Enflamed (Book 2) (4 page)

“Ankhram is very far from
here. You have come a long way. How wonderful it is to speak to a fellow
brother.”

“Well, actually, I’m not—ow!”
Kaijin glared at Nester.

Nester innocently glanced
toward the ceiling,
then
regarded Kaijin. “Oh! Sorry,
mate—did I step on your foot?
Didn’t see it there.
Silly me.”

The innkeeper looked between
the two, then approached Kaijin, handing him the silver pieces. “I will be
lenient just this once because of this pleasant conversation. But business is
business, and you will need to pay next time. But I will give you ... special
rate.” His gaze briefly shifted to Nester. “Your price still remains, little
man.”

Nester puffed out his chest.
“’Ey, now!
If it wasn’t for me bringin’ Kaijin here, you
wouldn’t be chewin’ gums with your ‘fellow brother’!” He swiped the silver
pieces from Kaijin’s hand.

The innkeeper made a sour
face. “Perhaps you have point.
Fine.
In three days,
you pay, and not a day later.”

Nester smiled wide. “That’s
fine with me! Come on, Kaijin.”

Before Kaijin could speak,
Nester grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs.

* * *

Nester
clicked open
the last door down
the short hallway and shuffled into the room.
“Ah, ’ere we
are.”

Kaijin peered inside. The tiny
room was furnished for a single occupant—a stripped, wooden bunk; an engraved
armoire that sat against the wall across from it; a small desk atop which
several parchments were strewn; and a washtub in one corner. A makeshift
hammock crafted from the linen bedding was strung in another corner next the
room’s only window, which sat on the far wall. The ends of the hammock were
nailed haphazardly to the adjacent drab walls.

“You’re paying double for
this?” Kaijin asked, stepping into the room.

“Aye, can you believe it? ’E’s
robbin’ me blind, I tell you! But what can I do? If I don’t play by ’
is rules
, ’e’ll kick me out. An’ there ain’t
no
other place to stay in this city. Anyway, I don’t mind
th’ room so much. Th’ bed’s too soft for my tastes, though. You can ’ave it.”

Kaijin beamed at the sight of
the bed. “Thank you, Nester. You don’t know how grateful I am to be able to
finally sleep in a bed again.”

“Sure I do.” Nester chuckled.
He wriggled out of his leather jerkin, kicked off his boots, and then climbed into
his hammock. “The more I think about it, the more I realize we’re not that
different from one another, y’know?” After making himself comfortable, he
pulled the woolen blanket over him.

“I doubt that.” Kaijin
wandered over to the corner and peered at the washtub, which was half-filled
with water.

Nester propped his hands
behind his head and watched him. “It’s simple, really. No one likes me ’cause
they think all brownies are nothin’ but priggers and lowlifes. Well, it ain’t
true, y’know. We actually got a spot of dignity in our ’earts. I don’t like
’urtin’ people—well unless they intend to ’urt me first. Anyway, ’umans are
stubborn. I’d just be wastin’ my breath tryin’ to convince ’em I’m not a bad
person.
As for you?
Well, no one likes you ’cause
you’re a fiddler—and fiddlers are s’posedly dangerous. No one likes us,
mate—we’re outcasts! Ain’t that a soddin’ shame? ... Oh,
th
’
water got changed this mornin’.”

Kaijin peered at his
reflection in the water. His short, thick red hair stuck up haphazardly like
wildfire. His tanned face had lost its boyish charm and good looks—replaced
with a weathered, tired face that looked haunted.
Damn, how did I let myself
get like this?

He began taking off his
once-flamboyant noble robes, which were dirtied and frayed at the hems from the
many days’ travel. Keeping his back to Nester, Kaijin glanced over his
shoulder. “So what’s this ‘help’ you need from me?”

Nester rocked himself in the
hammock as he thought. “Well, you see, contrary to what you’ve probably ’eard
about me, I’m an explorer—
an
... an obtainer of rare
antiquities. Aye, that’s it. My Uncle Nickle’s a merchant, you see, but th’
poor sod’s gettin’ on in years. ’E wants me to take over
th
’
family business, but I ain’t got nothin’ valuable to sell. So, I’m ’opin’ to
find a trinket or two to get
th
’ business started
again.”

Kaijin scoffed.
“By stealing?”

“Nay!
I ain’t a prigger—I’m an
explorer
!”

“I fail to see the difference
in your words.”

“I swear on my pa’s grave I ain’t
priggin’
no one
for somethin’ like this! It’s too easy
to do that, anyway. Uncle Nickle ran ’is business sellin’ stuff ’e found on ’is
adventures. Well, ’e did have fast fingers, too, but ’e really loved th’ thrill
of explorin’. Anyway, priggin’ ain’t bad if no one knows you’re doin’ it—that’s
what my pa used to say.”

Kaijin’s head was starting to
throb. He rubbed his temples. “Look, just get to the point,
will
you?”

“Well, I was gonna do some
explorin’ outside o’ town,” Nester said. “There’s this place about a day’s
travel southwest that I’ve
been wantin’
to visit since
I came to Faywald a week ago. Some ruins are supposedly there that were once
used by
th
’ foresty blokes a long, long time ago.”

Kaijin was about to get into
the tub when he paused. “What’s so special about some ruins?”

“Th’ foresty blokes are an odd
bunch, they are, but I’ve ’eard they sometimes tend to ’oard a few trinkets.
That’s where you come in. I need you to ’elp me search
th
’
ruins and ’opefully find somethin’ worthwhile.”

“Forget it. I’m not a thief,
and I don’t intend to pillage some ruins in the middle of nowhere.”

“‘
Explorer
’!”
Nester corrected. “We’re doin’
explorin’
!
Besides, you said you’d ’elp. A deal’s a deal, aye?” He rolled on his side and
closed his eyes. “Now, I’m gonna catch me a few winks. Tomorrow’s a big day,
y’know. We’re gonna find us some treas—ah, that is, find somethin’ amazin’ in
those ruins for my Uncle Nickle’s business, aye!”

Kaijin sighed and got into the
tub. Letting the cool water settle over him, Kaijin half-listened to the
brownie’s ramblings and began meditating on the day’s events, instead. He
stared down at the partially submerged charm hanging around his neck. Steam
rose from the fire symbol, which glowed faintly, its light reflecting
beautifully off the water’s surface. The charm felt warm against his skin, and
soon the water warmed to a soothing temperature. He sighed.
How is it that
I’ve been spared from death for this long?

“You will never understand
me, Kaijin Sora,”
the fiery voice
responded.

“Like hells I won’t,” Kaijin
said aloud, frowning.

“Eh? You say somethin’, mate?”

Kaijin blinked, pulled from
his trance. He looked up at Nester, who was gazing at him sleepily. “N–No,
sorry, I was just thinking to myself.”

“Well think quieter, will
you?” Nester rolled back over and closed his eyes.

Kaijin resumed his bath. He
sensed Miele’s presence nearby. He spied the faint flutter of shadows outside
the window.
“I’m fine, Miele,”
he assured her.
“Go play. Enjoy the
night. But stay near the inn.”
He felt a pleasant pang in his mind moments
later, and the shadows were gone.

After a relaxing bath, Kaijin
washed his dirty clothes in the tub and hung them out the window to dry.
Afterwards, he finally lay on the bed, not caring that it was stripped of its
linens. The featherbed cradled him, and the charm around his neck maintained a
steady heat as it pulsated against his chest, soothing his body. He immediately
fell asleep despite the memories that still haunted him.

III

“Rise an’
shine, mate!”
Nester’s strident
voice broke Kaijin’s peaceful respite.

As Kaijin slowly opened his
eyes, he was momentarily blinded by the morning sunlight. His eyes adjusted,
and he gazed upon the brownie’s grinning face.

“C’mon.” Nester leaned over
the bed, watching him. “We’ll never get out there at this rate. Oy! Get up,
will you?”

Kaijin groaned, shaking off
the remainder of sleep. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.
He felt the steady warmth of his necklace pressed against his bare chest.

“That’s a mighty fine necklace
you got there.” Nester sounded awed.
“Quite a beauty.
It looks just like fire. I feel as though I’ve seen somethin’ like that
somewhere before....”

Kaijin glimpsed Nester’s hand
extending toward the charm and promptly grabbed the brownie’s hand. He muttered
sleepily, “It’s just a worthless trinket. Nothing someone like you would find
interest in, I’m certain.” He shoved Nester’s hand away.

Nester’s belly groaned,
interrupting his response. “We’ll continue this later. I’m starvin’! Y’know,
th’ innkeeper’s wife makes
th
’ finest poached eggs
this side of Aransiya ’as ever seen!” He went to his side of the room, slipped
on his jerkin and belt pouches, grabbed his satchel, and bolted out the door.

After Nester left, Kaijin slid
out of bed and retrieved his clean, dry clothes from the windowsill. As he got
dressed, he sensed Miele’s presence nearby. He peered out the window. The cool,
crisp morning air kissed his face. He rubbed his damaged earlobes, which itched
as they began to heal. The sensation triggered memories of the previous day’s
incident.

Miele flew inside and landed
atop his haversack on the floor. Screeching happily, she nudged her tiny nose
against the leather flap.

Smiling, Kaijin approached her
and knelt down.
“Hungry, are you?”
He retrieved the honeystick jar from
the bag, opened it, and pulled out a single treat. He stroked her tawny fur
while he watched her savor the honeystick.
“You’re making
me
hungry,
now. Why don’t you enjoy your snack outside?”
He returned to the window,
and Miele followed, carrying the honeystick in her mouth. She flew outside and
up toward the inn’s rooftop. Kaijin put on his shoes, grabbed his haversack and
headed downstairs for breakfast.

He maneuvered through the
crowded inn, looking for a place to sit. He spotted Nester, who sat alone in a
corner at a large round table. Kaijin shuffled over and took an empty seat
adjacent to him. Kaijin arched his eyebrow, noticing the numerous dishes on the
table and the sheer amount of food that piled each of them.

Nester stuffed a poached egg
into his mouth. His cheeks bulged as he chewed.

“Don’t tell me you’re really
going to eat all this.” Kaijin gestured to the untouched dishes.

Nester swallowed.
“An’ why not?
Y’think just ’cause I’m small, my
appetite’s
gotta be, too?”

“Well ...
yes, actually.”

Nester waved him off. “Bah!
You ’umans an’ your soddin’ stereotypes. S’gonna
be
a
long trip y’know. I may not ’ave another meal like this for a few days, yet!”

Kaijin shook his head at him.
This
was a bad idea.
He quickly gestured to one of the passing serving wenches.
“One bowl of apple porridge, please.
And
some cinnamon tea with honey.”

Nester wolfed down another
egg, then picked up a piece of rye toast.
“Apple porridge?
This is one of
th
’ few places in Faywald that offer
th’ grandest meals, an’ all you get is soddin’ porridge?”

Kaijin blinked. “What’s wrong
with porridge?”

“It’s commoner food. If you’re
gonna stay in a place like this, you gotta act like
th
’
ritzy blokes.”

“Strange. No one told me
that.” Kaijin skeptically eyed the brownie.

“You ’aven’t been around ritzy
blokes much, I take it.”

“No, I haven’t. And I’ve
always liked apple porridge since I was a boy.”

Nester’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Aye?
Well you don’t look like a boy to me. It’s ’igh
time you start eatin’ like a man!”

“Look, Nester. Don’t criticize
my eating habits.”

“Why? You criticized mine.
Gotta make things even, y’know.”

Kaijin rolled his eyes.

Nester smirked at him mischievously,
then
began smearing globs of honey on the toast.

Silence lingered between them
as Kaijin leaned his elbows on the table and watched the rest of the patrons.
Compared to those folk, he looked like the refugees on the streets.

The serving wench returned and
set a bowl of steaming porridge and a small cup of tea before Kaijin.

Kaijin eyed his meal before
dipping his spoon into the porridge and stirring in the sliced apples that sat
atop the mix. It smelled heavenly, sparking memories of home. He took a modest
taste from his spoon. It was rather bland—nothing like how his mother used to
make it. There was no cinnamon, and the apples did not complement the overall
taste of the porridge like he’d expected. He ate it anyway, taking Nester’s
advice that it might be the only meal he would have for a while.

Nester finished his meal,
then
whistled at a serving wench to take the empty dishes
away. He gave the shapely woman a small pat on her rear, and she giggled. He
winked back at her.

Kaijin paused midbite.
“Really, Nester?”

The brownie grinned. “Ah, I
love comin’ to this place. Th’ women ’ere think I’m cute, y’know? Well, they
speak
th
’ truth. Th’ innkeeper could learn a thing or
two from ’em, y’know.”

“Cute? They think you’re
cute?”

“Aye!
I’m a regular ladies’ man, y’know.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

Nester laughed. “Well, believe
it.” He scrutinized Kaijin. “You sound like you’ve ’ad a good plenty of women
yourself.”

Kaijin quickly resumed eating.

Nester gaped.
“Wha—?
You mean you ain’t ’ad a woman before?”

“Of course I have. I just ...
don’t like to talk about it.” Kaijin felt his face warm. He didn’t have to look
up to know that Nester was most likely smirking at him.

“If I ain’t ’eard
th
’ biggest crock o’shite this side of Faywald ...”

Exasperated, Kaijin let go of
his spoon. It clanked loudly against the edge of his bowl. “Can we talk about
something else, please?” He glared at Nester.

“Aye, aye.
Of course.”
Nester waved him
off. “It ain’t bad that you ain’t ‘ad a woman before—well, not so bad, anyway.”

Kaijin sighed and slowly took
a bite, changing the subject, himself. “I suppose I should thank you for
providing me with accommodations and a meal. I will find a way to repay you.”

“You can start by ’elpin’ me.”
Nester rummaged into one of his belt pouches and pulled out a tiny, folded
piece of parchment. He began opening it up slowly, piece by piece. It took
several minutes, but by the time he finished, almost the entire table
accommodated a large, crude map of Aransiya, forcing Kaijin to move his meal.
“See there?” Nester pointed to a particular spot. “A few blokes I was chewin’
gums with said
th
’ ruins lie somewhere in ’Oundstooth
Marsh.”

Kaijin finished eating and
then scrutinized the map. The writings and etchings were in a language
unfamiliar to him, but he could still discern where certain places were. He
noticed some scribbles around Easthaven, but a big ‘X’ crossed through the
entire area.

He scanned the northern lands,
tracing the mountains and the sea. He recalled only a handful of times he had
ever seen a cartographic overview of his home country. Nester’s map didn’t
detail Ghaeldorund or the Citadel, which lay north on a small island in the
Azulene Sea. The southern portion of the map was rather bare—perhaps
unexplored—but a familiar symbol in the southeastern mountain region caught
Kaijin’s attention. The flame resembled the very one he wore around his neck.
He blinked and clutched his charm through his robe. “What’s that fire symbol
over there?”

Nester dismissively waved his
hand. “Oh, that? That’s some strange place. Accidentally stumbled across it, I
did. It was ’igh in th’ mountains. I was looking for a place to stay when I saw
that ... that ...
castle-lookin’
place from miles away! It’s an
aurorium, I think. Th’ warders there seemed to really like fire. I mean,
they’re soddin’ obsessed with it! Everywhere you look, there’s fire burnin’
somethin’. Even th’ warders were dressed all fire-y. They didn’t let me in,
unfortunately. Said I was ‘walkin’ on ’oly grounds.’ Really, how can anythin’ be
‘’oly’ there? Everything’s all burnt up! Anyway,
ah ....
Why do y’ask?”

Kaijin pulled his necklace out
of his robe, revealing the fiery charm.

Nester’s
eyes widened in awe.
“Wow! It’s
even shinier than before! You sure you don’t wanna sell it? Don’t you realize
’ow much coin we could get for that, mate?”

Kaijin glowered at him. “It is
not
for sale.”

Nester sighed and rolled his
eyes. “Oh, all right. If it means that much to you,
then ....
Say, now I remember where I’ve seen that symbol before! One of the warders wore
somethin’ similar. A real fire-lovin’ bloke, ’e was! He shooed me off before I
could ask ’im anything about it, though.” He cocked his head to the side. “You
like fire, too, Kaijin?”

At the unexpected question,
Kaijin found himself glancing around at the other patrons, hoping none were
eavesdropping on their conversation. “I ... well ...” His gaze shifted to
Nester, and he leaned over, lowering his voice. “Look, it’s not easy, you know?
People think I’m ... strange.”

“Strange?
You?”
Nester chortled.

“Shh!” Kaijin winced and
scanned the room again. Nobody seemed to be listening, and Nester was the first
person to scoff at the idea that Kaijin was odd. Maybe it wasn’t all that
unusual to a brownie. “People think I’m strange because I like playing with
fire. Now, keep your voice down about it, will you?”

Nester leaned in and
whispered, “Well that
is
kinda strange, y’know.
Playing
with fire an’ all that.
Doesn’t it ’urt?”

“No ....
Not
anymore, anyway.”

“Wha—?
You mean, you can play with fire and not burn
yourself?”

Kaijin nodded and smiled
faintly. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not ashamed of my passion for fire, but
it’s
bad enough I’m a mage in this town. I’d rather keep all
of this a secret.”

A wide grin stretched from ear
to pointed ear. Nester nodded quickly,
then
he
refolded his map into a neat, tiny square. “Oh, I get it. Well, don’t worry,
mate. Your secret’s safe with me! I won’t be chewin’ gums with no one about
your fiery fetishes.”

Kaijin cringed.

* * *

After breakfast, Kaijin and
Nester shuffled through the city’s morning bustle, snaking their way toward the
southern gates. Miele flew above them, concealed high in the sky. Passing the plaza,
Kaijin spied colorful streamers draping across trees and between buildings.
Large, colorful banners hung from the second and third story windows of some of
the buildings. Men were pitching tents and hauling tables, crates, and sealed
barrels, while others were painting signs.

“Oh!” Nester exclaimed,
startling Kaijin behind him. “’Ow could I’ve forgotten ’bout th’ summer
festival? It starts in three days. Let’s hurry to th’ ruins so we can be back
in time for
th
’ festivities. I love me some good fun, I
do!” He hastened his walk.

Kaijin made a sour face and
took longer strides to keep up with the brownie. He heard children laughing
nearby and slowed. Six small children huddled around what appeared to be a
large rock. Several adults stood nearby, looking horrified.

A boy climbed atop the rock
and sat, chortling at a little girl standing at the rock’s base.

“Me next,
Big Brother!”
She jumped up and
down. “I wanna climb next!”

Kaijin halted and watched the
children. He smiled at the boyhood memory of playing with his brother.
What
I wouldn’t give to see you again, Rorick.
His smile slowly faded.

“’Ey!
What gives, mate? We don’t ’ave all day y’know!”
Nester called, retracing his steps to return to Kaijin’s side.

Kaijin blinked.
“I, ah ... sorry.
My mind was elsewhere.”