The Blaze Ignites (5 page)

“More rain!?” I cried up at the sky as if the
Gods could hear me. “Aren’t you sick of it by now?” Deep black
clouds rolled in and filled the sky, completely drowning out the
daylight. I watched with wide eyes as it instantaneously became
night. “What the. . .”

“This way!” Jonoic yelled over the roaring
thunder and the violent winds that took my breath away as they
howled across the land. “My wagon isn’t far! Come on!”

He started to go but I stood in place, too
busy looking up at the black sky, stunned and overwhelmed. It
wasn’t even ten in the morning, but it was dark.

“Azrel! Let’s go!”

I tore my eyes from the night and onto the
path that I now could barely make out. I saw Jonoic’s large black
silhouette just ahead and went towards it. The wind shifted
direction violently, coming directly at my face, lashing me with
rain, and making it hard to walk forward. Soon the wind had me
standing still in one place, threatening to blow me over if I
lifted a toe.

I felt Jonoic grab my hand, but the second he
touched me, another deafening clap of thunder and a simultaneous
bolt of lightning made us both cower to our knees with our arms
over our heads. We both looked up at the sky, confused. Jonoic
quickly got to his feet and pulled me to mine.

“Let’s go! Hurry!”

He pulled me along and we began fighting the
increasing wind. It was blowing so hard that I was getting
suffocated. I had to turn my face to the side and close my eyes,
completely depending on Jonoic to pull me along.

I thought about Ortheldo again. My eyes
opened and I looked around for him as if he might be nearby, though
course he wasn’t. I could only hope he’d be okay in this.

We stopped and I felt Jonoic’s hands around
my waist as he lifted me up onto what I assumed was the back bumper
of his wagon. He pushed me inside, then climbed in, pulling the
door closed behind him and latching it tight.

“Whoo wee!” he exclaimed, facing me. He shook
out his hair and smoothed it back with his fingers, keeping a smile
on his face. “That was interesting.”

The storm pounded so hard outside that the
entire wagon shook, making the shadows on the walls tremble as the
numerous oil lamps swayed. I looked around the interior and noticed
a pile of stacked crates that filled the entire right side of the
wagon. There were a few more crates on the left side, leaving a
single bare path down the middle.

Towards the back of the wagon I saw the end
of a blue knitted blanket on the floor sticking out from behind the
crates on the right. I went to it, curious. When I rounded the
corner of the crates I nearly collapsed at what I saw. An
absolutely beautiful young woman was sitting on the floor with
tears in her eyes, holding a small boy in her arms. She looked up
at me desperately as I stared at her and her child. The boy was
wrapped tightly in a blanket from head to toe, so only his face
peeked out. He couldn’t have been more than three years old,
cradled snugly to his mother’s bosom. I finally fell to my knees in
front of her. My eyes filled with tears at her baby’s
condition.

The woman’s dark brown eyes suddenly went
very wide, and she shook her head vigorously at me. She ran her
fingertip down her cheek. She was telling me not to cry.

Jonoic suddenly appeared behind me. When I
looked up at him, his massive build seemed to have gotten bigger,
but stranger still was that there was something different in his
presence now. I didn’t feel comfortable near him. As I looked at
him I realized there wasn’t even kindness in his eyes, never mind
love
as he looked at the young woman. His eyes were filled
with suspicion.

When I looked at the woman again, I noticed
she had forced a smile on her face. “Hello darling,” she said
sweetly. Her voice was like a song. Her lips were like ripe
cherries and her lovely pale face made her eyes and lips seem a
richer color than they already were. She had a blue scarf over her
head like a hood, but what I could see of her hair was a pretty
dark auburn color with full, thick curls. “Your son’s fever
lessened a bit while you were gone.”

Though she was lovely, my attention was on
her eyes. I saw that she was absolutely terrified. I narrowed my
eyes at her as she looked at me with a fake, soft smile. “And who
have you brought with you?”

She appeared calm . . . to the untrained eye.
I examined her. Her nostrils flared slightly as she breathed. I saw
a speedy rhythmic movement in the side of her neck which I knew was
her heart beating too fast and too hard. I carefully shifted my
eyes up to hers again. Yes, she was terrified.

“I’m Azrel,” I said. “You must be Nekinda.” I
looked at the small boy asleep in her arms, “and Cairikson?”

The women nodded. “Or Cairi as I … uh …
we
sometimes call him.”

I nodded and looked at the tiny bundle in her
arms. “How old is he?”

“He’s three.” She bit her lip and started
crying softly as she held the bundle closer to her. Jonoic squatted
down, placing his big hands on her shoulders and pressing his
forehead to the side of her head. She almost cowered from him, but
I saw him squeeze her shoulders in a warning to not move.

“Please don’t cry, my darling wife.”

Oh Gods! His performance was sickening. These
two were clearly either not married at all or he beat her on a
regular basis. He certainly didn’t cherish her enough to call her
“darling,” or even “wife.” I sneered at the back of his head. I had
to get Nekinda and her baby away from him. Whether he’d kidnapped
them for some reason, or he beat them, they couldn’t stay here.

“May I hold him?” I asked to the woman as I
got off my knees and put myself in a squat in front of her.

“Of course,” Jonoic said a little too eagerly
and took Cairikson away from his mother to hand to me. Though
Nekinda clearly didn’t want Jonoic touching her son, only her eyes
betrayed it.

I took the tiny boy in my arms and looked
down at his precious face. I bit my lip at the sight of him. He was
definitely sick; that much Jonoic had been truthful about. The
front of his dark hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat,
and his cheeks were bright red. I gently brushed some of his damp
hair away from his face and rested my palm on his forehead,
wondering if I could heal him.

Nekinda made a small squeaking noise and
suddenly Jonoic exploded. “Shut up!” He screamed, spinning on her.
He glared at her as she cowered against the wagon wall. “Azrel
won’t hurt him!” He turned back to me with intense, eager eyes. “Go
on. Continue what you were doing.” He looked like a child about to
receive a great gift.

Oh yes! I had every reason not to trust him
now. He was a hunter, like the man Rabryn had gone after in
Narcatertus. He wanted proof of who I was.

At the realization that I was so close to
such danger I had to force myself to remain calm. I could
not
panic right now because I had to get Nekinda and
Cairikson away from him safely.
Stay calm.
I told myself.
Focus for their sake. Get them safe.

“Continue what I was doing?” I asked, trying
sound confused. “I was just seeing how hot he was.”

“Oh,” Jonoic said deflating. “Of course you
were.” He forced a smile.

I coolly looked back down at the boy, being
sure not to direct my questions to either one of them, giving both
the opportunity to answer. “How long has he been sick?”

“A little over a year,” Nekinda replied.

“Dear Gods,” I whispered to myself, resting
the back of my hand on his cheek. “Does he ever wake up?”

“Once in a while. But I can’t really talk to
him when he does because I’m too busy getting food and water into
him,” Nekinda replied. Jonoic stayed silent, still.

“Did you talk to him often? Before he fell
ill.”

“Oh yes. He’s a very good talker,” she
said.

“He’s beautiful. What color are his
eyes?”

“They’re a lovely blend of blue and green.”
Nekinda said.

“When will he turn four?”

“In two weeks, on April fourteenth.” Again,
it was only her replying.

I nodded, tucking the blanket more snugly
around the small boy and holding him against me more firmly. Jonoic
had answered my real question by not saying a word. He knew nothing
about this child; therefore, I thought it safe to say that it
wasn’t his.

I looked up at Nekinda from under my brows
and set my jaw firmly. She caught my little meaning and nodded
subtly. My fist flew out and smashed Jonoic in the jaw. He screamed
and went flying backwards as I grabbed Nekinda under her arm and
pulled her to her feet. Seeing the door was latched, I let her go
and ran for it. With a leap, I turned my body slightly to the side
in the air, then kicked my top leg out, smashing the door
completely open. I jumped to the ground, Nekinda close behind me. I
spun around to see Jonoic, hoping he hadn’t seen that move—one that
no one but The White Warrior would be able to do—but he was still
picking himself up off the floor after my hard punch.

“Come on!” I shoved Nekinda out in front of
me and we started running.

“This isn’t over, White Warrior!” I heard
Jonoic scream from the wagon. I heard his heavy boots splash to the
ground as he started running after us. I took Nekinda’s arm,
pushing the poor woman one way then yanking her another until I
felt we’d put some distance between us and him.

Eventually we stopped and I handed Nekinda
her son. “Here! Take him!” I cried over the rumbling thunder. “Keep
running east and you’ll run into my party. They’ll take care of
you.”

“What about you?” she asked as she took her
boy. The wind nearly blew all of us over.

“I’ll be a diversion for you! It’s me he
wants anyway. Now go!” I yelled, shoving her away from me. I took
off in the opposite direction at a brisk run.

The darkness was a great cover, but it slowed
down my escape. I dodged tree branches and stumbled on roots,
nearly falling on my face every time. Lightning was the only thing
illuminating my path. After a while, I realized I was running
alongside a low stone wall and decided to keep to that. I tripped
on another root, which brought me to one knee painfully. I
scrambled into a run again. Rain lashed at my cheeks. Branches and
twigs clawed at me, I nearly went numb from the pain, unable to
distinguish between the rain and the thorns or twigs.

I tripped on a root again and this time fell
hard on my face, my cheek smacking the ground. I was about to get
up and keep going when the heel of a heavy boot was driven into the
side of my face. I screamed as he pressed my head down into the
ground.

I was blinded by horror and couldn’t believe
I hadn’t out run him. My mind began racing. I was
not
going
to die like this! I was
not!

“You fractured my jaw, you little bitch.”

“Pity I didn’t break your skull,” I responded
through clenched teeth.

His boot crushed down on my face harder. I
screamed through my tight teeth. “You are in no position to be
flippant.”

“And you are in no position to be challenging
me, you bastard.”

“A bastard, am I?” He stood on my face with
all of his monstrous weight. I couldn’t even scream, only growl
loudly from the pain as I felt and
heard
my face bones break
under him. He then brought his opposite foot forward, his toe
smashing into my mouth.

My face exploded in pain. My mouth filled
with blood. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I begged to
pass out. But by the Gods’ hateful, merciless will, I didn’t. I was
awake and alert, feeling this indescribable pain, with his boot
still grinding my face into the ground. I knew my jaw was broken in
multiple places and driven unnaturally deep into the back of my
head.

My magic!

No! He was waiting for that! I couldn’t use
my fighting style. I couldn’t even cry from the pain I was in If I
did, he’d have the proof he needed to take to Hathum of who I
was.

He kicked me in the ribs breaking two of
them, and then again went for my face. Everything went dark for a
moment, but again I was left awake wishing I was dead. My chin was
dust, my was nose shattered, and my entire face was swollen beyond
anything I’d ever felt. I was choking on my own blood. Broken teeth
were cutting my mouth from the inside and I couldn’t breathe.

No airway was left open. I couldn’t open my
mouth to let the blood dribble out! He was too heavy!

I struggled as hard as I could with my free
arm, grabbing at his shin and calf, digging my nails into his skin,
anything to get him off me. My head was hot, and my vision was
beginning to blur. I fought on, clawing at him desperately.

“I tried to make it easy for you!” He
growled. “I used the woman and the boy! You could have just healed
the boy and not gone through this! You’re a
fool
to give
your life for them!”

I’m not dead yet!
I wanted to say, but
I was unable to speak.

“You will be soon enough—by choking on your
own blood!” he said, reading my thoughts. Ortheldo was right;
Hathum had taught his people some mind magic.

Wouldn’t that be lovely?
a thought,
which was more like a voice—
my
voice—seemed to say in my
head. My conscience was slipping. My clawing at his leg lessened.
Slowly I started to fade.
Hathum’s been looking forward to a
battle with me for 3,000 years
, the voice said again.
You’re
very brave to dare disappoint him.

I heard Jonoic take in a sharp breath. Just
before I faded completely, he stepped off my face. I opened my
mouth, blood and teeth pouring out, and I took in wave after wave,
gulp after gulp of sweet, cool air. Even though my broken ribs made
it the most agonizing experience of my life, I breathed. The world
rushed back to me, as did the pain I was in.