The Blaze Ignites (9 page)

“How do you feel?” she asked.

“Weak but not sick.”

“The weakness will pass.”

“Where’s my mama?”

She sighed, then looked at me. She nodded
towards the creek. “Go ahead and bathe.” A tiny smirk came over her
lips. “I promise I won’t take him away from you.”

I smiled, then went to the edge of the creek
and started to undress. She carried the boy over to a large rock
that rested on the bank and sloped down into the water. She went
right to the water’s edge and set the boy in her lap cradling him
close. As I watched her with him, I prayed that someday I’d see her
like this with our own children.

“Cairikson, I want you to understand that
what I’m about to tell you happened because your mother was very,
very brave. Can you understand that?” He nodded, though tears
filled his big eyes.

I dove into the water and quickly popped up
again so I wouldn’t miss anything she said. I swam to the rock they
sat on, crossed my arms on top of it, and rested my chin on my
arms. I listened and waited to comfort or support whoever needed
it.

“Your mama told you who the White Warrior
was, didn’t she?”

“Sure she did. She would always tell me
stories about the adventures you had a long, long time ago, and the
good things you did for the world, and the evil you fought.” Azrel
smiled, seeming glad to hear Nekinda left out anything negative. I
was pretty glad myself.

“Actually, those stories your mama told you
were about my father. When he died he gave his powers of the White
Warrior to me. Do you understand that?” He nodded. “Okay,” she said
with a forced smile, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. “Now,
I’ve been hiding for a little while, waiting for the right time to
strike. Because I’m hiding, and I have something very valuable, I
have some very bad people looking for me. They don’t know who I am,
but they’re taking a lot of extreme measures to find me. If they
find me too soon, a lot of good people will die. Do you understand
me so far?”

“Yes.”

Azrel brushed some hair off his forehead and
tears filled her eyes. “These bad people used your mama to try to
find me.” She swallowed heavily and her tears fell. “So your brave
mama ended her life so she could save mine.”

Cairikson squeezed his eyes shut, tears
spilled from the corners. I rested my hand on top of his head and
petted his hair gently in a small gesture of comfort. He sniffed,
then opened his eyes, taking on a grim look of pride. Two more big
tears fell, but his voice was strong. “My mama thought highly of
you, White Warrior, and she wouldn’t have wanted to die any other
way.”

Azrel smiled and lifted the boy up, holding
him tightly against her shoulder. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I
thought you would hate me.”

“No,” he said weakly. Then with great effort
he lifted his arms up and wrapped them around her neck. “You’re
going to save the world again. I can’t hate you.” Azrel laughed
through her tears and held him tighter.

With a smile I pushed myself away from the
rock and went under the water again, feeling it wash away
everything negative and refresh me for the next leg of this
journey. When I surfaced, both of them were looking at me.
Cairikson looked up at her when I came out of the water. “What’s
his name?” he whispered.

“Ortheldo,” she whispered back.

He turned his eyes to me again as I
approached the rock. “Ortheldo, I’ve been really sick for a long
time and I usually wasn’t awake when my mama bathed me. I forget
what water feels like.”

I grinned. “Well come on in, kiddo.”

He beamed and Azrel gently laid him across
her lap to take the blanket off him and undress him. She smiled at
him. “After you’re done, I’ll give you a special treat that will
help make you strong again.”

When she finished undressing him, she gently
handed him down to me. I held him in my arms above the waist-deep
water. “Now it’s going to be cold, but you’ll get used to it after
a while.” He nodded and I lowered him into the water. He
immediately tensed up, squeezing his eyes shut and sucking in a
gasp of air. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll get used to it,” he squeaked. Both
Azrel and I laughed.

“I’ll go get Cairikson’s clothes and a big
cloth.” She stood from the rock and headed down the bank. “I’ll be
right back.”

I nodded, then looked down at Cairikson
again. “You ready? We’re going to go all the way under now.” He
held his breath and we went under the water.

“That’s cold!” He giggled when we
surfaced.

I laughed. “It sure is!”

He sighed, “It feels good though.”

I picked up Azrel’s Salynn liquids from the
rock. “Let’s wash up, and then we’ll keep playing until Azrel gets
back.”

“Okay,” he said. I cradled him in the crook
of one arm and pulled the cork out of the first liquid with my
teeth. “So Azrel is her real name?”

“Yes it is.”

“That’s pretty. Just like her.”

I smiled. “Just like her.”

I poured some of the pinkish liquid into
Cairikson’s hair and began to rub it around. I smiled as the
intoxicating smell reminded me of Azrel.

“It smells like home,” Cairikson said.

“It should. Azrel got these vials from Galad
Kas. Her friend Isadith gave them to her as a parting gift a long
time ago.”

“Isadith?” He smiled softly. “That’s my
auntie.”

I froze and felt my heart sink down into my
stomach. “Your mama was Isadith’s sister?”

“Yup.”

Azrel wasn’t going to like hearing this. I
looked at him sympathetically. “I’m so sorry, son. You’ve lost so
much in such a short amount of time.”

“I know my mama was glad to give her life for
Azrel because the White Warrior saved so many lives a long time
ago.”

“That’s right.”

“My mama is watching me from The Sky, and
being with the White Warrior makes me feel safe.”

I smiled. “You
are
safe.” I was
already falling in love with this little boy.

I dipped him under the water to rinse out his
hair and then I put the second purple liquid in and rubbed it
around. After rinsing that out I took the small cloth from the pile
and dipped it under the water to get it wet. I put some of the
orange liquid on that and rubbed his skin with it. The smells of
the liquids seemed to fill me with hope and I felt more alive than
ever. Some color even came back to Cairikson’s cheeks.

When I pulled him up from a final rinse I
suddenly felt a presence behind me. It was silent, which made me go
rigid. Cairikson’s blue-green eyes went wide as he focused on
something behind me. My hand shot out and grabbed my sword from the
rock. I spun around holding it out, keeping Cairikson tightly
against me with my other arm.

“Whoa hey!” Rabryn said. He jumped, holding a
hand up. “It’s just me.”

My eyes closed and my body relaxed. “You
scared the hell out of me,” I said as I put my sword back on the
rock.

He smiled. “A little jumpy today,
Ortheldo?”

“A little.” My eyes settled on the big cloth
he was holding and a small set of clothes on top of that. “Where’s
Azrel?”

“She looked exhausted, so I talked her into
taking a small nap.”

I nodded. “I thought she looked tired,
too.”

“Well, it’s been a long day for us all.
Actually it’s been a long
couple
days.”

“You can say that again.”

“I needed to talk to you anyway.”

I sighed and shook my head. “If it’s bad news
I don’t want to hear it.”

“That’s good, because I actually have some
good news for a change.”

“Really?” I said genuinely impressed. “Do
tell, then.”

He stepped up onto the rock and sat
crossed-legged at the water’s edge. “How are you doing, Cairikson?”
he asked gently. “Azrel told me you were very brave when she told
you about your mother.”

“I’m so sorry I don’t have the strength to
bow to you properly, my Goldian. Please forgive me.”

Rabryn’s brow wrinkled with sympathy as he
reached down and pet the boy’s wet hair. “Don’t you worry about
that.” Rabryn smiled. “Besides, you’re probably more powerful than
I am anyway.”

“But, my Goldian, that’s not possible.”

“Sure it is, and my name is Rabryn.”
Cairikson face became worried. “See Cairikson, you and I are a lot
alike; I’m half human, too.”

“You are?”

“Yes, sir. But I was raised in a human land,
among humans. I never learned how to use my magic until now. The
Redian Addredoc is teaching me.”

“There are Redians here?”

“Three, actually. Their names are Addredoc,
Meddyn, and Thrawyn. They’re a family.” Rabryn’s brows dropped.
“Did I hear my sister correctly? You’re seventy-five years old?
Soon to be seventy-six?”

“Your sister?”

“Azrel. The White Warrior.”

Cairikson’s eyes went wide and I felt his
body tense up a little. “She’s your sister?” Rabryn nodded. “Are
you part White Warrior then?”

Both Rabryn and I laughed. “No, no, no,”
Rabryn said. “She’s actually my half-sister. We have the same
mother, but our fathers were different races.”

Cairikson relaxed again in my arms, but still
looked slightly confused. “Oh.”

“Now is what she said about your age
true?”

“Yes. On April fourteenth, I’ll be
seventy-six.”

“Well that’s not far off. We’ll have to plan
something special.” Cairikson grinned. “Do you know how old I
am?”

“No.”

“I’m seventeen. I’ll be eighteen on May
second.”

“You mean you’re seventeen in human
years?”

Rabryn kept smiling at him. “No, I mean I’ve
only been
alive
for seventeen years.” Cairikson’s eyes went
wide. “I inherited a human life span from my mother, just like you
inherited a Salynn life span from yours.”

“Wow,” Cairikson said, and we both chuckled
again.

“So you see? You’re probably more powerful
than I am right now. You’ve lived longer and been able to use your
magic your entire life, whereas I’m a lot younger and just learning
how to use it.”

“I still can’t believe it.”

“Pretty neat, huh?” Rabryn said, with a
little mischievous jump of his eyebrows. We all laughed.

“What’s with all the merrymaking here?” We
all went silent and turn to see Azrel approaching the bank. She
still looked exhausted.

“I thought you were taking a nap,” Rabryn
said.

“I decided not to because we have
got
to get going. We’re already late.”

“Azrel, all of us have been up for two days.
We need to sleep before we get going again.”

“We’ll be fine. I have something that will
give us some energy. Rabryn, could you pass me a big cloth?” Rabryn
picked up one up from the rock and tossed it to Azrel. She caught
it then squatted down at the edge of the bank, holding it open.
“Ready?” she asked Cairikson.

“All set.”

Azrel stepped one foot in the water and
leaned in to take Cairikson from me. I reached up and placed him
gently in her arms, and she immediately wrapped him up snugly in
the cloth.

“Thank you, Ortheldo.”

“My pleasure, kiddo.”

“How are you feeling?” Azrel asked, as she
sat down on the bank and began to dry him off.

“Still weak.”

“I’ll give you your treat now then.” She
cradled the boy in the crook of one arm and held her free hand out,
palm up. A small white flame ignited in her hand and disappeared,
leaving what looked like a small white cake in her palm. “Here you
go.” She handed the cake to Cairikson.

My wide eyes went to Rabryn’s, just in time
to see a gold swirling light fade from his.
That’s what I needed
to talk to you about,
his voice said in my head, making me
jump.
It will have to wait until later though. You and she have
unsettled matters that need to be addressed.

I nodded, stunned that he was getting so
proficient in his magic so quickly, and then dove under the water.
I washed up with the rest of the Salynn liquids as Cairikson ate
his cake. When I was finished, I got out of the water and dried off
with the second big cloth. I put on the set of clothes Azrel had
brought me earlier, which consisted of a black long-sleeved top,
light grey bottoms and a dark blue cloak. We’d gone through a lot
of cloaks since leaving The Pitt, as the weather hadn’t exactly
been agreeable.

“You know what, Azrel?” Cairikson asked
between bites.

“What?”

“My mama was sisters with your friend
Isadith.”

I saw Azrel freeze. “Sisters?” Cairikson
nodded and Azrel deflated, her eyes closing. She’d have to tell
Isadith her sister was dead when we brought Cairikson back to Galad
Kas. After a moment, Azrel swallowed and looked down at Cairikson
again. “Okay, I’ll tell her when we get there.”

Cairikson nodded and finished his cake. “I
do
feel better! Can you help me sit up please?”

“Sure.” Azrel lifted his upper body and sat
him upright on her leg. I squatted down in front of him to make my
eyes level with his face, just in case he looked dizzy or sick. I
could catch him if he passed out. Azrel removed her arm from behind
him and he sat up on his own. He smiled at me.

I smiled back and held my hands out to him.
“Think you can stand?”

“I’ll try.” He placed his tiny hands in mine,
and with Azrel behind him to spot him I gently pulled him to his
feet. Azrel tucked the cloth he was still wrapped up in more
tightly around his shoulders. He was unsteady but found his
footing. “The ground feels funny under my feet,” he said with a
giggle and kneaded the dirt with his toes.

I smiled and looked past him at Azrel. “Where
are his clothes? It’s a little chilly.”

“Way ahead of you, Dad,” Rabryn teased, and I
realized he was already holding Cairikson’s clothes. Both of them
were smirking at me as Rabryn tossed Azrel the set of clothing.
Cairikson looked over his shoulder and wobbled a little, but I held
his hands firmly and smiled self-consciously.