The Girl Born of Smoke (14 page)

Hearing shouts from above, Aurora realized
these griffins were also mounted. Each wore a harness and saddle so
they could be guided. In a state of panic, the soldiers of the
Citizens’ Army look helplessly upward. Their swords were useless
against the beasts, who flew well out of reach. Any arrow shot up
at the giant birds could easily miss and come hurtling back down
where it would surely hit someone on the crowded deck. No one dared
test their aim. Staring up at the circling griffins, Aurora saw a
glint of blue armor visible in the thinning fog. The Wizard’s army
had arrived.

Aurora turned in a circle, searching for
Djerr and Kirian’s familiar faces. Seeing only the grim and
confused faces of fellow soldiers she didn’t know, Aurora plunged
into the crowd, heading in the direction she had last seen Djerr
sleeping. Hearing a resounding yell, Aurora paused and looked back
up.

The griffins were diving toward the boat.
Many of her fellow soldiers began rushing toward the sides of the
boat, ready to jump off and entrust their lives to the water. It
was pure chaos. Caught up in the movement of so many bodies, Aurora
was pushed along with the crowd. She struggled to catch a glimpse
of her friends, but only found panic-stricken strangers, their eyes
and mouths gaping open.

Arrows began falling from
the sky and people fell all around, trampled under the mass of the
mob. Finally, the crowd began to thin out as the uninjured soldiers
hurtled over the edge of the ship. Aurora looked around
frantically. Griffins were shredding the sail while others circled
above, like vultures. The arrows had been replaced by falling
torches and small fires were slowly eating up the ship.
Coughing as the smoke tickled her throat, Aurora
looked over the railing at the water, full of people swimming
desperately away from the doomed ship.

“Aura!” A familiar voice called her name.
Aurora sighed in relief as she turned and saw Djerr and Kirian
hiding underneath the safety of an overhanging platform where their
supplies were being kept. They waved her toward them, but before
she could take a step, she heard another familiar voice, directly
behind her.

“Aurora?” Aurora turned, dreading what she
was about to see. Sitting atop a griffin, which dove over the water
and landed heavily on the deck was a soldier wearing metallic blue
and silver armor. An ornately decorated helm covered her entire
head, except for a small slit for her eyes. Reaching up, a gloved
hand pulled off the helm, revealing a smiling face. Short curls of
auburn hair stuck to her damp forehead. It was Roxanne.

“Fancy finding you here, kid!” Roxanne said,
shrugging. “Pity it had to be under these circumstances.” Aurora
stared, unable to say a word.

“Roxi…?” Kirian had left the safety of the
shelter and stood in the open, looking stunned.

“Kirian!” Roxanne beamed at him. “Guess you
chose the wrong side after all, hmm? Oh well, no hard feelings, I
hope?” She saluted. “It was fun while it lasted.” With one last
smile, she urged her griffin upward. Replacing her helm, she raised
her hand and gave a yell. With a cheer from above, dozens of
flaming balls began falling onto the boat, exploding upon
impact.

Dimly, Aurora realized Djerr was urging her
toward the edge of the boat. The deck lurched beneath her and she
realized it must be sinking. For some reason, she couldn’t bring
herself to care. Cold laughter broke through the haze of her
indifference. She turned and saw a young girl with long dark hair
and icy blue eyes. She frowned. The girl wore no armor or weapons
and she looked far too young to be a soldier.

Aurora took a step toward the odd girl, but
paused as she met the girl’s angry gaze. She seemed strangely
familiar. Confused, Aurora opened her mouth to ask the girl what
she was doing there. The words caught in her throat and Aurora
froze, feeling as if she were choking. She knew who the girl was.
It was her sister. It was herself.

“You stupid girl, what do you think you are
doing?” The other girl asked in a bitter voice.

Aurora found herself unable to speak. As
hard as she tried, she couldn’t look away from her. The other girl
laughed again and Aurora realized she was laughing at her. A tear
rolled down Aurora’s cheek. “I-“

“You what?” she strode toward Aurora and
pushed her roughly. “You don’t even know who you are.” Her voice
was filled with rage.

Aurora stumbled backwards and felt the
railing pressing into her back. She realized regretfully that there
was no one to help her. This other girl was the only other person
in the world. She took a deep breath. “My name is Aurora. I am from
the city of Kain. I am a soldier in the Citizens’ Army. I-“

The girl slapped her. “You’re an impostor.
You don’t deserve any of this.” She pushed Aurora again, harder
than before.

Aurora felt the railing give way behind her.
She fell backwards, held weightless in the air. In that moment, the
world disappeared. She felt nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing. As
she hit the frigid water, her senses snapped back. She felt herself
being pulled down into the deep dark water, unable to breath.
Lacking the strength to struggle, she let the lake take hold of
her. As it grew darker, she closed her eyes and let go of her
consciousness. The last sound she heard was the girl’s cold
laughter, echoing in the waves.

Chapter 7

Djerr sat on the sandy shore, his knees
pulled up to his chest. He glanced over at the pale girl lying next
to him, her hair tangled and damp. Her eyes were closed, but her
expression looked troubled, even as she slept.

“Hey.” Djerr looked up. Kirian stood over
him and motioned toward the girl. “How’s she doing?”

Djerr shrugged. “Still the same.”

Kirian sighed and sat down on the other side
of Djerr. It was drizzling and the damp sand soaked up the cold
raindrops. The waves slowly reached toward the three, then fell
back, time and time again. Each wave brought forth more bodies,
some live and some not.

Lifeless bodies littered
the beach, a few still wearing their green and gold armor. Small
groups of people slowly trudged up and down the beach, searching
for friends, belongings, or nothing in particular. The majority of
the company had washed up on the
shoreline, not far from their intended destination, although
not exactly in the intended method of arrival.

The girl stirred, reaching a sandy hand to
her face. She groaned and opened her eyes a slit. Djerr leaned
over, a concerned expression on his face. “You okay?”

“What…happened?” she asked hoarsely.

“We had to jump ship.” Djerr shook his head,
water droplets flying from his wet hair. “You were knocked
unconscious, so I grabbed you and swam us both to shore. I had to
take off your armor though; it was too heavy.” He managed a small
smile. “I was so scared you were dead.”

The girl slowly sat up, looking around at
the bleak scene. She rubbed her eyes, the troubled expression
leaving her face. “I’m leaving,” she said abruptly.

Djerr stood up and offered
his hand. “Good idea. I think we’re regrouping over there.” He
gestured toward the largest group of people.
Kirian still sat, silently observing the two.

The girl ignored his outstretched hand and
pushed herself up off the soggy ground. Her clothes hung limply on
her body. “I’m not traveling with the Citizens’ Army anymore.”

Djerr frowned. “But why? Where will we
go?”

“I
will go wherever I damn well please,” she snapped.

“Aura…” Djerr looked taken aback.

“And you know my name isn’t Aurora. It’s
Tarana.”

Kirian stood, his stormy gray eyes narrowed.
“Aurora, what’s wrong with you?”

“Stop calling me that!” Tarana stepped
forward angrily. “I’m sick of traveling with both of you.” She
turned toward Kirian. “We're only stuck in this stupid army because
you wanted to chase after Roxanne. At least she had the guts to
join something she believed in and not drag us into it. I can’t
believe you lied to me like that!”

The overcast sky let loose a drizzle of cold
rain. Kirian stood rigidly, ignoring the rain running down his
face. He opened his mouth, then closed it again before taking a
deep breath. “Aurora, I know you must be angry, but it's not fair
to take it out on us, after everything we have done for you. Now,
if you want out of the army, I'll see what I can do-”

“Don't you dare try and act like my father,”
Tarana interrupted. “'After all you have done for me'? Don't kid
yourself. Do you remember when we first met and you said I wasn’t a
very good liar and that made you trust me more? Well, you were
wrong, Kirian. I’ve been lying this entire time and I'm sorry I
ever followed you to Kain.” She turned stiffly toward Djerr, who
was staring at her, wide-eyed. He nervously twisted a strand of
hair around his finger. “And don't even get me started with you,”
she continued. “I am so sick of your pathetic little crush on me.
You think it's so secret, but ever since we met, your stupid
infatuation has been driving me crazy. Let me get this through your
head- I don't like you and I'm embarrassed I ever called you my
friend.” Djerr averted his eyes and took a step back. Tarana rolled
her eyes and sighed heavily. “Now, I'm out of here. Don't you dare
follow me. In fact, I never want to see either of you again. I'm
done tagging along, putting up with your pitiful companionship.
Just leave me alone.”

Spinning away, Tarana
turned her back on Kirian and Djerr, who watched her silently.
Kicking up wet sand, she stalked
into the
forest bordering the beach. Slipping through the brush, she stiffly
pushed the slick branches away from her face.

Water dripped through the layers of leaves
and splashed down in large drops. As she pushed her way through the
thick underbrush, she caught a drift of voices coming from deeper
in the forest. The shadows grew darker as she impatiently crashed
her way in the direction of the voices. Cursing the rain, she
brushed wet strands of hair out of her face and shivered
slightly.

The voices became louder and she slowed her
pace as she noticed a bright light reflecting off the tops of the
surrounding trees. She silently crept around the trunk of a large
tree and gazed into a wide clearing. Dozens of people, mostly men,
were gathered around several large fires where they sat talking and
laughing.

Hearing a rustle nearby, Tarana whipped her
head in that direction and realized someone was standing a couple
trees away, blindly staring out into the darkening forest.
Carefully creeping past the guard, she strode into the clearing,
toward the center fire. Halfway there, someone raised a shout and
the group immediately shot to their feet, swords drawn. Tarana
ignored them and continued toward the group.

“Hey!” a harsh voice called. “What do you
think you're doing, girl?” The man blocked her path and grabbed her
arm.

She glared at him and sighed. “I'm looking
for Roxanne.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? And
how would you happen to know Roxanne?”

Tarana shook her head. “Just tell her I'm
here, will you?”

A group surrounded the two, snickering. “Who
is this kid?” The man turned her toward the fire's light. “She's
just some girl. Must be one of the Scav survivors.”

“What's going on?” Roxanne's voice broke
through the chatter, as she approached the group.

Tarana broke away from the man's grasp.
“Roxanne.”

Roxanne broke into a smile. “Aurora! Never
thought I'd see you here.”

“My name’s Tarana.”

Shrugging, Roxanne pushed away the soldiers.
“Sure, whatever you say.” She put her arm around Tarana's
shoulders. “So what are you doing here? Not scouting us out, I
should hope.”

“No, nothing like that. I just got sick of
the army's ridiculous ideas and decided to break off from
them.”

Roxanne laughed out loud. “Well, I can't
argue with that! Come on, come on.” She ushered Tarana toward a
small tarp strung up to several trees. The rest of the group
watched the two stride away. Talking in low voices among
themselves, they sheathed their swords and returned to the warmth
of the fires. Under the tarp, Roxanne plopped down on the dry
ground and reclined against the trunk of one of the trees, hands
behind her head. Tarana followed suit and sat down as well.

“So,” Roxanne said calmly. “Tell me why
you're really here.”

“Seriously. I left the army. I hated it
there.”

Roxanne regarded her for a moment. “Why do
you want me to call you Tarana?”

“Listen,” she snapped, “Tarana is my real
name. I really don't want to go into it right now, though.”

Roxanne sighed. “Well, I guess I don’t
really need to hear the whole story.” She yawned and stretched out
her arms. “Alright kid, it's late. You're here for now, so let's
get some sleep. We have some serious traveling to do when it gets
light out.”

Tarana grinned for the first time that day.
“Are we attacking the Citizens' Army?”

Roxanne didn't answer right away. Finally,
she shook her head. “This was just an experiment, really. Our unit
has been raising and training those griffins for months, ever since
we accidentally came across a small group of them while traveling
through the mountains, only around a month after we left Kain.” She
laughed. “Trust me, we were as surprised as you guys were today
when we saw them. We were with a much larger group at the time and
we were just going to walk on by, when I came up with the idea of
training them.” She smiled, looking proud. “Anyway, we just
couldn't let an opportunity like that pass us by. We requested
permission from the general to try and capture them and received an
almost immediate 'yes,' so I took charge of this smaller group,
trying to train the griffins. It was an awful lot of work, but we
eventually managed to tame some of the young ones enough, so that
they would follow our directions, somewhat.” Again, she paused for
a second. “It might have seemed impressive today, but that small
show was the result of several months of grueling work and all we
got out of it were a few casualties. The general allowed us to
attack today, but he already ordered us to discontinue our efforts
and we are to return immediately.” Roxanne looked up at the tarp,
sagging in the middle under a puddle of water. Poking at it, the
water streamed off and splashed onto the wet ground. “Well, you're
certainly not leaving now, after I told you all that.”