Drekablóð Rising:Fire(Book 1)

Chapter 6 {Ignatius}

"Ignatius," she said, "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."
   He could tell she was nervous of him and afraid of what might he might say or think.
   But he didn't think anything ill of her. She was still the same Anahita, even if she was a naiad. She didn't try and kill him. She saved his life when she could have let him die. She wasn't like Nixie, but more like Mayim. A kind and helpful nymph.
   "Anahita, you don't have to hide. I'm not going to tell anyone about you. Your secrets are your own to keep until you want to revel them, and this one I will keep until my death or you allow me to share it. I promise you." He swore to her, sitting close to the fire so his clothes could dry before he got hypothermia.
   Anahita didn't say anything. She seemed to be trying to figure out why he was soaking wet.
   "Do I even want to know?" She asked finally.
   "Probably not."
   Silence soon followed as neither of them were completely used to each other's company yet.
   "Thank you." She said after awhile, breaking the deafening silence that had settled. "For understanding and not freaking out. The last person that found out...they didn't take it too well."
   "You're welcome." He replied.
   He knew what it was like to keep secrets, especially this new one he now had. Anahita would surely flip out if she knew what he was. He didn't know if he would be ready to share that secret with anyone. If he did, and if they asked for proof, he wasn't sure he could put himself through that pain again. The pain had been too much. Whenever he even just thought about it made him relive the whole experience over again.
   "Hey, are you okay?" Anahita's voice brought him back to the present time.
   "What? Yes. Sorry, I was just thinking about some things."
   "It must have been pretty intense by the why you were looking into the fire. You were literally giving the fire a death glare."
   "Oh." He said, startled that he had done that. "Well, I'm sure the fire doesn't mind."
   A giggle escaped from Anahita.
   "What?" He asked. "Is what I said really that hilarious?"
   "I don't mean any disrespect. It's just what you said reminded me of my little brother, Lir. He was always saying witty things and trying to be hilarious all the time." She reminisced. "Not that you should act like that, or I'm
comparing you to Lir. You're perf—fine just the way you are." She added hastily, her tan face starting to turn scarlet red with embarrassment.
   He gave her an odd look. She seemed to be comparing him to a lot of people from her past, well only two people so far.
   "I'm going," she started, standing up, "to go get some more water from the river and something for lunch." She picked up a water skin, and darted off quickly into the dead forest.
   When she said that, only did he realize that he had been missing for about half a day. He must have been knocked out for awhile.
   Getting to his feet, he wandered off into the forest to go find some more firewood.

When his arms were full with dry, dead wood, and he was walking back to the camp, he could have sworn he heard voices.
   He stopped, and listened.
   "Tells us, naiads, have you seen anyone like this that has passed through here lately?" A male voice asked along with the rustling of paper.
   "Go hang yourselves, human filth." Nixie's singsong voice spat back.
   Chuckles followed. There had to be at least seven, counting the one speaking.
   "Bravery and harsh words won't get you wretched demons anywhere." A different man said this time.
   "Oh, calm down, Berlio." A new voice said. "You don't have to be so mean. They're just naiads. What's the worse they're gonna do. Sing us to sleep?"
   Laughers followed again after the remark.
   "Laugh all you want. But these two are monsters just like the rest of their race after their cousins sentenced my family and whole village to death. They deserve the same punishment."
   "So you're just going to kill every single nymph out there? Good luck. They're all over the place."
   "No, I just have to send a message to their cousins, who are no doubt still lingering around here somewhere. This fire happened probably about a week ago, which means they're still around here somewhere." The one named Berlio said maliciously.
He wanted to help them, Mayim at least, but he couldn't without getting himself killed in the process.
"Time to die, daemones." Berlio said. The sound of metal being drawn and the high pitched screams as Nixie and Mayim were killed.
He took a step back and another.
Ignatius may had been a guard in training but he had never heard the cries of death before, and it shook him deeply.
The crack of a branch under his boot made him curse himself a million times.
He didn't make anymore movements as he waited for what the seven people were going to do.
Then a whistling sound through the air heralded the coming of an arrow.
He dropped the wood, and ran as the arrow embedded itself into the ground where he had been standing moments ago.
The crashing of dead branches behind him told him that they were following him.
Knowing he couldn't lead them to Anahita, he changed course and headed in the opposite direction of the camp.
He could hear them following him still.
He continued to run, not looking back.
Then after awhile he couldn't hear them anymore. Had he lost them?
Just to be sure he didn't get caught, he circled back around towards the camp, taking extra precautions.
As he approached the camp, he came upon a large swath of dead leaves and branches. He didn't remember seeing them when he first woke. Although he wasn't exactly taking in the scenery either.
Thinking nothing of it, he continued through the leaves and sticks.
Then his foot sunk down on something, and giant metal jaws clamped together on his leg. He screamed in pain as the cold, metal jaws dug into his leg.
"Ignatius!" He heard Anahita cry, and suddenly appeared running towards him.
"What happen?!" She asked in fright.
"et Images," he whispered, seeing the sigil engraved on one of the metal jaws.
   "The what?" She asked, grasping the metal jaws in her hands, and trying to pull them apart.
   "Run. You have to run. They'll kill you." He told her.
   "Who are they, Ignatius? I need more details then you just telling me to run. Besides, I'm not leaving you here to die."
   "The Hunters."
   Anahita's face went pale.
   Good. She should be scared. The Hunters were notorious for hunting and killing any magical creature they could find, and that meant him and Anahita.
   "Go. I'll be fine. Just run." He told her again.
   She looked like she wanted to protest but didn't. Everyone knew there was no way to outrun The Hunters. Once they had seen your face, you were done for. They never forgot a face or voice.
   "I'll come back, I promise." She said, standing up.
   "Worry about yourself for once. Now go!" He told her forcefully, giving her a shove.
  She took a few steps back before turning around and running off into the woods.
   He let his head droop down.
   The only person that had actually cared about him he had to let go.
   Then a shriek tore through the air. It sounded like...
   "Anahita!" He yelled. No, no, no! She couldn't be dead. She couldn't.
   "Don't worry, she's not dead." A male voice reached his ears. "Berlio likes to play with his prey before killing them."
   He turned his head to see a man with silver-blonde hair—he had to be in his late fourth decade—, golden-orange eyes, dark skin, and a muscular build step out of the shadows of the trees.
   "Who are you, if I may ask?" The man asked him, circling him slowly, his hand resting on the pommel of his longsword.
   He didn't say anything. He just kept his head down, and watched the man carefully.
   "Not a talker. I'll learn your name later I suppose. But as of right now the only thing I'm concerned with is why a Fire Lander is running around in a burned forest with a girl-nymph from Sea Haven?"
   He remained passive.
   "Hmm." Was all the man said.
   Then the man suddenly grabbed his jaw, and tilted his head up to look at him.
   He was unnerved by the way the man's orange-gold eyes were searching his.
   "Hmm. You've been though a lot of pain recently. I know because I can see it in your eyes. It's the same look anyone has after they've faced an ordeal." The man said like he was psychoanalyzing him. "You know, I've seen eyes like these before. A woman named Cyra has eyes that look exactly like yours and I know what she is and now I'm wondering if you're the same thing." The man said, letting go of his jaw, and circling around to his back.
   Knowing what the man planned to do he tried to pull his leg free, but only succeeded in tearing his skin more.
   "You must be what I think you are. Or else you wouldn't be struggling so much. Let's just see if I'm correct." The man said.
   He heard fabric being cut as the man cut all the way through the back of his shirt.
   The man touched his back with his fingers and traced a shape on his back. He assumed he was tracing the outline of the tattoo.
   "You're a new one, aren't you? Most Draconigena would have transformed by now and tried to kill me. But you didn't, which means you're still new, making you completely harmless and easy to transport." The man said.
   He turned his head to look at the man and try and figure out what the man meant by 'transport', but was greeted only by a fist to his face. Everything quickly went black.