Her father was already up and sitting by a fire cooking a rabbit. His Eagle was circling the skies, and Gemma had gone hunting. He motioned for her to join him as he took off a rabbit leg and handed it to her. She devoured it without a thought. Not having eaten in almost a day was slowing her down.
“I have mapped out an alternative way to the sea. If we can meet Keilani there, she will take us in. It will be dangerous though, parts of the route are in the no-man's-land, Moulded Expanse, where banished daemons roam, and some of it goes through Avian territory. We cannot take the normal path in case they are waiting for us.” Kendrick said eating his own half of the rabbit.
“How do we know that she will take me in? How can we trust her?” Neala said. Her father sighed and looked up at her with a weak smile.
“Not treating you like a child will be hard. You are a woman now and deserve to know everything. Please let me do it in time as some things do not show me in the best light. The girl they were taking with them was an Avian born Terra. The Pyre had tried to kidnap her, and so they were hiding her away. Your mother believes you are special too and will try to catch you before we reach the sea. The Hydris Queen has assured me that there are many children, and adults, that are like you there.” He said, and he paused as he watched his daughters face change. Neala could see a blue aura forming around her father now. He was sad.
“Papa, what do you mean believes? Mother is dead,” She said, trying to keep her fists closed and her emotions at bay.
“Your Mother is alive and well. My wife, Queen Selma, is not your mother.” He said looking away and into the fire. His aura deepened into a navy blue. Neala stood up to face her father.
“Tell me everything.” Neala said in a voice unfamiliar to her. He sighed deep.
“You are my daughter, and your mother is a Pyre daemon.” he spilled out.
“What happened to Tyee’s mother?” Neala looked at her hands glowing ember red.
“When you were born, Griffin saw your Terra blood and knew you were mine. I couldn’t let her raise you, that woman is vile and wanted to turn you into a weapon of some sort. I couldn’t bear the thought of my child being raised in that kind of environment. There was no guarantee that they would let you live once they found out you were Terra. I convinced Selma, Luke, and Paul to go with me in the night to get you. I am the only one who made it out alive. It is how I got the burns on my back, from your mother. Tyee will never forgive the Pyre for killing his mother, I didn’t think that hatred would transfer to you though.” Her father said. In the light of the early morning, he looked as if he had aged 10 years.
“Callista’s father, Tyee’s mother, they all died because of me?” Neala stared at him in disbelief.
“No sweetheart, they died because of me, and my selfish ways.”
Neala sat back down. She didn’t belong anywhere, they all hated her. What if the Hydris daemons were no different? She didn’t know how anyone could think she was special; she was a freak and couldn’t even convince a tribe she had known and grown up with her whole life to let her live.
“Can you help me control my new abilities? And you must promise me no more secrets, I don’t think I can handle anymore.” Neala said, holding her head high. Her father hesitated, his aura changed to green, but he nodded and then handed her a piece of parchment that had a map on it.
“We will train on our journey to the sea. Keep this in case, well just in case. We need to leave as soon as Gemma gets back from hunting.” He said as he finished the rest of his breakfast.
When Gemma came sauntering in, she was panting and had the staining of a fresh kill on her mouth, she looked feral. With a wave of his arm, her father scattered their quick shelter and then buried the fire pit. It looked as if no one had ever been there. Looking at the sky he waited for his eagle’s direction. And followed where the giant raptor pointed.
“The first thing you have to know is that using your powers will drain you, sometimes to the point that you cannot use them. Now that you are just learning them, you will tire with their use. Think of your powers as a muscle, you must train them like any other. I cannot pretend to know all the abilities they have blessed you with, but we must develop them. The more you train and focus the better you will be. And then you must decide for yourself what you will do with those powers.” He said as they walked. “Start by focusing small with a clear target. Try bringing that stone to you.” He pointed a medium size boulder to her left. She turned to it and raised her hand, staring hard at the stone. At first nothing happened, then she put out both hands, and the boulder came hurling at her, she ducked in time as it went soaring past her ear.
She stood there stunned as her father erupted in hearty laughter. Feeling determined she tried again with one hand and the boulder rolled toward her. He nodded in appreciation.
“Now place your hands on the stone and try to form it into an image in your mind. Closing your eyes always helps when you’re first starting out. Keep it simple.” He said, giving her an encouraging smile. She placed the palms of both hands onto the stone. She envisioned a stool in her mind and tried to will the stone to form. She felt the stone tremble under her hands and then it changed. She opened her eyes to see the stone was now half its size and had a flat top, but otherwise didn’t resemble the stool at all.
Neala could feel the effects of the little powers she was using. She felt like she had been hiking the mountains. Her father must’ve understood because he simply nodded and kept on the trail. Using the Eagle as their compass they pressed on. The scenery changed throughout the day from the rocky mountainous region to long grasslands with little cover. She didn’t like this area, she felt vulnerable to her surroundings.
When the sun started to set, they settled in for the night. There had been no sign that anyone was following and Neala felt as though she couldn’t go on anymore.
“One more try tonight; you try to make a quick shelter. There are some materials in the bag, and you can use the dried grass for the roof.” He handed her a bundle of round logs. She picked them up and gathered more sticks and some long-dried grass. She knelt on the ground and placed her hands on the materials. Neala closed her eyes and envisioned a small three-sided shelter with a grass roof, but nothing happened. She hung her head down and let out an exasperated sigh just wishing for a place to sleep. The materials in her hands shook and then shot out of her hands. She looked up and the exact shelter she wanted was there.
She was almost too tired to relish in her accomplishment. She tucked into the small covered shelter and her big cat came to rest next to her. She nestled up against Gemma feeling her warm soft fur and let herself drift off to sleep. Her dreams came straight away as if they were just waiting for her to close her eyes. She dreamed of a devil woman with sharp teeth and a cackling laugh biting off the heads of her tribe members.
She sat bolt upright, her heart slamming against her ribs. That’s when she smelled the smoke. She set her roof on fire in her sleep. She reached for Gemma, but she was not there, she shrieked and scurried out of the tent. She knocked the sticks down with her foot and stomped out the fire with her leather boots. She yelled for her father, fearing the fire may spread.
Her father tumbled out of his shelter stunned as the bright blue blaze rose higher into the air. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stared at his frantic daughter.
“Help Papa.” Neala screamed, patting out the ever-growing flame.
“Call it back Nia.”
“What? Call What back?”
“They are your flames Nia, call them back to you.” He held out his hands for her to mimic him. She stared at him with eyes wide full of confusion and anger. He wasn’t even trying to help her. She stopped fanning the flames and held her hands out to the fire like her fathers. She did not understand what to do but called to the flames as she would to call Gemma. The smoke died down and reached for Neala’s fingertips. She watched in amaze
ment, as it seemed to seep into her very being. When the flames followed, she was scared and backed up.
“It’s ok let them come to you; they won’t hurt you.” Kendrick said from behind her. She nodded and stopped bracing her feet as the flames came closer. However, the fire didn’t burn her at all, she even felt a temperature change. She held out her hands until all the fire had returned to her body. She turned to face him smiling.
“Oh Neala, both of your eyes are red now.” He said a frown creeping across his face. He came closer to her and looked into her eyes and then ran his hand over her hair. “And your hair is blazing now. They must change depending on which side of your powers are stronger. There is much to learn about you, I know the Hydris can help. Let’s get back to sleep, we have many more days of travel ahead.” He said as he hugged her close.
The next day they came across some wild horses. She had to tell Gemma to stay away so as to not spook them. There were six in total. They needed those horses if they stood a chance at getting to the sea before the Terra or the Pyre could stop them. She motioned to her father to stay as well as she could listen for the horse’s voices. She stood up from the tall grass and approached them. She could feel their unease before she heard them talking.
“My name is Neala. I will not hurt you. I am with my father and our animal companions and we are trying to get to the sea. I need to ask a favor that I am not sure I will ever be able to repay. I need two of the largest fastest horses to carry my father and me. You should know there is danger behind us.” She said this deep inside her mind with her hand stretched to them. The horses stilled and stared at her. A pitch-black stead from the back walked toward her.
“You speak to us all? You must be from old Terra, but your hair is red. We sense you are strong Pyre. We have heard the rumor of such a woman. I will help you and so will my son.” And a smaller grey stead stepped out.
“Whatever I can do to repay you I will. Thank you very much. I will motion for my father now. You should know that my trusted companion is a Mountain Lion, her name is Gemma. I will instruct her to keep her distance, but she will not harm you.” The large black stallion nodded and padded the ground in agreement.
She turned to her father and motioned him forward and instructed Gemma to stay near but out of sight. That day they doubled the amount of ground they could make. They could also get more small game on the way and Gemma had a field day with all the prairie dogs in these lands.
Hope built as they put further distance from the mountains and little resistance from the trip put them closer to the sea. Her father had figured that they only had two days left if they kept this pace up. Kendrick sent Griffin out the next day to scout ahead and alert the Hydris of their approach.
She was getting much better at controlling her Terra skills and even made a stool with two legs that evening. Her Pyre skills were scaring her too much to try. She didn’t tell her father, but she had a strong sense of anger when she used her fire. The feeling was almost intoxicating, but it scared her to her bones. When she used her powers of persuasion, she felt powerful like she could make anyone do anything she wanted. She vowed to never use those powers on her friends and only those who wished to harm her.
That night as they lay in bed, hopeful for the first time in their journey, sleep came easy. She slipped into the same nightmare she had been having of the same mysterious devil woman that she had been told so much about. When she woke up to the smell of smoke, she sat up thinking she had set her shelter on fire again. But, when she opened her eyes, she saw that the fire was much further away.
She ran to her father’s shelter, but he wasn’t there. She heard the soft chuffing of Gemma and found her, and her father tucked down in the grass watching the flames in the horizon.
“What’s going on?” Neala said, staring at the flames. She could hear chanting and yelling at this point and could even make out two moving shadows.
“It looks to be a scouting party. Pyre for sure but something spooked them, I cannot tell by what or whom. My eagle is not responding and I’m afraid if we sent Gemma to scout, someone may see her. I can’t tell if they have spotted us yet. Go gather our stuff for a quick retreat.” Kendrick said. Neala scurried to the shelters and rolled up the little belongings they had. She had just tied them to the horse when she heard the Eagle cry out high above her head.
“Run. It is a Terra and a Pyre war group. Tyee is with them. It looks like the Pyre have spotted you and Tyee is keeping them back. Run.” She heard the eagle tell her father. Kendrick ran to her and grabbed her by the shoulders.
“I have to save your brother. You and Gemma go, now! Take the map and ride hard, don’t look back. I will meet you if I can.” He wrapped her in a close hug. “I love you Nia, be strong.” He grabbed his spear and his handful of arrows, mounted the black stallion, and took off. She stared after him frozen with fear. She was alone. Gemma came and grabbed her hand in her mouth and tugged toward the horse.
“We have to go now!” The big cat growled at her. Neala nodded and jumped on her horse, stealing one last look at the flames. They were getting closer, she had to ride fast. She had almost made it out of sight of the flames when a fireball slammed into the earth in front of her. The steed bucked up on its hind legs, throwing Neala to the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of her lungs. The horse made a high-pitched neighing sound and bolted in the opposite direction. Gemma jumped in front of Neala, her ears pinned back with her teeth bared at the darkness in front.
Neala struggled for breath, eyes wild at where the source of the fire came from. Then she felt an odd sensation spread over the land. She saw the aura before the body that stepped out of the shadows. She braced for the creature in her dreams to stand before her. What came out was nothing that Neala had ever expected.
Chapter 12
The Pyre Queen
Neala used her arm to cover her face thinking this daemon will strike her at any moment. As the figure moved through the flames, her face came into focus. The first striking thing that caught Neala’s attention was the same auburn red hair as her own, but hers was smooth and tamed. Her hair was long and straight, not a hair out of place, and it framed her face. A large golden crown sat on the top of her head in the shape of flames encrusted with rubies. She had a heart-shaped face and piercing dark red eyes that shined on Neala now. She smiled exposing the hint of crow’s feet in her eyes. Her skin was milky white, a stark contrast to Neala’s own olive skin.
The Mystery woman took one hand and waved it on Gemma whose eyes glazed over and laid on the ground purring, and then she held her other hand out to Neala who was still on the ground braced for death. The woman’s aura had a pink hue to it now and gave Neala the confidence to accept a hand up. When she first touched her hand Neala jumped at the warmth that matched her own. The woman concentrated on her eyes and frowned a little as she pulled Neala to her feet.
“I have been waiting for you dear child. The last time I looked upon those eyes they were as black as night. I had hoped that the next time I saw them, they would match my own. But here you are, half your mother and half your father.” The woman said, the smile returning to her face and lightening her features.
“I don’t think we have met; you must have me confused with someone else. I don’t know you, I’m sorry.” Neala said, taking her eyes off the woman’s striking gaze. Her presence was intoxicating and Neala felt a pull she had never experienced before.
“No, you wouldn’t know me would you. The last time I saw you, you were a week old. Such a beautiful baby you were.” The woman said brushing the back of her hand on Neala’s cheek. “I knew you were special as soon as you entered this world. You were of fire and earth, destined to rule them all. You were still at my breast when your father stole you from me. I am Queen Roisin, I am your mother, and I’ve been waiting for you.” The Pyre queen smiled and let the shock wash over her daughter.
Nothing she had
been told her whole life had made any sense. This could not be the evil queen that the elders told us of. Or, the power thirsty woman that Tyee or her father described. This woman looked like an angel and Neala could feel the love she had for her. Nothing evil could come from someone so angelic.
“I have a horse here for you. If you choose this false quest to journey to the sea, I will not stop you. Or you can come home, and I will show you the family that he stole from you. You are not some outcast or second-born child there. You are the prodigal daughter, and we will celebrate your return. You are my oldest child and the rightful ruler of the Pyre. Sweet daughter, come home and be a Queen.” Neala felt her pink aura brighten, not a hint of a lie behind her words. She looked to Gemma who was still in a stupor panting and looking happy. “I think you would find that your friend would like it there, as long as you can control her.” Her mother said as if reading her mind.
“I can your highness. I can talk to her.” Neala said, and the Queen looked pleased.
Neala looked to the horizon but could no longer see the fires burning. She didn’t want to disappoint her father, but what if this woman was telling the truth? Could she have a family that loved her, and a people that would accept her for who she is? Was it worth the risk? If she refused, would the woman just let her go?
“If I go with you, will you promise not to hurt my father and brother? Will you call off your warriors?” Neala said, still looking at the ground and holding her palms in. The woman put her hand under Neala’s chin and lifted her gaze.
“You are the only thing I wanted. If you come with me, my life will be whole again, for the first time in all these 16 years.” She smiled. Neala nodded, and the queen whistled as two large silver stallions came forward through the fire. They were enormous and had the same glazed eyes as her Gemma had now. Neala grabbed the hair of the stallion meant for her and tried to hoist herself up but the horse was towering over her and she slipped landing in the dirt.
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