Ragged Heroes: An Epic Fantasy Collection

by Andy Peloquin

  "She's been caught, I need to get her back..."

  "Caught?" Kenna raised an eyebrow. There was only one real thing that meant, but she wasn't going to be the one to say it.

  "The Hunters have her," he admitted reluctantly.

  "Is she a witch?" she asked, already knowing the answer. The man in front of her was nothing but a human, it was beyond unlikely his daughter was anything other than human either. Those things just didn't happen anymore. They had, centuries ago, when witches, and other magical beings, had still mixed with humans, but it'd stopped being safe.

  "No! Of course not," the man protested instantly. Maybe a little bit too instantly for Kenna's liking, almost like he had something to hide.

  "Then why have they got her?" It didn't add up. As trigger happy as the Hunters tended to be, they usually wanted at least some evidence before capturing and condemning someone. Especially when that someone was a child.

  "I don't know."

  "Please don't lie," she said firmly. One of her talents was that she could sense when others were lying to her. That, and healing, were what set her apart from even her own people. And by that, she meant she was an outcast. They didn't want her around anymore than her own parents did.

  "They caught her watching a hedge wizard," he admitted, his voice cracking. It erased any doubt in Kenna's mind that he was doing this for any reason other than his daughter. It wasn't a trap, and it wasn't a way to use her. The concern was really for his child. But could she risk that? He could just be one of the players she'd seen about the town.

  "Seriously?" She laughed hollowly. If that was what counted as evidence these days, then maybe she was wrong about the Hunters' motivations.

  "I promise." His voice cracked again, giving way to a single heaving sob. Genuine then.

  "Fine, I'll help you. Any idea where to start?" she asked, and he shook his head. That was just great then. Apparently, she'd be the one doing all the work in this situation.

  Chapter 2

  Things weren't looking up. At least, not if the hut with a circle of pyres around it was anything to go by. She had to wonder about that. Didn't they realise that the moment they had so many ready in advance, was probably the moment they should stop. It wasn't right. They'd caused so much death and destruction across the country, and yet they were applauded from it. Rumours were even abound that the King had knighted one of the higher up Hunters at his New Year ceremony. As if knighting people for murder was a good thing.

  She had no doubt that it was true though. That just seemed to be the kind of place they lived in. She'd heard stories about the Court that made her thankful to be dirt poor too. Especially given her abilities. Being any kind of magic being at Court would be ten times harder with everyone watching and waiting for their enemies to slip up.

  Kenna shivered, and pushed the thought from her mind. It wasn't worth going there. It wasn't like Court was somewhere she would end up any time soon. Unless it was as a novelty that was.

  "Can you see anything?" the man, who it turned out was called Conan, asked. Kenna resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It had been like this the whole way out here. He hadn't seemed to have any clue about anything, how he'd gotten so far in life was beyond her. How he'd drawn the attention of the Hunters, even more so.

  "Only what you can," she hissed back.

  "Oh. But where are they?"

  "Probably out hunting more witches. That is what they tend to do."

  "Really? I'd never have guessed," he returned, sounding a lot stronger than he had previously. Kenna frowned, that was odd. He hadn't set off any of her lie alarms yet, but something definitely felt off. Realistically, she knew she should heed her gut instincts, and yet, here she was completely ignoring them. Typical, foolish, phoenix.

  "I think we need to get down there," Conan suggested, a little meeker this time.

  "I'm not sure that's the best idea," she replied, frowning all the more. There was very little doubt now that something was off about him. And the uneasy feeling was growing inside her.

  "It has to be. They have my daughter, she must be in the hut down there." He pointed at the decrepit building and she shuddered. If they were keeping people in there, then they really should invest in some repairs. Then again, she had no idea how the Hunters were actually funded. The church, probably. It was just the kind of crazy, fanatical thing they'd do.

  "I don't-"

  "Kenna, please?" he begged, and, despite herself, her heart began to give in.

  "What's she look like?" she asked, thinking that if she could change into her phoenix form, then she'd be able to sneak a look around the building without being obvious and getting caught. The only problem was that she'd have to get about from Conan to change forms in the first place, and with how clingy he was being, that could become problematic. She didn't think she'd ever met anyone quite so reliant on a stranger.

  "She's five, red hair, dimples." He smiled as he described her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Uneasiness flowed through her. This was starting to feel like a really bad idea. But why hadn't she felt unsure before? Normally she could have picked up on things like that.

  "Okay, what's her name?"

  The man took a moment too long to answer, ramping up the uneasiness inside Kenna. She wanted to get as far away from him as possible now. Preferably with her life intact.

  "Ainthe," he answered, but it was too late, and her suspicions were already raised. This man wasn't what he seemed, which meant she needed to get away from him as quickly as she could. The only real question was how. Unless she did choose to go down and check the hut out. She doubted he'd go himself, it would ruin the fake personality he was putting on. Except, that did lead to another question. How was he managing to fool her? There were only a few magic tricks she knew of that could conceal lies, and none of them were good news for her.

  "Alright, I'll go look," she said, backing away from Conan as subtly as possible.

  "Thank you," he acknowledged with a slight smile. A smile that twisted Kenna's gut into knots. No, he was definitely up to no good.

  She grimaced, trying to turn it into a more convincing expression and failing. She turned and walked away, trying to stay calm and not make it seem like she was hurrying away from him.

  He smiled blandly. Which meant he was at least buying it a little bit. She could only hope he'd be completely convinced soon. The only question remained whether or not she should change forms or not. She'd prefer not to. If she got caught, there'd be a lot more problems than if she was in human form. Then again, if she was caught in this form, and they recognised her as the woman they'd burned a few months ago, then she was in a lot of trouble. A lot of trouble. She doubted that fire was going to be her issue if she got caught anyway. They wouldn't make that mistake again.

  She hurried down towards the shack, ducking behind each small peak she found. Even if there didn't seem to be any Hunters about, she didn't want to risk it.

  Chapter 3

  Everything was going perfectly fine, or as perfectly fine as it could do in the circumstances, until Kenna was almost at the shack. But she supposed that was what she got for not listening to the feeling in her gut. Conan was bad news, she’d never been surer of that. She should have turned her back the moment he’d paid the girl for delivering her. Hindsight was a wonderful thing though. And it was far too late to backtrack now. He’d found her once, chances were, he could find her again.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” a quiet male voice said from behind her.

  Kenna spun on the balls of her feet, her heart pounding in her chest as she met the eyes of possibly the last person she wanted to see. Even so, he wouldn’t get the better of her.

  “Neither should you,” she hissed at him.

  An ever so slight smirk crossed the man’s face, but it was gone an instant later.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he responded, but the twinkle in his eye told her differently. He was being fairly open though, and Kenna wondered
just how far she could push him. “But you really shouldn’t be here.”

  “And what was I supposed to do? Ignore someone when they asked for my help?” It hadn’t escaped her notice that she was effectively making small talk with one of the people who was after her.

  Well, one of the men responsible for trying to burn her. At the thought, flames began to lick at her very soul, rising within her. For the most part, her phoenix was a peaceful creature, but once it was crossed, it could be deadly. And if it got out, then it would kill her. She’d come back, so it wasn’t really a permanent problem, but it was inconvenient. For a start. She didn’t fancy waking up with no idea where she was again. For some reason, the only time a phoenix could jump from one location to another was when they died. And as that was a painful way to do it, Kenna had very little idea of how it actually worked.

  “Yes, Conan is bad news.”

  “And you’re not?” she muttered darkly.

  “No, I’m not. Not for you, anyway.”

  “You’re one of them, aren’t you?” Disdain dripped from her voice without her intending it to.

  “It’s not what you think-”

  She held up her hand, stopping him from speaking. “If you’re a hunter, you’re a hunter, there is no other explanation.”

  She pushed past him, aware of how stupid it probably was to brush him off. He still had powerful, and potentially dangerous people on his side, and it'd be better if she didn't draw their attention. The man caught onto her arm, and pulled her back.

  "Are you an idiot? You can't go that way," he hissed.

  "Don't tell me what to do," she returned, pulling her arm down sharply so he couldn't hold onto her anymore. As she did, their skin touched, and a dash of gold sparks made themselves known. She looked up, meeting his concerned gaze.

  No. That just wasn't on at all. Kenna stepped back. This couldn't, and wouldn't, be happening.

  "I'm serious, they're waiting that way. Why did you think Conan brought you here? As God well knows, it wasn't because he actually wanted your help."

  "I got that, thank you." She wanted to leave, to get as far away from the place as possible. But not only was he blocking her path, but there still might be a child to save. Maybe the undercover witch would tell her if the little girl was in there.

  "Then why are you here?" he asked, a frown marring his features, as if he really didn't understand her.

  "He told me a child was in danger. A child. How was I supposed to ignore that? If it's in my power, then I'm going to try and save the poor thing."

  The man pushed his hand over his face, pushing the ragged hat from his head. It fell to the floor, but he ignored it. She was surprised by the scruffy blond hair hiding beneath it. He should probably cut it. He could likely even use magic to do it, if the sparks had been anything to go by.

  "Ah."

  "There really is a child, isn't there?"

  He nodded slowly. "Unfortunately." A genuine look of concern flashed over his face, which reassured her a little bit. At least he wasn't the callous and emotionless bastard the rest of them were. That was a start then.

  "What are we waiting for then?" she demanded, changing direction so she could make her way to the shack again. He grabbed hold of her arm again, the sparks flaring.

  "You can't just go in there, that's suicide."

  "Do you have a better plan?" she hissed, shaking off his firm grip again.

  "That's not the point. I haven't risked my life doing what I am just so you can throw it away," he replied back. He was coming across as equally heated as she was, which was confusing. What did he have to lose? As far as she could tell, he was safe. He was a witch hunter after all, and they clearly overlooked the magic he had. She supposed that could just be because he was good at hiding his true nature. Maybe she should ask him for a few pointers.

  "If you think that's going to matter to me when there's a child's life at stake, then you have another thing coming." Her phoenix scratched to be out, screeching and clawing away inside her. She needed to get it back under control, or she was going to have far bigger problems than helping the child.

  "That's not what I meant." His face softened a little, as if not wanting to put her off too much.

  "Then you'd better understand what you do mean," she pointed out, not quite ready to let go of the anger inside her. Damn bird.

  "I mean, I've been undercover for years for the Witch Council. Do you know how many people I've saved in that time?"

  "People like you?" she spat out. "Because you sure as hell didn't save me."

  "Didn't I?" He raised an eyebrow, and she thought back to the man who'd untied her after her burning. But that would mean he must know what she was, or that he at least had an inkling about it.

  "That was you?"

  "Yes. I have the sight, so I knew you'd be okay, but..." He sighed, and pushed his hand over his face again. "It was still so difficult. I'd have stopped it getting to the burning stage, but my choice was you, or a girl who was only sixteen summers old, and with child." He looked conflicted, and to Kenna's surprise, she felt the urge to comfort him. Giving in, she reached out and placed a hand against his arm.

  "Thank you."

  "What?" he said quickly, surprise written all over his face.

  "Thank you," she repeated. "For making the right choice. Though I may have felt different if I'd died."

  He laughed, the sound sending a thrill through Kenna that she didn't want to examine. Even being slightly interested in a witch hunter was a bad, bad, idea. No matter how drawn to him she was. One little slip up, from either of them, could get them both killed. And he'd be dead dead, leaving her behind for an eternity of mourning.

  "You really are special." He sounded a little in awe, but she didn't let herself dwell on it too long. That wasn't going to be a good way to go.

  "We need a plan then, if you're so insistent on not rushing into this."

  "I have one, but I don't think you'll like it," he said, fidgeting profusely.

  "Hit me with it," she responded.

  "It involves you getting caught..."

  Chapter 4

  This wasn't where she'd intended to end up. The shack was as dingy and disgusting as her previous prison, and she couldn't wait to get out. Though she knew she might not be able to. But, given her powers, if it meant saving a child, then it was well and truly worth it. After all, it wasn't like dying would be the end of her.

  The child in question was huddled at the other side of the cell, and after waiting a few moments for the guard to depart, Kenna crawled over to her.

  "Ainthe?" she asked softly. There was a chance Conan had told her a false name, but she doubted it. The best deceptions always contained some sort of truth.

  The little girl shook her head, her lank red hair whipping around her face and leaving smudges of dirt all over her face.

  "You're not called Ainthe?" she asked, receiving another shake of the girl's head. "I'm Kenna, I'm here to get you out of here."

  "I didn't do anything," the little girl said weakly. Her voice cracked, as if it had been used too much and too loudly. She dreaded to think what they'd done to her to make that happen. Hopefully they wouldn't dream of physically harming a child, particularly one who genuinely didn't have magic. And Kenna was completely sure of that. Given the situation, magic would be showing by now. It was making itself known within Kenna too, and she'd had decades of practice trying to control it.

  "I know, Ainthe." She tried out the girl's name again in the hope she'd get a response. The girl looked up with big green eyes, fear at the forefront. If she let it, Kenna's phoenix would kill right now. It would rain down destruction on the whole lot of them. She was even tempted to let it, and would have if there wasn't a risk to the child too.

  "I want to get away from here."

  "Me too, but that's what I'm here for. We're going to get you out of here."

  The rattle of a key drew Kenna's attention away from the child and towards the door. The hea
d witch hunter, or at least, the man she thought was the head witch hunter, strode towards the room in which they were being held. He studied the pair of them, his eyes cold and distant.

  Kenna stepped in front of Ainthe, only realising seconds later that it was the wrong thing to do. A cold smile spread across the man's face.

  "Take the girl."

  "No!" Kenna shouted, drawing his attention even more firmly onto her. His gaze travelled up and down her body, as if sizing her up for the butcher's block. She hoped he'd just go for a plain old burning, that would hurt less. At least it was a possibility now. Her friend the fake witch hunter had spelled her so she didn't look like herself. She hoped it was enough to confuse the hunters. If not, she wasn't sure what she'd actually do.

  "You want to be burned?" the man asked with a raised eyebrow.

  "Instead of the girl? Yes," she answered, steeling her tone and the look on her face to match.

  "Your wish is my command. Bring the woman too," he said as he turned, flicking his hand dismissively.

  "No!"

  "You don't want to be burned?" he asked, not looking back at her.

  "I want to be burned instead of the girl," Kenna protested as she kicked out at the hunter who was now dragging her by the arm.

  "That's not how it works."

  Chapter 5

  The last thing she'd expected was to be back on the pyre, having her hands bound behind the stake again. But that wasn't the biggest problem. The little girl next to her was that. At least they'd put them on the same pyre. It meant that the one option Kenna had left to her was possible, even if it wasn't fool proof. It might not even work. It was old magic, and the chances were pretty slim. Still, she supposed she had to try.

  "Is there anything you can do?" the fake hunter's voice whispered in her ear as he finished tying the ropes around her wrists. She was glad it was him behind her, he wasn't tying the bonds too tight, which she'd need in order to attempt the magic she wanted to.

  "Possibly, but I'm not sure it'll work."