“It seems only the Speaker and his people don’t see the obvious,” Bethy said as she dabbed at her chin with a napkin. “Galen was full of evil, sinful people who warred against us without reason. God sent their island to the water as punishment, and a warning to the rest of us. To give their people our land, to act as if we are guilty, is an insult. That’s why the midnight fire burns so much brighter, so much angrier.”
Kael saw Bree start to respond, and the look in her eye was hardly kind, but a knock on the door interrupted her. Kael’s heart leapt into his throat. Had theotechs come to question their involvement with removing the wings and elements from the academy? Or was their involvement already known, and were knights waiting outside to arrest them? Their aunt sensed their worry, and she rose from the table before either could.
“I’ll see who it is,” she said, careful to keep her voice calm. Kael turned in his seat, watched her open the door. His aunt frowned, glanced to either side of the house, and then bent down to retrieve a small scrap of folded paper.
“There’s no one,” she said as she shut the door. “Just this.”
Aunt Bethy handed him the folded note. The top bore two names: Kael and Bree. With his sister sliding next to him at the table, Kael unfolded the thin sheet of paper. The message inside was simple and quick: Nightfall. Glensbee. East on Thomas Road, look for the laughing frog. Ask for Milly. Fly unchained.
“What is it?” Bethy asked.
“Nothing,” Kael said, glancing at his sister. “Just some friends from the academy hoping to see us again.”
“Oh, how nice. Will you?”
“Of course we will,” Bree said, returning to her chair. “Tonight even, isn’t that right, Kael?”
“It is,” Kael said, wishing he didn’t sound so guilty when he answered.
* * *
The note requested they wait until nightfall, and so they did, exiting Aunt Bethy’s home when the first of the midnight fire burned in the west. The streets were blessedly empty, though the same could not be said for the skies.
“Don’t act like you’re in a hurry,” Kael said as they both spotted an angelic knight flying overhead. “That’ll make them more likely to stop us.”
The knight dipped lower, and Kael clenched his hands into fists as he forced himself to stare straight ahead. They’d practiced their cover story in case they were stopped: they were on their way to one of Lowville’s nearby taverns. Kael ran the words he’d say over and over in his head, trying to get them to sound right, to feel natural, but it proved unnecessary. The knight continued on, the thrumming sound of his wings barely audible.
Bree glanced over her shoulder, confirmed the knight’s absence.
“The sooner we’re out of here, the better,” she said. “Time to run.”
They jogged the road, an easy pace Kael could continue for hours after all their morning runs with Brad at the academy. The squat homes ended, grass and farmland surrounding either side of the road as they crossed the mile between Lowville and Glensbee. Kael kept an eye on the sky at all times. If a knight flew overhead, they needed to slow down, if not hide entirely. The grass was tall enough that they could vanish within if need be.
It wasn’t long before the midnight fire covered the entirety of the sky. The sight of it made the trip feel all the more ominous. Ever since Galen’s fall, a change had come over the fire. It burned brighter, fiercer. Most noticeable of all was how the fire rippled, as if it were a reflection in a pond. Kael had heard plenty of theories, none of which had any scrap of proof to it. The most prevalent was Aunt Bethy’s, and how the fire expressed God’s displeasure. The people of Galen were evil, wasn’t that what Bethy had said? An evil people they now gave shelter to instead of letting be wiped out and forgotten.
“Do you think Aunt Bethy’s right?” Kael asked, and he gestured to the sky. “You think that’s God’s anger up there?”
Bree didn’t even bother to look.
“The fire’s burned for centuries, and we’ve never understood why,” she said. “To pretend to know why it’s changed now is a joke.”
Kael watched the curling and pulsing fire. While he couldn’t argue with her, neither could he shake the feeling that, like Aunt Bethy had said, the fire appeared angrier somehow, as if it raged against the world below. He let the matter drop, for they’d reached the outskirts of Glensbee, and he needed to pay attention if he were to follow the directions he’d memorized. Neither he nor his sister had been to Glensbee more than a few times while growing up, and getting lost was a distinct possibility.
“We’re looking for a road marked Thomas,” he said, squinting in the red light.
“It doesn’t seem like any roads are marked,” Bree said as they walked.
“Well, then let’s hope at least Thomas Road is.”
Glensbee was larger than their own home, and as they neared its center, Kael saw the first of many signs marking the wider roads. They also were no longer alone. Men and women passed by, usually in pairs or groups. Being recognized by people on the ground worried Kael, but it also meant any angelic knight flying overhead would think nothing strange about Kael and Bree walking the road.
“There,” Bree said, stopping and pointing. A rectangular sign nailed to a post read THOMAS, the words carved deep into the wood. “Which way from here?”
“The note said east,” Kael said. “So we go east.”
They turned onto a road surrounded on either side with tall, multistory buildings made entirely of wood instead of stone. Glensbee was both a newer town compared to Lowville, and nearer to Slender Forest, which allowed that extravagance. Most stores went unmarked, though a few bore hanging signs above their doors with pictures representing whatever merchandise was sold within. They’d entered a trade district of sorts. Kael kept his eyes peeled for a sign marking the place they’d been told to find.
“See any laughing frogs?” Kael asked.
“Not yet. Shouldn’t be hard to find.”
It turned out it wasn’t, and not because of the large sign bearing a crude frog holding a mug in its webbed hand. No, it was the only building with candlelight visible through its windows. Kael and Bree stopped before its steps and listened to the raucous laughter and song coming from inside the tavern.
“I’ll go in first in case it’s a trap,” Kael said.
“So I can, what, go running for my life?”
“Exactly, Bree. We both know when it comes to fighting Center, you’re more important than I am.”
She frowned at him but didn’t argue. Kael winked to let her know he wasn’t upset at that fact, then flung open the door. The tavern had about nine people scattered among three tables, the groups lively and well supplied with alcohol. Not a one gave Kael a second glance. Walking up to the tavern keeper, Kael swallowed down his nerves and smiled at the old, gentle-looking man.
“I was hoping Milly was here,” he said.
The tavern keeper smiled, but his eyes glanced to his patrons with sudden caution.
“Out back,” he said, voice dropping so that Kael had to lean closer. “In the cellar. Milly’s waiting for you.”
“Thanks,” Kael said, and he hurried back out. Bree lifted an eyebrow, and in response, Kael beckoned her to follow. They slid around the tavern, to where a cellar door was built into the base of the building. Kael pulled it open, coughed at the dust, and then led the way down the creaking wood steps.
Thin slits of glass near the top of the cellar allowed what little red light they had. Kael stepped off the stairs and put his back against a wall, with Bree joining him. Three people waited inside: Argus Summers, Rebecca Waller, and most surprisingly to him, the academy’s librarian, Devi Winters.
“Devi?” Kael asked, immediately feeling embarrassed by such an outburst. The tiny woman sat with a piece of charcoal and thick sheet of paper covered with her tight handwriting.
“Good to see you two,” she said, smiling at him. “And don’t act so surprised. Those theotechs took my library fro
m me, damn it. I may not be able to fight, but I’ll still do what I can to help.”
“Were you spotted?” Argus asked from the other side of the room. He sat atop a crate in the corner, and it was strange seeing him out of uniform. Though his pants were the same, he wore a loose long-sleeved shirt, a pale blue that seemed to glow in the dark light. One of his swords lay across his lap, and his fingers drummed across the hilt.
“Only once, while still in Lowville,” Kael said. “Just a flyover by a knight. I doubt he knew who we were.”
“Good.” Argus’s fingers tightened about the hilt. “Good.”
“Did Loramere and Aisha escape?” Bree asked, immediately broaching the subject that had been weighing on Kael’s mind as well. Argus shook his head, his frustrated frown making his answer almost unnecessary.
“No,” he said. “They did not.”
“Are you sure?” Bree pressed on. “Maybe they’re in hiding. It’s only been a day, and—”
“I saw Loramere die with my own eyes,” Argus interrupted. “Yes, I am sure.”
Kael could only imagine what it would have been like for Argus to watch his fellow Seraph die, and be unable to intervene. It sounded like hell. Knowing the two died to save him and his sister certainly didn’t help the guilt pressing on his own spine.
“So who’s Milly?” Kael asked, trying to pierce the awkward silence with anything else at all.
“Milly’s my middle name,” Rebecca said. “The tavern’s owner is my great-uncle, and he’d go to the grave before selling us out to Center. Now, a lot is still scheduled for tonight, so we need to speak quickly.”
She stood in the center of the cellar, the only one still wearing her uniform, her black shirt and blue jacket smooth and prim as ever. Stranger was how she had no pad or notes on her, with Devi seemingly having taken over that responsibility. It was as if her hands didn’t know what to do now that they were empty, and she kept tapping them against her thighs.
“The academy’s shutdown is only a part of Marius Prakt’s dismantling of Weshern’s infrastructure,” she continued. “A dismantling that began the moment they imprisoned our royal family and imposed sanctions against us. Today the Speaker officially disbanded our Seraphim, and he also ordered our ground troops to evacuate Fort Luster and return to their homes. With our entire military scattered, and our Archon imprisoned, we are now at the complete mercy of Center and her theotechs.”
Argus shifted on his perch atop the crate.
“I’m thankful for your aid in rescuing supplies from the academy,” he told the siblings, “but we’ll be needing far more help than that. Center has crossed a line, and it’s time we made our stand. Rebecca here has drafted a list of demands for the Speaker. Tomorrow morning we’ll deliver the list to the theotechs, as well as post it all throughout Weshern.”
“What type of demands?” Kael asked.
“Things any rational man or woman would accept as fair,” Rebecca said. “An end to their imposed sanctions, the release of our royal family, and the return of our wings and elements so we might defend ourselves. Most important of all, we need them to acknowledge Weshern’s independence and vow never to repeat such an invasion of our territory.”
For the most part, it was a return to the way things were prior to Galen’s fall, but Kael knew in his gut that obtaining such a peace wouldn’t be easy, and it was clear Bree agreed.
“Marius won’t back down to these demands,” she said. “Not without a fight.”
“And that’s what we’re going to give him,” Argus said. “We need to rebuild our military, quickly, and in secret.” He gestured their way. “Gathering Seraphs such as yourselves and discovering their loyalty is a large part of that.”
“But for us to form an army, we need supplies,” Rebecca said, nodding in agreement. “We’ve lost access to all we had in the academy plus Fort Luster. Everything we’ll need must come through other means. Kael, that’s what you’re here for.”
Kael failed to hide his surprise. Him? He’d assumed they wanted Bree in some capacity, either for her skills in combat or her growing reputation. What could they want with him?
“Just ask, and I’ll do it,” Kael said.
“Excellent,” Rebecca said. “We need you to go to the holy mansion and speak with Clara Willer. Use your relationship with her to discover what aid the royal family can offer.”
Heat built in Kael’s neck.
“How did you...”
“You accompanied her to the solstice dance,” Devi said, looking up from her notes. “That, and people gossip at the academy. Yes, even we librarians and instructors hear about your doings, and often far more than we’d like.”
Kael wasn’t entirely sure what his relationship with Clara was, but he’d not seen her since her parents’ imprisonment. Glad for any reason to visit, he nodded, and he tried to make his voice sound firm and controlled when he spoke.
“I’ll go tomorrow.”
“Good,” Rebecca said. “With the Archon and his wife imprisoned, his sons have taken over what few administrative duties are left. We must learn where their loyalties lie. If they won’t help us, we must view them as traitors to Weshern and adjust our plans accordingly.”
“The wealth and influence of the royal family will accomplish much, but not everything,” Argus added. “Center controls the trade of all elements. We’re looking into underground markets, but we cannot rely on those to be enough. We must obtain all we can, no matter the risk.”
Rebecca approached the two, but Kael noticed her eyes were focused only on his sister.
“I’ve begun building a network of spies, and one such spy monitored the removal of the remaining gear from the academy grounds,” she said. “We weren’t able to recover all of our elements before our retreat, but what Center’s forces took is still on Weshern soil, and we know it’s being guarded. In a few hours, we’ll launch an attack before they leave our island and are therefore beyond our reach. If we succeed, we’ll have the elements we need to resist Center on a far grander scale than we can now. The harder we hit them, the more likely they’ll settle for peace.”
Argus cleared his throat.
“Bree, we want you to be a part of that attack,” he said.
“Just Bree?” Kael asked, trying to mask the hurt in his voice.
“Just Bree,” Argus said. “I’m sorry, Kael. Your role is too important. We have no one else who might go in and out of the holy mansion without attracting attention.” Argus crossed his arms. “Well, what do you say? Will you fly with us?”
Kael knew the answer she’d give the moment the question was asked.
“Give me my swords and wings, and I will do my best,” she said.
“Excellent,” Argus said, but he didn’t sound relieved just yet. He turned to Kael, met his eye. “Both your roles put your lives in danger, and not just your own. Should either of you be caught, it puts the other in immediate risk. No theotech will believe one of you acting without aid and support from the other. Knowing this, are you both still willing to pledge your allegiance to our resistance?”
Kael exchanged looks with his sister. The fear was there, the worry, but as before, Kael knew the answer without even needing to ask.
“We’re in this together,” he said, turning back to Argus. “Even if that means sharing the risks as well.”
“Excellent,” Argus said, hopping down from his crate. “Kael, return home, and try not to be seen. Bree, you’re coming with me.”
Everyone else prepared to leave. Kael hugged his sister, burying his fear with a wide grin.
“Make the bastards pay,” he told her.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said, sensing the apprehension hiding behind his grin. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”
“What’d I say about making promises you can’t keep?”
His sister winked at him in the deep red light.
“If I fail, you can join the old lady in yelling at my funeral.”
CHAPTER
2
Where are we going?” Bree asked as Argus led her farther north down the road. The trade district was far behind them, the tall wood buildings replaced with the more familiar squat stone homes akin to those in Lowville. They each kept an eye on the sky at all times, painfully aware of how vulnerable they were to any angelic knights flying overhead.
“To a barn just outside town,” Argus said. Despite them being alone on the street, he glanced about as if searching for eavesdroppers. “My most trusted Seraphim are already gathered there, waiting for us to arrive so we might begin our surprise assault.”
Bree nodded, flattered to be considered one of his trusted few. It should seem silly given all she’d done in her past two battles against Galen, but Argus was still the legendary hero of Weshern’s Seraphim, while she...Well, they might be attempting to craft the Phoenix into a similar hero, but she wasn’t there yet.
“What do we do when we get the elements?” she asked.
“Then we fly the hell out of there,” Argus said. “This is a smash and grab, Bree. It should fit your reckless talents well.”
“Are backhanded compliments the only compliments you know?”
Argus laughed. “Perhaps. Once our nation isn’t on the verge of complete domination, I’ll try harder to use tact.”
Before she could respond, Argus suddenly grabbed her wrist and yanked, hard. The two tumbled against the stone side of a house, both backs against it. Bree’s startled cry muffled against Argus’s palm.
“Quiet,” he whispered into her ear.
By then she heard the thrumming of wings. An angelic knight flew overhead, his form a shadow against the rippling midnight fire. He kept closer to ground than the others she’d seen earlier, traveling in a gentle curve about the outskirts of Glensbee. The overhang of the roof was paltry cover, but it seemed enough as the knight continued on. That, or the two didn’t appear worthy of notice.
“It’s going to get worse,” Argus said as he let Bree go. “So far we’ve only hidden away what is rightfully ours. Once Marius realizes we’re organized, and we present him with our demands? Then neither day nor night will be safe for us.”
Fireborn Page 3