The Blaze Ignites (24 page)

He paused, seeming suddenly in thought. “Now
that I think back to your memories, I realize that above all, your
bravery stood out more than all else that I’d seen.” He turned to
look at me again. “No one deserves to carry that sword more than
you do.”

As we stared at each other, I felt the need
to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. I wondered if he was
thinking about my memories, thinking about what my life was like
right now.

“I’m so sorry you had to live through that,”
he whispered. He shook his head gently. “It took all the strength I
had to be as crude to you as I had been after seeing that.” He
turned his face to the sky again. “But I had to do my job and get
you out of there as soon as possible, before Fali’s plan was
carried out.” He tightened his jaw. “After seeing that, I wanted to
protect you more than anything, keep you safe and away from harm. I
had to get you away and I knew that in order to do that, I had to
make you feel as unwanted as possible, as alone as possible. It
broke my heart to do it, especially after seeing your life through
your eyes.”

I bit my lip to hold back the cries of
sadness and joy that wanted to escape. Someone understood me!
Someone had felt the pain, had felt the loneliness, someone
empathized with me! Though it was through a secondhand source, it
was closer to understanding my pain than anyone else had gotten.
Even Rabryn didn’t fully understand because he
was
accepted
in The Pitt. He wasn’t hated or tortured. He just watched it happen
to me and pitied me because he saw my pain. Reese, though, had
felt
it.

I reached over for his hand. I held it
tightly, not daring to speak. I don’t think I could have even if I
tried. He turned to me and looked so deeply into my eyes I felt
myself start to tremble. There was something familiar about the way
he was looking at me. It wasn’t a bad familiar, but an odd
familiar. I studied him for a long moment and realized that he had
the same look in his eyes that Addredoc had every time he looked at
me, a sort of intense longing. I wondered why they looked at me so.
It must have something to do with being a protector.

I held his hand for a long time and although
we didn’t speak, he knew it was a gesture of thanks. I let him go
and rolled over on my opposite side, putting my back to him. “Get
some sleep. We’re going to have to wake soon and get a move on if
we’re ever going to catch up to them. Ortheldo has the necklace,
and I’m worried for his safety.”

“Is the necklace dangerous then?”

I finally felt myself getting tired and ready
to fall asleep. “I’ll explain tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

“As you wish, White Warrior.”

I smiled to myself. “Call me Azrel. All my
friends do.”

I felt the air warm with his smile. A
ten-foot block of ice wouldn’t stand a chance against it. “As you
wish, Azrel.”

The next day was fine and we made good
progress, but it worried me that we hadn’t caught up to Ortheldo
yet. The only explanation was that he was riding longer and harder
than we were. I decided I might have to ride the night through with
no sleep tonight.

That night was the darkest I’d ever seen. It
was like being trapped in a black void of nothing! I couldn’t make
out any shapes or outlines anywhere around us. There was no moon
and no stars. I wondered if Reese’s Salynn eyes could pierce
anything in the distance ahead. I doubted it, as we both were
leaning over our horses’ necks to try to see the ground. I didn’t
like this at all. Apparently Reese didn’t, either.

“Why is it so bloody dark?” he asked.

“I wish I knew.”

We gazed around a little. Something didn’t
feel quite right to me. Panic came into my heart as that dark
foreboding shadow grew in my mind! Something was going to go wrong.
I hadn’t felt that shadow in a while, and now it weighed me down
with dread.

“Reese,” I said trying to keep my voice from
shaking, “be on your guard. Something isn’t right.”

Before I could form another thought,
Forfirith faltered and fell hard with a loud cry. My shrill scream
rang loud through the darkness before being silenced with the thud
of my horse and I hitting the ground. The wind was completely
knocked out of me.

Reese reared Teglia up on her back legs and
stopped fast. He dismounted and ran to my side as I gathered my
senses. “Azrel, are you all right?”

I barely heard him as I scrambled on my hands
and knees to my horse's face, stroking his head and praising
Goodness that he was still alive. My beloved horse, my trustworthy
best friend. “Forfirith, what…” I didn't even finish my words as I
saw the tail of a thick, black-feathered arrow sticking out of his
chest. My eyes bulged and burned with tears. My throat closed up on
me.
Not my horse! Please Gods, not my horse!
He couldn’t
die! He couldn’t.

A roar of raspy cheers rose up over the
plain. I jumped to my feet and spun around to try to discern what
it was in the darkness, but all I saw was black!

“Gibirs!” Reese whispered in a breath.

“How do you know?” I whispered back.

“I can hear them speaking.”

Suddenly the pounding sounds of a full charge
from a large host of beings to the west came to my ears. I waited a
moment to be sure and soon I felt the ground tremble under my feet.
Before I could think of what to do, I heard the twang of bow
strings and the whistling of air as arrows flew.

“Get down!” Reese cried and tackled me to the
ground, completely covering my body with his. I heard the thud of
arrows impacting the ground around us as they rained down. Reese
screamed, and one of his legs jerked with all I could guess was the
impact of an arrow. Instead of recoiling like I expected, he curled
his body tighter around me.

“Are you alright?” I breathed, trying to get
out from under him to look at his wound, but he held onto me with
strength I didn’t expect him to have.

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth as he
endured the pain.

When the arrow storm silenced, I pushed him
off of me and looked down at him. The tail of an arrow stuck out
the back of his right thigh. I surveyed the ground, which now
looked like a giant pin cushion. I couldn’t believe it. When he’d
said he was ready to die for me, he been actually serious. “Reese—”
I tried to manage, but couldn’t produce any further words.

“It’s my job,” he said between breaths. “I’m
fine, just help me up.”

I pulled him to his feet—well, to one
foot—and he quickly prepared to fire back. I watched for a moment,
amazed at his determination and bravery, before I switched into
battle mode and grabbed hold of my quiver. I brought it to the
front of my shoulder and counted my arrows. I only had two dozen. I
glanced at Reese’s arrows. He had fewer than I did. I looked west
and was finally able to make out a moving shadow that drew nearer
every moment. I couldn’t make out one Gibir, just a moving mass
that was even darker then the unnatural night.

I clenched my teeth and went to Forfirith. I
removed my cloak and covered him with it, then bent down to kiss
his forehead. “Hold on my friend,” I whispered. I secured my quiver
properly, tightening the belt across my chest, and took my bow in
hand as I turned to face the nearing mass.

Reese was right next to me, already taking
aim. “Can you see anything?” I asked.

“No. My senses are almost useless against
this deep black.” He shook his head, “This isn’t normal, Azrel.
Some sort of powerful magic is making the night like this.”

I gazed out to see if I had a decent target.
I couldn’t afford to waste a
single
shot, but I saw nothing
but the black mass. I loaded my bow regardless.

As I stared ahead, the veil of darkness
seemed to lift suddenly from my eyes. I could see the large,
hideous party coming at us as if I were looking at it through
glowing white mesh. Too overjoyed to question it, I launched my
first arrow and smiled as the Gibir cried out and fell dead.

Reese looked over at me with wide eyes. “You
can see?” The instant he asked, he suddenly smiled. “Of course you
can,” he replied, answering his own question.

What did he mean by that?

I shot arrow after arrow, my bow singing
beautifully before each cry of death. Not a single shot was missed.
My quiver was empty all too soon though, so I snatched Reese’s
arrows and shot them as well. Those arrows were soon gone too.

I dropped my quiver and bow from my back and
drew out my blades, preparing to take on the remaining mass as best
I could. “Arm yourself.”

Reese dropped his bow and quiver then reached
down behind him. He gripped the arrow shaft sticking out of his
thigh and, with a scream of pain, broke it off, leaving the arrow
head in his skin then he drew out his sword.

“Do you know how to use that thing?”

He gave me a sidelong glance and a half
smile. “Of course I do. I’d be a pretty lousy protector if I
didn’t.”

We both grinned despite the fact we were
staring death in the face. “Excellent.”

As we watched the Gibirs approach, I sudden
noticed a light out of the corner of my eye. I snapped my head to
the side and realized it was a white light from my sword. No, wait,
the blade wasn’t on fire like when I used my magic. It was
reflecting light from elsewhere. On a hunch, I brought my sword
closer to my face and looked at my reflection in it. Sure enough,
my eyes were glowing white even though I hadn’t summoned my
magic.

I glared at my reflection. “You promised,” I
growled softly, knowing she would hear me.

I continued to stare as the white light in my
eyes faded and turned back to the normal blue and everything went
dark again. I hadn’t called on my magic to use for sight, and she
promised she would consult with me before using it! I’d known she
wouldn’t keep her end of the bargain. I’d been right!

I looked out to the west again, where I could
now make out some shapes of the mass. I raised my blade as it
plowed into me and Reese. I sliced the closest one's belly.
Avoiding a stab, I spun around, bringing my blade up, and sliced a
second one’s throat. Thrusting forward, I stabbed a third in the
chest while at the same time my Salynn blade whipped out behind me
and sliced another Gibir across the throat. After bringing up my
foot to ward off a blow from another, I spun around and sliced it
across the eyes with my Salynn blade.

Finally, we were overpowered, as I knew we
would be. One Gibir grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm back,
making me cry out and drop my sword, which vanished in white flames
before even hitting the ground. I really didn’t even have time to
be amazed because another Gibir with small horns growing from its
knuckles slammed its fist into my mouth. An explosion of pain
filled my face as I went flying backwards and landed on my back on
the ground. Their hideous cheers of joy filled my ears,
intensifying the pain. I rolled to my knees and spit out the blood
that had filled my mouth from the punch. I looked up at them with a
hateful glare as blood continued dripping down my chin from the
deep rip in my lip. They all started laughing, their circle
tightening around me.

I hated being laughed at.

Two Gibirs went at me. One reached for my
throat and the other kicked me hard in the ribs, knocking my breath
out of me. Another kick came in the same spot, but harder! Before I
could recover, I felt a hard, cruel claw take a tight hold of the
back of my neck and mercilessly force me to my feet. Another hit me
in stomach as I was being pulled up, which made me to lose what
little breath I had left.

The lack of air and the pain made me feel I
was going to vomit. The serious inability to breathe threw me into
a panic! I struggled frantically to free myself from the hard grasp
of the horrible claw, but it was useless. The more I struggled, the
harder it held me. I could feel its claws ripping into my flesh
behind my neck, and droplets of blood ran down my back. I reached
back to take hold of the Gibir and hopefully loosen its hateful
grip. I knew that I could get out of this—but how? My mind was
racing with the thought of survival.

Though I knew I was in a panic, a small part
of my brain that somehow had remained rational was nagging at me. I
tried to force my mind to calm down so I could listen, as I was
again punched in the stomach. I pushed away my pain and panic as
much as far as they would go, so I could clear my mind and hear. I
focused on the voice. It sounded like a voice from another world
trying to talk to me.

I soon recognized it as it cried out, Use
them! Use them now! You’ll die if you don’t! Use me! Use me!

I remembered suddenly that it was the White
Warrior. She had found a way to talk to me. I was so tempted to
scream and fall to my knees, giving control up to her, but suddenly
Beldorn’s words of secrecy pummeled her pleas into oblivion. I
gritted my teeth and pushed her voice away from my mind. I couldn’t
use my magic or allow her to use it. I had to stay hidden. At least
she didn’t force me to it, like she usually did.

Before I could think a moment longer, the
Gibir holding my neck thrust my head downward, managing a direct
hit with a rock. Blackness dripped into my vision as if the colors
of the already dark night were smeared with water. My arms fell
limp at my sides and my knees buckled. Unbelievable, unbearable
pain shot through my skull and beyond. The heat and shocking pain
from the impact shook my bones down to my toes and I felt warm,
sticky blood gush from the wound. It dripped down my face into my
eyes, which started to roll in the back of my head.

The Gibir that still held the back of my neck
prepared to slam my head into the rock again. I was dead. I was
already fighting off darkness. My only thought was
Thank
Goodness I gave the necklace to Ortheldo when I did. Everything
happens for a reason.
I let my eyes drop closed and waited for
the final blow. Hideous shrieks and cries of victory rose up
through the group.