Legendary Stars

Part 3 Chapter 5

 The night was far from young. Tiber and Mika had been tied up for hours sitting in a tent far away from the rest of the Jungle Tribe. She feared their Chief would alert her tribe and send her back. She decided that she would rather die than face that fate. Struggling against the vines was no use. The man obviously had a powerful mastery of his Element to hold such a grip even when he was not physically present.

As Tiber thought of this, the tent's flap moved, and the man who entangled her walked in alone. He had a damp cloth in his hand. In one motion, he wiped the blue and green paint from the left side of his and then the right side. His teal eyes were piercing and gentle, both at the same. His skin was a deep brown shade, and his short wavy hair was several shades darker. He sat across the room away from her, "So, just what are you doing venturing into my territory?"

"It's a long and miserable story," Tiber's voice shook.

"Well, how about this: I will release a vine every twenty minutes?"

"The only thing I care about right now is not being sent back to my tribe."

"Do you fear for your life?"

Tiber nodded.

"Start talking," he demanded.

"I was working for Neptune, and a mission got really messed up. I captured the seer and made an honest mistake that almost killed her. My partner is also working for Neptune, and he betrayed me. He was fine with the seer dying, and I wanted to save her. We fought, and the girl freed herself and fought us. She was this powerful Storm, and we were no match for her. She knocked us out. I woke up, and several of my other tribesmen had been attacked too. My father, who is Chief, was Chief, held a council. I lied to everyone because I didn't want them to know I was with Neptune. But the crazy thing is that my partner lied too, but he mixed it with some truth. The whole problem fell on me, and I got locked up to await my punishment. I escaped to have a one-on-one with my father, but someone had killed him when I got there. He gave me one last message and told me to go. Then my partner walked in and blamed me for killing my father. The tribe believed him, and they shot my cat. We fell into the river, and we hid in the Jungle."

"Why can't you go back and tell them the truth? You must have at least one Moonsayer for them to determine that you lied and your partner didn't."

"We do, but they may kill me first because of my father's death, and I have no protection. The only thing I can do now is get the seer to clear my name," Tiber was frantic.

All of the vines that bound her were immediately released. "What? You believe me, just like that?"

"I could tell you were telling the truth," he replied.

"That's impossible. Moonsayers are unique to my tribe," Tiber was shocked.

"Wrong, Moonsayers are gifted to Waterbearers only. Just like Seers are gifted to Windmasters only. Your tribe operates on many myths and superstitions, which I believe have allowed you to fall to the Worldly Order. In the Jungle Tribe, we are firm believers in the Universe. I am a Moonsayer, and I am also the Chief of this Tribe. I will allow you to stay here and help you work out your delicate situation under several conditions.

Tiber groaned as she was untying Mika, "What conditions?"

"First, you will have to work hard like everyone else and pay for what you need. You're not staying for free. Second, I want all of your leads on Neptune."

"Why, what business do you have with him?"

"I want his head. He murdered my father after he did not give Neptune control of our tribe."