Haliden's Fire

by Chris Sendrowski

  Willem shook his head in disbelief. “Are there others?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “All these turns… alone with such a burden. And yet you never said anything. Why?”

  “I was ordered not to interfere unless you failed.”

  Evetner stepped forward. “This little reunion is well and fine, men, but we still have business to attend to. Like staying alive.”

  “Indeed,” Nate said. “And I decided long ago that if I’m to die, I’d rather it be surrounded by hillsides and forests and not this rat-infested city.”

  “And what of the Rot?” Willem said.

  “It will die with this place,” Nate replied. “But if you wish to fulfill your promise to the Isle, by all means stay and burn with it. As for me… I’m done with orders.”

  Evetner climbed aboard the lead wagon and took a seat beside the venermin. Jonathan and Brandon crawled from their shelter and sat beside him.

  “Let’s stop wasting time then and get the hells out of here.”

  Nate nodded. “If you’ll have us, we’ll help.”

  Willem sighed. “Very well. Let’s go.”

  19

  With the help of Nate’s rabble, they quickly pried both doors open and began the long descent through the mountain.

  Haliden and Willem sat together in the lead wagon, their eyes fixed on the two torchbearers plodding along beside them.

  “So what’s the plan?” Haliden whispered.

  Willem glanced over his shoulder at the second wagon, where Nate and three of his people sat hunched amongst the crates. “We ride for the Block. No stops. And more importantly, no more passengers.”

  Haliden nodded.

  The tunnel slowly curved into the mountain like a giant corkscrew. There were no dwellings or stalls here, and the walls had been left rough cut and unfinished.

  Like an escape route, Haliden thought, a chill tickling his spine.

  Nate climbed into the lead wagon and leaned over Willem’s shoulder.

  “So tell me… what was is like, living a lie for all these turns?”

  Willem glanced at him. “I did my duty. As did you.”

  “Of course. But here we sit, slithering away like thieves in the night.”

  “You blame me for this?”

  Nate shrugged. “I blame all of us. The Circle, the bureaucrats who sent us here, the Rot. Even the godsforsaken Breath.”

  “You know I tried to save them,” Willem said. “When the initial stages were curable. A simple poultice of merwin berry and jellyfin glands neutralized the Rot’s earliest infections.”

  “Ah, but the stores…”

  Willem shook his head. “Raided by thieves and adreena addicts. You know the rest.”

  “You made a gallant effort,” the charger said. “But did you ever think that perhaps this was all planned? That perhaps those on the Isle sought to wipe Marigel clean off the map?”

  “What are you saying?”

  Nate shook his head, laughing. “I thought you were less naive than this, friend.”

  Willem brought Instar to a halt.

  “What are you doing?”

  Willem turned and grabbed Nate by the throat. “I’ve no patience for games. Not after what I’ve seen here. What do you know?”

  Nate’s jovial facade vanished. “I received a bird right after arriving,” he gasped. “ It was to be my… honor… to oversee Marigel’s cleansing.”

  Willem squeezed harder. “Did you see the bones? The bodies? Did you see what people became?”

  Nate’s followers scrambled onto their feet, daggers and clubs drawn.

  Nate waved them off. “Of course I saw it, fool. You think a single moment has passed that I don’t regret what I did?”

  “Why then?”

  “The same reason you kept silent all these turns… we are of the Circle. It is our life. Our duty.”

  “I’m no murderer.”

  Nate laughed. “You are whatever the Isle says you are. You should know this by now.”

  Willem tensed. He could feel eyes burrowing into his back. “Never,” he replied.

  Nate nodded. “Tell yourself that, if it makes you feel better. But you did your bidding. You kept the gates sealed and saw to it none left this godsforsaken place alive.”

  Willem’s grip slackened as the realization hit him.

  “You did well, though, Willem of the Isle. Never question that. But there is a bigger picture here. Far bigger than any of us foot soldiers could’ve comprehended.”

  “So how did you and your people survive all this time?” Willem asked. “By stealing supplies from us?”

  Nate sat up and shrugged. “You’d be surprised what you can find in the depths of a city’s sewage systems: forgotten food stores, sleeping quarters for those charged with keeping the sewers clean… Everything one needs to survive hidden right beneath your feet.”

  “And the Rot?”

  “We were spared for a time. But when our supplies ran thin, some of us began scavenging in the Throat. And that was when we came upon the others.”

  “Others?”

  “Marigel’s filth. Murders, rapists, thieves. They kept to the eastern districts mostly. Deep in the outbreak zone. They were the ones haunting you.”

  A metallic boom echoed behind them.

  Haliden sat up. “What in the hells was that?”

  Another boom, followed by the sound of muffled screams.

  Haliden turned to the others. “Should we have sealed it?”

  “We had no choice,” Nate replied. “Who knows how many are infected back there.”

  “But what of the women and children?”

  “What of them?”

  Haliden glanced at Willem, but the charger avoided his eyes. “We just leave them too?”

  Nate drew a dagger from his belt and raised it to Haliden’s nose. “Just ride, artist, if you want to see the sun again.”

  The pounding grew louder.

  Haliden tensed. “This isn’t right.”

  “Right? This is survival, fool.”

  Haliden pushed the dagger aside. “I won’t have it this way.”

  Nate’s eyes narrowed. “And what are you going to do about it?”

  “What I should have done when we found you.” With that said, Haliden slammed his boot into Nate’s groin.

  The man crumpled to the ground, groaning. “You’re a fucking dead man!” he snarled. He picked up his dagger and was about to rise, when a loud metallic crash thundered down the tunnel.

  The group froze, their eyes locked on the darkness behind them.

  “They’re getting through,” the woman cried.

  “I don’t think so,” Willem said. “Look!”

  The distant screams fell silent as gold light illuminated the tunnel. Seconds later, a gust of superheated air rushed over the wagons.

  Brendle grabbed Willem. “We need to go!”

  “But we can’t just leave them!” Willem cried. “Not like this!”

  “We leave now or we all die!” Brendle shouted.

  Nate eyed Haliden. “We’ll finish this later, artist.”

  Haliden ignored him and picked up the reigns. “Naharis! Naharis!”

  Instar bolted forward, jerking the wagons into motion.

  The torchbearers sprinted alongside them, the flames trailing behind them like fiery banners.

  “Get on, fools!” Nate shouted.

  One of the men dropped his torch and grabbed the railing. But his fingers slipped and he was sucked beneath the wheels with a bone jarring crunch.

  The other man kept pace for a few hundred footfalls. But the wagons were moving too fast and he quickly fell behind.

  Haliden watched as the man vanished into the distance. He waved his arms at them, pleading for them to stop. But there was no turning back; Instar was running at full gallop, every muscle rippling as the adreena weed pushed her body to its limits.

  Evetner climbed over the crates to Haliden. “The Breath?” h
e cried.

  Haliden nodded. “We lost too much time here!” He slammed his feet into a gap in the floorboards, anchoring himself down just as the wagon hit a pothole.

  Instar’s eyes widened, red froth splattering around her bit and streaking her sides.

  She’s dying, Haliden realized. The weed and weight of two wagons had put too much strain on her hearts.

  My friend, I’m so sorry.

  The tunnel opened up into an enormous chamber.

  Willem pointed ahead. “There it is!”

  An enormous steel barrier loomed before them, stretching a hundred footfalls into the shadows.

  “Easy, girl,” Haliden said as he brought Instar and the wagons to a grinding halt.

  “Well, charger,” Evetner said as dust settled around them, “if you’re going to do this, now is the time.”

  Willem jumped off the wagon and approached the door. Thousands of animal carcasses lay in a tidal-like line at its base: rats, mice, coon, bats, draba birds. “Stay back!” he shouted as he withdrew the leather pouch from his pocket.

  Nate climbed off the rear wagon and approached his fellow charger.

  “How much dust were you given?” he asked.

  Willem quickly slipped the pouch beneath his robe. “Enough to enchant both gates and little more. Now unless you want your flesh seared off, I’d take cover when I begin. The magic is wild and hungry and I’m turns out of practice.”

  Nate eyed the bulge in Willem’s robe and reluctantly nodded. “Very well. But be quick.”

  Willem opened the pouch and dumped the meridium into his palm. It was brown and black, speckled with white, sugar-like crystals. He poured it into his mouth and swallowed.

  “Menwha des coo thane,” he whispered. At first nothing happened. But after a few more seconds, dim veins of blue electricity began crackling across the gate.

  “Vray tanoris!” he cried, pressing his hands against the cold steel. The gate began to glow a deep red as steam rose from his cloak. But he stood fast, his eyes shut as he slowly unraveled his old spell.

  Haliden peeked around the side of the wagon. The air surrounding the charger shimmered like a mirage, and the gate glowed a deep red like a blade pulled from a forge.

  By all things high and mighty, he thought.

  The red-hot steel creaked and groaned as ice slowly crystallized across its surface. Moments later, a huge chunk collapsed to the ground, followed by another as the steel crumpled into a pile of blue shards.

  Willem stepped back, his arms stretched out in front of him. A blast of ice cold air erupted from the charger, engulfing both wagons.

  Haliden winced as frost crystallized across his face and hands.

  “Get back!” Brendle shouted, yanking him behind the wagon.

  There was a loud snap, followed by a pulse of blinding blue light.

  And then the tunnel fell silent.

  Haliden slowly peered around the cart.

  The charger knelt in a cloud of smoke and dust, his head slumped forward and arms hanging at his sides.

  “Willem!” Brendle shouted.

  The charger slowly looked up. “Did it work?”

  “See for yourself!”

  The gate lay in pieces around him, frost still clinging to the rent, Tritan steel.

  “By the gods…”

  Brendle knelt beside him. “Can you stand.”

  “Of course I ca—” But when the charger tried, he almost toppled face first onto the floor.

  Brendle grabbed him. “Steady there, friend.”

  The charger’s cheeks were crusted black and covered in canyons of raw flesh and most of his hair had been completely burned off.

  Willem trembled as if a thousand searing-hot blades cut across his body. “Just go,” he groaned. “While you still can.” He coughed, splattering the dirt with blood.

  “Piss on that!” Brendle shouted. “I ain’t leaving without you!”

  “Someone needs to hold them back.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Look at you!”

  “It’s my duty,” the charger replied. “If even one of the infected escapes, the Rot could spread across the entire realm. Perhaps even the Acid itself. How many more Marigels will there be then?”

  “The Breath has already taken care of that, Will.”

  Willem shook his head. “Friend… I can’t take that chance.”

  “This is madness. Utter madness.” Brendle looked down at his friend’s lap. The charger’s fingers were fused together, curled into permanent fists. “Just get in the wagon. There’ll be healers at the Block who can help you.”

  “I’ll never make it,” Willem said. “You know that.” Behind him, the golden light was growing brighter, creeping across the walls like a golden tide.

  Brendle’s eyes trembled. “What about Alg? What about Dunhur and the whorehouses of Nell? I can’t fuck my way the across the Endless Isle by myself.”

  Willem forced a laugh. “You’ve been my one true friend, Brendle. But we must part now.” He coughed violently, gasping and pounding the ground with his burnt fists. When it passed, he handed his friend the leather pouch of meridium. “Use what’s left to buy passage to Alg or Tremin.”

  Brendle looked at the bloody pouch and shook his head.

  “Just get on the damn wagon,” Willem grunted. “I… I owe you this much.”

  Brendle stood, wiping tears from his eyes. “You’ve always been my one and true friend. Even when the others wrote me off as a worthless drunk. I won’t forget that.”

  Willem nodded. “We’ll drink and fuck a thousand virgins someday soon, friend.”

  Brendle slowly backed away, his eyes trembling. “Here’s to eternity, friend.”

  Willem nodded. “Goodbye, Bren. May the gods watch over you.”

  “What’s going on?” Haliden asked as the old knight returned to the wagons. “Is it safe?”

  Brendle glanced over his shoulder and nodded. “It’s done.”

  “What of Willem?”

  The old guard wiped his nose as a tear dripped down his cheek. “He has one last job to do. As do we.” He climbed into the wagon and adjusted his chest plate. “It’s time.”

  Nate watched the old guard as he took a seat beside the boys. “What of the meridium?” he asked. “Did he have any left?”

  Brendle shook his head. “He used it all to bring down the gate,” he replied.

  “There was enough there for three chargers to bring down that gate.”

  “Well, it’s gone,” Brendle said. “So forget about it.”

  Haliden approached Instar and scratched the garron’s chin. “One last time, okay, girl?”

  The garron whinnied, shaking her head from side to side.

  Haliden swallowed back tears. “You’ve been a good friend. Better than I deserve. Forgive me.” With that said, he climbed into the driver’s seat and lifted the reins. “Ready?”

  Evetner nodded. He and the brothers were huddled amongst the crates, their backs braced against the venermin.

  Brendle dropped down opposite them, his sword drawn.

  Nate and his group hunkered down in the rear wagon, wedging themselves between paintings and other Marigel treasures.

  “Let’s fucking go!” Nate cried.

  Willem moved off to the side of the tunnel. “Ready?” he shouted.

  Haliden nodded. “Gods be with you, friend.”

  Willem waved. “You as well, artist.”

  The wagons slowly rolled past the charger. When they were well clear of him, Willem stepped back into the center of the tunnel and raised his arms.

  “What’s he doing?” Haliden said over his shoulder.

  “His duty,” Brendle replied.

  The tunnel extended another three hundred footfalls before opening onto a small dirt road outside. But as they moved closer to the light, Evetner noticed something strange rippling in the air.

  “Wait!” he shouted. “There’s something else up ahead!”

  Haliden tensed. Th
e boy was right. A thin, blue membrane blocked the last few footfalls of tunnel.

  Brendle stood. “It can’t be! He said he set only the one on this gate!”

  “Well then someone else set it!” Evetner shouted.

  Brendle cupped his hands to his mouth. “Willem!” he cried. “Another barrier still stands.”

  The charger crawled onto his feet, gasping for breath. “Jarren wo dinem!” he shouted.

  There was a blinding flash followed by a gust of superheated wind. Moments later, the charger’s hair erupted into flames.

  Haliden snapped the reins harder as they passed into open air.

  “Stop the wagon, damn it!” Brendle cried. “We can still get him! Stop the wag—”

  But before he finished, a wall of blinding white fire engulfed Willem’s silhouette.

  “By the gods!” one of Nate’s men cried as flames burst from the tunnel. “The city… Look!”

  Haliden turned. An enormous wall of rippling flames loomed above them, stretching across the entire southern half of the mountain.

  Haliden snapped the reins harder. “Go, girl! Go!”

  Smoke nipped at their heels, pushed forth by the Breath’s superheated winds. As it engulfed the wagons, visibility was cut to just a few footfalls.

  “I can’t see a damn thing!” Haliden cried.

  “Just keep to the road!” Evetner shouted.

  Instar ran at a full gallop, weaving down rutted trails as pieces of flaming debris rained down around her.

  After a few leagues, Haliden pulled back on the reins and cried, “Whoa, girl! Easy…”

  Instar staggered to a stop, wheezing uncontrollably.

  Haliden grabbed a water skin and bucket from the wagon and jumped down beside her.

  “Here you go, girl,” he said as she drank.

  The Breath was clearly visible now, an enormous wall of red and orange flames that roared and flowed as it stretched across the entire horizon.

  Instar grunted and gasped as she drank down the precious water. She was covered in sweat and ash, and foam dripped from her mouth in great, bloody clumps.

  Haliden felt tears trickling down his cheeks as he watched. He was ashamed of what he was doing to her. But what else could they do but run now?