hum and Henry, her six-year-old brother, and their parents gathered already, waiting for the pot that hung above the fire to finish cooking. The enticing scent of the lamb and onion soup in the pot drifted in the air and my stomach growled in return.

  Hum’s navy tent was slightly larger than ours with an added mattress inside and more belongings because of their bigger family.

  “Just in time girls,” said Danah, Hum and Henry’s mother. She grabbed some handmade clay bowls and ladled the soup into them. “Take a seat, make yourself at home.”

  “Thanks Mrs. Bhund, you’re too kind,” I said with a smile and patted her shoulder. Danah was shorter than me but with her curls, her beautiful hair gave her another inch or two to match my height. “You know we usually eat enough for five people in one meal.”

  “It’s a pleasure, honey. It’s all I can do with you looking after Hummie all day.”

  “Now, what do you mean by that?” Hummie replied indignantly. “It’s more like I’m watching Avira to make sure she doesn’t fall down a hole or something. Because that’s happened before.”

  “Can’t deny that,” I said sheepishly and wrapped my arm around Hummie’s waist. “She’s got my back.”

  “Alright, yes,” Cyper, their father, matter of factly stated in his deep voice. “Yes we all love each other, welcome Avira and Vi, and good to see you. Let’s eat.”

  Cyper pretended to be nonchalant but it only took a couple seconds for his warm personality to come through. He loved his family deeply and spoiled them rotten whenever possible. Hummie received her height from her dad and Cyper’s stocky build came from cutting down trees and physical labor. Although Hum was tall like Cyper, she resembled a younger version of Danah. Both mother and daughter had warm brown eyes, full lips, and high cheekbones.

  The Bhunds were forced from their lands by Agrestian soldiers. Originally farmers, the family lived a hardworking, humble life on the border of Agrestia and Ostan.

  Three years ago, they fled their small farm and crops due to the aggression and force of the King’s soldiers. All along the border, King Avyken ordered his troops to seize the land and send the families to the city in order to prepare defenses if the Ostans attacked. In reality, the soldiers pillaged, stole, and killed at their will, not caring for the Agrestian citizens at all. Fortunately, Cyper and Danah got word of the soldiers’ transgressions and close whereabouts, packed up what they could carry, and crossed into Osta to find Ostcamp.

  It always warmed my heart being in their company, and I knew that it had a positive impact on Vi too. We were practically adopted into their family.

  Vi shyly made her way over to the empty space next to Henry who waved at her and patted the empty seat. Henry was a cute, quiet child who cared deeply for animals. He was always petting horses or feeding the farm animals. Although he was a year younger than Vi, Henry could pass for an eight year old with his height. He inherited Cyper’s broad face and prominent chin.

  I plopped myself next to Hum and handed over the peaches. “These would be great for dessert.”

  “Oh, goodies! You know peaches are my favorite fruit, right?” Taking them, she gave them a desiring look, Hum could easily go through the whole basket if she wanted to.

  “Oh really? It’s not like you talk about them everyday…”

  “Oh, you shut your mouth,” she said with a chuckle. Hum turned back to her mother, peering into the pot. “Is the food ready? I’m starving.”

  By the end of dinner my belly was full of delicious food and sore from laughing so much. The fire crackled and hissed, not allowing us to forget its presence as it created a warm bubble in the cold night. I watched Vi do the same, happiness written on her face, and contentment soothed my mind looking at her enjoying herself.

  When dinner ended, we washed the plates and said our goodbyes, promising to see them all tomorrow.

  In order to catch the sunset, we jogged to the highest spot overlooking camp. I held Vi’s small hand as we climbed up the same hill I stood on earlier. Once we arrived at the top, we sat down and watched the sky burn with colors melding together: crimson, peach, gold, and more all fought for dominance.

  These were the moments where I could finally relax and not fret about our own predicaments.

  At night, the moons gave the sunset some competition. In a cycle of five weeks, the night sky offered an increasing number of moons. In the first week, one moon and by the fifth week, five moons glowed with a silver glitter. Because of our location in Osta, the five moons were spaced out evenly in a circle seemingly in the dead center of the sky. Each moon would gradually reveal itself until it was fully exposed by the end of the week, so the first few nights of the first week were practically pitch dark.

  “Woah.” Vi stared with her mouth gaping wide. “It’s so pretty.”

  “Just like you.” I used my hand to scrub the top of her head jokingly.

  “Avy.” She complained and smoothed out her hair.

  I played with the chain of my necklace and asked, “Are you happy here, Vi?” I don’t know where the question came from, but it popped out before I could contain it.

  She turned towards me with mouth agape and raised eyebrows. “What? Yes.” She counted on her fingers. “I have lots of friends, I get to live with you, everyone is really nice, and the sky is pretty. You’re number one of course.”

  Her toothy grin almost brought me to tears as if a weight lifted off of my shoulders. Sometimes, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing.

  “Love you, kiddo.” I leaned to rest my head on top of hers.

  “Love you too, Avy.”

  We sat like that for who knows how long before Vi jerked all of a sudden and pointed to the horizon.

  “Look, a rider is coming!”

  I focused my gaze to the western road and spotted a brown horse with a figure on its back, riding towards the edge of camp. A few sentries were positioned at each major entry point into the tent city, but most of them were still in the training process. There was a small army at camp, but it only consisted of newly trained farmers, merchants, and other exiled people from Agrestia.

  Young adults, once they reached the age of maturity, were allowed to apply to the program and enter a trial period. If they showed potential, their training continued and if not, they were told to find another profession or apprenticeship.

  The sentries on duty went to meet the stranger on their horses yet the sun was gone at this point, so there wasn’t enough light to see the details of the encounter. The protocol for a newcomer was to escort them to the Council for questioning, and they would either be accepted into the community or rejected and sent on their way.

  “Come on, we better go to bed now, Vi. It’s getting late and we have an early morning ahead of us.” I placed my palms on her shoulders and tried to steer her away. “We’ll find out who the rider was then.”

  “Fine, I guess.” Her eyebrows furrowed in disappointment.

  This girl’s curiosity is both a blessing and a curse.

  By the time we returned to our tent, there was a short man waiting outside, tapping his foot impatiently and nervously.

  “Pon?” I asked once I recognized his sharp nose and piercing and deep, dark eyes.

  Pon was the messenger of the Council and it was his responsibility to know the location of everyone’s tent in order to deliver messages to the people. He was a serious, older looking fellow so on occasion I’d have a good time teasing him, trying to get a smile out of serious countenance.

  “Finally,” he said exasperated. “Ms. Reti wants you to come and observe her because there’s a new injury.”

  Just when I was looking forward to some sleep.

  “Okay, I’ll follow you but first I have to drop Vi off at Hum’s tent so she won’t be alone.” I turned to my sister, realizing this changed her night too. “Vi, you okay sleeping over at the Bhund’s?”

  She nodded as her eyes shined in excitement of staying over at the Bhund’s. “Will you come back tonight or in the morning?”

  “Not sure because it depends on the seriousness of the injury.” I saw a flash of worry dart across her face. “But you’ll be fine and polite to Cyper and Danah.” She gave a slow nod in agreement, reminding me of her impressive maturity level. “Sorry this is such short notice. How about I give you a ride over on my back?”

  I crouched down with my back towards her, the bottom of my tun
ic spread across the ground. Someone could convince Vi to do anything if they offered to give her a ride on their back.

  Her face lit up. “Run! Avira! Run!” she yelled as she hopped on.

  “Pon, I’ll meet you there as quickly as I can,” I called over my back.

  I jogged towards the Bhunds and was immediately reminded of another time when I ran with Vi on my back two years ago. Between my training with Neik and lifting patients with Ms. Reti, my body was strong underneath the loose clothing.

  Best not to get lost in the past.

  Camp was quieting down for the night with fires sizzling themselves out. I watched the ground carefully to avoid tripping and soon the Bhund’s tent came into view. Quickly explaining the situation to Hummie who was still outside, pouring water over the fire, I left Vi with a kiss goodnight.

  Finally, I hurried towards the medical tent situated near the eastern entrance of the camp.

  When we first arrived, I chose to apprentice Ms. Reti, the woman in charge of the general health of the refugees, because it was the most useful skill to master for the future. If a person doesn’t show promise in an apprenticeship, they’re forced to attempt to try another profession. Somehow, Ms. Reti decided I met her standards and accepted me into her tutorship.

  In the past two years, I’ve encountered gashes from saws, burns from fires, fever and sickness, and many more ailments. And seeing the working power of Ms. Reti was inspiring.

  Her whole family practiced in the medical field for generations, so she was taught from a young age all the treatments for any types of disease or injury. Without even realizing it, my interest in the field grew, and I believe Ms. Reti noticed because she began to trust me to complete simple tasks rather than simply observing her. Her hard exterior was stern, but her comments and corrections were constructive and educational rather than condescending and annoyed.

  The medical tent was one of the largest in the whole camp, with around fifteen makeshift beds and three healers. Ms. Reti was the leader. There was only one other apprentice, Simon, and he was twenty-two years of age. A year older than me. He’s lived here longer, giving him priority to care for patients coming in.

  I grabbed the cloth covering the entrance and pushed it aside to walk in. Seeing no sign of Simon, I guessed he must not have been called in.

  Only two of the beds, pieces of wood with a large bag of straw on them, were occupied near the entrance and the patients slept, breathing deeply.

  No serious injuries here then.

  I looked further into the tent and spotted Ms. Reti’s small form tending to someone in the rear with her hands fluttering all over them.

  “Ms. Reti,” I called. “I’m here.”

  “Hurry now,” she responded with her thick Ostan accent without moving from her position. “We have a new patient, and he’s in bad shape. We may need to watch him during the night.”

  Scurrying to the back, I paused at the end of the bed and attempted to hide my reaction. The young man in front of me had deep gashes on almost every part of his body-both arms and legs, his torso, and then older scars patterned his body as well. He was either tortured or faced many opponents with weapons at once. This fella took up the whole length of the bed which meant he stood well over the average height of a man. Without his shirt, his muscles were on full display. It was only a matter of observation that this man worked in the labor force or part of an army.

  Ms. Reti was cutting his ruined trousers just below the knee for access to the cuts on his lower leg.

  “Snap out of it, Avira. Go grab a fresh bowl of water and some cloth. Oh, and the needle and some string.” Ms. Reti wrapped some cloth around the worst of the cuts and tied a tight knot, attempting to stop some of the blood flow.

  Nodding, I confirmed. “Got it.”

  The supplies were kept in a private room in the back which, like everything in these tents, was covered by a curtain for privacy. I rushed inside, gathered the needed supplies, and returned to Ms. Reti’s side. Lastly, I tied an apron around my waist so my clothes wouldn’t get blood on them.

  Learned that lesson the hard way.

  “We’re going to take care of the deepest injuries first and then we’ll focus on his fever,” Ms. Reti said as she studied the patient. “Give me a needle and take one yourself. I’ve already cleaned the cuts and needles.”

  This woman will never be caught unprepared.

  The patient’s body was slick with sweat and his breathing sounded short and rapid, so I hoped once we finished with the wounds, his body could focus on fighting the fever. The only factor helping him in that realm was a damp, cool cloth covering his forehead and it wasn’t making a significant difference.

  With the injuries cleaned, we worked on three gashes each, sewing the skin together and wrapping a new cloth around the wounds. The longest cut, half a foot at least, on his rib cage took the longest to stitch. I wondered what state the opponent—no, opponents—were in.

  He was either a horrible swordsman and his enemies walked away with hardly a scratch or this man faced multiple opponents and survived somehow.

  Once the major cuts were accounted for, it was time to wash the blood from my hands. I went to the wash bin by the supplies room. The sight of blood used to bother me but with the amount I’d seen at this point, I had the same reaction to it as if it were water.

  “We’ll take turns watching him during the night.” Ms. Reti came up to stand beside me, washing her hands as well. “Any preference for the first shift or second?” Grey strands streaked her light brown hair which she always wore in a low bun at the nape of her neck.

  “I’ll take the second shift, just in case something happens in the next couple hours. I’d probably have to wake you anyway if there was a problem.”

  “Suit yourself.” She shrugged as she scrubbed her hands. “Good job tonight. Your stitches are almost perfect,” she said as she wiped her hands dry on a clean part of her apron and then patted my shoulder.

  I hid a grin at the compliment because they didn’t come often.

  “Alright, wake me up when it’s my turn,” I said. “I’ll just sleep on the bed next to him.” I turned to do just that when I had another thought. “Do we know if the Council accepted him?”

  “Nothing,” Ms. Reti shrugged. “I’ve heard nothing. Go on now, it’ll be a long night.”

  Nodding, I grabbed a wool blanket from a pile in the supply room, and crawled into bed. A few seconds later, I knocked out.

  Chapter 3

  My dream was immediately forgotten and floated away from my memory as Ms. Reti’s hand shook my arm lightly to wake me.

  “Your shift, honey.” Rather than a term of endearment, Ms. Reti’s nickname for me came from the sheer amount of sweets I ate between shifts.

  I rubbed my eyes and grumbled a response. “Any updates?”

  “No, he’s still quite feverish but it seems to be going down. Change the wraps in a couple of hours.” Mrs. Reti grabbed my wrist to lead me to the wash bin. “They stopped bleeding through, but just to make sure. Wake me for any questions but also trust your judgment.”

  After I scrubbed my hands, she handed me a clean cloth.

  “You’ve been here long enough and you’re a quick learner, so you should know what to do.”

  “Okay,” I said with shaky confidence. “You rest up now. You’ve probably been up for a day straight at this point.”

  Ms. Reti’s exhausted form collapsed into the bed and snores sounded from her a minute later. The tent darkened at night, so candles offered some light at every locker next to each bed. I sat on the chair on the other side of the man’s bed and wished that I brought something to do. No question, I’d grow bored soon. I thought maybe I’d organize the supplies and check on the other patients. If memory served, the two other patients at the front were in for rashes.

  Hours passed as I scurried around the tent, working on different chores and switching bandages and the cloth on the patient’s forehead. His chest rose and fell less aggressively, and he didn’t seem to be drenched in as much sweat anymore. A good sign that the fever had the potential of breaking.

  Now that he seemed to be on the mend, I took a moment to study his features: the shapely mouth, long lashes, little slight on his nose from a previous break, the sharp jawline. With the dark hair and eyebrows too, he was striking. I laughed to myself, imagining Mrs. Bhund’s first reaction to him. Hummie would react the same even though she was seeing a girl at the moment.