Fire Within: Book Two of Fire and Stone (Stories of Fire and Stone 2) (12 page)

A rustle of the beaded curtain at the entryway caused Tseka to look up. Nassata beckoned to her, remaining quiet so as not to disturb the other three Nadra lying in Tseka’s bed, still fast asleep. Tseka slithered over to join her fellow Warrior.

“You’re early,” Tseka murmured as she joined Nassata outside the room.

Nassata grinned. “You’re awake, aren’t you?”

Tseka grinned back. “And Gretchen?”

Nassata nodded. “She headed to the kitchen already. Esset sleeps yet. I checked on him this morning. Kessa spent the night with him and I spoke with her. Our summoner is having trouble with his magic. He nearly set himself on fire last night—multiple times.”

“I saw the way his temperature spiked yesterday. You’re telling me that without controlling himself that escalates to conjuring fire?” Tseka knew that didn’t bode well for the summoner; lack of control rarely did. The Nadra had lore about Shapers who were never taught to harness their elemental abilities and the havoc they had wrought.

“A rather impressive amount, or so Kessa told me,” Nassata replied. They navigated the tunnels in silence for a ways.

“Someone has to go with him,” Tseka finally said.

Nassata nodded.

“Do you think Kessa will try to go?” Tseka asked.

Nassata eyed her. “I’m unsure, but I don’t think she’s ready. Not for the path Esset follows. But you…I sense that going with him might be good for you.”

So Nassata had sensed Tseka’s restlessness then. Tseka couldn’t help it. She didn’t miss the Reshkin invading their home—nor the fear, nor the pain, nor the loss that had come with it—but she’d also never felt so alive as when she’d been fighting for her life—their lives—and their home. There had been a strength of purpose that was missing from her days now. She was restless. Too restless. She
had
to go, so she began making her case.

“Moloch will come after Salithsa sooner or later. Sooner, if he figures out our involvement with Esset and Toman’s rescue now, or later, when he eventually gets bored and follows up on Ateala’s work. Helping Esset now is protecting our people later.”

Nassata nodded, but Tseka pressed on. “I want to protect our people. I know your experience in the wider world would be valuable to Esset, but you’re needed here. I’m free to leave.”

Only now did Nassata speak. “You’ve spent little time outside our city.”

“Time enough,” Tseka rebutted. “I’ve been to the village on several occasions. The open sky doesn’t scare me.”

“Fear isn’t the problem,” Nassata said. “Humans are very different from us. I know you’re tough, and I know you’re clever, but…”

Tseka didn’t wait for her to finish struggling with voicing her concerns. “Someone has to go. Esset needs us. Toman needs us. We owe them and they are our friends.”

Nassata nodded.

“You can’t go,” Tseka pressed.

Nassata nodded again. “Would that I could.”

“So I go,” Tseka said.

Nassata sighed. “He won’t want you along. We’ll have to convince him.”

“I’ll convince him.” Tseka knew she could win him over. Or bully him. One way or another, she was going.

“Very well, my friend. Peace—” Nassata stopped herself before finishing their traditional well-wish. She sighed. “As unlikely as it is that this journey will be peaceful…peace be with you.”

“Thank you, Nassata.” Tseka hugged her comrade. She knew Nassata would smooth things over if there were any objections among the Nadra. Not that there were likely to be, but still.

“Be safe, and return to us,” Nassata murmured as they parted.

Tseka gave her a cheeky grin. “You won’t get rid of me that easily.”

Nassata had to smile back. “You’re right. So let’s go meet the others for breakfast. Even Esset should be up soon.”

Sergeant Warthog, Esset, Kessa, Tseka, and Nassata convened in the dining hall for breakfast. Esset ate with one hand propping his head up, and he consumed each forkful without enthusiasm. The dark circles under his eyes were lost on no one.

“So what’s your first move?” Sergeant Warthog asked.

“I need to find out if Toman is still alive. To do that, I need to find where Moloch would keep him if he were being held prisoner, and I need to make sure Moloch never learns that someone’s looking for him in the process.” Esset was looking at Sergeant Warthog; her skills were in tactics and intelligence. But Sergeant Warthog was looking right back at him.

“Where are you going to start?” she asked. Esset shook his head.

“I’d hoped you could give me an idea of where to start,” he replied.

“I would if I could, but I’m out of the loop, remember? Besides, I’ve never had much luck collecting intelligence on Moloch; his paranoia serves him too well. No, you know as much as I do—you know where his domain lies, so you’ll just have to look.” The sergeant eyed Esset critically.

Esset hadn’t realized that he’d been counting on the sergeant to provide him with an answer, so now he had to stop and think things through. If he used his summons, he risked Moloch learning that there was a summoner in the area, but Esset didn’t have any other resources at his disposal.

“What about Erizen?” Esset asked. The amoral Dark Mage Lord had helped them before, after all. Sergeant Warthog shook her head.

“I haven’t heard from him since before you took on Moloch. The last report I had on him indicated he was in a tense position. Likely he doesn’t dare do anything even remotely suspicious or he risks losing everything, his life included,” the sergeant replied.

“Then I can’t stay here,” Esset said. Kessa looked alarmed, and Esset continued. “I’ll have to travel as unobtrusively as I can to the territories of the Dark Mages. From there I’ll have to send summons in to try to gather information. If I’m careful, I should be able to avoid detection.”

“So if you find out that Toman’s alive, and figure out where he’s being kept, how do you get him out?” the sergeant asked.

“A lot will depend on where he’s being kept, but when I get to him, I have a sleeping draught I can give him, since otherwise the geas will probably work against me. I’ll try to get his gloves, but that’s not a priority for me. Then… Well, my summons are stronger now. I’ll try to just escape on a bird, but again, it’ll depend where he’s being held.”

“And from there?” the sergeant persisted.

“From there I bring him here, and get the geas removed. After that we lie low for a while and plan our next move,” Esset concluded.

“Moloch
will
come after you,” Sergeant Warthog pointed out.

“I know. But we’ll have to deal with that then,” Esset replied. There was a silence as the both parties waited, and Esset realized how little he had to work with.

“So there’s nothing more I can do from here,” Esset realized aloud. Sergeant Warthog shook her head—she’d already reached that conclusion.

“Then I’d best be on my way. Nassata, could you thank the council for me again? And make sure Sosen has everything prepared in time?” Esset asked.

“I can,” Nassata agreed. “But there’s one more thing.” Nassata and Tseka exchanged glances.

“I’m going with you,” Tseka said. It wasn’t a request. Esset opened his mouth to object, but he could already tell Tseka wouldn’t have any of it.

“You’ll need someone to watch your back, help forage and hunt, and keep you from setting yourself on fire while you sleep. Kessa said you almost set things on fire three times last night,” the scarlet warrior pointed out. “I’m good at hunting and fighting. I can fend for myself when I need to. Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t come.”

“You wouldn’t be able to keep up if I use a summon to get places,” Esset pointed out. Tseka considered that.

“You said yourself your summons are stronger. I doubt that will be a problem. I can endure the discomfort while traveling,” she finally countered. Esset frowned. He didn’t have a good argument beyond that, which meant they’d have to spend time at least trying.

“If this doesn’t work, you’re staying,” he said. Tseka just bared her teeth at him in a feral smile that didn’t agree to his condition.

“I only need time to grab my spear and some provisions. After that, we can go as soon as you’re ready,” she said coyly. Esset grudgingly agreed and they headed for the surface.

In the thin morning light, Esset thought it was time to test some of these expanded abilities that the phoenix had hinted at, to see what new summons might be available to him. The phoenix had said it would work just like before—reading the tome would help trigger new summons, but otherwise they could come to him anytime. Since he hadn’t had any new summons just come to him, he flipped open the tome to where he remembered the bird summon being. He needed flight, but he needed something bigger yet less conspicuous.

The symbols practically jumped off the page at him, and knowledge surfaced in his mind, as if he’d already known it but was only just now remembering it. He spoke the incantation aloud and something began to materialize before them. Every creature he’d summoned before had been beasts of fire, but this one seemed to be a creature of smoke and ash. Giant wings billowed out to the side, black and angry and thick enough to block the sun. Its body was more solid, like a dead coal, still warm but incapable of causing burns. Only its eyes glowed, and it was a dim light. It looked more like a carrion bird than a bird of prey, but it was larger—much larger. There didn’t even seem to be any fire within it, like his other summons. When it opened its straight beak, there was only smoke within.

Esset felt uneasy, and he hoped there wasn’t anything special he needed to know about the creature. He wondered again what the requirements would have been to summon this creature before his deal with the phoenix, but the thought was fleeting, as it was irrelevant for the moment. What mattered was that this creature could fly unseen at night, and even if it were spotted, it looked so different that it was unlikely any connection would be made to anything he’d summoned previously.

All they had to do was stomach the overwhelming smell of smoke. It was more than just wood smoke—the acrid scents of less savory combustibles mixed with the smell of burning wood. In fact, when Esset caught a whiff of burning flesh in the smoke, he had to pause to get a hold on himself. He stifled any memories that tried to surface and pulled out a handkerchief to wrap around his nose and mouth to block some of the smell. He had a second one and held it out to Tseka, who was trying to cover her nose with one hand. Sergeant Warthog, Nassata, and Kessa would have to endure the smell unassisted until they departed.

“We will have to be careful that the smell doesn’t betray us,” Tseka said, ever the tactical thinker.

“What matters is that we can fly without being seen,” Esset replied, although he knew she was right. Washing clothes was going to become that much more pressing a chore. His mother would be all over him when he got home. If he got home.

“Let’s go,” Esset said, suddenly unable to remain still a moment longer.

“Mmhm,” Tseka agreed, regarding the bird and trying to figure out how to mount it. Finally she just slithered forward and launched herself onto its back. She curled her long tail around its body, just behind the wings. She was careful not to impede any part necessary for flying or landing. Then she leaned over and held out a hand to help Esset up, which he gladly accepted.

Farewells were kept brief, and takeoff was surprisingly smooth. Then there was nothing to do but huddle against their smoky mount and each other for warmth and watch the terrain flow by beneath them. They had a long way to go.