“No.” Blaze stared at the hooded rider in defiance and hobbled toward the monsters. “It is only your blood I wish to see color these waters.”
The rider laughed a ringing, shrill sound. The surrounding Urlificans laughed nervously along. Blaze stood firm. Should she meet her final moments, she only needed to take this one last servant of Urlifec with her. “Lord King Urlifec will find great use of you. Tie her well,” the rider directed and turned the cohe to leave.
“No!” Blaze launched toward the cohe, ignoring the crippling pain in her foot as she pounded toward the murderer of her parents. The cohe crouched and fanned its wings, opening its large mouth and hissing a screech as she approached.
Blaze’s insides twisted, but she rushed through the sound, matching the scream with her own. The monster reared back onto its powerful haunches and launched toward her. Blaze dodged to the side and struck the rot gray flesh of its head with all of her might. But the blade made no cut. The sword bounced back toward her, and the cohe’s head followed with supernatural speed. Her foot gave away under her, and she was thrown onto her back.
“Hold!” came the Domotrec’s voice as Blaze was pinned to the ground with the monster’s giant fangs threatening under black gums. Its putrid breath made her gag as it growled in frustration of not eating her.
In the moment of deathly silence, the galloping of a horse caught her attention. Looking toward the woods, she saw a brown stallion racing toward her with none other than Theoverus upon its back, sword extended and fierce determination on his face. The Domotrec and cohe shrieked as his shining blade sliced the monster’s face away from her body. Blaze rolled onto her feet in a crouch and saw maroon black blood oozing from a slash running from the cohe’s neck, under its milky eye, to the middle of its round forehead. Theoverus turned the horse in the middle of the shocked Urlificans and raced toward Blaze again, this time with his hand lowered to grab her.
“No! She’s mine!” The Domotrec cried with complete rage and a tinge of horror. The cohe regained its bearings and pounced toward the galloping horse. Without stopping, Theoverus turned the horse to the side and pulled a dagger from his belt. Blaze did a double-take as the dagger grew into his former sword within its arc. He smashed the flat of the blade against the injured side of the cohe’s face, sending both beast and rider careening to the side.
The horse slowed to a stop in front of Blaze and snorted as she sheathed Obrae’s sword and grabbed Theoverus’ hand, crying out as her broken foot hit the horse’s back upon mounting. He urged the horse back to its full gallop into the woods.
“Hold on tight,” he suggested pleasantly. She hugged him tightly and looked back to see the cohe still on the ground. The spine-chilling cry of its rider filled the land. “Curse Theoverus!” The hatred of her cry froze Blaze’s breath in her chest, and she tightened her hold on him subconsciously, a dizzying feeling darkening her senses. “Retrieve the girl you Wilden!” The Domotrec ordered her men, but no one moved. Who would want to fight a man with a magical sword who could take down a cohe?
********
“Blaze, you can open your eyes now,” Theoverus suggested as the stallion came to a stop. Still feeling dizzy, she slowly opened her eyes to see that night had settled in around them. A soft whinny came from her left, and the glowing form of Lily welcomed her to camp.
“Lil, you craft!” She jumped down in excitement of seeing the twice found mare. Lightning pain exploded from her foot, and Blaze crumbled to the ground with a shout.
“Blaze!” Theoverus leapt down to support her as she rocked back in pain. In trying to cope with the gore of her injury, she focused on what a healer would see. Her right shoe was split horizontally along the top of her foot, and a rusty stain spread from the cut. Gritting her teeth, she yanked the shoe off and shouted as her red and purple foot was pulled from its leather casing. Tears and a nauseated dizziness skewed her vision.
“We need to clean and bind that. Just rest here while I get a fire going.”
Cold, pain, and exhaustion ran through her like a spirit. She shivered as Theoverus got up swiftly. She felt horrible. The warmth evaporating through her soggy clothes was contained by a warm blanket tucked around her. For a moment, she flashed back to a time when she and Jonathan were caught in a wintery storm. When they arrived back at his cabin, she couldn’t stop shivering. He had wrapped her in a blanket and held her close, warming her before warming himself.
Opening misty eyes, Blaze sat up and tried her best to ignore the nausea. She had to take care of herself now. Her mind flashed through everything Jonathan taught her as she looked at the mauled foot. The deep cut ran red with fresh blood and made a straight line across her foot’s top. Spreading from the gash, already darkening black and purple bruises crept over her swelling foot like a second shoe. Light grew in the clearing as Theoverus worked on a young fire.
Careful to move her foot as little as possible, Blaze rolled onto her good side and propped herself up onto both hands and left foot. She pushed herself up and wobbled to gain balance. “Whoa! Blaze, I asked for you to rest,” Theoverus exclaimed as he rushed to her side for support. A fresh wave of nausea washed over her, and she pushed him away.
Falling back onto her hands, she growled, “I can take care of myself. I don’t need help, and I don’t need rest!” She whistled, and Lily walked over, offering her head for a pat. Blaze used the mare’s neck to lift herself up and steady herself. That’s when she noticed that the dun’s tack was gone. She whirled around and looked at his face for the first time. The firelight revealed peace that softened his maple skin, but sorrow glistened his eyes while a small patient smile rested on his lips. “I only want to help,” he said. Regret and shame competed with her anger and disgust. She felt uneasy around him, but he had saved her from the Urlificans and somehow defeated the cohe.
A sigh reflected her deflation as exhaustion made everything feel like lead. Perhaps his help wouldn’t be an awful thing. “I have a bottle of rum in Lily’s saddle that we can use to clean this disaster. There is also some honey and dressings.” His smile widened, and he nodded his head as he retrieved the items. Blaze turned to the mare and gave her a good pat. “Thanks Lil,” and she lowered herself back down onto the ground. The mare walked over to his stallion to start grazing. Theoverus’s fire grew in its dance. Shivering, Blaze appreciated the difference between the chilly spring night and the fire’s radiating heat.
“I also brought you some dry clothes that were wrapped around the bottle,” came Theoverus’s steady voice. “Which would you like to fix first: your body or foot?”
“Oh, let’s get the foot done with.” She forced her chattering teeth shut.
Theoverus bent down near her foot and unstoppered the bottle. “On the count of three.”
A tinge of resentment tightened her core. She reached out for the bottle. “I can take care of myself. I grew up in a healer’s home for a reason.” She smiled as he handed her the bottle, then took a good swig of the fiery liquid. This was going to hurt. Without stopping to think about it, Blaze poured the rum directly onto the cut.
Gasping at the pain, she felt as if a spike was run from her foot all the way up to her head. Small spasms shook her foot. Theoverus took the bottle before she dropped it, and she wrapped her hands around her ankle, hoping to squeeze off the pain. He reached out and gripped her shoulder in support. She stared the injury down, and her large swig of rum allowed a memory through.
A cycle after Blaze was brought to Srift, Derrick cut his hand deeply between the middle and fourth fingers when butchering a deer; Jonathan had to sew the cut back together. However, Derrick was deathly afraid of fireroot powder, so they couldn’t ease his pain during the procedure except with alcohol. After that, she had resolved to be as brave and tough when she grew up.
The pain lessened from a constant burning to a pulse, so she released her white ankle and let out her breath. “Okay, I’ll have the honey.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me
to do it?” Theoverus asked with knitted, thick brows. How had she not noticed how thick his eyebrowns were before?
“Yes, I can do this.”
He squeezed her shoulder before reaching for the fist-sized pouch containing honey. Scooping with two fingers, she pulled out a dripping helping of Jonathan’s wondrous honey. As she lightly dabbed the healing goo onto her twitching foot, tears moistened her eyes, but not because of the physical pain.
“Oh Blaze! Nature truly is a wondrous thing!” Jonathan had marveled after her first honey harvest in the woods. “You see, the bees become so amazed at the flowers’ beauty with whom they kiss that they wish to stock the sweetness in their homes. The flowers’ joy along with the bees’ love combines to make this golden gift for the True King. Do you know what honey can do?”
“It’s good on old bread, if you must eat it with something. But my favorite thing to put it on is my finger.” She answered with a clever grin.
Jonathan laughed his carefree holler. “Yes! But...” He dipped his finger into the honey skin hanging from her back. “What about your nose?” He quickly wiped the sticky droplet onto her nose.
“Hey!” She giggled and wiped the honey off as best as she could. She then reached up to get his nose. Jonathan dodged backwards, and they chased each other around the field, passing the honey back and forth until it was evenly coating both faces.
As they started back to his cabin, he continued his lesson. “Besides being fantastic on your nose and finger, did you also know that honey is a healer’s secret weapon?”
Blaze was shocked at this. “Really?”
His smile widened as his thrill for natural knowledge was shared. “It is the great healer. Make the bees happy with the right flowers, and you will have a salve that will heal nearly any cut or burn without a scar or infection. I have found that our fellow bees, who so graciously supplied us today, like the blossoms of the tea tree.”
Blaze lay down after securing the tight bandage around her foot. Why would anyone dare kill Jonathan?
Realizing the threshold her emotions threatened to cross, she quickly shut the door. She didn’t want to face the useless feelings and thoughts. Theoverus rummaging around mercifully caught her attention, and she looked up at the stranger.
Faster than she thought possible, a tent stood between two trees as Theoverus finished securing the last rope. The sudden appearance of the shelter reminded her of his sword trick earlier that evening. Looking at the tack to her left and finding only her sword, which she realized was off, Blaze looked at Theoverus’s belt for a saber sheath. All he had was a dagger. “May I see your dagger?” He turned around from tightening the tent fastenings with puzzlement on his narrow face. “Your dagger,” and she nodded toward the handle on his hip. “May I see it?”
“Oh, well. I think that will only bring more questions and requests than tonight has time for,” he smiled. “I promise to let you see it first thing in the morning after you have gotten plenty of rest. Now, if you please. Let’s swap those damp clothes for dry ones and get a start on that rest. This tent should be sturdy if you wish to change in there.” He walked over to her and offered his hand.
His question avoidance and coddling made her pride and suspicion flare up. Ignoring his offer of help, she gathered the dry clothes and threw herself up onto her good foot. Setting her right heel down, Blaze found that the pain wasn’t intolerable. She raised her fist in warning. “And why should we wait until morning for me to see a blade?”
He stepped back with raised hands. “Blaze...”
She pressed forward. “And how did it grow? How did it cut that cohe when my sword couldn’t? Who or what are you? What do you want with me?”
“I want you to get dressed first,” he sternly threw at her. His response shocked her for a moment, and he took advantage of her silence. “I want you to get dried and warm before illness takes you. Then, I’d like to feed you supper if you deem yourself hungry.”
“Why,” she scoffed.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Blaze. Why would I have helped you escape the cohe if I was aiming to harm you?”
She stared him down, but her exhausted mind couldn’t come up with a reason. Pressing her lips, she decided that dry clothes did sound appealing as her shivering became more frequent. “Fine, but you will stay right next to the fire while I’m in there.” He nodded, and she hobbled to the tent.
The square tent was just big enough for her to lay down and stretch, but she had to duck her head in order to stand up. Her leather pants and flannel shirt clung to her damp skin, and she felt like she was a shedding snake. Thankful that the water had stretched her pants out, she gingerly pull her injured foot through. For once, she was glad to have her black woolen skirt. The loose fabric wrapped around her like a blanket but didn’t cling to her in a restricting way.
Exiting the tent, she found a branch to hang the damp clothes on and joined Theoverus around the fire, warming herself completely. He offered her some bread and cheese. The fresh clothes and warmth helped sooth her mood; although, she still didn’t trust him. She shook her head and resorted to staring at the fire. From blue roots, the fire jumped and waved in its bright dance. Blaze slowly felt herself drifting off while following the flickering flames.
“I will take first watch if you wish to rest.”
Despite her pride, his offer sounded tempting. She hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since the Urlificans first came to Srift. Her nightmares were getting worse, plaguing her with killing herself, Obrae, and Jonathan, all while wearing the Urlifican’s uniform. She was afraid to relive the horror and hoped that Tawnya was not next. She also felt as if her dreams contained some other entity; she felt forced to act.
“You have nothing to worry about,” he insisted. “Please, get some rest. Upon my honor as a Traitor, I will not disturb you unless danger comes.”
Blaze gave in. She grunted as she moved her stiffening body. Her fall into the water would not be forgotten easily. Limping past him toward the shelter, she didn’t want him to think her weak. “Wake me for my watch.”
Theoveruse nodded. Blaze entered the tent and settled between the two warm saddle blankets, falling asleep almost instantly.
********
“You don’t have to go,” the dagger whispered to her. “I am not strong enough to help you.”
She stood in front of gapping castle doors. Black volcanic stones made the towering mountain castle look like a shadow beast. The dark doorway was its mouth welcoming every victim inside. “But I must; there is no turning back now,” she answered the weapon hanging from her belt.
“Just be patient. You haven’t prepared me for the fight yet. We aren’t strong enough.” the blade pleaded.
“Silence!” and she squeezed the handle. “I will go now. Who holds and directs the sword?” Blaze strode into the dark unknown. She would face this enemy. No one would stand in her way. Torches instantly ignited down the castle’s wide throat as she passed.
Such power...ssssuch power...
The whispering voice beckoned longingly for her and helped guide her to its source. The deep passage ended in a great hall where the surrounding torches around the room were all that moved. Red Urlificans stood as statued sentinels along the black stone walls. The ceiling was endless, towering up and up until a circle the size of her thumb revealed the stars. However, the Urlificans nor the stars were of any importance. Laying in the middle of the large room upon a red velvet platform was a dragon of night. Shining black scales made its skin sleek; the sparks of the torch flames looked like dancing stars upon its body. Leathery wings nestled softly at its muscular side, and its strong tail wrapped around its curled claws. A long, arching neck held the finely carved head that tapered to soft lips, like a horse. The deep, sun yellow eyes stared into her soul, and she shivered.
Blazzzzee.
It spoke, but the voice came from inside of her, not out of the dragon’s mouth.
Welcome. Will you please come in?
>
Blaze was startled by the cool tone of the beast. “But, I am here to kill you,” she blurted.
The dragon drew its stately head upward, beckoning her in. It is no matter. I have a gift for you; one that will help you.
Still wary of the dragon, she remained in the door way. “What gift could you give me?”
Revenge! It roared and spit fire into the air so bright that she closed her eyes. Once the inferno died down, Blaze opened her eyes to see a black cloaked figure standing in front of the dragon. Its yellow eyes bored into her from behind the man. I offer his death to you.
“Burdock.” Blaze growled as the images of her parents, Obrae, Jonathan, and Tawnya, all dead, flashed through her mind with his mad laughing face.
He enjoyed it. The whisper helped her hatred grow. Reaching for her dagger, she smiled at the thought of the small blade intimidating the murderer as it grew into a full sword of glory.
The dagger didn’t budge. Looking down, she pulled and pulled, but the blade remained securely in its sheath.
That will not do. The dragon scoffed. Such a weapon is useless here. Please, take mine.
His head nodded to the nearest Urlifican. The man bolted from his post, kneeled in front of her, and offered up a sword unlike any she could have imagined. The long sword’s blade was as reflective as its master’s scales and darker than the blackest night. Two metal horns twisted inward and then out about a fist’s distance up the blade from the guard, ending at needle points. Smooth grooves spiraled down the grip and glittered a liquid red. As she bent over it, she found that small red gems were inlaid in the grooves. The pummel wrapped itself around a massive red stone that started round but stretched into a point that protruded from the metal casing. Looking back at the blade, she noticed strange jagged letters pacing back and forth along the blade’s flat surface.
“What does the script say?”
It is what the sword is made from; the driver and power of life. It influences all to either act or not act. It is what measures existence. It is power. Without it, all would remain stagnant. And, I am offering you dominion over that power. It is the sword’s name: PAIN!
Traitors (The Traitor King Saga Book 1) Page 12
