Dawn of the Hunters

by Ryan Wieser

  She looked at him with a sense of deep understanding. Slowly, she reached for his hand, holding it tightly. “Of course. Never.”

  * * * *

  Octayn had agreed to return to Azgul with him. He hadn’t thought out all of the details but he knew he needed her to be near him. His family, like many prominent Daharian families, kept a home in Azgul. After his parents’ deaths, Hydo had kept it, sometimes taking Urdo or Hanson there for a break from training, to exist in the real world for a night. He knew Octayn staying there wasn’t perhaps a perfect plan, but he couldn’t take her to the Blade. Gredoria wouldn’t hear of it, even if Hydo explained that he had finally found another Fire-Wielder. Women weren’t allowed. They said it was because they didn’t have what it took to master Sentio, but Hydo sensed the truth. In Daharia, women didn’t have a history of suppressing others for their own gain.

  She sat behind him in the Soar-Craft, and as they traveled in silence, he thought only of the night they had shared. They had stayed up talking for many hours—or rather he had talked and she had listened. She would speak about books and travel, the ways of Daharia, the things she had seen, but she would never mention family or friends. She spoke as though Daharia were not her home, but he had refused to press the matter.

  They had slept next to one another. She had fallen asleep listening to him speak about life in the Blade. He hadn’t taken offense—it was nearly dawn. He had draped a blanket over her and was crossing the room when she woke up.

  “Stay.”

  She had whispered the order so softly, he could have imagined it, but the slightest inkling was enough to convince him to lie down beside her. He had watched her sleep, finding it near impossible to look away from her beautiful face. At some point, he too had fallen asleep.

  He wondered about her. He had known many women. While Hunters weren’t encouraged to marry, they were not banned from forming such relationships. Himself, Urdo—even Hanson—had all carried on relationships with women. He had seen beautiful women, women from all across Daharia. But none had captured him the way Octayn had.

  He knew the way she slept, he knew the way her mouth pulled when she spoke, he knew the way her own fire illuminated her eyes. Yet, he did not know her. He knew her power, he had felt it, and he knew her authoritative nature. His own abilities were immense; if he acquiesced to her it wasn’t out of fear. Skills aside, he did not fear her because of the way she looked at him. He found something in her gaze that he had maybe only ever seen matched in his own dark stare—true loneliness. Not simply the loneliness of love lost, or abandonment. Not just the loneliness one experiences when travelling through the darkest skies with no one at your side. Not even the extreme loneliness his brethren had all come to know so well, the loneliness they masked with their augmented kinships within the Blade. It was the loneliness of nature. The loneliness one could only know when they lived without equal for so many years. The loneliness one felt when they realized they had no one who could ever truly know them, for they were not like them. Like realizing you were the last of your species. He had heard of creatures living out similar fates—when their species became hunted, endangered, decimated. When there was only one left, waiting for the end.

  Hydo felt her hand run over the back of his neck, finding a resting spot on his shoulder. He glanced down to her fingers and saw the small, blue flames running over her fingers. The fire disappeared as quickly as it had materialized. “You’re not alone anymore, Hydo.”

  Her words were intoxicating, her voice trailing about them on the scent of fire. She spoke more than words of comfort—they were a promise. She was with him. She was like him. And he suddenly realized she had spoken an answer to his unspoken thoughts. He did not know if he was surprised. A woman had never grasped Sentio, though many had spoken of the Kuroi people and the Oren—all desert tribes had an advanced grasp of the human mind. There had even been rumors about Gredoria Vane’s own wife, Hadonia, having learnt the ways from her husband. But those had never been confirmed.

  He flicked several switches on the panel of his Soar-Craft, ordering the vessel to command its own flight and quickly turned in his seat to face her, flicking his dark hair out of his eyes, reminding himself to regard her with affection and not intimidation—to inquire and not interrogate. He did not want to scare her. Not even if it turned out she had secrets perhaps too great to keep.

  He held her green eyes and took a deep breath before speaking. “Can you read my thoughts?”

  “No better than you can read mine.” Her smile, as always, appeared wicked. She teased him with her ambiguous answers.

  He had to force himself to remain calm. He didn’t understand why she hid from him the way she did. “Why won’t you answer me on anything? Why can’t you tell me who you are?”

  She leaned forward and grabbed his hands. Immediately, she ignited a fire around their skin. He responded in equal measure, his own flames traveling over their forearms. He had the control over his own fire, he could determine if the flames burned, if they smoked, if they did any damage at all. If he wished it, the flames could simply dance like cold air upon the skin of another. If he wished it, he could build an inferno that could bring down an entire home.

  She narrowed her green eyes on him. “But don’t you know me? As I know you. I don’t need to be a mind reader to know you, to know your thoughts. What we have ...does it require a history?”

  Her words excited him. What they had. They did have something. She sensed it too. He knew it. They were meant to be with one another. Did he need to know her past or know everything she was capable of? No, not if it meant she might leave him.

  “Your history means nothing to me ...as long as you swear your future is mine,” he spoke softly. He was cautious of his own words, afraid of the potential they had, especially spoken so soon. She could deny him. She could leave. He had finally found another and he could lose her so quickly. Like their flames, she could vanish as quickly as she had appeared.

  “You’ve known me a day and you would ask me to commit to you?”

  “This isn’t lust. It isn’t love. It’s something else. I don’t know how to describe it, but I feel as though we share something.”

  “And you’d forsake all others, if I swore my future to you?”

  Her brow was arched high. Though it was he who had asked the question, it felt like he was the one swearing fealty.

  “I’d do anything to not lose the only other Fire-Wielder I’d ever met.”

  “It’s just about the Fire then?”

  “No. It’s about you.”

  “Then you admit its lust.”

  “No.”

  “I long for you, as well, Hunter. Your reputation and appearance, your control of the Fire, it all has made me want you. I came to your home prepared to commit myself to you, but not out of desire.”

  He waited, silent, hopeful.

  “We don’t share a history. I sought you out because I knew we could share a future. I have a plan for my life, Hydo. I would very much like you to be involved.”

  Before he could say anything, she pushed forward in her seat and kissed him. He was surprised at first—but the surprise was quickly surpassed by elation. It was an agreement. He kissed her back, finding her lips to be as sweet as he had imagined. He knew her kiss was a promise. As was his own.

  * * * *

  They landed in Azgul late, the crimson sky thick with red dust clouds in the evening. He brought the Soar-Craft down slowly on the landing dock of his family’s home. The dock was situated on the rooftop of the large building. The rooftop was entirely flat, with a small glass box protruding from the far corner—the travel pod. Hydo was the only one who could gain entry to the pod—the doors were fixed to open for a scan of his handprint alone. In time, he would need to add Octayn’s, so that she could come and go as she pleased. There was no reason, he saw, to do that right away.

&nb
sp; He helped her out of the Soar-Craft and held her hand tightly as they crossed the rooftop. On the second attempt, once he had dusted the pad off, the doors opened. Octayn walked in first, confident and poised as ever, regardless of their long trip or it being his home that she once again simply entered. He smiled at her. She was self-assured. And after their kiss and all they had spoken of, he was fairly certain he would do anything for her. Whatever her plan for her future was, he did want to be involved.

  They traveled down the glass chute in silence, lights igniting as they passed through each level of the house, revealing pristine floors—glass walls, white tables and seats and beds, pearl floors. He watched Octayn’s face, pleased to see she approved, even if she only smiled just slightly. When the pod stopped, the glass doors whirring open, they stepped into the living area. The room was large and immaculate, entirely white in décor, with glass and silver fixtures. It was designed to completely contrast the dusty, red city that his mother had so often complained of during his childhood.

  He took her hand in his. “Welcome home. Everything you could need is already here and I will return tomorrow, as soon as I can.”

  She regarded the room slowly, before turning into his arms. “Stay the night with me.” Once again, the sense of authority in her voice roused him. She commanded his attention. She determined her own path. She was a master of her fate—and his, it felt.

  “I need to return to the Blade tonight. Gredoria wishes me to be there.”

  She cocked her head at him. “And what of what I wish, Hydo?”

  “I suppose if I return to him with the news that I have found another Fire-Wielder, he will be forgiving.”

  “No. I do not want your brethren to know me. Not yet.”

  He took a step back from her. He kept nothing from Gredoria, or from Hanson and Urdo. They were his brothers. His kin. “Octayn, I cannot keep such secrets.”

  Her eyes widened and then narrowed on him quickly. “You would deny me such a small request?”

  It felt as though her hands were slipping away. He gripped them tighter. “Ok. We can wait to tell them.”

  She smiled at him and any uncertainty he felt disappeared. She was not the first beautiful woman to smile at him. He was handsome and well-known as a great Hunter; many women approached him. But they weren’t like her. They were not bold Fire-Wielders who knew his mind and would do anything, however extreme, to meet him. She pushed her small body closer to his, holding his stare with his green eyes. “You know Fire-Wielders are not taught—we are born this way? None can learn the abilities if not born with them.”

  He thought of his mother. He had been so young when she died. He thought of her long, black hair, of her sad smile and the accident that had claimed his parents’ lives. She had been the only one like him. “Of course.”

  “Both of my parents have the gift of Fire.”

  She ran her hands up his chest and loosened his vest. He shirked back knowing he needed to warn her. The life of a Hunter had left him marked. “I have many, many scars.”

  She ignored him, her hands pulling at his tunic.

  He stopped her. “You needn’t rush anything. I will want you tomorrow or the next day as greatly as I do now.”

  “Rush? Rush ...I have been looking for a Fire-Wielder who is not of my kin for several years, Hydo. Why do you think it’s so important that Fire-Wielders find one another?”

  He stared down at her, but he did not voice his answer: To not be alone.

  She shook her head up at him, her expression softening, her smile sympathetic. “To have a family of Fire-Wielders. When only one parent has the ability, there is no guaranteeing any child will inherit it, a fact that leads to a suffering patience for me now. But when both have it, as my own, the fate of the child is certain.”

  He was absorbed by her words, however confusing and provocative they were. He felt foolish for not knowing sooner—for not realizing. He had searched for another Fire-Wielder for answers, perhaps companionship, someone to train with and learn from. He had never thought about an alternative future ...He had never thought about what power ran through him, what power he could pass on. He rested his hands on her small hips.

  “You found me because you want a family of Fire-Wielders?”

  She smiled her familiar, incendiary smile—daring him to imagine more than he had ever imagined. “Oh, I want much more than that.”

  Chapter 3

  Hara’agul

  Present Day

  Teck made their camp for them. With waves of his cloaked arms, tents unfolded from their closings, canvas and wooden poles bound together, linens escaped their packaging and tightened around bedrolls. Jessop stood high on the lip of a sand dune, watching him use his mystical abilities, building their lodgings with ease. Hode Avay stood near him, watching with amazement. Teck was amazing, likely the strongest of them all, barring herself, Falco, and Dezane. He had untold abilities.

  He certainly captivated Hode Avay. The young Hunter with short auburn hair had a shadow of a beard across his pristine face. She knew his body would be as scarred as Falco’s and Kohl’s, but he was young and had fewer battle wounds than the others. He was good though, according to Urdo. He and Teck had saved their vessel from the Soren attack. Mar’e had been with them. Had they failed, she would have died. Jessop had nearly killed Mar’e herself, stabbing the woman who had let Jeco get abducted. She’d survived the assault, thanks to Falco.

  The Soar-Craft that the Soren had brought down had killed many—dozens of members of Falco’s army and two young Hunters manning the vessel. Jessop wondered what their names had been, certain that Urdo had told her. She couldn’t recall. She didn’t try very hard to. She couldn’t do anything but focus on Jeco. Her son. She had been so certain he was calling her name before. So certain he had been near her.

  “I feel my mind descending into madness,” she spoke aloud. She could sense Falco standing behind her.

  His strong hand wrapped around hers as he appeared at her side. “You are not alone. He is all I think of.”

  Jessop’s eyes stung, the wind and sand and despair willing her to cry. But she contained her tears. “I cannot stay the night here, Falco. I understand the men may need to, but I cannot. I need to go for him.”

  “One Soar-Craft needs to return to Azgul with the remains ...Several warriors accompany it, one to explain what happened to Trax, who will then be able to send us more soldiers and supplies, and a handful of others to ensure safe passage. We cannot abandon the remaining warriors here without a vessel.”

  Whoever manned the Soar-Craft that would return to Azgul would only know how to come back to Hara’agul. It would not know where to find them if they carried on into the Golden Death Valley. Jessop knew if they left, the Soren would return. If the Soar-Craft flew over once again, with new supplies and new soldiers, the same brigands might attempt to bring it down again. The soldiers Trax would send would be relying on the men on the ground to keep them safe.

  She knew all of this. She heard Falco’s words and yet, they meant nothing to her. She felt all the love she had always felt for him, still residing within her. But she also felt more ...She felt anger. Anger at his plan, anger at his support of her vengeance against Hydo, anger at his level-headedness since their son had gone missing. She was angry he could handle the despair of their loss.

  He moved in front of her, blocking her view of the camp and the men below. “I am not handling the despair of our loss, Jessop. I simply don’t want the men who will help us get Jeco back to die in Hara’agul.”

  “Then stay with them. I will go on foot.”

  “What? We know nothing of this part of Daharia. We don’t even know how long it would take to—”

  “Help me find him then.”

  “What?”

  “Help me find him. We can sense another Hunter. Urdo showed me.”

  “Of
course. That might just work.”

  “Let me help.”

  Kohl’s voice surprised them both. She and Falco turned, finding the blond Hunter standing several feet behind them. “All of us can help. If we all search for him, it will be better, faster.”

  Jessop eyed him slowly, and then nodded.

  * * * *

  Falco’s soldiers and the Kuroi warriors formed a circle around the Hunters, offering protection to them during their quest to find Jeco by sensing Hanson Knell. Dezane and Mar’e stood on either side of the wide circle, keeping their unblinking eyes on the Hunters. Urdo, Hode Avay, Kohl, and Teck formed a smaller circle with Jessop and Falco.

  Urdo cleared his throat and trailed his intense gaze over the small group. “The desert is vast, we will need to search quickly and thoroughly. Searching like this is not intended to last for long periods of time—it is an exhausting measure. We must be quick.”

  “How will we know which way to start?” Hode Avay asked.

  They were all silent for a moment. Jessop didn’t know. None of them knew much about this territory, further out from the lands Hunters regularly patrolled.

  “East, Hunters. The Golden Death Valley is east of here.” Dezane DeHawn spoke, his soft voice circling them with a supernatural ability. Jessop nodded to him with appreciation and he regarded her with a slight incline of his head.

  “East it is then,” Urdo spoke. Jessop took Falco’s hand in her own, he grabbed Teck’s, Teck took Urdo’s, who took Hode Avay’s, who latched on to Kohl’s. The circle would only be complete once Kohl used his spare hand to hold hers, connecting to Falco and the others. Without looking at her, he locked his fingers around hers. She hadn’t realized she stood between him and Falco until that moment.

  The energy that ran through their circle was electric, pulsating from one to the next. No one spoke. No instruction was required. They all felt it. The search began unanimously, their shared abilities escaping them like a wave of light shooting straight up into the sky before jetting east.