Wilde's Fire

by Krystal Wade

  “Did you say something?” I ask Mom.

  “We need to go. He will be fine, Kate,” Mom says. She’s afraid. Her horse stomps, shakes its tail, and spins around, taking cues from Mom’s nerves.

  “No, I refuse to leave.”

  Closing my eyes, I take deep breaths and work to calm my emotions … to control my emotions. I have to do this. I cannot wait. I will not leave. I will not allow Arland to be hurt. I think of love. I think of my heart. I think of our future.

  Power bubbles in my core, then spreads out over every inch of my body. The flames on me become almost too blinding for me to open my eyes. “Light the air; reveal the monsters to us. Protect us, please,” I ask of the magic.

  Sprites burst out of the ground and flood the air, leaving holes in the earth. A patch in the Darkness opens over our heads, revealing six-winged creatures flying in circles. There are at least one hundred coscarthas steadily walking toward the portal, not even attempting to sneak.

  Looking up and out at the army of daemons, I fight against the fear trying to regain control of me. I push it down and away from myself.

  Brad turns his face toward the sky and looks at the daemons Cadman called bats.

  Their wings are the same shape, but their bodies are anything but that of a bat. All black, and at least six feet in length, they have the heads of men; their eyes are tiny slits of orange madness; with human-like arms and legs, and hands with claws—the same sharp, deadly claws as the coscarthas. The winged creatures swoop down at us, like a normal bat would for a bug above the water, but never do more than graze us with their strangely soft wings.

  A smile stretches across Brad’s face. It makes no sense he would have this kind of reaction. Maybe he thinks he’s dreaming. Maybe he thinks he’ll wake up and have the opportunity to tell me he loves me all over again.

  “Brad, you have to go through the portal or they’ll kill us all,” I yell, trying to pull him out of his daze.

  Arland looks back at me, then at the path we rode to get here. Does he really want me to leave without him?

  I shake my head.

  He smiles, as if to say, “Even with all this around us, I see only you, I worry for you, I love only you.” At least, that’s how I feel. I no longer have any fear of these creatures, only fear that I will lose love.

  I’ve distracted him. Brad jumps onto Arland, knocking them both to the ground. They exchange repeated blows. One stands. The other pushes him over. Brad jumps up, swings, and falters as he connects with nothing but air. Arland throws a punch, landing his fist against Brad’s nose. Red dust rises around them. Their clothes are covered in dirt and blood. It’s so primitive, yet hard not to watch as important pieces of my two worlds collide.

  Mom tugs on my arm. “Kate, if you want to stay, you have to do something.”

  Death comes at us from all directions. The coscarthas run toward us, the bats swoop closer. One of the bats kicks me in the back of my head. I don’t understand why they haven’t killed us, but I have to do something before they do.

  “Stop!”

  My voice floats along, carried by the magic. But none of the daemons responds. Everything continues to go on as though the magic isn’t here, as though there were no Light surrounding us, as though my power means nothing.

  I’ve always thought Brad had the build to be a good fighter, but never this good. Arland is a great warrior. He has trained for this his entire life. I’ve seen him fight off daemons. I don’t think Brad should be that hard for Arland to take down.

  Ignoring the daemons around us, I focus on Brad, on the way he fights, on the way he seems to be able to move inhumanly fast, before Arland can land a punch. Brad seems to hit Arland more powerfully than any human’s fists should.

  Two bats swoop down, kicking Arland as they did me. Like they’re trying to help Brad.

  If Darkness can taint a Draíochta’s soul through dreams, I imagine it can taint a human soul, too. Brad was sleeping for weeks, giving plenty of opportunities for Darkness to slip into his mind.

  “Help Arland,” I beg of the magic.

  Blue flames shoot from my chest, changing into a warm, golden color the closer they get to Arland. They swirl around his body, brighter, stronger than ever before.

  He jumps to his feet.

  Brad cannot touch Arland, but continues to try to hit him, to kick him, to knock him over, but Brad’s efforts are worthless.

  Arland has magical protection … my magical protection.

  The coscarthas stop their advance.

  The bats swoop away from us.

  The daemons seem to be waiting for something.

  “Please, take Brad home, heal his angry soul, and allow him to find happiness. Close the portal behind him, too,” I ask, adding the last part with hope that no one or nothing can ever get through the portal again.

  Nothing happens.

  “Go home, Brad, or the only woman you ever loved will be killed.” Arland repeats the line Brad said out of anger, before his memories were temporarily erased.

  He catches my gaze. “I already told her I was going to stay here and watch her suffer.”

  The sweet smile on the face of the boy I’ve always thought was my friend doesn’t fit the anger, the rage, I know he’s feeling inside. I don’t recognize this new person standing in front of me at all.

  “Sir, we have to leave him,” Cadman says.

  Arland looks at me.

  I nod.

  I don’t want to watch Arland and Brad fight anymore. I’ve done my part. I’ve tried to get him home. He’s his own responsibility now, even though leaving Brad ensures my visions will come true. Maybe that’s a future we cannot escape. Maybe what I saw was a warning. One we could do nothing about.

  Arland leaves Brad staring up at the sky, and jumps on Bowen.

  “You should have left me,” Arland says, taking his place next to me.

  “I will never leave you.”

  He grabs my hand.

  Relief floods my soul.

  Blood flows from his nose. Dirt covers his body. Yet, I see him smiling at me. I breathe for what feels like the first time since we got here.

  We’re all protected and joined as one force.

  Concentrating on the power in my core, I will the magic to move from me into Mom and Cadman.

  Everyone ignites in flames. Mom, Cadman, and Arland whisper incantations at the daemons.

  I don’t recognize their words, but I understand their meaning: they’re trying to make the daemons go away without more fighting.

  Two words come to mind. I don’t know what they mean or what they’ll do, but I shout them anyway. “Logh dó!”

  A smile lights Mom’s face.

  Arland laughs so hard he nearly falls from Bowen.

  Cadman watches Brad.

  A tornado of sprites explodes from around Brad’s feet, illuminating the dry earth and the side of the mountain where the rippling portal is located. They swirl around Brad, picking him up and hurtling him toward home.

  A bat drops from the sky, like a hawk for its prey, and grabs Brad from the sprites’ control. The daemon carries Brad, screaming and writhing to get away, and takes him fifteen feet in the air. Another bat joins the one carrying Brad, flapping enormous black wings and blocking our view of him.

  I can’t leave Brad now. It’s impossible for me to move. I know he’s been bad to me, but I cannot allow them take him.

  “Protect him,” I cry out to the magic.

  Sprites fly up to Brad, but more bats swoop in. Forming a circle around him, the flying daemons prevent the magic from entering.

  Sprites try to get through, but their Light fades once inside the circle. They fall to the ground, dead.

  “Why isn’t it working?”

  My question receives no response. Everyone stares at the sky, watching, whispering, begging that this doesn’t end badly.

  “I’m sorry, Kate. I never meant to hurt you.” Brad screams as another bat approaches, with claws s
tuck out like knives.

  They spin him around in the air to face us.

  They want me to see this?

  Panic spreads through me like poison.

  Fear makes everything in front of me swirl.

  Terror brings my heart to a skidding halt.

  Tears spill over my eyes. My emotions have spiraled out of control.

  “Stop them,” I scream at the magic, pointing toward the bats.

  Sprites swarm around the daemons, but they’re far too powerful for even the most ancient of magic to stop.

  Brad watches, eyes wide with fear and full of tears, as the bat jabs a claw through his chest. Blood flows and spills to the dry earth, immediately soaking into the ground, leaving the dirt stained red.

  His head sags. His body falls slack.

  “No,” I cry.

  The bats fly off with Brad in their grasp, bobbing in the air as they go.

  I’m too shocked, too scared, too upset to send any more magic after them. My memories of Brad—good and bad—loop through my mind as I watch the bats fly off with his body, out of the light, away from the portal, away from us, away from his home.

  Away from me.

  Dead.

  I remember sleeping in his arms in the tent the morning before we came here. The smile in his eyes when he saw me watching him while we swam. His fingers running through my hair when he tried to calm me. Him howling I love you when he was drinking. Him holding my hand at concerts, putting stars on my ceiling in my bedroom. I remember him punching me, yelling at me, wanting to kill me … .

  Arland squeezes my hand I forgot he was holding. “We have to go, Kate.”

  “I was mad, Arland, but I didn’t want him to die. Why? Why did they kill only Brad?”

  He looks around. “We have to go.”

  The shrieking of the coscarthas breaks into my brain, over the memories, over the pain. Taking another deep breath, I realize I have to save Arland, my mom, and Cadman. I cannot allow them to be killed, too.

  “Kill the daemons.” I command the magic with as much strength and control as I can muster.

  Sprites fly into the clearing where the coscarthas are trying to hide from the Light. The magic wastes no time, stabbing through the mangled creatures and creating a path for us to pass through.

  “Can you ride?” Arland’s voice is muffled.

  Do I need to answer his question? I close my eyes.

  Brad was murdered.

  Worse yet, I’m afraid he wanted to die.

  The way he smiled at the bats, but then he said he was sorry. Why did he apologize?

  Arland shakes my shoulder. “Kate! Can you ride?” he asks, louder.

  I blink tears from my eyes. “Yes.”

  “Stay close,” he says, kicking his heels into Bowen’s belly.

  Following behind him, I turn and watch the war between the coscarthas and the sprites go on as we race back to base.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  No one speaks.

  I don’t look up from Mirain’s brilliant, white mane. Shedding any more tears seems pointless. I don’t blame myself for Brad’s death. I’m furious for wanting to get back at him, terrified by how happy he looked to see the bats, and by the panic in his eyes before the daemon drove its claw through his chest … and I’m confused by his apology.

  My breath catches.

  Brad is dead.

  “Give me your hand.”

  All that blood … .

  “Kate?”

  His smile … .

  “Can you hear me?”

  All our memories.

  “Kate!”

  I glance to my right.

  Arland shakes my thigh. “Give me your hand, and I will help you down.”

  Looking around, I find we’re in the stables. I don’t remember passing through the doors. Don’t remember the ride back. My brain is flooded with images of death.

  Taking his hand, I slide from Mirain’s back. Knees buckling beneath me, I falter.

  Wrapping his arms around mine, Arland keeps me upright. We’re still radiating the bright light. It makes my eyes ache. Makes the tears more blinding.

  I cannot go downstairs right now, not where Perth can see me, not where anyone can see me. My body weighs a thousand pounds.

  Mom and Cadman join us in Mirain’s stall, then hug me, holding me up with their support.

  My spirit is reduced to nothing.

  Stepping back, their foreheads crease with concern.

  “Everything is going to be okay.” Arland murmurs in my ear.

  “I hope so.” I bury my head in his chest. “You were right. I shouldn’t have been spiteful.”

  He smoothes my hair with his palm. “Kate, do not blame yourself for this.”

  ”I don’t. I have a feeling those daemons were waiting for us. Maybe instead of rushing to get Brad home, we should have protected him after I had the vision.”

  Unwilling to look anyone in the eyes, I keep my head against Arland. His shirt muffles my voice.

  Mom squeezes my shoulder. “Kate, we will figure out what your visions mean. We will review every single one of your dreams. We will be more careful.”

  “Brit wanted to do the same thing, but it’s too late for B-Brad.” I gasp. Too soon to speak his name … .

  “We will work on it when you’re ready. Cadman, can you clear the way for Kate and Arland to enter the base without being seen?”

  The Light has faded from Mom and Cadman.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he says. “I will return when it is safe.”

  She watches him leave, then turns to me. “Kate, Brad was never part of your prophecy. If the daemons were waiting for us, then I suspect the leader of Darkness has been given information about you. I think Brad is going to be used against you, as you saw in your vision, but we know he will not be Brad. Do you understand?”

  “Control my emotions, right?” I sigh. Controlling my emotions may be more difficult than it sounds. I had a slight grasp on them at the clearing, but I was able to protect only Arland. I couldn’t save Brad.

  She nods.

  Backing away from me, Arland turns to my mom.

  “Are you suggesting one of our own has given information to our enemies?” he asks, his eyebrows arched, his voice raised.

  The absence of his support makes me breathless, tired, and weak. I’d like to go to sleep in his arms and not think about the rest of the world for a while.

  “I’m not positive, Arland. How else would you explain what happened tonight?”

  I look for a place to sit. If they’re going to talk about who betrayed us, it’s going to take awhile. I’m going to seat myself before I fall.

  Leaving them, I drop down onto one of the straw bales in the storage bay. Putting my head between my knees, I listen to their conversation while trying to breathe, trying to control.

  They discuss what happened to Brad, skipping over the horrible details, but leaving in enough to make me feel sick.

  The bat stabs its claw through his heart, over and over again, in my mind. A wave of nausea hits the pit of my stomach. Salty fluids fill my mouth. I spit on the straw beneath my feet, then take deep breaths.

  His murder was so awful, so tragic … .

  How are we going to explain his loss to Mr. Tanner? He’s already grieving over losing his wife, now his only son. Mom said her spells would work on him for however long we needed, but does that include death?

  Closing my eyes, the face of the boy from the playground flashes before me. His baby blues were so big, so honest, so concerned when he picked me up from the asphalt. I was crying, and he was the only one who offered to help me. Blood ran down my knee, staining my white socks. Little black stones stuck to my tender skin.

  “You’re Kate, right?” he asked me.

  We’d gone to the same school since kindergarten, but I’d never paid attention to him before.

  “Y-yeah,” I said through sobs, wondering how he knew my name.

  “My name is Bra
d.”

  “T-thank you, B-Brad,” I said when we reached the sterile, gray nurse’s office.

  He sat me in a plastic chair, and stood next to me with his hands clasped in front of him, shifting from foot to foot. Brad lingered as though waiting for me to say something, but I continued to cry. He took the blue seat next to mine and told me stories, while blowing cool air on my knee, like my mom would’ve if she’d been there. Brad told bad one-line jokes, making me laugh.

  A stray tear falls from my chin, then drips onto the dirt. I don’t know how much time has passed since I’ve been sitting here. So far, I’ve been able to keep myself from throwing up, from losing control, from allowing myself to feel guilt, but I don’t know how long I can keep it up.

  “I will speak with every one of my men right now.” Arland’s voice draws me from my misery.

  His comment makes my brain snap back into the present, out of its weakness. Arland is going to walk into the base, glowing, and question everyone about me? Does he want Perth to find out? Does Arland want the guilty person to run away before we get the information we need?

  He doesn’t need to speak to every one of his men. It takes me about three seconds to run down the list of those who know about me.

  “Arland, wait.” I stand. My legs tremble. The room spins.

  Closing my eyes, I wait for the dizziness to pass. When I’m sure I’m not going to be sick, I join Mom and Arland. “Flanna, Lann, Kegan, Cadman, Mom, Brit, possibly Gavin, and Dunn—they’re the only ones who know about me. I can account for their whereabouts, with the exception of Gavin, Dunn, and Lann.”

  “I spoke to Gavin and Dunn after they saw us return from the clearing; neither noticed anything out of the ordinary.” Arland pauses. “I do not believe it was Lann, or anyone close to us. I would have sensed something.”

  Mom meets my eyes, holding my gaze … she doesn’t blink. “Arland, we should take some time to think before we speak with anyone about our suspicions. Kate has had a very difficult day. I think it would be wise for you both to rest.”

  So many years, I thought Mom didn’t care about my feelings, didn’t worry about things that got me down. There wasn’t much for me to complain to her about, other than my visions, but those were the most haunting parts of my life. Now, she’s here, she’s supportive, caring. I want to hug her for suggesting Arland and I need to relax, but I don’t.