Stroke The Flame

by Elizabeth Briggs

  We were still too far from the platform and I worried we’d be too late, but then Reven raised his hand and water suddenly began to fall from the sky over the prisoners. If I didn’t know better I’d think rain was pouring down, even if it was isolated to one location.

  As the pyre’s flames were doused, the General scowled. “Curse this weather,” he said, as he drew his sword. “We’ll have to deal with these traitors another way.”

  As the other guards readied their weapons, Slade let out a low growl, and then the ground beneath the platform began to shake. I held onto his arm to remain steady, while people around us screamed and tried to flee from the sudden earthquake.

  The soldiers and the prisoners both crumpled to their feet as the wooden platform broke apart with a huge crack and collapsed to the ground. The four of us rushed into the broken wood, trying not to injure ourselves on the splintered pieces. The prisoners were all still tied to their stakes and had landed at awkward angles, but a quick glance showed they were still alive.

  Auric and I began freeing the prisoners, using our swords to cut through their bindings, while Slade and Reven guarded our backs as the soldiers got to their feet. The General tried to stand as well, but Auric knocked him back with a strong blast of air.

  “Come with us!” I shouted to the prisoners, once they were free. I counted twelve of them total, some a little scorched and others bruised or cut, but alive. They stumbled after me off the ruined platform, looking dazed and scared, but at least they kept moving. Auric, Reven, and Slade formed a circle around us, fighting off the soldiers who tried to attack us.

  The crowd had thinned between the fire and the earthquake, and those few people who were left didn’t stop us as we pushed through them. I led the prisoners toward the shop Jasin had pointed out, hoping we were going in the right direction, especially since more soldiers were starting to rush after us.

  I spotted Jasin on the corner of the street ahead of us and nearly cried out with relief that he was safe. He waved us forward and called out, “Hurry!”

  Jasin led our ragged group into an alley in the back of the shops, where he shoved a large flower pot aside to reveal a metal grate in the ground. He yanked the grate open, and I gestured for the prisoners to go in first, while my other mates moved to fight off the approaching soldiers.

  “Get inside, quickly!” Jasin said, as he helped the prisoners down into the hole. “Kira, you too.”

  I started toward him, but then I saw Reven cornered against the wall, fighting five soldiers at once, including General Voor. My assassin moved like a dancer, a swirl of black clothing and blades, but even with all of his deadly skill there were too many of them, and their armor was hard to penetrate. The General’s sword slashed Reven’s thigh, making him fall back against the wall, and terror gripped my throat.

  I drew my sword and plunged it into the back of the soldier closest to me, desperate to save Reven before it was too late. I fought off the next soldier and threw myself in front of Reven before the General could run him through with his sword. My blade met the General’s and I stared into his rage-filled eyes under that red winged helmet, before he knocked the sword from my hand with his massive strength.

  Reven suddenly grabbed me and shoved me behind him, as he brought up his twin blades to fight General Voor again. He managed to force the man back, and then a huge rumble sounded above us. A gust of wind knocked me and Reven back, as part of the shop beside us split apart and crumbled, forming a wall of rubble between us and General Voor. Slade and Auric stood behind us, and had likely just saved our lives.

  “Come on!” Jasin grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the tunnels, with the others right behind us. Auric helped Reven, who was limping, but then an arrow fired from somewhere and struck my prince in the shoulder, making him cry out. My heart twisted at the sound, but he didn’t slow.

  One by one we dropped into the tunnels, where the prisoners were waiting for us in the darkness. Slade was last, and once we were all safe he caused the ground to close up above us, preventing the soldiers from following—and trapping us inside.

  30

  Slade

  Jasin lit a torch, illuminating a lot of scared faces. “Is everyone all right?”

  “I think so,” the older woman said. Everyone hovered behind her, and I got the sense she was their leader.

  Kira inspected the gash on Reven’s leg with a frown, but he brushed her away. “I’m okay,” he said.

  She rested her hands on his thigh, near the wound, likely healing him as best she could. “You’re not. We need to patch you up as soon as we get somewhere safe.” She turned to Auric next to inspect the arrow in his shoulder.

  “Thank you for saving us. My name is Daka.” The older woman tilted her head as she watched us. “Are you part of the Resistance also?”

  Kira hesitantly glanced at the four of us. “I suppose we are.”

  Daka nodded slowly. “The Gods must be on our side. They helped us escape with the wind and the rain and that earthquake.”

  “Plus the cart on fire,” Jasin added, with a grin.

  “Yes, of course. We must not forget the Fire God for watching over us in our time of need.”

  The other prisoners nodded, and while they’d previously looked defeated, now hope shone in their eyes. None of them knew we had caused all of those things, which was a good sign that the soldiers didn’t either. And I supposed in a way we were there on behalf of the Gods.

  “But where will we go?” a man asked. He had his arm around a woman who leaned against him. “Nowhere in Ashbury will be safe for us now.”

  “We’ll have to leave the city,” the woman at his side said.

  “There’s a Resistance hideout about a day’s ride north from here,” I said. I never thought I’d get involved with the Resistance again, but it seemed my life was inevitably tied to them. “I can draw you a map.”

  Kira’s eyebrows shot up and I knew she had questions for me, but they would have to wait. Auric pulled out his map and some paper from his journal, and while Jasin hovered over me with his torch for light, I sketched out what I remembered. What the woman I’d loved once had shown me on her own map, all those nights ago.

  I handed Daka the map. “I hope this helps.”

  She examined it under the light. “Thank you. I think we’ll be able to find this. We truly owe all of you our lives and so much more.”

  Jasin removed the fabric from around his mouth and used it to wipe his face. “Come on. They’ll find another way in to these tunnels soon, so we need to keep moving.”

  A young woman suddenly gasped and stepped back. “You. You’re the soldier who killed my brother!” She pressed her back against the stone wall of the tunnel, her face pale. “He’s one of them! The Onyx Army. He’s going to turn us in!”

  Kira stared at Jasin, who was grimacing, but then spoke quietly to the hysterical woman. “Yes, he was once part of the Onyx Army, but he’s one of us now. I swear we’re only trying to help you. And we need to get going.”

  “Come,” Daka said, taking the other woman’s hand. “What’s past is past. Let’s find our way to safety now so we have a future.”

  The younger woman stared at Jasin with terror in her eyes, but with some reluctance she nodded. Jasin’s shoulders slumped when she finally turned away.

  Our group walked slowly down the narrow tunnels after Jasin, who seemed to know where he was going. Reven’s limp slowed him down, and when I moved to help him, I knew it must be pretty bad when he didn’t protest my aid. Kira looked over with concerned eyes as the assassin leaned against me. She would be able to heal him, but we needed to make sure the soldiers didn’t find us first.

  When we reached the first junction, Jasin stopped to consider our location, before leading us down one of the diverging paths.

  “Do you know where you’re going?” Kira asked.

  “Sort of,” he said.

  “More like getting us more and more lost,” Reven muttered.

>   We walked for what seemed like hours, though it was hard to tell since there was nothing down here but the stone and the darkness. Others might feel claustrophobic in such a place, but not me. I would have been a good miner, but being a blacksmith had always felt like my true calling. Bending metal to my will was my strength even before I’d been given powers. Had I been shaped for this destiny my entire life, or was I chosen because of my affinity for metal and stone? I supposed I would have to ask the Earth God once I met him again.

  Jasin stopped again, this time at a place where the tunnel diverged in three separate paths. He frowned, glancing around like he was looking for some clue. “I know it’s not the left one, but I can’t remember if the middle or the right leads outside the city.”

  Reven was right, Jasin was going to get us lost, and we didn’t have time to waste. I rested my hand against one of the walls and closed my eyes. My senses expanded out and out, along the stone and rock, until a vague map of the tunnels formed in my mind. When I removed my hand and opened my eyes, I began walking down the middle path. “This way.”

  I guided us through the tunnels, brushing my fingers against the rough stone every now and then to make sure I was on the right path. As the walls grew closer and the air smelled fresher, I knew we were almost there.

  At the last junction, I stopped and turned to the Resistance members. “If you follow this tunnel it will take you into the mountains where you should be able to get away.”

  “Thank you,” Daka said, before turning to the rest of my companions. “Thank you all.”

  She shuffled down the tunnel and into the darkness, with the rest of the Resistance members following her. Once they were gone and I was sure they would make it out okay, I turned to the others. “Should we follow them?”

  “We need to get back into the city and get our horses and supplies,” Auric said, his voice weak. He was probably in a lot of pain from the arrow in his back.

  “That might be dangerous,” Jasin said. “Plus, we’re on the opposite side of the city now.”

  “We need to stop somewhere soon,” Kira said. “Both Reven and Auric need healing immediately or they won’t be able to walk much longer.”

  “I’m fine,” Reven muttered, but he was slumped against me and his face was pale.

  Jasin ran a hand across his jaw as he considered. “There might be somewhere we can go near here.”

  “Somewhere safe?” Kira asked.

  “Probably.” He started back the way we came.

  “Do you know how to get there from here?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I know exactly where we are now.”

  “And where are we going?” Reven asked.

  Jasin glanced at him. “Home.”

  31

  Kira

  We emerged from the tunnels into what seemed to be the storeroom for a bakery. The air smelled of fresh bread and something sweet, making my stomach growl, but we didn't have time to delay. Reven and Auric were fading with every second, and while I’d done my best to stop their bleeding and take away the pain, I needed some quiet time with them in a safe place to heal them fully. Assuming I could, of course. My healing powers were still mostly untested and untrained. But I'd do whatever it took to keep them both alive.

  As we walked out of the storeroom, the baker gave us a discreet nod, but didn’t say a word. Was he with the Resistance too? I’d never thought much about their group when I lived in Stoneham and had always assumed they were somewhere far away, but maybe they'd been around me all along and I never knew it. Including Slade, it seemed. When we had a moment alone, I’d have to ask him how he’d known about the Resistance hideout.

  We stepped out of the bakery and into the pouring rain, where night had fallen. As I pulled my hood over my head, Auric slipped and nearly fell, but Jasin caught him and helped him go on. Slade was already supporting most of Reven’s weight at this point too. I wished I could do more than simply worrying about them. The streets were empty thanks to the downpour at least.

  "Down here," Jasin said, as he turned down a street with a row of houses.

  We stopped at the fourth house, which was done in the same sharp style as the others with a pointed roof and red trim. A pink flowering tree stood in front of it, the one cheerful thing in this entire miserable day. Was this Jasin’s home? Was I about to meet his parents? Another thing to add to my list of worries.

  Jasin paused at the front door as if hesitant, but then knocked on it. A beautiful woman in her forties with long, wavy auburn hair and Jasin's cheekbones opened the door and gasped. "Jasin! What are you doing here?"

  "Can we come in?" he asked.

  Her dark eyes swept over the rest of us and she opened the door wider. "Of course. Come inside and get dry."

  We stepped into the house, which was warm and smelled faintly of a cozy fire. The furniture was dark and utilitarian with few trinkets, except for a sword hanging on one wall and a painting on the other. A chill ran through me when I got a closer look at the painting, which was beautiful even though it depicted the Black Dragon and her four mates sitting on top of a mountain, looking regal as they gazed out at the clouds with sunset hues behind them. It was both stunning to look at and terrifying to see it there.

  "This is such a surprise," Jasin's mother said. "We thought you were stationed farther south."

  "Jasin? I thought I heard your voice." A man with dark hair streaked with a touch of gray walked into the room. He paused when he saw the rest of us, no doubt an unexpected sight. Four strangers, completely soaked, and two of them injured. I didn’t blame him for hesitating.

  "Everyone, this is my mother, Ilya, and my father, Ozan. Mom, dad, these are...some friends of mine." Jasin glanced at the rest of us, before turning back to his parents with a grim face. "We're in a bit of trouble and need somewhere to lay low for the evening. Is it okay if we stay here?"

  "What kind of trouble?' Ozan asked, his eyes narrowing.

  Ilya waved him away. "Of course you can stay. Are you all in the Onyx Army with Jasin?"

  "Not exactly," Slade said.

  “I'll explain everything, but right now these two are injured and we need to treat their wounds,” Jasin said.

  "They can use Berin's bedroom," Ilya said.

  She led us down a hallway with dark stone floors and opened the first door. We stepped inside a sparse room with a bed big enough for two people and little else. It looked like it hadn't been used in some time, but Ilya pulled out some blankets and pillows and got the bed ready for us.

  "Thanks, Mom," Jasin said. "Let's leave them to it and I'll tell you what I've been up to."

  With a nod to me and Slade, Jasin escorted his mother out of the room and shut the door behind them. Slade helped me ease Reven and Auric onto the bed, while they both groaned at the movement. It wasn't easy because they were both large, strong men, and their weapons and boots only made it harder.

  Auric still had an arrow sticking out of his back, so he had to lie on his stomach. "Heal Reven first," he said, but his voice was weak.

  “I’m fine,” Reven said, his teeth gritted.

  "Hold Auric down," I told Slade. "I'll get the arrow out."

  Slade nodded and braced his weight on Auric’s shoulders, keeping him in place. I wasn't sure what I was doing, although I'd removed arrows from lots of animals while hunting before, and this couldn't be all that different. I hoped.

  I inhaled sharply, then pulled the arrow out with a quick, straight tug. Auric jerked and moaned and blood gushed from the wound. I rested my hand over it quickly to stop the bleeding, but his shirt was in the way. Although the bleeding slowed, I could sense that I needed more skin to skin contact if I was going to heal him fully.

  "We need to get this off him," I told Slade, as I tugged at Auric’s shirt.

  Beside us, Reven had his eyes closed and I hoped he was okay, but I had to help Auric first. With much groaning from Auric, Slade helped me remove his cloak and shirt, along with his weapons, boots, and everything els
e except his trousers. But Reven was looking really pale too, and I worried he'd lost too much blood already.

  "Reven too," I said, and Slade nodded.

  We removed most of Reven’s clothes as well, and had to slash open his trousers due to the gash on his thigh. I tried not to get distracted by all the muscular, naked flesh in front of me, and instead focused on what I could do to make them both better.

  "Get in the bed with them," Slade suggested. "Your touch is what heals them."

  Of course. I removed most of my own gear until I was in only my thin chemise, which was better since my clothes were soaked through with blood and water anyway. At first, I felt a touch of shyness at wearing so little around them, although they'd already seen me in my chemise over the last few nights. But then I pushed that feeling aside. These were my mates and they were all going to be seeing a lot of me soon, but more importantly, I didn't care how little I wore because all that mattered was healing Reven and Auric.

  I crawled onto the bed between Reven and Auric, while Slade watched. His green eyes seemed to turn almost black as I slid between their bodies, and then he quickly looked away.

  "I'll see about getting our horses," he said, his voice husky. He left the room before I could answer.

  Was he jealous? Or aroused? I wasn't sure, but I couldn't think about that right now. Both Reven and Auric lay quietly with closed eyes and I couldn't tell if they were awake or not.

  I took both of their hands first, working my fingers over their skin. Reven's hand was calloused, Auric's was smooth, and both of them dwarfed mine. I wasn't sure how to make my healing work, so I simply thought about how I wanted them to be healthy again. My feelings burned bright in my chest, surprising me with their intensity. I'd only known the men for a few days, but I already cared for them a great deal.