Bloodline of a Tempest

Chapter 9

'Do not get in the way!' Demian warned her. 'The fire-feeders won't stop if you come between them and their aim.'

Nema nodded before she slipped inside what was once a castle kitchen, holding one of Demian's daggers firmly in her hands.

Nema was familiar with these kinds of warnings. You were warned once and never again. When she was old enough to start going alone to collect the herbs, Nema remembered how Old Man gave her a similar warning.

The Kindness plant oil, oil made of a brilliant golden flower, was used as a base for almost every healing tincture because of its many benefits. They say that if you had to plant just one flower in your entire life it should be a Kindness plant. They were growing on high altitudes in the shade of elm trees - small leafy bushes with meaty leaves and fragrant flowers. You could use the leaf for aches and burns and even chew on it if there was no food in sight. The trouble was that those miraculous bushes also were the home of the poisonous Agger, a plant that looked almost identical to the Kindness flower but with its venom so strong it could kill a man on the spot.

Old Man told Nema where Agger grew, sending her off on her first quest with ominous words. 'It will kill you then and there and no one will ever find your body.'

'But how can I tell the difference?' Nema had asked him.

'You can't,' Old Man had said, returning to his task.

Nema had heard many stories about the fire-feeders. Women still scared their children with them, even the last soldiers were banished from Atria more than two generations ago. But this was the first time Nema has seen them in action.

The soldiers who for days laid idly about the yard, playing cards and drinking, nursing their wounds so they could go on another pillage to a nearby village, now were standing in a trained formation, with drawn swords in their right and fiery spheres in their left hand. Unmoving in their stillness they looked like stone figures of a petrified army, left forgotten after they were cursed.

The men who surrounded the ruin were Grin's men. Even in the dark, Nema could recognize the markings each one of them had around their wrists. A few of them scattered around the castle, rummaging through the piles of armor and garbage. Nema knew they came looking for her. The rest of the smugglers were circling the fire feeders, brandishing their short curved swords, and saying obscenities. Most of the things they said were weirdly personal and it was clear they knew each other well. The fire-feeders never moved as if under a spell. Only when Demian appeared and his sword clashed with a curved blade did the soldiers move, but once they did the clash lasted for just a few heart-beats. Nema has never seen such trained fury.

They surrounded the smugglers easily and once the circle was closed around them a wall of fire rose, making smuggler's short blades useless against their opponents. One by one they were dropping dead with daggers embedded in their chest. Once the last man was down the fire disappeared and the soldiers scattered around the woods surrounding the castle. There were a few cries heard in the distance and after a few moments Demian came to tell her it was safe to come out.

'Is everybody dead?' She whispered. Demian did not answer.

The fire-feeders were now gathering their things and cleaning their weapons from blood. Soon the first group of men stood on the edge of the forest, their eyes resting on Demian.

'We'll meet in Seren,' Demian instructed, 'take the road through the hills.'

The rest of the soldiers were still in the yard, finishing their drinks and the discussions they had started before they were attacked. Nema was staring at the bodies on the ground, pale as a ghost.