The Girl Born of Smoke

by Jessica Billings

  “I'm trying to help you!” Aurora protested, wheezing slightly. She glanced around, trying to see if there was a window they could climb out, but the thick smoke blocked her view. She decided to crawl back the way she had come. The boy had calmed slightly at the sound of Aurora's voice, but still refused to open his eyes.

  Finding it increasingly difficult to breathe, much less speak, she settled for simply dragging the boy along by his sleeve. She decided she couldn't blame him; her own eyes were in terrible pain. Each blink felt rough and scratchy and she couldn't help but imagine her eyes shriveling and drying up and perhaps falling out of her head.

  She crawled across the floor as quickly as she could with the boy in tow, out of the bedroom and into the main room. She could no longer see the flames, only hear them and they sounded close. The heat dried the tears from her face. Squinting helplessly into the smoke, Aurora realized she could no longer see the front door and only hoped it was still open.

  She crawled blindly in the direction she though the door should be, closing her own eyes against the heat and smoke. Dragging the lump of a child behind her, she abruptly bumped her head into the wall. She paused for a moment, unsure which way to follow it. Head resting against the wall, she dully realized she would only get one chance at making the right decision.

  After another short moment of coughing heavily, Aurora finally chose a direction and continued along the wall. She kept crawling for what seemed like far too long, until she was sure she had turned the wrong way or missed the door. Still, she kept crawling, feeling the edge of the wall and floor with her free hand.

  Her hand met the corner of another wall.

  She had turned the wrong way.

  Aurora collapsed to the floor, one hand still on the wall and other hand still clutching the boy. “I'm sorry,” she tried to say to him, but it came out as a deep cough. Something scorchingly hot brushed against her leg and she shifted away from it uncomfortably. Her head felt murky. As she lay in the deathly hot room, she wished numbly that it was Djerr she was dragging along, someone to keep her company as she waited to die.

  Thinking of Djerr, she tried to lift herself, to go find him, but found she lacked the strength. She was alone and unable to do anything about it. Smothered under the enveloping layer of smoke, Aurora was jolted into awareness when a slippery breath of fresh air brushed past her face. Laboriously, she lifted her head and slowly moved her hand around the corner of the walls. Her hand suddenly slipped past the wall and she gradually realized it wasn't a second wall. It was the edge of the door frame.

  Using her forearm to support herself, she squirmed out the door. Her world brightened and she opened her eyes. Collapsing on the rocky road outside the house, she noticed with surprise the boy was still clutched in her hand. She released him, her hand aching. Her entire body hurt, especially her chest, which felt heavy and constricted.

  Struggling to take a deeper breath, she wondered dizzily if the boy was even still alive. As she lay on her side in the street, she began to wonder if she herself would stay alive. While the breeze felt wonderfully nice on her face, she still couldn't breathe. She heard footsteps coming quickly from behind her.

  “Aurora!”

  Kirian! she tried to yell back. Instead, a hacking cough erupted from her mouth and she rolled onto her hands and knees. She gasped for air, wondering if the coughing would ever end.

  “Aurora! What do you think you were doing, running into the town like that?” Kirian continued. Aurora glanced up at him. He looked furious and for a moment, she was glad she couldn't answer him. Djerr bent down next to her, face creased in concern. “Are you okay?” he mouthed as Kirian continued to lecture.

  Still racked by coughs, Aurora gestured toward the lump of a boy and Djerr dutifully went to inspect him. He looked at the boy for a moment, before reluctantly prodding him while Aurora watched. At Djerr's touch, the boy's eyes flew open in terror and he opened his mouth to scream. Instead, he began coughing as he leapt to his feet and staggered away. Djerr shrugged slightly at Aurora.

  “-and clearly you lack respect for me or the army.” Kirian hadn't seemed to notice Aurora's lack of attention. “And,” he paused, “are you alright?”

  “Superb,” Aurora croaked, meaning it. She could breathe again and her eyes no longer felt quite so scorched dry.

  Kirian said nothing and Aurora looked up at him. To her surprise, he looked worried. “Are you hurt?”

  Aurora shook her head. The coughing seemed to have subsided for the time being. There was another silence as Kirian offered her a hand and Aurora slowly climbed to her feet.

  “Maybe I was wrong,” he said slowly. “Maybe I shouldn't have forced you to join this whole thing.”

  Aurora shook her head, soot rising from her hair. “No, I think you were right. I think that kid just now would have died if I wasn't here. It's all worked out after all.” She gave Kirian a small smile.

  Sighing heavily, Kirian looked away. “Well. Whatever. The rest of the group's doing their thing, so why don't you two wait just outside of town for me?”

  Coughing again, Aurora nodded and turned away. She and Djerr walked down the street, ignoring the scattered clashes between people of the opposing armies. “You're all dirty,” Djerr said pointedly. He held her arm out. “Look, your skin is even darker than mine.”

  Aurora snatched her arm back. “Sorry. Saving lives is such a dirty job and all.”

  “You should try and stay cleaner.” Djerr grinned crookedly. “No wonder that kid was so scared of you. You look like a monster.”

  “That was you he was scared of!” Aurora protested.

  “Only because he thought I was you.”

  Aurora elbowed Djerr fiercely and he laughed, elbowing her back lightly.

  “Hey, boy. Dee-air!” It was Jonah, standing across the street. “Come over here!”

  It was Aurora's turn to grin as Djerr rolled his eyes and headed over to where Jonah stood. She sat down against a short stone wall bordering a building and watched as Djerr was pointed off in another direction. Shifting uncomfortably as the stones began to dig into her back, she stretched out her legs and waited. The town was in a state of disarray as Citizens' soldiers hurried up and down the street, peering in buildings and herding survivors toward Jonah. Two men began to talk in low voices behind her and Aurora tried halfheartedly to eavesdrop.

  “-don't know where he went. Bastards could have him already.”

  She couldn't make out the other man's reply.

  “We've waited long enough. I say we leave now. We could pass as villagers long enough to get out of here anyway. Screw Jake.”

  Curious, Aurora slowly peered over the wall, kneeling on the ground. A hot wave of fury rushed through her before she could even comprehend what she saw. Her hands clenched at her sides, fingernails digging into her palms. She recognized the two men who lurked in the shadows of the squat building behind the wall.

  She smelled the dry musty odor of the air underneath Djerr's bed as she leapt over the wall and rushed toward the Wizard's soldiers who had tormented them so many months ago and killed Djerr’s father. She heard the hiss of a sword being pulled from its sheathe and realized a moment later that it was her own. The cool metal hilt felt strange in her hand, but she hardly noticed the blade's weight.

  The first man didn't even turn as she sprinted lightly across the ground and into the building. She slashed as she ran, catching him across the back. She heard a crack and the man collapsed soundlessly. The second man saw her coming and reached for his sword, only to find it gone. Aurora stabbed him in the stomach, leaning hard to rip into the man's body, then stumbled backward as she let go of the sword.

  The man let out a bellow, clawing uselessly at the weapon protruding from his body. He slowly collapsed to his knees as his yells grew more garbled and thick. He glanced up from his wound to look up at his attacker, his face twisted in pain and rage. The two locked eyes and Aurora backed away slowly. She stared in horrid fascinati
on as a thin dribble of blood trickled down the man's bearded chin. He looked dirtier and scruffier than before, but it was definitely the same man who had pulled her out from under Djerr's bed by her hair.

  Aurora tripped over the first man's body as she backed away, flailing backwards at the same moment the other man fell to the ground with a last moan. She sat there for several moments, terrified either man might rise again, but neither did. Cautiously, she looked around. The building seemed to be some kind of warehouse with boxes piled to the ceiling in several areas. The men's armor and weapons were piled nearby, presumably so they could sneak out of town without being attacked.

  Trembling violently, Aurora climbed to her feet and crept toward the second fallen man. She gripped the hilt of her sword, yanking it out of his body. The sword slid free slowly, accompanied by a wet squelching noise. She winced and wiped the bloody sword on the man's shirt, feeling nauseous as the man's blood spilled out and the ground grew slick.

  Slamming the sword back into its sheath, she quickly exited the building, trying not to vomit. Feeling dizzy, she sat back down against the wall, her back to the warehouse. She drew up her knees to her chest and rested her head in her arms, eyes closed.

  She felt a hand on her shoulder and sprang upwards, eyes wide open. It was Kirian. “Don't touch me,” she snapped.

  Kirian raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

  “You knew, didn't you?” She felt desperate. “You knew we've been following the same group from Kain. We could've caught them, but we purposely held back. Why?”

  “That's ridiculous, Aurora.” He shook his head. “There are Wizard's armies all over the place. The ones who destroyed Kain could be anywhere by now.”

  Aurora felt her body shaking. “No, Kirian, they're not anywhere. They're here. I saw them.”

  Body still, he asked slowly, “Why do you say that, Aurora?”

  “The men, the men who chased me and Djerr, they were here. I saw them.”

  Seeming to relax slightly, he shrugged. “If this was the same group from Kain, then where are the people they recruited from there?”

  She blinked. “Maybe they are here. Most of them have probably already left. Or they could have died. But that doesn't matter! This is the same army, I know it.”

  “Fine. It doesn't matter,” Kirian replied with a sigh of frustration. “Now where are the men you saw? I'll get someone to take care of them.”

  “They're dead,” Aurora said stonily.

  He wrinkled his forehead. “Aurora, what did you-”

  “Hey!” Djerr interrupted, running across the street toward them. “Jonah says we're leaving now. We've got to get going.”

  Out of the corner of her vision, she could see Kirian still looking at her. “Aurora,” he said softly.

  “Alright, let's go then,” she said.

  Djerr looked back and forth between Kirian and Aurora for a moment, then ran a hand through his hair. “Alright, over this way.” He led the way through town to where the rest of the group waited. She noticed several new faces in the group who looked more than slightly nervous. She only half-listened as Jonah spoke to them encouragingly, welcoming the newcomers and congratulating the army on doing the best job they could. Nobody spoke out against him.

  She listened, slightly more interested, when he mentioned that they would be following the river out of the valley and eventually crossing the Divine Lake. Aurora wrinkled her forehead when she heard the name of the lake. It sounded vaguely familiar and she wondered if she had heard of it before. Her mind floundering uselessly, she eventually frowned and gave up. The name slipped from her mind.

  They camped just a short distance away from the town, where the thin smoke took on a strange orange glow as the sun set, then later blocked out the stars. That night, for the first time in a long time, she dreamt of Delobo.

  Chapter 6

  As they continued their journey, the hills gradually leveled off and they began seeing more needled trees than before. The trees looked familiar and Aurora wondered if she had seen the same type in Kain, although most of the trees in Kain had had leaves, not needles. The stand of trees grew denser until eventually, the army had to spread itself out a long way to pass through them. The fallen needles crunched under their feet and rained down on them when the wind blew hard enough. As the weather grew wetter, windier, and colder, they finally broke away from the river and headed even deeper into the forest.

  Looking around in confusion, she began to realize where they were headed. When they broke out of the forest into the town, the scene confirmed it. It was her hometown, Delobo. As the rest of the group swarmed into the town, Aurora slowly shifted to the side and began walking alongside the forest, heading behind some of the houses.

  Djerr turned toward her, smiling. “Look Aura, this town is fine. Wait, where are you going?” he called after her, but received no reply. Shrugging, he turned his attention to Jonah, who stood at the head of the group, waiting for everyone to gather around.

  The town they had just entered was completely still, except for their group. No one came out to meet them and the dirt paths before them were devoid of footprints. The windows of the houses were dusty and the roofs covered in moss. “Alright!” Jonah called out loudly. “It looks like this town has been abandoned for quite some time, but we’ll still stay here for the night, and then head on tomorrow. Take today to rest, because tomorrow we’ll be taking a boat across the Divine Lake.” He turned abruptly and walked away.

  “Djerr!” Djerr turned to see Kirian heading toward him.

  “Yeah?”

  Kirian’s forehead was creased in concern. “Have you seen Aurora?”

  Djerr nodded. “Well yeah. She was here a little bit ago, but then she wandered off,” he replied, gesturing in the direction she had gone. “Why?”

  “Well, if you see her, keep an eye on her, will you?” Kirian ignored Djerr’s question and walked away.

  Watching him curiously, Djerr finally shrugged and headed in the direction where he had last seen Aurora. Following the edge of the forest, he walked behind the decrepit houses. He peered in one of the windows, rubbing the dirt off with his fist, and saw that it was in an equal state of abandonment. It was completely empty, except for a sagging bed in one corner and a dresser, which had been hastily pulled open with clothes spilled across the floor.

  He continued walking around the backside of the small town, but saw no one. As large, cold raindrops began to splash onto the dusty ground, Djerr caught sight of someone standing along the very edge of the town, nearly in the forest itself. As he grew closer, he saw it was Aurora. She stood in front of a slightly raised piece of ground covered in weeds and grass. Looking closer, he spotted part of a worn brick-structure and several blackened, warped pieces of metal. It appeared to be the ruins of a building.

  “Aura?” he said cautiously, standing behind her.

  Aurora didn’t turn and stood silently, arms hanging lifelessly at her sides.

  “Aura, I get the feeling that there just might possibly be something wrong.”

  She took a deep breath and spoke without looking at him. “Can I tell you a story, Djerr?”

  He cocked his head. “Well yeah, sure.”

  Staring at the ruins, she began to speak. “Two girls once lived in a house here. Born on the same day, the girls looked identical in every way. However, it soon became apparent that there was something very wrong with one of the baby girls. Just weeks after she was born, her parents noticed strange...occurrences around her.

  “They would find her lying outside her crib after they had put her to bed, toys would end up across the room, in her hands, that sort of thing. At first, they thought it was just the other parent playing a joke on them, or that they had a particularly intelligent baby. It wasn't until one day, when they witnessed their baby girl in action, that they learned the truth.

  “They had a guest over, one of their neighbors, to see the new babies. The girls were lying on the wood floor, waving the
ir hands and gurgling like normal little babies. Suddenly, one of the girls, the odd one, caught sight of a brightly decorated rattle lying just out of reach. She reached her tiny hand toward it, whimpering, but the adults just smiled and laughed. Then the baby went very still and quiet. Her hand stuck out rigidly in the air as she seemed to stop breathing and even blinking.

  “The mother rose, alarmed, but froze as the rattle began to slowly roll toward the baby's outstretched hand. Closing her little fingers around it, the little girl returned to life, shaking the rattle and giggling. Her sister, lying next to her, continued gurgling and seemed unalarmed as their parents and the neighbor stared at the babies without saying a word. Then the mother swooped in and knocked the rattle out of the baby's grasp. The baby stared up at her mother as she was violently scooped up and spanked.

  “'Bad baby! Bad girl!' the mother yelled at her child. The baby began to wail and her sister echoed her cries. As the mother spanked her baby, the other girl, tears running down her face, reached out for the rattle, still lying on the floor. The room was silent, except for the two babies crying, but nothing happened. The parents sighed in relief, realizing only one of their tiny babies was cursed.”

  Aurora looked at Djerr, meeting his dark brown eyes. Her face was blank, expressionless as she spoke. “That's what it was, you know. A curse. The parents had heard of such things before, but had never thought that one of their little babies would be stricken with such a thing.

  “Of course, they didn't know what to do and immediately, the neighbor who had witnessed the event had spread the news. Pretty soon the entire town knew and avoided the girl. They forbade their children from playing with her, for who knew if the curse would rub off on their own precious children?”

  Djerr bit his lower lip. “What were the twins' names?” he asked reluctantly.

  “Aurora and Tarana.” She looked back toward the blackened ruins. “Tarana was the cursed girl. Aurora was just the innocent bystander. As the girls grew older, their mother continued to punish Tarana whenever she showed signs of her evil talents. However, she was alone much of the time and continued to exercise her cursed powers.