Fire Weaver (Fall of the Fey #1)

Chapter 33

Caralax sat with the other council members of the Willow-wood. The air was grim, which suited the tone of their discussion. It was an argument  that had gone on for days; whether to send someone to kill Carmel, or Mel as she now called herself.The fire-weaver had come here knowing full well what the repercussions were. Suffice to say, Caralax thought they should be sending someone to kill her.

The other three, however, were soft. They thought she should be left alone because of how they got her to go after the Necromancer. The other council members weren't even old enough to know why it was important to bury the Necromancer. Caralax glanced at Sara, and amended his thoughts, she would know.

The last time a human figured out how to use magic it had been a disaster. He had taken over the known world with an army of demons. It had taken a being that was not of this world to end Jacoby because there was nothing here that could have stopped him. The potential for that to happen again makes it that much more important to bury the Necromancer along with the last mortal.

It was the Oath they had made when they gathered the tattered remains of the Fey people in the Willow-wood. Caralax remembered how the Fey had moved through the lands after Jacoby was destroyed. The Fey had cast a spell on every human present for the horrors Jacoby and his demon army reaped to forget and they did.

Mel would destroy the Necromancer and then they would send someone to kill Mel. Then  they can caste a spell on the rest to forget as they had done in the past. The others thought this option morally wrong.

'Fine,' Caralax said into the silence, folding before the other council members. He stood and left the council chambers and walked to where the Druids were housed. Men and women like him, born with the abilities to trap, track, and hunt anything.

Caralax knew exactly who he was going to choose for the mission as soon as the other council members thought up the ridiculous plan to manipulate Carmel into killing the Necromancer. He knocked on the door frame and looked into one of the many hollowed out trees, of which the Druids slept.

Peiskos looked up at him and in his dark gaze Caralax saw an echo of himself. The young Druid stood and walked into the open air. The multiple scarred tattoos could be seen covering his naked torso.

'Peiskos, I have a job for you.' Caralax said. He would remove all knowledge of human magic just like he did three hundred years ago.

***

Lucius woke Mel just before the dawn and they quietly readied their camels for the trip. They decided to leave Dresdan at Nyx and Zehala's and left a note both to thank them and to explain their decision to Dresdan. In his current state he was a liability, Mel hoped he understood that.

The sun rose slowly over the barren plains of the Red Desert, the orange sand shone gold against the rose-pink sky. Mel smiled at the prospect of good weather. It had been a long time since she had stopped to admire the sunrise and she basked in its glory, unsure when she would ever be able to again. She could be dead tomorrow and she wanted to live every second she had.

Lucius stared despondently at the path ahead of them and she saw the steel of his determination. She realised, for the first time, that he was doing all he could just because he could. He had no reason to be with her, no reason to help, and it was with that thought that she spoke to him for the first time that day, with the sun drooping lazily in the morning sky. 'Why are you here? I mean, what's in it for you?'

He glanced back at her and slowed his camel. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean,' Mel said. 'You could be doing anything but since you woke up you've done nothing but help me and my friends even though you didn't have to.'