Born of Fire: The Dawn of Legend (24 page)

“Yes,” the blue-eyed girl replied.

“I mean it, young lady.”

“All right! I said I would,” LyCora replied, clearly agitated.

DiNiya chuckled to herself, delighting in seeing her nemesis scolded.

Rex, however, was now dreading his foray out into the forest even more. He was still new to all of this, but already he could tell that the last place he wanted to be was between these two when they started going at each other’s throats.
This is just perfect
, he thought.
I’d rather fight the damn cat again
.

“Then it’s settled,” said BaRone. “You three will accompany TarFor and help him with his work. VoRenna, you can meet me at the rear entrance.” The DyVorian nodded and walked off around the shop. “All right, TarFor, I’ll leave these three to you. Have fun.” He then turned on his heel and briskly walked into the back.

TarFor watched him disappear then let out a sigh. “Suppose this is what I get for trying to swindle a swindler. All right, you three,” he said in a booming voice as he placed his hands on his hips. “I already have the task of trying to make peace with the SoNarvora today, so I don’t have time to deal with your little squabble. Is that understood?”

“Aren’t you the one who caused that whole mess in the forest?” DiNiya retorted, putting her hands on her hips in turn.

“I, uh…well…”

“And am I not only going because you need me to talk to them, but because I’m sure they want nothing to do with you anymore?”

“Fine,” he exclaimed. “It’s my fault, I know, but you won’t be able to do anything yourself if you keep fighting with LyCora.”

“He’s right, you know, DiNiya,” LyCora said. “You really should take your responsibilities more seriously.”

DiNiya whipped around and was about to unload, but was beaten to the punch by TarFor. “The same goes for you, too, young blue flame. She does not need you constantly jabbing at her, trying to get a rise out of her.”

“You insult me, good sir,” she replied, pretending to be offended.

“All right, then,” said TarFor, lowering his hands to his sides. “Everyone ready?”

“Yes,” the two girls said simultaneously.

“No,” replied Rex dryly.

“Good, then let us be off,” TarFor said happily.

A little less than an hour later, they were walking through the forest with TarFor leading the way. Rex was trying his best to stay as close to him as he could to keep from getting in between the girls, but he found it futile for they seemed glued to him. LyCora hung back and to his left, eyeing him warily, all the while upsetting DiNiya, who hovered on his right. What he would not give for the power to just suddenly fly straight up into the air and out from between the storm that was brewing around him.

TarFor must have noticed his dire situation, for he began engaging him in casual conversation to try to distract him. “So tell me, lad. Rex is a curious name. Exactly what tongue does it hail from?”

“It’s Latin,” explained Rex. “It means king.”

“Latin,” TarFor repeated as he mulled the word over. “So that is the language you speak on Earth, is it?”

“It was once spoken in some places, but no one speaks it anymore,” said Rex as he managed to walk a little ahead of the girls. “But it’s not what we speak where I’m from.”

“So do you simply not speak in the world you’re from?”

Rex felt confused, for he did not understand why what he said would cause the giant man to come to such a conclusion. “Uhh…no, we talk.”

“But you just said that Latin is no longer spoken?”

“Well, sort of, but not exactly. I mean, it is considered a dead language; it was once spoken through the continent of Europe, which is made up of quite a few countries.”

“And what are those?”

Rex glanced back and saw that DiNiya and LyCora were listening to him intently, apparently interested enough in what he was saying to forget about their seething hatred for each other for a time.

“Well, it’s like a territory that has people of a certain…tribe, I suppose, living in it.”

“So, it’s like what you were telling me before about government?” offered DiNiya.

“Yes,” said Rex, feeling strange explaining things he never really cared much about himself. “Each country has its own government.”

“Fine, fine,” said TarFor. “But why are these western countries the only place people speak language?”

“They’re not. They’re just the only place where they spoke Latin.”

“Spoke?” LyCora repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, yeah,” Rex continued. “Latin hasn’t been a living, spoken language for a very long time. Still, it has evolved into several others that still are.”

TarFor suddenly stopped and turned around to face Rex. “So you are saying that the people of Earth speak more than one language?”

“Yes,” said Rex, thinking the answer should have been obvious. “Don’t they do that here?”

“Of course not,” he bellowed. “Why would they?”

“I don’t know. Different people from different areas usually speak different ones, I suppose. Are you telling me everyone in EeNara only speaks English?”

“Well, it is true we have only need for one, but it is not this English you speak of.”

“What do you mean?” Rex asked, puzzled. “You’re speaking it right now. You probably call it something else—” He suddenly stopped in mid-sentence. “Incredible.” He had not noticed until just now that he in fact was not speaking English, nor had he since he awoke that first morning with DiNiya. “I…I’m speaking…what the hell am I speaking?” he asked, looking around at the three of them.

“I’m sorry, Rex,” DiNiya said, taking a step closer to him. “But we don’t really understand the question.”

“What do you mean you don’t understand the question?” Rex said, getting more frustrated. “What do you call your language? It has to have a name…right?” He looked around at their faces as they simply shook their heads.

“I think I see the source of the confusion here,” said LyCora, who took a step closer, causing him to tense up for he could sense that DiNiya had daggers for eyes pointed right at him. “Your world has multiple languages, so naturally they each need names so people know which one you are referring to in a discussion. We here in EeNara, however, have had this one for thousands of years, so it never needed a special name to set it apart from any other.”

“Figured all that out on your own, did you?” DiNiya said, clearly unimpressed.

“And it’s a good thing I did,” LyCora shot back quickly. “Otherwise, you would have been pestering him all day with nagging questions!”

“I was not nagging him!”

“Rex,” LyCora said as she motioned for him to follow. “Why don’t we walk on up ahead so we’re not subjected to any more of her jealous ravings.”

“Me? Jealous? Ha!” DiNiya said, forcing a boisterous laugh that sounded like she stole it from TarFor. “You’re crazy!”

“Really? Then why haven’t you been more than two steps away from Rex since we left the shop?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been eyeing him like a hormonal fiend ever since you stepped into the shop this morning!”

“How dare you!” DiNiya said angrily as she stormed over to LyCora and got right in her face.

“What’s the matter?” asked LyCora with a mischievous grin. “The truth cut a little too deep?”

“As if I would stoop so low to carry myself with such little dignity!”

“Is that what you call it?”

Rex glanced back at TarFor with a look that said “save me.”

Seeming to understand, TarFor walked up to the two bickering girls and threw them both over his shoulders. “Right, then,” he said, looking down at Rex with a broad smile. “Shall we be back on our way?”

Rex nodded, and they resumed their trek through the forest trail; all the while he was forced to watch the girls give each other nasty looks from over TarFor’s shoulders.

Rex spent the next twenty minutes explaining as much as he could about Earth as per TarFor’s request. The giant remained silent for the most part as he listened to him, commenting only here and there on the things he found especially intriguing or amusing. He particularly found his explanation of racism funny.

“People on Earth must truly be eager to find reasons to hate each other if they use biology as an excuse to do so,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. However, he found the notion of killing in the name of religion distasteful. When Rex commented that he found it strange that there was no form of religion or faith-based belief on EeNara, TarFor simply said, “Better to learn and know than ignore and believe.”

They continued on through the underbrush before passing a ten-meter waterfall that cascaded down into a beautiful crystal-blue lake.

“Oooooh! We should go for a swim,” DiNiya said excitedly.

“Not this outing,” said TarFor. “We still have a job to do.”

DiNiya nodded thoughtfully while still draped over his shoulder. They continued on ahead but began to sense something strange. The air felt still as if it was somehow almost dead.

“What’s that smell?” asked Rex as something acrid came wafting over him.

“No…” said TarFor as he put down the girls and ran up ahead.

“TarFor, what’s wrong?” DiNiya called after him.

“Something feels wrong here,” said Rex.

“He’s right,” agreed LyCora. “This whole area of the forest feels hurt.”

“Hurt?” asked Rex. “How can you tell something like that?”

“I’m a blue flame, remember? We have a strong connection to the land. We can feel its very pulse, and believe me when I say it’s very weak here.”

“Come on, let’s go,” DiNiya said as she took off after TarFor, with Rex and LyCora following close behind. The forest around them began to show signs of a struggle. The area was filled with trees splintered, broken, and burned. Just up ahead they saw TarFor standing at the tree line.

“Hey, look, it’s the edge of the forest,” said Rex, surprised. “I didn’t realize we had walked this far.”

“We haven’t,” DiNiya said, furrowing her brow.

They caught up to TarFor and stopped dead in their tracks. Their eyes went wide with horror as they looked out at what was once part of the lush forest, but now was a massive fifty-meter burnt spread with no sign of life within it. They stood in silent horror as they took in the dreadful sight. The air was thick with the smell of burnt wood and smoke, with all the trees on the edges still standing but looking like they were made of burnt paper. The forest that was normally alive with sound of all manner of creatures big and small was eerily quiet.

“What the hell happened here?” asked Rex, stepping forward into the black scorched circle.

TarFor, who had been silent this entire time, spoke up. “This was a tactical strike,” he said, walking up next to Rex. “Someone wanted to cover their tracks in a hurry…and make sure there was no one left to tell what happened here.”

“The question is, what
did
happen here?” asked LyCora.

“The SoNarvora tribe?” DiNiya asked in a somber tone, knowing the answer in her heart but not yet ready to accept it.

“You’re standing in it,” TarFor said in the same somber tone as he looked at the ash-covered soil.

DiNiya found herself struggling to get a handle on the moment. “Who would do such a thing?” she asked, anger rising in her voice. “Or why?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense; they were just passing through…no threat to anyone…”

“Could it be a rogue predator?” asked LyCora. “Someone trailing a herd?”

“But why such an extreme method of killing?” asked DiNiya.

“Think about it. The only logical reason anyone would have for removing all traces of their kill would not be to hide the identity of their prey, but their own.”

“You’re saying the killer doesn’t want us to know what they are?”

TarFor nodded before squatting down and scooping up a handful of ash. “Look, the ground we’re standing on is burnt several layers deep. This was done by a concentrated blast of flame, but also a controlled one. Whoever did this had a mastery of their flame and knew how to use it as a controlled weapon.”

Rex had been silently listening this entire time, but it was the words just spoken that triggered a memory from the day he arrived in this very same forest. “That thing TyRoas was after!” he said.

“What?” TarFor asked, standing back up.

“What thing?” LyCora asked, giving him an inquisitive look.

“You know, the thing he thought I was when he attacked me here in the forest. He said children from various tribes had gone missing and they were killed by something new to the area.”

DiNiya, LyCora, and TarFor looked at each other.

“Hey, that asshole tried to kill me because of it, so don’t tell me there’s nothing to this,” Rex said angrily, fearing they did not trust his speculation.

“In light of all the mystery killings, we know that there’s definitely an unidentified predator out here,” said DiNiya. “But why are they being so secretive? I mean, why go through all this trouble to stay hidden…kill so many innocent lives?”

“I don’t know, DiNiya,” said TarFor. “But I fear this will not be the last time our mystery killer strikes. Come, we need to get back and inform everyone immediately.”

“Wait,” LyCora exclaimed as her eyes darted around in every direction. “Something’s coming!”

“What?” DiNiya asked.

“Where?” asked TarFor urgently as he looked around.

LyCora focused her senses and tried to pinpoint the source of the strange presence she was feeling. “This is odd. It’s…it’s all around us…no, wait…it’s starting to focus itself…it’s…right under us!”

Before any of them had a chance to react, all the ash in the clearing burst into the air in a thick black plume.

“Damn it, my eyes!” Rex yelled.

“What’s happening?” DiNiya called out as she covered her face.

“Stay close to me,” exclaimed TarFor.

LyCora tried to focus her flame and managed to part some of the ash in front of her, but she was quickly overtaken by it again. And then it seemed to pull away from them on its own and form together into ten shapes. DiNiya managed to clear out her eyes to her great relief, which was short lived, for she found herself witnessing the same sight as Rex and the others. The ash had all formed together to create what looked to be SoNarvora made of ash.