Fire

by Cheryl Twaddle

  "No!" Gregorius shook his head. "And my mother wasn't sick."

  "What are you suggesting?" asked Robert.

  "From an early age Amelia knew that she would one day become the First," said Gregorius. "It was something she lived with and secretly yearned for but also something she would have to wait for. Amelia is not good at waiting. She knew she would have to wait for our mother to die before she could rule and this inconvenienced her. The elder Huxleys tutored Amelia on our bloodline. She knew the Huxleys were above all else because they were the only ones with the blood of the Fire People. She was told how disappointed everyone was when our mother married a lesser, spoiling that bloodline. They wanted to make sure Amelia would not do the same."

  "Amelia, having the pressure of the entire Huxley family to keep the bloodline pure and desperately wanting the title of the First, murdered our mother," he said and I let out a little gasp. How could someone kill their own mother? I thought. "She was eighteen when she slit our mother's throat with a knife from the kitchen. She was covered with blood when I found her, standing above our dead mother and smiling like she had just done the most important thing in the world. I called out to her and when she lifted her head and met my eyes, I knew she wouldn't stop. I had to find our father and get him out of Algar as fast as possible. I had to do it, however, without Amelia knowing. It was vital that I played the role of Gregorius Huxley, Second to the First. It was the only way that I could keep my eye on Amelia."

  "I found my father in the city with Niko," he said. "Niko's a friend of mine; his father and my father have been friends since childhood. Niko, his father and some of the other men in town are part of the Foes of the First, a secret group that was formed over three hundred years ago, when the Huxleys first declared their family as the rulers of this world forever. There were men that didn't agree with this declaration, men who knew how corrupt the Huxleys were. They wanted to overthrow the Huxleys before they cemented themselves into a leadership dynasty but they didn't have the numbers to do it."

  "They may not have been able to overthrow the Huxleys," he continued. "But they could save lives. My father's family, the Collins, have always looked after the storage facilities. It was their job to distribute food and supplies to the people according to how many points they had. The Collins saw, first-hand, how the Huxleys manipulated the supplies so the people got less and less every year. People could have had more but the Huxleys became greedier over the years, wanting everything for themselves. So, more and more points were needed to trade for food while the Huxleys took what they wanted without any points at all. The Collins became one of the first members of the Foes. They risked their lives to steal a little bit of food here and there to give to starving families. They kept many mothers and fathers out of the Dark Lands over the years. It will all mean nothing, however, if the Huxleys are allowed to continue their rule."

  "Are you a part of this Foes of the First?" asked Colonel Al.

  "I have always known that my family is evil," he explained. "I hated the way they treated anyone who was not a Huxley but it didn't matter what I thought. Who cared what the Second thought? I was only a spare in case anything went wrong with Amelia. I didn't matter to any of them. So, while Amelia had her lessons on how to be a good Huxley leader, I was with my father visiting his friends and playing with their children. Then, one day when I was ten, I overheard my father talking to his friends about smuggling food to people so they wouldn't starve. I felt so relieved to know that my father helped people. I was proud of him and excited to learn that I wasn't the only one in my family who hated the Huxleys. I later learned that my mother, the First, was aware of the Foes and, although she wasn't a member, she did nothing to stop them. I begged to join."

  "Did they let you?" asked Emma Lee.

  "Yes," he said. "On a very limited basis, of course. I was, after all, a child."

  "So, the Foes smuggle stuff to people," I said. "Wouldn't it be better to just, I don't know, get rid of them?"

  "It would be and they have wanted to but you need numbers to do something like that and, although the Foes have great passion, they have not always had great numbers," he explained. "It's a different story now. Now, they're stronger than they've ever been."

  "Why is that?" I asked.

  "My father and his family may have been lessers but people knew how they tried to help families over the years," he said. "For that, they were highly respected and greatly loved. When Michelle Huxley decided to marry Jason Collins instead of some distant Huxley cousin, the family was infuriated. They needed to get my mother under control, force her to act like the Huxley she was. So, they murdered every single Collins they could find."

  "Oh, my god!" exclaimed Emma Lee.

  "The Collin Massacre, as it is now known, was punishment for my mother's marrying a lesser," he said.

  "Did she fall in line?" I asked.

  "No," he answered. "My mother was very stubborn and very much in love with my father. She put a lot of the Huxleys under house arrest and hired guards from the city to watch over them. She compensated the handful of Collins that were left with every luxury she could give them; a new house, food, water, anything they wanted. As long as she was the First, they would never need points again."

  "Why didn't the elder Huxleys just kill your father?" Colonel Al asked. "It seems the logical thing to do; kill your father and force your mother to marry someone more to their liking."

  "They wanted to but they couldn't," he said. "By then, my mother was already pregnant with Amelia. If they killed the father of the First, the whole city would have stormed the Huxley house. No matter, the massacre had increased membership of the Foes threefold. Slowly, the group was gaining power."

  "The Huxleys sound like a bunch of asshole elitists," I said. "How have they stayed in power for so long?"

  "They hide their sins well," he said. "They always put on a friendly face for the population to see. They hold feasts and festivals throughout the year and distract the masses with games and competitions. They travel extensively, meeting with the families outside the city and making sure they have everything they need to grow their food. Their masks are worn with perfection and only a few know of their purist thinking and how dangerous it can be."

  "Like the men in this group," I said and Gregorius nodded.

  "Over the last twenty years or so, their masks have started to slide from their faces," he said. "More and more people have woken up to their lies and corruption and the Huxleys have stopped trying to put on a good show. Things could have been so different if my mother were still alive. Amelia is different; her greed exceeds all others before her."

  "Maybe she should meet Howling Wolf," said Emma Lee. "They seem to have a lot in common."

  "Hmm," he murmured. He had no idea who Howling Wolf was. "When I told my father what Amelia had done, I begged him to leave the city. He didn't want to go, he wanted to see her one more time. I refused to take him; my mother was dead and he no longer had the protection of the First. Amelia would be coming for him next. The Foes knew I was right and forced him to flee the city with Niko and the Elder Brothers, a small group within the Foe. The Brothers are made up of the men who have been part of the Foes the longest. They were to head for the Dark Lands. The Huxleys never enter the Dark Lands. The people there don't follow a ruler and they all hate the Huxleys. Most of them are there because of the Huxleys' unfair punishments. It was the only place where Jason Collins could be safe. They almost made it, too, before we caught up with them."

  "Was he killed?" I asked.

  "Yes," he said. "At least, they think we killed him."

  "I can't believe you actually rode with the soldiers who were sent to kill your father," I said.

  "I was ordered to go with the soldiers," he said. "I told you, I had to keep in good graces with Amelia so I could keep an eye on her. If she found out that I had actually helped our father escape, she would have killed me too. To ensure my loyalty to her, she made me lead the party sent to c
apture our father and kill him. The Foes knew this would happen and had a plan that would ensure Amelia never doubted me again."

  "What was their plan?" asked Colonel Al.

  "There was a man in the Foes named Terrance Buckley," explained Gregorius. "He'd been very loyal to the group over the years and would do anything to help get rid of the Huxleys. He had three children, all members of the Foes. Terrance had been sick for years, catching a cough of the lungs that he was never able to get rid of. There are still toxins in the air and they still infect the lungs of people every once in a while and Terrance was one of them. He knew it was just a matter of time before he died."

  "What has that got to do with your dad?" I asked, feeling like Gregorius was getting off topic.

  "Terrance, you see, looked almost exactly like my father," he said and I could start to see how this was going to go. "He just needed to cut his hair a little differently, maybe slouch a little and put on my father's clothes and, from a distance, you wouldn't be able to tell the two apart. So, the plan was for the group to go so far and then split up to confuse the soldiers. Terrance would go on his own and I made sure we followed him but not too close. We chased Terrance through a field and to the edge of a cliff and, before any of the soldiers could get any closer, I shot him."

  "You what?" I asked.

  "I shot him," Gregorius whispered obviously still feeling the guilt from it. "It was what the Elder Brothers agreed on. If I killed Terrance and convinced my sister that I had actually killed our father, she would see me as her ally and I would be able to spy on her and the other Huxleys without suspicion. So, I shot Terrance and his body fell over the side of the cliff, smashing on the rocks below. My father was safe and sound in the Dark Lands. Terrance knew he was going to die from the cough anyway, so, he sacrificed his life for the Foes. He knew how important it was to keep Jason Collins alive."

  "Why?" asked Robert.

  "Because my father knows where there's important information that could change this world forever," he said.

  "And what happens if Amelia gets it?" I asked.

  "A disaster worse than the Collapse would strike this world," he said.

  "Why?" I asked.

  "Amelia, you see, is a Corrupter," he said and we all looked at him confused.

  "Amelia's a what?" I asked.

  "There's something I was asked to tell all of you," he said. "I wanted to explain everything to you when I found you but I had no idea Marshal had been wounded. He needed a healer and, although I know him to be working for my sister, Jeremiah was the only healer that could help Marshal recover or, at least, regain consciousness. The Elder Brothers are trying to find another healer in case he needs more treatment."

  "What is it that you need to explain?" asked Emma Lee.

  "You need to know why you are here," he said. "And you need to know who it is that got you here."

  "Who got us here?" I asked. "Nobody got us here. We found the portal all on our own. Nobody helped us and nobody pushed us through."

  "Are you sure about that?" Gregorius asked with a smile on his face.

  "Of course I'm sure," I said, wishing he would stop being so dramatic and get to the point.

  "Was there not a dog directing you to the portal?" he asked.

  "How do you know...?" I started and then Colonel Al interrupted.

  "What do you know of the Private?" he demanded.

  "I know he's a dog," said Gregorius. "I know you call him Private and Nicky calls him Barker. I also know that he's been in and out of both of your lives."

  "So," I said. "Sometimes Barker's with the colonel and sometimes he's with me."

  "And sometimes he's here, keeping an eye on the Huxleys and planning for your arrival," said Gregorius and I looked at him with great skepticism.

  "What are trying to say?" I asked.

  "Barker or Private or whatever you want to call him is not really a dog," said Gregorius. "He takes the form of a dog when he travels through the portals but here, in Algar, in this world he's a man. His name is Faelen and he's a Returner."

  Chapter 15

  "A Returner?" asked Robert. "You expect us to believe that the dog that's been living with us is a man named Faelen just because you say so?"

  "No," said Gregorius. "I don't expect you to believe that your dog is a man named Faelen because I say so. I suspect that you'll believe me after I explain everything to you. So, I must ask that you let me do that without interruption. We haven't got much time."

  "Go ahead," I said. I had no idea how he was going to convince me that Barker was really a man named Faelen and a Returner, whatever that was.

  "Faelen is part of a group of beings who come from a world before worlds," he explained. "It's a place that was here before this planet took shape, before it had animals or people. Faelen says it's made of spirits and the whispers of gods invented by thousands of civilizations. They supposedly gave birth to all that is and all that will ever be. They're reborn time and time again in the bodies of those that try to maintain the peaceful harmony of the universe."

  "Peaceful harmony of the universe?" I laughed sarcastically. "They're not very good at their job, are they?"

  "Nicole," Robert spoke to me like a scolding father. "Let him finish before you lash out at him."

  "Are you buying this?" I asked. "Peaceful harmony. Really? There's no harmony or peace here. For that matter, there's no peaceful harmony anywhere! Not where I'm from or where you're from or where anyone else is from. Even Emma Lee, who lived in a country that fought for its freedom so it could live in peaceful harmony did it on the backs of slaves! Where's the harmony there, eh? Nowhere. How do we know this guy's not just trying to get us to help him get out of his cell so he can run away from his sister? Because, if he really thinks I'm going to believe all of this, he's got another thing coming. Returners, Corrupters, Fire People; it's all a load of nonsense!"

  "No, no, no, Nicky!" No one had noticed Marshal rising from the cot and making his way over to the rest of us.

  "Marshal!" said Robert. "You have to lie down! You're still recovering."

  "No," said Marshal. "You need to know that Mr. Gregorius is telling the truth!"

  "Come on, boy," said Colonel Al as he tried to put his arm around him to help him back to the cot. "Time for rest."

  "No!" Marshal pushed the colonel off.

  "They're right Marshal," said Gregorius in a voice that was way too kind to be coming from his lips. "Please, go sit down at least. You can hear the conversation from there. None of us are going anywhere right now so, they have no choice but to hear me."

  "Marshal?" I followed my friend from my side of the bars to the cot at the back of his cell. I waited until he sat and crouched down so I could get as close to him as I could. "Do you really trust him?"

  "Yes," he said, looking me straight in the eyes, and speaking without repeating any of his words.

  "Why?" I trusted Marshal's opinion but I didn't understand it.

  "Let him finish and you'll know why," he said and then tilted his head and smiled. "Promise, promise, promise." I got up and walked back to the front of the cell and looked across at the man I knew as Gregorius.

  "Okay, go ahead, finish your story," I said and waited for his explanation to awe me. I was not disappointed.

  "Thank you," he thought for a moment and then continued. "I'm going to tell you exactly what Faelen told me and, hopefully, you'll believe me."

  "Go on," I said.

  "The Returners have been reborn into the bodies of men and women here, in this world," he said. "They didn't get to choose their human body; that right is given to the Oracles. They're the ones who know the way the world will unfold. Faelen's human body is a farmer who lives north of Algar. There's a portal between Algar and the Dark Lands, not far from Faelen's farm. He uses it to make his way from one world to another. He's lived in obscurity, never bringing attention to himself or his farm. I don't even think my sister or any of the other Huxleys know he's there."


  "How did you find him?" asked Robert.

  "Niko and I met him over three years ago," he explained. "We were having a discussion about Amelia and he overheard us. He knew Niko's family was part of the Foes but he never knew I was. I guess it was a pleasant surprise to have the Second as an ally in this fight against the Corrupters. That's when Faelen told us everything about this world and its fate. He's been helping the Foes of the First ever since."

  "Corrupters?" asked Colonel Al. "Who are the Corrupters?"

  "A Corrupter is like a Returner," he explained. "They, too, are reborn into a human body but they're sent from the Shadow World with only one intention; to bring down the collapse of the entire planet. They tried before and failed."

  "The Collapse," I whispered.

  "Yes, The Collapse was their doing," he said.

  "Why do they want to destroy everything?" asked Emma Lee.

  "Because, when everything is destroyed and nothing is left," said Gregorius, "they will be released from their Shadow Land and will have this planet for themselves. I'm pretty sure Amelia is one of them."

  "So, they tried with the Collapse that drove everyone underground," I said. "But the Fire People came and ruined all of their plans by helping the survivors rebuild their civilization?"

  "Yes," said Gregorius.

  "So, what world are the Fire People from?" I asked.

  "The Fire People didn't come from this planet," he explained. "They came from another planet in another galaxy very far away."

  "What?" I asked. "They're aliens?"

  "The Fire People came from a planet made of darkness and ice," he explained. "It was situated so far from their sun that one could live an entire lifetime in the span of a day. They lived in freezing temperatures, ate food grown in caves and tunnels and melted ice to drink. This world, even after the Collapse, was like a vacation to them."