Villainous [Wattys 2021 Shortlist]

MALEVOLENT 18: Fire in the Blood

The battlefield was alight. Fire raced across the dry ground, carried by the wind which whipped up sandstorms, catching hungrily onto any dry shrub it found. The air was so acrid it seared the throat; the sky was a pulsing, angry yellowish-grey. Delilah stood up, coughing, as hot wind blasted her. Smoke in her eyes, sand and grit in her hair. She cast around for the group of soldiers she'd been standing amongst, wild, wondering if Finias was dead, then she wouldn't have to do it in the future and maybe she would be relieved – but it was not relief she felt.

There.

His face and hair was dark with ash but he, too, was rising to his feet.

"Fight!" He gave a rallying cry. "Let's finish this!"

The blast and ensuing fire had thrown everything into confusion, and it was hard to tell who was winning.

Another group converged on her and her world narrowed to the slash and swipe of her sword, the blows she blocked with her shield. She was making the movements mechanically, going into some place deep within herself, and some part of her knew that was bad, she was going to make mistakes – but she couldn't bring herself to be more alert. Tremors ran down her arms, but the ash in the air was somehow... invigorating. Far from weakening her, it seemed to... help, somehow.

Her boot landed on something terribly squishy with a squelch and she almost went down. A mass of bloody flesh moaned. It was a Pelenan soldier, burnt to a crisp by the blast but somehow still alive. He was barely recognisable as human. Delilah turned away and tried not to gag at the smell of burnt flesh, remembering her time using her beloved Fire Opal... wondering how many men she'd reduced to wrecks like this with her own fire... Was it disgust or joy she felt? Why was everything so chewed up? Where was the clarity she'd once had?

"Get yourself together," she growled. "Get through this test."

Then a familiar scream of pain snapped her out of it. She'd know that voice anywhere, but she'd never heard it climb octaves like this before. It was Finias.

Without even thinking, Delilah launched into a run and skidded around fighting people, her heart pounding. Here was an excellent opportunity to let him die, but then the battle would surely be lost and it would create future problems for her as ruler. She had to save him if she could – without letting him know who she was.

She found him lying in a pool of his own blood, dropped over him and scanned the surroundings. There was an outcropping of rock nearby with a dark hollow beneath. Fire flared high nearby, blasting her face with heat, and she hooked her arms beneath Finias's and heaved.

Delilah dragged Finias into the shelter of the overhang, then the hollow beneath. She was gasping and sweating by the time she managed it. Clumsily, she pulled his helmet off and unbuckled the breastplate. Finias's head lolled, damp golden hair spilling out around him.

Delilah pursed her lips as she looked down, forgetting for a moment the battle screaming around this pocket of peace, the stench of blood in the air. Why did Finias have to be so handsome, even when injured? It wasn't fair.

She found the source of his blood soon enough: a long gash across his inner thigh. She tore a strip of material from his trousers and bound it tightly, but it didn't take long until the rag was dark red and dripping. She'd have to find another way to keep his body's essence inside him.

Delilah cursed, remembering how in the Valley of Mist Finias had refused to fight her, even as she chopped the hand off the sovereign he had sworn to protect. She was no medic – she was not Kai – so she only had the barest knowledge of healing, especially in battle. Outside the hollow but still in the shelter of the overhang, a dry thorny bush was on fire.