Nephilim Quest Book 1: Shadowhunter

32. Leaving the Village 1/2

I dug a little hole for the bee and dropped it there, patting the loose dirt carefully over it. I felt sad. The other bees buzzed around us still, and their voices... their buzz did not sound angry anymore. After a while they dispersed.

Only then did Mut-Bity lift me up onto my feet. She pulled the cloth over my head again, and looked me inquiringly in the eyes. She seemed to be content with what she saw and nodded slightly. She pulled the fabric deeper over my face, covering it from the sun. She then made sure that my hands were covered right down to the fingertips, and after making sure I was completely hidden from the sun, she gave me a little tense hug. Then she took my hand, squeezing my fingers tightly through the linen sleeve and started walking towards the nearby village, across the cultivated land which our bees were helping to fertilise. Her hands were both sweaty and cold. This was strange, because her hands had always been dry and warm in the past.

Mut-Bity did not speak, and her steps were so determined that even though I was full of questions, I did not dare to open my mouth. I just bent my head down, away from the blinding sunlight and watched my white dusty toes appear and disappear from under the hem, letting her lead the way.

She saw a wealthy old man who was sitting in the shade. You could tell he was wealthy, because he had a small donkey by his side, dozing half asleep with its head down, keeping to the quickly diminishing shadow of the house. Its lower lip was hanging loosely, which meant that it felt content and safe. The man probably had servants and slaves to do the work of his fields and he could afford to sit and do nothing. Also his mud-house was well plastered and had a real stone doorway. Mut-Bity marched directly up to the man.

"We must leave right away. I need your donkey to carry the beehives to the River."

"What can you give me in return?" the old man asked, suddenly alert.

I looked at the half-asleep donkey and wondered if such a small animal could ever carry the clay beehives on its back to the river. Or would it react to the bees by bolting away? It had been known to happen when a donkey had swished its tail to get rid of the insects and bees had stung. It did not happen often - unlike wasps bees died after they had stung. They were not malicious, they only stung when threatened.

Mut-Bity had a little sack on her back, hanging from her shoulder, and she pulled a small pot out of it – it contained a hin of honey. I could see how the old man's mouth watered when he realized what was in the pot. He did not reach out for the jar immediately, however, even though I could see the greed in his eyes - there were three bees flying around Mut-Bity's hands. She always had some bees around her.

"You shall have this jar of honey, once all the hives are safely by the river."

Even I knew how valuable such a jar of honey was, bees had worked for weeks to make it, and that alarmed me. Mut-Bity was clearly scared and wanted to leave the village and the fields as soon as possible. And there was no other reason than that odd golden-eyed man.

"Has anyone been here to ask about us?" she asked casually while the man yanked at the rope that hung from the neck of his donkey. I wondered why he needed such a rope – the animal in question showed no great eagerness to escape anywhere.

"I don't know... I'm not sure, but I did see someone who was strange-looking."

The man's eyes shifted just for a second and spotted my face as I peeped out from the shade of my head cover. I was looking directly at him so he saw my pale face and eyes, and I could see recognition in his face.

"Like her, but eyes were yellow. Very odd looking. No color."

"Oh? Where did he come from?" Mut-Bity started walking towards the field where our beehives were kept at a safe distance from the village. Her voice betrayed nothing; you could only hear mild curiosity.

"I really have no idea..." The old man's feet patted on the path next to mine and the donkey trailed lazily behind us as we walked out of the village. We carried on down the slight slope of a hill that formed an island during inundation, when the River valley became a vast lake. I observed the contrast between his dirty, dusty brown feet and my own white toes. "One minute I was sitting by the wall and at a blink of my eye he just appeared out of nowhere. I must have dozed off."

I heard Mut-Bity let out a hissing sound. It sounded like a sigh but it was her anger-hiss. I understood even less. Or rather – I did understand there that there was a lot more here than met the eye. She knew the pale stranger, and she hated him.

xxxx

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