FIREFANGED

Chapter 13 (Soul of a Kjaira)

I replayed Raven's reaction in my mind as I ran for the castle gate. She obviously knew the meaning of the word Kjaira, and it terrified her, as did my knife, my imbued knife.

According to her sister, Raven's only crime was that she had the soul of a Kjaira. She was exiled by her father to avoid being sacrificed and imprisoned in an imbued weapon. And there I go, basically bragging about how I had killed a Kjaira and waving the resulting weapon right in front of her face.

Okay, I'm not winning any scholar awards any time soon.

Reaching our living room, I could hear the heated discussion in Raven's bedroom. Andy was there, as was Lynda, trying to calm Raven down.

I stepped into the bedroom.

Lynda shrugged at me and slipped out. She didn't know the whole story. I hadn't told any of my potential friends the entire truth. I had my reasons, but I was feeling more and more certain that I needed to apologize to Lynda Snow.

Raven had gone silent at my entrance. Andy took this as a sign and left the room, too, closing the door gently behind him. Raven watched from the far corner, sitting on the floor, tear tracks fresh on her face. She was scared and angry and confused. Her body trembled beneath it all.

I was disgusted with myself for being so careless around the one person with whom I'd connected. I sat down on the floor—against the wall a few feet away—and took a deep breath. "Rae, I'm so sorry. That was careless of me."

She didn't respond, so I continued, "I promised to protect you, and yet I should have been more honest with you about who and what I am."

She whispered, "What are you then?"

"I'm a weapon, Rae, imbued, it seems, with a unique ability to fight demons. A couple of months back, I killed a Kjaira, a powerful death demon, and in doing so was claimed by Vigil Snow and the Order, much as the shamans in Bastian wanted to claim you."

At this point, I removed the leather brace from my arm so that she could see the cost of killing that dark beast. My arm, scarred and mangled, ached with every beat of my heart. It was a reminder to me that I was alive. That I still survived.

"Why do you carry that soul knife?"

"It feels as if it's part of me. I think my own life ended when that demon finally died, like I became someone else, like the soul of the Kjaira I killed lives on with me somehow. Your sister Lorna told me that the shamans saw a Kjaira, a soul of Death, in you. Maybe that is the connection that I feel with you now."

My stomach was turning, and my thoughts were stumbling. Lost in my attempt to share the confusing reality of my life, I finally found a straightforward truth.

"Surviving is not living, Rae. Meeting you has reminded me that maybe I can do more than just survive. That maybe I can belong to someone other than just the Vigil."

Maybe I can belong to someone like you.

I hadn't planned on spilling my guts to this fierce, beautiful girl, but once I got rolling, things just rose to the surface. Being honest with her forced me to be honest with myself and acknowledge my scars, my fears and desires. In that moment of clarity, I knew what I must do.

"And where are you going?" She reached out to take my hand as her anxiety spiked.

I stood up and slowly backed away. "I just need to show you—before I go—so you'll know why I'm going, and why I'll be coming back."

I took off my shirt, exposing the angry scars of my battles and my branding, front and back. I stood mute, sensing Rae's reaction. Her feeling of shock rattled me further, and I did my best not to bolt from the room in shame.

She stood up and moved closer, looking at my chest. "You're wearing a royal talisman of Bastian. Did Lorna give that to you?"

I nodded, still unable to speak.

Rae suddenly relaxed.

She pulled out her silver amulet and showed me that it matched perfectly with the one that I wore. "See, it's official. We're a pair." She found a smile. "By my father, the King, we are connected. We are betrothed."

I pulled on my shirt. "Betrothed? Aren't we a little young to be married?"

"I didn't say we were married. I only meant that you...belong to me." Rae leaned forward, her lips nearing mine, but she stopped. "I claim you, Ara. Do you accept me and my soul of death?"

I whispered, "On my soul and honor, I do."

I closed the gap between us, tasting the salt on her cheeks, her lips, her chin. Our bodies clung to each other as our souls circled the room.

We left Rae's room a fast minute later. The storm of confusion and dark emotions had subsided for us both.

In the common room, Andy looked up from his chair in relief. "Congratulations, Ara. Rae, are you sure about what you are doing? I mean, he hasn't even promised you a horse."

Raven laughed, grabbing my hand again. "Well, he got me the next best thing, didn't he?"

I said, "Andy, please join us for lunch. I want to get a better idea of the demonic threat to Bastian, the threat to Raven posed by the shamans there, and how determined they might be to track her down."

He scoffed. "And there goes my happy moment."

Lynda Snow and Captain Glenn also joined us for lunch. We discussed the situation with the dark elves in Bastian and what it meant to Raven.

According to Andy, things were becoming dire. The Order of the Vigil used every possible weapon at its disposal to counter the demons, and there should be no surprise that the dark elf shamans did the same.

I had decided that someone (me) would travel up to Bastian to work things out with the shamans and deal with their demon problem. Already being claimed by the Order should protect me from their schemes.

Putting it mildly, Raven and Lynda disagreed with my idea. Andy nodded his support, and Glenn looked wholly uncertain.

Addressing Glenn, I said, "I'll run this by Vigil Snow first, before departing, and if I hurry, I might make it back in time for the summer promotion ceremony." I looked at the ladies. "Raven would be safe here with Andy and the sentinel-scouts on alert. Andy can move into my room in the keep, so he'll always be near Raven."

Raven's anxiety had gone through the roof. "And where will you be? Camped out on some cold mountain trail trying to stay awake and warm for a week straight? You'll recall I've just made that journey myself. It was Hell, and I would have died one ugly death if you hadn't come along when you did."

She had a point. I would need some sentinels to back me up, and I knew just where to find them.

"Andy, you wouldn't happen to have an extra hunter's talisman that I could borrow for a fortnight?"