Heirs of War, Crown of Flames

by Mara Valderran

  “It is,” Rhaya argued earnestly and scooted forward so that their knees touched. “You've seen so much more of this war than the rest of us. I mean, Ariana has seen her share too, but in a different way. You've been out there in it. You've seen what it's doing to the people. And if our own people are siding with the bad guys, that doesn't exactly mean good things for us.”

  “It isn't that simple. They aren't bad people, just desperate. It's easy for desperate people to take the hand of friendship the Cahirans are offering them. They promise to fix all of their problems, to feed the starving, to house the homeless, heal the sick . . . they just fail to tell them the price of their services.”

  “What's the price?”

  “If you don't follow their rule, you die,” she answered plainly. “I thought you'd figured that out by now.” She stood up and brushed her dress off, then offered her hand to Rhaya. “Enough talking. You'll never be able to defend yourself against these sorts of people with just words. Let's try some basic blocks using air. Now the key is to direct the air so that it is focused. If you simply use a sweeping attack, you risk injuring someone that might be on your side.” She walked over to a bin near the wall and picked up several small sacks. “I'm going to throw these at you while you stand next to the practice targets.”

  “Are those hacky sacks?” Rhaya asked and then shook her head. “Never mind. So I guess you want me to make sure I don't knock the dummies over when I'm deflecting the sacks, right?” She rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Right. Let's do this!”

  She didn't do very well with it at first, but by the time Zelene finally showed up she seemed to have the hang of it. A pile of hacky sacks lay at her feet from where she had used just enough force to block them without flinging them back to Terrena. Rhaya was so distracted by Zelene's presence that the last one hit her square in the face.

  “Hey,” Rhaya said and rubbed her forehead. “We didn't think you were going to show.”

  Terrena's eyes widened as she took in her cousin's disheveled appearance. Zelene wore the garb of the Tainted, which contrasted starkly against her much paler skin. Her face was drawn, her eyelids heavy, and the dark circles beneath her eyes prominent. Terrena rushed over to her and placed a hand over her forehead. Zelene tried to pull away but was obviously too tired to put up much of a fight.

  “You need to go to Bianca,” Terrena ordered her. She could feel how drained Zelene was. There was no sign of infection, but her weakened state definitely warranted a deeper look. “We'll take you there now.”

  Zelene stepped backwards and shook her head. “I'm just tired, Terrena. Stop freaking out on me. I haven't been sleeping well.”

  “Bianca can help you with that,” Terrena pressed, her hands on her hips. “You look terrible, Zelene.”

  “Thanks, but I'm fine. What are you guys working on?”

  “Just some basic blocking with air,” Rhaya answered with forced confidence, obviously trying to fight off Zelene's contagious and heavy heart. Rhaya picked up some of the hacky sacks and grinned. “Hey, check it out. I can do magic. Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt!” she chanted as she pelted the dummies with the sacks.

  Zelene chuckled and shook her head. “If only the LARPers could see you now. Mind if I join you?”

  “I think we were just wrapping up for dinner, actually. Want to come with?”

  She shook her head. “Nah, I don't really feel like doing the whole family dinner thing right now. Can we catch up later?”

  Rhaya nodded. “Sure.” She watched Zelene leave and then her shoulders sagged with the effort it had taken to put on a brave face.

  “That didn't seem as hard as I thought it would be for you,” Terrena commented as she rubbed a hand up and down her sister's back.

  Rhaya leaned over, placing her hands on her knees. She took in and released several deep breaths. “She's getting kind of numb. I'm not sure that's a good thing though.” The sisters exchanged worried looks. “We need her if we're going to see this thing through.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Ariana was correct in her assumptions concerning the mysterious canines. Once she approached them, the dogs each nuzzled against her hands and then turned around, leading them further down the path and pausing to make sure they followed. They stopped frequently to allow Alec and Ariana to catch up if they fell behind, seeming to have endless patience as they guided them on.

  “Don't even say it.” Alec held up a hand to halt Ariana's words of 'I told you so' before they had even begun to form in her mouth. “We still don't know where they're leading us.”

  She gave a perky shrug as if that didn't matter and marched around him to get closer to the dogs. He sighed then hurried to catch up with them. They hiked with their animal guides for over a week, stopping only for short rests and to make camp for the night, then picking back up again once the sun rose. Alec picked out a thickly wooded area for camp that night and, as always, the dogs split up, one on either side of them. Alec pulled Ariana closer, wrapping his arms around her protectively and watching the creatures with a wary eye.

  He wasn't sure how long it had taken him to fall asleep, but he awoke with his face buried in Ariana's hair. Before he could give himself time to enjoy the moment, he heard one of the dogs let out a low growl right in front of Ariana. He lifted his head and could see that it had its teeth bared and looked right at him. He reached for the sword, patting the ground to find it but the dog went into an attack crouch before he could. Alec barely had time to throw himself over Ariana before it sprang.

  Alec raised his head with confusion, realizing the dog's teeth never connected with him. He quickly jumped to his feet and whipped around to where it had leapt. It tussled with what looked to be a hyena. The other dog quickly joined in on the fray and together they took down the intruder. Once certain that it was down, they paced in a circle around the camp as if they were checking for more threats.

  Ariana grinned triumphantly. “They're protecting us. I knew they were on our side. Where do you think they're taking us? I mean, have you ever heard of dogs acting like this before?”

  Alec shook his head and brushed some of his curls out of his eyes. “I don't know everything there is to know about the creatures of the worlds, especially the ones outside of Estridia. I suppose they will let us know when we get there. I'm only glad that they seem to be leading us away from the town the Cahirans were in.”

  “Me too.” She stood up and began combing her fingers through her hair. “I guess we should get some breakfast and get moving.”

  “What are you talking about?” he said incredulously and gestured to the dead hyena. “Your guardians just found breakfast.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Eew.”

  “We shouldn't waste it.”

  Her face greened a bit but she turned around and focused her attention on the dogs, petting them and rubbing their chins. “Just . . . do it where I can't see unless you want me to throw up everywhere again.”

  After breakfast, which the dogs also enjoyed, the group set out once more. Ariana walked ahead with the animals now, her fingers resting on one of their backs as they moved. After a few hours, they came across a main road, which the dogs led them down. Alec voiced his concern about traveling in the open like this, but Ariana wasn't worried. She completely trusted their guardians, even though he still wasn't certain they should. He knew better than anyone that Kellen wanted Ariana alive.

  The dogs stopped in front of an old, small brick house with an overgrown front yard. When neither Ariana nor Alec made any move toward the house, the dogs went and sat on the front porch, which was a rickety slab of wood that looked as though it might topple over at any moment. Ariana shrugged and marched up to the porch. She used the sleeve of her dress to clean the grime from the window and peered inside.

  “It looks abandoned,” she observed.

  “That doesn't mean it is,” he countered and joined her on the porch. When he turned around to address the dogs, they
were gone.

  “I think they led us here for a reason.” She lifted her hand to knock, but he stopped her.

  “They led us here and then they disappeared,” he hissed. He couldn't believe he had let her convince him that it would be a good idea to follow those dogs. “This could be a trap.”

  “It's not a trap. It's an opportunity and we should take it.”

  “Oh,” he said mockingly, “did you and your furry friends have a nice little chat when I wasn't around? Did they tell you what their plan was in leading us here? Because I must have missed that with all the assumptions you've been making.”

  “I told you that I just know. And I also know what I see,” she continued over his sarcasm, “and I see a nice little house on the outskirts of Bum Freaking Egypt where we can at least get a decent night's sleep in a decent bed.”

  He was still trying to figure out what she meant by this Egypt place when she came to the end of her tirade but he quickly shook off the question. “Are you sure you were told nothing about your status? Because you are acting like a spoiled little princess right now, and it is going to get us killed.”

  “You can't be killed,” she snapped.

  His face contorted with frustration. “It can still hurt,” he retorted.

  She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowing into slits. “I'm going inside. If you want to stay out here and starve to . . . well, whatever. I'm hungry and I'm tired—”

  “And cranky.”

  “What's that kettle? Did you just call me black?” At the look of confusion across Alec's face, she threw her hands up in exasperation. “Oh, forget it! Let's go.”

  Alec pulled her away from the door and knocked on it himself. When no one answered, he inhaled deeply, steeling himself for the consequences, and went inside. They stood in the entryway, taking in their surroundings. It wasn't the nicest house, to be sure, and it was certainly not the cleanest. The front room was mostly covered in a thick layer of dust. There were cobwebs in just about every corner, but it was remarkably tidy for a place that had been abandoned, as if someone had been there just that morning.

  “Cozy,” Ariana commented, unable to hide her sneer.

  “I like to think so,” a woman said from behind them.

  They both turned around to the woman. She was a disheveled mess, from the tousled brown hair down to the stockings riddled with holes and the muddy brown shoes. She was a thick-framed woman, like the kind that was built more to be a warrior than a housewife. Her stubby fingers held a very large blade, which she pointed directly at Alec.

  Ariana dove in front of him and held her hands up in surrender. “Please, we don't mean you any harm.”

  The woman lowered her blade, her eyes locked on Ariana’s marked wrist. She slowly inched forward and took Ariana’s hand, pulling her wrist closer. “Is . . . is . . . this . . . ?” The woman could hardly form the words as her finger traced the mark that branded Ariana as one of the Five meant to unite the worlds and end the war. “We thought ya was dead, girl. Some thought ya was hidden, but the way they closed up Anscombe . . . we feared the worst.”

  “Who are you?” Ariana asked softly.

  “My name is Lara Clodaugh. I'm part of the resistance here.”

  Alec pulled Ariana back from the woman. He didn't think Lara would hurt Ariana immediately, but the idea of any sort of resistance made him leery. Rebelling against Estridia meant they were enemies. Rebelling against Cahira meant they were insane. “Resistance against Cahira?”

  Lara shook her head. “Not just Cahira. Estridia as well.”

  Ariana stepped forward tentatively. “Why did you react like that when you saw my mark? I mean, you obviously know who I am.” She pressed on, ignoring Alec when he hissed her name in warning. “If you're rebelling against Estridia, shouldn't that mean you want me dead?”

  The woman rushed forward, gripping Ariana's hands in her own before Alec yanked his companion away. “Nah, we need ya to live. If ya don’t, the Prophecy will never come to pass and this war will never end.”

  Ariana remained beside Alec, tilting her head in contemplation. “I fulfill the Prophecy, and Estridia wins. Unless Kellen gets her hands on me again.”

  “That's not going to happen,” Alec growled at the woman.

  Lara finally took notice of Alec and met his glower with one of her own as she pressed her hands into her full hips. “Now listen here, lad! I have no intention of turning her over to Kellen or the likes of anyone else. Now I can either help ya,” she directed at Ariana, “since what I believe is that ya girls are destined to unite the worlds, which means neither side can win but a new power will be bestowed upon us like the Prophecy says,” she turned a glare back at Alec, “or I can throw ya out of my house. Since it is, after all, my house that ya be breaking into.”

  The tension in Alec's shoulders dissipated, though his stance did not. “How do we know we can trust you?”

  “Ya don't,” she said simply, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And if ya want to keep her safe, I suggest ya keep that attitude about everyone ya be coming across.”

  “Will you help us get to Anscombe?” Ariana asked hopefully.

  Lara regretfully shook her head. “I'm afraid the best I can do is keep ya safe until ya can be on your way. I've got no business with the tairseach and I can't exactly let it be known that I'm helping the prize child of Anscombe return.”

  “Why not?”

  “As I said before, I am part of the resistance, which means I don't want to be helping the Duillaine get their biggest source of power back any time soon.” She guffawed. “Ya got a lot to learn about rebels, lass.”

  Alec didn't like the sound of that at all. He had a bad feeling about Lara and her people, the kind that told him this rebellion would bring them nothing but trouble. “I hope you don't intend on stopping us or holding us here.”

  Lara waved off his dark concerns and threatening tone. “I did that, I'd be no better than the rest of them, now would I? Nah, I won't hold ya here, but I will help ya stay until you're ready to be on your own again. Looks like ya could both use some good meals and good sleep for a change.”

  Alec stifled his annoyance, knowing Lara had Ariana convinced just with the promise of real food and a real bed. “And how can you keep us safe when Kellen and her army are out looking for us?” Alec challenged. “Do you have some place to keep us hidden?”

  “Does it look like I've got many hiding places in here?” Lara asked in a jovial, yet condescending manner. “No, I plan on hiding ya in plain sight. Lucky, my parents just died.”

  “Oh,” Ariana placed a sympathetic hand on Lara's forearm. “I am so sorry, Lara.”

  “Pfft,” Lara puffed the air out of her cheeks incredulously. “Don't be! They were a lousy lot. Never saw them after they married me off, never talked to them, and lucky for ya I never talked about them to anyone. Which means they have no idea that ya aren't my sister and her betrothed, come to stay with me until Wassail as the law dictates until you can then move into your own place. Which would be an excellent exit opportunity, now that I think of it. Won't happen for about three weeks, but that should give ya plenty of time to shake Kellen and her goats.”

  “We need to leave before the Wassail,” Alec said insistently. “We can’t follow through with it.”

  “Why not?” Ariana asked. “We’ll know it isn’t real.”

  “Course it would be real,” Lara said with a laugh. “You’d be stuck with him for a year. Sounds like he doesn’t much want to be stuck with you, though. Shame. You two look mighty fine together.”

  Alec coughed and tried to regain his composure. “How soon can we leave without raising suspicions?”

  Lara shook her head. “Wassail is the best I can do, boy. Ya either go with my plan, or ya leave.”

  A thought occurred to Ariana and she placed an urgent hand on Lara’s arm. “Can you tell us the name of this world? We've been held captive here, and we assumed it was Cahira. I'm guessin
g since you're rebelling against both sides that you wouldn't base your operations in enemy territory.”

  “Didn't used to be enemy territory,” Lara said bitterly. “This world is called Talamdine. Don't much see why that's important, but there it is.”

  Ariana and Alec both grinned at one another, knowing Lara had just uttered their ticket home with one word. With any luck, Isauria would report back the name of the world and they would be rescued before the festival decorations went up.

  “Well, come on then,” Lara said happily and ushered them to the door. “Let's see if we can find a place for you to stay until we get you settled in.”

  ***

  “This is a bad plan,” Bianca fussed. “Just because Solanna removed the guards from your door does not mean that the Duillaine are not watching your every move.”

  “Is it really so hard to believe that when they finally grant me my freedom that I would go see my sister and my cousins?” Isauria countered, though her tone conveyed her own worry.

  They moved through the corridors in silence. Rhaya had passed the message along to Bianca that the Scooby Gang would meet that night, and where Bianca was confused by the nickname for their group, Isauria had snorted a laugh at it. Bianca didn’t know what to expect from this group anymore, and as they entered, she realized that she didn't even know who all was included. She was surprised to find Nolan and Tate with the rest of the Duillaine Ainnir, and her suspicions automatically went on high at their presence.

  Rhaya's eyes widened when she noticed Isauria, and she ran to her cousin, throwing her arms around her in greeting. “Izzy! How did you get out?”

  “Solanna,” Isauria answered with a shrug. “I think she's trying to do the right thing.”

  “Better late than never, I guess,” Zelene said and then looked around. “That solves one of our problems: Breaking Isauria out. So. Anything to report? How are we doing on narrowing down the worlds?”

  “Yes,” Isauria answered, trying to contain her enthusiasm. “They just found out the name of the world they're in. Talamdine. We can go get her now.”