Embers

by Ronie Kendig

  A second later, Thiel whooshed down, maneuvering as if she’d been here before. As if she knew this cave. “Dawn comes early, so sleep.” She knelt in a corner and reached beneath a stone ledge. She tugged out a pack and grinned.

  “You’ve been here before.” It seemed dumb to state the obvious, but Haegan couldn’t not mention it.

  “The first time I left the Ematahri, I camped here for a few days.”

  “And met me.” Tokar grinned. “The cave is on the path from Hetaera. If you know where it is . . .”

  “Then are we at risk of being discovered?”

  Thiel tugged the pack of supplies to the side. “Not at this hour. Those who would seek shelter would’ve done so hours ago.” After unfolding a twine-wrapped package, she handed out jerky.

  “Why’d you leave this?” Haegan accepted the food.

  “I didn’t. Well, not this exactly. It’s a custom to leave provisions, a welcome gift for those hard on their luck.”

  “But if we take it . . .”

  She shrugged. “We leave some. It’s a tradition.”

  “Some say if you don’t,” Tokar said, “the mountain won’t let you pass.”

  “Deliverer!” Laertes’s voice filled with awe. “What if he’s tracking us?”

  “Oh, leave off!” Tokar gave him a playful shove. “You and your creatures and stalkers. I thought you’d dropped it.”

  “I saw him!”

  “Enough. Rest. We leave whether you have slept or not,” Thiel said.

  It was enough motivation for Haegan to curl onto his side, facing the stone wall. After too many years spent in a tower aching to be free, he suddenly yearned for that solitude. Needed it. There were too many faces and voices in the Ematahri camp. Too many voices taunting him in his dreams. A forbidding shadow filled his mind. Though the shadowy form was pitch black, Haegan remembered the hand that had reached from the ebony void and touched him.

  A slight breeze stirred near his legs. He peered down the length of his body. Thiel had positioned herself against the wall by his boots. She was looking down, then at him as she extended her hand. “You didn’t eat.”

  As if he’d trust her to feed him anything ever again. “Not hungry.”

  “I beg your mercy,” she whispered, lowering her head again.

  “Why’d you give me the pill? Were you trying to poison me?”

  “No!” She sighed, then shifted, moving around him so that she sat by his head. “Haegan, you have a gift that—”

  “I have no gift!” He sat up, irritated. “Kaelyria has the gift.” He adjusted, looking away from her. Away from the truth of his existence. “I am cursed. Have been since someone poisoned me as a boy.” His upbringing and training forbade him from speaking his full mind. It would be rude. “Why did you give me the pill?”

  “I know Cadeif and his people. Their laws. I knew if they believed you killed one of their clan, the only price they would accept was a blood price.”

  “My blood.”

  She nodded. “And mine, since I claimed Kedardokith. And they are . . . I see them as my people as much as I do my own birth family.” With a sigh, she folded her arms. “The Ematahri are . . . Most people do not understand their ways. I knew things would grow . . . tense.” Rolling her neck toward him, she once again met his gaze. “And your anger arouses whatever is in you, the light. And people die. I could not let that happen. Not to Cadeif or the others.”

  It ate at him that she had a fondness for this leader of the ravagers who apparently had quite a few laws that he’d broken. “You believe I killed the warriors.”

  Sadness clung to her brown eyes. “I watched you kill them, Haegan. With . . . words.” She shook her head. “I cannot explain it, but you did.”

  Guilt snapped his head down. “No.” He ground his teeth. “You are wrong. It . . . I couldn’t.” He shook his head. “If you believe I did this, and if you truly see the Ematahri as your own people, then it makes sense that you tried to kill me.” It was hard to accept. Bitterly hard. And it crushed him that she wanted him dead.

  “I’ve never sought your life,” Thiel said, her words hard. “I don’t know if the pill reacted with something in you, or if the healer intentionally created a deadly concoction, but I would never try to kill you. I asked her for something to make you sleep. That’s all.”

  “Why?” He turned to her. “Why not kill me? You clearly have a past with the archon. He said you were his, so why would you not want to kill me?” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I would!”

  She touched his arm. “Shh, the others.”

  Haegan tamped down his frustration and confusion. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I just want to go lie in that stupid bed in the tower and listen to the droning of an old accelerant.” With a snort, he drew his legs up. “Every night, I wished to be free of that tower and Gwogh’s endless lectures. Now, I’d give my life to be back there. To have things as they were.”

  “Would you?” Her soft question pulled at him. “There are times I wish I was with my family, if I am truthful.” She leaned her head back against the stone. “I wish I . . .”

  Haegan watched her, waiting for Thiel to finish. Studying the lines of her face, the soft caress of the torchlight making her skin appear like honey. Beneath the stroke of the flame, her brown eyes were once more amber. Even with her impish haircut, Kiethiel was beautiful. “You wish what?” He wanted to hear her longings. Her desires.

  She flinched and straightened, sighing. “Nothing.” She adjusted again. “You should rest.”

  Haegan thought of his dreams, of the dark form . . . touching him . . . the howling of some great wind or beast. What is happening to me? He looked at his hands, turning them over. Thiel had said they glowed. His palms looked normal. Lines etched into the soft flesh like anyone else’s.

  Anger. She’d seen it when he’d been angry.

  And when he felt those he cared about were in danger.

  I have killed.

  He coiled his hands into fists and swallowed hard. What was happening to him? Why had Abiassa allowed this? He just wanted to go home. To Kaelyria. His only friend these last ten years. But if he didn’t get to the waterfalls . . .

  A light touch rested on his hands. Haegan blinked and found Thiel’s delicate fingers on his. “We’ll figure it out.” Amber eyes came to his. “Together.”

  A dribbling noise followed by a tink-tink-tink seemed to scream through the cave.

  “Oh, are we going to talk about the obvious?” Tokar asked. “How he—”

  “Shh!” Thiel hopped to her feet. “Someone’s outside. “Douse the torch.”

  “Why—”

  “Do it!” She moved toward the incline that had swept them into the cave.

  A dull light broke through.

  A man tumbled down the ramp, arms and legs akimbo. “Augh!” He flopped at Thiel’s feet like a fish out of water. She dropped on him without hesitation. To Haegan’s surprise, the torchlight flared against the blade of a dagger Thiel held to the intruder’s throat. Her knee pressed to his chest.

  Tokar came forward with sword and torch.

  “Wait wait wait!” Messy black hair draped over the man’s face as he held up his hands. “I mean no harm to any of you.”

  “What are you doing here?” Thiel demanded.

  “I . . .” Hesitation grasped at the air as the man took in the group. “I came to warn you.”

  Jaw jutted, Thiel leaned down, applying pressure to blade. “How did you know we were here?”

  “Warn us about what?” Tokar asked.

  The man froze, his chin tilted up and away from her dagger. “Jujak.” He gave a breathy laugh. “Easier to talk without fearing I’ll slit my own throat.”

  Thiel glared and lifted the blade—only a fraction. “How did you know we were here?”

  “I saw you on the path, watched you hide here.”

  “Nobody saw us,” Thiel growled.

  “Right,” the man said. “I ju
st randomly figured out five people were hiding in a cave that I didn’t know existed nearly a league outside Hetaera proper.”

  “Let him up.” Haegan stood over the man, taking in the stringy black hair, the clothes that didn’t fit. He’d tumbled into the cave . . .

  “An’ what—let him rip our hearts out?” Laertes asked.

  Haegan extended a hand and helped the man to his feet. Watched as he brushed himself off. “You made a lot of noise out there.” Too much noise for someone slinking around. He’d tried to warn them of his approach.

  Wary brown eyes came to his. Then flicked away.

  “Amazing fall through a hole without getting injured.”

  The man sighed, accepting defeat. “I didn’t want to advertise your location but also didn’t want to get killed.”

  Haegan nodded. “You have a name?”

  “Do you?”

  Arm extended, Haegan offered his hand. “Rigar.”

  Clapping his forearm, the man gave a firm shake. “Drracien.”

  “Where are you from, Drracien?”

  “Hold up—this ain’t no meet and greetin’. He’s trouble right there. Look at his boots!” Laertes stabbed a finger at the man’s leather footwear. “Them right there are expensive. If he ain’t stole ’em, then I say he’s working with the Jujak, not warning us against them.”

  “Laertes is right,” Tokar said. “You’re not adding up.”

  Drracien held up his hands. “Fair enough. I’m running from something, just like you.” He shrugged. “But I am no danger. And yes—there is a unit of Jujak within a half league of this cave.”

  “Are you wanted by the law?” Haegan asked.

  Drracien met his gaze. Breathed. “No.”

  But he was wanted by someone else?

  “I only seek shelter,” Drracien said as his gaze lingered on Thiel—too long for Haegan’s comfort. “And some company. That’s all.”

  Something sparked in her eyes. “Sorry, not interested. Back out the hole you go,” she snapped, pointing to the incline.

  “I can help you.”

  Arms folded, Thiel flared her nostrils. “No.”

  Haegan asked, “How?”

  Drracien held her gaze again—far too long and too hood-eyed. Haegan shifted and cleared his throat as he broke the newcomer’s line of sight.

  The man smirked. Swept a hand toward Tokar. The torch flickered then extinguished.

  “Hey!” Tokar complained.

  Soft and dull, a flame grew . . . directly in front of Thiel, the effect bathing her cheeks in a warm hue. So beautiful. But where was the flame coming from?

  She gasped and stepped back. But thumped into Drracien, who had somehow moved behind her, his arm extended around her. The glow emanated from him!

  “Incipient!” Tokar growled.

  Something in Drracien’s expression darkened. He held out his right hand toward Tokar, who jumped and rubbed his backside. “I am no incipient.”

  Haegan’s thoughts pulsed with the excitement of what had happened. “But you can wield the Flames.”

  “As you see.” Drracien moved away from Thiel. “And I’d say your group could use some protection.”

  “Flames are designed not for thuggery, but for the Pro—”

  “—tection of Abiassa’s children and the dissemination of Her will.” Waving a hand, Drracien sighed heavily. “Would you have me recite the First Year’s Tenets, the Guidings of Wielding, or the Creed of Hetaera the First, who outlawed use of the Flames by anyone other than an officially trained accelerant?” His dark brows wagged beneath a thick mop of hair. He turned a circle and held out his hands. “Or would you challenge me?”

  “Enough!” Thiel stomped forward, her shoulders squared and the dagger still in hand. “You pushed your way into our shelter. It is not your place to mock us or make demands.”

  Though he looked and behaved older, as Drracien smiled at Thiel, it became clear that he was barely a man. No more than twenty or so cycles. And smart enough to recognize when he was not the one in control. Drracien inclined his head toward Thiel. “Right you are, mi’lady.” He held out his hands again.

  Haegan stepped away.

  Drracien snorted. “How many times must I say I mean you no harm?”

  “Many more times, accelerant.” Thiel’s eyes flared with anger. “Until we are satisfied.”

  He smiled. Broadly. “Then I am to stay. How can I satisfy you if I must leave?”

  Would she allow him to remain with them? And for how long? Something in Haegan knotted at the thought of this accelerant moving in. He was too much like his father—handsome, smooth-spoken, powerful. Besides, his ability to wield could expose them.

  Yet, when Thiel glided toward Haegan, holding his gaze, he felt sweet relief. And maybe a little smug satisfaction that she placed herself with him and not the newcomer. “On a condition.”

  “Name it.”

  “Supplies.” Thiel folded her arms. “We ran out of most everything two days ago.”

  Laughing, Drracien sat against the incline and held his arms out. “As you see, I am empty handed, so I fail you already, mi’lady.”

  “Get supplies for us.”

  His eyebrows winged up beneath the fringe of dark hair. “And what makes you think I can get supplies for you?”

  “The very boots that betrayed you. They are worn, but not from an arduous journey across the territories.” Thiel glanced at Haegan. “The boots are from a cobbler in Hetaera. I recognized the mark on your sole when you fell. Your clothes are not your own—the pants too short. The shirt too tight. I’d suggest you’ve only recently found yourself in this situation and those clothes.”

  He pushed to his feet. “Perhaps my muscles are simply too large for the tunic.”

  “Your ego too large for it, more like,” Tokar muttered.

  “Supplies.” Her insistence flared as she stood with her back to Haegan and arms crossed. “Find us enough supplies to make it to the Great Falls and you can remain.”

  “Falls!” Drracien coughed. “You jest. The routes are littered with disease-riddled believers, refugees, but more importantly—Jujak!”

  Haegan shot a nervous look at the others but said nothing, unwilling to give away his secret.

  “Remember, Drracien,” Thiel said. “You wanted to be with us. Not the other way around. We don’t need you.”

  “Apparently you do,” he countered. When she opened her mouth, he held up a hand. “I’ll go. But I want him”—he stabbed a finger toward Haegan—“to come with me.”

  “No,” Haegan said.

  “Why would you want him?” Tokar asked. “He’s—”

  “Because mi’lady looks to him when she speaks, and that speaks of his importance. I want reassurance that when I return you’ll be here.” He grinned. “I’d wager she won’t leave without him.”

  “Why do you want to be with us? What’s in it for you?” Praegur asked.

  “Let’s just say one man is missed in a crowd.”

  “So, you are hiding,” Haegan said.

  Dark eyes probed him. “Aren’t we all?”

  “Rigar’s not going with you,” Thiel said with finality.

  “Him, or no supplies.” Drracien crossed his arms over his chest. “I can get the supplies and be back in an hour, but I can’t carry them on my own. And I want him.”

  “No.”

  “I’ll go.”

  Thiel tucked her chin, heaving a frustrated sigh. “I would talk to you.” She arched an eyebrow at him, motioning him toward the back of the cave. Back to the others, she lowered her head as Haegan inched between her and the cave wall. “We don’t know him.”

  “No,” Haegan said, eyeing the newcomer. “But he’s skilled.”

  “Too skilled. I find it highly suspect that he singled you out. What if he’s working with the Jujak? What if they hired him to lure you into the open? He’s an accelerant, just like your father.”

  Haegan snapped his gaze back to her. “Yes,
exactly. If his goal was to deliver me to the Jujak, he could spark me and knock me out. Knock us all out.” With a shake of his head, he watched the man, who stared back unabashedly. “I don’t know his game, but it’s not about any of us.”

  “You can’t know that.”

  “Mayhap, but neither can we know he has ill intent.” Haegan smiled. “Be at peace, Thiel. We’ll be in and out.”

  “What if someone recognizes you in the city?”

  At that he snorted a laugh. “The crippled son of the Fire King?” he whispered. “Nobody even knows what I look like. I was put in the tower and forgotten.” Though he patted her shoulder, Haegan found little comfort in his own words. And he didn’t like her scowl. Because Thiel had a great mind for strategy and predicting trouble. “What’s wrong?”

  She shifted on her feet. “I’m not supposed to leave you.”

  He blinked. “Why? Who says you can’t?”

  She touched her forehead. “That’s not—I meant—it’s dangerous!”

  “Hey, lovebirds.”

  Haegan angled back toward the others, feeling the heat of embarrassment rising up his neck.

  “Daylight’s coming and with it, plenty of elite fighters.”

  Thiel widened her eyes as if to say, “See?”

  “Rest easy, Thiel. It’s the only way to get what we need. All will be well,” Haegan said to her, then started forward. “Let’s hurry.”

  28

  Making his way through the city felt a lot like drowning in a sea of people. A life of hiding from the citizenry and now an existence spent on a fuse, hunters breathing down his neck, left Haegan with little hope of surviving the day and crowds, let alone making it to the Great Falls. But he moved as casually as he could muster in the wake of the all-too-at-ease Drracien. In the four hours since entering the city, the accelerant had procured blankets, food items, and had a hint on the loan of horses—if they could find a certain gambler with a debt.

  “You know the city and her people well,” Haegan muttered as they pressed through a passel of people in a narrow alley.

  Drracien smiled and patted someone on the shoulder but did not respond to Haegan’s comment. They banked right, and a stench that reminded Haegan of the boarbeast muarshtait coiled around his nose. A few more steps, and he spotted a small pen of pigs snorting and squealing as their owner bargained with a man in a white apron who stood in front of a shop window boasting hams, sausages, even a side of beef. Drracien edged over to the shop and raised a hand. The burly butcher acknowledged him, and the accelerant lifted a bundle of jerky hanging on a pole. Without a word, he nodded and kept moving.