The Blaze Ignites (41 page)

“They’re not happy about it,” Ortheldo
replied.

“Screw them,” Rabryn muttered as he pulled
tight the buckle of the saddle he was working on.

I stared at the ground, paralyzed in shock. I
had already stopped pretending to be packing Rabryn’s stuff. My
brother had defended me in the face of the White Warrior. He’d
stood up to the most powerful being in Casdanarus for me. Then
another jolt of shock hit me. The White Warrior had said something
bad about me. She didn’t like me.

Oddly, in that moment, I did the last thing I
expected I would do. I started laughing. It started as a low airy
giggle and then suddenly exploded into a violent, shaking laughter.
I knew everyone was staring at me, but I couldn’t stop. I even fell
flat on my back in the grass with tears running from the corners of
my eyes. I couldn’t catch my breath.

“Azrel?” Rabryn asked, worried.

“I think she’s cracked,” Reese added.

I rolled onto my side, clutching my stomach
as I tried to breathe and answer them. “The…the White Warrior,” I
gasped in laughter. “She…she hates me!” Another explosion of
laughter came out. “An element of who I am”—I still laughed—“can’t
stand me!” I tried to breathe but failed. “And we’re on the brink
of a Second Shadow!” The hilarity of it was more than I could
stand. I hated myself enough, and now I knew she hated me too.
“We’re all going to die!” We would never be one. I laughed for a
few more moments, then finally sighed, trying to calm myself. “And
you know what?” I smiled as I looked up at the sky. “I don’t
care.”

After a few more deep breaths to try to calm
down, I brought my hands up and placed them palm down on each side
of my head. I lifted my legs up and threw them down, at the same
time I pushed myself up by my hands, launching my body so I landed
on my feet in a crouch.

I straightened and pulled the sleeves of my
shirt up to my elbows. “I heard you talking, and guess what: I
don’t care. I’m
done
caring about her.
Done
! Let’s
go.” They all watched me silently. I saw them staring at me, not
knowing what to make of my statement. “
Let’s go!”
I cried
more forcefully, and all of them jumped into action as if a spell
had been broken. I was done concerning myself with the White
Warrior. Done!

The sun was going down behind us and casting
a soft orange glow on the rich golden leaves of Galad Kas forest,
the woods that surrounded the lake and the island they lived on.
The sunset made the gold of the leaves seem to shine and I felt
warmth in my heart I hadn’t felt in a long while. It was the
feeling of love and acceptance that I knew I had here in Galad Kas.
Old friends dwelled here and I could not wait to see them. This was
the only land in all of Casdanarus that was still fully loyal to my
father and me, the White Warrior.

I was just about to allow myself a sigh of
relief when that blasted shadow filled my mind. That foreboding
feeling, like thick syrup running through my soul, told me
something was very wrong. It got stronger as we got closer and
closer until it felt like we were marching straight into a giant
wall of Shadow.

I stopped Forfirith at the top of the hill
that allowed a view of the forest to the left and caught myself
actually looking for some Shadow or darkness in front of me.
Everyone was looking at me confused, except for Rabryn. His eyes
were as unfocused as mine as he looked for what could cause such a
thick ominous feeling, as if such a thing could take physical
form.

“Do you feel that?” he said in a breath.

I nodded. The feeling burned and boiled in my
stomach like a vat of churning tar. I could practically feel the
heat of the Evil here.

Not Galad Kas! Please not Galad Kas!
I
pleaded silently. The last and
only
foothold I had in
Casdanarus was somehow compromised!

I was about to get angry, but I suddenly felt
a part of me shrink and almost…well, it felt like a part of me
floated away with the wind. Dread perhaps? I wasn’t sure what it
was but I was left feeling extremely concerned and a little
tired.

“Azrel, what’s wrong?” Ortheldo finally
asked.

I swallowed heavily before answering from my
gut. “Galad Kas has been attacked.”

Soft murmurs went through the group. I fought
the tears that wanted to spill forth. Isadith, Palpanor, all my
friends.
Not Galad Kas! Please not Galad Kas!
I dismounted
and walked a few paces forward to the edge of the hill, not taking
my eyes off the golden trees below.

After a few moments I was joined by Rabryn.
“What do you want to do?”

I thought for a moment. We could go around,
but it was against my nature and I knew it. I had to see what
became of my friends. I had to see if I could help at all, even if
I just buried their bodies. “I need to get to the island. The woods
need to be scouted to see how much damage there is and if any
Shadow creatures are in there.”

Rabryn nodded beside me. “I’ll go.”

“No,” I replied immediately.

“Why not?” Rabryn said defensively.

I turned and glared at him. “Do you have a
death wish?”

Instead of fighting with me like I expected,
he just closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Azrel,
you really need to stop talking to me like that.” He dropped his
hand and met my eyes. “I love you, but when you talk to me as if I
were a child, I feel insulted.”

His words cut into me like a blade. I talked
to him like he was a child because he
was
one…wasn’t he? I
looked to Ortheldo for some help, but he was too busy biting his
lip to keep from laughing at the exchange. When our eyes met, the
words were clear in them: “I told you so.” Yes, Ortheldo had tried
numerous times to tell me to not babysit my brother out here, but I
had to! He was my baby brother.

When I looked back at Rabryn, I felt my face
go slack as I caught a good look at his eyes, eyes I realized I
hadn’t really looked into since we left The Pitt. The childlike
innocence had disappeared from them. Gone!

I closed my throat against a gasp that wanted
to escape from the change I was seeing in them. Being on the
outside, in battles, and witnessing death and despair had changed
them. As I stared into his face, I didn’t see him as the little boy
I’d first met when coming to The Pitt. He was actually a young man,
a young adult!

I took in a shaky breath and, despite my new
view of him, quickly walked up and embraced him. When he embraced
me back, I
did
gasp, and even trembled a little, as I felt
the change in his body as well. He was harder, more muscular. His
shoulders were broader and he was so much taller than me now! He
really had changed, and I missed it. I’d been too desperate to hang
on to the memory of the little boy who had completed my world since
the day we met.

“I’m sorry, Rabryn,” I said in a shaky
breath.

He kissed the top of my head and held me
tighter. “It’s okay, Azrel.”

“I don’t know. I guess I just want to keep
the memory of you as a little boy with me forever, because the day
I met you was the best day of my life.”

“I know, sis,” he said gently and rubbed my
back, “but I’m not a child.”

I nodded against his chest. “I know…now.” I
swallowed and pulled away and looked up into his eyes. “I’ll
try.”

Rabryn smiled and wiped my cheeks that I
suddenly realized were wet. “That’s all I ask.”

I looked at the ground to try to compose
myself and tell myself over and over again,
He’s a young man.
He’s a young man. He’s a young man.
I swallowed again and met
his eyes once more. “What did you have in mind?”

He smiled then looked towards the trees
again. “I’ll avoid the creatures by walking the treetops.”

My brows went up. I was impressed. I knew for
a fact that the branches of the Galad Kas canopy were thick enough
to walk on like a floor. It was such a tangled jungle of branches
that it would be slow going and required some body contorting and
climbing, but it could be done with a good sense of direction.
Salynns had an impeccable sense of direction.

I grinned at him with pride; he really had
grown up before my eyes. Unfortunately my worry for him beat at the
back of my mind and my smile wilted as I took his hand into mine
and looked up into his eyes. “Rabryn, if I put my big sister
worries aside and let you do this, you have to promise me
something.” His head tilted to the side and he looked at me
curiously. “Promise me that you’ll be careful and not get yourself
killed.” He gave me a gentle smile. “I mean it. Don’t be a hero for
any reason, okay?”

He nodded and kissed my forehead. “I
promise.”

I sighed and looked down at my hands holding
his. I gave them a gentle squeeze before dropping them. “Go then,”
I said, keeping my eyes on the ground. I watched his feet move
towards the horses. I listened while he unpacked his weapons. I had
to cross my arms in order to resist the urge to grab his arm and
stop him when his feet ran past me towards the woods. After a
moment I brought a trembling hand up to my face and covered my
eyes. I felt like I was going to shatter to pieces with how badly I
was shaking. What was I thinking? Letting him go off alone!

I felt a body press against me and Ortheldo
hugged me. I couldn’t take my hand from my eyes as I pressed my
face into his chest. “I’m proud of you,” he said gently.

“Yeah, well I don’t feel proud.”

“You should be. That took courage. He’ll be
fine.”

“How do you know? What if he gets hurt? What
am I going to do?”

“First thing you need to do is to stop
thinking like that.” I sighed in annoyance. “Then trust him to make
the right decisions.”

That was
far
easier said than done.
Rabryn had been, and probably always would be, the single strand of
goodness and hope that I had in my life. If I lost him I would have
nothing.

“I said stop thinking like that,” Ortheldo
chastised.

I met his eyes. “How do you know what I was
thinking?”

He smiled and brushed a loose strand of hair
out of my face. “Because I know you. You were quiet, which means
you were thinking negatively.”

I sighed again and pressed my cheek against
his chest and let him hold me. I hoped Ortheldo’s arms could keep
away the fear and worry for my brother, but no, it was no use.
Ortheldo couldn’t protect me from my inner turmoil. I sighed and
pulled away, then turned to watch my brother running towards the
trees in the distance. When he was completely swallowed by the
forest I walked to the bottom of the hill and sat down on the grass
and waited.

Addredoc

The sun had long fallen and Rabryn had yet to
return from the woods. Azrel was still at her spot at the bottom of
the hill; she hadn’t moved for hours. Well, “hadn’t moved” wasn’t
entirely accurate. As the night waned on she had started to rock
herself back and forth like a mad woman. I had to heal her
thumbnail twice because she’d bitten it down until she was
bleeding.

“Addredoc,” Ortheldo said. I looked at him
and he handed me a cup of broth. “Bring this down to her,
please.”

“Take this too,” Reese said and held out a
blanket.

I took them both and made my way down the
hill. I draped the blanket over Azrel’s shoulders and sat down next
to her. “Here’s some broth. We didn’t give you any vegetables
because we didn’t want you to exert any energy by chewing
them.”

She humored me by forcing a smile and taking
the cup from me. “Thank you.”

“What? Were those
words
you just
spoke?” I joked, trying to help her feel better. She gave me a more
genuine smile, but it wilted as soon as she looked towards the
woods again. I sighed. “You know he’s going to be okay, don’t
you?”

“How can I know that, Addredoc?”

I didn’t have an answer, really.

I looked into what I could see of her eyes.
They were so beautiful, but somewhat darkened of late with the
revelation of secrets her father kept from her. Her foundation was
crumbling. She kept a brave face, though I could see her slowly
dying inside. The hardest part was that I knew there was still so
much more she didn’t yet know.

She brought the cup of broth up to her lips
but before she took a sip, her eyes went wide as she looked over
the rim towards the woods. She jumped to her feet, dropping the cup
to the ground. The blanket fell off her shoulders.

I saw Rabryn running towards us, bow in hand.
“Guys!” I called, getting quickly to my feet. “He’s back!”

“Rabryn!” Azrel cried, then started running
towards him.

Everyone quickly came down the hill to join
me and we ran towards Rabryn. Azrel was just throwing herself into
her little brother’s arm as we met up with them. He caught her in
his free arm, but quickly put her down. I could hear him panting
heavily. He doubled over and started coughing from
breathlessness.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Azrel was
asking trying to cup Rabryn’s face in her hands. “Light Gods!
You’re soaked. Are you hurt?”

“No,” Rabryn replied, still unable to
breathe. “It’s sweat. I had to run full speed the last seven
miles.” He coughed again, pressing his hands into his knees. “I
have never hated my human half until this very moment.” He coughed
again and we all managed to smile. Rabryn met Azrel’s eyes. “I
heard some creatures talking. I moved down to listen to them. A
smaller branch didn’t hold my weight and snapped.”

“Get a cold cloth!” Azrel cried.

Reese turned to go but Rabryn stopped him.
“No. I’m okay. I’m just winded. I’ll be fine once I catch my
breath.”

“Here, sit down,” Azrel coaxed.

Rabryn didn’t argue that and sat on the
ground.

I felt a small body push its way between me
and Ortheldo. Cairikson stood in front of us, looking at Rabryn.
“Rabryn? Are my people okay? Is my home okay?” he asked in a small
voice.