FIREFANGED

Chapter 22 (Clear sight)

Lockrun had changed drastically during our round-trip to the Hell-hole. Scout Tappen was waiting for us at the eastern gate when we arrived. The sun was up, and we had been spotted while still a half-mile out of town. Mott Duncan had people watching atop the walls and the gates, keeping the citizens busy and safe. Tappen escorted us to the town square to meet with my cohort and Mayor Ramsey.

The bonfire in the square had been reduced to a pile of embers and ash by the time we returned. With the light of dawn, droves of vulnerable citizens had poured from the church and the mayor's mansion. People were cooking breakfast over the hot coals, and cots were being hauled into the square. Injured were being carried from fetid basements and houses for treatment under a clear summer sky.

Mott Duncan was awaiting our report. His day would be made or ruined by whatever I said.

I kept my face blank. "Mott, where's Andarion and Yseria?"

"Well, now that you've removed the threat, they're helping remove the injured from the church basement."

"How did you know that we removed the threat?"

"Well, first, look at you two. You went down a hole, didn't you? And you wouldn't have come out looking like Hell unless you had ended some kind of major trouble. How many Hell-knights were there?"

"Five," said Raven with a smirk. "But don't let him pretend that he killed them all by himself."

Duncan paused at that remark. That many Hell-knights were usually a sign of a major incursion.

"And second?" I asked Mott.

"Well, second, we all felt it, like a dark wave flowing back out to sea, a couple hours before dawn. The dread and the whimpering in Lockrun were just gone. Oh, and third, the young lady standing right behind you said so."

I turned around to face my dearest friend. "Hello, Cat."

It had only been a month since I last saw her, but it seemed so much longer. I recalled the promise that I made to her about not turning up again, looking half dead. I wasn't sure my current state qualified.

The girl looked at me with her arms crossed, taking in my burned, crushed, blood-spattered, and overall mutilated appearance. She didn't say a word.

"Happy Birthday," I offered weakly.

And then she was in my arms, hugging me like there was no tomorrow. I could feel the relief and the love pouring off of her in waves more powerful than the Black pall that had blanketed Lockrun. It blotted out any pain I might have felt at that moment.

"Ara, did you forget our last talk?" she teased.

"I did not," I showed her my best smile.

"Well then, where is it?"

"Ah, you mean this," I said, reaching into my pack and pulling out a pin with a silver lightning bolt through a black half-moon. "This is my birthday gift for you."

I pinned it to her shirt. "Cat, you are now an official member of Vigil Ara Storm's company."

The black leather strap of her earlier birthday gift still hung around her neck.

Cat looked from me to Raven, who wore the same pin on her breast. "And who is she?"

"That is Raven Ylamil, my second and betrothed. I saved her from some demons in the Everest Mountains, and now it turns out she's even better at saving me."

Cat laughed. "Are you sure? It doesn't look like she's doing such a great job. I mean, what happened to your arm and your hair?"

"Well, you should have seen what we did to those demons," I countered.