Sacred Flame

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Thirteen years later.

I awoke with a start, jolting up in the bed I had rented for the night. I was covered in sweat and my breathing was slightly labored. I pushed my hair back out of my face, sweeping it into a slicked back look. I looked around the room I was staying in. I was a plain room. Single window, worn wooden floors, and the bed was slightly stiff, but I didn't mind. I needed to freshen up before I went to the bar downstairs. I had to leave this town today; I had already stayed too long.

I stood up and straightened out the dress I was wearing, it was a light grayish-blue, I was only wearing a penny skirt underneath. It was too hard to move in when I was wearing the full dress and such. I walked over to the little basin of water and rinsed my face. I arranged my hair the usual way. Pushed back, but not completely up. Having it up always gave me a head ach.

I sighed at my appearance in the small mirror that was set in the room. My face was extremely pale, more than it should be, and I had dark circles under my eyes. I haven't had that dream in a while. Must be the weather or something that triggered it. Sighing once again I grabbed the long leather trench coat I always wore and headed out. I would need to check in with the inn owner down stairs before I left. I was also hungry so I was going to get some food as well.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I was greeted by the smiling waitress. "Good morning miss, I hope you slept well." I didn't say anything, but nodded none the less. I found my way to an empty table to work out where I might try to go to next. I had traveled as far south as I could without gaining attention. I guess the only way to head now is up. As I though this, the waitress from earlier came up to ask what I wanted. "Just some bread and some cheese should be fine." I didn't have much money left at the moment. The waitress smiled and walked off to fetch what I asked for.

I was sitting in sweet silence when the owner of the inn, also an informant for the right amount of money, and sat down. "I have some information on what you asked about yesterday. There was talk of a suspicious man just out side of town. In fact, there were even some people saying that this man was fairly close to the description you gave me yesterday as well. "I stopped moving for a few minutes, talking in all of what she had said. I then nodded and reached for my money pouch. Before I could reach it she held up her hand. "You already stayed a night, and now you're buying food. I'm sure you need that money for other things.

"Thank you." She nodded and stood up just as the waitress was setting down my food in front of me.

"There you go sweet heart. Fresh out of the oven." I gave her the money for the food and said my thanks. She walked off. I ate half of the food; I wanted to save the rest for another time. Besides, I wasn't that hungry to begin with. After finishing this, I saved the remaining for in the little knapsack that I carried around with me. I needed to hurry if I wanted to find the man the inn keep had mentioned.

Before I left, I got the location from her and then I was off. Apparently the man was held up in some old windmill on the outskirts of town. I walked with a purpose through the town. I ignored the early venders trying to sell their wares the early risers. I glanced at the different stalls, selling all kinds of different things. What caught my eye, though, was a jewelry stand. It was selling different charms and chains. My hand went to my pocket to feel my parent's rings there. The chain I had previously been using had broken and I needed a new one. I walked up to the stand looking at all the different chains.

"Can I help you miss?" The kind old lady was looking at me expectantly.

"Yes, I would like to bye one of your chains you have here. I don't need a charm, for I already have one." She nodded and proceeded to show me the different chains all different colors, lengths, and types. A simple silver one caught my eye eventually. Luckily, it was one of the cheaper chains. It had only cost four gold.

By the time I had attached the rings to the chain and secured it around my neck, I was already at the windmill. The place was, in fact, run down. The windows were broken, holes in the wall and ceiling, and the blades of the mill itself were even tearing and breaking. Who would willingly stay here?

I set my shoulder and put on a blank face. If the person staying here really was the man I was looking for, then I was in for one heck of a fight. I opened the door slowly. There weren't many people around here, since it was so close to the forest. So, it would be fine if something bad happened. Such as the building catching fire. It was dark in the mill. I channeled my fire tribe blood and lit a fire in the palm of my hand. As I walked through the building, my mind went on to think about all those years I had spent under the influence of forbidden tribe. They had been shunned, the chief had never gotten used to that. I shivered at the thought of his fits of rage he would go into.

I came to the main part of the building. It was empty, except a few broken pieces of furniture, and two bodies lying on the floor. I quickly put the flame in my hand out. If the chief were here, he wouldn't share this place with anyone else. Still, if these people were causing trouble, I wouldn't let it continue. Damn me and my good conscious. I walked slowly up to the sleeping forms on the floor, hoping my boots wouldn't make too much noise on the ground. Just as I thought that, I stepped in a piece of glass and broke. Damn.

One of the figures on the floor stirred, then started to get up. I was still, ready to defend myself if need be. "Heeeyyy..... Where'd that guy go??" Hid words were extremely slurred. He was obviously a drunk. I slowly relaxed my guard. He started to shake his buddy, trying to wake him up. "Come on man. We gotta get going if we're going to catch the next shift.." The other man didn't move. They had yet to notice that I was there. So I started to back out slowly.

I had just cleared the door and was about to head for the door again when I felt a presence behind me. I was suddenly pressed against the wall, I couldn't move and couldn't scream. Whoever this was, they had me pinned, a hand over my mouth, the other hand holding my hands down, all while he was holding me in place with his body. He was strong, I'll give him that.

"Sorry, but I can't let you just go after you saw that." He breathed in deeply at my neck, I stiffened.

"Saw what, exactly?" he chuckled and lifted his head enough so that I could see his eyes. They were a clear crystal green; however, they had a slightly different color bleeding into them. It looked like red. That was impossible though, as far as I knew, the only humans with eyes that changed so drastically were those of the fire clan. Such as myself, or my parents. I stuck my chin out in defiance. "What are you... exactly?"

The man didn't answer my question; in fact, he seemed to have completely ignored me. He breathed in heavily once again. "Me? Since when do normal people smell like this? Last time I checked, all humans had the same base smell, but you... this is different. This smells... spicy..." His breath wafted across my ear and he breathed in my scent again.

"What the hell are you talking about? Base smell? Just get off me already!"

"Hehe... your personality is the same as your scent." Alright. That's it.

"Would you like to know the possible reason that I smell like this?" I said it in a soft tone, hiding my anger. No man has gotten this close to me, and I won't let this once close just because he's drunk from the night before. Though I knew he really wasn't drunk. He didn't smell of alcohol as the others did.

"Hmmm?" I smirked a little as I opened my hands and lit a flame in both. The man quickly let go and backed up at the first sign of heat. It sounded like he even hissed at me, but I ignored that. I let the flame grow and stuck my hand out. He backed further into the darkness. I started to back out of the building again.

"Good, now stay back." I said this just as I made it out side. Extinguishing the flames, I started to make my back into town. This mill had been at the south side. I needed to go north. I pushed my hair back out of my face, that man had messed it up. My mind went back to what he had said. He had called me a human as if he weren't one himself. Oh well, a man like that is not what I need to be worrying about at the moment anyway.

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Here's chapter 1, enjoy the story! Same mantra as always. Vote, comment, and subscribe. :3