Trail of Flames

by Marlow York

  Tears dripped down my cheeks. “I failed her. Jenassa. She was right there, and I couldn’t save her.”

  Saven looked at me with sympathy. “This isn’t over. We need to keep fighting. You could get another chance.”

  A man stormed from behind a tree and rushed at me. Overcome with anger and instinct, I jumped up and blocked his attack with my axe. His baton hummed with energy and sparked violently against the metal blade. I pushed back with all my strength, and when that wasn’t enough, I concentrated my energy and released it against him. My body burned like a torch and the flames latched onto him, forcing him to withdraw and retreat. Instead of letting him run, I chased after him and drove my axe into the top of his helmet. I’m not sure which took him first, the blow to the head or the fire.

  “Valieri!” Cypress ran towards us, his forehead bleeding and his shirt torn across the shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  “They took my sister,” I said.

  He frowned. “We need to move, now.”

  “What?”

  “Follow me, hurry!”

  He grabbed my arm and pulled me away just as a strange rumbling noise came from the ocean.

  The three of us raced through the forest, dodging soldiers where we could and taking them out when we couldn’t. Cypress used branches to hit anyone who blocked our path and commanded the roots to steal their weapons, leaving the soldiers defenseless. I was impressed by his quick use of his powers.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Captain Lagan called for reinforcements,” Cypress panted.

  Something hissed and rumbled in the distance, but it wasn’t Saven or an airship. Beyond the throng of soldiers and past the trees, something was darkening the sky. A soft mist pattered on my face.

  “We’re not going to make it to the meeting point.” Cypress skidded to a halt in front of a tall tree. “Climb,” he commanded, urging me upward.

  “Saven!” I said, looking toward him.

  Cypress reached up and three trees leaned over, their branches crossing together to create a platform. Saven crawled awkwardly onto the branches and wrapped his tail around them while the trees lifted him upward. I scrambled up the nearest trunk as a sound like galloping horses rumbled towards us.

  With Cypress’s encouragement, the branches bent and lifted to push us to the top. From there I could see the others were also at the tops of the tallest trees they could find, looking panicked as they gazed at the ocean. Captain Lagan yelled with delight. I turned to see what they were staring at.

  The ocean had turned into one huge wave. It blackened out the sun as it sped towards the mainland, misting us with salty rain. Some of the soldiers realized what was happening and tried to climb trees or take cover in the airships, but most were stranded on the ground.

  In the heart of the wave, several dark figures took shape. Just as the wave crashed onto the land, the Istkaal Blackguards burst out and grabbed onto the treetops, whooping wildly while the surf flooded the land. Water crashed into the grounded airships, slamming them so hard they were dragged across the ground. Water rushed to the tops of the trees. I looked at Cypress worriedly. We both turned to the others, and the only one who didn’t seem on the verge of a panic attack was Captain Lagan.

  “Drink it down, you City Dwelling bastards!” he cried, laughing hysterically.

  The water drained away, revealing dozens of drowned soldiers. We made our way back down to the ground, now soaked and muddy with salt water. “Let’s meet up with the others,” I said.

  The sky rumbled again.

  “Oh, no,” Saven lamented.

  Three more airships had appeared in the sky. This time they didn’t land. Instead, the bottom hatches opened and soldiers leapt from the ships, utilizing parachutes to slow their fall.

  “Run,” Cypress said.

  We hurried onward, dodging dead bodies and live soldiers who removed their helmets to cough water from their lungs. We finally reached the clearing where Roger’s house had been, and our small party was joined by a throng of Theria and Istkaal Blackguards.

  “They’ve called for reinforcements too.” I gasped for breath.

  “Looks like we’ve got a handful here.” Captain Lagan watched as soldiers jumped from the airships.

  “We’ll fight to the death, Captain!” a Blackguardsman said.

  “Let’s show these City bastards just who they’re messing with,” a woman chimed in, lifting a curved sword above her head.

  The crowd of Blackguards cheered and whooped, but the rest of us were already exhausted. Footsteps marched through the forest, the soldiers no longer relying on stealth. A wall of black reached the clearing, easily enough soldiers to replace all the ones that had been lost in the flood and then some.

  I looked to Saven. “We’re outnumbered.”

  He grew solemn as his eyes drifted over the group of Blackguards and compared it to the hundreds of soldiers waiting for us to make a move. “I think that’s an understatement.”

  My eyes fell on Cypress, Anza, Mjoll, Khero, and Captain Lagan. We all seemed to be thinking the same thing; only the Blackguards held any sense of confidence.

  I licked my lips and turned to face the line of soldiers. The army we’d been working so hard to build hadn’t arrived yet. It seemed like this was all we had.

  “Well, if this is it, then we’d better make it count,” I said.

  I looked at the others and they all nodded. Anza drew her sword and I lifted my axe. The Blackguards mirrored us. Mjoll and Khero growled. Saven hissed and weaved his head.

  For some reason, I had no fear as I stared at the faceless soldiers. Perhaps that’s what bravery is—giving up on being afraid.

  I inhaled and focused energy to my left hand, letting a ball of flames glow to life. I could feel eyes on me, but I didn’t care. I knew who I was, and I wouldn’t let it be used against me anymore.

  I thrust my hand outward and screamed a war cry, blasting the first row of soldiers with flames as I sprinted towards them. Their cries of pain mixed with a roar of determination from the other soldiers and my companions. We sprinted to meet each other and slammed together with the force of a battle that had been centuries in the making.

  I was toe-to-toe with a soldier, pushing against his baton with my axe. I deflected his weapon and slammed him with the blade. He stumbled and quickly regained his balance. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another soldier break free from the group and stare at me.

  I noticed he was pointing a gun right at my head. I wanted to stop him, but all my strength was focused on the man with the baton. I grunted and tried to push him away, but to no avail.

  “Valieri!” Cypress called to my left.

  Roots shot upward and wrapped around my opponent’s baton and arms, pulling him away. I lost balance and fell hard on my knees. As I scrambled to my feet, I heard the gun click. An explosion burst in my ears and darkness filled my vision.

  Chapter 21

  When I opened my eyes, a shadow loomed over me, tall and cold. It took a moment to realize what I was looking at.

  A pillar of dirt and rocks.

  The bullets had struck the other side, dropping debris onto my face. The ground beneath me trembled as the pillar shot back down into the earth and something else burst upward, showering me with more soil. If I hadn’t known any better, I’d have thought the strange creature in front of me was a shaggy animal.

  “Watch yourself, Fiero. That was too close for comfort.” I barely recognized Nero’s muffled voice under the skull-like mask of stone.

  I stared, mouth agape, as he hurled himself at the soldier with the gun and beat him senseless with his stone club. The ground around me shuddered and more shaggy bodies burst out of the earth, clubs swinging at soldiers too surprised to react. Many were knocked off their feet as the Nordahl came up from under them. The ground opened several yards away from me and soldiers fell into the crevice, only for it to slam shut seconds later, sealing them in an underground tomb.
/>   Nero stood over the dead soldier and gazed around the battlefield, assessing the situation.

  “King Atlas sent you?” I asked in surprise.

  “No. He received your message and promptly tore it to shreds,” Nero replied. “I argued with him, but he is stubborn and selfish. I suspect he will be very angry when he notices how many of his men have defied him.”

  A pang of worry shot through me. Nero noticed and lifted his mask, smiling at me. “Don’t worry, Valieri. Every Nordahl is here because they truly believe this is a cause worth punishment or death.” He pulled his mask back down and joined the fray.

  I had lost sight of my friends among the surge of bodies, and I could barely see Saven through the wall of black uniforms. He thrashed several feet away from me, surrounded by soldiers who struck him with their batons. Bullets whizzed over my head and I threw myself to the ground, not knowing where they came from or if they hit friend or foe.

  “To the north! To the north!” an unfamiliar voice shouted.

  I pulled myself to my feet as the soldiers shifted their attention and promptly obeyed the order, rushing towards the northwest. I struggled to see over their heads as I fended off a tireless soldier. I smacked him across the face with my axe, splintering his visor so he couldn’t see me. Then I turned to see what was happening.

  Across the clearing, the trees shifted slowly, like they were crawling away to make more room for the fight. I spotted Cypress to see if he was the cause, but he too stared at the trees in surprise. Then his lips turned upward in a smile of relief.

  Thick vines shot out of the darkened trees, wrapping around a trio of soldiers and hurling them into the air. More vines followed, ensnaring the closest soldier they could find in a merciless grip. Finally, figures entered the clearing and I immediately recognized Kalea, Bersi, and Farsil leading the line of Secara. The vines appeared to sprout from their hands, but I assumed they were carrying seeds brought from their secret forest.

  “Archers!” someone shouted to the west.

  Irlav entered the clearing, riding his warhorse. His already tattooed face was further covered in war paint, creating a truly terrifying persona.

  Dozens of arrows whizzed through the sky. Saven rushed to my side and wrapped around me, shielding me from the sharp projectiles. Instead of raining pointlessly over the throng of soldiers, most arrows found the small weak spot in their armor—a tiny slit in the neck area between the body and helmet. Men fell around me, gasping and choking.

  Thundering hooves rushed from the forest as the Grakkir Warriors made their presence known. Fueled by unmatchable skill and the anger of revenge, axes, machetes, and hooves pummeled the soldiers before they had a chance to comprehend who they were up against. Vondak rode among them, fearsome and powerful even with one arm.

  I would have smiled if I hadn’t been so tired. The soldiers fought mindlessly, mere pawns in someone else’s war. We fought for our lives and the lives of every person with Ancient Blood who had come before us and may come afterward.

  Another airship rumbled the sky, but this one didn’t drop more soldiers into the battlefield. It slowly lowered to the ground somewhere beyond the trees.

  “Fiero!” The General’s voice boomed from within the forest. “Do you wish to see your sister again?”

  My heart sprang into my throat.

  “Come and get her, Fiero,” the General taunted.

  I took a step, but Saven bumped me with his nose. “Don’t. It’s a trap.”

  I looked up at him. “Trap or not, I aim to kill that man.”

  We broke free from the mash of bodies and hurried deeper into the forest. Cypress called my name, but I ignored him. Death might be waiting on the other side of the forest, and I didn’t intend to drag anyone else with me.

  The airship had crushed another stand of trees and sat still and quiet, its propellers slowly easing to a halt. The air around it shimmered with heat from the engines, quietly hissing like a cluster of snakes. Battle sounds echoed behind us, but I ignored them as my eyes watched the airship’s door. Saven tensed beside me, tongue flicking the air and eyes scanning our surroundings. All the soldiers were focused elsewhere; this was a private confrontation.

  The door popped open with a clunk. I gripped my axe tightly and waited.

  “I must admit, I wasn’t expecting such entertaining reinforcements.” The General’s voice came from within the airship.

  “Where is my sister?” I demanded.

  “Safe, for now.” The door opened slowly, its hinges wining softly. “You should be more concerned about yourself, Fiero.”

  Saven weaved beside me, eager to rip the man’s throat out.

  Finally he emerged, dressed in heavy armor very different from what the other soldiers wore. The bulky black suit clanked with his every step, but he moved easily, as though they were regular clothes. He held a helmet in under his arm and sneered at me. “So, it’s just going to be the three of us?”

  I nodded and glared. As the seconds passed, I felt the Ancient Fire regenerating within me, preparing for the final fight.

  The General chuckled. “Good.” He lifted the helmet and paused just before placing it over his head. “Honestly, this has been a very fun hunt. Please, tell me, what is your name? I like to know who I’ve had the pleasure of killing.”

  I lifted my chin. “My name is Valieri Fiero. My companion and I are going to have the pleasure of killing you. But don’t bother telling us your name. Scum like you don’t deserve a place in history.”

  The General laughed, loud and deep. “You talk big, Fiero, but even Ancient Blood runs red when it spills on the ground.”

  He pulled the helmet over his head and it locked into place with a snap and hiss. The visor was so dark I couldn’t see his eyes at all. He looked more machine than man.

  “Get ready,” Saven said.

  He barely thought the words when the General sprinted towards us, his footsteps loud and heavy on the muddy soil. My eyes went wide, and he was in front of me in a second. His body slammed hard into mine, knocking me off my feet. I toppled across the ground and slid to a halt, gasping for breath as the pain from the impact throbbed in my shoulder and chest.

  Saven hissed angrily and lunged at the General, knocking him away with his head. The General spun in the air and somehow managed to land perfectly on his feet yards away from us. I scrambled upright as he rushed at me again. This time, I dodged at the last second and swiped at him with my axe. The blade struck his back with a heavy clank that vibrated through my arms, but it didn’t even seem to scratch the armor.

  “What is that suit made of?” I asked. “It’s almost as strong as your skin.”

  “It’s stronger,” Saven said.

  A rush of worry sent a cold sweat across my forehead.

  “You two are pathetic,” the General said, his voice loud and clear despite the thick armor. “Here I thought Animal Gods and Grakkir Warriors were supposed to be skilled fighters.”

  Anger welled up within me and I concentrated it to my hand. As the General rushed at me again, I dove and rolled out of the way, landing upright on my knee and blasting him with fire as he passed. But when the flames cleared the General stood before me, the armor barely darkened and certainly not burned.

  My mouth fell open, unable to hide my shock.

  The General laughed. “Why do you look so surprised? You think we wouldn’t develop fireproof armor when hunting a Fiero?”

  He sprinted and rammed into me with his shoulder. He pummeled the air from my lungs until I worried I was suffocating. The attack stopped short and I looked up to see Saven had grabbed the General and lifted him off the ground. The General thrashed to get out of his grip, but he didn’t cry out in pain. Somehow, Saven’s fangs hadn’t penetrated the armor far enough to reach the man inside. His venom dripped onto the armor, causing it to hiss and melt. The General roared with pain as the venom burned his flesh.

  “Release me, ugly beast!” The General grabbed Saven’s head,
squeezing his face until Saven shrieked with agony and dropped the man on the ground. The right side of my face seared with sudden pain.

  “My eye!” Saven cried, shaking his head wildly.

  His lidless eyes were still intact, but the right one dripped tears of blood.

  “Saven!” Jumping to my feet, I slammed my axe across the General’s face. He shook with the impact but looked at me as though I had merely slapped him. He backhanded my legs, sweeping them out from under me.

  “Valieri!”

  Cypress rushed into the clearing. The General rose to his feet, only to be ensnared by tree roots that shot out of the ground and wrapped around him, clamping his arms to his body. The armor hissed and groaned as he struggled against the roots. I took the opportunity to jump to my feet and limp to Saven’s side.

  “Are you okay? Let me look at it.”

  Saven lowered his head and I assessed the bloodied eye.

  “I can still see,” he insisted. As I looked at the wound, I could tell he was hiding the true extent of the damage. My own eye throbbed with a dull ache; I could only imagine how his felt.

  “Valieri, are you okay?” Cypress touched my shoulder, looking me up and down.

  “Why did you follow me? It’s too dangerous.”

  “You say that like someplace else is safe.”

  The General grunted and the roots snapped as he lifted his arms. “Didn’t anyone tell you this is a private party, Secara?”

  “He knows about us?” Cypress asked worriedly.

  “Cy, be careful,” I warned. “That suit makes him incredibly strong and fast.”

  The General rushed at Cypress, favoring his injured leg. Cypress dodged and countered by calling more roots out of the ground. They blocked the General’s path as he spun and rushed at us again. Even the suit wasn’t nimble enough to predict the roots’ thrashing movements and he stumbled and fell. Cypress lifted his arms to the nearest trees. The huge pines moaned and tilted, releasing their hold on the earth and crashing on top of the fallen General.

  I panted and stared at the pile of fallen trees. Nothing moved, and the entire area became so quiet we could hear the distant sounds of battle more clearly. I took a tentative step, then stopped.