Flameseeker (Book 3)

by R. M. Prioleau

  Jarial inhaled the scents of incense, mixed with the light fragrance of honeysuckle, the goddess’s signature flower. Several clerics strolled about, tending to visitors. A group of travelers had gathered at a small wooden altar. A priest prayed and sprinkled honeysuckle blossoms upon it. The white-and-gold-patterned altar cloth draped neatly over the altar, its embroidered frontals of designs depicting Dragons hanging loosely over the sides.

  Other people sat in pews, praying silently to themselves. Bowing his head, Jarial quietly made his way to one of the rear pews and sat. He folded his hands over his lap and began his own silent meditation. Sable curled up beside him on the pew and, purring contentedly, shut her eyes.

  After Jarial concluded his prayers, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and heard a soft whisper. “The goddess bless you, sir.”

  Jarial tensed and opened his eyes. A woman stood beside him, smiling warmly. Silken snow-white hair half-veiled her sapphire eyes. She wore blue silver-trimmed priestly robes bearing a rose intertwined with a silhouette of a Dragon’s head. Everything about her was flawless—no blemishes or other imperfections on her powder-white skin, and her body perfectly proportioned. It was as if Jarial was staring at the essence of Celestra herself in mortal form. He couldn’t help but smile back at her.

  The more he stared, the more it baffled him that he could not determine her age, though he noted a maturity in her eyes. Surely, that is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

  “If there is any way I can assist you, please let me know,” she said.

  Jarial felt his mouth go dry. Such simple words, yet they made his heart skip a beat. “Thank you, Priestess. I was ... simply praying to the goddess for a safe journey that I will soon be embarking on with my student.”

  She nodded. “The goddess is always watching over us. It is She who gives us strength. I can personally attest to that, as my comrades and I returned safely from a grand adventure not long ago.”

  “Oh?” Jarial raised his eyebrows. “Well, that is good to know.”

  She nodded and slid her hand off his shoulder. “My name is Zarya. I only recently began working here at the aurorium.”

  “Zarya,” Jarial repeated. What a lovely name. “My name is Jarial. Jarial Glace.”

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mister Glace.”

  “No, the pleasure is all mine.” Jarial’s smile broadened. “And please, call me Jarial.”

  Zarya looked around. “Is your student here, now?”

  “Omari should be along shortly.” His smile fell. He better be.

  Zarya blinked. “Omari? Batsuyou?”

  “Why, yes.” Jarial tilted his head to the side. “Do you know him?”

  “Know him? He was one of my traveling companions.”

  Jarial and Zarya spoke at length about Zarya’s adventures and Jarial’s plans for his journey. Zarya, seeming intrigued by him from their talk, joined him when he left the aurorium shortly afterward. They found Omari, his bag slung across him and his glowing staff secured at his back, patiently waiting just outside along with Nester, who stood by him, attempting to make idle conversation with the young mage.

  Sable sat down comfortably by the aurorium’s entry doors and began giving herself a bath. Percival climbed down from Omari’s shoulders and inched next to Sable, watching her curiously.

  Nester ran to Zarya. “’Ey, beautiful! Fancy seein’ you again!”

  Zarya nodded. “And you as well, Nester. I hope you’re staying out of trouble.”

  “Oh, you know me!” Nester grinned.

  Omari snorted.

  Zarya acknowledged him. “Hello, again,” she said.

  “Zarya.” The young mage nodded curtly.

  “Your master was telling me about a journey you were both embarking on.” Her face lit up. “You’re really going to see Kaijin again?”

  Omari glanced around the group and cleared his throat. “Well, y-yes, yes, that is correct.”

  “Aye?” Nester spoke up. “You’re gonna see Kaijin? That’s wonderful! I miss th’ fiery sod, I do! So when do we go? I updated my map, y’know!”

  Jarial blinked. “Wait ... so you’re the one Omari mentioned has a map to the Pyre?”

  Nester grinned. “Aye! Sure do!” He nudged Omari in the thigh with his elbow. “You’re tellin’ people about ol’ Nester, are you? Any beautiful women amongst ’em?”

  Zarya tried to suppress a chuckle, and Jarial smirked at her. She is rather cute when she laughs.

  Omari rubbed his face, exasperated. “No! Confound it! Look, we just need to know how to get to the Pyre from here, that is all.”

  “Aye? Well let’s go, then!”

  Omari gritted his teeth. “You are not going. This is business between me and Master Glace. Just give me that confounded map.”

  Nester’s smile fell and he crossed his arms. “Nay, I ain’t givin’ you my map! My Uncle Nickle gave it to me!”

  “Unfortunately,” Jarial interjected, “it seems we have no choice in the matter.” He glowered at the brownie. “All right, Nester. For your sake, you had better provide accurate directions. Now let us all go.” He strode off past them, and Omari followed.

  “See you later, beautiful!” Nester saluted Zarya, then fell in behind Jarial and Omari.

  Zarya’s gentle voice called out, “Wait ... please. Mister Glace, sir.”

  Jarial stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder. Zarya approached, her movements more graceful than a swan’s.

  “Our last trip to the Pyre involved bandits, slayers, trolls, and more. May I offer my aid to your group with healing and protection?” she asked politely.

  Jarial opened his mouth to respond, but Nester spoke first. “Aye, just what I was thinkin’! Of course you can come!” He added with a smirk, “An’ I bet Kaijin’ll be ’appy to see you, too.”

  Zarya looked up, apparently surprised. A hint of pink flushed her cheeks.

  Omari’s head snapped to Jarial, and he muttered, “Master Glace, are you seriously going to—”

  Jarial held up his hand, silencing the other mage. “M’lady, it would be an honor to have you accompany us. Favor will be upon our group, with the goddess’s blessings bestowed upon us.”

  Zarya smiled.

  Nester’s head whipped back and forth between them. “All right, all right. So let’s get goin’, eh? Oh! We should get Aidan, too. I can’t count ’ow many times that big bloke saved all of our ’ides!”

  “Aidan?” Jarial repeated, then recalled the half-Dragon.

  Omari grumbled. “Must we? He will bore me with his confounded pacifism.”

  “Perhaps we should,” Zarya said. “It is going to be a long trip to the Pyre, and after all the dangers we’d gone through on our last journey, it might not be a bad idea to have someone like him with us. Let’s at least ask him, yes?”

  “Actually,” Jarial said, “we’re not going to—”

  “All right! Let’s get ’im!” Nester exclaimed, bounding ahead.

  It was Jarial’s turn to grumble, and he shook his head. What have I gotten myself into?

  “You two go ahead,” Zarya offered. “I’m going to get my things from the aurorium, and let the clergy know that I am leaving for a time.”

  Jarial exhaled. The woman’s soothing voice calmed his nerves.

  “Very well. Meet us at the east gate.” He turned and regarded Omari sourly, then with a tilt of his head, gestured for him to follow.

  They returned to the orphanage where Jarial had last seen Aidan. All they discovered was some of the children playing outside in the street. Nester wandered toward a group of orphans, and as Jarial approached to nab Nester by the back of the collar, the brownie skittered away to another group.

  “At this rate, we might as well look for him ourselves,” Omari murmured to Jarial.

  Jarial sighed, his patience already thin. “Yes, unfortunately.”

  He approached a little boy sitting on a bench against the wall of the orphanage. The boy,
who looked no older than eight, was very clean-cut and handsome compared to some of the other orphans Jarial had seen. While the other children played, he kept to himself, reading a book.

  “Excuse me, lad,” Jarial said.

  The boy slowly looked up from his book. His big brown eyes regarded Jarial with curiosity. “Yes, sir?”

  Jarial glimpsed arcane runes on the book’s cover and realized the boy was reading a book about magic. A warm feeling filled Jarial, and his thoughts turned to the days in Easthaven and Kaijin as a boy, reading similar books. Kaijin ...

  Sable meowed, breaking Jarial’s reverie. He glimpsed his familiar and Percival nearby, just as they were being fawned over by a group of little girls. Jarial returned his attention to the boy, smiling. “I’m looking for Aidan. Have you seen him lately?”

  The boy’s face lit up. “Oh, yes, sir! He’s inside, helping Miss Ophelia. I hope he will play with us again today. He is really nice to us, always bringing food and new toys. And he’s really, really strong!”

  Jarial heard Omari sigh from behind him but didn’t acknowledge the other mage. “Thank you for the information, lad. And ... I hope you are enjoying that book.”

  The boy beamed. “Oh, I am, sir! It’s a book about magic. I really want to learn magic at the Citadel. I’m waiting on one of the older kids to take me to the big event there today. I can’t wait!”

  Jarial’s mouth went dry, and his stomach tied in knots. The boy’s enthusiasm was very similar to Kaijin’s at that age.

  The orphanage’s main door swung open, and Aidan emerged, ducking beneath the door frame and nearly bumping his head. The children all stopped their games and swarmed the half-Dragon before he managed to make it fully outside.

  “Aidan, will you play hide-and-seek with us?” one child asked.

  “No, I wanna hear another story about the Dragons!” another exclaimed, jumping up and down.

  “No! We can get some cinnamon buns at the bakery!” the youngest child of the group suggested.

  “Yeah! Yummy cinnamon buns! Hooray!” other children agreed unanimously.

  Aidan beamed down at the eager children, revealing his fangs. “Of course. We can do all of that and more. Aidan just needs to ask Miss Ophelia first, and—”

  “Aidan! Nay, you gotta come with us, mate!” Nester called from amongst the group of children. He emerged from within the startled cluster and stood before the giant.

  Aidan’s smile fell. “What do you want now, Nester?”

  “We’re goin’ to th’ Pyre to see Kaijin again,” Nester said. “It’s gonna be a long trip, y’know. We could certainly use you to—”

  “No, Aidan is staying here. He has obligations to children now.”

  “But ... But ... Who’s gonna ’elp us cross rivers? Or stop slayers dead in their tracks?”

  Aidan let out a low, guttural growl. “Find someone else. Aidan is done with adventuring.”

  “Is it another big adventure, Nester?” one of the children asked. “Like the one you and Aidan told us about before?”

  Nester turned to the little boy. “Aye! An’ there are big, evil, nasty slayers causin’ problems again. They kidnapped my best mate, Kaijin, they did!”

  Jarial blinked. What!

  Omari’s jaw dropped, and he muttered to Jarial, “I cannot believe I am hearing this.”

  “You and me both.”

  The children regarded Nester with widened eyes and newfound awe.

  Aidan scoffed. “Enough, Nester. You are making up stories now.”

  “Nay! Th’ slayers really did kidnap Kaijin from the Pyre an’ are plottin’ their revenge for what we did to one of their leaders. We need your ’elp, Aidan!”

  “Aidan, you should go save the world again!” one of the older children said.

  The half-Dragon whipped his head to face the child. “No, Aidan is not—”

  “Aidan! You’re not afraid of the bad people, are you?”

  “Yeah! Beat up those evil nasty slayers!”

  “Can you bring back a baby Dragon for my little sister?”

  “I wanna be just like you when I grow up—beating up the bad people and saving Dragons!”

  The children continued their chatter, and Aidan backed into the doorway, nearly bumping into Ophelia. He glanced helplessly at her.

  She smiled sweetly and squeezed past him to confront the children. She silenced them all with a wave of her hands. “All right. Enough, children. I’m sure Aidan is very busy today, and he won’t have time to play with you all.”

  A little girl raised her hand frantically. “Miss Ophelia! Miss Ophelia! Aidan said he’s gonna save the world again!”

  Her outburst brought a massive cheer from the other children, and they chanted, “Aidan! Aidan! Aidan!”

  Ophelia raised her eyebrows and looked toward the giant, who rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly.

  “Don’t worry, Aidan,” one of the older boys assured him. “We’ll take real good care of Miss Ophelia and the orphanage while you’re gone. We’ll do our chores and be real good, so we can hear all of your stories when you get back.”

  “Aye,” Nester piped. “We should get a move on, eh? Everyone agrees. Come on, Aidan.”

  Aidan’s mouth hung open. His body slumped, and he helplessly trudged to the brownie. The children cheered excitedly as he passed.

  “Aidan, promise you’ll come back and tell us a story about the Dragons,” a little boy pleaded.

  Aidan looked over his shoulder toward the boy and sighed heavily. “Yes ... Aidan promise.”

  Another wave of cheers erupted. Finally, after saying their good-byes, the children were rounded up and Ophelia led them inside the orphanage.

  Jarial stood frozen, dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed. “I’ve seen it, and I still can’t believe it,” he muttered.

  “You and me both,” Omari said.

  * * *

  Omari and the group met up with Zarya at the eastern gates a short time later. They immediately set out, with Master Jarial Glace leading the way.

  “Why do I gotta feelin’ that we should’ve gotten some ’orses before we left?” Omari heard Nester mutter behind him.

  “There’s no need,” Jarial said, apparently having heard the brownie. “Our trip will not be long. We just need to be away from the city.”

  “’Ey now, ’ow do you know th’ trip won’t be long?”

  Jarial hissed through his teeth. “I do not have to explain myself to you, brownie. Now, enough of your frivolous questions. Follow.”

  Omari walked just behind Jarial and Sable. Percival moved onto Omari’s other shoulder and, with a happy squeak, acknowledged Nester, who came up beside them.

  Omari looked down at the brownie. Nester, his chest puffed out, strode quickly to keep up with everyone.

  “Should I even ask how you managed to get Aidan to join us like that?” Omari inquired.

  Nester shuffled closer to Omari, smirking mischievously. He replied in just above a whisper, “Well, y’see, Aidan’s gotta bit of a soft spot for kids.”

  “Dare I say that you took that story to the extreme?”

  Nester rolled his eyes. “Well ... Maybe just a li’l. But it worked, aye? Now relax!” Nester waved him off.

  Omari gazed back at Aidan, who brought up the rear. The giant was straining to scratch his back, but he had trouble stretching his burly arm behind him.

  The group continued down the main road for several minutes, where autumn had revealed itself over the landscape. Vibrant fiery leaves were being carried off by cool northern breezes, whisking through bare branches, while some fluttered to the ground.

  When Ghaeldorund was no longer in view behind them, Jarial detoured off the road and made his way toward a dense thicket. “Come. We need to be off the road and away from the eyes of passersby for me to perform the spell properly.”

  “What spell?” Zarya asked.

  “Oh, didn’t I tell you, my dear? Forgive me, but I intend to telepo
rt us all there.”

  Nester stopped in his tracks. “What? Soddin’ ’ells! You didn’t say there would be any fiddlin’ like that involved!”

  Omari scoffed. “Because you never gave him a chance.”

  Aidan stopped beside Omari and crossed his arms. “Surely there is better way to get to that place quickly.”

  “There is no better, quicker, and more reliable way than through my spell, which I stayed up half of last night studying,” Jarial snapped back at them.

  Omari hurried after Jarial as he disappeared in the thicket. “Stop your confounded complaining and follow Master Glace!”

  Jarial paused in a small clearing and brushed leaves, twigs, and debris away with his foot. He found a long stick and began drawing a circle in the dirt. Sable settled herself comfortably in a bed of leaves and kept her intent gaze on her master.

  Omari watched attentively as Jarial prepared the teleportation spell. It would be a long while before he himself would master the spell—if he ever did—but he found it intriguing to watch. Jarial acted so confident, as if he were performing a simple cantrip. Percival, who was clutched on Omari’s shoulder, tilted his head to the side as he watched.

  Zarya, Nester, and Aidan stood outside the circle and remained silent while Jarial worked.

  “I will need to see your map, Nester,” Jarial said, without pausing. “As for the rest of you, I want you to tell me everything you remember about what the Pyre looked like, to the finest detail.”

  Omari looked at Aidan, Nester, and Zarya, wondering who would start first.

  Zarya rubbed her chin and looked pensive. “I need to think on that a little more. Why don’t you go first, Aidan?”