The Flames: Book 2 of the Feud Trilogy

by Kyle Prue

  She instantly determined that something wasn’t quite right. There was something off about this man. He looked like he was vibrating in anticipation and his entire body looked tense and rigid. “I’m just browsing,” she said sternly.

  He grinned beneath his cloak. She was certain that she could see the glint of metal in his mouth. Something stirred in her mind but she ignored it. He probably had a gold tooth. Nobles in Altryon sometimes did that. “Do you forge these swords yourself?”

  He looked at them in confusion for a moment, then smiled widely. His smile glinted in the light, but his mouth closed before she could take note of that. “I do. I love your coat. My most famous customer has one just like it.”

  She blinked and looked around the store. Was this the infamous arms-dealer that the Wolf had spoken of? His craftsmanship didn’t exactly seem up to par with the weaponry that the revolutionaries needed. “You work with the Wolf?”

  “I do!” the tiny man said, once again shaking. “We’re good friends. Would you like to see one of the new swords I’m crafting for him?”

  “I suppose,” she said on the verge of walking straight out the door. This wasn’t sitting right with her. “Let me see.”

  He went to the back and returned with an unpolished sword. She looked at it with disdain. He noticed. “Just hold it in your hands. Then it will be clear.”

  She grabbed the sword and felt something poke her finger, sharp enough to draw blood. Her second observation was that the handle was wet. She dropped the sword and pulled one of the better looking ones off of the wall. “What did you just do?”

  “Who me?” the man said as he shook furiously. “All I did was invent the triple edged sword. Not even the user is safe from its sting. You can have it. I’ll give it to you for a steal.”

  “What?” Lilly asked. Suddenly her vision began to go blurry and the floor shifted under her feet. “What is…? I…” Her tongue turned to concrete in her mouth.

  The small man threw off his cloak and erupted into unbridled and insane laughter. Even in her woozy state, Lilly realized that he had been shaking as a result of trying to suppress his cackling. “I was so close!” he screamed through his hilarity. “I did so well! I just couldn’t resist. I gave it to you for a steal! Get it? Like steel?” He placed his hands on his knees and continued losing his mind over his terrible joke.

  Lilly dropped her weapon. “What did you do?” she managed.

  “You really can’t hold your cyanide, can you?” he giggled. “What a lightweight.”

  She gasped. She knew that Celerius could resist low doses of poisons, but it was never an easy journey. “Lester Buchwald,” she said as she realized who he was. “The Hyena.”

  “I can’t believe you came in here!” the Hyena cried. “I wanted you the most! Even on your wanted poster you look like a knockout!”

  He lifted her arm and smelled it. “You can have the sword. I might charge you an arm and a leg for it, though.” He winked and took an exploratory bite of her arm.

  In her drugged state she almost didn’t feel it. He pulled back and the skin on her arm healed itself. “Just as I thought!” he said. “The Celerius are my favorite Lightborns. I could eat all your fingers today and have a new batch by tomorrow.” He turned very serious. “Should we end world hunger, Lilly?”

  Her head began to clear and she knew that her body was recovering. He picked up her pointer finger in his hand and jeered at her up close with his shiny metal teeth. She lashed out and kicked him in the groin. He let out a noise that sounded half-scream and half-laugh. “Feisty!” he growled as he stumbled to his feet.

  She grabbed the sword and used it to keep the Hyena at bay. “I’ve had just about enough of your stupid jokes,” she said. “Where’s the man who owns this shop?”

  The Hyena pointed at his stomach. “Lower intestine?” he said. “I mean, most of him.” He stepped backwards to the closet and opened it. Lilly realized the mass that she had felt earlier was a half of a man. The Hyena closed the closet. “Anyway,” he said, “I can’t exactly let you leave here, Lilly. I don’t want you speaking badly of me and driving away future customers.”

  She swung her sword and he ducked under it. She followed with a thrust, but he managed to dodge this as well. She felt the effects of the poison and clearly couldn’t attack at her usual speed. He tackled her and wrestled the sword out of her arms. In the struggle he cut her arm deeply and she yelped in pain. It healed over before The Hyena could claim the sword for his own. By the time he had it in his hand, she was ready for battle again. He swung it at her a few times, but she evaded it easily. It was clear to both involved that the sword was too large for someone his size to use efficiently. He tossed it to the side and pounced on her viciously. He snapped at her a few times, but she managed to throw him off. She bolted for the sword with all of her speed, but when she turned to face her opponent again he was gone. She pushed through the door after him. Somehow he’d escaped into the crowds. She cursed and threw the sword to the ground. How could she expect to eventually end Carlin’s life when she couldn’t even handle a miniature lunatic with a sick sense of humor? She trotted down the road in hopes that he would appear and she could eliminate another assassin from the Pack. Unfortunately, he had the good sense to disappear. She slowed to a walking pace and changed course so that she was directed toward the rebel hideout. One thing would be absolutely certain upon her return: the Wolf would be very disappointed in her time.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  SHIPWRECK BAY

  NEIL VAPROS

  Neil took special notice of Bianca’s boxing skills, particularly the way she blocked oncoming attacks. Whenever he swung at her, she simply slipped around his arm like a snake or redirected his arm and set him off balance. The Wolf had clearly trained her recently. He saw the Wolf’s elegant swordplay and delicate touch in every swing. He hadn’t even come close to winning a fight yet and they were three days into training. At least she’d stopped hitting him. Now she simply pushed him away or tapped him on the side of the head. “To prevent brain damage,” she’d teased. “You need what remains.”

  One day she’d shared with him some useful advice, but he still wasn’t winning any fights. “Do you know why I don’t lose fights to men twice my size?” she’d asked.

  “Why?”

  “Because every time I square up against an opponent they think they can end me in one swing. If they miss, or don’t knock me out with that first punch, they have no plan. They’re not ready to face the consequences of a real fist fight.”

  Neil saw Anastasia lingering by the edge of the clearing on certain days. To his advantage, her presence distracted Bianca. He landed his first strike, an open faced jab, on the end of day three. It was light, but it was a hit. “Finally,” he cheered.

  “Great,” she said. “The score is ten-thousand to one. Should I be prepared for a comeback?”

  Neil glanced over his shoulder to find that Anastasia was gone. “If your sister sticks around, you should.”

  Bianca’s eyebrows travelled south and he knew that he’d upset her. But he had the right to be upset. “You always told me your family was dead,” Neil said pointedly as he prepared for another round.

  Bianca tried to sweep his leg, but Neil had been prepared. That was her favorite move and she used it often. “Dead to me,” she supplied.

  “Come on,” he grunted as he tried to hit her with another open jab. A little of her fancy footwork prevented his attack from succeeding. “You had a living father and sister and you never told me?”

  “They stopped visiting when I was very young.” Bianca spun out of the way of another punch. “My father never loved me like he loved her. She got to travel all over the world and I was left alone in Altryon. In the slums.” Her nose crinkled reflexively when she said the word “slums.”

  She lashed out with a simple punch, which Neil blocked. She then kicked his ankle with her right foot. He gasped and tried to retreat, but she knocked him off
his feet before he could. “Ten-thousand and one to one,” she said.

  “I’ve heard about your father,” Neil said. “A guy who hunts humans for a living doesn’t sound like the perfect father figure.” He didn’t try to get up.

  “What father? He was never a father to me.” She pulled him to his feet. “At least Anastasia wasn’t alone.”

  Neil tested his ankle. It was sore. “Right, but look at her. She’s a killer. One who’s worked for the Pack. You’re a revolutionary. You’re…” She stared at him expectantly. He struggled for the right words. “You turned out the way you did, with or without him. You’re extraordinary and somehow you ended up that way on the streets.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Neil, you must really be in love with me.”

  “What?”

  “I can beat you half to death for three days and you’ll still tell me how extraordinary I am. I should have started hitting you a long time ago.”

  Neil laughed. “Okay. Round ten-thousand and three. This one’s mine.”

  They sparred until the sun went down behind them. “Maybe I should try and reconnect with her more,” Bianca said as she undid the tape on her hands. “It wasn’t her fault that our father was obsessed with her.”

  Neil knew it would be best not to push too hard. Bianca hated being told what to do. “It might be a good idea if we’re going into battle with her.”

  “What about you? We’re going into battle together. You’re not mad that I’m beating you to a pulp, are you?”

  “Of course not.” Neil’s smile began to fade. “You’re not the one I’m worried about. I saw what the Wolf did to those robbers.”

  “He’s not going to cut your head off.”

  “Do you think he’s capable of punching it off?” Neil asked.

  “No, I don’t think that’s…” Bianca paused and then shrugged. “Well, I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  SHIPWRECK BAY

  LILLY CELERIUS

  Lilly’s news about the Hyena had shaken the camp. They’d lost their provider of weapons and it showed on the Wolf’s face. She hated being the bearer of such unhappy news. Especially because it didn’t end with her returning with the Hyena’s decapitated head. She remembered exactly what the Wolf had said when she told him about her confrontation with the lunatic. “Maybe he’s smarter than he seems.”

  It was a clever enough plan. The Hyena didn’t know where to start looking for them, so he decided to steal a shop where the Wolf would come to buy weapons. He’d gambled that the Lightborns would be with him. Then when they were all in the same place he’d spring a trap. “Real question is, how did he know where the hideout was?”

  That question had two possible answers: either someone had reported their presence in Shipwreck Bay, or they had a spy in their midst. It was clear everyone suspected Anastasia. These were the thoughts that filled Lilly’s head as she sprinted down the dirt path in pursuit of the Wolf’s impossible standards. She glimpsed the finish line in the distance and slid through it, sending up a cloud of dust. The Wolf was waiting for her, as always. “Twenty-five,” he said as he put his pocket watch away.

  That was all he needed to say to crush Lilly’s hopes. There was no possible way for her to shave off that much time. “We go to see the Doctor tomorrow night. I’d prepare for your last run.”

  “I don’t know what I can possibly do!” Lilly exploded as her energy returned. “I can’t break twenty minutes.”

  “I have,” the Wolf said. “After much practice.”

  Lilly wanted to collapse into a fit of tears and frustration. “How’d you do it?” she begged. “Is there a trick?”

  The Wolf approached and slid his hand across the shoulder of her coat where a few specs of dirt lingered. “I, for one, was not wearing a five pound military coat.”

  She looked down at it and then back to him. “I’m not supposed to be seen without it,” she resisted automatically.

  “Really? Whose rule is that? What ancient custom are you adhering to?”

  “In Altryon,” Lilly persisted, “Father always—“

  “This is not Altryon,” the Wolf said. “And I am not your father. I am a broken version of any noble Celerius that you knew. The Empire has made me a ruffian, Lilly. I follow no rules. I am not an honorable fighter, and that’s because I’ve lost everything. I have been made a desperate man, and I have abandoned old honor. If you want to survive out here, you have to do the same.”

  “Celerius are known for their honor!” Her face grew red. She couldn’t imagine these words coming from any other Celerius’s mouth. “Our motto is ‘Highest Honor!’”

  “I didn’t say that I’ve abandoned honor altogether,” the Wolf said, keeping his composure. “I’ve abandoned old honor. Old customs. I understand now that the highest honor is sacrifice. I have sacrificed the man I used to be in order to create who I am now: a leader, a fighter, and a rebel. You have to sacrifice this perfect lady. You have to abandon her, Lilly. Your enemies won’t care about your perfectly tailored coat, or your immaculately styled hair. They’ll care about filling you with blades and bullets.”

  Lilly felt a war emerging inside her. She was a lady and a warrior. She’d balanced them so well over the years. How could the Wolf tell her to abandon a part of herself? But he had a point. The Wolf indicated his face. “Gentlemen don’t wear war paint. I am an honorable man, but I am no longer the same man. You’ve lost so much, Lilly. Don’t you feel the need to change? To grow? To become something stronger?”

  She knew her father would hate her for it, but she held her hand out. “Do you have any of that war paint on you?”

  He grinned and pulled a tin from his coat pocket. She opened it and smeared two blue steaks under her eyes. She pulled the Wolf’s handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiped her hands. Then she pulled off her coat and folded it over the Wolf’s outstretched arm. With a quick pull she rid her blouse of its sleeves. “Shouldn’t you wait until your final run tomorrow?” the Wolf asked.

  “No,” she said. “I’m going to do it right now.”

  She tied her perfect hair into a tight bun and bounced at the start of the path. Her lungs regenerated quickly, but performing this run two times in a row would be a strain on her. Somehow in removing the coat and tying up her hair, something changed within her. She felt lighter and hungry for something. Maybe it was glory, or liberation. Either way, she knew she could channel that hunger into a run. She heard the Wolf remove his pocket watch.

  And she was gone. Over the hills and through the landscapes, she let all thoughts exit her mind. She didn’t worry who might catch a glimpse of her bare arms, she didn’t worry about washing off the paint later, and she didn’t worry about the nightmares that were sure to plague her in sleep. She ran. The world seemed to bend around her and she felt heat warming her body as the air pushed against her. After a few minutes it didn’t feel like running anymore, it felt like flying. She passed the finish line and slid into a kneeling position. The wind bent around her as she stopped and sparks appeared in the air. She didn’t even feel the need to breathe heavily. She’d lifted a weight from her shoulders and arose new. “Thirteen,” the Wolf said. “Thirteen!”

  She smiled. “So am I tough enough to join your war?”

  He pocketed his watch and admired her evolution. “I think you might be tough enough to end it.” He looked proud. She almost didn’t remember what that looked like. “You always had this inside of you, Lilly. You just needed to give yourself permission.”

  She walked past him toward the Annalisa, and the Wolf followed. “You’re trying to teach us all a lesson, right?” she asked. “So my lesson was what? Abandon my honor?”

  The Wolf laughed. “I wanted you to learn that you are more than just your honor.”

  The giddy feeling of soaring along the road didn’t leave Lilly’s stomach for a great while. She’d found something incredible and no one was going to get in the way of her
unleashing it. She thought of what she could do to Carlin with her new speed and smiled. It certainly would not be honorable.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  SHIPWRECK BAY

  DARIUS TAURLUM

  Darius turned, rolled over in his bed and gave off a discontented growl. Earlier, after Darius’s lifting sessions, he’d told Rhys he was going to take the Lightborn book and read it before bed. Rhys had told him that A Rough History of Lightborns was incredibly complicated and he wasn’t ready to read it alone. Who was Rhys to tell him what books were too hard for him? Darius was making incredible progress and he knew it. A Rough History of Lightborns was just another book like Little Billy. It was uncomplicated letters strewn into slightly more complicated words that made partially complicated sentences Darius could absolutely read, if he wanted to, of course. He sat up. This was stupid. He could have the book done by morning. He lumbered out of bed as quietly as his iron skin would allow and hobbled out of his secluded room in the Annalisa. It felt weird to sleep in the rooms of a hollowed out ship, especially one that was on its side. Darius knew that vibrations travelled unnaturally well on this ship. With little difficulty he descended the staircase. In the darkness Darius stubbed his toe, which resulted in the wall of the Annalisa cracking. He exhaled slowly. It was a good thing they weren’t at sea.