Original: To Fire It Shall Return

Chapter 4

The sun was low over the hills, a bright spot of fire in an otherwise colourless sky. Kelden gazed into the west with a queer feeling of longing. Not far in that direction, the land would end and beyond it lay an expanse of water that no man had ever crossed - and survived to return. But Kelden's thoughts did not turn to that.

He heard the whisper of slipper-clad feet on the crushed cornstalks that littered the ground like fallen soldiers. It was Alainna, he knew. The children had been returned to jubilant parents and the Horses had been prepared for the flight to the next village. Now Alainna was here to tell him it was time to leave. She appeared at his side, the top of her head barely meeting his shoulder, and followed his gaze, as if to divine his thoughts by mimicking the direction of his eyes.

Instead of entreating him to leave, she asked a question, her voice, as always, low and calm. "What are you thinking about, Kelden?" He turned to look at her and she leaned against him, one hand snaking up to tease his long hair with the familiarity borne of a friendship seemingly as old as the hills they were looking at. For a moment Kelden felt a pang of desire, as familiar and old as the friendship from whence it sprang, but as always, the impossibility of it repressed the feeling as quickly as it had come.

"I was thinking of our mission here."

"Hmmm?" she answered. She was still looking to the west and the ruby on the silver chain around her neck shimmered in the dying light.

"I'm afraid that there is more here than it seems. I wish I knew what we were getting into." He pursed his lips, knowing how his next statement might sound, "And I don't want to lose you." She looked at him then and he thought… for a moment… there was something in her blue eyes - but no, he calmed the emotion even as it surged, that would never be.

"Don't worry Kelden. I'll be careful. I remember the last time we lost a White Sorceress." They spent a few minutes of quiet contemplation, sharing in that easy silence that only exists between friends - and lovers. Then they walked back to the Horses where Lelahn was waiting impatiently.

Lelahn watched her companions stroll hand-in-hand back to where she and the Badlanders were waiting with a mixture of resentment and impatience. Karim was sprawled on Kelden's shoulder, asleep, while Sharra seemed to have abandoned her familiar completely and was soaring high above them. She wished they would hurry up; the light was failing and they needed to get to Nophelan before anything unforeseen happened. I didn't come here, she thought, to watch these two lovebirds find each other.

As soon as Alainna and Kelden reached them, everyone jumped on their Horses. Sharra folded her wings, divebombing toward Alainna at breakneck speed. Alainna reflexively ducked and through her hands up to protect her face. At the last second Sharra pulled up, and landed lightly on the Horse's back. She let out a caw that sounded eerily like a laugh to Lelahn's ears. Kelden woke Karim in order to give him to Norath again, an action that elicited an indignant chirp from the lizard. Then, with a great leap, they were airborne.

Lelahn looked down as they passed over the village, heading east. She could see the six black Horses in the common area in the middle of the village. They had been left with the Badlanders in the hope that they could use them. As she watched, however, the Chief raised a knife and felled one of the Horses in a fountain of blood. She realized that the other five were already lying dead on the ground. The gathered villagers then fell on the Horses, carving out huge portions. Lelahn turned her eyes forward, sickened. The thought of eating Horsemeat - unless one was very hungry - seemed barbaric to her. Surely there was more that the Horses could have been used for. Transportation, for example.

She looked up, away from the horrific scene, and watched the sun sink slowly over the horizon. As the last of the light disappeared, she smiled as she realized that she was finally relaxed, for literally the first time in years.

The moon, which had been full the night Corin chased the Knight away from Koranna, was now a rapidly shrinking oval in the sky. The orb winked balefully at the five travelers, bathing them in a faint yellowish glow. The black sky was utterly cloudless, as it had been for several days. Alainna gazed pessimistically at the stars, so numerous that they almost seemed to fill the sky without leaving any blackness in between. Sooner or later, probably sooner, she thought, this perfect weather would run out, and Alainna had no idea what to do if that were to happen before they were safely north again.

They had crossed the mountains without incident and Alainna strained to see some sign of the next village. She could barely see the ground, but she saw the light shades of grey shift to a darker shade and realized they were flying over farmland. Directly ahead she could see a huge bonfire, made tiny by distance, like a little flickering jewel.

When they landed, Norath began to herd them toward the tower.

"Come. We should hurry."

"Don't we have to see the Chief of the City again?" asked Alainna, allowing herself to be pulled along. Norath stopped and stared at her with surprised amusement.

"There is no Chief here." said Norath slowly, as if correcting a stupid child. "Garothan is our capital. The Chief is the ruler of all the Badlands."

"Oh," was Alainna's only answer. She didn't know what else to say. The isolation of the Badlands from the rest of the world had left her distressingly ignorant of their culture. In times like this, she felt the gap most keenly and wondered if there was perhaps something she could do for these people. There is something I can do. "Come," she said, continuing to walk in the direction that Norath had been pulling her, "Let's go rescue those children."

This time there was no discussion of strategy. The five drew their blades, the crystal of Alainna's dagger and Kelden's sword glinting in the cold moonlight, and charged the tower. They climbed the stairs as quickly as they could. When they reached the top, Kelden burst out, diving to avoid the expected ambush and coming out of it in a fighting stance. When an attack was not forthcoming, Kelden looked around. The top level of the tower was utterly deserted. He looked up into the sky and saw the chariot climbing into the sky.

Alainna was the first to react.

Go Sharra! she ordered and the bird burst into the air, carrying Alainna's dagger in her beak. She pursued the chariot swiftly but Kelden already knew they had been too late. She swiped at the first Horse she came to with her claws, drawing a line of blood across its flank, but the Horse kicked out at her, forcing her to retreat. After a few more feints, the much faster Horses outpaced her completely, despite all her efforts. She obeyed Alainna's silent command to return, and, dejectedly, they trooped out of the silent, empty tower. Kelden came last, after a final look around the silent tower, trying to repress the strong feeling that they had lost this fight; that there was no point in continuing.

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