Through The Fire: The Alawansi Book One

by Valerie Puissant

  I tried to hide myself under the wheels of the cart to stay out of harm’s way, but the horses were too spooked and the wheels kept moving. It was too dangerous to stay under cover so I stayed low and out of the way. I burned arms and seared weapons making swords too hot to touch and hands too tender to carry blades. I spotted one of our men fighting just on the edge of the blaze, locked in a sword fight and he was getting weary. I heated his attacker’s sword until it glowed red. The raider dropped the weapon and the king’s guard pushed the attacking soldier into the fire. The fire I had created. I listened to the screams of the enemy for a moment, but I had to turn away. I looked for ways to help wherever I could until slowly, the chaos abated and there was nothing but eerie silence punctuated by the moans of the injured.

  I stood from my crouched position and surveyed the scene. There was blood everywhere. Bodies lay twisted in unnatural poses, some of their eyes stared open and unblinking. Bile rose in my throat and I ran to the side of the road undamaged by flame and emptied my gorge. “Safi-” The call was so quiet I hardly heard it, but I knew it was Wylan’s voice. Panic seized my heart as I searched the brush for my friend. I found him quickly, lying not far from the edge of the road, an arrow sticking out of his right shoulder. I rushed to him and knelt beside him. The front of his green robe was darkened with his blood. I grabbed the arrow with both hands. “No, stop.” His voice was so weak he was hard to hear. “The moment you pull that out, blood will start to flow even faster. I need you to be ready first. You will have to seal the wound to stop the blood flow. I need you to burn the wound shut. Can you do that?”

  “Wylan, I cannot burn you! You cannot ask me to do this.”

  He grabbed my wrist and stared at me with feverish intensity. “I need you to do this. I will not make it into town for medical attention. Please, do this to save me. I can trust no one else.”

  His words worked like a cold slap. They brought me to my senses. My friend was in trouble and I needed to help. I grabbed hold of the arrow with both hands and he grabbed it with his good hand, adding his strength to mine. On his nod we pulled. I felt the pointed tip rip at his flesh as we pulled it out he grunted in pain. I watched in horror as the hole in his green robe blossomed with fresh crimson. “Safi, do it now.” I blinked and untied the lace at his neck, then pulled back the robe to reveal the jagged hole in his shoulder. I sent the small power into my index finger and pressed it to his flesh. There was a sickening cooking smell and he used his left hand to bite down on the gathered fabric of his robe. It did little to mask his scream of pain, but when I took my finger away, the bleeding had stopped. I wanted to retch into the grass one more time but there was no time for it.

  He tried to sit. “No, Wylan, let me go and get some men to carry you.”

  His eyes grew wide, “No! Just help me to my feet. I will not be carried.” I had no idea how to help him to his feet. He was a very large man and I was the size of a twelve year old boy, but I held onto his left arm and tried to steady him as he attempted to rise. Suddenly Grentu appeared. She positioned herself on the other side of him and even though she was no bigger than I was, between us, we provided the support he needed to pull himself to his knees. He made it to his feet, wobbling. “Put your arm around my waist. I may need to lean on you as we walk to the carriage.” We both did as he instructed and his first step nearly overbalanced us all. He was so unsteady on his feet that I feared he would not make it, but he took slow, uneven shuffling steps and inch by inch we moved closer to the carriage. I opened the door and he looked as if the step up into the vehicle might defeat him. Grentu and I pushed him up into the seat and he sat down heavily, taking deep, gasping breaths. “Now go and find out what has occurred. I need you to be my eyes and ears.”

  I did not want to leave him. All the color had drained from his face and his skin was covered with a fine sheen of sweat that had nothing to do with the heat of the midday sun. “I am not leaving you here like this. You need care.” He opened his mouth to protest, but I interrupted. “No, not this time. You have lost too much blood. Someone must look after you. We can find out more later.”

  His voice was tight as he spoke, “This was no ordinary attack. I need to know what happened and who they think is responsible.”

  “I will go,” Grentu chimed in. Her face was grim and set. “They will not pay no mind to no Invisible girl. I could hear everything they got to say and I will come right back here and tell you. I can do it.”

  I nodded at the girl. “Grentu will be able to hear what we need to know about the situation for now and I will stay here and see to it that you do not kill yourself trying to keep up appearances for anyone who happens to pass by.”

  He looked at me. “I do not have the strength to argue with you.”

  I took his face cloth out of the pocket at his waist. It was relatively blood free. I opened our waterskin to wet it. “That is my point precisely.” Grentu stood near the entrance to our coach. “Grentu, will you please go gather what information you can about who attacked us, how many casualties and injuries, and what the king plans to do now?” She nodded and quickly and quietly slipped away. I looked at the moist cloth in my hand, wishing it was cooler when suddenly I felt warmth radiate into my palm and the cloth felt cooler as if the heat had somehow transferred itself into me. I knew I had done something. I could feel the tingle of my power but I did not know what I had done or how to recreate it. Instead I put the cool cloth on Wylan’s head.

  Grentu returned much more quickly than I expected. “Them soldiers was wearing Zuunlander uniforms but the guard says maybe they was just local men for hire. We got two injured, three countin’ sir there. Most of them Zuunland men is dead. They was lookin’ for you at first ‘cause they wanted you to burn and bury the bodies, but they did not ask me where you was. Now they just droppin the dead in them holes you already made everywhere and lighting torches on the fires that’s already burning out there. We are marchin’ six living prisoners into the capital to see what answers we can get. We ain’t stoppin’ nowhere until we get to the capital so it is going to be a long bumpy night.”

  “Thank you, Grentu,” said Wylan. His speech was slurred with exhaustion. I did not think he was listening. His eyes had been closed the whole time, “There will be a reward in your pay purse at the end of this week to be certain. You may go to your own coach. We will no doubt be preparing to leave soon.”

  Suddenly a bone deep lethargy washed over me. Wylan had warned me about what it would feel like when we had expended too much power. His injury had brought on his lethargy sooner, but mine had finally hit me. I lay back in my seat and shut my eyes.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Safi,” the voice was a harsh whisper, yet the sound of it stabbed into my temples. “Safi, are you awake?” I could only manage a groan in response. White hot pain pounded through my head. “Sit up slowly or you will regret it.” I was in no condition to spring to my feet anyway. I had no choice but to follow the direction. There was only a thin blanket between my body and the hard wooden floor, but at least the floor was solid. I lifted my head just a fraction of an inch and immediately the world began to spin. I set it back down with a groan. “I know, little one, but you must try to sit up. I know what will help you, but you really must rise first. I cannot come to you.” I tried again, the same knives of pain pierced my skull and my back, but I persevered. Luckily the foot of the bed was at my back. I leaned against it panting as if I had just run a sprint across a field. “Rise when you can and pour us some of Uma’s tea.” My lips were dry and cracked and the surface of my tongue felt like sandpaper, so I slowly pulled myself to my feet. The world swam before my eyes and I sank heavily onto the side of the bed. “That’s it. Just take your time.”

  “Am I dying?” I realized suddenly that I had not been sick once since I began my apprenticeship. Granted, I had always enjoyed good health, but I still had endured occasional sniffles and once a mild pox. “I have never felt so horrible.”

  �
�Then you may thank the fortunes that you have been gifted with a hardy constitution. Perhaps it will serve you well now. You are not dying. We are suffering the after effects of excessive magic use. Men who drink to excess suffer similar symptoms though, speaking from experience, I would say this is worse. Can you pour the tea please? It will help.” He gestured with his chin towards the table with the earthenware jug on it. I rose again and poured two cups and handed one to him. He reached across himself and winced with the effort. I had forgotten all about his injured shoulder.

  “I should attend to that.”

  He waved me off. “No, the shoulder can wait. Just sit here next to me and sip the tea slowly. Take it fast and your stomach will rebel.” When the first sweet drops passed my parched lips, I wanted to bolt the drink straight down, but it went down my throat and my stomach gave a lurch. I waited for the liquid to settle before I took the next sip. Wylan stayed quiet until we had both finished our tea and then he had me pour us each a cup of water and drink that down too. After that, we each had a small plain slice of bread. By the time I had finished it all, I still felt miserable and exhausted, but at least the world had stopped spinning and the piercing ache in my head had receded to a dull, persistent pounding.

  Finally, I was ready to check his wounds. I got up and walked, unsteadily, around to his side of the bed and noticed for the first time that he was not wearing his robe. He was in a white linen under shirt that had a large bloodstain radiating out from the hole where the arrow had shot him “Grentu wrestled me out of my robe last night after you collapsed. She was fretting that the stain might have already set in and become impossible to remove from the fabric. I reassured her that I did not expect her to remove the blood, but she was persistent and I was exhausted. She has the robe. Forgive my state of undress.” He was actually blushing though he was fully covered. I could not say I blamed him. I would have felt very naked without my robe too. I did not say anything to him about it. I simply undid the ties at his neck and pulled back the fabric from his shoulder. The wound was nearly the length of my finger and almost as wide. It was an angry pinkish red and slightly swollen, but it did not look infected. I knew the arrow had gone in deep, though thankfully, it had not gone straight through the thick muscle of his shoulder.

  I searched the room for my bag and found it. The bottle I wanted was still inside, Vanwaran spirit water. I grabbed a clean towel and opened the bottle, pouring some onto the cloth. “I am sorry, Wylan. This is going to hurt, but Uma says the spirits will purify the wound and guard against infection.” he looked at the moist towel and nodded skeptically. I pressed it to the raw flesh and he bit his lip against a groan. Then I pulled out my knife and one of my own clean undershirts and cut through the fabric to fashion a bandage for him to keep the wound clean. “If you will wait a moment, I will prepare a sling to hold your injured arm.”

  He shook his head. “No, I cannot use a sling.” His face flushed even more pink. “Because of my impairment, I need to be able to put my stick in my right hand.” I did not think that was a realistic goal. “I need to make a request of you, though I know you are not well. There is an apothecary just three doors down. I sent Grentu there to buy a small bottle of bliss flower essence.” I knew the substance. I had seen men on the streets of Fadaria, driven mad from it. I opened my eyes wide and gazed at him, shocked that he would make such a request. “I know what it sounds like but I have used it before and you know well that I do not suffer from madness over it. If used properly, it is a powerful medicine and it is what I need right now in order to get on my feet. I would not have asked her, but the need is urgent. I must see a friend and find out more information about the raid on our caravan.” My head was still pounding, but I was trying to listen. “She has been gone too long. If you look out of the window and across the street, you should be able to see the apothecary shop. Can you look now and see if she is on her way back?”

  The curtains were mercifully closed, blocking out the worst of the morning sun and I was reluctant to draw them back to let the full force of the light into my sensitive eyes, but Grentu’s safety was more important than my comfort so I shuffled to the window and pulled back the drape. The street was in shade with tall buildings blocking out the brightest rays, but it still took a while for my eyes to adjust. I saw her immediately. She was standing against a wall not far from the shop and she was surrounded by four large boys.

  “She is there and she is in danger.” My own discomfort was almost forgotten, but I turned too quickly from the window and the world began to spin again. I walked slowly to the door. “I must go to her.” Wylan opened his mouth, but I closed the door before he could speak. I did not want to hear it if he planned to stop me.

  The sun seemed much too bright as I exited the inn and I wanted to close my eyes and retreat into the dimness once again, but I thought of the frightened and cowering figure of our sweet servant and I set my resolve. I hugged the wall as I walked in order to keep my balance. Every step was an exhausting, agonizing ordeal, but every step also brought me closer to my goal so I kept moving forward.

  Back home, I had gotten used to my robe garnering a certain amount of attention from people around the city. The bright color and royal seal marked me as a mage and people often had a reaction when they saw me. Sometimes reactions were positive and sometimes they were negative, but I had never faced outright hostility from my fellow countrymen. Geronia City was different. The boys who had been harassing Grentu turned their attention to me the moment they saw me. “Well what do we have here? It looks like we have one of those magical fairies from the west.”

  I looked into Grentu’s tear stained face. “Sir, why did you come? You got to go back to your room. You ain’t well.”

  The laughter got even louder. “Dear God, magic man! Do you know this thing? Maybe magic is real. Did you conjure this goblin to protect you? It might just be ugly enough to work!”

  Every word they spoke was like a dagger in my temples. I replied in measured even tones. “I do not wish to hurt you, but I only have the patience to ask once. Please let us pass peacefully or I will stop you painfully.”

  The largest youth walked towards me, bumping his chest into mine. “Just what is it you plan to do about it, little man? This is not fairyland. Here we believe in reality and we believe in fists.” I watched out of the corner of my eye as his fist moved. Before he could manage to lift it into position in order to swing it, I sent a small stream of fire through my finger, singeing his knuckles until they were red and raw. He cried out. I sent heat into my fists and drove my right one into the center of his face as hard as I could. My knuckles stung from the blow. One of his friends advanced, though the other two seemed to be wisely hanging back. I slapped the cohort on the cheek with all my strength plus a generous amount of heat and watched as a deep red, hand shaped mark blossomed on his face.

  I called fire into the palm of my hand and stared into each of their eyes. “The next time you choose to mock, think for a moment what it might be like to be in her shoes. Do not cross me again or I will make sure you find out.” They backed away from me with wide eyed terror I lifted my hand as if I intended to throw the fireball, and they turned and fled.

  The power fled me and my vision blurred momentarily as the world swam crazily. I leaned myself against a wall and looked for Grentu. She stood, staring at me in terror, her shocked expression pulling on the ruined half of her face. I was momentarily confused, then I realized what I had done. I was threatening to throw fire at faces, not understanding how traumatic the sight might be for her. I wanted to reach out to her, to explain but I feared if I opened my mouth I would vomit up the meager breakfast that I was just managing to hold down.

  The shop was just a few feet away. We were almost there but every time I tried to push away from the wall I swayed dangerously. I was not going to make it back to the inn and I was not going to make it into the store. All I could do was lean on the wall with my eyes closed and concentrate on not passing out. Sud
denly I felt a strong arm around my waist. Grentu was pressed in close. I was pitifully grateful. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and leaned in. I did not care if she felt the shape of my body, I did not care if she felt the binding cloth on my chest. I just needed the support.

  I did not trust myself to speak inside the store. Grentu spoke to the man because there were no Invisibles in Geronia. He served her without question and when she handed him the coins from my purse, he looked at me pointedly and remarked. “I think perhaps your master has had enough bliss flower for today.”

  Grentu did not bother to explain, she merely answered, “Yes, sir.” The trip back to the inn took significantly longer than the trip there. I stumbled several times and Grentu’s strong arms caught me each time. At last we made it back indoors and the normally inviting smell of roasting meat made my stomach roil. We rushed up the stairs and back to the room where Wylan waited.

  I was near collapsing with exhaustion and pain, but I heard his deep voice. “What has happened?”

  “Some tough boys was getting rough with us. Master Safi had to stop them and he did not have no other way but magic.”

  “Sweet merciful gods, please put him on the bed, Grentu. This is no time to stand on ceremony.” She nearly had to drag me into the room and sit me on the edge of the bed. “Did you get the medicine?”