Chased By Fire (Book 1) (32 page)

“Just run,” he began weakly. “I’ll hold them as long as I can. Take the artifact. Get to safety.”

She shook her head. “I’ll not leave you, Tan.” She squeezed his hand.
 

He met her eyes, sensing the lisincend nearly upon them.
 

Protect her
, he sent with the last of his energy.

The lisincend were close enough to feel the heat rising from them. Steam rose around them as they walked, the river evaporating in their advance. Fur led the charge and a powerful shaping built as he neared. Tan wouldn’t survive the attack this time; he’d been lucky to have the nymid save him the last time.
 

And now? He’d failed. He’d failed his mother asking him to help Roine and the king. Now he’d never be able to travel to Ethea as she’d wanted. He’d failed Roine; the lisincend would take the artifact back to Incendin and all that power would be theirs. With it, they would attack the kingdoms and there weren’t shapers enough to stop them.
 

And he’d failed Amia. The linger thought, the plea to protect her, still tickled his mind, only now he couldn’t do anything more to help her. He’d failed.

Amia squeezed his hand again, as if knowing his thoughts. He couldn’t look at her.

And then there was a presence in his mind. Huge and rough, nothing like the nymid. Had it ever really left his mind? Had the connection ever been broken?

Who calls?

The draasin. Tan shook from pain or fear, he did not know.

Tan
, he said.
Tan, who freed you
.
 

He sensed irritation from the draasin.

We need your help. I need your help.

Why should I help you? I hunt now.
 

For the freedom you were given
.

You took freedom away. You limit what I may hunt.

I released you from the ice and pain. I ended the suffering.
 

Tan barely had the energy to send the last thought and sagged into Amia.

The draasin was silent. They would not help. Nothing would.

The lisincend stood barely ten paces away. Fur pointed toward them.
 

Amia pulled at his arm, trying to get him to come with her but Tan resisted. There was another thing he could try, if only he was strong enough.

Hunt near the river
, Tan suggested, sending an image of where they hid, using what was left of his energy.

The draasin finally answered him.
You forbid us to hunt man, little warrior.

There is more to hunt than man near the river,
Tan said.
Come. Help me. Hunt.

I will help. This time, little warrior.

“Tan!” Amia yelled.

Fur was nearly upon them. “I hear you now, girl. I will enjoy tearing you apart. And the other with you, as well.”

“Tan?”
 

He pulled her back into the trees. They couldn’t move, not fast enough.
 

The building shaping was earsplitting. Tan could barely tolerate it, shaking with its power.

Then there was a cry like nothing he could imagine. The sound pierced the sky, overpowering the thunder rolling through the air. The sound of a predator the world had not seen in nearly one thousand years. And it hunted.

Instinctively Tan cringed, and he felt a satisfied laugh from the presence in his mind. Tan steeled himself, sending the image of the lisincend.
 

A huge shape erupted above the trees, blotting out the light, and flying hard and fast toward them. The lisincend stopped to turn and see what was coming.

The draasin attacked the smaller lisincend first, swooping out of the sky. It grabbed the lisincend from where it stood in the river, chewing it quickly and swallowing before twisting and turning skyward again.
 

Fur moved toward the center of the river, less certain than before. He watched the draasin, eyes widening. The energy Fur had been building erupted as a huge bolt of fire toward the draasin.

The fire struck the creature in its abdomen and disappeared.

The draasin roared.
 

Not in pain, Tan realized. Fire would not hurt the draasin. Not a fire elemental.
 

No, the draasin roared in anger.
 

Tan shivered at the sound. Amia squeezed his hand. She smiled at the enormous creature hovering above the river, a pleased looked to her face.

You dare use fire against the draasin!

Tan heard the words as a shout within his mind and realized from Fur’s expression that he did as well.
 

Then the draasin struck. Its head darted toward the water quickly, striking at Fur. Fur grabbed the huge jaw and twisted, thrusting it back and away from him, ducking from underneath a barbed tail darting toward him.
 

Then Fur ran.

He jumped out of the river in a single leap. Once on the shore, he ran quickly into the trees and disappeared. The draasin flapped its huge wings once and was above the trees, flying low over the treetops. Hunting.

Hunt well
, Tan said.

Always
, the draasin answered.
 

Tan felt its mind grow distant as it flew away, following Fur. There was a sense of satisfaction from the creature. Faintly, Tan knew they’d done the right thing in freeing the creature.
 

Though the draasin’s mind grew distant, Tan was still aware of it.

“Are we safe?”
 

He looked around the forest. Could they be safe?
 

But the lisincend were gone. One dead in the cave. Another eaten by the draasin. And Fur, running, hunted by the great elemental. Could the hounds still be out there?

He sent his sensing out and around the forest. Pressure built behind his ears and let out slowly as his sensing washed over the forest. Birds and squirrels and even a fox roamed the forest. Cool wind gusted from the north. But nothing else. No sign of the hounds.

He smiled. They’d survived more than they had a right to survive. “I think we are.”

“You protected me,” she said.

“Not me. I needed help.”
 

She still smiled and squeezed his hand. “We all need help at times.”

Tan looked toward the sky at the small black spot that was the draasin. Overhead, the sky still thundered and lightning crackled.
 

After resting for a moment, they followed the river, heading south. Toward Ethea. Tan felt the artifact as a heaviness in his pocket. Was everything they’d been through worth it? After losing Nor, the Aeta, and even Velminth, did keeping the artifact away from Incendin matter?

After seeing how little the lisincend cared for others, their fiery violence, he had to think it was. He hoped his mother would have been proud.

Amia touched his arm and a wave of peace washed over him.
 

Finally, when the thunder died and the last of the lightning went with it, he looked up to the sky. “I wonder who won.”

“There were no winners in any of this.”

“No. But I met you. I spoke to the nymid. And the draasin were freed from ages of suffering. I think some good has come from this.”
 

Not enough to make up for what was lost, but it was a start.

Amia and pulled him close. Then she kissed him. He was startled at first, but he let her full lips envelop his and kissed her back, and felt hope for the future for the first time in as long as he could remember.
 

They found Roine near the lake.

Tan and Amia had followed the river, walking along the shore of the wide river as it meandered through the forest. Their hands were entwined and he felt reluctant to let her go, enjoying the sensation of her hand in his.
 

The forest around them gradually returned to life. Insects buzzed, squirrels climbed on trees, and the sun shone brightly overhead. Tan felt more and more relaxed with each step he took, knowing the normalcy of the forest meant the lisincend were truly gone. And the hounds.
 

He smiled.

Amia looked up at him and smiled back. He sensed her growing ease. There would be grieving later for both of them, but for now, they simply enjoyed each other’s company.

The river crested a small hill before running down and toward the lake. They followed it, moving casually. When they reached the lake, Tan felt a sense of warmth, of welcome, as if the nymid greeted them. He didn’t reach for them.

The bright sun reflected off the calm water of the lake, glittering and reflecting like a thousand stars. They stopped by the edge of the water and took a drink. The water tasted cool and refreshing. Not far down the shore was the cluster of rocks where so many horrible things had happened. The first attack when Tan had nearly died. Roine’s attack on the lisincend. And his rescue of Amia.

Amia saw him staring at the rocks. She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, letting the sudden tension leave him. Neither spoke.

They found him near the rocks, lying half in the water.

He lay still, motionless, though his chest rose and fell so they knew he still lived. His face was torn and bleeding. Dark green clothes were tattered and stained with blood. The water washed some of it away.
 

They knelt next to Roine and Tan touched his forehead. Roine opened his eyes, blinking against the bright light.
 

“Did you defeat Lacertin?” Tan asked.

Roine shook his head weakly. “No.” But he smiled. “I managed better than I thought I could. For now, he’s gone. Chased away. And we have the artifact.” Roine glanced at Tan, closing them when Tan nodded, patting his pocket. “The lisincend?”
 

“Gone,” Tan answered.

Roine blinked his eyes open again. “Gone? Even Fur?”

“For now,” Tan answered and smiled, baring his teeth. He didn’t know if Fur managed to escape the draasin, but it didn’t matter right now. “The draasin helped. Fur is now the hunted.”

Roine nodded slowly and sighed. “Good. I still wonder if we did the right thing freeing them. The world hasn’t seen their kind in centuries. We can’t know what price we’ll pay.”

“They needed to be freed, Roine,” Tan said. “They suffered. And they hadn’t joined the barrier willingly. Not like the others.”

Roine looked at Tan and sighed again, slowly shaking his head. “Perhaps you’re right,” he said quietly.
 

“What now?” Tan asked.

Roine pushed himself up and looked down at his tattered clothes streaked with his blood, staring out into the lake before turning his attention to the south. “Now we need to reach the king. Now we travel to Ethea.”

“You think the artifact will help?” Tan asked.

Roine shook his head. “I don’t even know anymore. It wouldn’t work for me. Perhaps too much time has passed since its creation. The ancient warriors are no more.” He shook his head again. “But I have to think we’ve done well. The lisincend are defeated. And Lacertin has been outed. No more can he hide his plans.”

Tan pulled the artifact out of his pocket and thrust it toward Roine. The silver surface was dull, lifeless, and reflected none of the bright sun. “You should carry it.”

Roine took it and turning it in his hands, staring at the surface as he ran a finger along the markings. Slowly, he pulled his attention away from the artifact and handed it back to Tan. “No,” he said. “You carry it. If not for you, none of this would be possible.”

Tan took it back and held it in his hands, feeling the soft weight of the device. The markings on the surface were meticulously done and he ran his finger along the markings as Roine had done. A soft pressure built behind his ears and he looked up, wondering why Roine or Amia would be shaping. Neither gave any sign that they were.

Tan stood and Amia followed. They both helped Roine to stand. He trembled for a moment before steadying himself. And then they started off, walking along the shore of the lake, toward Ethea.

Amia took Tan’s hand and she looked at him. Her dark eyes studied him and she brushed her pale hair back from her eyes, tucking it behind her ears. He closed his eyes a moment before letting himself be led, feeling the soft breeze on his face, the earthy scent to the ground, the warmth of the sun, and felt a brief spray of water strike him as well. And he smiled.

Tucking the artifact into his pocket, he didn’t see it begin glowing faintly, pulsing. The pressure behind his ears slowly eased and they started off toward Ethea.

About the author:

DK Holmberg currently lives in rural Minnesota where the winter cold and the summer mosquitoes keep him inside and writing.
 

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Bound by Fire
- Book 2 of the Cloud Warrior Saga.