Inferno's legacy

Chapter 8

"I've never seen anything like it. The plague spreads fast and particles of it lingers on the trees. Even after the fire, such areas are dangerous."

Sheila massaged her forehead as she listened to the report. In all her years of leading the council, she realized every problem was bigger than the last one. Necromancers suddenly spreading a plague through fire, that was one advanced method of magic. Fire is an element hard to control. It couldn't be manipulated easily but someone was manipulating a plague into it. She didn't even know where to start. Healing the villagers had been her priority but many had already been lost. There was little to nothing she could do and she was already wearing out herself by healing such strong magic. The fact that she was seated here was a surprise to her.

"We have to capture the necromancers spreading the fire. Fire magic can be quite powerful and not just anyone can manipulate it. The mages doing this are tapping from a very powerful source. And they have to be trained to do that."

Sheila sighed. She didn't want anyone starting the obvious.

"Sheila."

She turned her head to the door. Her trusted advisor stood by the door. From the look on his face, she could tell something was terrible wrong. She excused herself from the large circular table and went to the door.

"You have to see this."

In all the thoughts that ran through her mind, Sheila didn't expect what she saw.

The trees were charred, only a skeleton of them remained. The acrid stench of smoke burn her lungs and the air smelled of death. For a moment, she had thought this was part of the plague but as she laid he hand against the burnt trees, she felt rage.

She withdrew her hand immediately like she had been burnt. Her heart fell. No one should be able to control fire this powerful. At least not anymore. She had made sure of it.

"How did you find this place?" She asked Jon.

"We were scouting the area for any sign of fire magic. The mages need to practice to be able to raise enough fire for the plague. We stumbled on this place. It's nothing like I've seen before." Jon said.

Sheila looked around. "This place is..."

"Territory of the royal family of Dinvia." Jon completed her statement.

Her heart sank. Why hadn't she though of it. Oh no, this was bad.

"It's not the plague Sheila. It's something else." Jon said. "Something powerful."

*-*-*-*

"What are you waiting for Damion? You should get this over with already." Eva was leaning against Damion's desk as she watched him go through the books on the shelf. His hand was on his chin as his eyes scanned the shelf. Eva had been going over the same thing for so long, his ears hurt.

"It's my decision what I want to do." He said, reaching for a book. He began flipping through the pages before putting it back. Not was he was looking for.

Eva scoffed. "Why don't you just do it now? It's the perfect opportunity Damion. You're getting everything you want on a silver platter. Why can't you see that?"

Damion slammed the book shut. "I owe you no explanation. This is about me and I take the decisions."

She knew that look in his eyes. He was warning her to back off but she wasn't going to listen. He had been foolish in the past, she wasn't going to let that happen again.

"It's not just about you Damion. It's about all of us." She said in a low voice.

"And why is that?"

She opened her mouth to say something when the door busted open. Rio stumbled in, looking horrified.

"Ashton's missing."

Damion let out a string of curses. He replaced the book and turned to Rio. He swayed a little but caught himself before he fell. Rio was next to him in a moment. He shrugged off Rio's hand while grabbing his chest in pain. He walked back his desk as sweat gathered on his forehead. Wiping it off, he grabbed the bottle Rio had left him and drowned the contents.

"I'll go after him." Rio said but Damion shook his head.

"Let him go. You're clearly weak." She meant no harm but the look she got from Damion made her flinch.

Without a word, he vanished.

"It's gonna kill him one day. Sooner or later if he refuses to do anything." Eva said, staring at the spot where Damion had stood.

Rio didn't say anything. He replaced the empty bottle with a full one.

"Talk some sense into him!" Eva said. "This isn't going to help him for long." She said, grabbing the bottle and smashing it.

Rio turned to her with a rather calm look. "He knows what he's doing."

"No he doesn't. You have such blind fate in him, you forget he got himself in this mess. And that was because he thought he knew what he was doing!" She stormed out, hands folded in a fist.

Rio stared at the broken bottle. There was actually no reason for her to break it. He went through hell to get them for Damion. But that was the least he could do. Damion had made a lot of sacrifices in his life and had ended this way. All he could do was give him his support. He had never questioned him and would never. Maybe he had made a mistake in the past, but Rio knew the reason he was refusing to rush things was to prevent a similar mistake. Eva couldn't understand that.

*-*-*-*

Eretria had that feeling again. That feeling were it felt like someone was watching her. She placed the book she was reading on the table and turned towards the balcony in time to see a shadow pass.

She got up and took slow steps towards the balcony. Someone loomed in the shadows of her room and it made her uneasy. When she parted the curtains she was met with the whispering of the night breeze.

She furrowed her brows as she went back to her sit. She picked up the she was reading. Realizing the lighting wasn't really helping her read, she closed the book. She had lost interest. Or maybe it was the menacing feeling that she was being watched. After what happened in the forest, anything was possible. Her eyes kept wandering back to the balcony until she grew tired. She eventually fell asleep on the table.