Enflamed (Book 2) (5 page)

“I’ll say!” Nester huffed,
crossing his arms.

“All right, come on. Let’s—”
Wait
... Did that rock just move?

The boy atop the ‘rock’
laughed harder. He flailed his arms about as he began sliding backwards but was
suddenly caught by another large mass that looked like an arm. The ‘rock’
shifted and became a massive, male human-like figure that slowly rose to his
feet. He reached up and scooted the boy onto his broad shoulder. Barefoot and
wearing only a pair of dark blue silken trousers and a grey silk sash, the
towering stranger was built like a bull, with rippling muscles of his exposed
chest and arms. His skin
shimmered
a silvery hue in
the morning sun. His brown, silver-tipped hair was trimmed short, revealing the
many piercings that adorned both ears. He smiled at the children, revealing a
set of long, sharp canines.

Kaijin’s jaw dropped. “Will
you look at that, Nester!” he whispered, pointing.

Nester rubbed his eyes twice
in disbelief. “Tell me I’m dreamin’, mate. Or is that the biggest bloke I’ve
ever seen?”

“He’s hideous! And the
children aren’t even afraid!”

“Now ain’t that somethin’. An’
’ere you are, shunned from
th
’ world for bein’ a
fire-lover and a fiddler.”

Kaijin frowned. “It doesn’t
make sense. What makes him more special?”

“Hmm ... Maybe it’s ’cause
’e’s actin’ like a child, himself, aye? Look!”

The creature happily swayed
the little boy back and forth in the air, laughing with the rest of the
children. After setting the boy down, he picked up the next child and began
again. Soon, one of the adults mustered enough courage to get the attention of
one of the guards. The guard hustled over and separated the children from the
hulking stranger. After sending the disappointed children back to their
parents, the guard began scolding the stranger.

“We’ve told you before, Aidan.
Leave the children alone. Their parents are wary of you.”

Aidan looked down to the
guard, his silver, cat-like eyes full of disappointment. “Aidan meant no harm.
Aidan went for walk in town and children started following. They asked Aidan to
play with them.” His voice was deep and gruff, but sincere.

The guard shook his head. “I’m
sorry, Aidan, but if this keeps happening, then we will have to ask you to
leave Faywald.”

Aidan sighed. “Yes, Aidan
understands....”

Nester exchanged glances with
Kaijin. Finally, the brownie piped, “’E’s a big one, mate. ’E’ll be perfect!”

Kaijin winced at Nester’s
shrill voice.
“Perfect for what?”

“A big bloke like that could
make our job even easier—and
faster!
’E’ll be able to move ’eavy stuff
and discover somethin’ we may overlook.”

“You can’t be serious, Nester!
We don’t even know who—or
what
—he is!”

“Sure we do. ’Is name is
Aidan, right? At least, that’s what ’e kept saying. As for
what
’e is
... well, ’e looks like
a
’uman to me.”

“He’s too tall to be a human.
He’s probably as tall as two humans put together! And I’ve never seen a human
that big with
that
many muscles....”

“Well, ’e can’t be
all that
bad, aye? I mean, they allowed ’im in
th
’ city, after all. An’ he was playin’ with
children
for soddin’ sake!” He paused and then frowned. “I just had a thought. ’E might
be a little too soft for us after all....”

Kaijin’s initial fear of Aidan
was turning to curiosity, and he no longer paid attention to Nester’s
ramblings.
Maybe I should ask him how he got accepted here.

“... So I’m thinkin’ it might
not be a good idea to ask ’im to join us after all, ’cause ...” Nester trailed
off as Kaijin passed him and cautiously approached the hulking creature.

As Kaijin drew closer, he took
in every detail of Aidan’s strange features—from his slit-pupiled silver eyes
to his clawed hands, which Aidan had begun rewrapping with a long, dirty strip
of cloth. When Kaijin was but several steps away, he saw the creature briefly
glance over his shoulder. After knotting the hand wraps securely, Aidan faced
Kaijin, whose height barely reached above the middle of the creature’s chest.

Kaijin met his gaze and
quickly averted his eyes. “Ah ... Excuse me, sir. I, ah ... couldn’t help but
notice how well you, ah, handle children. Yes, that’s it.”

Aidan raised a thin dark brown
eyebrow.

Nester suddenly said from
behind Kaijin, “What Kaijin’s ... ah ... tryin’ to say is that ’e was wonderin’
’ow such a big, scary bloke gets to walk freely around th’ city like this.” He
smiled nervously. “Not that we think you’re scary-lookin’ or anythin’. Ah,
p–please don’t ’urt us!”

Aidan’s gaze hardened, and he
shook his head, waving his clawed hand dismissively. “Aidan does not like
violence.”

Such a
heavy accent and awkward speech.
He’s definitely not local.... And now I know for certain he can’t be
human.

“Oh! Neither do
I
!” Nester chirped, clutching a handful of Kaijin’s robe.

Frowning, Kaijin slapped
Nester’s hand away.
“Enough, Nester.
If he wanted to
hurt us, he would have done so already.”

Nester rubbed his hand. “Maybe
you’re right. I guess some introductions are in order, aye?” The brownie’s
unhappy expression quickly faded, and he held his hand out in greetings for
Aidan. “Aidan, wasn’t it? I’m Nester. Also known as ‘Nimble’ Nester Two-Blades.
This ’ere’s my mate, Kaijin.
Did y’know ’e’s a
fire-lovin’ fiddler?”

Kaijin reeled. He clapped his
hand over Nester’s mouth while his eyes darted around the area for any
passersby. “Must you tell the world I’m a mage?” he snapped in a low whisper.
“You said you’d keep quiet about all this!”

Nester glared at Kaijin,
grabbed his hand and pried it from his mouth. “’Ey, if someone like Aidan can
walk around ’ere, why can’t you?”

“Maybe
because he’s not a mage?”
Kaijin
eyed Aidan once more. “What say you? Are you adept with magic?”

Aidan scratched the side of
his head thoughtfully. “Aidan does not think he knows magic.”

“Either you know magic or you
don’t,” Kaijin said.

Aidan simply shrugged.

“Say, Aidan,” Nester broke in.
“’Ow ’bout you join us on a little trip, aye?
Could be fun.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a fiddler or not. You’d still be useful enough to
... ah ... to keep us company! Aye, that’s it!”

Aidan looked at the both of
them and thought for a moment.
“A trip?
Aidan does
enjoy nice walks.
When Aidan was little boy, Master once told
him that walking is nice time to relax and be one with nature.”

Nester’s face brightened. “So
you’ll come with us?”

“Yes, why
not?
Aidan can use exercise.”

“Great! Let’s get going,
then!” Nester strode off.

Kaijin watched the brownie
depart,
then
waited for Aidan to follow before picking
up the rear. Miele swooped down to rest on his shoulder.

Before long, the three of them
left through the southern gates and traveled along a beaten path that snaked
through the countryside. Kaijin maintained a modest distance from Aidan,
keeping his head lowered as he walked along, but he caught a close glimpse of
silvery skin, rippling muscles, and two small nubs protruding from the upper
back.

IV

The first hour went by, silent
and uneventful, as Aidan, Nester, and Kaijin followed the road to the
southwest. With Nester leading the way, they kept a brisk pace. Aidan’s slow
but long strides matched the brownie’s quick gait. Aidan took in his
surroundings as he walked, admiring nature’s splendors.

It wasn’t until he noticed
Kaijin out of the corner of his eye, staring at him intently, that Aidan
finally acknowledged him. He glanced to the bat resting on Kaijin’s shoulder,
her wings wrapped partially around her. She tucked her head in her body just
enough to shield the light from her eyes. It seemed odd for such a creature to
be domesticated, and Aidan wondered how Kaijin first obtained her. He’d not
seen bats that close except in books.

Kaijin continued staring, and
Aidan’s interest in the bat waned. “What? Is something on Aidan’s face?”

The red-haired man quickly
turned his head, looking straight ahead.
“Well ... ah ... no.
I’ve just not seen someone so ...
different
as you before.”

Aidan scratched the side of
his head. “‘Different’? What do you mean ‘different’?”

“Surely, you’re not human—you
can’t possibly be. I mean, look at you—you’re huge! And look at your hands—or
should I
say,
claws.
And I’ve never seen a
human with silver skin before....” He leaned closer to Aidan, studying his arm.
“... Silver
scaly
skin, that is....” He stared at Aidan’s face. “And
your eyes ... they look a lot like Sable’s.”

Aidan furrowed his brow. “Who
is Sable?”

“She is a cat.”

“But Aidan is not cat.”

“No, you’re not. So what
exactly
are
you?”

“It’s obvious what ’e is,”
Nester interjected, not looking behind him. He walked several steps ahead of
them, his hands clasped behind his head, his pointed ears twitching. “’E’s a
terrabeast!”

Kaijin blinked. “What!”

Aidan scratched his head.
“Terrabeast?”

“Nasty gruesome things, they
are.” Nester stopped walking and spun around. “My grandpa, Nepp, almost got
eaten by one! They got an endless appetite, they do. That’s why they’re so
soddin’ ’uge, y’know. Anyway, Grandpa Nepp, who was a great bard of ’is time,
managed to sing
th
’ gruesome creature to sleep. Then,
’e fled out that cave faster than a scared deer, ’e did!”

Kaijin grimaced. “That sounds
... rather disturbing.”

“Oh, don’t worry, mate.
Grandpa Nepp said terrabeasts are rare creatures that live deep, deep
underground. They ’ate
th
’ sunlight more than vampires
do.”

“Aidan likes sunlight,” Aidan
said.

Nester rolled his eyes and
sighed.
“All right, all right.
No need to get all
technical. So you’re not a terrabeast, then—you’re
a
’alf
terrabeast!”

Kaijin crossed his arms. “He’s
no terrabeast.”

“Oh no?
Then what is ’e?” Nester mimicked the mage’s gesture.

Kaijin gazed at Aidan. “I
don’t really know. Don’t you have a family, Aidan?”

Aidan deflated. He continued
walking, brushing past the two,
his
gaze wandering off
to the plush fields of the scenic countryside. “Master told Aidan story one
day. Aidan’s home city was in civil war when Aidan was little boy. Master met
strange woman who was trying to get Aidan to safety. She was about to become
captured by officials, and Master tried to save her. But she told him to take
Aidan instead, so he did. He fled city and brought him to White Lotus
monastery. Master never knew what happened to her—whether she was alive or
dead. He believes she might have been relative of Aidan’s—like mother ... or
sister....”

Nester contorted his face.
“‘Seestor’?”

Kaijin chuckled. “I think he
means ‘sister’.”

Aidan looked at them, bemused.
“That is what Aidan said!”

“Nevermind.”
Kaijin waved his hand dismissively. “So you have no
recollections of your origins whatsoever?”

Aidan shrugged. “Aidan lived
with Master and White Lotus monks all his life. That is only family Aidan ever
knew.”

“But surely, they are not your
real
family, no?”

“Well, that all depends,”
Nester broke in. “What if
th
’ White Lotus monks were
really terrabeasts in disguise?”

Kaijin groaned. “Not this
again!”

Aidan shook his head. “Aidan
is pretty sure monks were all human. Even Master was human.”

“Well, it was worth a try, at
least,” Nester said, shrugging.

Aidan looked at Kaijin more
seriously. “Does it trouble you that Aidan looks so strange to you?”

Kaijin bowed his head. He
chewed on his bottom lip. Finally, he met Aidan’s gaze again. “Yes. Yes, it does,
actually. I want to know why the city does not fear you. Hells, why do the
children not fear you? You can easily kill a man with one of those fists of
yours!”

Aidan grimaced. “No, Aidan
does not like violence.”

“’Ave you ever killed a man before,
Aidan?” Nester asked.

“Violence solves nothing. It
only ends up in someone getting hurt.” To Aidan’s relief, his dodge satisfied
Kaijin and Nester.

“I find it insulting,” Kaijin
said with a huff. “Strange, intimidating, outlandish creatures are allowed in
Faywald, but human mages who come in peace are not? Do the guards even know
what you are?”

Aidan shrugged.

“You seem very nonchalant
about this,” Kaijin continued. “Don’t you have enemies?”

Aidan shrugged again. “Aidan
would like to get along with everyone and live in peace. Sometimes worst
enemies become best friends.”

“True, but—”

“’Ey, Kaijin,” Nester
interrupted.
“’Ave you ever stopped to think that maybe
Aidan’s just a seriously deformed ’uman?”

Kaijin raised his eyebrow at
the thought.
“Perhaps.
You may be right. Though, Aidan
looks like something that would defy even the laws of nature.”

Aidan tapped his chin in
thought. “Aidan recalled monks once saying he was different from normal child
because when he was four years old he was already almost as tall as Master.
And, well ... Aidan never stopped growing....”

Kaijin gasped. “Don’t tell me
you’re
still
growing!”

Aidan chuckled softly. “No,
no. Aidan thinks he is done growing. He has been same size for long time.”

In unison, Kaijin and Nester
exhaled deep sighs.

Aidan turned back around and
continued walking, hiding his smile. Their curiosity amused him; he usually got
such questions from children rather than adults. But even he wasn’t sure of his
origins—something he hoped to learn as he journeyed.

* * *

Their brisk walk continued
well into evening. Nester strayed from the main road and led Kaijin and Aidan
along a scenic path, which snaked through a forest of towering black walnut
trees. Along the narrow trail, patches of brightly colored wildflowers grew.

“This is quite a walk,” Aidan
said, “but it is very relaxing. Thank you for letting Aidan
come
along.”

Nester looked back and beamed
at the giant, mischief hinting his eyes. “No problem, mate! It’s fun walkin’
together, aye?”

“Why, yes, it is, actually.
Makes Aidan feel young again.”

“Young?”
Kaijin blinked. He couldn’t spot a single wrinkle on
Aidan’s scaly face. “Just how old are you, anyway, Aidan?”

“Yeah,” Nester added.
“If I wasn’t mistaken, you were playin’ with children in th’ city
earlier.”

Aidan smiled blissfully.
“Ah, yes, the children.
Aidan loves children. They are not
afraid of him like adults are.” He acknowledged Kaijin’s question. “Aidan does
not know how old he is ....
Fifteen?
Twenty-five?”
He shrugged. “Whatever age, Aidan always feels
like little boy again when he plays with children.”

It was Kaijin’s turn to smile.
“You did look like you were having fun back there. I hope one day you will be
able to learn about yourself.”

“If Aidan is meant to know,
then, in due time, Aidan will know.”

The changed scenery around
them drew Kaijin’s attention from Aidan. No more did the colorful wildflowers
carpet the landscape. The air grew humid and the skies darkened to shades of
grey. His foot sank deeper into the spongy earth with each step he took. He
wasn’t certain how long they had been walking, but they had clearly traveled a
great distance. The road appeared less beaten than earlier. In following
Nester’s lead, Kaijin hadn’t noticed when they strayed from the main road.

Tall oak trees stretched
toward the grey skies. Signs of life were scarce, save for the occasional bird
and the light buzzing of insects. He felt Miele stir, and he looked to his
shoulder. Miele untucked her head from her wing and surveyed the landscape.

Nester halted and retrieved
his map. He easily unfolded the oversized parchment and made certain it didn’t
touch the ground. He studied the map carefully. “We’ll be at those ruins in no
time. It’s about an ’
our’s
walk, I think—” He paused
and held the map high above his head and pulled his feet out of mud with a gasp
just before they were completely submerged. “Yuck!
We’re in
th’ marsh, all right.”

Aidan grimaced and looked
down. The soft mud squished beneath his bare feet and between his toes. “Aidan
hopes we are not lost....” He lifted his head slightly and sniffed the air. His
nose wrinkled in disgust.

Sensing the creature’s
tension, Kaijin glanced sidelong at him. “Something wrong, Aidan?”

“Blood,” Aidan said absently.
His head turned, and his silver eyes narrowed, as if he had seen something off
in the distance.

Nester’s
pointed ears twitched. “Did you ’ear that?” He
quickly refolded his map.

Kaijin noticed Aidan’s muscles
tense and bulge, prompting his own senses to rise. He followed Aidan’s gaze and
spotted a cluster of shadows off the muddy path. The slight shift in movement
only lasted a split second before the area became calm again. Furrowing his
brow in confusion, Kaijin regarded the giant again. “What is it, Aidan?”

Slowly, Aidan slid his foot to
the side until he had discreetly set himself into a defensive posture. “We are
not alone,” he said quietly.

Kaijin opened his mouth to
speak and felt a sharp pain in his mind. Shrieking frantically, Miele leapt
from his shoulder and soared into the air, above the treetops. Kaijin clenched
his fist and concentrated on a spell, ready to unleash it at the first signs of
trouble.

Nester backtracked until he
bumped into Aidan’s thigh, like a fly colliding with a tree trunk. He flicked
his wrists, and two twin daggers appeared in his hands from unseen sheaths. He
nervously spun the weapons around.

The wind whistled lightly.

Several guttural voices cut
through the evening.

Kaijin listened closely to the
crude unfamiliar language.
What?
He made a face. “What in the hells is
that?”

Aidan furrowed his brow.
“Sounds like heated conversation. Though, Aidan could be wrong.”

A creature leapt from the
underbrush and faced the group, yelling a string of sharp phrases in its native
tongue. The creature was rubbery, lanky, gruesome, and human-like, standing
almost the same height as Aidan. Its moldy, green face was distinctly angular.
Two ears, pointed and looking as though something had chewed on them—with tufts
of scraggly obsidian-colored hair sticking out—complemented the creature’s
oblong, drooping nose and wide, blood-spattered mouth, from which sickly green,
acidic-looking drool oozed. Warts and fungus covered its skin, making the
creature seem nearly one with the dank marshlands. It assessed the group
briefly before resting its yellow eyes on Aidan.

Aidan tensed and muttered,
“What manner of creature is—”

“
Troll
!” Nester
blurted.

The brownie’s outburst
startled Kaijin enough to release his spell, flashing bright light in the
troll’s eyes; it reeled in pain.

While the troll was
momentarily disoriented, Aidan rushed forward and grappled the creature,
digging his claws into its skin. The troll howled in pain and attempted to hurl
its attacker off, but Aidan didn’t budge. The troll spat corrosive saliva into
Aidan’s eyes.

He let go, holding his face.
“Gah!
It burns!”

“Aidan!” Nester pushed past
him, glaring at the troll. Using both daggers, Nester simultaneously sliced
through the troll’s leg and across its midsection. Globs of greenish, curdled
blood poured out of the wounds—but only briefly. The wounds immediately began
to mend. Nester widened his eyes. “This ain’t
good,
mate—not good at all!”