Order of the Fire Box Set

by P. E. Padilla

  Kate looked down disgustedly at the man as she pulled her sword free and wiped it on his tunic. It was time to see if she could obtain any information about her attackers, though she was fairly certain she already knew all she needed to know about them.

  She scanned the area for more assailants, but it if there were any, they hadn’t taken part in the battle and they were nowhere to be found. Unfortunately, she had the grisly task of making circuit of the battlefield and see if any of her attackers still lived. None did. She found that the thought of killing other humans was not as easy to accept as killing demons.

  Going through the pockets and belt pouches of the men yielded a few coins, but nothing that would tell her who sent them or why. They probably had packs hidden somewhere nearby, but she wasn’t about to stay around and wait for reinforcements or scavengers. The latter was more likely. If there had been more of them, they would have joined in the attack.

  Kate considered building her fire up so she could search for the men’s hidden stash, but there was no reason. They would not have anything that revealed their master.

  She also considered building a pyre and burning the bodies but decided against it. To a casual observer—one who veered a fair distance off the road—the men were bandits, dressed in dark clothes and carrying weapons. For those who knew about the attack, let the bodies serve as a warning. They had tried to kill her as she slept; they didn’t deserve a proper burial.

  With a last disgusted look at the men who tried to kill her, she hitched up her pack, slung her shield over it onto her back, and began walking back toward Gateskeep. Someone was going to be surprised to see her return. She hoped it made them afraid.

  28

  She didn’t reach Gateskeep until nearly noon the next day. She was tired, only having a few hours of sleep the night before, and she was in a foul mood.

  A visit from assassins when you’re sleeping will do that to a person.

  Before even visiting her room to drop off her pack, she headed to the library. She wanted to tell Molara what happened and see what she made of it. When she got to the secret section, though, there was no one around. She called into Molara’s area from the boundary of her personal quarters but she got no response. Molara had told her she was welcome to go into the area even if the Purple was not there, even use the kitchen if she wanted, but Kate didn’t want to impose. It was Molara she wanted to see, not tea or cakes.

  She figured the Purple was on a rare trip outside her little sanctuary to get supplies or something of the like. Kate would stop by later, if she got a chance. The place seemed so lifeless without the smaller woman there. It even felt different, though that could have just been Kate’s imagination.

  Instead of dropping off her pack, she headed to the Command Center. Not finding Travada’s secretary at her desk, she knocked on the doorframe of the major’s office.

  “Come,” that nasally voice said.

  Kate stepped into the room and stood at attention. She watched Travada carefully as she announced, “Kate Courtenay reporting that I have successfully delivered your message to the commander of Faerdham Fortress. The commander said that he would take care of your request, sir.”

  Travada’s eyes had widened when she first spoke, and throughout her short report, he licked his lips and fidgeted. He continued to do so as he responded.

  “Very well, Courtenay. Uh, good work taking care of it in such an expedient fashion. Report to your sergeant that you can return to the rotation for active duty.”

  Kate noticed that he didn’t take his usual jabs at her. He was straight to the point, which was very unlike him in dealing with her. “Yes, sir.” She turned to leave.

  “Were there…any difficulties along the road?” he asked tentatively.

  “None to speak of, sir. May I leave?”

  “Y-yes. Carry on.”

  As she walked away, a wicked smile crept onto her face. Think on that, you repugnant toad, she thought with glee.

  She couldn’t drop her pack off and get into a bath fast enough. Between the battle, sleeping on the ground, and traveling for three days on a dusty road, she could inscribe letters on the dirt and blood caking any exposed skin. Her clothes and armor weren’t much better.

  Soaking in a bath, she found a few small cuts she hadn’t known she received, but nothing remotely serious. She cleaned the wounds, but they didn’t bleed much, so she left them unbandaged.

  After the bath, cleaning and oiling her armor, and changing into a fresh set of clothes, she was ready to report to Sergeant Seeth. She was unable to find him, so she settled into her room to clean and sharpen her weapons.

  “You’re back?” Light stomped into the room, Dark following close on her heels. Mouse was nowhere to be seen.

  “I am. Did you miss me?”

  “No. Did you have a nice vacation?” Dark spat.

  “Yes. It was wonderful. I hope you have a similar one someday.”

  Light took up the taunts. “You think you’re important because you’re going on special missions for the major. You’re nothing special.”

  “Indeed,” Kate said, the rasp of her whetstone providing a soothing background noise to the woman’s incessant screeching.

  With nothing else apparently in their small minds, the two other women left the room. Kate thought that was strange, but nothing these women did mattered to her anyway. They were probably reporting to the sergeant that she was back.

  Sighing, she cleaned the oil from her sword with a rag, slid it into its scabbard, and went in search of Daren Seeth again.

  It was two days before she made it back to the secret section of the library. Again, Molara did not answer when she called. As Kate contemplated checking the Purple’s rooms to make sure she was all right, Peiros came through the door from the hallway.

  “Kate,” he said, bowing over his hands to her. “You have returned.”

  “Good morning, Peiros. Yes, I got back almost two days ago, but I haven’t been able to come back after checking in here right when I arrived. Molara was gone then, and she doesn’t seem to be here now. Do you know where she is?”

  “I am afraid I do not,” he said. “I was hoping you would have more information. She disappeared three or four days ago. I have heard nothing. It concerns me. Molara Grey is not one to simply leave and tell no one.”

  Kate gasped. “Do you think they tried to kill her? I was attacked by eight men on my way back from Faerdham Fortress.”

  “Attacked? Faerdham Fortress? Why were you at the fortress? Were you injured?”

  “I was sent there by Travada for a trifling task. I now believe it was so he could send assassins after me to kill me on my journey. I wasn’t injured seriously. They fought well together, but were not as accustomed to the dark as I.”

  Peiros shook his head. “I do not like this. They seem to be trying to spirit away the leaders of the Infirium. I should expect that I may be next.”

  “That’s a definite possibility. There is little time between now and the new moon. Whatever the kellmanach xurki final battle is, it may happen then.”

  “Molara shared with you our translation, then?”

  “Yes,” Kate said. “She didn’t tell you? We discussed it, and I believe the lord and vassal are Thozrixith and Arkith.”

  Peiros rolled his eyes and looked at the ceiling. “Of course. We thought it was speaking of a human lord. We could not see beyond that narrow frame of mind. That was very clever of you, Kate.” He paused for a moment as he moved his fingers. “But wait, if that is the case, then the day the passage speaks of is—”

  “Four days away,” Kate finished for him.

  Peiros exclaimed in another language. It had the sound of Salornumese. She didn’t think he would be cursing in demon speak. “We must tell the others. Perhaps it is not too late. We must prepare in any way we can.”

  “I agree,” she said, “but what about Molara? What happened to her? What if she is being held prisoner somewhere? We have to rescue her.�
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  “Have you checked her rooms? I cannot pass her wards, but I have heard her on several occasions tell you that you could avail yourself of her kitchen or workshop if you desire. Can you pass into her area?”

  “Yes.”

  “I believe that you should do so.”

  Kate bit her lip. She didn’t like to go into someone else’s home when they weren’t there, even if they had given her permission. Still, there may be a clue as to Molara’s whereabouts. She might even be in there, unconscious or—no, she would not think about that.

  “I’ll go.”

  She hesitantly walked across the threshold from the general area into Molara’s personal area. Anyone her friend did not give access rights to visit could not walk through. To them, it would seem like a brick wall stood in their way, and no matter how hard they tried, they could not move an inch into Molara’s private rooms.

  There was nothing to show that such a ward existed. Kate felt nothing as she passed. No tingle, warmth, or any other sensation. She looked back to Peiros, and he shrugged at her.

  “Molara?” Kate said so softly it was almost a whisper. “Are you here? Molara?” She continued into the workshop area as she called, then on into the kitchen. There was still no sign of her friend, but she was happy to see that there was also no sign of a struggle, which there surely would be if someone came in and took Molara away. She didn’t dwell on the idea that no one could go come into her private area without the Purple’s permission.

  Kate finally poked her head into Molara’s bedroom. The bed was made, and everything seemed in order. She had turned to leave the room when she noticed a sheet of paper sitting in the center of the bed. It only caught her eye because it clashed with the dark blue blanket.

  She stepped over and picked it up. It was too dim in the room to read it, so she took it back out into the kitchen, where the magical lights had come on upon Kate’s entering. The bedroom lights must not come on automatically. She imagined it would be irritating for them to stay on all the time when Molara was trying to sleep.

  She put the note down on the kitchen counter and read it.

  You missed the note on the workshop bench, didn’t you? Go back and retrieve it.

  M.

  Kate rolled her eyes. It seemed very like Molara to chide her for missing a clue. She backtracked into the workshop, where she found a letter folded in half with Kate on the front of it. She kicked herself for not seeing it on the way in but gave herself the excuse that she was worried more about knives in the dark than letters on a bench.

  She unfolded the letter and read it.

  Kate,

  I’m guessing you didn’t look for me right away. In fact, I would say that you probably took three days to actually enter my private area, and probably only because Peiros pushed you to do it. All this despite me telling you repeatedly that you should make yourself at home in my home.

  I have been called upon to go on a mission for Valerio. I must go to Galette, though the nature of my travels cannot be divulged at this time. I have a bad feeling about it, a sense that maybe I am being set up to be disposed of. I have taken precautions, but I’m not a fighter like you.

  It kills me that I’m not there with the rest of you for what may be humankind’s last stand against the demons. Be brave and strong, as you always are, and defeat our mysterious enemy. I think it’s the only way to survive the demon attack.

  I have some projects I have been working on, but most are not quite ready. I have left three more pairs of the spectral peeps (I know you hate the name but appreciate you using it to please me) on the workshop bench, all that I was able to make. Distribute them to those whom you feel would best use them.

  I hope you are safe and made it back from whatever mission Travada sent you on (I did some digging and found out about your trip). I wish I could have seen you one more time before I left, but it was impossible. Hopefully we’ll both make it through the day of the Glory of Darkness to see each other again.

  Please utilize anything in the general area or in my own private area you feel may help in our effort. I took the book Valerio gave me so I could continue my study of it while traveling. I will probably second guess that decision because if I am disposed of, the book will fall into others’ hands. I have taken some magical precautions to destroy it if that happens, but it hurts my heart to think about it, just as it hurts to think of never seeing you again.

  I must leave now. Good luck and the blessing of the Creator upon the work of the Infirium. It is really up to you now to save us all. There are no hands into which I would rather place my, and all of the human race’s, future.

  M.

  Kate read the letter over in case she had missed something the first time. She found the glasses, picked them up, and rejoined Peiros in the general area. To his questioning look, she simply handed him the letter and waited for him to read it.

  “This is…troubling,” he said. “It sounds as if she was given the same kind of assignment you were.”

  “Yes, except mine came from someone we are pretty sure is our enemy, and hers came from Valerio. If he is against us, then why did he give us the book? Molara trusted him. He knew about the Infirium, yet we have never been directly attacked.”

  “True.” Peiros steepled his fingers and tapped them on his lips. “There is no telling which route she has taken. We could never find her to protect her, especially after all this time.”

  “She wouldn’t want us to do that anyway. We have little time left. She wouldn’t want us to waste it trying to help her. My heart disagrees, but my mind would choose the same thing. We’ll have to hope she is safe and continue with our own work. The day is getting close.”

  “Yes,” Peiros said. “As we discussed before. I will send messages out through the communication chain that we will all need to gather on the day of the new moon. Until then, we must determine what we will do. We still have no face or name for our enemy and, as Molara’s letter points out, finding that enemy before the kellmanach xurki may be the only thing that can save us. Our relatively few numbers cannot hope to stand against the combined might of all the demon armies.”

  “You’re right. Let’s send out the messages and then figure our next move. I have some ideas.”

  Kate and Peiros both went out to notify the others of their plan. Kate’s two other contacts had been Molara and Peiros, but in the absence of one or both of each person’s contact, they were to elect another and notify them that they were now one of the two contacts. She had already decided who to select.

  She found Wilfred in his barracks room. Thankfully, he did not have duties that day.

  “Wilfred, we need to talk,” she said as soon as he opened the door to her knock. “Come on, this is not a suitable place.”

  Her friend looked somewhat haggard. He nodded and followed her out of the barracks onto the street. They started walking, taking a path that wound around the base of the walls where fewer people were.

  “Molara is gone,” she told him quietly. “She was sent on a mission, apparently.”

  Kate realized that Wilfred had stopped walking. She turned to find him standing with his arms crossed, a frown on his face.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “You disappeared. No one knew where you were, or at least no one would tell me. I went to ask Molara, and she was gone, too. And now you sweep me up to talk like nothing happened?”

  She guessed he was right. Others may have known that she had been sent away on a mission, but Wilfred wouldn’t have known unless he asked the right people, like her squad or an officer.

  “I’m sorry, Wilfred. There are a lot of things going on. I forgot no one knew I was gone. Travada sent me on a mission—a menial task, really—to deliver a message to Faerdham Fortress. It was an excuse. On the way back, I was attacked by a group of men trying to kill me.”

  “You what? Someone tried to kill you?”

  “Yes. It seems a common enough occurrence lately. I am sorry for not t
elling you, but I was commanded to leave on the instant, and when I came back, Molara was missing. There are other things we need to discuss, too. I need you to be my second contact now that Molara has disappeared.”

  The young man’s posture loosened up a little, and the disappointment and doubt in his eyes were replaced by concern. “Molara…disappeared?”

  “That is what I have been trying to tell you. She left a note that she was sent on a mission, too, this one to Galette. I’m afraid it may be like mine, a ruse to get her alone so they can kill her.”

  “That’s horrible. We have to do something. We have to find her, protect her. Molara isn’t a fighter, not like you. She can’t fight a whole group of people trying to kill her.”

  The ground seemed to drop out from under Kate. “I know. But there’s nothing anyone can do. There is no way we could find her before it’s too late. We just have to hope she can make it through. Besides, we have worse problems to deal with.”

  “What could be worse than Molara being killed?”

  “The extinction of the entire human race. Are you ready to listen now?”

  Wilfred began walking in the direction they had been heading. “Of course. What are you waiting for?”

  Kate explained briefly that he needed to contact his two people and tell them to contact their two others, and so on. They were to meet immediately in the secret section of the library if they could. It was of the utmost importance. He agreed to do as she asked and headed off to perform his task, satisfied with her promise that he would hear everything she had figured out once everyone was together.

  With that task done, Kate headed back to the library.

  Two hours later, after waiting for some time for anyone else to show up, Kate addressed those who had been able to come. There were only a dozen others besides herself and Peiros, but that was to be expected with how busy each person’s squad had been keeping them.

  Peiros, Wilfred, Aurel, and Koren were the only ones present from Kate’s inner circle of friends. She had worked with the others at times but didn’t know them well. They were there, however, which was important.