A Will of Fire and Darkness

Chapter 6

The sun was setting fast, the sky a bright orange and purple. My wings have never ached so much, have never had to carry so much weight before. Each flap felt like my wings would rip from my body, my arms aching just as much. My jaw has been clenched the entire time, trying to distract from the pain and weakness taking over my muscles.

I couldn't take it anymore; I'd probably drop the man if I didn't rest soon. A lake was just ahead of us, stretching out toward the horizon. I glanced down at the man.

"Can you swim?" I asked quickly, breathing hard.

"Yes, wh-"

Before he could finish his sentence, I let go of his wrists. His still holding mine pulled me down until his hands slip from my mine and he plummeted to the water below. Immediate relief surged through my wings, and I felt lighter than ever. I swooped far ahead to the other end of the lake and landed on solid ground at last. My relief was cut short when a spike of pain shot through my leg.

The arrows still stuck out from my leg and arm; the ropes tangled on the ground behind me. I groaned at the thought of having to rip them out, but I couldn't just keep them there. I leaned up against a nearby tree, sitting on the dirt and roots. I placed my hand around the arrow in my leg and took a deep breath as I counted down from three.

Three.

Two.

One.

A sharp yowl left my mouth as the arrow tore from my skin, blood pooling out of the wound. My leg throbbed with pain, biting down on my arm to keep my teeth from breaking as I gritted them down. I then looked at the arrow in my arm and decided it was best to just take the rope off for now. I lifted my finger to my right arm and let my lava catch the rope a blaze. I leaned my head back against the bark of the tree and just sat for a couple minutes, waiting for the pain to disperse.

Resisting the urge to put pressure on the wound took effort. The blood would slip into the cracks of my hand and cause smoke and an awful smell. I glanced at the lake just a couple feet away, the cool water sloshing against the shore. The coolness would ease the ache in my wings. I carefully took my shirt off, failing to not touch the arrow and causing a sting of pain. I carefully stripped the rest of my clothes and undergarments, all the way down to my earrings. I placed them in my shirt and looked at the branch of the tree that was shoulder height if I was standing up.

I slowly stood up, using the tree as support, and hung my clothes over the branch and left my boots by the trunk. Limping to the edge of the water, I dipped my toes into the water. The cool feeling enticing me to step in, I walked through the squishy mud. I stopped when the water was at my knee, debating if I should get the wound wet, but I stepped forward regardless. The wound stung at first, but the coolness soothed my aches making me relax my wing and letting them droop into the lake. My lava sizzled at the contact with the water. My tail submerged when I had gotten waist deep into the lake.

A sigh of relief left my mouth, and I tilted my head back, the pains and dirt of the past day washing away. The small waves lapped at my sides and pulled the stress away from me. The sound of rustling startled me out of my daze, my wings wrapping around to cover my body. I spun around, scanning the bushes where I had left my clothes.

I let out a growl. "Hey! Who's there?" My heart began to race as I was in such a vulnerable state. "I can kill you if you try anything." I shouted.

The bush rustled again and two hand were raised to the air, the man I had dropped into the water walking out. "I-I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to watch or anything. I just wanted to find you so I could help with the..." he trailed off as he saw the arrow on the ground and the tail of blood. "Oh... well take your time, I can help with the other arrow after and cleaning the wounds. I'm just going to go start a fire, or make food..." He walked away before finishing.

I blinked in confusion. Watching him retreat into the woods beyond, my face heated at the thought of what he saw of me. I sank into the water up to my nose, blowing air out of my mouth to make bubbles. I had only realized his eyes were blue now, the dark halls of the fortress made it hard to tell. His eyes were a light blue under his glasses.

The sky was now a dark purple as the sun set below the trees. I had dried myself off and put my clothes back, the ends of my hair still damp. I sat around a fire the man had made, as it was chilly, the warmth was comforting. I stared into the wild flames, knees to my chest, watching them claw at the air, knowing it could destroy cities.

A question popped into my head. "Hey, I never asked, what is your name?" I looked at the man who now had his cloak folded on the ground next to him. He was wearing a light brown coat and long dark pants under it.

He turned around from searching for wrappings for my wounds from his pack. "Oh, well we were in a frantic situation. But I'm Rydel," his blue eyes glinted, the light of the fire catching his glasses.

He walked to me once he found the bandages. He had removed the other arrow from my arm and applied pressure till it had mostly stopped bleeding before putting an ointment on it and letting it air out. He had kept the arrow, washing off the head and putting it in his quiver. He wrapped my wounds and went back to the other side of the fire to rummage through his pack.

Silence was a common theme, only exchanging a few words every now and then. The reality of our situation still not sinking in yet.

"Rydel," I said quietly. He glanced at me, slight surprise on his face. I stared at the flames as I spoke, "Why did you help me?"

He stopped pulling fruits from his pack. Hesitated. "Ah well, I wanted to escape as well... That place is a hell hole." He glanced at me again, studying me. "You said you had a home; I couldn't let you rot away as someone's pet... or worse outcomes. If there was a possibility of other Eltrey, I didn't want-"

"There isn't." I cut him off. "I live in a normal town with other people. My parents sent me away when the attacks happened, I've been living with my... well I call her grandma but she's an old friend of my mothers." I looked down at my hands wrapped around my knees. "I've never met another Eltrey."

Rydel looked down at his pack. He pulled out a small knife and began to cut the fruit. "I-I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself. I didn't mean to assume anything."

A moment of crackling fire and the sound of fruit being cut was the only sound. I glanced up at him. His hands were skinny, not the rough meaty look all the guards had, his body was lean and thin. He didn't look like someone that would wield a bow.

"What did you do at the fortress?" I asked, trying to shake away the awkward silence.

"I'm a researcher, or that's what I like to call myself. I mainly tended to the," he cleared his throat. "Captured... I fed them and tended to some wounds that were bad enough. I did research in my free time about the species and plants and some medicine." He looked up and caught me staring at the quiver leaning against his pack. "I was required to either learn archery or defensive mage spells. Magic is way too much effort than I was willing to give, so I learned how to wield a bow and arrow."

I nodded, looking away. "Have you ever killed anyone before?" I asked quietly.

He handed me some of the fruit on the plate he had been using to cut them. I took a bit of yellow fruit, waiting for his answer.

He let out a sigh and replied, "Yes, not with an arrow though." He turned away to his pack. "It was an accident actually. I was feeding a little Catzeye boy. I feed all the captured the same fruits, as we're not allowed to give them meat. But, as I now know, Catzeye are allergic to Calaberries... very allergic. He ended up suffocating from inflammation of his lungs and throat the next morning. I've never killed anyone else."

His voice was strained, pain seeping into his words. I could see the sadness in his eyes when he sat down in his spot across the fire. I felt bad for asking now.

I thought if he was working for them, he'd have killed lots of people.

The rest of the evening was quiet as night set upon us. Rydel suggested he stay up to keep watch. I laid down on my boots as a pillow and wrapped my wings around me for warmth. The exhaustion taking me into deep sleep, washing away the events of the day.