Fire's Song

by J E Mueller

  “Shit.” Conner nodded, coming to the same conclusion I was. “That’s actually plausible, isn’t it.”

  “They’re here still… but what is their magic?” Jason asked, slowly accepting my idea.

  I blinked. “We’re approaching this as if we’re blind. Magic it up, troops. Jason, can you sense where someone is if they’re touching the ground through your magic?”

  “Yep.” He concentrated.

  “Mara, does your magic see through other spells?” I asked, hopeful.

  She nodded switching her vision over. “Well fuck. It’s an illusion.”

  “How screwed are we?” I asked softly.

  “Shield up!” Mara screamed instead.

  I conjured my shield, surrounding us within my flames as the illusion dropped and swords pointed at us from all sides.

  Chapter 29

  We were completely surrounded but for the moment safe behind my shield. I tried with all my might to grasp the situation without letting my emotions change. Thoughts screamed through my mind and I wondered desperately what had happened to the others.

  “Very good.” The man nearest the entrance of the tent clapped. “I was going to kill you slowly, one by one, but you figured it out.” His voice was stern but sincere.

  “It’s another illusion,” Jason called out. “The only real person is the one in front of us.”

  “I see the swords with both visions, though,” Mara replied worried.

  “He’s got stronger magic than you do.” I replied as calmly as I could.

  “Again, well done.” He clapped. The man in front of us was bald and with a look that spoke all business. “You’ve manage to scare off or kill most of my men. Pity. It took almost three months to gather that many who were blind with hatred.” He seemed unconcerned.

  “We can take one guy,” Jason said, glancing over at us.

  “We don’t know what else he can do.” I shook my head. This one man had gotten this far already. It would be unwise to underestimate him.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be the rash one?” he asked me. “Didn’t you run off scared when we broke your poor village?”

  I took pause for a moment. How in the world did he even know that? There was no plausible answer, but I decided to roll with the situation.

  “Ran off? Yes,” I freely admitted. “We all have the ability to be rash, but rashness doesn’t control me,” I corrected him. I couldn’t help but smirk.

  “It will when you see what I’ve done to your brother.” He smirked back.

  I didn’t buy it, I couldn’t afford to. “If he’s dead, it aids our cause even more.” I shrugged, playing his bluff. In truth it would cause hell to rain down on our enemy. Our allies would be called in to help put out this fire.

  We locked eyes for a moment before he nodded. “Your family isn’t easy to ruffle with magic and lies. What fun.” His face went from a sarcastic grin to deathly serious. “But I’m running out of time. Can we be done with this?” He motioned for us to attack him, but I didn’t release the shield.

  “All right, so we’re safe for the moment.” Jason nodded thinking it through, “Can you attack him from here Key?”

  I nodded but didn't attack. “I can, but he’s ready for that.”

  “If his illusion magic is strong enough for me to see it with both visions, do you think these swords can kill us?” Mara asked carefully.

  “Yes.” I didn’t doubt it. “The swords could be real. He could have levitated them.” I let my flames extend a bit. The swords reacted like normal swords would, metal heating from the flames, but the men did not react normally. The fire went through them instead of latching onto them. The illusion broke. “Yeah, the swords are real.”

  “That’s some serious psychic stuff going on.” Mara nodded in understanding.

  “It’s not likely he has three strong gifts,” Jason pointed out a well known truth. “Any other thoughts on our obvious concerns?”

  The man pushed forward with his magic, testing the swords against the shield, but the swords wouldn’t break it. All they could do was pierce the outer layer and move no further.

  “Yes. I can’t kill him.” It struck me that the magic felt much like what I was used to with Jamie. It was so similar to my own. I pushed down the anger I felt brewing inside. “The bastard has curse magic.” I glared at him. “Why the bloody hell are you doing this?”

  He laughed darkly. “Do I need to answer?”

  “Your control over your cursed magic is astounding.” I hated to applaud him but had to give him credit for it. Curse magic was meant to fight its owner. Even with control, it still had a chance of taking over. Yet his wasn’t actively fighting him. Could he have bargained with a demon to gain such control over it, or had they given him the magic?

  I had said it myself. History was full of mad kings.

  “Now, the question is why would you ever try to rid yourself of it?” He was more than happy to laugh at his own question as he paced about the room. “The best way to deal with cursed magic is to accept the token. Embrace your inner demons and call forth their magic. The failed exchange for my soul got me this curse, but I elected to let the exchange take place so that I could have more control. I can make the world burn or just tear itself to pieces. It’s rather fun.”

  He gave a short and high laugh. “You’d have more fun if you joined me, Cursed child.”

  So, he allowed demons to make his cursed magic stronger. There wasn’t going to be an easy victory tonight. My heart pounded hard against my ribs, and I did all I could to keep my magic under control.

  “I’ve accepted my curse, but I would give all my magic away if it cut ties with whatever demon bestowed it upon me,” I replied cooly, “The world is cruel but it has it’s good. I won’t sell my soul to see this world destroyed.”

  Our token villain mimicked a yawn.

  “Great speech!” Jason applauded, ignoring the gesture. “Let’s figure out how to kill him now.”

  “I’m more worried that he’s not alone.” Mara commented.

  “You can’t even break my illusions. You should be worried.” He smiled. “You can still live if you join me.”

  We ignored his offer.

  I glanced at Mara. “What’ve you got?” I asked her, while neglecting to respond to the corrupted being that was sneering at us.

  “There's something not quite solid lurking in the background around him.” She said carefully trying to find the words for it.

  “He said he sold his soul.” Conner nodded, finally speaking up once more. “Could it be the demon continuing the deal? We don’t know the end terms, so that would mean the demon is likely lurking around until it can take his soul.”

  “Beautiful.” I couldn’t agree more. If any of the stories I had heard growing up were true, it was completely possible that the demon was there giving aid to this person until the contract was complete. Completed contacts were the only easy ways to get souls.

  “I can believe that,” Jason agreed. “And I hate that you’re likely right.”

  We stood there in silence for a moment as the Cursed man rolled his eyes at us and glanced over his shoulder. He was likely looking at the demon I couldn’t see.

  “Can we even kill a demon?” Conner asked.

  “No,” I replied honestly. “Gods can, but we are of the mortal realm.”

  Mara shook her head and whispered, “You’re not. You’ve got cursed blood. While they don’t have your soul, the same blood runs through you. You’re different than us, and in a very good way.”

  “That really doesn’t mean I can kill them.” I shook my head, “It just means I can’t be killed by curse fire. And they have curse fire so I can’t kill them with mine either.”

  “This is a headache worthy problem. Where the hell is our leader?” Jason grumbled.

  “Hopefully safely away from here,” I pleaded to whatever gods might hear me.

  “Can we just back the hell out of here and make a run for it?” Con
ner asked.

  It was a reasonable question. “If we can remove the swords, we have a shot.”

  “Can we outrun a demon?” Conner added to his question.

  “No,” Jason replied. “The tale of the most recent mad king’s last victory speaks much of that. One or more of us would be dead, and I’m betting at this point Key can’t hide.”

  “I would be the easiest to find,” I admitted saddened by the fact. “They say demons can pick up on curses to try and lure out the soul. I’m not interested in that game.”

  “But it would save your friends.” The Cursed man in front of us smiled wickedly. It was clear he was greatly enjoying the turn in conversation. “There’s no other way out for you. Eventually, your power will run out and you will die. But I have to make you suffer the most. No hard feelings.”

  “Not going to lie, I think he’s right,” Mara said, hope depleting.

  “Well, fuck this,” I complained loudly. “If calling for demons can get me cursed, the opposite has got to be true.”

  “Are you saying if we pray loud enough we’ll get help from a god?” Jason asked, eyebrow raised.

  It did sound crazy.

  But I was betting on crazy tonight.

  “I’m saying if we pray deeply enough and loudly enough with ever fiber of our beings for a god to smite this ungrateful demon, we will have a heck of a lot better chance of surviving this than if we gave up.” I went for it, pulling everything I had learned about religion from the Order to memory. Why not?

  “I believe if we can summon demons we can summon help too,” Conner agreed. He was ready to take this to the next level. Carefully he kneeled, bowed his head, and closed his eyes.

  “They’re summoning help,” Mara said, eyes wide with magic as she watched our nameless villain speak softly to nothing.

  “Guess we need to believe,” Jason closed his eyes, giving in to the idea. “My magic won’t save us now.”

  Taking a deep and steadying breath, Mara blinked away the magic. “I believe in the lady blessed, true are her words to bring us joy and rest…” She continued her prayer silently, closing her eyes.

  I felt the fire burn strongly around us. The magic was not my own. While they couldn’t kill me with curse fire, it was possible to break my shield. Without the shield, the magic would kill everyone else.

  Closing my eyes, I concentrated on bringing all the remaining energy I could summon to strengthen it. Making it as solid as possible I cut myself away from it, letting the magic hang around me, but not attached to me.

  It was a move I had talked out with Jamie but had never practiced. Hopefully it would last.

  How could one summon a god? Was it even possible? It was said they didn’t interfere with our lives the way demons did, but that wasn’t to say they didn’t interfere at all. How did they affect the lives of mortals?

  Pushing the thoughts away, I brought my biggest source of goodness and joy to mind. Lee. Where was he? I had no reason to believe that he or the others were dead. There were no traces that they could be, at least from what we saw.

  If there was any time I wished he was here, it was now.

  Opening my eyes, I saw that my shield was still standing strong. The others remained silent in their prayers, pleading, eyes closed, lost in their own world. I stepped through my shield, the flame caressing my skin but leaving no marks.

  The Cursed man looked at me in surprise as I ducked under the swords and walked towards him.

  “What foolish move is this?” He turned the swords to point at me.

  “Your fire can’t kill me,” I replied simply.

  “The swords can,” he said, confused and surprised by my boldness.

  “Obviously,” I responded without stopping until I was in front of him. Before he could say another word I punched him in the face as hard as I could.

  Not ready for it, he fell backwards. The swords clattered to the ground and I encased them in a smaller flame shield. The strain from the extra magic usage was instantaneous. I could only hope it didn’t show in my expression. My years of bluffing were finally coming into play.

  Regaining his feet and composure, he glared at me. His nose was now bleeding and likely broken.

  Holding up my fists I got into a defensive stance. “Wanna dance?” I asked, ready to go. My plan was very limited. I was making it up on the fly.

  Using his magic, he flung a chair at me. Dodging just in time, I threw another punch at him. He backed up just enough to avoid it.

  “This won’t work forever. You’re overusing your magic,” he said knowingly.

  “I don’t need forever. I’m living on a prayer,” I said, throwing a fake punch and landing a kick to his gut.

  Doubling over in pain, he coughed up blood.

  Ignoring the cheers I could hear from my friends, I went for another kick and he grabbed my leg, sending me to the floor with a thud. I knew better than this. Zarek would have my head if I lost now.

  He went to kick me again and I rolled away before jumping to my feet. The magic was draining me quickly. A few specks of black marked my vision for a moment, and I had to take a deep breath to regain my composure.

  “You don’t even have five minutes.” He laughed at me. “I’d be surprised if it was more than two.”

  My head was starting to spin. “Guess I wasn’t meant to dance with you,” I replied sarcastically, “Tough luck. I’ll save it for someone else instead.”

  “You’ll be dead,” he said taking a step towards me.

  My vision blurred and my knees buckled. Damn. He was right. I looked up just in time to see a sword piercing through his chest. I released my shields quickly and hoped whatever was happening would be for the best for my friends. The black dots swarmed in my vision once more, and my ears started ringing. Exhaustion embraced me, and I collapsed.

  Chapter 30

  Darkness greeted me when I awoke. The pitch blackness was momentarily overwhelming. My body hurt and my head ached as I became aware that I was being held somewhere. Hay stuck to me from where I was laying. Carefully, I got up and tried to feel around.

  A wall quickly greeted me and I followed it around until I hit a locked door. Moving on, I found nothing else. I was trapped in a room with some hay and a locked door. This blacking out thing was making me useless, and I hated myself for a moment for overusing my magic. I just hoped it had given everyone else the edge they needed to make it out alive.

  Trying the door again was useless. Banging on it with all my rage got no answer. After a while I was forced to give in to the fact I was at the moment trapped.

  I sat and waited.

  And waited.

  And waited some more.

  Sleep took over for awhile, but soon I awoke with no new answers.

  I waited again.

  And some more.

  My stomach growled. My head pounded. I tried to sleep once more, but it did no good.

  Finally, the door opened. The light was so bright I shielded my face. I couldn’t see the figure before I heard something being set down on the floor. The door closed and I was alone again. The bright sunlight had caught me by surprise, and I was frantically upset that I had missed a chance to escape.

  Carefully crawling forward on the dirt floor, I found a tray with a bowl of what smelled like soup and a wetskin filled with water.

  Not worrying whether or not it was poison I helped myself. If they had wanted me dead, I’d be dead by now.

  The biggest question was who had taken me and why. The who was hard to guess. The nameless enemy had been stabbed before I blacked out. At least that was a small victory. But how did I become a hostage? Did they grab me to bait the others or just to get me out of the way in general?

  After finishing my small meal a plan came to mind. I now had a bowl and tray so I started to dig under the door.

  Slowly, I was met by rays of light. There was no way to know if someone waited on the other side or not so I kept going. I was unsure how much progress I was maki
ng, with no way to tell the time, but eventually I made enough room to slip under the door. The sun was high in the sky, and I was thrilled to see I had plenty of light left.

  I was stuck in a hut in the middle of the forest. Slowly, I took note of my surroundings and the position of the sun. I couldn’t stay here, but which way was I to go? They could have taken me in any direction.

  Thinking for a moment, I realized I had gotten a tray with hot soup. Hot soup. Whomever was holding me was close. Carefully I stomped out a path heading right before I double backed around to the left and hid. It would be more helpful to know where my captor was and who they were. Leaving without answers wasn’t going to do me much good in the long run, and may become deadly. Demons were already involved with whatever was going on.

  Surprisingly, I didn’t have to wait much longer.

  A lone figure dressed in a dark hooded cloak approached not far from where my trail was, and I was glad I picked the spot I was in. My view of their trail was perfect. The person who was checking on the hut cursed loudly when they saw the footprints leading into the woods. They ran to the door, unlocked it, and opened it. I heard more cursing, and off they went to follow the prints.

  Waiting for a few moments, I heard yelling coming from that direction. Three people total came to the hut and peered inside. They spoke loud enough that I could hear them. Anger clearly marked their voices.

  “How in the eight hells did she escape?” person two asked.

  The returning person, who I mentally dubbed one, threw their hands up in defeat. “If I knew, do you think I would have let that happen? We’re screwed.”

  “Not if we find her,” person two pointed out.

  Person one shook their head, “Look at those footprints.”

  “Exactly! She made a trail, she’ll be easy to follow!” person three exclaimed.

  “We ran here, idiot. Where are our footprints?” person one said.

  “Well, fuck,” person two said understanding. “Even if we can track her, she can lay false trails.”

  “Exactly,” Person one said. “We’ll be dead sooner or later. If we fess up we’re more likely to get a chance to redeem ourselves.”