Girl of Fire

by Gabrielle Mathieu

  “That’s not like Hirschi. And I know the Demon was there when Shandon died. I’m sure.”

  Kendall took a deep breath and started talking rapidly. “Isn’t it interesting, though? Twice Shandon is captured while Hirschi escapes? What was the garrison even doing down in that valley where Shandon’s body was found? There should have been no reason for them to go down there.”

  “What about his wound? Why would the Cherry Tops stab Hirschi if he helped them?”

  She was quiet. Then she said, “Considering the angle, he might have tried to stab himself.”

  “And then he rode back up to the garrison and turned us in?”

  “The only explanation for his odd behavior is that he never escaped the Elementals as he claimed. They took him to the Demon.”

  “You think he’s been under her influence all this time, since he returned from the Elementals’ prison?” I felt numb. I’d lost the capacity to think.

  “The Book of First Naming disappeared. There was the attack from the Demon that same night, down by the well, before anyone knew who you were. He suggested you fight Delphine and let you both use real swords, though the pavers were wet and slippery.” Her voice caught. “Why didn’t we see it before? No one fights free of a group of Elementals. Not even the Sidewinder.”

  “He never tried to kill me,” I said. “He would have had chances.”

  “I don’t think he wanted Shandon dead either. He was not totally under her control.”

  What she said was plausible. More than plausible.

  There was a long silence. She grabbed my hand, squeezing so hard, I almost gasped. Still she didn’t say anything. I felt her sorrow in the still air, like a heavy, live thing.

  After what seemed like a long time, she spoke, and her voice was crisp and clear. “You and I have both let our attachments blind us. That’s why Krossos Mannine counseled against them.”

  “But you and he weren’t…anymore?”

  “He changed after he returned from the Keep. He wanted nothing more to do with me. No one replaced me in his affections. But I admired him, and I was sure I’d been found wanting. Lusty Kendall, from a poor family, a woman with a man’s appetites. I blamed myself…” The hand pulled away. I thought she might be brushing off a tear.

  “They turned him,” she said fiercely. “I don’t know what they did, but I’ll beat it out of him.”

  Unspoken came the thought, If we ever see him again.

  * * *

  They straggled in. First, Moab and Kilgad arrived, herding Rheyna and the old man, Namur. A while later, Oberin came in with Ilse and Alse. Oberin had smelled the fire and ridden at full speed toward the camp, where Ilse sensed his presence and sought him out. Something to do with her being a Finder.

  As each new wave reached us, there was more confused chatter—speculation followed by self-recriminations as Kendall explained her theory. Suddenly everyone was voicing their doubts about Hirschi—how he’d walked around in a daze, not responding to questions, not sleeping at night.

  Now he was gone.

  So was Kea.

  When I saw Oberin, something broke loose in my chest. I let out a sob, flung my arms around him, and let my tears gush. The rest gave us what space they could; with the horses, we were packed in tight, but there was an alcove to the back. I drew him to it.

  “Kea saved my life,” I said. “And now he’s dead, just like Shandon.”

  Oberin took a deep breath. “They took Kea.”

  “O Krossos. Will they burn him at the stake as a heretic?”

  “I’m sorry. Not Amur’s Chosen. Three Elementals carried him off. They cut through the Cherry Tops like a scythe.”

  I gasped. The Elementals had Kea. They might kill him themselves. He could suffocate in quicksand, burst into flames, drown, be pierced by a thousand thorns, or crushed by a landslide, depending on which Elemental took his life.

  Or they might bring him to her.

  “Were they carrying him carefully?”

  He shrugged. “Carefully? They’re Elementals. He wasn’t wounded or dead, if that’s what you mean.”

  I should have never permitted him to get close. I’d sealed his fate by loving him. I stifled another sob.

  “Perhaps the Demon will keep him as bait. To confuse you, to create agony in your heart,” Oberin said.

  I had mourned Shandon. But this was different. Worse. What could I do to save Kea? He’d risked his life to save mine.

  * * *

  We all needed to talk, compare experiences—and mourn. We reminisced about Kea and speculated about Georsi until Kendall clapped her hands.

  “It’s afternoon. Hirschi knows about this cave, and we can’t guess what he’ll do next. We need to leave.”

  The flight and revelation of Hirschi’s deceptions had been too much for the graybeard Namur. His breathing was hectic, and his voice quavered. “We’re going back to Yassin?”

  “I’m not sure that’s the best decision,” Kendall said.

  Rheyna spoke. “But it’s winter. All we have is our horses, one beater, and weapons.”

  “We have each other,” Oberin said. “We have all proved to be trustworthy.”

  “Perhaps,” I said. “I’m not so sure.” Before she’d found Oberin, Ilse stabbed the lone soldier who had barred her way. Why had she lied about her abilities?

  “Do you want to go to Yassin?” Kendall asked me.

  “I want to go kill the Demon,” I said. “Wherever she is.”

  “You can’t kill her, and you’re not ready to face her,” Namur cautioned.

  “I’ll never be ready. She’ll just keep murdering people one by one.”

  “You’re hoping to help Kea?” Kilgad guessed.

  “Of course, I want to help him,” I snapped, fingering Shandon’s sword.

  “We don’t know where the Elementals took him,” Oberin pointed out.

  Ilse’s voice was confident. “I was close to Kea, and I’m a Finder. He gave me a keepsake with a lock of his hair.” She held out a locket. “I can feel him through this. He’s being moved toward the border of Trea. If the Elementals keep going in that direction, they’ll eventually reach the Forest of Bones.”

  I was sick with horror. And a tinge of jealousy. He’d never given me jewelry. I was glad it was dark in the cave so my expression was hidden.

  Oberin said, “Berona’s task is not to rescue Kea. She must destroy the Demon’s weapon.”

  “Who’s to say I can’t rescue Kea at the same time.”

  “It doesn’t work that way,” Oberin began.

  Kendall’s voice cut through our conversation. “We could stay here all day discussing Kea’s fate. I have seniority here. I will tell you my plan and then consider any objections.

  CHAPTER 38

  Berona

  Kendall’s voice was calm and confident. “While all of you were yammering, I thought through a few things. The Demon made an appearance at the well, and her Elementals killed some Reds and a Green close to the castle. We’ve experienced how the Demon can infiltrate us. It’s not safe at Yassin.”

  “The Council is there. They can guide us,” Kilgad said.

  “I can communicate through sendings. Besides, Yassin is surrounded by snow, and we only have Berona’s beater,” Oberin pointed out.

  “Then where do we go?” Rheyna asked.

  The shadows of the candle made Kendall’s eyes huge and exaggerated her frown. “We need to stop letting the Demon chase us around. Bring the fight to her.”

  I felt a surge of anger. “I say yes to that!”

  “But Berona. You only know a few spells, and while you’ve made progress, you’re not a master swordfighter,” Oberin cautioned.

  “That skill would take decades. The teachings of Krossos Mannine state that the turn of the Session, as we reach the end of the six-hundred-year cycle, is a time of great portent. This is the last year of the cycle. This is the time to act,” I stated with a calm I didn’t feel.

  “The
n at least reach out to that Ally. We can’t do this alone,” Oberin said.

  “You want her to call up a Fire Elemental?” Kendall’s voice was disbelieving.

  “He said not to call on him again. He said to come,” I pointed out.

  Alse hadn’t said a word so far. Now he spoke. “Don’t we have to cross the Western Wilderness to reach this Forest of Bones?”

  “We would travel through the plains where the Krill live, but the vast woods of the Western Wilderness lie on the border,” Oberin said.

  “You’re considering this plan?” Ilse asked her brother.

  “You want to go. Kea’s slipping further and further away as we speak. I know how much he means to you.”

  I stifled a small sound of disgust. Ilse loved Kea so much she was willing to let him into her bed, though he wanted to troth with me. Did she not hold herself in much regard?

  In a small voice, Rheyna said, “It’s the dead of winter. How are we going to get over the mountains that border Trea and reach the plains?”

  Namur echoed her objections. I tuned out their voices, let them lap at me. I was on fire. The Demon was killing the people I loved, one by one. I wasn’t going to stand by.

  I remembered the maps I’d studied. Most of Trea was mountainous. One possible route to the Forest of Bones led past the city of Anwaar, where the Priest-King lived. Anwaar was located on an alluvial plain that bordered Trea’s northern neighbor, the Duchy of Ducat. The northern route would take us out of our way. Besides, Anwaar was the stronghold of the Chosen.

  There were two other routes through Trea’s western mountain ranges to the plains. One, a mountain pass, was often snowed over during winter. The other route led through the high plateau of Kreysa. The value of the poppies smuggled down from Kreysa meant there was a well-maintained and well-guarded road. However, bandits were the ones who guarded it.

  I broke through the babble of voices. “Kendall, there are only two possible routes in winter. Either we risk the city of Anwaar or the poppy smugglers of Kreysa.”

  “The Priest-King must have heard the Elementals are loose,” Namur said. “We could ask for his support. The Mannites saved the Heartland before.”

  “That’s a gamble and adds weeks to our journey,” Kendall said. “Kreysa is my choice.” She paused. I knew her well enough by now to guess she relished the impact of her next sentence. “My dear cousin Lelana is one of the chief poppy smugglers.”

  She spoke over the resulting murmur. “Our honored company knows that Biruac the Yellow and I come from humble roots.”

  Oberin sighed. “No one cares except you.”

  Kendall continued, undeterred. “We are the children of scratch farmers, but even so, we grew up healthy, strong…and tough. My cousins and I had to make our way in this cold, cruel world. Biruac and I joined a heretic cult and were saddled with an old lunatic. Lelana found wealth through judicious trading and occasional threats. I could argue she made the better bargain. If we bring gold along with our greetings, we should gain safe passage.”

  “And where would we get the gold for safe passage? Even our journey to the Plains of Kreysa will cost us,” Oberin said.

  “I brought the purse. It was kept at the Green hut,” Namur said. “We have some silver pieces, not enough for an extended journey.”

  “We would need supplies. Money for inns. We can’t sleep in the open in winter,” Moab said. “After we leave Trea, we’ll need packhorses. I don’t see how we can do it. Much as I want to rescue my best friend.”

  Ilse sniffed. “There’s gold somewhere in this cave.”

  “Can you find it?” Alse asked.

  “Not unless I have one piece in my hand, to lead me to the treasure.”

  Kilgad sounded frightened. “Then what will we do? We can’t go anywhere.”

  Kendall turned to me. “Would your choice be to journey to the Forest of Bones now? The latest sendings from Yassin confirm it as the Demon’s home. She spends most of her time there, ordering her Elementals to carry out tasks.”

  “Yes, I would go there.”

  Oberin said, “You might get injured. Killed.”

  “I give you my promise,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I will do everything in my power to fight the Demon and her weapon, even if it means my own death. I will serve as your champion. Though I hope I will not fight alone.”

  Oberin placed a hand lightly on my shoulder. “I’ll be with you, no matter what.”

  Kendall cursed softly. “All right then. It’s decided, and we need coin. Biruac will kill me when he finds out.”

  “Finds out what?” I asked.

  “For years, Biruac and I hired out as mercenaries.” She waved away our shocked gasps. “The Council knows. How would we remain good soldiers without conflict to sharpen our skills? Ilse is right. There’s gold here. We took our pay and hid it in this very cave.”

  “You didn’t tithe?” Oberin said sharply.

  “No, we didn’t. Our plan was to get a nice piece of river bottom land to retire on. The Council won’t care about us when we’re old and broken down.”

  “Biruac will be so angry,” Rheyna said.

  “Most of the gold is mine. The nobility will pay dearly for a female escort for their virginal daughters and precious wives.”

  “You’d really be willing to provide for us?” I asked Kendall.

  She shrugged in the gloom. “If we win, I would hope to be feted and well compensated. If we lose, there will be no nice farm by the river. Biruac and I are Mannites. The Water Elementals would drown us.”

  “So we’re all going?” Oberin said.

  I waited for someone—Rheyna or Namur—to ask to be escorted back to Yassin. No one spoke.

  An old healer, a frail girl, a quiet musician who’d only been accepted because of his sister? But what else could we do with them?

  And then there was the matter of Ilse.

  “There’s one person I have to talk to,” I said. “Alone.”

  * * *

  In the midst of my sorrow, I also felt anger. I drew Ilse into the alcove for some privacy.

  “Hirschi’s treachery reminds us of the importance of not trusting blindly. Ilse, you’ve lied to us. I’ve seen you practice with a dagger when you thought no one watched. You only pretend to be clumsy.”

  “What’s it to you?”

  Others could still hear us over the low hum of conversation and the crackle of the small fire that Namur built now that Oberin had placed a veil of concealment over the cave entrance.

  I lowered my voice. “Speak, Ilse.” I said. “I must know where everyone stands.”

  “I’m no tool of the Demon’s. Your jealousy eats at you.”

  “Maybe,” I said, keeping my voice even. “I won’t deny it. But we have no room for liars in this company.”

  Finally, Ilse spoke. “I was misused in my father’s manor, by his chief advisor. I didn’t want it to happen again. I learned how to defend myself.”

  “Then why did you pretend?”

  Ilse looked at the ground. “Kea hated when you refused his help. He likes to give things, teach things. He liked showing me.”

  “You risked our scorn only to please Kea?”

  “You understand nothing about men.”

  Oberin had approached and now interrupted us. “She doesn’t understand about that kind of man. We’re not all like that. In any event, what’s done is done. It’s past midday, and we need to be on our way.”

  We had to leave. I had one more thing to say. “He was mine, Ilse. His heart belonged to me.”

  “You’re beautiful, strong, the chosen champion. Oberin adores you; Kendall would die for you. Can’t you leave anything for the rest of us?”

  I was too shocked to answer. Instead, I left to saddle my new beater.

  “I’m ready. Let’s go,” I said.

  * * *

  We set off under a gray sky. Even Kendall was subdued, despite her earlier confidence. Around mid-afternoon the hors
es became skittish. My beater stopped, spreading its legs wide and balking when I tried to nudge it forward. Kendall was in the lead and halted when her stallion whinnied. We were on a hidden trail in thick woods, trying to avoid Cherry Tops.

  I pulled up next to her. “What’s frightening them?”

  She concentrated, frowning. The trees moved this way and that in the soft wind. Leaves rustled, branches squeaked. The trunks themselves seemed to be moaning. The bare dark branches seemed to sprout soft buds and new leaves.

  I felt the presence of an ancient magic. We stopped, confused, looking at one another.

  Then they charged us.

  There were three of them. The Elementals lurched, moving gracelessly, like overgrown puppets, but they were hideously fast. Their hides were thicker than an ox’s, wrinkled and gray, like tree bark. Then the first one was on me. Oberin fought to ride to me, but the second one blocked the way.

  I pulled my magic sword. It felt light in my hands, light and alive.

  Great claws swooped as the Elemental struck. It was tall enough to reach me where I sat, on my great beater. Claws tore at my side. Blood dripped.

  I had no chance to see what the others were doing. I arced with my sword, noting how brightly it shone, even in the gloom. The creature pulled back, hissing, and darted behind me, swatting at my mount.

  I was a passable rider, but when the beater reared and bucked, I tumbled off. I jumped to my feet. The Elemental studied me.

  I thrust straight up at its ribs. The sword sang through the air, penetrating the monster. As I yanked it out, golden drops pulsed from the wound. The creature looked me straight in the face, dark green eyes blazing with hate. And recognition.

  A headache pulsed through my temples, followed by pure blood rage so overwhelming I drew in a sharp breath. I would have struck down anything or anyone near me in that moment. I started toward it, slicing recklessly at the air.

  It made a soughing, sighing sound and drew back, pawing at its ribs. A sour smell pierced the air, making my nose sting. It broke into a loping run, heading back into the darkness of the woods. I let it flee, my rage ebbing.