The Blades

Chapter Nine

A few hours later...

Just when my butt was getting tired of being sat on, I was able to make out the great, towering trees of the elven village over the pine forest we were in.

"Have you ever been to Aethel, Atla?" Flax turned in his saddle to look at me.

"Once. It was on my way back from Blackwood and I just passed through. I didn't want to stay long."

"Oh, they serve the best drinks in all of Skystead. The elves spend centuries concocting them and their wines are fermented to perfection." X sighed, his voice full of longing.

"And here I thought I was done with the history lessons when I passed my trial." Kodi turned around to grin at his best friend. X rolled his eyes, smiling slightly.

Over the main gate of the city was a gigantic tree that had split its trunk over the path, large enough to comfortably walk under, even while mounted. The stables were just inside the tree and we left our wolves with some of the young elven boys, who took care of them.

Fairy lights glimmered in the trees as dusk fell, twinkling over the people passing below. An elf with a staff was lighting the lanterns around the town. X told me they were Fire Mages. In the center of the town was a huge tree with windows and balconies scattered here and there. It was huge and towered over the other, much smaller trees. People wandered the streets, chatting merrily with one another. Most were elven but I caught a glimpse of a few Zei and humans. It was a happy little town and I felt peaceful there. It was the first time in two years I had been out in public without having to hide my identity.

Flax led us to the Tavern and we sat down at a table in the corner. Music was being played by a small band in front of the fireplace and people were dancing a weird elven dance I didn't know the name of. The seven of us ordered a fancy drink that Flax recommended. It was called Fairy Light and sounded pretty sketchy to me. The drink turned out to be dark blue with small little bubbles that fizzed on the top. It tasted like fruit and was very sweet. Bayah somehow managed to convince me to dance and she taught me the one the elves were dancing.

She was an artist of perfection and my years of balancing on ropes and climbing walls apparently didn't give me any skills that would be useful for dancing. Sygnet and Flax were soon dancing as well and it made me happy to notice that Flax was just as bad as me when it came to spins.

My birthday celebration was stocked full of good times, drinks, music, laughter, and dancing. It was the best one I had ever had. I didn't know at the time but it would be the last I would ever celebrate like this.

The night wasn't even half over when the door burst open with such force that it bounced off the wall and shattered the window next to it. Everyone in the tavern stopped what they were doing and faced the newcomer.

"There's a fire!" the entrant cried, "It's headed this way! Run!" the man turned and scattered.

The seven of us traded glances and as a unit, scrambled for the door. From our place in the city, we could see a distant orange glow on the horizon, filling the darkened sky. Smoke disrupted the stars and sparks, stirred up by the wind, moved in our direction.

We sprinted towards the stables. The horses inside were whinnying and moving about in their stalls with fright. The wolves were nowhere to be seen. "Bray'yla did say they knew the way home!" Sygnet shouted over the noise. We looked at each other.

Kodi pointed in the direction of the fire, "Dolonde is that way." he told us. Airys grabbed some cloth from a table and handed a bit to each of us with instructions to cover our mouths and noses.

And we took off. It was a race to get through the fire before it got worse. We would be making an afternoon's walk in hopefully just an hour or so. It was a flat-out sprint for our lives.

The fire was spreading quickly. The land was dry since it hadn't rained and I mentally cursed the warm summer weather.

About a third of the way to the city, the fire met us. The smoke was thick and clouded our vision as we ran. My lungs were burning from running and the smoke. Sparks and ashes flew into our faces as the trees cracked and broke around the path. We ran, single-file, Kodi, followed by Sygnet, X, Airys, me, Bayah, and Flax bringing up the rear.

I heard a cry of pain and turned to see Bayah sprawled on the ground. She had fallen into a small hole and her ankle was twisted in the wrong direction. I bent to help her up. Walking, much less running wasn't an option, not for her.

"Kodi, can you carry all of us?" Airys asked, shouting over the roar of the burning forest.

The Changeling shook his head.

"Then take Bayah and Sygnet and get them out of here. Go!" he commanded. Kodi shifted into a large dragon. It was a terrific and terrifying sight when matched with my adrenaline. He took Bayah up in one of his paws and then Sygnet climbed onto his back. Then he took off, sending ashes and sparks in a swirl of wind. I covered my face to protect it. I felt a pang of worry for my best friend.

We began running once more, Flax leading the way, followed by X, then me, and finally Airys.

Suddenly, an ominous explosion sounded as a branch over my head broke off and plummeted downward. Airys grabbed my waist and pulled me back towards him, out of the way just as it landed where I would have been. The tree was on fire and blocked the whole path. We were separated from the others.

Flax and X turned towards us, "Go! Get out of here!" Airys gasped and coughed as the smoke filled his chest. The two looked at each other before following orders and sprinting away.

Airys coughed and I turned my attention to him. Soot covered his face but his bright green eyes, bloodshot and watery, were determined. Yet, I could almost see the stress and fear in the lines around his face.

He nodded, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the trees, slower this time as we jumped over rocks and bushes. He let me go after he knew I was following him.

The smoke hung thick over the ground, my eyes watering from the heat so it was a big surprise when the trees stopped and there we were, at the top of a cliff above the water. We looked at each other, I took his hand and we jumped, my lungs burned too much to scream as we hit the water.

With the last of my energy, I clawed my way to the surface and we swam back to the shore. I was weak and tired and began to lag behind. Airys turned, took my hand again, and pulled me along. We dragged ourselves up the beach and below the cliff. It was a small beach, sheltered from the elements by the cliff we jumped off as it hung over it. And there, we collapsed, breathless and exhausted. I looked over at Airys, my hand still entwined in his. He was staring back at me. What was he thinking right then?

He laughed gently, "I do believe I'm warming up to you." he grinned, coughing.

I rolled my eyes at his pun, "Well, I'd heat for you to be uncomfortable," I managed to say as my eyes closed and all thoughts ceased to be made.