Girl of Fire

by Gabrielle Mathieu

  Yuvio ducked to wet his hair and then came up for air. “I hope Mak and the others are safe.”

  “You’re quite taken with my Minister. I didn’t realize I would serve as matchmaker when I put together the company.”

  It was dark, but Luca thought Yuvio might be blushing. “Mak has a good heart and is wise beyond his years.”

  “He’s my favorite among the court. I don’t belittle you for worrying. The King plotted to separate us from the others. I would not be surprised if the game our men killed came along at a convenient time, just as our intriguing bird did.”

  It was silent for a while, just the splashing of water and the dripping of the condensing steam. Luca felt calm and peaceful, ready for a good night’s sleep. He pulled himself out of the vat and slipped on the linen garment the King had left him.

  They padded off to their room, Yuvio constantly glancing behind him.

  “What is it?” Luca said.

  “I’d like to see a real Elder. Gale said his daughter would come tonight.”

  “Can’t imagine she’s really his daughter. Just a figure of speech.” Luca stretched out on the soft plush moss of the stone bed. Tomorrow morning he’d insist on returning to his men. He could enjoy tonight, though.

  “Even so. They’re nearly immortal. I wonder if she looks old…or very young. I’ve heard they only eat dew.”

  Luca shot him an amused glance. “Your curiosity won’t let you sleep? Perhaps you should go eavesdrop. We have only the King’s word that the Elder Race doesn’t wish to meet us.”

  Yuvio nodded. “I can move very quietly.”

  “You think you’ll understand them?”

  “Eldering is notoriously difficult to learn. Though the language of Trea is a bastardized variant, it’s a challenge even for Mannite scholars. I’m hoping the King might speak Trade with his stepdaughter.”

  “Then it’s worth a try,” Luca said. “See what you can find out.”

  CHAPTER 43

  Berona

  Georsi was gone. I ran to the open window. It was two stories down, but a sturdy oak branch was a just a jump away from the window sill. I hissed. “Keeping up with the two of you is worse than herding cats.”

  Kendall shook her head. “You shouldn’t have left him unguarded.”

  I flushed. “If you hadn’t been in the common room again…” Seeing her look, I didn’t finish. “Georsi seemed so weak,” I explained instead, my voice tight.

  Hirschi looked abashed. “He had some Yocacan hidden on him. I took some too.”

  “I searched him,” Kendall insisted.

  Hirschi made a face. “Not everywhere.”

  “We’ll follow him. Where did he hide the Book?” Kendall snapped.

  Hirschi hesitated a moment. I mouthed his true name to remind him he was in my power.

  “The grove of oaks on the way to the first poppy farm. Right after the little steading that has the three cows and the apple trees. Kendall, I wanted to ask you about Okan…”

  I ran down the hall and tried my bedroom door. It was locked. I could guess what Rheyna and Moab were doing, but this was more important. “Watch Hirschi,” I yelled, as Moab opened the door, still pulling on his breeches. The noise attracted Ilse, who’d been perched on a windowsill in the hallway, passing the time until she could go back into our room. I had to hand it to her—she reacted quickly. Her dagger was out, pressing against Hirschi’s back, while Moab still fumbled for his jerkin. Kilgad came running upstairs from the direction of the privy. “What’s going on?”

  I had to race to catch up with Kendall, who was already halfway down the stairs. I left them to make their own inferences. If three Mannites couldn’t handle Hirschi, we didn’t deserve victory.

  * * *

  My weatherbeater went at a good clip up the stony hillside. I leaned into his neck, trying to keep my balance.

  “You challenged me in front of Hirschi. You shouldn’t have done that,” Kendall said quietly.

  “I didn’t mean to make trouble.”

  “But you have.”

  A strange voice snarled in the darkness. “Your problems are just starting.” Five scruffy men rode out of the woods and surrounded us. “Look, some pretties. Just what we need for the night,” one said. The bandit riding in front grinned.

  Kendall and I drew our swords simultaneously.

  “It’s the Mannite wenches. Don’t tangle with them,” the one in the rear cautioned.

  I was relieved that our reputation had preceded us until I heard the ruffian’s next words. “Okan would cut off your balls. The older one is his betrothed.”

  A sound midway between a snort and a guffaw came from Kendall. “I’m what!”

  The men looked at each other uneasily. The ringleader spoke. “Okan said he was goin’ to marry you. ‘Tame that filly.’”

  Her eyebrows rose. “I see. Well, let us by. We have business.”

  Reluctantly, they pulled their horses to the side. After we were out of earshot, Kendall said, “We have to leave tomorrow.”

  “Hirschi can’t travel yet.”

  “Bandits are crazy. If I reject Okan and he loses face…” Kendall let her voice trail off. “All for a few nights of pleasure. How was I to know he’d take things so seriously?”

  We’d crested a hill. The oak grove lay below us, next to the farm with the apple trees. There was no sign of Georsi.

  “Did Hirschi lie?” I wondered

  “No beasts are missing from the stables. Georsi must be on foot. Give him a chance to get here.”

  “We’re too noticeable. Let’s wait behind that outcrop.”

  I tied my beater to a cedar stump, where he browsed and snuffled in the dry grass, searching for a tidbit. The rising moon shone hard, and frost glittered in the air. I pulled my furs tighter. I wished I wasn’t going back to my cold bed alone.

  “Kendall?”

  “Mmm.”

  “Why wouldn’t you marry Okan?”

  “For Krossos’ sake, he’s an oaf. Can’t even read.”

  It was a stupid line of questioning, but I couldn’t seem to stop. “Is there anyone you would…”

  She cut me off. “You’re daft tonight. Remember, I wear the Robe. Moab and Rheyna are still acolytes, but in normal times, their mooning about wouldn’t be tolerated.”

  “Are you reprimanding me about Kea?”

  “I was fairly sure that trothing wouldn’t come to pass,” she said dryly. “We let it run its course.”

  * * *

  We waited in tense silence until Georsi stole up to the oak grove. He stopped at the first tree and got on all fours, scrabbling in the earth like a deranged dog. When he bent down and stuffed something into his pack, we spurred our mounts down the slope.

  As Georsi turned to run, Kendall cried out, “Halt.”

  His dark eyes widened with apprehension, and then he broke into a lopsided sprint. I rode in front of him and pulled up broadside to cut him off.

  “Georsi, I need the Book of First Naming. Otherwise, our mission will fail.” I jumped off and landed neatly on both feet. “You could be nice and give it to me. Or we can take it.”

  He stood stock-still. Finally, he said, “I was foolish before. I’m glad you didn’t let me throw it into the fire. But now I’ve received a summons.”

  “Give me the Book.”

  “I have to take it to the Western Wilderness.”

  “You, Uncle, are going back to Yassin,” Kendall said. “I’m the representative of the Council here.”

  “There are higher powers than those scarecrow men and wizened crones.”

  Exasperated, Kendall said, “Berona, you grab left and I’ll take the right. Once he’s down, I’ll sit on him while you bind him.”

  “Wait. Who do you think is summoning you, Uncle?”

  “The Queen of the Elder Race.”

  “You’re a lying sack of turds,” Kendall said.

  “The Queen wants you to bring the Book?” I asked. Perhaps there wer
e some of the Elders left after all. We could use their help.

  “Yes. If I do as they ask, they will grant me the peace of death.”

  “Are you really more than six hundred years old?”

  He nodded, his eyes fastened to my face. I felt his need to tell his story.

  “Did they spell you so you would live?”

  He hung his head, lines of remorse etched in his withered face. “No. They spelled me so my betrothed would not be widowed too early. She was an Elder. But ironically, it was I who lived and she who died. I have not found the solace of death myself.”

  “You were going to marry an Elder?” I hadn’t realized such a union was possible.

  “Yes. A Princess. She perished in the Great War. She mistook a Wood Elemental for an Earth Elemental and shot it full of arrows. The wood of the arrows made it stronger and it overcame her. She died of apoplexy.” He wiped away tears with the sleeve of his grimy robe.

  Kendall said, “I’m getting a headache. Let’s stop this palaver.”

  She sounded testy. Shandon had once told me I had to balance my fire with earth, make alliances, become grounded. For a long time now, I’d wondered why the Elders vanished. Perhaps I was about to find out.

  I ignored Kendall’s frowning presence. “Do you blame the Council for her death?”

  “The Council and myself, for I was one of them, and I dared not go against them. The Elders needed the Book, and we kept it from them.”

  “It didn’t belong to us?”

  “No,” Georsi wailed. “Luca gave it to us because of Rina. She wheedled it from him. For that, she won a place on our Council.”

  I was momentarily puzzled. “But Luca is the current Prime…” Then I remembered all the Primes had the same name. What a confusing custom.

  “We can’t stay out here all night,” Kendall said, using the tone that meant she was nearing the end of her patience.

  “Please, Georsi. We need the Book. Elementals are loose. Some of them are killing people near Yassin. Other Mannites.”

  “What goes around comes around.”

  “You are one of us,” I said.

  Georsi made a dismissive motion. “To my shame. I lived more than a Session and spent most of my years in dreaming. Now I’m awake, and I know my purpose.”

  “Come back with us, just for one day. Talk it over with us. We’re not to blame for the decisions of the Council six hundred years ago.”

  Even in the dark, I could sense the flush stain Kendall’s cheeks. “Are you going to help me or do I take him down myself?” She was furious.

  “Just give me a moment.” I turned to the old man, desperate to get his cooperation. “You don’t want the Demon to win, do you?”

  “No, I do not.”

  “Come back with us. Let Oberin search your mind to make sure this isn’t a deception. If you persist in your plan to visit the Western Wilderness, I’ll support you.” Oberin had just showed it to me on the map. It was not far from where we meant to go.

  Slowly, Georsi nodded. I made a step out of my hand, and helped him up, then swung on behind him. Kendall didn’t say a word the entire way back.

  CHAPTER 44

  Luca

  Luca woke up to darkness. He couldn’t see Yuvio’s face, but he heard his panic.

  “Get up. We must help them, or they’ll all die.” Yuvio grabbed Luca’s foot and yanked a boot over it. “No time to change out of your bed clothes. She’s leaving soon. If we don’t catch her, we won’t find our way out of this place and back to the others.”

  “Who is leaving?”

  “The Elder Princess, Neyva. Gale’s stepdaughter. Come on!” Yuvio pulled him to his feet.

  Luca shivered in his thin wool sleeping shift and grabbed his cloak. His heart pounded and he could scarcely catch his breath. What in great Celia was going on? Were his men safe? His brother?

  * * *

  There was no chance to talk as they hurried after the lithe shape of the Elder woman. The moon peeped through the branches, bright in the cloudless sky. Because of Revel’s ambush training, Luca moved quietly, light on his feet. Yuvio, who had spent many quiet days watching wildlife, stole through the woods behind him. If the Princess was aware of their presence, she gave no sign.

  Fear pounded through Luca’s body and cleared his mind. He pictured his men dead, speared perhaps, or torn apart by something wild and terrible. He prayed to Saint Celia for their safety, though he did not believe in prayer. Once, he had to stop, forcing down panic, before he could continue. When Yuvio caught up, Luca whispered, “Be ready for watchers.” Gale had mentioned the Princess would return from her rounds and make a report. That implied she was part of a guard.

  Luca’s caution proved well founded. Shadowy forms detached themselves from their hiding places behind tree trunks and slipped in behind the Princess. Luca counted eight. Still, not one of them cast a glance their way, though Luca had heard the senses of the Elder Race were keener than those of men. Instead, the guard seemed to speed up in synchronization, like a wave cresting.

  Luca struggled to catch them, but noticing Yuvio fall behind, he slowed back down. A faint light emanated from the leader, the one Yuvio had identified as Princess Neyva. Had it been there the whole time?

  Apprehension hollowed him, made him speak despite worry that their voices would carry. “What happened?”

  “Some Elementals. They were heading toward our party. The Princess was told to return but not to interfere.”

  Anger surged in Luca, and he fought to stay reasonable. “What were the King’s exact words?”

  “That’s the odd thing.” Yuvio skipped over a root at the last moment, avoiding a fall. “Gale spoke Eldering, though he seemed to falter for words. The Princess spoke Trade only at the end. She said surely he couldn’t mean for them all to die. He must have rebutted her. And then she said, ‘You call yourself their ally?’”

  Luca sped up again. “She spoke for your benefit. She knows we’re behind her. She wants us to see.”

  As he jogged along, each breath forcing itself through a chest constricted with dread, he remembered the King’s words. “And her creatures, the Elementals? Do you not fear them?”

  The conclusion was natural. Gale wanted to teach him a lesson.

  * * *

  Luca stared at the scene, disbelief his first reaction. He ignored the Elders, standing quietly nearby. This couldn’t be right. There was almost no blood, but his men lay inert and unresponsive. A scream tore out of him, and he staggered into the clearing, his hands hanging limply at his sides.

  When Yuvio ran to Mak, sobbing, and begged him to get up, it broke the spell. Luca stumbled to Calio’s side, shocked at the look of terror on his brother’s face, the blue lips, the open, staring eyes. He remembered the lore about the Elementals. They could impart an emotion to those they fought, disabling them before the kill. Aeran’s face was drawn up into the parody of a broad, lazy smile, the look of a glutton presented with a delicious meal. Revel had just been overpowered; there was no emotion but pain on his face. His sword arm was crushed. Luca heard his faint groan and fell on his knees beside him.

  “What happened?”

  “They came in the night. Aeran, Calio, and I fought. We wounded one with a heavy branch. Our swords don’t hurt them,” Revel choked out, blood bubbling from his lips.

  Luca spared a glance for the surroundings. There was no sign of Elementals now. Had they just left after destroying his men?

  “You fought bravely,” he assured Revel. “I’ll award you the highest order.”

  “My brother… Give him the medallion.”

  Luca nodded, unable to say more. He took the uninjured hand in his and watched his old fencing master die. Afterward, he walked back over to Calio on numb feet, barely feeling the earth, and looked at his dead brother for a long time. His father had been gone on an expedition when Luca was old enough to learn to walk, and it had been Calio who helped him take his first steps. Luca still remembered.
<
br />   He had a long memory.

  Now they were all dead. The men of his country. His oldest brother.

  His father.

  When the sobs came, they racked Luca’s body till it felt his ribs would crack. He prayed they would, that his body would shatter and be spread by the winds, that his breaking heart would dissolve and give him peace. He wept for his father. He wept for Calio, Calio’s family, his best friend Mak, and the others who would never walk with him again. He even wept for the son of the Lighthouse Keeper, lured off a cliff by the Demon. There was no end to his grief, no light in the darkness. He cursed his own stupidity and his own innocence.

  The world was a terrible, dangerous place, and he had brought his men, his own brother, out from the safety of their verdant island, to be slaughtered here. Who was he to live when they were dead? He found his sword in his hand. He stared at the tip, compelled by the thought of plunging it into his heart and ending the pain.

  A soft voice came at his ear. “It’s terrible, I know. But please don’t do that. Don’t leave me here alone.”

  * * *

  Luca hadn’t noticed when the Elders left. The day passed somehow, dusk came, and with it the end of his tears. He felt dry and hard, his heart turned to a heavy stone.

  Yuvio had brushed the two beaters and built a fire. He forced a bowl of porridge into Luca’s hands.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Neither am I.” The other man’s face was hollow, his eyes reddened from weeping. “I don’t want to die out here in the Western Wilderness, though.”

  “How can you go on? How can you bear the sorrow?”

  “I was never a happy man to begin with. You were.”

  “Then I was deceived.”