The figure stopped and turned toward them. Kaijin heard a soft female voice utter a string of phrases and saw a flash of white light emit from her hands. Shining it at Aidan, she yelled, “Stay back!”
Kaijin and Nester saw the light from afar and shielded their eyes. The flash dissipated moments later.
“Oy! Where’d those spots come from?” Nester grumbled, swatting at the air. He stumbled around and ran into the back of Kaijin.
“Oof!” The spell’s dazzling effects subsided, and Kaijin rubbed his eyes. “What was that?”
Aidan stopped in his tracks and gazed at the source of the light, seemingly unfazed. “What are you doing here, miss?” he asked politely.
The woman was taken aback. “Who are you ...?”
Aidan smiled, bearing his canines. “Well, we are not trolls,” he joked. “We are just out for nice walk.”
She warily regarded Kaijin and Nester as they slowly approached.
Kaijin fixated on the strange woman. Her tall, lithe body—perfectly proportioned—accentuated her graceful movements and soft voice. Silken snow-white hair cascaded down her back. While her pale face appeared young, he spotted a maturity in her sapphire eyes, which made it difficult to determine her age. Her flowing silver-trimmed blue robes were branded across the skirt with Celestra’s symbol: a rose intertwining a silhouette of a Dragon’s head. Over the robes, she wore a chainmail top and a tabard that was marked with the same symbol. A short, steel-flanged mace was secured at her side.
The woman’s nervous expression slowly softened to one of amusement as she acknowledged Kaijin’s inadvertent gawking. “Forgive me. I was not expecting to find anyone out here.”
Nester’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. “Neither were we....”
She studied Aidan for a moment. Frowning, she reached out and touched his face. “Your eyes are badly injured, sir. Please, allow me.”
Aidan opened his mouth and froze as soon as the woman laid her hands upon his cheeks.
Kaijin gasped. “What—what are you doing to him? Stop that, now!”
“Wait!” Nester tugged at Kaijin’s sleeve. “I think she’s a warder, aye? She wears Celestra’s symbol, after all.”
“Yes, but ...” Kaijin bit his bottom lip, reluctantly restraining himself from stopping her.
Brushing her thumbs over Aidan’s eyes, she lowered her head. “Goddess of Exodus, may his afflictions be mended and his sight returned to once again view the beautiful world you have created.”
Her voice was like an angel’s.
Aidan’s muscles relaxed, and his eyelids fluttered, his blank stare gone. He whipped his head around and gasped. “Wha—? Aidan can see! Aidan can see again!”
The woman withdrew her hands from his face and stood back, smiling. “Praise be to the goddess.”
“Amazing,” Kaijin said as he exhaled.
“How did you get injured, sir?” the woman asked Aidan. “Did something attack you?”
“Terrible, it was!” Nester broke in. “We got attacked by trolls, we did! One of them tried to eat Aidan’s face!”
Her eyebrow arched at the brownie. “Truly? Well, I must say, your companion, here, is certainly as big as a troll—or two.”
Nester laughed. “Aidan’s the size of a troll with the mind the size of a li’l child’s!”
She regarded everyone in turn. “So you are all in acquaintance with each other, I gather?”
“Certainly!” Nester nodded, beaming. “We’re as close-knit as those comfy li’l blankets my mum used to make!”
She chuckled and then offered a humble bow of her head. “Well, then. Pleased to meet you all. My name is Zarya. I am a traveling priestess of our great and mighty goddess, Celestra.”
Kaijin couldn’t help but smile at her. What a beautiful name. “My name is Kaijin.” He gestured to his other companions. “This is Nester, and that is Aidan.”
Zarya’s gaze focused on Kaijin. “Goodness, Kaijin. Your ears ...”
“I—” Kaijin blinked in surprise, not expecting her comment. “Yes, well ... ah ... I was robbed yesterday.”
The priestess frowned. “That’s unfortunate. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. I’m still alive, aren’t I?” He chuckled.
Zarya approached him slowly and extended her hands. “Please, allow me.”
“W—wait. I—” Kaijin froze, unsure what to do. He looked to Nester frantically.
The brownie returned a wide, mischievous grin and a thumbs-up gesture.
Kaijin swallowed once and turned back to Zarya. “It’s ... not going to hurt, I hope.”
She laughed. “Not at all. Just be still.” She placed her hands over his ears and began chanting softly.
Her soothing voice almost lulled Kaijin to sleep. Her touch was unbelievably soft and warm, and he couldn’t stop smiling. She emanated a sense of peace and assurance. He studied her face. He couldn’t spot a single flaw about her. Such perfection seemed unnatural, almost jarring to him, but he couldn’t doubt the reality of what he saw before him.
When she finished, she released him. “It is done.”
Kaijin ran his hands along his ears, shocked. The pain was gone. The skin was mended like new, with nary a scratch nor blemish to be felt. “Amazing,” he whispered, looking at her. “Thank you.”
Zarya nodded politely. “It was my pleasure, Kaijin.”
Aidan rubbed his eyes again. “Aidan is also eternally grateful for what you have done.”
Zarya smiled at the giant. “It wasn’t me, Aidan. It was the power of our wonderful goddess.”
The talk of the gods made Kaijin cringe. There were too many questions unanswered—too many memories he would have preferred forgotten. He decided to shift the subject of the conversation. “What brings you out here, Zarya?”
Kaijin’s distraction seemed unnoticed by the priestess, who regarded him thoughtfully. “I happened upon this place by accident during my travels southward to Ostwyn. These ruins seemed intriguing, so I decided to have a look.” She approached one of the stone structures and slid her hand along its surface. “Judging by the markings on some of them, they appear to be of druidic origin. I thought it might be interesting to search for some clues about the druidic deities and perhaps learn more about them.”
Kaijin approached another ruin. The porous surface felt rough as he brushed his hand over the grooves of etched runes and glyphs.
Nester rubbed his hands together. “Well, now that you’re ’ere, you can ’elp us look for things, aye?”
Zarya lifted an eyebrow. “Look for what?”
What else but things to fill his pockets with? Kaijin rolled his eyes and whispered, “He wants to look for treasure.”
Zarya curled her lip with utter disgust.
Nester crossed his arms. “’Ey, now! Don’t go chewin’ gums with every soddin’ person about what we’re doing!”
“It’s the truth, Nester, and you know it.” Kaijin glowered at him. And I’m only joining you on this trifling journey in order to pay off a debt.
Zarya put her hands on her hips. “This place is not to be desecrated. What if it’s a druidic graveyard? The dead should be left in peace.”
Aidan glanced at Zarya. “Aidan agrees.”
“It’s no graveyard, I tell you!” Nester piped up, flailing his arms about. “If it was, we’d be seeing ghosties and all th’ li’l things that go bump in th’ night, aye?” He looked up at Zarya. “No need to get your robes all foddled, beautiful. These are just a buncha old ruins left behind by th’ foresty blokes.” He scanned the ground and picked up a piece of stone. “See?”
“Let’s just forget about it, Nester. We won’t find anything out—” Kaijin paused, spying a bright light flash from the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a small object beneath one of the fallen, crumbling columns.
“What is it, mate?” Nester asked excitedly.
Kaijin approached the object and knelt down. He brushed aside strangely warm stray dirt and
debris. His eyes widened at the deep orange hue of the sphere, its surface smooth. So beautiful.
Nester peered over Kaijin’s shoulder. Aidan and Zarya joined them.
Nester gasped. “Wow! Will you look at that!”
Kaijin held his hand over the object, startled by the intense heat that radiated from it. The heat was soothing—very similar to his own necklace. He touched the glass surface and left his hand there for a few moments, until he heard a soft sizzling sound and felt small tingling sensations flow through his hand and up his arm. Kaijin took the object. He cradled the sphere in both hands and examined it closely.
“It’s even more amazin’ up close!” Nester exclaimed.
“It looks like a glass orb,” Zarya said. “Perhaps it’s a druidic artifact of sorts?”
The swirling orange and yellow within the center of the orb fascinated Kaijin. They transitioned into variations of fiery hues. “I sense magic,” he said absently. “Actual arcane power.” Closing his eyes, he felt such great, unspeakable power in his hand. He clenched his fingers around the orb. The voices of his companions sounded distant, but clear.
“Woah! You’re glowin’, mate!” Nester exclaimed.
Kaijin opened his eyes. The air around him wavered as if from a furnace. A dim light encompassed him.
Zarya gawked. “Amazing, Kaijin. Are you, perhaps, a druid?”
Kaijin slowly shook his head, not taking his gaze off the orb.
“Quite a find, ain’t it?” Nester asked. “Think of ’ow much we could get for that!”
There was a moment of silence, and then Zarya said, “You should put it back, Kaijin.”
Kaijin remained fixated on the orb and didn’t respond.
“Nay!” Nester exclaimed. “We found it fair an’ square, we did!”
“You are stealing!” Zarya retorted.
“Who knows ’ow long that thing’s been sittin’ there, all clotted with dirt, like? It’s rightfully ours for th’ takin’, it is!”
A low, somewhat animalistic growl came from Aidan. “Is that trinket what you have been looking for, Nester?”
After a brief pause, Nester piped, “Ah ... aye ... aye, that’s right. That’s th’ exact thing I’ve been lookin’ for, now that you mention it. Uncle Nickle would be all grateful to ’ave such a nice li’l trinket like that, ’e would! Let me ’ave it, Kaijin. I’ll tuck it someplace safe.”
Kaijin shook off his trance and looked at Nester. The brownie had his hand extended to him, a wide, gap-toothed smile plastered on his mischievous face. Ignoring the gesture, Kaijin settled his gaze on Zarya. “There’s something very familiar about this orb when I hold it.”
“Familiar?” Zarya asked. “What do you mean?”
Kaijin thought a moment. “Something ... something about it makes me feel compelled to keep it close to me—to protect it. It’s as if it’s calling to me—as though it belongs to me. I can’t explain.”
“But is it wise for us to take it from this place? What if it’s cursed?”
“No ... It’s ... It’s warm. I feel like it belongs to me.”
Zarya lifted an eyebrow.
“’Ey now!” Nester broke in, reaching for the orb. “Why don’t we see if someone in town can identify it, aye?” His gloved fingers touched the sphere, and he yanked his hand away. “Ouch! That smarts!”
Kaijin eyed Nester, who had pulled off his glove and began sucking his wounded fingers. “Did it burn you?” he asked the brownie.
“Sure did!” Nester showed him the wounds. He cast a glance at Zarya. “Think you can fix this, beautiful?”
Giving the brownie a half smile, Zarya reached into one of her belt pouches and retrieved a small roll of white bandages. After unraveling a modest amount, she quickly wrapped Nester’s minor wounds and then returned the roll to her pouch. “There.”
Nester looked at his newly wrapped fingers and frowned. “Aw, that’s it? Just a couple of soddin’ bandages?”
“The bandages are spidersilk. Your fingers will be good as new in a few hours,” Zarya explained. “Have patience.” She turned to Kaijin. “This is all very strange. Does the orb not burn you, too?”
Kaijin regarded her, confused. “No, and I don’t understand why this thing burned Nester. It’s like it has a mind of its own!”
“That’s puttin’ it mildly, mate,” Nester said.
Aidan held his clawed hand out to Kaijin and said, “Give to Aidan.”
Kaijin clutched the orb more tightly. “I ...”
“This just looks like simple trinket with pretty colors. Aidan thinks Nester is exaggerating. Now, give to Aidan.”
“‘Exaggeratin’?!” Nester blinked. “You call this ‘exaggeratin’?!” He showed Aidan his bandaged fingers. “That thing nearly burned my fingers off, it did!”
Kaijin pursed his lips. Slowly, he held the orb out for Aidan to take. His hands began to shake as he fought against the urge to keep the sphere close, to keep it safe.
Aidan snatched the orb from Kaijin’s hands. Seconds later, however, the creature’s eyes widened, and he let the orb drop. Hissing, he shook his hands, which were burned almost to the bone.
Kaijin’s eyes followed the orb as soon as it fell from Aidan’s hands. He dove for the object, landed hard on his stomach, and caught it before it hit the ground.
“By the goddess!” Zarya exclaimed. She rushed to tend to Aidan’s injury.
“Good catch, mate!” Nester said to Kaijin. He looked at Aidan. “Are you all right?”
Another snake-like hiss escaped Aidan’s lips. Once they were healed, he examined his hands again. “Yes, yes, Aidan is fine. But why is Kaijin the only one who can touch that thing?”
All heads turned to Kaijin.
Kaijin got up from the mud, his clothes and face smeared. “How in the hells am I supposed to know?” He wiped the excess mess from his eyes as best he could.
“Maybe you really are a druid, Kaijin.” Zarya said.
Kaijin shook his head firmly, flinging more mud off his face. “No, I assure you, I’m not. I know absolutely nothing of the druidic arts. Look, why don’t we just find someone that might give us some insight on what this thing is?”
Zarya sighed. “I still do not think we should take that from here.”
“Well nothin’ bad’s ’appened to us yet, ’as it, beautiful?” Nester asked.
“Nothing except those nasty burns you and Aidan received?” Zarya responded.
“Aidan might suggest consulting Celestran aurorium in Faywald about it,” Aidan broke in.
Nester blinked. “Wait! We can’t leave! We ’aven’t even finished explorin’ the rest of th’ place, yet!”
Zarya frowned. “You have done enough in desecrating these grounds with your thieving. What Kaijin is holding may very well be cursed.”
“If it is cursed, then ... then I will take that chance.” It’s too intriguing to ignore.
Zarya looked at him in disbelief.
Aidan huffed. “Enough trinkets. Enough exploring. Aidan would rather rest. It is late.”
Nester stamped his foot. “Nay! We came all this way, and—Oy! Put me down!”
Aidan had grabbed Nester by the back of his jerkin collar and lifted him off his feet. He raised the brownie to eye-level and scowled. “We are leaving. Now.”
Both Kaijin and Zarya gazed at the creature, wide-eyed.
Nester’s face paled. “Ah ... Ah ... Aye! Of course. W–whatever you say. I think leavin’s a great idea. I was only jestin’ before, y’know?” He gave a nervous laugh. “All in good fun, aye? Uh, p–please don’t ’urt me!”
Unamused, Aidan set the brownie down and pointed. “Lead us out of this marsh.”
Color returned to Nester’s face as he took a moment to catch his breath. He scrambled ahead to lead the group.
Aidan beckoned Kaijin and Zarya to follow with a slight tilt of his head.
After exchanging a glance, Kaijin and Zarya proceeded to follow Nester without protest. As Kaijin tucked
the orb in his haversack, the voice in his mind said, “Kaijin Sora ... my greatest treasure.”
VI
After leaving the swamp, Kaijin, Nester, Zarya, and Aidan rested for the night, camping out in the woods not too far off the main road. The following morning, they set off again and arrived in Faywald’s vicinity by midday.
When they were within view of the city gates, Nester sprinted ahead of the others, rushing past the guards and disappearing into the city. Miele hovered high above, trailing Nester. She soared over the gates and was soon out of sight.
“Did he forget that I’m the one carrying the orb?” Kaijin muttered aloud.
Zarya chuckled. “Looks like something else has caught his attention, instead.”
“The festival begins tonight,” Aidan said absently. His gaze drifted toward the lush countryside.
“Oh, yes, I forgot,” Kaijin said. “Nester did make mention of that. Well, hopefully, he’ll be distracted long enough for me to finish my business and leave.”
“Where are you going next?” Zarya asked.
Kaijin thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know, yet, but I hope I will get some direction, soon.” Very soon.
* * *
Nester arrived at the plaza and skidded to a halt. The place was heavily decorated and lighted from the colorful lanterns hanging from overhead lines. The booths, however, were devoid of customers. He deflated.
“You’re a few hours early,” a man’s voice said from behind him.
Nester jumped, then spun around. He gazed up at an armored guard, and his eyes widened in shock. “I didn’t do it! I swear on my pa’s grave, I didn’t!”
The guard scoffed. “Oh, it’s you, Nester. Look, the festival won’t begin for another hour, so find something else to keep your grubby little hands preoccupied—and that doesn’t mean thieving!”
Nester was about to speak out in protest when he spied his other companions in the distance. He brushed past the guard and ran to meet them. “Looks like there won’t be any festival yet.”
“Lovely.” Kaijin rolled his eyes. “Whatever will you do in the meantime?”
Enflamed (Book 2) Page 6
