The Fire Within (The Fire of The Soul Series)

by Racquel Kechagias

  "Go home to your loved ones, there is little time left before the war really begins," I say, my eyes hardening with determination as a plan enters into my mind. Victor would be angry, hateful towards anything that put me in danger, but if I were to succeed than it would all be worth it, for her at least.

  When none of them makes a move I add "You better move quickly soldiers, as that was an order," Scott and Edgar jump to their feet, unwilling to disappoint their leader. Jocelyn refuses to move, and I cannot blame her, for selflessly I want her to be safe, but if I were to be selfish I'd wish for her to stay by my side.

  "Joyce you better go too, where I'm going it isn't safe," I say after a while. Scott and Edgar are already riding away on Jet and Star. Jocelyn places her hand on my arm, her amber eyes seeking mine, wanting my attention.

  "Do you remember what I said, when I first joined your ranks?" She asks, her amber eyes swimming with her emotions. I do not answer her, but I simply nod my head in recognition of her question.

  "I told you, that I would follow you to the ends of the earth, if that was where you lead me Kayden," Jocelyn says, her eyes burning with a fire that I know well; A passion that drives her in all of her actions.

  "You can't come with my Joyce. Where I'm going, it's dangerous. You ought to run, now, while you still have the chance," I say, ignoring every emotion within me, every emotion that tells me to hold onto her, to keep her close. I am able to accept the fact that if I have to burn, at least she would be safe, if she came with me than she would burn also.

  Her petite hand flies up and places itself on my chest, over my heart. I look down into those amber eyes, that burn with anger but can hold all-consuming love as well. "I know where you’re going, the why evades me still but Kayden, I don't care. I'm coming with you and there is nothing that you can say that will change my mind." There is no point in trying to refuse her, not now, not ever. Pulling her into my arms, I place a soft kiss on her lips, which grows and burns ever brighter as it lasts; she is all I need. We may both burn, but at least we will be together to the very end, that is more than I could ever ask for.

  Chapter 16 – Antadovian Secrets

  Shade's P.O.V

  When I was a boy I had learnt a lot of things, the minor things like learning how to tie your shoes or how to dress yourself never really change, and so you don't ever really forget them, but the major things such as morals and beliefs and religion, well after I had died a lot of those things had died with me. When I had awoken from my transformation, when I had opened my eyes, and realized that I was no longer human, that in fact I had been turned into a vampire well a lot of what I had believed had changed as well. I was no longer able to live with my family. I could remember their screams, their terror as if it were playing out in front of me. I had been cursed and condemned, and finally after searching and searching for a place where I would not be unwelcome, I stumbled upon the opening to the Underworld, and from there I had turned from being an outcast, a dead man walking among the living, to an 'elevated' human walking among the supernatural. I searched for a long time for a place to make my own, and it was only by the grace of God - if only I could speak the word! - had Kayden found me.

  When Kayden found me, I had been starving, a wild creature so far gone, and relying on my animal instincts that I was barely even human. For some unknown reason, he saw past the atrocity, and lent me a hand, one that I took a bite of when he had offered it to me. Of course, being Kayden, he simply laughed it off. Kayden took me back to Victor's kingdom, and helped me become human again, or at the least civilized. He taught me how to fight, to protect myself in this world that I had only just been introduced to. It was because of Kayden and his kindness and generosity that I survived for this long, and now I was on my way to a place that I had been banned from and in all possibility I was riding, on my grey stallion Fog, toward my death.

  Along for the ride are Nate, Charlton and Mason. They aren't brainless soldiers, they have wives and children, they each have a family, something that they could always belong to, and I was jealous of them because of it. I couldn't begrudge them of it, but a family was something that I had not been part of for a long time, and it was hard at times, to see them with their wives and not feel the zealous zap of jealousy.

  The ride so far from Victor's kingdom to Antadovia, the Fae kingdom, was long and quite boring as we had nothing to see or do for hours. We are only just approaching the Suzae Ruins, when we notice the dark cloud of smoke billowing up toward the heavens. I pull Fog into a slow trot as we approach the ancient rubble buildings and Nate, Charlton and Mason follow suit. We approach the Ruins slowly, prepared to fight if we have to.

  We stand outside of the Ruins for a while, looking into the camp. As far as I can tell there are only three of them, but you can never be sure. As we get closer I can tell that they aren't the same, that they are of different race, and thus they are, for lack of a better term, Nomads. One appears to be a Warlock, from the spiked demon horns that are on the top of his head. The other two could be anything, and we aren't prepared to attack if one of them turned out to be a Skin-walker. I feel something rubbing against my legs, and when I look down I could see a giant black dog, with vicious sharp teeth and intelligent yellow eyes. When I look down at it, it growls viciously at me, and before my eyes it changes from the shape of a dog to that of a man. The man before me is tall, but you can clearly tell that he has spent his days labouring underneath the sun. His eyes are mismatched, one being blue and the other yellow. This is the trait of a Shape-shifter. His black hair hung in his eyes.

  "Emery! Sage!" The man yells and I can hear the shouts of his friends echo back to us. I realize then that we have been discovered, and that Nate, Charlton and Mason are waiting to copy my every move, whether it is to fight or flee, they are prepared for their orders. What I am not prepared for, though, is to encounter something like this. The man's friends are quickly approaching, and there is little time to do anything before they arrive.

  "What is it Sachi? What did you find?" The other male says, and I turn my eyes to Sachi's left on which side the other man, Emery, is coming from.

  "What Emery means to say is who did you find?" The woman, who must be Sage, says. She has golden hair and azure eyes that sparkle like the ocean in the soft afternoon light. I wonder where I've seen those eyes before, but I cannot place them though they seem so familiar.

  "Vampires, one being a fledgling; all male," Sachi says, to his friends and I realize that he had sniffed out what we were while he had been shifted. I shake my head clear from the dizzy spell Sachi had unknowingly placed on me.

  "We are not here to harm you, Nomads. We are only just passing through, on our way to Antadova," I say softly, desperately trying to ease the tension. Sachi's mismatched eyes turn toward me again, piercing me as they try to comprehend why I am speaking, let alone why I am here.

  "They may seem dangerous Sachi, but they're auras tell me otherwise. Please friends, join us in our camp." Emery, the warlock with the sharp pointy demon horns, says to us, his black eyes glinting dangerously in the dim afternoon light. We join them in their camp, Nate and Mason setting up their tent as Charlton and I set up our own tent. In the corner of my eye, I can see Emery and Sachi talking quietly behind us, their eyes darting over to watch us. I can feel a cold shiver crawling up my spine, as if they are plotting ways to deceive us, to draw us in and torture us slowly, their cold laughter echoing in my mind. I have to remind myself, as I turn away from them, that we had only met them, and that none of them are the skin-walkers.

  "So what do you think of them?" Charlton asks, as he begins to hammer in one of the pegs, his eyes are focused on the task, and I grab the other hammer and mimic his actions.

  "I don't know, they give me a bad feeling though. I keep thinking that they are plotting ways to torture us, but I've never been able to trust strangers completely," I reply, feeling the hammer thrumming in my hands. I can feel his eyes on me and I look up quickly, our eyes connecting
for just a moment. His eyes fall back to his task as he moves on to the next peg.

  "Trust never really was your strong hold. I remember when we first met. How Kayden got me to train you, you were a weak little thing, hardly had any muscle on you, and well look at you now, leading a group of warriors to meet a woman who despises you on the order of our King," Charlton says, I can see the tiredness in his features, how truly old he is despite how young he appears.

  "Well when we first met I had just been brought out of a rather barbaric state, and not to long before that I had been murdered. It's kind of hard to trust people when you end up on the wrong side of a knife," I reply honestly, unable to keep the bitter tone out of my voice. The night of my death wasn't one of my favourite topics, it wasn't something that I liked to think of or discuss, and remembering it was even less enjoyable.

  "You have come a long way since then Shade. However, just be careful of what thoughts you allow to creep into your mind, the thoughts that we allow to mislead us are the most dangerous," He says, and I can hear the caution in his voice, and I feel deflated because somehow I've managed to disappoint this man, whose been more father-like to me than my own father, who was the same man to turn his blade on me.

  We finish setting up the tent in silence, but I can feel his disappointment in me as well as the eyes of the nomads on us. Charlton and I seem to be the centre of everyone's attention, and it makes his disappointment burn deeper within me. I sense Nate and Mason moving to unpack their loads from their horses, and Charlton goes and does the same for us. With nothing to do, I make my way over to the nomads, and sit down with them, caution and mistrust burning through my veins, as their conversation quiets as I approach them.

  "Welcome, I am Emery, one of the few remaining warlocks." Emery, the warlock, introduces himself to us once Nate, Charlton and Mason join us at the fire. "The gentleman to my left is Sachi, he is a shape-shifter, and to my right is Sage, a born vampire. Together we are the Cantu Nomads," Emery says the soft smile on his lips look sinister in the firelight. I am already feeling the distrust racing through my veins, bringing every cell of my body to life as it burns through-out my body. Charlton has an easy going smile on his face, and it makes him look young and innocent, a boy who could be deceived easily, but I know the knowledge and wisdom of his years that hide underneath his young appearance, and I wondered if he feels the uneasiness within me.

  Speaking up I introduce my team and explain why we are passing through the in-between areas of the kingdoms. "It is nice to meet you Emery, Sachi and Sage. My name is Shade and I am the leader of my group here. On my left is Charlton and on my near right is Mason and on my far right is Nate. We have been ordered to enter into Antadovia to recruit. I'm not sure if you're aware of the problem that lives within our society, the disease which affects us all?" When I'm met by nothing but silence, I breathe a heavy sigh. "I'm talking about the Skin-walkers. I have been sent by King Menédez of the Vampires to recruit the Fae, as King Menédez has declared war upon the Skin-walkers." There is a look of seriousness on Emery's face, his black eyes looking dead in the fire light, but I can tell that he is taking in my words with a deep consideration.

  "We are aware of the dark deeds that the Skin-walkers do, kidnapping, torturing, things that make them despicable, but we cannot join you in your quest. I personally cannot join you for the sole reason that being one of the last with magical blood I cannot afford to let my kind die, not even for the benefit of my world. I apologize deeply Shade, and I wish you all well." I nod my head in understanding, the slow deep bow that is custom for all of us. He mimics my action, and light conversation and laughter echoes around the campfire as we eat our late dinner.

  It isn't until Charlton and I are lying down in our tent, the dim candle-light snuffed out so sleep doesn't evade us that Charlton speaks up. "What you did tonight Shade, speaking with the voice of a leader - who doesn't fear the unknown, and doesn't distrust strangers - I was proud of you, of your strength and courage. You embodied the true meaning of a leader," He says, his voice is soft so that his voice does not travel far, but I can hear his sincerity in his words, even though there is nothing for me to see.

  "Thank you, you know how much that means to me," I whisper sleepily as my eyes slide shut. Sleep is elusive for a while, and there are times where I wake up in the night, whether from my distrustful nature toward the Cantu Nomads, or from the nightmares from my human life I cannot say, but it's there haunting me, keeping me from truly entering into the world of dreams.

  The time with the Cantu nomads passes quickly; I still do not trust them even though they try their hardest to make it easier for me, when we reach the Black Mountains our time with the Cantu nomads’ ends.

  "We wish you well warriors of the Underworld, May the blessing of the Lasting Ladies and Lords stay with you on your quest. Sage, Sachi and I are going on to the Black Mountains where it is safe for people like us, nomads who have no allegiance to any Kingdom," Emery says before walking away from us, Sachi does not say a word and his iciness toward us does not disperse as he leaves our side.

  Sage does not seem as eager to leave us, and Mason's eyes are filled with sorrow as he looks at Sage. "If I could join you I would, but I cannot depart from my arrangement with Emery. Perhaps I will see you all again someday. Goodbye Shade, Nate, Charlton," Sage says before leaving our side, Mason follows her for a moment, and we turn away from them, allowing them a moment of privacy. When Mason returns his eyes are wet with un-shed tears. The shining, bright lights of Antadova shimmer in the air surrounding the Kingdom. I urge the others on, knowing that we can arrive before dark if we leave now.

  The lights are brighter now, though that may have to do with the fact that we are standing right outside of the city. The lights are beyond blinding, and if we were human, with human eyes and weaknesses, we would have not been able seen a thing. There is no way for us to go forward. There is a clear glass surrounding Antadova, acting as a barrier for unwanted guests. There is only one entrance into Antadova, and that is through the front gates. I know that we are bound to get caught, and seeing that I am more unwanted in Antadova then anyone else. I know that this is where I must depart, where I must split from the men that Victor sent me here with.

  "Charlton, it was good knowing you. If I escape here I will meet up with you again, but this is where I must send you all home, and I mean all of you. Charlton, you of all people know why I probably won't return from here." I can see the sorrow in Charlton's eyes, and in Mason and Nate's eyes. I can see that they don't want to split up, but I refuse to look in their eyes for too long. I take a few paces away from them to get up onto Fog, and I can hear one pair of footsteps following behind me. A hand on my shoulder makes me turn, and I see that Charlton is the one who has followed me.

  "No Shade, I forbid you to go in there alone. King Menédez sent us here with you so that you will be protected. He wouldn't want it this way," Charlton says, his anger rising up, and I feel the lash of it as if he had physically hit me.

  "Victor would understand why I am sending you all home, and with that understanding he would respect my wishes. I am an outlaw here, the most hated man here. If you are seen with me then you will be classified as I am. I cannot allow you to come with me. If I must tie you down myself to keep you here, than that is what I will do. Do not force me to do that to you Charlton," I say taking a few more paces away from the man that has been like a father to me. His hand catches my shoulder lightly, and I swing around, my fist flying towards his face. Charlton falls to the ground, a red blotch on his left cheek from where my fist had hit.

  "Do not follow me Charlton, you will regret it," I say, before I allow Fog to carry me away. It is a swift, quick journey to the front entrance of Antadova, and I can feel my stomach twisting up into knots, at the thought of seeing Emma-Leah again.

  I don't get very far into Antadova before I'm recognized - as a felon - and arrested. The faces I pass in the streets I don't recognize, a lot of them have been styl
ed in ways that to most people would be bizarre. Some of them have green skin - like the forest vampires - some have purple, blue, red, earthly colours that represent their connection with the earth. Some have clawed fingers, others have horns or different shaped eyes. However, despite their flaws, despite the fact that they have bizarre qualities to them, all of them are stunningly beautiful, so beautiful that it makes your heart clench, that makes a normal person feel inadequate standing beside them. The most beautiful of them all is the Queen, Emma-Leah, with her fiery red hair that falls to her waist, her light gold skin glowing with an inner light, her azure eyes - with flecks of silver - like that of a cat. She above all of these beautiful creatures is the most beautiful, and I fell in love with her the first moment I had laid eyes upon her.

  There is not point in begging to be released, and to try and bribe them would be a deadly mistake, so I allow them to drag me through the streets, to the dungeons where I know I am destined to go. If Charlton, Nate and Mason were with us I would have tried to bribe the soldiers to let them go, to take me and to spare them, but this is the reason that I did not allow them to enter the city with me, the reason why I sent them home, because I could not afford to risk their lives, when bribery is such a deadly crime.

  I receive a blow to the head, why they do this I cannot deduce. Maybe it's to eliminate my knowledge of the castles layout, or to make it easier for them to carry me around, but I'm out like a light before I know it, as my body slumps to the ground from the sheer force of gravity.

  When I wake up I find myself in the mouldy, damp dungeons. There is the smell of sick and human waste, and to top it off the smell of rotting corpses, the maggot-eaten flesh still clinging to the bodies. There is a body in the corner of the cell, and there is little light falling into the damp space, but it illuminates his gold cat eyes which watch me with a deep, focused intensity. I do not know his crimes, or why he is being punished, but I know that he is here, aware of everything with his intelligence burning brightly behind his eyes. He doesn't say anything, and I do not say anything in return. I have no idea how much time passes while I'm in the dungeon, it could have been hours, days or weeks, I will never know, and whatever time passes I know I will never regain.