Echoes

Chapter 11

"Pix, wake up!" I screamed, rushing over to her body. After a few violent shakes and plenty of coughing on my part, she woke with a start.

"What happened?" She shrieked, grabbing her sword as we struggled to stand, smoke filling the room.

Gavie stumbled out of his room, furiously coughing. "We need to get out of here!"

The three of us huddled together, myself in the middle. Pix and Gavie used their arms to shield us as we burst through the front door, flames licking at our bodies. We tumbled down the steps onto the cool, damp dirt beneath us. Gasping loudly, I sat up, clutching my right arm. Pix and Gavie helped me up, but I cried out in pain. I stared down at my arm, my eyes watering. Through the tears I noticed a long, red splotch that refused to heal.

"Oops," I muttered.

Pix stared back and forth between my arm and my face, her eyes wide with fear. "Well? Is it gonna heal?"

"I forgot fire does that," I said, biting my lip in pain.

"Does what?" Pix exclaimed.

"Doesn't heal," I replied. I glanced over at Gavie as he watched the flames engulf his house. His face was emotionless, like his aunt's.

"That was my parents' house," he said quietly.

Pix put her hand on his shoulder, but didn't say anything. Gavie nodded in response.

"Sorry to interrupt, but why is your house on fire?" I asked.

Gavie and Pix turned to face me, their eyes widening.

"Oh that's why," Pix answered in a small voice.

I turned to see what they were staring at, and stumbled backwards. Dozens of other buildings were on fire, with over a hundred people running throughout the neighborhood. Some were women running with their children in their night gowns. Others were older folks with buckets trying to put out the house fires. But most were men, weaving their way through the city, screaming and carrying all sorts of weapons, from gardening tools to battle axes. In the distance, bells tolled loudly.

"By Audral, how did I not hear the warning bells?" Gavie grumbled, slapping his forehead.

"What do the bells mean?" Pix asked, her face white with fear.

"I have a guess," I muttered. I stared at Gavie but his expression said it all.

"We need to get out of Krie. Now," he said.

"Aren't we going to help?" I asked.

Gavie sighed. "As much as I want to, you're the priority now, Nisa. These people here are willing to die to let you get to Tomaleya, to help us. We need to leave right now if we want to survive."

I bit my lip, but nodded.

Gavie picked up a large plank of wood, the ends charred. "Pix, you stay in the front, cut down anything in our path with your sword. Nisa, stay in the middle. I'll flank the back."

We took off, sprinting, yelling at anyone in our path to move. Pix hacked at anything in our way, debris from burning buildings, stray carts or carriages.

"Wow you guys really need a better security system," I muttered.

We passed through the center plaza, which was swarming with families. I caught a glimpse of Ryka ushering families into the temple. Suddenly, we bumped into a small figure. Crashing to a stop, the three of us peered forward to find the leader of the elders frowning at us.

"Were you planning on leaving without saying thank you?" She nagged.

"Um, no offense, but we're kind of in a hurry," Gavie stammered.

She rolled her eyes. "You think I don't know this. Here, take this." She handed me a small flask.

"Uh, what's in this? I'm only eighteen," I said as politely as I could.

She crossed her arms. "I don't know. Apparently Audral told Ryka you would need it so I didn't ask any questions," she stared at me with her pale blues eyes. "Good luck."

"Thank you," I said, bowing slightly.

We continued running until we could see the main gate up ahead. My chest burned, a combination of smoke and running wearing me out. My arm stung, but I tried not to think about it. We were almost out when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a cluster of dozens of men. They surrounded a small house on the outskirts of the city, hurling torches and other flaming objects at a figure on the roof.

I froze. I couldn't make out what they were attacking, but my body shut down. I stumbled. Pix faltered and Gavie grabbed my arm, trying to pull me up. Hundreds of feet away, I heard the creature hiss as it clambered off the roof, dodging every attack. My body went limp.

"Nisa, we need to run!" Gavie yelled.

I couldn't move. I watched in horror as the creature continued to approached, running quickly on all four of its spindly limbs. It jumped up onto the gate, running sideways along the wooden wall, splintering under its claws. Gavie yanked me along like a rag-doll, trying his absolute hardest to get us out of the city, but it was too late. The creature leaped off the wall and landed ten feet in front of us.

You could tell it was human once. Its small head with milky white eyes and pointed teeth glared at us. Pale, leathery skin stretched over each spidery limb. Its nails dug into the ground like the claws of an animal.

We recoiled as it shrieked, spit flying, crouched and ready to pounce. It bared its teeth and growled. Pix lifted up her sword, but I could see her hands were shaking. Gavie gripped the plank of wood.

"Stay back!" he screamed at the creature, his voice breaking. His large arm was still wrapped under my body, my knees too weak to stand. Behind us, the townsmen gathered and resumed throwing flaming objects at the creature. It hissed loudly and managed to dodge most of the attacks, but recoiled whenever something hit.

The creature narrowed its eyes and focused on Pix. Her knuckles whitened around the hilt of her sword. Quicker than any human, the creature leaped forward. Pix screamed and shoved her sword through its bony chest. The creature fell limp. Pix yanked her sword out and stared at the gaping hole in the creature's chest. In the blink of an eye, the wound closed and its eyes flew open. Screaming, the creature clawed at Pix, who stumbled backwards. She ran behind Gavie, bright red blood streaming from several scratch marks throughout her body.

The townsmen continued throwing objects, causing the creature to back up before it could follow Pix. Using Gavie's arm for leverage, I pulled myself up, legs wobbling.

"Gavie," I croaked. "Give me that plank."

Gavie stared at me, his eyes wide. Reluctantly, he handed over the wood.

I stepped forward.

"Nisa!" Gavie shouted.

I ignored him, and took another step. On the ground in front of me, a chunk of wood smoldered. I took the flask out of my pocket it, and flipped it open, drizzling the unidentified liquid on the end of the plank. Then slowly, I dipped the end of the plank into the fire and watched as the tip ignited, creeping up the rest of the plank. I stood up straight and approached the creature.

Up close it was even more terrifying, but there was a wave of serene washing over me. Its face resembled a skull more than anything and it stared through me with its milky eyes. I realized it was blind, mostly likely relying on smell and hearing. I stopped a few feet away. Staring into the creature's eyes, we lunged forward at the same time, and both of us were swallowed by the flames.