Lord of Fire: #1 The Fire Chronicles

by Susi Wright

  Sufficiently far from the Capital, he halted the samblar by a woodland stream, lifting Fralii, still sleeping, down in his arms and deftly throwing out a blanket on which to lay her, so he could attend to the needs of the trusty animal that had served them so well. Disturbed by the change in position, Fralii seemed to panic, half-awake, clinging tightly around his neck as if she would fall. Quietly pleased at her trust in him, he gently prised her hands loose and used his best reassuring tone. ‘Careful, lady, do not kill me, we are not yet home!’

  She opened her eyes and looked up into his face, her wide-eyed questioning gaze making his heart skip a beat. Recollection dawning of the evening’s events and quite revived by a few hours’ sleep, she suddenly tensed, realising she was clinging to a strange man, and extricated herself to stand, taking a hasty step away, blushing furiously, avoiding eye contact.

  Luminor felt and understood her apprehension, but was surprised by the element of embarrassment that accompanied it, as he knew he had done nothing dishonourable, even in his thoughts, apart from acknowledging desire. There had been no talking, since she had been sleeping every minute since they left the Capital, so he had no earlier opportunity to explain. She asked, in an almost accusing tone, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Luminor understood the dialect she spoke. He had known questions would come, but had still not prepared his answers, his vocabulary was not good. He regretted not thinking about it during the ride, feeling foolish that instead he had basked in the extreme pleasure of holding this beautiful and fascinating woman so close to him, unable to think any rational thoughts, and so had abandoned himself to those moments. Now it was time to explain, keeping it to the simple truth. ‘Do not fear me… you, in danger… I saved you!’

  She frowned, ‘Who are you?’

  ‘I am Luminor,’ he smiled hopefully. Then she looked intently and directly at his eyes, blatantly glowing brilliant green, as they always did, particularly in the dark. ‘What race… are you?’ He found her lilting dialect charming, but was not sure he liked her present accusing tone.

  ‘You can see… I am… different to you? But I help you.’ Luminor searched her face, hoping for a favourable response; he did not want to have to find too many foreign words to explain. Gaians never needed much verbal communication amongst themselves, perceiving much innately; neither did he want to attempt to assist her mental comprehension by the use of perceptive skills at the high level which he was not certain he yet possessed.

  Several moments passed, each staring uncertainly at the other. She worried at her lip, then whispered, in awe or accusation (he was frustrated that he could not tell which), ‘It was you! In the forest. Wasn’t it?’

  He was quick to apologise, ‘Yes. That was accident. I am sorry!’ Then more as a statement in his defence: ‘You were not hurt!’

  Just then the samblar snorted and stamped its foot impatiently, reminding Luminor of his overdue obligation to see to its needs. Fralii also took notice of the grey animal for the first time, ‘That is Charity! How is it you have her?’ Again accusing. Luminor wondered at her confronting tone. ‘I took her from the raiders… to ride… find you!’ The means justified the end. He turned to unstrap the saddle. ‘A good samblar!’ He patted her grey neck gratefully, before feeding and watering the long-suffering animal.

  Fralii needed answers to many questions, which then followed in a tirade. ‘Where are you from… another country? You are not Baramese, are you? How did you find me? Why did you come to find me? What has happened to my father… and my friend, Zaf? Are they badly hurt, or worse, dead? Where on earth are we now? Where are we going, I do not recognise the route?’

  Luminor continued working as he considered his answers. Yes, she was certainly wide awake now. So many questions in one sentence, he marvelled, deciding most would require only one or few words for now. He dealt with them in order. ‘I live near. I track you, and raiders. Chadren… injured. Zaf… dead. East of Capital. We go to Splendo!’ He looked over his shoulder, presenting her with a beaming smile, quite proud he had managed to make the answers shorter than the questions.

  Fralii looked at him in disbelief. ‘Why… are you smiling? This is serious! How badly is my father hurt?’ She seemed about to cry. ‘And Zaf! Poor Zaf!’ Luminor watched the emotion roiling in her face, eyes so sad. Now the tears were coming, big fat droplets welling from those violet pools in which he was certain he could drown. He longed to ease her sadness, knowing he could calm anxiety, but hesitating to intrude on her person. More than that, he wanted to give in to the temptation to put his arms around her again and comfort her, but aware she had chosen to put distance between them earlier, stayed where he was, feeling powerless as she put her hands over her face and started sobbing.

  Unable to stand the feeling any longer, he moved a little closer, assuring himself that what he was about to do would only help, and gave in to another temptation, to focus gently on her to alleviate the sadness. Shortly, as he hoped, the sobbing subsided, and with a sniffle, she wiped her eyes and looked up at him. Relieved, but feeling a little guilty for interfering in her mind, he offered her a small uncertain smile.

  She sighed heavily. ‘I need more answers, Lumi… what did you say your name was?’ He continued to rummage in the saddlebags.

  ‘Lumi. That will do. Your father lives. Zaf was unlucky,’ he answered, thinking he would like the sound of the shortened form of his name on her lips. Thinking that it was possible he would like any sound that came from those lips.

  ‘No! You are going to have to explain, Lumi. Everything!’ she stated belligerently.

  He sighed. Well… perhaps not every sound. He could see a challenge ahead. He handed her a small piece of bovino-jerky, which he had found in the bag.

  ‘First you must eat!’ he bargained, grinning. If she obeyed, he would reward her with a few more precious words of explanation.

  Chapter Nineteen

  At Runo’s villa in Splendo, Chadren and his company had spent a full day consulting on a plan of action to rescue Fralii. Chadren himself was incapable of travelling, so the other two had offered to take on certain tasks, if only to put the injured man’s worried mind at ease. Runo would make inquiries through his trading associates and other city merchants, about any unusual gem-trading. Simban was to organise the hire of two other samblar-herders, good fast riders, to go with him, making haste to different neighbouring towns, asking questions in the hope of turning up some clues. It seemed they were just clutching at straws, but it was all they could do. The gravely injured and anxious Chadren needed to see some action, but they were all desperate to find Fralii. If the Ancestors were kind, they would succeed, and perhaps even recover the lost cargo as well. There was no time to lose. Time was certainly not kind. The kidnappers would be quick to cover their tracks. They wished each other good luck, advising Chadren to rest, and went their separate ways that very evening.

  * * *

  Fralii had not realised how hungry and thirsty she was, washing down the dry morsel of meat with some fresh stream water. She was still feeling hungry, relieved when Luminor produced two dry biscuits to follow. She paused in reaching for them. ‘Are you not eating?’ she asked him.

  ‘No,’ was his reply, not wanting to explain why, that he did not need as much food as a human, that he was also trying to ration the supplies. He had not found much to eat in the saddlebags.

  Fralii withdrew her hand, looked at Luminor, and announced with a stubborn tilt of her chin, ‘Well! If you are not eating, then neither am I!’ Luminor glanced at her, surprised by her reaction, wondering why she was not simply grateful. Were his perceptive skills starting to fail him? He continued to look at her, eyebrows raised questioningly, waiting for further protestation, or clarification. Her emotion was a fog to him.

  Instead, she sighed heavily, then having noticed his foreign accent, enunciated every syllable, as if to an idiot, and proceeded to question him, ‘Do… you… have… trouble… speaking?’

  He detected a confusing m
ix of hostility and sympathy. He felt a little offended, considering that question to be prejudiced, responding with a curt and concise ‘No!’, narrowing his eyes defensively.

  He was startled when she suddenly squealed in frustration. This is not going well, he thought glumly, also frustrated at how difficult it was to decipher a mind full of opposite emotions. Concerned his powers were not developing as they should, he wished to go somewhere quiet to clear his mind for enlightenment. In her company, although fascinating, he could find no clarity, a fact that he found extremely unnerving. Perception was a tricky practice; the mind of this human woman was particularly complex to understand, and therefore to influence, certainly far more difficult than control of the physical elements of Nature. And he had a sneaking feeling his quiet time was not about to begin anytime soon.

  Fralii began again with the questions ‘How are you different? I can see by your eyes you are different. If you can speak, why don’t you tell me more?’ She was annoyingly persistent. Instead of being grateful, she became ever more demanding. Baffled, he began to wonder if it had actually been a mistake to rescue her.

  Luminor saw no reason at this point to hide the simplest form of the truth, since her fear had seemed to disappear of its own accord, replaced by this probing inquisition, making him feel like he was on trial. He answered, ‘I am Gaian.’ As if that explained everything.

  She continued to stare, as if she expected him to say something else. When he looked into her hypnotically beautiful eyes, as now, his thoughts became completely addled. Irritated, he dropped his gaze, turning away to shake out a blanket. ‘Time to sleep!’ he stated, more abruptly than he really meant. He needed to meditate. Now.

  Feeling exhausted, Fralii conceded defeat for now; sulkily snatching the blanket and curling up on the ground next to the fire, she turned her back to him and quickly fell asleep.

  With a sigh of relief, Luminor settled himself leaning against their gear, to sort out his thoughts while he watched over her from a sufficiently comfortable distance, all his weapons of physical combat within quick and easy reach, but not for the longest time, this night, the quiet resource of his mind.

  Chapter Twenty

  During the many wakeful hours of that night, eventually taming the turmoil within, and finally deep in objective thought, he had gleaned that humans, Fralii in particular, evidently had great need to hear copious verbal detail, about everything—a need next to Life itself. So enlightened, he had resolved to resist his natural inclination to say little, and endeavour to say more. Away from the alarmingly disempowering spell of her gaze, he admitted to himself he had a strong desire to please her. By the first light of dawn he had, he hoped, prepared himself for the challenge.

  Anxious to get moving, he doused the embers with dirt, packed some of the gear, and fetched the samblar, which had been hobbled nearby to pick on vegetation overnight. He was thankful the possibility of dealing with wild animals or mercenaries had not added to his troublesome night.

  Though he had slept not at all, he felt surprisingly rested and focussed, a result of his hard-won contemplation, and quite ready for the day ahead. He needed little sleep anyway and was glad Fralii had slept apparently well, feeling pleasure as he watched her relaxed, more approachable expression in slumber.

  Hesitant, he called her name, quietly at first, then louder, until she stirred, yawned, and stretched. Steeling himself, he waited for her to open her eyes. He knew a serious challenge lay in maintaining his mental faculties while meeting her gaze. He welcomed it.

  She blinked awake and looked at him. His heart skipped a beat, but he took a calming breath. ‘We must go!’ he said gently, then remembering his resolution about supplying detail, ‘Do you eat first? I think you must eat, before we go.’ He ventured a small smile, as he hopefully offered her the biscuit. Yesterday’s stubbornness in mind, he added, ‘I eat… before.’ Not exactly a lie, it was three days ago.

  Seeming pleased with his new attitude, she accepted the food. He dropped his gaze before things became shaky, and finished saddling the samblar. She ate quickly, still quite hungry from the previous day, her mood much improved by food and rest, but she still had questions.

  ‘How long until I see my father?’ she asked. ‘I am so worried about him!’ Luminor quickly glanced at her to assure himself she was not about to cry again, and said, ‘Four days more, I think. There is danger. We must hurry!’ He offered his hand as a foothold into the saddle but, her independent streak emerging with her new energy, she ignored the offer and mounted by herself. Patiently shrugging off the rebuttal, he suggested, feeling he should ask her permission, ‘It is faster… if I ride with you.’ That would be the human thing to do. This, she allowed, was sensible by any standards. So, secretly looking forward to the opportunity to have his arms around her again, he jumped up behind her and urged the animal forward at a brisk pace, smiling into her hair.

  The hours they travelled cross-country gave them ample time for conversation. Luminor found he was actually enjoying the development of this art, which was for him, very new. His limited vocabulary in this new dialect had not been helpful. And he still struggled constantly for control of his senses in such close proximity, but was gaining a little confidence that he would in time overcome all these weaknesses, to the benefit of them both.

  They continued for a good part of the day in pleasant exchange, Luminor trying his best to speak in detail, though he did not know the word for many things. Fralii enquired about his family, his home, and inevitably, what exactly was a Gaian. He answered satisfactorily by saying, ‘A Gaian… deeply understands Nature.’ He left out the part about controlling it. ‘You have seen the eyes.’ He gifted her with his most appealing look. ‘Our clothes look different… made from many wonders of Nature.’ She had already noticed his glossy brown cloak, similar to the one he had been wearing in the forest, made of finely interwoven feathers that lightly caught every passing breeze, as if it were alive. The one he had now looked a bit worse for wear, in her opinion. Perhaps he did not own another. When she asked why his tunic glistened strangely, he explained that it was woven from tough grasses mixed with rare silky-spider’s web, to soften and waterproof the garment.

  He learned that her mother had died when she was born, from injuries when a freak tornado had wrecked their camp, but he felt more than sympathy, keeping it to himself as a disturbing image of an upturned gem wagon flashed into his mind, and he recalled Altor’s air-bending mischief at around that very time. The possibility saddened him that his younger brother may have been the cause of Fralii’s loss. He thought of the comforting love of their own mother, teaching them appreciation for beauty, reassuring, gently encouraging, always there as they grew up. This was something Fralii had tragically missed and it had taken its toll on her, giving her a rebellious stubborn streak.

  The sun was on its downward journey towards the treetops behind them as the track ahead beckoned to them, leading their way eastwards. Luminor had felt very uneasy for several hours, their mount had been unusually skittish, and sensing danger, he was poised for action as they were forced to negotiate their way around a particularly difficult rocky outcrop on foot, leading the fussing samblar behind them.

  A loud roar startled them a second before the zabuk pounced, sinking its claws into the samblar’s rump, causing it to buck and squeal in pain. But Luminor had already pushed Fralii behind him, drawn his sword, and leapt forward a moment later, driving the blade deep into the spotted hide, running the beast’s heart clean through, before Fralii had a chance to scream. Killed instantly, the predator slumped from its attack hold to the ground, as Luminor withdrew his blade, knowing there had been no time, or point to try calming such a ravenous beast. Blood oozed copiously from the wound as the animal lay lifeless in the dust.

  Fralii had never seen a zabuk-leopard up close; the few her father and men had dispatched had been by arrow from a fair distance away, to stop them stalking the caravan. She was shocked at the size of the teeth lin
ing its open jaws, all razor-sharp, with two enormous canines easily capable of severing the spine of its prey, its large pink tongue lolling between them. The claws were just as terrible, long vicious talons that, she noticed, still had samblar hair on them. She dragged her morbid attention away from the beast to examine their wounded samblar, which stood quaking and snorting some distance away. Luckily, it had not run off as the pain of movement was far worse than its fear. It stared beseechingly back at them. It seemed to be expecting its handlers to help. Of course, Fralii and Luminor rushed over to get a proper look at the injuries. Luckily, the leopard had not gotten a death grip on its neck. But, it had a line of deep gouges on each side of its rump, certainly badly hurt. Luminor had determined that it would still survive, if he could soon apply a salve of the herbs that could be found in the forest a few furlongs ahead.

  ‘I am sorry. We now walk,’ he apologised to Fralii.

  ‘Of course! Poor Charity!’ she agreed as she stroked its soft grey muzzle and picked up the lead rope, tugging on it. The animal refused to take a step. ‘Oh dear! I think she is going to need more encouragement! Come, sweet Charity,’ she said, clucking to her. No response, except more snorting.

  Luminor could tell words and tugging alone would not achieve their purpose, as the samblar’s injuries were too painful and aggravated by any movement. He knew a gentle creature in pain was open to any form of relief, not so, as he had discovered with the flame adder, a large, enraged, or starving beast. He had also been told this by his tutors. So, stroking its neck, he surreptitiously used his powers to calm the animal, lessening its pain so it would allow itself to be led. Fortunately, this was very easily accomplished in the samblar, an animal already so naturally compliant. Fralii showed brief surprise, seeing sweet Charity take one shaky step, then another, under Luminor’s ministrations, but soon turned her avid attention to her rescuer. ‘You moved so fast… like the wind!’ Looking up into his face with a half-smile, she quizzed, ‘Is that something else you do that is… different?’