Fire

by Cheryl Twaddle

  He shook his head when he thought of the warrior. Howling Wolf was born at a time when his people were being slaughtered by men who called them savages and took their children away to be raised properly. They tried to tame Howling Wolf but the great warrior could never be tamed. His will was too strong to ever be what those men wanted. The people in this world showed so much reverence for the Fire People; what they would think if they were to meet the aboriginal race of warriors who once walked across the North American continent. They were just as awe inspiring as the Fire People, maybe more.

  Howling Wolf didn't belong to his group. He didn't belong to any group. Howling Wolf belonged to himself and could never be controlled by anyone. Faelen had tried when the man was a boy and had fled into the mountains after being turned away by his own parents. He knew their tribe revered the wolf so, he called out to the boy as a wolf would but all it did was attract other wolves to join the call and convince the boy to change his name. Howling Wolf was in control of his own body and soul and his soul was buried in hatred. He would spend his eternity lost in a world of timelessness, seeking revenge on a society of people that didn't exist there. It was too bad he couldn't join him and Skylor and Aidan and the others who made up the Returners. They could have used such a man.

  It didn't matter. He had Nicky. She may have been the last member of his group but she was the most important. Not only did she have the strength to withstand the worst the worlds would throw at her, the wisdom to work through the problems she would have to face and the heart to do what was right, no matter what, she also accepted, without question, that there were actual portals that led to different dimensions. In fact, that was the best thing about her generation, they accepted so many things that no other generation would. Appearance meant nothing, race meant nothing, gender meant nothing; they wrapped their arms around the entire world and tried to make it better.

  He had waited a long time for Nicky Barrett. A very long time. The only snag in his plan was Max. Max was almost as important as Nicky but not quite. He was born too early and in a time where no one believed in hidden worlds or accepted that which could not be explained. In fact, in Max's time, the church, itself, killed people who talked such nonsense. No, Nicky was the most important but she was useless if she couldn't keep her mind off of Max.

  Why the girl had fallen in love with the pirate was beyond what he could comprehend. He never understood love. What makes one person attractive to another? What chemicals stir inside one's body to make them feel that a particular person would make a good match for the rest of their lives? It was all nonsense, nothing based on fact. There was no evidence to prove love even existed, at least the romantic kind. He understood how a child could love their mother and how the mother loved the child but he was lost when it came to a man loving a woman or a woman loving a man or, even a man loving a man or a woman loving a woman. It all seemed so foolish to him and, yet, there it was. Nicky had fallen for Max and Max had fallen for Nicky. He would have to learn to accept it, which he did and then Max had to play the hero and miss his chance to jump through the portal. That's what his love for Nicky did; compelled him to risk his life to save hers and now he was being held captive and tortured ruthlessly! Foolish, love was foolish.

  Now, instead of briefing his group on why he had gathered them all together, he had to plan a rescue mission. A feat that wasn't going to be easy considering Max was being held captive by Howling Wolf. He had made a quick visit to see how he was being treated. It was worse than he thought. What he saw angered him and made him want to jump to his defence but he knew he couldn't. In his dog form, there was nothing he could do to help the pirate. So, he watched from the sidelines as Max sat slumped over on a horse, barely alive and heading back to the portal. He wondered if he had given in to all the torture and told Howling Wolf about the portal. The strongest man can succumb to pain even if he doesn't want to. There's only so much the body can be put through before the mind gives up.

  Faelen crept slowly through the grass after Max had been pulled from the horse. He wanted to hear everything being said. When he listened, he was pleased to discover that Howling Wolf still had no idea what happened to the others and, more importantly, Max was still alive and had not revealed the secret of the portal. For some reason, Max sensed his presence and turned towards the grass. Faelen was surprised to see the amount of strength still left in the man. He had been so right helping him fall to this world. He backed away through the grass and made his way back to the northern portal.

  Faelen thought about his persona again. It wasn't special in any way; just an ordinary farmer living on an ordinary farm thirty kilometers north of Algar. He was able to live a pretty normal life without worrying about anyone watching him and finding out who he really was. Only a few knew he was Faelen; to everyone else he was Martin the potato farmer or Jim the corn grower or Steve the carrot man. Someone different every so many years so nobody became suspicious of his remarkable longevity. He was just another anonymous farmer providing food for everyone to eat.

  The good thing about being an anonymous farmer was that no one checked up on you. As long as you produced the right amount of food, you were left alone and Faelen always made sure the required amount of food was delivered to the food bins in Algar every year. From his farm he was able to visit all the worlds he needed to in order to collect his group. He could access the portal that was in the north by the Dark Lands or, if he had to, he could use the one in the city. Using the one in the city could be a risk; a risk that accidentally paid off a few years ago.

  Something had happened in one of the worlds and he had to get there in a hurry to fix it. He didn't have time to hike to the northern portal so, he risked going into the city. Before he could open the portal door, he accidentally overheard a conversation between Niko Smithers and Gregorius Huxley. Niko's father, Evan Smithers had been friends since childhood with Gregorius' father, Jason Collins. Faelen had no idea the sons were friends as well.

  He had seen Niko in the farmlands on several occasions. There were ten children in the Smithers' family, seven boys and three girls. So many children made it hard to stay within the Limit Law. They weren't the only family who were in jeopardy of becoming Overusers. Any family with more than four children had the same problem so, they came up with a solution; sub-families. It was a solution created by the people and approved by Michelle Huxley, Amelia's mother, in her early years as the First. It was the first time a ruler had ever approved a solution created by the people. Sub-families were farmers who needed help in running their farm. They agreed to take children from large families and raise them as long as the child helped with the farm chores and stayed until they were married. Niko had three brothers and two sisters that had been sent to different farms over the years and occasionally he would make his way through the farmlands, visiting his siblings.

  The farms were the subject of the conversation Faelen had overheard that day. Niko and Gregorius were conversing in one of the ruined buildings left over from the Collapse. The Collapse had been devastating, wiping out entire cities and leaving behind enormous destruction, destruction that would take thousands of people thousands of years to clear away. As a result, many crumbled buildings still existed in Algar. They stood in the old city, away from the more recently built dwellings. Not many people visited the old city, afraid that the remains were infested with insects and strange animals or, even worse, haunted by the souls that inhabited the world before it fell. Niko and Gregorius were in a building that sat very close to the portal. Faelen was about to open the portal when he heard Niko talking with great anger in his voice.

  "That bitch killed them all!" Niko cried. "Only Poppy is left and only because she lives with that monster!"

  "You must keep calm, Niko." Faelen recognized Gregorius' voice immediately. As a Returner, it was Faelen's mission to stop the destruction of the world and because it was the Huxleys who were responsible for destroying it, he knew everything about them. He knew that Amelia h
ad killed her mother and that she had sent assassins for her father. He also knew that Gregorius was not the evil being he pretended to be. "Amelia will pay for the things she's done. You just need to be patient." Faelen forgot about the portal and tried to get closer to them.

  "Do you have any idea how many people have died?" asked Niko.

  "I know," said Gregorius. "I overheard Jeremiah talking to Amelia. The man is vile. I can still hear him laughing about it."

  "They have to be stopped," said Niko. "We can't wait. We need to do it now!"

  "We can't just walk up to the First and slit her throat," Gregorius explained. "There are still too many of them. You'd be dead before you even got through the courtyard. Look what happened to Jesse's family."

  "Jesse's dad was stupid!" said Niko. "He should have just kept his mouth shut. My dad begged him to join the Foes but he refused."

  The Foes of the First were a group of men and women formed long ago. They worked together to help those that were on the verge of becoming Overusers or had lost someone to the Dark Lands. They had an underground network of food and supplies that were distributed secretly to these families. Occasionally, the Foe would capture prisoners being escorted to the Dark Lands and send them to Hell Crossing.

  Hell Crossing was a rough town just outside the Dark Lands, made up of families of the exiled and people who didn't want to live by the rules of the First. They didn't believe in the point system, choosing to fight, and sometimes kill, each other for their food and drink. It was a barbaric place to live and the Huxleys stayed far away from it. Nevertheless, they still wanted to wield their power there so, they paid those in charge with great wealth to oversee the last leg of a person's journey to the Dark Lands.

  Being part of the Foes was very risky and the members were always careful not to get caught and not to trust the wrong person; the Huxleys had spies everywhere. They had pulled back a little, however, when Michelle Huxley, Amelia's and Gregorius' mother, was First. Michelle was a good leader who was fair and just. She spent a lot of time with the people both in and out of the city. She even married one of them. With Michelle in charge, the people had enough food and no one was sent to the Dark Lands. The Foes were able to stop their underground activities. That all changed when Michelle was murdered by her daughter.

  Now, ever since Amelia took over as First, the Foes' only objective was to oust the young leader and make her pay for her treason. Then they could elect someone that the people chose, someone from their own population who could understand what life was like beyond the Huxley Court. They needed a person in power who would look after everyone's interest so that they could all live as equals. Faelen liked the Foes. He had known many of them over the years. He had no idea Gregorius was part of them.

  "Please," Faelen came out of the shadows with his hands in the air, showing that he had no weapon. Both men jumped and drew weapons from under their coats. "Please, I'm not here to cause harm. It's just that I overheard..."

  "Yeah?" asked Niko. "What did you overhear? And why were you hiding over there?"

  "I wasn't hiding," said Faelen. "And I think you're going to be very happy when you find out who I am and why I'm here."

  "Yeah?" said Niko. "Who are you then?"

  "First," said Faelen. "Tell me about your allegiance to the Foes of the First."

  "You know about the Foes?" Niko sounded suspicious but also curious.

  "Yes," said Faelen. "I was there when it was formed."

  "The Foes were formed over three hundred years ago!" spat Gregorius. "How could you have been there?"

  "What's your allegiance?" asked Faelen one more time.

  "Tell me who you are," demanded Gregorius.

  "We are the Elder Brothers," said Niko.

  "Niko!" Gregorius looked angrily at his friend. "Don't tell him anything! We don't know who he is! He could have been sent by Amelia!"

  "I am Faelen," said the farmer. Gregorius looked at the man, searching for the lie but, instead, he saw the truth in the man's eyes and stood, speechless, staring at him.

  "You're Faelen?" asked Niko. "I thought you were a wolf?"

  "Legends can be created just as easily as leaders," said Faelen. "I can shift into the body of a dog but not in this world. In this world I have been a farmer for hundreds of years, waiting for the time of the Great Renewal and for the people chosen to carry it out. I think we can be of great help to each other."

  That was three years ago and now, Faelen was friends with all the Foes of the Firsts. It was the Foes who had started this rebellion and it was the Foes who would help rescue his group from Amelia's hands and take them to the Dark Lands. Unfortunately, the Foes would also have to rescue Gregorius who had been imprisoned by his sister. Somehow she had discovered his betrayal and locked him in a cell. She was planning his execution along with the group from the Nowhere Lands. She only had to find out the plans of the Fire People which she was doing at that moment while she entertained Marshal.

  Faelen thought about how the Huxleys came to power. Preston Huxley was the one who wrote up the documents that proclaimed the Huxleys leaders of this world. He wanted to rule and he wanted his family to rule after he was gone so, he created the lineage of the First. From then on, when the ruler died, his or her firstborn child would become ruler. They would be the First. He then added the Second and Third and however many more children there might be so that the line of Huxleys would never run out. Preston proclaimed that the Huxleys were the offspring of the Fire People and the first to come out from under the ground, or so it was written. It was all a lie.

  It was true that the Fire People produced children with the people here but they never restricted their lineage to one specific family. They liked to spread their seed around, mix the blood of their race with the blood of the human race. They wanted every being to be part of each other. So, when the Huxleys started to proclaim to be better than everyone else, the Fire People tried to put a stop to it. Everyone should have equal opportunity to rule. The people should decide for themselves who they wanted to follow. If the Huxleys didn't like that than the Fire People would have to get rid of the Huxleys. That's when the Red Death came.

  The Red Death was a sudden and vicious virus that killed the Fire People and only the Fire People. Except it wasn't a virus at all. It was a poison mixed with the molecules of the air and, when breathed in by anybody except the Fire People completely harmless. It would stay in the air for hundreds of years, killing every single member of the Fire People even if they tried to hide. It was a horrific act by the Huxleys to get rid of every single pureblood member of the powerful species which they almost succeeded in doing. That's when the Returners were awakened and brought to this world.

  The Collapse almost destroyed everything. It was an event brought on by greed and power and was destined to happen again. The Returners couldn't let that happen. By trying to eliminate the Fire People, the Huxleys started a process that was going to cause a catastrophe ten times greater than the Collapse, one that would end everything. The Returners would never be able to stop it, but they could lessen its impact. They could save thousands of lives, maybe save enough so that a resurgence could occur. That couldn't happen if the Fire People were wiped out. So, on the night of the Red Death, a Returner was there and tried to hide as many of the Fire People as they could in all the different worlds. They didn't want them to return until the time of the second Collapse. If they were to return before that, the effects of the poison still floating around in the air, would kill them. So, the memories of their species was erased from their minds. Now, it was time for them to come back and Marshal was the key to making that happen. Marshal, Faelen had learned, was the only member of the Fire People who could breathe the poison and not die. He was immune but he could still sense the poison and separate it from the molecule in which it was embedded but, if Amelia killed him, that would never happen. He had to be rescued.

  After Marshal was safe, Faelen and the group he had gathered would have to get ri
d of the Huxleys, all of the Huxleys. It was an impossible task to attack the Huxleys and their powerful army but, if Marshal eliminated the poison in the air then, the Fire People could return and help. If not, Faelen had a backup plan. If they failed, they would have to close the portals, shut down the passages between the worlds and try to eliminate the possibility of this world bringing everything else down with it. The last two steps had to be carried out by the group of people Faelen had collected. As a Returner, Faelen had to be in his own world before the portals were closed. He couldn't be trapped somewhere else. If that happened, if he was trapped, he would die and he really didn't want to die.

  He tried not to think of what would happen if he failed. Right now, he had to keep his mind focused. It was time to meet up with Niko and make sure he and the Elder Brothers were ready to break into the Huxley House and rescue his people. If he was right, they would all be in the basement cells by midnight; including Gregorius whose betrayal had been relayed to his sister.

  Chapter 12

  Gregorius

  Gregorius pulled up the collar on his coat and stuffed his hands further into his pockets. It was cold down in the basement, not that Amelia cared. After all, she was the one who had him captured and thrown into this cell. He couldn't believe that she actually sent her own guards away from their posts with orders to intercept him when he returned to the Healing Centre. Casey let him in and then smiled as the guards tackled him and dragged him away. Maybe he should have been a little nicer to her. He was alone now, sitting in a cell in the basement of his own house but, hopefully, not for long. If Faelen was right, the others would be brought here soon and, at midnight, the Elder Brothers would be coming to take them out of Algar and to the Dark Lands.

  Gregorius hated being part of the Huxley family. He was the Second, a useless role as long as Amelia was there. It didn't make him angry that his sister would one day be leader, in fact, it made him relieved. While she was being tutored by the elder Huxleys on how to be a leader, Gregorius had all the time he wanted to do what he loved; read. Ever since he was a little boy, he would go in the library and read every book he could. His favourites were the legends of Faelen and the Fire People. The stories always seemed to take him away on imaginary journeys every time he read them. He dreamed of meeting them one day, when they returned like the legends foretold.