🔥 The Path of Fire (Path of Light and Fire Book #1)(Completed) 🔥

Chapter 27.1: The Reincarnation of Yua

We're supposed to fight the Guan, yet all of my enemies are human.

Why am I doing this?

Kianna arrived at Sabin's side, her light brown eyes wide. "I knew I couldn't run. This is the day I die."

He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Stop saying that! You're not going to die."

"I've made peace with it." She shook in his arms.

"We could run..."

Yuans were known for their footspeed and stamina. So if they wanted to catch them, they would.

We could run anyway, split whatever forces they had...

"What's the plan?"

He hadn't realized he was looking down or that Leena made her way to his side. He needed to make a decision fast, but the gravity of the situation was a heavy weight that hung on his shoulders. "Find the others, then-"

"No need."

Sabin turned his head. Sakima leaned on Turrent's shoulder and Alaina limped beside them on a makeshift crutch.

Running is out of the question now.

Kianna ran to her sister, hands glowing.

You guys run, I'll slow them down as long as I can.

The thought rang hollow. Even with the power of a Serien, it was foolish to think he could slow an army. If he went all out, he could defeat dozens of them at a time, but the rest would overwhelm him. No grand sacrifice would get them out of this mess.

"I will talk to their leader and see what he or she wants from us. If their leader cannot be swayed, I will kill him."

No one questioned his decision. There were no cries of 'don't do it' or 'this plan is too risky'. There was some head nodding from Sakima and Leena, but that was the extent of the discussion.

He laughed, his heart filled with dread.

I've killed nineteen people. What's one more?

When do I stop being a hero and start being a villain?

"You are a Serien," Wade said. "Take heart that you do good. You must survive to face the Guan. Remember that."

Sabin nodded.

Sakima and Alaina looked as though they were completely drained. Turrent and Leena seemed to still have something left to give in a pinch. However, he purposefully held back in battle. A foolhardy risk that might have seen him dead, but Resa's words run in his head.

Show your enemy the power of six, so that when more is needed, ten is available.

I will need ten this day.

The army came to a halt several hundred yards away from the broken camp. Roughly three dozen of the army jogged forward, leaving the rest behind. It was enough to give the group problems, but a manageable battle.

Why split their strength?

Sabin wasn't about to spurn this gift from Schewa so he strode forward. Everyone held their tongue, as if their silence was what was keeping the rest of the army's strength from falling on them.

The contingent stopped a few yards from the group, almost if baiting Sabin with the opportunity for freedom. Of the contingent, a handful continued their march to the Seriens.

At the front of the group was a man dressed unlike any of the other Yuans. He wore a simple loincloth of animal leather, with multicolored plumes jutting out of each side. He stood about a hand taller than Sabin; black dreadlocks with streaks of red ran down his back. Tattooed on his chest was that bird creature that Sabin saw on the forehead of the other warriors. This man's face was painted similarly in swirls of red and black, but instead of a bird, there was a crown.

Kianna gasped.

"What is it?" Sabin asked.

"Nothing," she said.

To the leader's left was an older woman that Sabin swore he had seen before. She wore a leather armor plate and leggings and walked as though every fiber of her being was a warrior. She wore no face paint like the others and Sabin lines creased her brow. Greying dreadlocks streamed down her back.

To his right was a thickly muscled man. He wore the standard battle robes with stone armor and face paint. He held a long sickle-blade in his hand, instead of the banded spears the others used. His eyes flickered in color.

He held up his hand and they stopped, still several paces away. He pointed at Sabin and waved him forward.

Sabin pressed his palm down, signaling for the others to stay in place. Kianna touched him on his shoulder and he squeezed her hand before walking forward.

The handful of steps forward felt like an eternity. In their other engagements, Sabin always saw a way out. Even if it were fraught with risk and danger, there was an option that saw them out safely and whole.

Here, the group was completely at this man's mercy. They could fight and there was an outside chance that they'd win. Yet nothing which followed would be based on their actions; it would be reactionary.

As they came face to face, a sense of dread overcame him. Sabin was well aware of how he looked, there were enough mirrors that he had a good image of his features. His broad nose, deep brown skin and eyes that were a deep brown to the point of almost being black.

They were all present in this man as well.

The man smiled as though he were happy to see Sabin, a smile Sabin had practiced in the mirror several times. As if waiting for the opportunity, Leena's words filled his mind.

"Wouldn't that be something?" Leena said, poking Sabin's shoulder. "You're an orphan, right? Just like in those hero novels, 'the long lost son of the king appears and takes the throne'."

He clasped Sabin on the shoulder, as if he were trying to comfort an old friend. Sabin flinched, knowing the words that were to follow.

"Hello, brother."