Trail of Flames

by Marlow York

  The familiar rumble of airships filled the air. Four huge vessels drifted over the trees, accompanied by smaller surveillance ships. I clutched my axe out of instinct, squeezing the handle as anger burned in my chest.

  This was it. The City would finally pay for what they’d done.

  Chapter 20

  One of the huge airships lowered to the ground, crushing fallen trees around Roger’s home. A metal door lifted upward. We braced ourselves for an attack, but instead three figures with their hands tied behind their backs stepped onto the deck.

  I gasped. “By the gods.”

  “What is it?” Saven asked worriedly.

  “I know them.”

  The first was a middle-aged Fiero woman; I’d gone to school with her son. I barely recognized her filthy face, her cheekbones sharp from starvation and her eyes shaded with dark circles. The second was the stablemaster, an older man who had worked with my father and sister. He looked ancient now, but even from where I stood, I saw his stubborn eyes were cold with determination.

  My stomach lurched when the last Fiero stepped out of the ship.

  “Jenassa,” I whispered, unable to silence myself.

  My sister’s dirty-blonde hair hung in greasy tendrils down her shoulders. Her face, once so confident and carefree, now showed the aftermath of imprisonment and torture. She looked more like a child than someone in her twenties.

  A dark-haired man followed the prisoners onto the airship. He was probably in his thirties, with piercing eyes and a cold expression. He wore the same black armor as the soldiers, minus the helmet.

  “The Ancient Bloodlines certainly leave much to be desired.” His eyes shifted from one of us to the next and he smirked. “You all look ready to kill me, and yet there are so few of you. I must say, I’m disappointed. A general leads an army, but is it really fair if the other side has so few in their ranks?”

  “You speak confidently for a man who doesn’t truly understand what he’s up against,” Captain Lagan taunted.

  The man eyed Captain Lagan curiously. “Let me guess, you live on that island, Three Winds? Your people have been a challenge over the years, I’ll give you that much.”

  Captain Lagan chuckled. “You have no idea.” He turned slightly towards Calima and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Take Roger back to the Mutt and sail to Three Winds.”

  “Lagan,” Calima hissed.

  “Love, I know you want to fight, but I need to protect you and our little one. You need to protect Roger.”

  Roger looked from Captain Lagan to Calima, still clutching Violet in his arms. Calima opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. She took a deep breath and sighed. “Come back alive.”

  Captain Lagan smiled and quickly kissed her on the lips. “Go now.”

  Calima grabbed Roger’s arm and hurried towards the ocean. Shadows moved through the trees and soldiers intercepted their path.

  “Move,” Calima demanded.

  Even across the small clearing, I felt her energy swell and press outward. The breeze shifted suddenly, making the leaves tremble as though the trees feared her.

  A soldier leapt at them, and in the same moment Calima waved her hand. A powerful gust of wind hit him like a rock and sent him hurling towards a tree. His body slammed into the trunk with a crack that made me wince.

  Three more soldiers charged at her, but the powerful Therian woman straightened her back and visibly bristled with defiant power. “Hang onto me,” she told Roger.

  He grabbed her waist and Calima lifted her hands. The wind howled and hissed, pushing hundred-year-old trees until they were almost sideways. She focused her energy in front of her, sparing the rest of us from the vortex that darkened the sky as it gathered energy and spun to the earth. The soldiers braced themselves against the maelstrom, falling over each other. As the tornado touched the ground, it gathered dirt and rocks, spinning madly with unhinged power and battering the men with debris. They shot into the air like ragdolls, tumbling and screaming as they flew through the forest.

  “Let’s go!” Calima grabbed Roger’s arm and the two of them disappeared into the woods.

  “That’s my girl,” Captain Lagan murmured with a grin.

  Clapping turned our attention back to the man on the airship. “Wonderful show! Wonderful!” he exclaimed. “Oh, what a fun battle this would be if only there were more of you!”

  “That can be arranged,” Captain Lagan sneered.

  The wind blew softly across my face. Khero growled suddenly, glaring at the man.

  “Do you recognize him?” I asked quietly.

  “Khero recognizes his smell,” Saven said. “That man’s scent was on Tarek the night we found him outside the City.”

  I stared up at the man, laying my eyes on the one who had tortured Tarek. I felt myself burn with newfound rage.

  My eyes drifted to the Fiero prisoners. They stared down at their feet, terrified and broken. Jenassa risked a glance up and I watched her eyes travel over each of us, my heart pounding furiously. Her eyes finally landed on me and her mouth opened. We stared at each other in surprise. It took everything in my power not to call out to her, to run past all the soldiers between us until I could finally hold her in my arms again.

  “You can call me the General,” the man was saying. “I’m the one who has been leading the mission to find and destroy dangerous vermin like you. Your kind has become very good at hiding, so good I didn’t even realize there was one of you living right outside the City walls.”

  My heart hammered painfully, but I kept my face stoic. He had seen my tattoo and thought I was Grakkir. It would be best to keep it that way.

  “See, we knew about the Grakkir, but our scientists wanted to study how their Ancient Bloodline was slowly dying out.” The man paced across the line of prisoners. “What a surprise it was to discover how many other clans were hiding in this little world of ours. How…troubling.”

  The General removed a baton from his waist belt. “You all might not think it, but the world is better off without people like you around. Your kind is unpredictable and dangerous. Powers like yours cannot be allowed to grow. Least of all, the Fiero.”

  The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

  “The Fiero were the first of the Ancient Bloodlines, and perhaps the most powerful. At their full strength, they could control the sun itself. Imagine what would happen if they decided to pull it closer to the earth, or send it away? The entire world would burn or freeze to death!”

  He unfurled the baton, its metal sides gleaming in the sunlight. “I’m convinced one among you is the last Fire Bringer, as the Fiero with fire in their blood call themselves.” He pointed the baton at Cypress. “Is it you, young man?”

  Cypress stiffened beside me, but he remained silent and glared at the General.

  “Or you, young lady?” He pointed at me.

  My lip trembled, but I kept the rest of my body still.

  “No one wants to chat?” He took a deep breath and sighed. “That’s what I suspected. So, how about we play a little game? I’m going to give you three chances for the Fire Bringer to reveal themselves or allow my Fiero prisoners to betray you. I’m assuming no one wants to just give that info away, so we’re going to up the stakes a little.” He flicked a switch on the baton, and it hummed with power. “This fun little toy is something we use when questioning our prisoners. In low doses, it merely causes excruciating pain.”

  He stood beside the woman who stared at the baton with tears streaming down her face. “Please, don’t,” she whispered.

  “First chance!” the General called. “Who among you is the Fiero I’ve been looking for?”

  The woman would recognize me if she dared look my way, but she clamped her eyes shut and sobbed.

  “Wrong answer,” the General droned. He pressed the baton to her back and the woman screamed with pain. She collapsed and rolled to her side, whimpering and crying.

  “Sticks and lightning,” Cypress murmured. “The ba
ton. That’s what the trees meant when we rescued Anza from the soldier encampment.”

  “Sick bastard,” Anza hissed.

  “What do I do?” I asked Saven.

  “Stay quiet,” he said.

  “Like I was saying,” the General continued. “In low doses, it merely causes excruciating pain, but if you turn up the power a little.” He pressed a button and the baton hummed at a higher pitch. “It becomes lethal.” He stepped over to the stablemaster while the man glared at the General unapologetically.

  “Second chance!” the General said. “Who among you is the Fiero I’ve been looking for?”

  The stablemaster’s eyes met mine, expressionless but proud. He knew my father and I knew he recognized me. He turned to the General, tilted his head back, and spat in the man’s face.

  Several of us gasped. The General frowned and wiped the stablemaster’s spit out of his eyes, growling. “Wrong answer!”

  He pressed the baton to the older man’s back. The stablemaster screamed and fell to the ground. His body twitched wildly for a few seconds before lying still. Smoke curled from the spot where the baton had touched him.

  My stomach clenched sickeningly as the General approached my sister. I panted and gripped the handle of my axe.

  “Last chance,” the General said quietly, his irritation obvious. “Who among you is the Fiero I’ve been looking for?” His voice was low and dangerous.

  Jenassa gasped with fear. Her eyes bore into mine. I could tell she wanted to save herself just as badly as she wanted to protect me. She trembled as she looked back at the General. Her mouth opened and closed, opened and closed. She looked at me again as the General lifted the baton.

  “Wait!” I screamed. “Leave her alone! I’m the one you want!”

  Dozens of eyes turned to me, but the General was the only one smiling. “Are you now? I had a feeling.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “That very large snake beside you is an Animal God, correct?”

  I glanced at Saven but didn’t say anything.

  “We caught him on surveillance footage the night our Grakkir prisoners were mysteriously poisoned by snake venom. If he is your companion, then it was pretty easy to guess that you were the human we saw on the footage as well.”

  “That’s just a guess,” I said. “It doesn’t prove anything.”

  “You’re correct,” the General said. “Hence my little game. It’s always fun to break people, but it’s even more fun to watch them break themselves as they choose between their own lives and the lives of those they care about.”

  “Let her go,” I demanded.

  “I’m assuming this is your sister.” He gently caressed Jenassa’s cheek with his finger. “Think of all the fun I could have with her now that I know how much she means to you.”

  Fury burned in my chest as I felt the Ancient Fire begging to roast this man alive.

  “Please, do me the honor of proving yourself,” the General said. “Otherwise, how do I know you are telling the truth? If you’re lying, I could still send this girl to an early grave.” He lifted the baton.

  “No.” My voice trembled. Cypress touched me with a reassuring hand, but quickly pulled it back when my skin singed his fingers.

  “So, I have to force you?” The General sighed dramatically. “Kill her.”

  Two soldiers sprinted at me. Without a moment’s hesitation, I concentrated my anger into my hands and blasted the men with a ball of flames. Though their suits were impenetrable to normal weapons, they weren’t fireproof. The men screamed as their suits caught fire and they pulled at their helmets, trying to escape the biting flames. They fell to the ground and rolled, desperate to extinguish the fire. Even after the flames died, they were so badly burned they couldn’t stand back up.

  I met Jenassa’s horrified eyes through the smoke, feeling disgusted and ashamed. She had seen my hand catch fire, but she had never witnessed me using my powers to hurt someone.

  The General laughed, unsympathetic to his soldiers’ suffering. “Wonderful! This is like a dream come true! As fun as this is, it will be much more fun watching you all die.” He grabbed Jenassa by the arm and pulled her back into the airship.

  “Jen!” I screamed.

  “Valieri!” she cried. The airship’s door slammed shut behind her.

  I rushed at the line of soldiers, thinking not of my own safety, but of my sister trapped inside the ship with that horrible man. They lifted their weapons, moving in synchronicity like they’d been practicing for this very moment. So had I.

  With an axe in my right hand and flames in my left, I bashed one soldier with the blade at the same moment I blasted another in the face with fire. Saven raced to my side, biting one soldier while his tail whipped three more. Khero leapt into the battle, unleashing a frenzied rage the likes of which I’d never witnessed from him. Anza roared a battle cry behind me, urging the others to join the fray.

  The airships settled to the ground, their doors opening to unleash dozens of black-clad soldiers with heavy weapons. Some carried electrified batons, some had swords, while others held guns that looked far superior to Roger’s ancient shotgun. I struggled to make my way through them, my axe swings becoming sloppy as desperation boiled within me.

  “Saven! We need to get to that airship!” I called.

  He held a convulsing body in his mouth and threw the poisoned man to the ground. He barreled in front of me, using his massive size to push through the line of soldiers. They struck at him with their batons, but the weapons hardly left more than a pesky burn on his thick skin.

  The General’s airship rumbled while the propellers gained momentum. Its huge body trembled and shuddered as it began to lift.

  “No!” I cried. Two men hurled themselves at me, but I concentrated my energy and struck them with a fiery whirlwind.

  The trees surrounding the airship groaned. I watched as their roots lifted from the ground and slammed down onto the ship. They leaned and pulled at the craft, almost like they were trying to climb on top of it.

  I turned and looked at Cypress over my shoulder, his face contorted with concentration while his hands commanded the trees. “Hurry!” he shouted.

  I sprinted towards the ship, holding a steady blast of flames at any soldier who tried to intercept me. Saven rushed beside me, driving off the soldiers who dared follow. The airship struggled against the trees, its engines and propellers screaming as it tried to lift off. An oak’s roots finally broke and the tree crashed to the ground. One side of the ship lifted while the other sloped downward.

  I raced to the dipping side, sheathed my axe, and grabbed the nearest tree trunk. Saven boosted me up with his head and I shimmied until I could grasp the lowest branches. I pulled myself upward, knowing exactly which branches to grab and how to push myself with my feet. I reached the top of the tree and jumped just as the roots snapped and the last tree fell to the ground.

  The ship lurched upright, no longer held down by the extra weight. I was thrown forward and fell hard on the top of the ship. Scrambling to my feet, I made my way across the slippery metal and reached the door. I pulled on the latch, but it wouldn’t budge. The dark glass hid whatever was inside, but then a face slowly took shape. I was staring into Jenassa’s terrified blue eyes.

  “Jen!” I screamed, pounding on the door. “Unlock the door!”

  She slowly shook her head, a single tear streaming down her face. Another figure appeared behind her and the General’s hand clamped down on her shoulder. He grinned at me as he loomed over my sister. His mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear him.

  “Jenassa!” I cried again. I pulled out my axe and heaved it at the glass, but it was barely scratched.

  The General’s mouth moved again, but I couldn’t read his lips.

  I furrowed my brows and shook my head, hitting the glass again and again with my axe.

  Jenassa’s hand lifted and her muffled voice screamed, “Val, turn around!”

  I spun and there was
a huge gun in my face. It was attached to the side of the ship by a metal arm which whirred as the barrel moved into position. A single red light stared at me like an eye.

  The gun clanked, and I dove onto my stomach. Bullets thundered from the weapon and I covered my ears at the deafening sound. It paused and whirred again, moving to get a better angle. The airship lurched, turning hard towards the west. I felt myself slipping across the surface, my hands grasping desperately for anything to hold onto. They found nothing.

  My feet dangled over the side of the airship. At the last moment, I grabbed onto the edge, but my fingers screamed as they held my weight. We sailed over the tops of trees and I could see the forest was peppered with soldiers, running like black water through the foliage.

  “Valieri!” Saven’s voice rang in my head. I couldn’t see him, and I dared not look directly down.

  “It’s been fun, Fiero,” said the General’s voice. “But this is where you get off.”

  The airship dipped suddenly, falling straight down for several feet, then lurched upright. My fingers lost grip and I fell. My eyes were glued to the underside of the ship, and I felt more disappointed in myself than fearful of the inevitable impact that would break my body.

  Foliage filled my peripheral vision and I waited for the pain. But I felt no pounding branches, and the ground didn’t rise to meet me. Instead, something collided with my side and clamped around me, sturdy yet surprisingly gentle.

  “Khero!” I gasped.

  Together we fell the remaining distance to the ground, and he landed expertly on his paws. He opened his mouth and I tumbled hard onto my aching side. His teeth left bloody punctures in my skin and surely my ribs would be bruised, but he saved me.

  “Thank you,” I said tiredly.

  He gave a single nod and turned to race after the nearest group of City soldiers. I sat and tried to catch my breath as I watched bodies fill every space between the trees. Saven barreled through a group of men, sending them flying, and rushed to my side.

  “Valieri, are you okay?” he asked.