Fire

by Rosie Scott

  I collapsed into the grasses when I was far enough away from the campsite not to hear Silas and Nyx's bickering. I focused on breathing, one inhale before a long exhale, over and over again, trying to clear my head. I'd hated bringing up my idea to the others, but I could not get past the sickening feeling that Bjorn and Terran were in trouble. Perhaps not Terran—my brother was, after all, the heir to Sera.

  But Bjorn...I had spent the better part of a year on the road, which was the longest I'd ever been from him. I longed for his strong embrace, the same one that had comforted me as a child. Now that I knew both living parental units of mine were awful, I longed to tell him this and ask his permission to call him my father. After all, Bjorn was the only person in my life who deserved the title. It was a wonder he'd never settled down and had a brood of kids he could call his own; he was one of the few who would've been great at it.

  There was a swish in the grasses behind me as I heard someone approaching. I didn't turn to see who it was. I kept my eyes on the night sky, attempting to find peace in it.

  “If we are to return to Sera, we have to keep our identities hidden.” It was Cerin. Somehow, he was the last person I expected to follow me out here, after the anxieties I'd just put him through.

  “Yes...” I trailed it off, my anger turning to sadness. It was the first time the consequences of my actions had really hit me. The city in which I'd spent my childhood would no longer have me or my friends. My throat felt thick with tears I refused to shed. It wasn't even that I wanted to go live in the city like I once did; it was the fact that if I did want to, I couldn't.

  “Your father knows what I look like,” Cerin continued. “He has sent men after me before. I have found sketches that mirror my face in their pockets. They could either catch me or criminalize you for being with me. They don't yet know what I have taught you. You, alone, are safe.”

  “I am not going to run from a friend in the hopes of getting a lesser sentence, Cerin,” I replied, my voice thick with emotion. “If they want you, they'll need to get through me. If they want me, I will not use your crimes as as shield. If we are never seen by anyone other than Terran and Bjorn, it will be for the best.”

  “The key is doing that successfully,” he said. “If you do nothing else at all, I plead you to think twice about those you trust before you decide to do this. It takes just one stab in the back for all of this to unravel.”

  My stomach ached at his warning. “You do not trust me? Or Silas?”

  “I do not trust many. Silas's loyalties are unclear to me. I have heard your love for your brother and Bjorn, but I have no reason to trust them, myself. Please understand that I must be leery.” He hesitated. “They love you, I am sure of it, but they are both close to your father. Terran does not stand to gain anything with you, but a kingdom has been promised to him by your father. As for Bjorn, who is to say he will not sabotage us simply because he wants to do what he thinks is best for you?”

  I exhaled so hard it whistled through my teeth. “Bjorn trusts my judgment. He may not leave Sera with me, but he will not sabotage us. I would bet my life on it.”

  “And indeed you shall,” Cerin replied, softly.

  In the days that followed, we planned our visit to Sera. It was a place none of us wanted to re-enter, but hopefully by working together, we wouldn't have to stay very long and we wouldn't even have to be found out by those who would do us harm. It was possible Cerin trusted me more than he let on, given his begrudging acceptance to follow me there. Silas, on the other hand, was clearly not happy with our return, and he seemed even less happy over my reasons. I understood he was scared. Given his position in his Celdic lineage, if he was found out to be a co-conspirator of necromancers, no matter how unintentional, it could ruin him.

  Nyx wasn't happy about returning, but it was nothing she wasn't already used to. She had always avoided the upper tiers of the city if she could help it. Theron was the odd one out; besides his relations to Cerin and I, he had no reason to fear Sera. It was for this reason that we chose him as our leader into the city, when we would eventually get there. He was the least recognized of any of us, particularly when it came to being our companion. When securing rooms in an inn, the names of Sera or Galan would never have to be uttered.

  And so it was that we reached the outskirts of Sera when the second moon of Meir was high at the center of the sky, exchanging the coolness of Red Moon for the chill of Dark Star. It had taken us nearly two seasons to reach Whispermere, but only a few weeks over one for the return trip. We'd had less detours and stops this time around, not to mention that all of us were much better at traveling together than when we started. Everyone had the things that they were good at, and automatically set about doing it for the rest of the group.

  As I stared at Sera still a day away in the distance, I hoped we would be as good at working together for this than we had been at traveling. My home made for a beautiful view, each tier of it lighting up the mountainside. With Meir dominating the sky to the city's east, it was easier to see its buildings and architecture, and even the smaller things like the guards up on its walls, taking their nightly strolls.

  Still, it seemed so intimidating, now. My eyes lingered on the tall stone towers of the Seran University, that put even the highest buildings in the lower districts to shame. Sirius and Terran were there, and if I was to get the attention of one without the other, it would require good fortune and teamwork from all of us.

  Bjorn. I couldn't see the barracks from here, but just knowing I was so close to him and couldn't just run the rest of the way to see him killed me. I had to believe he would leave with me. His first loyalty may have been to Sirius, but surely that had changed in the last twenty or so years when he had been a major part of my life. He was growing older, yes, but I believed he would rather be on the run with me than work the rest of his life under Sirius. In a way, thinking back on it now, I wished I would have asked him to join us when we'd left.

  There was nothing I could do to change the past. I could only hope that this time in Sera I would be able to make up for my past mistakes.

  Eighteen

  Walking into Sera was downright anxiety-inducing. We entered at night, when the streets were mostly empty save for Seran soldiers and people of ill repute. Cerin and I wore our cloaks so that we could hide our faces in shadow, though the soldiers at the gate could have cared less when we came through. The men had been in the midst of heated political disagreement when it came to some trade deal Sirius had arranged with Nahara in my absence.

  Nyx and Theron led us through the shadowed and broken cobblestone streets of the poor sector. Ramshackle homes built out of equal parts stone and wood rose up on either side of us, sometimes new apartments built haphazardly over the roofs of existing homes from a lack of space. The city did not pay to keep these streets lit like the upper sectors, or even to keep it well guarded. I glimpsed shady dealings down thin, dark alleyways, and heard the cries and coughs of sick children whose parents were most likely unable to pay the exorbitant prices of the mages who lived so tortuously close to them. Somewhere, a dog was barking, its hoarse warnings echoing off of stone walls. Then, with a squeal, it was silenced.

  It was a far cry from the merchant and rich sectors higher up in Sera. I hadn't been down to see the poor sectors often when I'd lived here, and now I could see why. It was clear to me that both Theron and Nyx knew this area much better than I and both had been here many times before, for they walked through it with purpose and direction.

  We traveled down side streets until we turned down a wider street that was clearly meant as a shopping strip of sorts for the poor. A small market sat beside some shops advertising homemade goods and a tavern, which was the brightest place in a good distance from any direction.

  The tavern was on the corner of the intersection of two main streets, and was built out of large, untrimmed and whole trunks of trees. It was three stories high, and light from within spilled out its windows over the cobblest
one streets in rectangles. Laughing, talking, music, and the sounds of drunk people dancing were muted behind its walls. A sign hung over the door between its two street facing walls, a carving of a mug of ale and a stack of coins lying just below the words, The Hung HorsemINN: Your Secrets are Safe With Us! Given the reputations of taverns, and given this particular inn's tongue-in-cheek sign, I doubted that was the case.

  Nyx opened the door with a push and then a kick of her boot, and led the group of us in. The music and conversations were amplified as the walls enclosed around us. This was definitely a place for the poor and destitute to come and spend their wages on things that would only maintain their lifestyle, but nevertheless, the people were laughing and having fun. If I were here in better times and weren't stressed out about my current situation, I may have joined them.

  As we were led to the bar, we passed couples making out at corner tables, and men passed out in pools of spilled alcohol. Over to our left, a man who had gotten too into dancing while drunk had fallen, causing belly laughs from all who saw it. Above my head and through the floor boards, I was pretty sure I heard a particularly hyper bed spring.

  “Ah, Nyx! Long time no see, love!” The man who spoke from behind the counter was a Celdic elf, his long brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail, allowing the tips of his ears to glow in the nearby candlelight. He had three thick scars running horizontally across his face, like it had come from the swipe of a paw, and a long pipe stuck out of his lips, smoke rising slowly from it. When I approached the bar, I could smell a mix of herbs from it, knowing that some of them may not have been perfectly legal.

  “Heeey, Linden,” Nyx greeted, glancing back toward us.

  “There are a few lonely guys here tonight. Could point them out to you, if you're interested,” Linden offered. “And don't forget, if you want me for the night, I won't even charge.” He wiggled his eyebrows and took a puff of his pipe.

  “Not here for that tonight, bud,” my friend replied. “I need...” she glanced back toward us again. “Five rooms.”

  “You brought your own, ey?” Linden's eyes scanned over us all. “You don't need five rooms for that.”

  “I need five rooms. Don't argue,” Nyx replied, impatiently.

  “Hm. Okay, okay, I won't ask.” Linden stooped down below the counter and pulled up a book. As he flipped through it to the current date, I found myself surprised that he kept records at all here. “I hate to say it, but I only have three rooms left for the night.” With another cheesy grin toward Nyx, he said, “Mine's got room for one more.” He glanced over to me. “Or two.”

  I stuck a thumb back toward the front door. “The inn...was it named after you?”

  That caught his attention. Leaning over his book on his forearms, to smile over at me, he replied, “Why yes, Nyx's beautiful fire-haired friend, it was. I can prove it to you, if you'd like.” Another wiggle of his eyebrows.

  I chuckled. I found this man oddly charming in a goofy way, if a little desperate. “I will believe it is as you say, Linden.”

  The Celdic elf's eyes beckoned in mine. “Nyx, be a dear and introduce me to this vixen, for I fear chasing for her affections will be difficult otherwise.”

  “For fuck's sake, Linden, put your dick back in your pants and do your job,” Nyx hissed.

  “Ah, the lady protests,” he complained, standing back up. “You want the three rooms, then?”

  “Yes, please.”

  We waited as Linden marked it down in his book, and took the coin from Nyx. He then gave us three silver keys. “Your rooms are 18, 19, and 20. Up the stairs and down the right hallway, all the way at the end.” Even as we walked away, the horny elf managed to sneak an alluring smile my way.

  We decided that Nyx and I would sleep in the same room, and Silas and Theron would sleep in another. Cerin would be alone in the room between the other two. After a good night's rest, we would be sending Theron out in the morning up to the barracks to find Bjorn and give him a message from me to both him and Terran. From there, we would just have to wait and hope they came quickly, or gave Theron a message in return.

  The next morning, I had my message written by Nyx and given to Theron, so even my handwriting could not be recognized in the case it was seen by someone else. I deliberately kept the note vague, so that it would mean nothing to anyone who came across it if they were not one of the intended recipients. I hoped the message relayed just enough to the two men to get them to come.

  Bjorn/Terran,

  Urgent. Please come at earliest convenience. Messenger will tell you where. It has been nearly a year since I left for Whispermere. I have much to tell you both.

  With that, Theron was off, and all we could do was wait. I had given him a visual description of both Bjorn and Terran, though it was imperative that he would reach Bjorn, if at all possible. It would be much harder for him to get an audience with my brother.

  Theron returned some hours later, and informed us the message had been received by Bjorn, who had promised to pass along the message to my brother. I was told that Bjorn would be unable to make it on that very night, due to an influx of new recruits keeping his schedule full. He would find the time for me, he promised.

  Over the rest of the evening, as the sun crawled across the sky and dipped back below the horizon, we waited in our rooms. I didn't want to risk being seen by anyone who knew me. Theron and Nyx took turns waiting in the bar, as Bjorn and Terran were told to meet them there to be led to me. Just when I'd all but given up hope to be visited on the first day, a knock came at our room's door.

  I opened it. Terran stood on the other side, a range of emotions running through his sharp features. He immediately grabbed me into his arms.

  “Sister, thank the gods. I never thought I'd see you again.”

  Ale and sage. It was so comforting to me. I pulled back from his hug, before pulling him inside the room Nyx and I were preparing to share for a second night. Terran and Nyx said awkward hellos, before I sat my brother down on the edge of the bed.

  “I have missed you greatly, Terran. I have much to tell you.” I swallowed hard, and sat beside him. “You have no need to fear for my life, brother.”

  “What have you learned?” He asked, intrigued.

  Over the next minutes, I tried to rush through most of our journey, though I kept Cerin's name out of it. I knew Terran might remember him, and if so, he could remember why he had left the college so early. I told him mostly of my mother, and my disappointment, and finding out I was no longer just human.

  “You have made friends along your journey,” Terran commented, at a point.

  I nodded, thinking of Theron. “I hired Theron as a mercenary before we left. He has become a friend.”

  “You chose well.” Terran hesitated, before asking, “Who else?”

  My stomach twisted into a knot. “No one else. I have Nyx and Silas with me.”

  Terran frowned, his dark brown eyebrows dipping toward the center of his face. “There is a man here, clad in black. He has the room next to yours.”

  I wasn't sure how Terran could know that. Cerin had been doing such a good job of staying hidden in his room. “Yes, well, there are many rooms here with people in them I have never seen, brother.”

  Terran nodded, and looked away. “I love you very much, sister. I hope you remain diligent when it comes to those you keep close to you.”

  My heart pounded in my ears. Surely he knew nothing of Cerin being here with me. We had been so careful. “As I hope you do as well. I have one last thing I need to tell you.”

  My brother glanced back over to me. His eyes held a certain amount of distance. I felt sick with confusion; I didn't know what had caused it. “What is it?”

  “Sirius—father—is the one who hired the Alderi to assassinate me six years ago,” I said, keeping intense eye contact with him so he could see my honesty. “He was—”

  “Kai, Kai, listen to you!” Terran looked perplexed. “I understand your relationship with our
father is strained, but to suggest such a thing! Who has been feeding you such lies?”

  “My mother told me this. She knew those who requested it of him.”

  “She may be the woman who birthed you, but you knew her a total of what—two days and nights? She fed you lies, sister. Father has always had plans for you. He loves you—”

  “Do not lie to me, Terran. You don't like what I am saying, but do not attempt to change my opinion with lies.”

  Terran stared at me a moment. “Do not be the pot that calls the kettle black.”

  I was quiet, thinking back over our conversation. Somehow, Terran knew more than he was letting on. I didn't know what it was—whether he knew Cerin was with me, or thought I was straight up lying about the assassination attempt—and not knowing was driving me crazy. But I could not figure it out without letting him in on my secrets.

  Terran stood up, facing the door. “Forgive me, Kai. I must leave.”

  “Please, Terran...do me a favor, and believe in what I am saying to you. Sirius has put my life in danger before. I know he places you in much higher regard, but still...” I trailed off, watching as my brother stopped just before the door. “I fear for your safety.”

  Terran held a hand over the doorknob. I watched his shoulders rise and then slump with a defeated breath. “I fear for yours,” he replied, his voice barely above a murmur.

  Just like that, my brother was gone, and I felt worse for having seen him. Something had changed between us from when I'd left and now, and it wasn't just because of what I'd learned. Maybe it had to do with Cerin. Maybe it had to do with Sirius spreading lies about me in my absence. I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew it made no sense.

  “Something about this stinks to the heavens, friend,” Nyx said softly, when Terran's footsteps had been gone for a number of minutes.

  “I don't understand it at all, Nyx. We have been to Whispermere and back. We have come across no one from Sera's Army, and we have made good time. Even if someone had followed us, surely we are back sooner than they could have been?”