Cast in Fire

by Zora Marie

  When they stood from the table, Yargo said, “Zelia, if you feel up to it, I want you to go to magic practice with Rog and when you are finished you and Rog will join Terik for combat training. You two must not be relying solely on your magical abilities, but I would rather you just watch for now.”

  Rog looked to his mother.

  “You two go ahead. I’ll be right out.”

  Zelia and Rog gave a quick nod and headed off down the hallway.

  “Rog, what do you think Zivu wanted to talk to Yargo about?”

  “Hm? Oh, you know, I don’t know.”

  “The great Rogath doesn’t know? Well that’s a first.”

  “Hey! So, you do have a sense of humor.”

  He moved to elbow her playfully but stopped short and stared. She could see the joy fade as his thoughts churned.

  “I know you so well, yet I feel there are things you have yet to tell.”

  She shifted her feet and lowered her gaze to the stone path leading out the open doorway.

  “Rogath, I…” She stopped and let out a shaky sigh.

  “It’s alright. You’ll share when you’re ready.”

  He offered her a reserved smile and took her hand.

  “Come on, we need to get to the pavilion before Mother.”

  10

  “You should have started practicing without me Rogath,” Zivu said as she entered the little open-aired, pillared building.

  “I wasn’t sure what we would work on today since Zelia is here.”

  “She can practice with you.”

  “Um, I can’t use water magic,” Zelia said.

  “You can control ice, it’s not all that much different from water.”

  “I know I should be able to, but I can’t. I’m not like Rog, fire and ice are the only two I can control.”

  Zivu studied her for a moment, then sighed.

  “Alright, well, I’d still like to see what you can do.”

  “Mother, maybe we should wait,” Rog said.

  “No, I can show her. What would you like me to do?”

  “Let’s start by freezing the water in the podium. Show me how fast you can make it freeze.”

  Zelia walked over and stood at the edge of the water-filled stone podium. She touched the top of the water and it froze in an instant. Instead of expanding up, the ice expanded out and cracked the stone podium.

  She glanced down at the floor as it turned a frosty white.

  “Stop.” Rog lifted her hand from the ice. “You’ll heal slower if you’re not careful.”

  “Rog.” She jerked her hand from his.

  “How? Very few can freeze water like that.” Zivu pried her gaze away from the cracked podium to Zelia. “Heal slower?” she asked as what Rog had said registered.

  “Like she said, her powers are not like ours.”

  “Rogath, you don’t understand,” Zelia almost spoke under her breath.

  “What? I know how your powers work.”

  “I’m not talking about that. The spell Asenten used, I think he was trying to kill me, not stop your father.”

  “What? Why would he do that?”

  “He knew he couldn’t beat Yargo, and the wizards weren’t about to let me fall into your hands. That’s why Yalif couldn’t remove some of the shrapnel in my heart and lungs. Most of the damage from that blast won’t be undone. There is no point in waiting for me to heal.”

  “Why didn’t you say something about all this before? What about all of your other injuries?” Zivu asked.

  “Because it doesn’t change anything. Yalif didn’t know of my ability to heal, but that’s just as well since I won’t heal from this. The scars from the other injuries will fade, it just takes time.”

  “Alright,” Zivu paused, “let’s work on improving your skills for then, Rogath.”

  Zivu looked at the podium and heaved a sigh.

  “We’ll practice at the pond today. Zelia, you can watch.”

  Zelia sat and leaned back against a column as Rog practiced at the pond where he had so proudly shown her his abilities. At first, he struggled as he kept glancing back at her.

  “Remember to let your emotions flow like the water, use them to shape what you want,” Zivu instructed.

  Finally, he made a snake rise from the water. It was weird to watch him practice from such a strange angle, as she had grown used to seeing through his eyes. She saw the snake twist and turn and weave through the air with each change of Rog’s expression and wave of his hand. With creases raised across his brow, he forced the water to evaporate into a mist that hovered over the pond.

  “Very good, now make the mist condense back into water,” Zivu encouraged him.

  His forehead scrunched even further in concentration and water droplets formed from the mist. They dropped back into the water like rain. Their pitter patter reminded her of the sound of rain hitting the lake of her childhood home.

  It was hours later when Zivu stopped him. “Very good, Rog. I think that’s enough for today; off to the arena with you.”

  The chill of the marble stairs bit through the thin soles of Zelia’s shoes and reminded her of the cave, yet it highlighted the stark contrast of the sun’s gleam off the white stone. Like any day she had seen through Rog’s eyes, Terik trained in the center of the gigantic oval stadium. She watched Steffon’s posture, his movement, and recalled everything she knew about him, down to the expression he made when he was about to lunge.

  When they reached the dirt floor of the stadium, all eyes turned to Zelia, and her confidence shrank back. What if I mess up with all these people watching? No, snap out of it. This isn’t a place you can afford to fail. Do it for Koin. Asenten may have sharpened your skills, but it was Koin who laid the foundation.

  Steffon stopped and turned towards them, he bowed with a swing of his sword.

  “Steffon, at your service, my lady. How may I be of service?” His slicked back hair gleamed in the midday sun.

  “Yargo has requested that I train with Rog and Terik.”

  “I see. Well, you came to the right place my dear. So how much experience do you have?” His little mustache turned up with his smile.

  Terik had jumped at the chance to take a break and leaned against one of the wooden pells, where he watched her with eager eyes.

  “A little.” She pulled a sword from the rack and checked its balance before trying another. “I’ve always preferred working with a bow, but I haven’t used one in ages.” With a sword that seemed somewhat balanced in her hand, she turned back towards Steffon.

  “Really? Why a bow?”

  “That’s just what I am best at, but in its absence, I’ve gotten better at using a sword.”

  “Okay, show me what you got. Terik, would you help me out? Start off easy.”

  Terik lifted the point of his sword at her.

  “Maybe that’s not such a good idea.” Rog moved to step between them.

  “It’s okay Rog,” Zelia assured.

  At first, she took it slow, being careful not to strain her ribs, but soon, Terik pushed her a little further. He swung his sword down from the right. Zelia raised the hilt of her sword with the blade stretched across her front to deflect Terik’s strike.

  She caught his upward strike and faltered, the stretch of her ribs stole her breath in a spike of pain. Black dots invaded her vision, and she grabbed her side with her free hand, but she was still unwilling to release her sword.

  “Terik,” Steffon’s tone warned that Terik had pushed it too far.

  She wavered in agony, about to collapse, when Terik grabbed her. Zelia tensed at his touch, but her body faltered and forced her to allow Terik to keep her upright. She drew in a long slow breath and the skipping beat of her heart pounded against the metal plate.

  After what felt like ages, the
spots and pain receded. She let out the breath and shoved herself away from Terik, taking his sword with her. She still held her side with one arm as she warned Terik, “You should never let your guard down for anyone, especially me.”

  “I think that’s enough for today. Zelia, are you okay?” Steffon’s tone softened when he addressed her.

  “I’m fine. I just need to get used to the metal plate.”

  “What plate?” Steffon eyed her with suspicion. “Wait, you’re the one everyone has been talking about. The one that has shrapnel in her chest and a metal plate holding her rib cage together?”

  She nodded.

  “But that was just a few days ago. You shouldn’t be up and around, let alone performing that kind of swordplay!” Steffon took a deep breath and rubbed a hand down his face. “Well, I think that’s enough practice for today.”

  “No, Rog just got here. Don’t stop on my account. I’ll be fine.” She slid the sword back into the wooden rack, the sound of metal gliding across wood causing her pause.

  “Zelia?” With her name called, she released the sword.

  “I’m fine Rog. I’m... I’m just going to go for a walk,” she faltered, unused to the freedom to do anything other than hide in the corner and bide her time. She turned away from him and climbed the stairs. She could feel the pitying stares of the men as she passed. She froze, images of those who had shown her pity and kindness in their final moments flooded through her mind. It was those people that made her hate being pitied even more than feared, as their faces and last screams haunted her more than all the cursing men and women combined. She forced her mind from her thoughts and continued up the stairs in a shroud of eerie silence.

  11

  Faced with the backs of men, she halted at the top of the stairs. “Did you hear about that girl from Mineria?”

  “I heard she had a gaping hole in her chest, doubt she’ll make it.”

  “No, I heard she ate dinner with the warriors last night.”

  “Impossible! Even if she did live, she shouldn’t be up and moving anytime soon.”

  Please don’t let them see me, she thought as she skirted around the group.

  “Wait, that’s her!” one man shouted over the banter of the others.

  “What?” They turned towards her and their stares spurred her to pick up the pace.

  She darted inside the nearby stables and slid down the post just inside the door. A nervous bleat rang from the goats mashed in the corner of the nearest stall. For a moment she stared back at the goats, struggling to catch her breath.

  “Shh, it’s okay. I won’t harm you,” Zelia assured them in the language of the animals.

  A scruffy black and white buck perked his ears forward as he approached and smelled her with an upturned lip. He turned to the others. “I don’t know about this one, she speaks our language, but she smells funny.”

  With their language spoken by an unknown voice, all the horses peered over their stall doors. There was a wide range of horse-like creatures, everything from a pegasus and a gold-maned stallion to a simple bay horse.

  “What language was that you were speaking just now?” a voice asked from behind her. She spun around, facing the rather scrawny stable hand.

  “Um, truthfully, I don’t know what it’s called. But all animals seem to speak it.”

  “I’ve never heard that language, where did you learn it? And who are you?” His blue eyes searched her up and down as if regarding a thief.

  “Oh, I’m Zelia.” She bowed her head, a custom of what had become a past life. “And I don’t know where I learned it, I suppose from the animals since I’d spent a lot of time listening to them.”

  He still eyed her with suspicion, unable to place her.

  “I’m a guest of Yargo,” she informed him, but that did not make him any more sure of her. “I’m staying with Rog and Terik.” She realized he was still unsure of her and sighed before continuing, “I’m the one everyone is talking about from Mineria.”

  “Oh, yeah, I have heard about you. But what are you doing in the stables?”

  “Getting away for a while.” She stroked a big bay horse.

  The stable hand nodded, a knowing look spreading across his face as if running to the stables was the natural thing for a person to do when they needed to get away from the world for a while.

  “I see, well just be careful of that one, he bites.”

  She stared into the horse’s eyes. She could feel his tromp below the surface. He longed to be as free as the wind to go wherever the current took him, whether that be through mountains or over sea.

  “He only bites because he doesn’t like being cooped up in here. May I take him out for a ride?” She fought the smile that crept across her lips.

  “I’m not sure about that. No one has been able to ride him.”

  “I can, would you give me a lift?” She gave into a grin, and her soul fluttered. It had been so long that she had forgotten what it felt like to give a genuine smile.

  “Just be careful,” he agreed, a hint of reservation in his voice.

  “I will,” she assured him as she swung her leg over the horse’s back.

  Leaving the stables, she let the horse pick his own path through the woods. Zelia locked her thoughts out and just absorbed the peace and tranquility of the world around her.

  “So, what’s your name?” she asked when the horse stopped for a drink from a small secluded pond.

  “Thunder. Thank you for getting me out of there,” the animal said when he lifted his head from his drink.

  “You’re welcome; I could tell you hate it in there. I’ll talk to Yargo and see if the stable boy can put you out to pasture from now on.” She played with the coarse hairs of his mane.

  Thunder shook as he raised his head a little higher. Zelia smiled and regained her balanced seat, she had forgotten how good it felt to ride. Her smile faded, and she turned in thought. What else have I forgotten? Things, little things I hadn’t pushed away…

  “That’d be nice, so where do you want to go?” he asked.

  “It won’t be long before someone starts looking for me, we’d better head back.”

  “Help! Help! My hatchlings, tree, kids! Oh, please help me!” tweeted the little blue bird as she swooped down onto Thunder’s neck.

  “Thunder?” Zelia inquired.

  Without a word he turned and started towards the edge of the woods. Zelia steadied herself with a wad of his mane and kept a smooth seat with his steady canter down the wood’s winding path.

  “Stop!” she yelled, as Thunder came to a halt and she jumped from his back, landing in front of two young boys.

  “Oh yeah? Why should we?” one of them taunted, one hand already raised with a rock.

  “Because it’s wrong to hurt innocent creatures for no reason. You, of all people, should know that as a Hyperian.”

  They almost rolled with laughter, and one of them threw a rock square at the nest. Zelia flicked her hand at it and a shard of ice knocked it from its path just before it hit.

  The boys staggered back. “Who are you?”

  “Zelia. And I don’t want to catch you messing with innocents of any species ever again. Got it?”

  The flash of fear in their faces and how they trembled struck her back as they ran away. What am I doing frightening little boys? No, they were going to kill the fledglings, I did a good thing. I didn’t hurt them.

  The bird flew into her nest, and Zelia climbed onto a stump to remount.

  “Are your babies okay?” she asked.

  “Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you!” the bird happily tweeted as she hopped onto the edge of her nest.

  Zelia nodded and nudged Thunder to head back towards the stable.

  12

  When she returned to the stable, she met the stable boy again.

&nb
sp; “Good, you’re still in one piece. I was beginning to wonder if he dumped you and ran off.”

  “Thunder wouldn’t do that without good reason. So, what’s your name?” She fed Thunder a handful of grain and led him into the stall.

  “Oh, I didn’t introduce myself earlier, did I? My name is Donequen.”

  “Well, nice to have met you Donequen. See you later.”

  On her walk back to the palace, Zelia absorbed the sights and smells of Hyperia. Her own emotions and senses gave new meaning to the world around her, painting a deeper, crisper image than anything she had ever seen through Rog’s eyes. She studied people as they came and went from one shop or home to another. She came across the boys she had just stopped when she passed along the edge of the town. They were in an animated conversation with two older boys, their arms swung about their heads. Captivated by their excited flailing, she stopped. When they noticed her standing in the path, they pointed and jumped up and down.

  This won’t be good. She turned down an alley, trying to avoid a confrontation.

  The older boys followed her and called out, “All talk and no game! No one messes with our little brothers and gets away with it! Come here, you little brat!”

  You’ll have to come up with something better than that. When she came to the end of the alley, she entered a street lined with stores. Great, now where am I? Well, the palace should be that way, so left it is.

  Zelia scanned the shops as she passed. All sorts of weapons and magic supplies she had never seen before lined the walls. The area seemed a little darker than what she remembered seeing through Rog’s eyes, but then again, Rog saw everything in a different light. He always seemed to walk on air, as if nothing could touch him.

  When she passed a mirror set out in front of a shop, she glimpsed the two boys and drew her focus back to the predicament at hand. Don’t let them catch up with you, you can’t afford to hurt them. No, you can’t hurt them, you won’t. I... I just can’t do that anymore. She picked up her pace.