King of Dust

Chapter 34

The entirety of Nessden was on fire. Travelling had been long and tiresome without the wagon. I could have simply turned into a mist and flown, but Urien and Astrid did not have such luck. It took us a few hours to try and beat our adversaries, and when we arrived we were too late. We passed the Mortrean caravans, already lined up, as we raced into town. We did not know how we were to stop whatever chaos this monster had caused, but it was of no importance to us at the moment. Step one was to stop the town from burning to the ground.

As we approached, citizens fled from the war zone in droves, grabbing what things they could in their arms. I thought I spied Klarkloff with arms full of canned food in the crowd. Someone slammed into me as they passed, looking not ahead of them as they ran but behind at the chaos. A nearby roof gave way to the flames and crackled as it fell, sending a shower of sparks into the air. Urien darted toward Nessden without a word. Astrid and I scrambled to follow, charging in after him. Honestly, I was so out of breath. I had not run anywhere in some time, having grown accustomed to flying or my mist form, and I had to stop occasionally to double over and catch my breath.

We dodged burning buildings and fleeing denizens as we stepped further into the chaos, trying to find the source of the fire. Whoever that other figure had been in the cabin, they had moved swiftly. Something darted over my head and a familiar voice cried out amid the fire and confusion.

"Yra! Get those people out of there!"

I turned my head to find someone I did not expect. Liliya Sorensson. She was much more heavily outfitted than the last time I had seen her, silver armor glinting in the firelight, and her dark skin soaked up the warmth of the burning structures. She tossed her red hair from her face, sweat and dirt glistening off her forehead and the beads in her braids, and someone darted into a nearby building.

She turned to the new figures on the scene, her sword drawn and ready for murder, but when she saw a familiar figure, she lowered her shield and her blade. "Urien? Is that you?"

Of course, she'd notice him first.

"Liliya?" Urien tossed his cloak aside and approached her. "What's happening?"

"Something descended upon the town. One large thing that can fly, and a bunch of murderers in matching uniforms. I showed up just before the bloodbath started."

Yra came bursting from a nearby building holding the arm of an elderly gentleman and coughed up ash, sending plumes of smoke into the air. He handed the elder off to another younger citizen. "There's no one else in there," he said.

"Good. We need to get these assholes to stop burning everything down." Liliya looked toward the center of town. "Are you all coming?"

"Who's this?" Astrid asked, folding her hands nervously in front of her.

"Liliya Sorensson." Liliya stuck her gauntlet-clad hand out for Astrid to shake.

"I'm Astrid."

"You decided to actually show up?" Yra scoffed. "Did you find anything out?"

"Only that this demon is hellspawn meant to rival me in power and that they need to be stopped," I said. "We need to hustle."

"Follow me," Liliya commanded. "I saw the thing go this way."

We dashed through town, watching scorched residents of Nessden flee their burning homes, until we arrived in the square where we had partaken in the festival put on by the burgomaster. Standing before the stockade, a tall, broad shouldered figure loomed over the burgomaster's wife, holding her by the hair.

"Remember me? Or would you forget your own son?" he growled.

"Lazar?" the burgomaster's wife stammered. "I-I... I thought you were d-dead."