The Atheil Chronicles: A Call to Fire

Chapter 30

Ariana stood in awe, gazing at the great spikes in the distance, then turned to Tyrynion. "Seriously? That's Balthorn?" She asked him.
He nodded. "Those are the towers that border the city. They're made of carved obsidian." He started walking again and Ariana rushed to keep up. The towers were strangely beautiful against the darkening sky, though they also gave her a bit of a sick feeling. Somewhere behind those towers was a city overrun with enemies of all kinds and the potential for death. They would be walking into the midst of all of this almost completely blind. Even Tyrynion, who had been there numerous times during his exile, seemed quite anxious as they approached.
"Hey." Ariana said, reaching out to tug on his sleeve. He turned to her, his eyes curious. "I just realized, you never did answer my question earlier." When he just looked at her blankly, she said, "What's it like there?"
Tyrynion turned his gaze toward the horizon. "It's like no place I've ever visited before in my life. There are dark creatures on every street corner, some looking to sell something, some trying to figure out some way to trick you, and some just looking for a fight. It is depravity and chaos, a heavy aura of darkness hanging about the place. Despite all that, though, even the most volatile creatures refrain from just rampaging through the city. There is an unspoken rule in Balthorn and that is that no one is to murder."
"Really?" She asked, surprised by this.
"Indeed. If they were constantly at each other's throats it would not exactly be conducive to building an army to conquer Atheil with."
"I suppose not." She said quietly. Rather than make her feel better, though, his words had stirred up the already existing mass of anxiety that was swirling inside of her. Her mind began racing, trying to imagine what kind of evil a place must hold that even Tyrynion seemed to fear it.
With every step that they took, the towers in the distance grew larger and larger. An uncomfortable silence fell between them, no one willing to break it as they approached the edge of what Ariana now realized was a large hill that led directly to the border below. The darkness was thickening around them now, making it so that very little could be seen of their surroundings but, as the night closed in, the city lit up. Lights seemed to flicker into life throughout the city below, casting an eerie cyan and amethyst glow upon Balthorn that could be seen in the distance like a pulsing heartbeat.
Tyrynion stopped, turning to them with a serious look on his face. "It's going to be dangerous in there." He warned, pausing to look at each of them in turn. Ryonen wouldn't meet his gaze but Ariana could see his shoulders tensing at his words. "You'll both need to keep your hoods up the entire time we're there, especially you, Ariana. Ryonen, they may know what you look like so just keep your hood up, too, for caution's sake. Don't talk to anyone, don't make eye contact, don't accept anything anyone gives you, and don't," he put a heavy emphasis on this, "get seperated from me. Okay?"
They both nodded and Ariana took in a shaky breath as they all lifted their hoods to their heads. Her nerves were getting to her now as they started the descent to the city, making their way closer to the towers until they were looming over them like shining black skyscrapers. As they passed by one, Ariana could see herself reflected off of the onyx surface, her face distorted and spooky under the glow of the shimmering lights.
A crumbling gateway lay before them, a crooked sign above it with "Balthorn" written in glittering red ink on its weathered surface. "Is that-?" Ariana started, but Tyrynion cut her off.
"Blood? Yes."
They passed through the archway, Arianas stomach churning as they finally stepped foot in Balthorn. Before them, dilapidated buildings spread across the landscape like the remnants of a long forgotten city. The ground was paved with the same glittering obsidian, the pebble stone road sporting gravel ranging from shiny black and reflective, to speckled with gray, to rough and matted. The whole thing gave the effect of some demonic city, the cyan and amethyst glow just adding to the atmosphere of uneasiness. She looked up to her right at the rafters of a nearby building. Saw-edged crystalline masses hung from every building, the source of the blue and purple hued lights. Each crystal seemed to shine with a dull, pulsing light from within it, the added effect being the curious glow that hung over the city.
Ariana felt herself edging closer to Tyrynion, her eyes now drawn ahead as a noise began to grow louder there. In the streets directly before them, hundreds of dark creatures gathered en masse as they bustled through what looked like some sort of bazaar, the sound of raucous laughter and yelling rising into the night sky above. Butterflies erupted in her stomach as they neared the chaotic scene, leaving her feeling like they were walking into the lions den.
Pushing through the crowd, Tyrynion led them forward and they passed by groups of chattering creatures with long spiked wings and reptilian bodies, their long faces turned away into the shadows. On the other side of the street, gigantic troll-like creatures were slamming into each other, fighting over some food that had been knocked to the ground. The earth seemed to shake with every blow and they hurried their pace to get away from them. As the crowd thinned a bit more, Ariana could see dozens of booths set up along the road. Dark armor was hanging along the back of one booth, wickedly sharp swords and axes propped up on the walls below them. Three tall, hairy, rat-like creatures were standing in front of the Goblin running the booth, staring fixedly as he demonstrated the cutting ability of the dagger in his taloned hand.
Everywhere she turned, dark creatures roamed the streets. She only recognized the Goblins and the Trolls, though the Trolls were closer to the one she had encountered in Corda rather than the one that had attacked them up on the mountain. All the other creatures here were completely new to her, their horrifying appearances nearly making her want to turn back and run in the other direction. However, Tyrynions quiet confidence as he navigated the bazaar helped to calm her fight or flight instincts and she found that no one bothered them as they continued on.
As they passed by a ruined building that somewhat resembled an old timey saloon, a raspy voice somehow sounded above the din, catching her attention. "- tracking them across the Kalikori Forest but now they can't find any trace."
Tyrynion held out a hand, stopping her in her tracks. Ryonen stopped beside her, too, both of them stiff as boards as Tyrynion indicated that they should crouch against the building's front wall. When they did, they all seemed to hold their breath as they listened for the speaker to continue. Ariana wasn't sure what was going on but she waited alongside them as another creature started speaking.
"What does that have to do with us?" A gruff voice replied, their tone haughty and annoyed.
A low growl sounded. "Everyone has been told to be on high alert for any sightings of the human girl and the Eastern Kingdoms brat."
Ariana glanced over at Tyrynion, her eyes widening. Oh God, she thought, panicking, but Tyrynion eyes were focused ahead and listening intently to the conversation.
"I still don't know why that concerns us? He doesn't expect them to just come strolling through here, does he?" At this, both parties began howling with laughter.
After a minute or two, the laughter died down and the first creature spoke again. "I suppose not but he has requested troops be sent to the Vortoriel Pass immediately. Some of us will have to go after tonight." As they sat crouched there, the voices seemed to grow farther away.
Ariana looked at Tyrynion and could see that his face was now taut with tension. He met her gaze, shaking his head slowly. "This is not good." He said quietly.
"What? What's not good?"
Even Ryonen was paying attention now, his eyes, just barely visible beneath him hood, were trained on Tyrynion. "They hope to block our passage to the border." Ryonen said, worry in his voice.
Tyrynion nodded, thinking. He seemed to be debating something in his mind as his features became more and more conflicted. Finally, after a few tense moments, he sighed. "We need to know more about this." He said, looking at them both in turn. "We have to try to get more information on what they believe our movements will be, otherwise we might run right into them as we leave here."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Ryonen asked, his tone already back to being sarcastic and rude again. "Do you suppose we just walk up to them and start asking?"
Ariana shot him a look from under her cloak but Tyrynion hardly looked bothered. "Yes, actually." He said, and even Ryonen looked surprised. "There's one goblin, in particular, who usually knows all the goings on around Atheil and I think I know exactly where I can find him."
* * * * *
"No way." Ryonen said, crossing his arms in front of him. "This is a bad idea."
Tyrynion looked at him sideways. "I can think of no other way to get the information we need besides causing some sort of scene and that would probably end badly for us."
This didn't seem to placate Ryonen, who shook his head. "You hear that they're specifically looking out for a human girl and the Prince and you think to yourself 'Let me take them in an enclosed building that's swarming with enemies'?"
Ariana had to admit, she also wasn't too fond of the idea. When Tyrynion had suggested that they go to his informant's favorite hang-out on the outskirts of the city, she had figured it would be some small business that sold drinks, not the bustling throng of dark creatures and goblins that she saw before her. "Are you sure that we can get in and out safely?" She asked, her voice low and full of anxiety.
Tyrynion nodded. "You're safer in there with me than you would be out here. Someone will get suspicious if they see you lurking by yourselves outside the building. If you just come inside and sit at a table in the far corner while I talk to Nolre, no one should bother you."
Ryonen sounded like he wanted to protest some more but Ariana put out a hand. "Enough." She said, her eyes turned toward Tyrynion. "You've gotten us through Orlac safely thus far; I trust you to do this, too."
She heard Ryonen scoff beside her but she ignored him. Tyrynion looked over at her, pleased. "Good." He said, his voice dropping low so that they had to lean in to hear him. "Come in behind me but don't follow too close. I don't want Norle to see you with me. He might be suspicious since he knows I'm usually alone. Find a table somewhere against a wall and wait for me there." He took a few steps forward and then stopped, turning around. His face was serious. "And whatever you do, keep your head down and your face in the shadows. You don't want to be recognized here." With that last remark, he walked up to the door and made his way inside.
Ariana felt her heart racing as she stared ahead at the slowly shutting door. The noise inside was escaping through the gap of it and she could hear a cacophony of noises rising up and then muting as the door finally slammed shut again. She turned to Ryonen. "Are you ready?" She asked him, her stomach beginning to flutter as she said the words. The very thought of going in there was terrifying her but she knew that she had to swallow her fears for the present.
Ryonen looked at her, his green eyes meeting her hazel ones from under his hood. He looked apprehensive, his hand fiddling with the hilt of his sword. "I still say this is a bad idea." He said, his voice both irritated and a little worried.
She took in a deep breath. "Let's just go." She said, and somehow she was able to force her frozen legs to move forward.
As soon as she swung open the door, the noise hit her full in the face. Grunting, growling, yelling, and an array of other unearthly sounds were filling the room before her, their sources coming from a multitude of Goblins, Trolls, and other dark creatures that Ariana didn't know the name of but that she had seen at the bazaar earlier. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and scanned the room. Tyrynion had told them to find a position against a wall in a corner somewhere but the place was so packed that Ariana was having a hard time seeing past anybody. The large silhouettes of the Trolls throughout the room weren't making it any easier for her, either.
A moment later, a particularly bulky Troll that was on her left ambled off toward the bar and she was finally able to catch a glimpse of an empty table smack dab in the corner of the room over there. Without even a backwards glance, Ariana began pushing and shoving her way through the unruly horde. No one even gave her so much as a sideways glance as she made her way to the table, actively jabbing a Goblin in the side at one point to get him to move. They all seemed so used to this sort of casual violence that perhaps it would have been more suspicious if they had calmly made their way through.
Relief flooded through her as she finally reached the table, throwing herself down into the hard wooden chair and pushing it as far back into the corner as she could. Ryonen slid into the chair next to her, his back also facing the wall, and they both sat quietly at their table amidst the continuous chaos of the room. Ariana turned her eyes to the crowd, trying to see where Tyrynion had gone. When she was unable to find him, she decided to look at the place itself, instead.
The walls on the inside of the building were made of a chipping black wood that seemed to be fading with time and abuse. They were covered with food and what she could only assume was splattered blood, the dried maroon and multicolored speckles standing out prominently against the dark background. Even now, she could see a fight breaking out between two Goblins on the other side of the room, culminating in one of them getting knocked out with the pommel of the other one's ax. Cheers rose up around them as a group of creatures began to drag the unconscious Goblin across the hard stone floor before unceremoniously throwing him out the door.
There was a bar across from the door, the long table top spreading from wall to wall and crowded with customers elbowing each other to get ahead. A surly looking creature with cat-like neon green eyes, slicked back white hair, and slimy looking pale skin was manning the bar. His webbed hands were moving so fast that they seemed to blur as he slid glasses of half congealed blood down the bar in chipped, foggy mugs, the patrons greedily grabbing at any that passed by them. As her eyes followed one of the mugs progress to the other end of the bar, she saw a flash of light as a taloned hand reached out to snatch it mid-slide. She looked up at the creature and saw that it was an orange eyed goblin, a streak of silver running through the long tuft of black hair between his giant bat-like ears. Beside him was Tyrynion, his face stony as the Goblin Norle took a long drink from his mug. When he slammed it back down on the bar, his mouth was covered in drops of shimmering blood that began to drip down into his hairy chin.
Ariana looked away, disgusted. She glanced over at Ryonen and she could see him watching her, his dark brows drawn together moodily. When she met his gaze, he leaned in close to her so that she could hear him. "I bet he's betraying us right now to that Goblin informant; be ready to get taken to the Darklands any minute now." Ryonen said, an edge to his voice.
"He's not." She said back to him. "Just stop, Ryonen. I trust him"
He was quiet for a long time but Ariana could see something brewing in him. His face, normally so pale, was growing more flushed as the seconds ticked on. "So is that what it is, then?" He  asked, sounding bitter and angry.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, taken aback by this outburst. He wasn't even making sense.
"First Lamis, now Tyrynion; seems like there's a bit of a pattern forming here. I can only come to the conclusion that you must want an older man and that I'm just not old enough for your tastes."
She felt the heat rising up inside of her. "What the hell is your problem?"
He slammed his hand down on the table and she looked around to see if anyone had noticed. They hadn't. "Nothing; it's just obvious to me that you don't want to be with me, Ariana. You don't have to pretend; you've been telling me repeatedly for days now how horrible of a person I am."
"I never said that, Ryonen."
"You didn't have to use those exact words; you implied it. Am I right? Let's just recap what we've covered so far since coming to Orlac: I'm a terrible person because I lied to you and, oh yeah, I'm a prince so I'm spoiled and I think everyone is inferior to me."
She just looked at him. Where was all of this coming from and why would he choose this moment to bring it up, when they were literally surrounded by creatures that could turn on them at any given moment? "Why are you doing this, Ryonen? All I've told you is that I don't want you acting jealous and rude all the time. This is exactly what I've been talking about; this is how you've been acting every time I decide to befriend anyone." 
"No, I have a problem with you befriending-." He stopped, turning his face away.
"What?" She asked. "Finish."
He turned back to her, his green eyes looking less angry and more vulnerable now. "You're getting close to other people and pushing me aside. I feel like I'm not important to you."
She sighed. "Ryonen, you are important to me, you always have been, but you lied to me and you have to understand that I can't trust you anymore."
He was angry again, his nostrils flaring as he tried to control himself in this place teeming with dark creatures. The din of the room was louder than she could have imagined and, yet, with their heads close together, she was able to hear every word perfectly. "I just feel like you would rather have anyone besides me."
"Ryonen, I've never looked at any other person the way I looked at you. Why would I choose to be with you back at Lamis' if I didn't care about you that way? You're imagining these things; I've never wanted anyone else besides you." She said, and she was starting to see the futility in her arguments. It seemed to her that he only wanted to believe the narrative that he had made up in his head.
"Oh, so I'm imagining all the mornings you spent talking to Lamis and all the times you spent confiding in him and not me?"
"What are you saying, that I'm never allowed to talk to or befriend another person again? Is that what it would be like if I decided to be with you; I'd just be another possession?" She was really beginning to feel weighed down by the whole conversation.
He gave her an exasperated look. "Of course I don't want you as a possession but I do want you to be with me. I NEED you to want to be with me."
"Ryonen, I can talk to other people and still care about you. Those two things don't have to be in conflict with each other." She said, her voice low as she tried to maintain her calm.
"But they do." He said vehemently.
"No, Ryonen, they do to you." She said, suddenly sad.
He didn't like that. His eyes filled with anger as his fist clenched on the tabletop in front of him. Ariana started to pull away, done with the conversation, but he grabbed her arm. "Will I ever be good enough for you? First you do this with Lamis, now Tyrynion; have you been telling him the same things in the dead of night that you used to say to me? That you care about him. Kissing him. Letting him touch you."
Ariana tried to pull away from him but he had her in a firm grip. "How dare you." She said, anger flaring up in her now. "Why are you talking to me like this?
"Because I want to know;" he said, anger getting the better of him, "is it going to be like this with every person you meet? I didn't want to stay as long as we did with Lamis, and I certainly didn't want to invite Tyrynion along with us, but you insisted on both. You chose to completely disregard my feelings on the matter. There has to be a reason."
Ariana was suddenly looking at Ryonen in a new light and she wasn't sure if she liked what she saw. "That's a low blow, Ryonen." She said, so quiet that she wasn't even sure if he'd hear her."
"Is it because of your mom?" He asked, his voice unnecessarily harsh.
She was taken aback by this and she physically leaned away from him as if he had slapped her. "What?" She asked, the words leaving her mouth slowly.
"Is it because of your mom?" He repeated, looking at her now with a cruel glint in his eyes. "You just need someone to fill in for your dad, right? Your parents left you to be raised by someone else...maybe you just want to fill in that space that's missing with someone older. Tyrynion is certainly older."
Ariana felt hot tears filling her eyes. "You're being cruel, Ryonen." She said, and she took a breath as she pushed away from the table, wrenching her arm sharply out of his grip and rising to her feet.
"Where are you going?" He demanded, trying to reach for her hand but missing as she ripped it back away from the table.
"I need some air." She said, her voice cracking. She didn't want him to see the effect he'd had on her, that he had hurt her. She wasn't even sure at this point if he would care that he had hurt her.
Her hood still up and her face still shielded from the crowd, she pushed her way through the dozens of jostling bodies to get to the door. She shoved it open, tears starting to fall from her eyes even before she stepped out into the cool night air. She walked along the side of the building, her hand running along the wall as she stumbled around the front of it to the back. By the time she reached there, the tears were already flowing, cascading off of her cheeks and onto the ground as she leaned against the wall. How could he be so horrible to her? She thought, wiping at her eyes angrily. How could he go from being this fantastic person who cared about her, who was so gentle, who was so kind, to being-. She stopped, trying to think of the word. Cruel. There was no other way to put it. He had said what he said to inflict maximum pain. To hurt her. She had cared so much about him, always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, and, yet, here he was, throwing blows for nothing. Why was she still trying with him? Why did she care so much about him that she would let him treat her this way? She had always promised herself that she would never let any person treat her in a way that made her feel less than, yet, here she was, letting Ryonen treat her this way.
She pounded her fist against the wall. Why? Why did she care so much about him when he gave her so many reasons not to over and over again? His cruelty was paramount to uncaring and yet he claimed that all he wanted was to be with her. She wanted to believe that she could just get through to him, to get him to see that which he refused to see; that these things that he was so angry about weren't even problems in the first place. She was never in love with Lamis and she certainly wasn't in love with Tyrynion but, she thought, her heart pounding in her ears, maybe she didn't love Ryonen, either. She looked up, staring at the texture of the stone wall before her, and brought a hand up slowly to run her fingers over it.
A memory came to her; a memory of her and Ryonen lounging by the pond, both of them laying with their backs to the boulders there, looking up at the sky as the light cascaded down through the canopy above and shining down on their faces. 'You have to know what you want in life and take it. By force, if you must.' She thought of the words of that Ryonen and now she wondered, was his love always going to be conditional? If she was doing what he wanted, if she agreed with him, he could love her and treat her well, but what about when she didn't agree with him? Would it be like this forever: Him getting his way and her feeling pushed to the side if she disagreed because he would use any means possible to get what he wanted? Then, she realized that what Tyrynion had said the day before was probably true. Ryonen was a prince, heir to not only the Eastern kingdom but to the Throne of Atheil because of the prophecy. He had been raised his whole life to be privileged, taught to believe that he was superior to everybody. That kind of upbringing had to have an effect on a person and his mother, from what Tyrynion had said about her, didn't sound like the type that would make sure to teach Ryonen to be emotionally mature on top of his duties as a Prince. She wondered if that would ever change.
She sighed, some of the anger ebbing away from her. She felt like, at that moment, she had made a decision and she wasn't sure how it was going to affect her future. She let her arm drop, leaning against the wall with her forehead pressed up against the cool surface of the stone as she took a deep breath. Even though he had made a habit of walking away from her in anger, she didn't want to be like that back to him. Her mom had always taught her to communicate. Regardless of whether they would be friends or more, she didn't want this to be how their relationship was.
She was just about to push away from the wall when she suddenly felt a body press up against hers from behind and then the hot breath of a man was whispering her name in her ear. Whirling around to face him, she recognized the familiar purple eyes of Morgrean staring back at her with a cold joy that sent ice into her veins. She tried to fight back but he easily pinned her arms to her sides, cutting through the strap of her scabbard in one fell swoop. As her sword clattered to the ground, she watched it fall, her eyes then moving to his grip on her left arm. She realized, with some horror, that his previously cut off hand was now reattached, the skin at the point of amputation trailing a black line around his wrist like smudged coal. The grip was so strong around her that she felt like her arm would break. She let out a soft moan of pain.
Morgrean flashed his teeth at her in a wicked smile. "Save that for later, Princess. I have something special in store for you." He growled
As Ariana's throat tightened in fear and a feeling of sinking clarity, he brought a rag up to her mouth. She tried desperately to fight him off, kicking at him with her legs and trying to make contact with anything that she could manage. In response, he pushed her hard against the wall and she heard a loud tearing as she stumbled back, her foot catching on the corner of her cloak and ripping off a chunk. Finally, the rag came over her mouth and she felt herself going limp. Drifting off into unconsciousness, she turned her head desperately to the door, waiting for someone, anyone, to come out and save her.