Unchained Hearts

by Ash Night

  "So, any plans for the wyverns?" I asked, desperate for the uncomfortable, silent tension to break between Cam and Liam. I could strangle both of them later.

  "I have a few ideas," Cam said quietly. "My first objective is to rescue that boy. He must be getting hungry, and I'm guessing that nest isn't exactly in a reachable spot so he's probably cold too. We should rescue him before it gets too cold out, or he'll most likely freeze to death this high up in the mountains."

  I was overjoyed he thought the boy was alive. I’d been worried Cam would choose to be pessimistic. My heart sank at the thought of the little boy, Ryka, terrified, cold, and worst of all, alone. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much longer before he was home safe in his warm bed.

  "Okay, so how do we go about rescuing him? It's nearly sunset, and aren't those wyvern things diuturnal?"

  "Yup, so we'll have to be quiet, especially you, Snowflake. No loud blasts of ice, got it?"

  Liam made a face but said nothing.

  My stomach growled and my face turned beet red. "Sorry, we haven't eaten since breakfast."

  "We can't cast magic or risk the wyverns hearing our stomachs, can we?" Cam winked at me. "We'll stop at the inn, grab a quick bite, and then be on our way within ten minutes. I don't really want to face those wyverns in the dark so we grab the boy and book it out of there. We can fight them tomorrow, agreed?"

  "Agreed," Liam and I said in unison.

  "Why not? We can take 'em."

  Cam turned as far in the saddle as he could and raised an eyebrow at Kat. "Are you nuts, Red?"

  "Debatable. More like just impatient."

  "Impatience against a wyvern could easily get you killed."

  She shrugged. "We can take 'em," she repeated.

  "I really, really want to agree..." Liam muttered, fidgeting in his saddle.

  "Me too, Snowflake, me too," Cam mumbled back. "But we have to think first, as much as I hate it. The little boy could easily get hurt if we do. He probably still has his Seal, and even if he doesn't by some miracle, he's only three. There's no way he could be of any help."

  The torches at the inn were still flickering in the distance. I perked up at the thought of a hot bowl of soup and a tall glass of fruit juice. Liam and Kat were already urging their horses forward, neck-to-neck in an impromptu race. I smiled and rode at a comfortable pace beside Cam. "They must be hungry, huh?"

  "Yes, they are. Me too, I must admit. We'll have to celebrate after ‘cuz I know for a fact I won't eat enough to get full in ten minutes!" He grinned, not a trace of his earlier bad mood on his face. I relaxed. Cam could be a grump, but I loved him when he was happy like this. It made the grumpy moments worth it.

  Kat and Liam were already inside when we hitched our horse beside theirs at a hitching post. Cam, ever the gentleman, held the door open for me. There was a crowd around Liam and Kat.

  "All right, everybody, we have ten minutes so whoever eats more wins. Taka, got the stopwatch ready?"

  "Aye, Liam, sir, it's all ready." Taka, a young bronze-skinned wood elf, nodded.

  Kat grinned. "You're going down, Snowflake."

  "Oooh, it's on, Red!"

  Cam sat down. "You were going to start without me? Where's the fun if you start without the champ?"

  "Champ? All I see is a lightweight," Liam replied.

  Taka looked at me. "Miss Serena, are you joining in as well?"

  I shook my head and laughed. "No way. I can't compete. I actually like tasting my food."

  "Okay, go!" Taka hit the stopwatch and the food race was on. I sat father away so I could still watch but avoid any flying food like chicken bones. It was entertaining and a bit sickening at the same time. In the end, Liam and Cam tied, finishing five heaping plates each. Kat had competed well, managing to finish off three plates, but she was no match for the boys.

  She patted her stomach. "Ah, I love feeling full! It's a nice feeling!"

  "You'll never starve with us," I assured her, finishing my berry and walnut salad. "Well, shall we go?"

  "Yup, just a minute, Sunshine," Cam said before chugging a full glass of water. Liam did the same.

  "Where do they put it all?" Kat asked, staring at them.

  I laughed. "Five copper coins they'll be peeing in the bushes before we get to the wyvern nest."

  The door burst open. Ersa smiled wide, panting as he rested his large hands on his knees, catching his breath. Treyza was behind him, just as breathless. "Good... You're still here!"

  "What's up?" I asked, slightly alarmed. "Is everything okay?"

  "Yup!" Treyza grinned. "We just wanted to return Kat's dagger to her, and we also wanted to give her the new one. We started on Liam's and Cam's swords and are also see in the process of carving Serena's bow, but those aren’t ready."

  Ersa held out Kat's old dagger. It glittered in the light of the lanterns like it was brand new, having been sharpened and expertly polished. In his other hand he held the new dagger, a nearly exact twin down to the matching red hilt. "I hope you like them."

  Kat's eyes shone as bright as the daggers as she slid one into each of her boots. Ersa was taken aback by the bone-crushing hug, but he smiled. "I love them! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so, so much! I've never received such a wonderful gift in my life!"

  "You're very welcome, Kat." He chuckled.

  "Yeah, you're welcome," Treyza choked out during his own special Kat hug.

  "I can't wait to use them!" she exclaimed.

  "Tomorrow," Cam emphasized.

  "I know, I know," she muttered. "But they're so sharp. I just know they'll do some serious damage to those nasty wyverns. I can't wait to see them!"

  "What a crazy girl," and "She wants to see them?" were mumbled throughout the crowd of villagers. Even though I was certain she could hear them, the wide smile never left her face. I was happy for her and even more excited to get my bow. Although it would probably be weeks before I learned to hit a moving target like a wyvern.

  "I can't wait to get my sword!" Liam said excitedly.

  Before we left, the woman—I recognized her as Ryka's mother—stopped me and rested a hand on my shoulder. She looked so frail, like she hadn't slept in weeks or eaten anything in months. "Please, please find my baby boy. Please. He's all I and my husband have."

  I smiled at her, hoping to calm her fears. "Don't worry, we will. He'll be home in time for a late supper. Cam and Liam are insanely strong, even without weapons."

  She hugged me with surprising strength. "Thank you! May the Goddess bless you all."

  Nodding, I headed through the door and saw Snowbell calmly drinking from the water trough alone. Cam, Liam, and Kat were already headed down the path toward the mountain with Treyza directing from Kat's saddle. I chuckled, untying Snowbell's reins. "They think they can just go ahead and not wait, huh, girl. Let's show em!"

  She whinnied happily, as if she knew she was going to get the chance to run. Mounting up, I laughed as Snowbell pawed the ground excitedly. "Fine, fine, just let me sit down!" I was barely in the saddle before she took off like a shot, overtaking the group in no time. I heard Rai angrily snort and then I heard a startled yell from Treyza as Rai galloped at full speed, catching up to Snowbell in seconds. "Sorry!"

  Kat laughed. "It's okay. He needed to stretch his legs."

  "Phew, I stayed on," Treyza muttered. "He's fast."

  "Damn right," Kat said proudly. "He's a good boy... When he wants to be."

  "What took you so long, Sunshine?" Cam asked, pulling up along me. Liam pulled up alongside Kat.

  Ryka's mom's face flashed before my eyes, haunting me. "Ryka's mom wanted to thank us. She's really desperate. We need to find him." I looked Cam in the eyes.

  Cam nodded, serious now. "We will. I promise."

  "Good, because I promised her we would."

  Liam chuckled, pulling a folded napkin from his pocket and revealing a pastry. "I took this before we left. Poor fella’ll probably be hungry."

  Tears filled my eyes at the
kind gesture. I hadn’t even though to bring him anything. "Liam, sometimes you're the most thoughtful person on the planet."

  He grinned. "And the other times?"

  "You're an idiot," Kat answered without skipping a beat. I was thankful for the laugh. I hadn't realized how tense I was.

  "It's just up ahead a bit. About twenty more minutes." Treyza pointed straight ahead.

  "Twenty minutes?" I asked, nervously looking back at the setting sun. "We'll lose all our light..."

  "It's okay. I have a spell for that," Cam assured me. "It might attract the wyverns though so we'll need to be quick and make sure Ryka is quiet."

  Kat bent down and whispered "Good boy" in Rai’s ear.

  "Let's go the rest of the way on foot," Cam said a while later, dismounting and tying the reins to a tree. We all did the same.

  "Why are we walking?" Liam asked.

  Cam rolled his eyes. "Do you want the wyverns to smell the horses?"

  "Not too much further now," Treyza whispered, his eyes sweeping the horizon as if he were afraid the wyvern were waiting to attack us. It was nearly impossible to see now. Cam threw up a ball of silvery blue light and it hung above our heads, moving with us as we walked.

  He winked at me. "Pretty neat, huh?"

  "Yeah, but won't the wyvern see it?" Suddenly, I could recall more of the passage I'd read about them. Especially the part about their enhanced night vision. A chill went up my spine.

  "We're gonna be fine. We'll find—" The words died on his lips as we all gaped at the sight in front of us. A huge circle of twigs and grass. The wyvern nest. A few bits of the nest sparkled. It was jewelry. Wyverns. like their bigger, fire-breathing counterparts, had a penchant for shiny objects. They had most likely stolen those objects from the villagers. Well, it was better than them stealing children, in my opinion. Much better they steal a few objects that could easily be replaced.

  "Ryka, Ryka, where are you? Can you hear—"

  "Sunshine, shhh..." Cam jumped into the nest and had summoned the light closer to himself as he knelt down to examine the nest from the inside. I could barely see the light from over the high brim of the nest.

  "But we have to let him know we're here somehow," I protested in a harsh whisper.

  Cam was silent for a long moment, but I could hear him rustling around, almost as if he were gathering something up. "Let's go," he finally said in a gruff voice. Something inside me knew something was wrong.

  Kat pulled out a dagger and then I heard the harsh sound of metal against stone. Liam pulled something from his pocket and placed in on the ground. My heart sank into my shoes. The only thing he had in his pocket was…

  "Okay, we can go."

  Liam put an arm around my shoulder, but I shrugged it off and jumped up, hoisting myself into the nest. My boots made a sickening squish as I landed inside. "Sunshine, why—"

  I held up my hand to interrupt him as I took in the sight of the blood. "You wanted me to know this wasn't a game. I needed to see." My voice was strong and unshakable, though my stomach was threatening to bring up everything I'd ever eaten. Small clothes, too small for even a child dwarf, were lying in the semi-dried blood. Tears spilled from my eyes, but I didn't make a sound as I left the nest and walked slowly in the direction of the horses.

  Please find him. Please...

  No one made a sound as we made our way back to the inn. Even the horses, sensing the mood, stayed quiet. The light of the flames was nearly out of sight. Cam hadn't been able to stop himself and had set the nest ablaze in a fit of rage before he rejoined the rest of us, who had already begun heading back. After that, the air was tense, everyone expecting a wyvern or two to come screeching out of nowhere, ready to attack us for destroying its home. But nothing was stirring. Not even a forest imp.

  I only stopped once to vomit in the bushes before we got on the path to the village. Liam held my hair, saying nothing. Snot and tears streamed down my face as I emptied my stomach. I couldn't face Ryka's mother now. I’d promised her I'd bring him home safe. What was I supposed to tell her?

  "What the hell is that?" I asked, horrified, pointing to a makeshift blanket-bag Cam had resting against his stomach to hold it in place as he rode.

  "Ryka's bones. The family will want something to bury," Cam said quietly. "This was the best I could do."

  My eyes widened. "We can't... We can't give her that!"

  "I won't let her see them. I'll give them to her husband, or even the innkeeper. I'm not a complete monster, Sunshine." His tone sounded accusatory.

  It took all I had to get back on Snowbell. As if sensing my fear and anxiety, Snowbell walked slowly, carefully. I was grateful for that. My whole body was aching from being so tense. This was a nightmare. I just wanted this night to be over. I wanted Ryka to still be alive. I wanted Cam to be telling a squirming little boy to be still in the saddle instead of bringing back a bag of bones.

  The sense of dread only increased as I saw the twin flames on either side of the door to the inn. Something that was earlier a relief was about to lead a heartbreaking scene. Cam slid off Shiloh and tied him the hitch. He gingerly picked up the blanket and sighed. Looking into his eyes, I could see how tired he was. How tired we all were. We all wanted this night to end.

  "Liam, bring Albus out here, will you?"

  It took me a minute to register Cam was the one who spoke. He had said Liam's name.

  "Sure," was all Liam said before he walked into the inn. My feet were stuck to the ground. Every step was like walking through heavy mud. Kat grabbed my upper arm and steered me towards the door.

  "It's okay, Serena. We'll tell her together." Kat smiled. "It'll be okay. It wasn't our fault. The kid was gone before we even got there."

  "But I promised..."

  "Aye, you can't save 'em all, little lass," Albus said as he came out with Liam.

  "Thanks for coming out, Albus. Thought it'd be easier to give these to you." Cam held out the blanket of bones. Albus took them carefully.

  "I've known Elga, the boy's mother, a long time. She's a strong lass. She'll get through this with ol' Folstead's help. He's a good man, always kind to her."

  "Shall we?" Liam asked, holding the door open for me. "Are you going to be sick again? You're white as a sheet," he whispered as I passed. I barely shook my head as my heartbeat pounded in my ears. This wasn’t happening…

  Elga stood up so fast her chair nearly toppled over. "Where is he? My baby?" Her face was so full of hope. It was as if she didn't see my expression, or maybe her hope had blinded her to it. Her husband, Folstead, though, clearly saw my expression and his eyes lowered to the floor briefly before he stood behind his wife, ready to console her at any moment.

  "He..." My throat closed up. I couldn't make myself say the words. As if it mattered. Not saying the words didn't make their little boy any less dead. It wouldn't magically bring him back to life if I waited long enough. But I couldn't bring myself to crush that hopeful look in her eye. Goddess, if I could just freeze her in this moment...

  "Elga, your son is dead. I'm sorry," Cam said, standing slightly behind me as though to catch me.

  Watching her face crumple, her hope shatter, was going to haunt me forever. What I wasn’t prepared for was what happened next.

  "Dead? But you said you would save him! You said you would bring him back to me! Liars! You just wanted free food and drink! You let my son die! You monsters! You heathens!" she shrieked. Her words were directed at all of us, though her eyes were locked on me. Her gaze chilled me to the bone. If looks could kill, I'd have been dead before I hit the ground. All I wanted to do was run out of this place and never look back.

  But once again, despite my intense desire to run, I was frozen in place, haunted by the knowledge that what Cam had just said had destroyed a woman's life in a single moment. And I couldn’t help but feel somehow responsible.

  "Honey, please, they tried their best," her husband said, grabbing her wrists gently before she could throw another
mug. Liam had barely dodged the first one, beer dripping down the wall behind him. "I'm so sorry. Goddess bless you for trying. We really do appreciate it." He smiled genuinely at us, his eyes glistening with tears as he wrapped his arms around his wife.

  "No problem, sir. I wish we could have done more." Cam rested a hand on my shoulder and turned me around. "Sunshine, let's go." His touch, it seemed, had broken the spell and I was now free to move.

  Kat held the door open with her back, holding out an arm to me in case my legs gave out. They felt like jelly and lead at the same time. The door shut behind Cam, cutting off Elga's enraged screams.

  From where I stood, I could still see the dying, flicking embers of what had been Ryka's final resting place. The thought made me sick. I quickly turned to untie Snowbell's reins, eager to leave. To move. To do something. I couldn’t stay here one moment longer.

  "Sunshine, you're riding with me. Get on."

  I didn't even have the strength to argue. I just handed the reins to Kat, who gave me a small, sad smile. How were my friends so calm about this situation? I wanted to go back and rip those wyverns apart with my bare hands. Why weren't they angry too? Why hadn't Liam or Cam suggested it yet? Violence was up their alley, not mine, so why weren't they raring to go?

  Cam held out a hand to help me onto Shiloh's back, careful of his cuffs. I was tempted to touch them just to feel something other than this intense, burning hatred toward creatures I couldn't kill on my own.

  Shiloh lurched forward, and I noticed his gait was just as smooth as it looked. Resting my head against Cam's back, I let myself get lost in my thoughts for a while, forcing myself to relive every moment. Elga’s desperate voice before I left. Everything we had done to possibly waste precious seconds instead of saving Ryka. Liam showing us a pastry he had saved for a boy who would never get to eat it. Jumping into the nest. The blood. The blanket-bag of bones. The sound of metal against stone as Kat carved a grave sign. The heat of the flames as they engulfed the nest. Elga's anger.

  An anger that could set the world ablaze.