After the Fire (After the Fire: Book the First) (8 page)

“So
many,” said Eleni. “Can one have that much family?”

Fin
snorted. “Apparently not.”

“How
did they die?”

“You
ask a lot of questions,” he said, looking at her. She looked
down into the grass.

“You
leave me with a lot of questions,” she said.

He
nodded, frowning. “I suppose I do. Must be hard, not knowing
the world. We can remedy that. I can take you anywhere you like. If
you want.”

“But
I have to see this Magda first?” said Eleni. “I prefer to
do what I like.”

“And
what would you like to do?” said Fin, looking at her.

Eleni
looked up at the sky. The moon was bright, hanging round and heavy in
the sky. She pushed her matted hair from her face. Finally she looked
back at Fin, who hadn't moved. “I would like to meet Magda,”
she said. “If she was sister to my mother, she must know things
about her. Things that you cannot tell me. Or things you don't know.”

Fin
looked down at the blade of his knife, trying to hide his relief.
“That's good,” he said, finally. He was genuinely
surprised she had agreed so easily. He had braced himself for a long
discussion. Maybe even days of following her. Possibly weeks.

“I
make no promises,” said Eleni.

Fin
shrugged. “Nor do I,” he said.

“We
are agreed,” said Eleni. She stood up, stretching. “When
do we leave?”

“Whenever
you like,” he said. “It isn't far. A day's walk.”

“After
we eat then,” said Eleni.

“I
have my meal right here,” said Fin, holding up a pouch.

Eleni
looked at the small bag, confused. “You have meat in there?”

Fin
smiled. “No. I only eat meat on feast days.”

Eleni
frowned. “Then what do you eat?”

“There
is more food in the world than meat,” he said. “I eat
roots, leaves, nuts, seeds, berries. This here is a horrible bread
that Magda's people sent me off with. Filling, once you get past the
taste. It's precious to them, though. They don't have much.”

“I
am going to get some meat,” said Eleni, eying Fin. He laughed.

“Hope
to see you again,” he said. “Wake me if you come back.”
He tipped his head back against the rock, picking up his hat from the
grass. He shook it out and placed it over his face. The wolf was at
Eleni's side.

“I
will come back,” she said. She stepped into the forest with the
wolf at her heels.

Chapter
Seven

Fin
had found an old dress in one of the unburned huts. He had known that
Eleni wouldn't go back. It would remind her of how trusting and naive
she'd been, even when she knew they were lying to her.
At any time, she could have searched for her
mother, but she had not. She had allowed herself to stay imprisoned,
allowed herself to be used. It would never happen again. She vowed to
herself not to trust words. Words were unreliable. From this day on,
she would need to see with her own eyes.

She
did regret Alin's death. She could have saved him, but he stopped
her. He had been her only friend, though he had lied to her, too. He
said it was for her own good, her mother's good, but she had a hard
time believing that. And more than anything, she couldn't think of
Krasna without thinking of her mother. She really had left her. Eleni
ground her teeth and felt like burning things when she remembered.

Except
for Alin, she felt nothing when she thought about those who were
killed. She was sorry that Alin had to die, but he had always told
her it was important to welcome death when it came. And she was was
almost grateful to the Reivers.
She felt angry about her mother, about believing the lies, but also
an unmistakable feeling of relief that she had been freed.

Eleni
looked at Fin. He squinted in the darkness. The clouds had rolled in
and covered up the moon. He wasn't used to seeing at night like she
was. The wolf walked along beside her like a shadow. She had been
half afraid the animal wouldn't follow her if she went with Fin. She
was relieved that she was traveling along with them, her shining
golden eyes a comfort to her.

They
had been walking at a steady pace for hours now. Eleni could sense
the distinct feeling of the Reivers
as they went. At one point, she sensed where they had changed from
wild monsters to men.

“You
know, usually people that travel together talk to each other,”
Fin said. “It is a pleasantry. Would you care to try?”

“Pleasantry?”
said Eleni. She snorted. “What do you want to talk about?”

“You
choose,” said Fin, smiling. “I like your questions. I'm
sorry I was short with you earlier.”

“Very
well,” said Eleni. “Where is the raven?”

“Oh,”
said Fin. He shrugged. “I suppose it must have flown home to
Magda,” he said.

“Along
with the Reivers,”
said Eleni. Her tone was cool.

Fin
seemed to be lost for words. He stopped and stared at her. Eleni
slowed and turned to look at him. “You did not think I would
not know, surely,” said Eleni. “I have tracked boars that
left less of a trail than they did. And we are following exactly in
their wake. You think me stupid.”

“I
don't,” said Fin, defensively.

“You
must,” said Eleni. “It is of no consequence. Most make
the same mistake.”

“Don't
liken me to the animals in your village, Eleni,” said Fin.

“Why
should I not?” she said. “You lie just as well as they
did. I do enjoy your company a great deal more.”

“It
wasn't me,” Fin said. His shoulders were slumped and his eyes
kept shifting away as if it were hard for him to keep them looking
into Eleni's eyes.

“What
was not you?”

“I
didn't send the Reivers.
I didn't want them to come. I asked Magda not to send them. I told
her I could convince you. The Reivers
are low, as low as the humans get. Barely human, in fact. I don't
care to have anything to do with them. But you cannot argue with
Magda. It's useless. And she heard you say your mother was in there.
I suppose she just had to be sure.”

Eleni
frowned. “They came for my mother?” she said.

“You
must understand, Eleni,” said Fin. “Magda has been
looking for her sister for twenty-five winters. Twenty-five. She's
desperate to find her.

Eleni
was silent for a moment. “I can understand that,” she
said. “I would have done the same, were I in her position. She
did right.” Eleni narrowed her eyes as if concentrating on
something. “How did she hear?” she said. “Was she
with us?”

“No,”
said Fin. “The raven. It's her eyes and ears.”

“Like
the wolf,” said Eleni.

“I
don't think so,” said Fin. “Not exactly. The raven is
literally her eyes and ears. She sees and hears everything the raven
does.”

Eleni
nodded. She would see Magda soon enough. She would see for herself.
“Why did you come?” she said. “You came before you
knew about my mother. Why did you come back for me?”

“Because
I couldn't leave you here,” he said. His voice was low. “You
were locked in a metal box. You're too special for that.”

“No
other reason?” said Eleni.

“Things
are dangerous now, even for us. Especially for us. I talked to Magda
and she agreed. You must be brought to safety. Alone you would be a
target.”

“For
what?” said Eleni. Fin was silent. Eleni shook her head. “You
have seen me,” she said. “You have seen what I can do.
How could I possibly be a target for anything? People run when they
see what I am.”

“These
aren't people, Eleni,” said Fin. “They're something very
different.”

“Monsters?”
said Eleni. She snorted. “I killed monsters every day before
you came and scared them all off.”

“Not
monsters either,” said Fin. He looked scared, nervous, just
from the talking.

“Just
tell me,” said Eleni, exasperated. “What should I be so
afraid of?”

Fin
swallowed. He breathed noisily out of his nose as he looked at her.
“God-eaters,” he said.

Eleni
shook her head, confused. “God-eaters?”

“They
stalk the gods,” said Fin. “I don't know how they do it,
or how they learned, but they've found a way to absorb a god's power.
It is supposed to go out into the universe and the god starts all
over again in some fortunate woman's belly. But they have learned how
to take the essence, the soul. Everything that makes that god a god.
And they get stronger with every kill. Their targets keep getting
bigger and stronger.”

“This
is the danger you were talking about?” said Eleni. “You
think I am the target for these...these creatures?” She
laughed. “I am no god, Fin.”

Fin
was quiet for three heartbeats. Eleni knew because she could hear her
pulse in her ears. She didn't know why. She felt like she had just
run through the forest. “Eleni, when were you born?”

“I
told you,” she said. “After the fire.”

“I
just want you to think about that for a moment,” said Fin.
Eleni couldn't tell if he was angry or worried or scared. Maybe all
three. “You were born
just
after
the fire. Just after the death of Zaric, the great god of fire. Just
after his power, searching the earth for a place to go, burned
everything in its path so deeply that it took ten summers for
anything to start to grow again. That is how powerful he was.”
He looked at her, intensity in his eyes that Eleni didn't quite
understand. “And that is how powerful you can be.”

“Stop
it,” said Eleni.

“It's
the truth,” said Fin. “You keep asking for the truth, but
you don't really want it. You want to run around the forest with your
wolf. You want to believe your mother is being held prisoner. You
want to believe that you don't need anyone else. All those things
were fine before. But now it's too dangerous, Eleni. You are angry
with me for saying this, but it's the truth you want, and it's the
truth I'm giving to you. You cannot beat these god-eaters. If they
find you, if they sense you, they will come after you. And you can't
fight them on your own.”

“Words,”
said Eleni.

“What?”
said Fin.

“All
you have are words,” she said. “I have not seen anything
with my own eyes. Why should I believe you? I am no goddess.”

“Then
what are you?” said Fin. “Do you know any other girls
that can wield fire? Any other mortals that can burn a village to
dust in minutes? Anyone else that can spend all night fighting
monsters and hunting and slinging boars and deer over their shoulders
and carrying them for hours?”

Eleni
looked away. “You mock me,” she said softly.

“No,”
said Fin. “I am telling you who you are. You just don't want to
listen.”

“I'm
listening,” she said.

“Eleni,
you have to trust me,” said Fin. Eleni looked sharply at him.
“I know you're feeling betrayed right now. Everything you
thought you knew was false. But
I'm
not lying to you. I'm here to help you. Do you understand?”

“I
have been lied to all my life,” said Eleni.

“I
know,” said Fin. “Mortals lie to make themselves feel
better. They lie to each other, themselves, their children. But I am
not a mortal. And neither are you. You're not even human. You are so
much more.”

“I
have always thought of myself as human,” said Eleni. She pushed
a strand of hair off her face. “You do not think my mother is
human either, do you?”

Fin
shook his head. “She is not.”

“Is
she a goddess too?”

“No,”
said Fin. “Something more. Something more infinite. A mortal
could never have carried Zaric in her belly. She would have been
incinerated.”

“What
is she, then?”

“One
of the Sudice,” said Fin. “The Moirai where she is from.
The Fates.”

“Then
Magda is...one of these too?”

Fin
nodded. “Yes. But they are separated. They are vulnerable when
they are not together. Magda needs her sisters, just as her sisters
need Magda.” He looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Does
this mean you believe me?”

Eleni
looked down at the wolf. She had been extraordinarily still at her
side. She barely felt the animal's breath as she leaned against her
leg. She looked up at her with yellow eyes and she felt calm. She
knew she had to trust this man—this
god, if he was telling the truth.

“For
now,” said Eleni. “Until I see otherwise.”

“I
can accept that,” said Fin.

Eleni
shrugged. “You will have to.”

They
walked much of the way in relative silence, Fin throwing her curious
looks from time to time. They stopped to rest only once, and Eleni
and the wolf went out of sight to hunt, coming back quickly with two
rabbits. The wolf licked happily at blood on her maw. Fin ate his
bread in silence as he watched Eleni skillfully skin and cook the
rabbit, using only her hands. She gave Fin back his drinking horn.
Fin protested, but Eleni simply shook her head.

“I
tasted what you have inside. I did not like it.”

Fin
laughed. “It's a treat where I come from,” he said.

Eleni
looked up at the mountains. “It will be dawn soon,” she
said. The lightning flashed, forking across the width of two
mountains.

“That's
the first one I've seen all night,” said Fin.

“What?”
said Eleni.

“The
lightning,” said Fin. “There must not be many to fight
this night.”

Eleni
frowned. “I do not understand.”

“You
know what the lightning is, don't you?” he said.

“It
is lightning,” said Eleni. “It just is.”

“Nothing
just is,” said Fin. “ It's Perun up there in those
mountains. He fights the gods who want to enter and won't take no for
an answer.”

“Perun
is real?” said Eleni. “I thought that was just a tale my
mother told me.” But even as she said the words, a face flashed
in her mind. An angry face with a white beard.