Hero of Fire

by P. E. Padilla

  “Aha!” Angus said. “I like it. I’d never be able to do it, mind you. I’m much too heavy for an acrobatic move like that. But I do appreciate the physicality of it. Well done.”

  “Thank you,” Kate said with a slight bow.

  She had been learning things daily from the other members of the Black. She had also been spending as much time as possible with Molara, learning fascinating things about the Order, the Black, magic, and the demons themselves. She could hardly wait to get up each morning to learn more things.

  Kate had thought she was strong and fast before, training with Dante, but the Black had their own secret training methods and fighting styles. They all handled combat a bit differently, and she learned something every time she sparred or trained with them. It was no wonder they were considered myths walking around among men. They were talented, but they also worked harder than anyone Kate had ever seen.

  And she was one of them.

  “Thank you so much for sparring with me and teaching me,” she said to him. I’m in the best fighting shape of my life and feel stronger than I ever have.”

  “It’s a good thing,” he said. “The demons are not forgiving. We have to be the best to survive what we have to do. I’m glad I can help, Kate. The better you are, the more likely it is that you’ll save my ass one of these days.”

  She laughed. “There’s always that.”

  “The captain says you’ll start rotations with us tomorrow. How do you feel about that?”

  “I can’t wait,” she said. “Training and learning things is great, but I’d like to trade a wooden practice weapon for real steel.”

  “You’ll find that it’s not all that exciting most of the time. We’re assigned on call duty and if, during our on-call time, the bell rings, we have to hightail it to the gate. We’re much too valuable to be waiting around at the wall like the Red do. Still, being on call has its anticipation, too. It makes time go very slowly.”

  “But you’re there for every battle,” Kate protested.

  “We are, yes. Two or three of us are there as fast as we can get there after the bell rings. But we only go out when the wall is failing. Be honest, Kate, how often did you see the Black take the field? How many times have you witnessed that in the time you stood at the gate?”

  She frowned. “I don’t know, maybe three times, four at the most.”

  “Exactly. We’re there, but we do not often engage in combat. It involves a lot of waiting around and watching other people fight.”

  “Oh,” Kate said. “I never really thought of it that way.”

  “I just want you to be realistic,” Angus said. “We’re either bored or we’re in danger of dying in the blink of an eye. There isn’t much middle ground with us.”

  “I guess not,” Kate agreed. “I’ll have to wait and figure out how things will be for me. I do thank you, though, for accepting me and helping me with training.”

  “Of course, Kate.” He bowed to her. “You are one of us, a Black sister with thirty-six brothers. Any one of us would die for you, as you would die for any of us. That’s how it is to be in the Black.”

  Kate smiled and nodded, not quite knowing what to say.

  She put her training gear away and donned the harness holding her real sword onto her back. She was supposed to meet Molara and Wilfred for lunch at the dining hall. It was the first time the three of them would be eating together. She didn’t want to be late.

  Hurrying down the hall, she turned a corner and nearly ran into a man with a yellow cloak. No, not just any man. This one had a sneering face with a crooked nose topped by a short mess of sand-colored hair. She couldn’t help but think how doughy he looked, not at all fit like the soldiers he commanded. Kate’s stomach roiled, but she kept her face calm and saluted.

  “Captain Wills,” she said.

  Captain Cornac Wills, the man who had taken her from the Red and put her in the Blue, was a horrible officer and a worse man, in Kate’s opinion. She would have preferred never to see the despicable man again, but he was an officer, and so she was required to salute him. Not all officers had the attitude Captain Achard had.

  “Ew, Courtenay, wasn’t it,” he spat, without returning the salute. “I heard you had been put into the Black for some reason or another. Most likely to entertain the men. Just as well. I didn’t want you causing trouble in my company anyway.”

  He stepped around her, muttering, “The entire Black Command should be disposed of. No reason to keep the tavern thugs around. Sullies the reputation of the Order…”

  Kate stared at him wide-eyed as he stomped down the hallway. It was the second time she had heard him ranting on the subject. What kind of moron wanted to disband the Black? She made mental note to talk to Captain Achard about it. He probably already knew, but she wanted to discuss it.

  Shaking her head, she continued on toward the dining hall.

  When Kate finally arrived at the dining hall, Molara and Wilfred were waiting outside the large double doors, specifically not looking at each other.

  “Uh, hi guys,” Kate said. “Sorry I’m a bit late. I ran into someone I know in the hallway. Almost literally ran into him. Thinking back, it would have been better if I had rammed him full force, like a shield bash.” She thrust her left arm out as if she held a shield. Hers was strapped to her back, over her scabbard. “Anyway, sorry.”

  “It’s not a problem,” Wilfred said. He was in his blue robes, as always.

  “It’s okay,” Molara said at the same time. She was wearing her tan robes, the ones she always wore when not in the Purple section of the library.

  “Molara, this is Wilfred. Wilfred, Molara. Have you two been talking?”

  “Nope,” Wilfred said.

  “No,” Molara said.

  “Oh,” Kate said. She looked from one to another, searching for some sign of what they were thinking. She put an arm around each of them and pulled them along with her into the dining hall. “Oh, come on. I know you two are not very social—I’m not either—so let’s be antisocial together. You two are the only friends I have here.”

  Molara smiled at her and Wilfred chuckled.

  “That’s just because you haven’t been in the Black long enough,” Wilfred said. “I’m sure you’ll have a lot of friends soon.”

  “Maybe,” Kate said, “but that doesn’t matter. You two are my friends now and will continue to be so. Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”

  It only took a few minutes of eating and Kate trying to draw out the two before they were chattering like they had known each other for years.

  “What do you Tan do?” Wilfred asked Molara.

  Kate tensed.

  There was no need. Molara waved a fork in the air and smoothly answered. “We do a lot of research, but we also maintain the library, cataloging books and such. It’s probably not exciting to you. You’re always where the action is, either on the battlefield or whenever anything big is happening, like celebrations.”

  Wilfred cocked his head and studied Molara. “Yes, I guess we are at that. Still, I do love books.”

  “Only if they’re the books for a gambling house, though,” Kate added.

  Wilfred laughed but Molara looked puzzled.

  “Gambling house?” the Purple asked.

  “Oh, it’s a long story,” Wilfred said.

  “Good,” Molara countered. “I have the rest of the afternoon off. A long story sounds like just the thing.”

  Wilfred rolled his eyes, but he didn’t protest too much after that. He didn’t often hold the attention of two women. By the looks of the envious stares, it wasn’t doing his reputation any harm. Kate smiled and listened to the tales she had heard before.

  After lunch, Wilfred had duties to attend to, so Kate went back with Molara to the secret section of the library. She brought her sword and shield, as Molara had asked.

  “Why did you want me to bring my weapons?” Kate asked.

  “I’ll show you,” Molara said. “There is some
thing we need to do.”

  They went to the Purple’s small workshop in a section of Molara’s rooms.

  “Put your sword and shield up on the bench, there,” Molara told Kate.

  Once the items were in place, the smaller woman began chanting in a language Kate didn’t know, gesturing with her hands. At one point, Molara sprinkled some kind of dust on the items as she continued her strange ritual. She shouted an exclamation with a final flourish of her hands.

  A light flared around Kate’s possessions and then dimmed, but didn’t go out completely. The sword and shield continued to glow softly with a muted red light.

  Kate had been standing silently with her mouth open the entire time. After Molara had finished her performance, she reached over and pushed a finger under Kate’s jaw to close the taller woman’s mouth.

  “What was that?” Kate asked.

  “That made your weapons more powerful against demons. It’s a variation on the firestone spell, just a little something to give you more of an edge, no pun intended. Now you can do more damage than before.”

  Kate swiveled her head back and forth from Molara to her items and back again. “Thank you, Molara. That’s fantastic. I noticed the weak glow of the Black’s weapons before, but thought I had imagined it.”

  “You’re welcome. All the Black have their weapons enchanted like this. We can’t get enough of the powdered crystal to do it with every weapon in the Order, but we can give the Black an edge. You are the elite of the Order, after all.”

  Kate didn’t respond, too caught up in examining her newly magical items.

  8

  Kate started her rotation at the gate with two of the other Black. She had already met one of them. Jurdan Vora had long silken hair the color of dirty straw. He, like most of the Order, was from Brasea. As with all the Black, he was very good with a sword, but he excelled with the bow. She had seen him make impossible shots, hitting targets from such distances she could barely see the target. It made her shoulder blades twitch to think an arrow could kill without the victim even seeing the archer.

  The other man was called Aurel Brunn. He was a massive man, well over six feet tall, with short, kinky black hair, skin the color of aged wood, and a death mask of old, beaten copper. His deep brown eyes that seemed too big even for his size could not be seen through his mask like most of the others because a fine wire mesh covered the eye holes. He preferred a huge, two-handed sword, eschewing the shield altogether.

  During her time on call, Kate tried to be calm. It was a losing proposition. Every unfamiliar sound would cause her to jump, but not out of fear.

  Though she wasn’t required to be anywhere in particular, some of the Black had made it a habit to wait out their on-call time in one of the barracks building rooms used for informal meetings and for winding down after a tour of the front lines. Most of them simply called it the relaxation room.

  “Was that the bell?” Kate asked Aurel.

  “No.”

  “Kate,” Jurdan said, “when the bell rings, you’ll hear it. There will be no doubt. Quit being so nervous. You’re making me tense.”

  “Sorry,” Kate said. “My mind plays tricks on me, making me think I hear the bell. I’ll try to relax.”

  Aurel laughed.

  “What?” Kate asked.

  “It is humorous.” The giant of a man ducked his head as was his custom. “We all did the same thing. It has been long and I had forgotten. It makes me smile. Soon, it will be second nature to you. Do not worry, Pretty Kate.”

  He always called her that. With some men, Kate may have taken offense, but Aurel seemed like the big brother she never had. It was a name of affection, and spoken in a tone of respect. She liked it. She found him to be one of the gentlest people she had ever met, and the thought that he might be insulting was unfathomable to her.

  The air vibrated with the sound of a bell. It sounded like it was just on the other side of the door. Kate jumped up, but this time, the other two did so as well. They grabbed their weapons and ran for the gate.

  “It’s time,” Jurdan said, going through the door first. “You never forget your first time, Kate.” He winked at her.

  That was a little creepy, but Jurdan, like Aurel, had never treated her with anything other than respect. She chalked it up to him being comfortable enough to joke with her like he did with the other Black.

  As they went, they unhooked their death masks from their belts. Jurdan’s was a white face attached to a black hood that went over his head. The eyes were exaggerated and swept upward like flames in a soft wind. The mouth, open in a laugh, showed sharp teeth and long fangs, with blackness in between. A bright red insect, somewhat like a centipede, crawled over the right cheek of the mask. When Kate had asked why the bug was there, Jurdan gave her a long explanation about most people being secretly afraid of small, crawling things. He hoped demons were the same way.

  Aurel’s mask looked like something out of a nightmare. A strange nightmare. Designs and whorls were carved into the left side of the beaten copper from the chin to the top of the hairless head. The sharp nose protruded down over the teeth that ran from one side of the face to the other, as if it was smiling with gritted teeth.

  Kate had opted for a classic look, loosely reminiscent of her ancestor Fulin’s death mask. It was made of leather with a horizontal cut-out that allowed both her eyes to see through it and a smaller hole just under the tip of her nose for breathing. Over her mouth, a group of small holes punched through let her move air to and from her mouth as well. Faint designs of teeth graced the front above where her teeth actually were, but the rest of the mask was a flash of fiery red, simulating flame itself. It was not so elaborate as some of the masks she had seen, but she liked it.

  They reached the gate in no time. The demons had barely grouped in front of the shield wall by the time they arrived.

  Kate stood and watched as the Red repelled charge after charge. It seemed to her that the number of demons was lower than many times when she had been holding a shield. She stayed for three hours, at which point the demons gave up and retreated back into the gates. With a clang, the doors closed.

  “That is the way of it many times, Pretty Kate,” Aurel said. “We run to be here and only sit and watch the Red hold the line. It is good when that happens, though boring.”

  “There weren’t many demons this time,” Kate pointed out.

  “It happens sometimes,” Jurdan said. “I think they try out different strategies, but honestly, it seems like they’re throwing their lives away. I guess there are plenty of them, though, so they don’t care. Shall we go?”

  Kate nodded and the three went back to the city. It was past lunch time, so they went to eat, ending up back at the relaxation room again.

  In the next week, they went to the gate three more times. The third time, Kate sensed that something different was going to happen.

  “Watch the left over there,” Kate told Aurel. “They’re shifting, rotating some of the bigger demons. Something’s going to happen.”

  “Perhaps,” Aurel said.

  Sure enough, a few minutes later, one of the large demon commanders charged through the ranks with four of what looked like elite troops, larger and better outfitted than the normal grunt demons. They slammed into the shield wall and it started to break apart.

  Kate watched in horror, then drew her gaze to the other two Black standing there.

  “Aren’t we going to do something?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Aurel said. “Would you like to do the honors?”

  Kate’s heart immediately doubled its rate. Her? Why her? She thought for a moment that they were trying to get her killed, like her former squad had done, but she tore the thought from her head and stomped on it.

  “We’ll be right behind you, if you think you need us,” Jurdan said.

  Kate swallowed, lifted her chin, and looked Jurdan directly in his greenish-hazel eyes. “No need. Why don’t you rest here? I’ll be back in a mo
ment.”

  Jurdan chuckled as she put her death mask on, tightened her grip on her sword and shield handle, and sprinted toward the breach.

  Kate charged through the break in the shield wall as it grew in size. A large demon—bigger than normal, but not a commander—swung its sharp claws at a Red whose shield had been torn from his arm. Kate had seen those claws rip a man open from neck to groin. This Red wouldn’t survive if that blow connected.

  Just before the claws rent the man’s flesh, Kate got her shield in the way and deflected the demon’s arm. In the same motion, she swung her sword upward, using her legs to magnify the power behind the strike.

  The demon’s arm spun off toward its fellows, separated cleanly from its body at the shoulder.

  As it gaped at the blood spouting from its wound, Kate whirled and took its head off.

  She noticed out of the corner of her eye the relief on the downed Red’s face as two of his squadmates dragged him back behind the other shields. Kate nodded.

  Time to plug the hole.

  She had been in this position before, alone against a mass of demons. The last time had earned her the Black’s attention to begin with.

  This time, it was even easier.

  As with most battles she had been in, sound wobbled and then twisted in her ears. It was like when someone was talking to her and she plunged underwater at the pool she used to swim in as a child. Then it faded completely as the battle high caught up to her.

  The training she had been doing with the Black, though only for a few weeks, had made her even stronger, faster, and more efficient than she had ever been before. She wasn’t sure what the enchantments on her weapons added, but any additional advantage was welcome. She cut through the elite demon fighters before any of their claws or teeth touched her.

  And then she was in front of the demon commander.

  It was like the last one she killed, nearly twice her height and more human-like in its appearance than the battle-fodder demons. Unlike the grunts, this one wore armor: a breastplate, greaves, and a partial vambrace. Its skin was a pale red, and aside from the color, its size, and the thick, curving horns protruding from the side of its head, it probably could have been mistaken for a human.