Page 22 of Dreams of Ash and Smoke

A swarm of men rush toward me, their faces contort with malice. I narrow my eyes and ready my sword, swiping it across one’s abdomen with swift precision. But my element of surprise is short-lived as two more attackers close in on me. With a quick maneuver, I retrieve the dagger from my belt and hold it tightly in my free hand, bracing myself for their blows. The chaos around us has cleared out, leaving only the sounds of clashing metal and grunts of pain as we fight for our lives against a relentless onslaught of enemies.

A blade slices across my cheek, drawing a thin line of fire and I curse before driving my dagger into the side of the man too close to me. The hilt of his blade smashes against my head, sending a shockwave of pain through my skull, but I push through it with sheer willpower. Suddenly, everything goes black as a sharp blow to the back of my head knocks me off balance. My body continues to move on instinct, thrashing around as I swing my blades wildly in all directions. But then a heavy weight crashes down on top of me, cutting off my breath and crushing me to the ground. My vision flickers back for a brief moment, just long enough for me to see Hadeon sprawled out on the ground, lifeless, while a hunter stands above him preparing for the final blow with a bloodied weapon in hand.

With every ounce of strength I have left, I thrust my knee upwards, pushing against the weight of the male pinning me down. Finally, I manage to create enough space to slip my knee up and forcefully shove him back. My feet connect with his chest, propelling him even further away from me. But as he stumbles backwards, his fist snags my mother’s necklace, tearing it from my throat in one violent motion. The alienenergy surges through my veins, intensifying until my eyesight turns a deep indigo. In a burst of power, the matching hue blasts out from within me, knocking out everyone else in the vicinity with its sheer force.

* * *

Licks flicker across my face and I jump up, holding my throbbing head in my hands and looking around me. Bodies lay all over the floor, wood splintered with it from broken tables and chairs.

Glass and food and liquids from beverages follow.

I feel terrible about this happening. But, I’m not sure what even happened. What was the light from me? It couldn’t have been me, right? Who else could do that? The buzzing from my body had stopped. can it be coincidence?

I slowly stand, walking over to Hadeon and slapping his face to try and wake him. He groans in pain, letting me know he’s alive. I release a breath of relief before assessing the damage. I need to fix him up enough to move him across the border, then we’ll rest and heal. My side feels sticky and I glance down, seeing blood slip from a wound. I take off my small pack of medicine, grab the healing tonic for me, and pour some over any bad wounds. It’ll stop any bleeding while it heals. I use the rest on Hadeon’s wounds before wrapping cloth around the more superficial ones on both of us. I re-braid my hair back since it had fallen out during the fight. Exhaustion pumps through me and the moon is still high which is perfect for our travels but it doesn’t look like it’ll be out much longer. I dump some coins on the counter, enough to fix this place up. I feel guilty for destroying it.

I take deep breaths, trying to keep myself awake. I push Hadeon’s feet together, setting them up with his knees bent. Then, I grab his hands and face my back to him and with the force of pulling him toward me, I throw myself back too, getting him to rest on me and walking out of the building with him on my back.

He groans at first, “I am getting us across that border, Hade.” I mumble enough for him to hear if he can. But, I need to talk as little as possiblesince I’m out of breath from carrying this muscular 250-pound man. “If we stay here, we have a higher chance of dying.” I readjust him as he groans in response and from then on, I’m silent. We have a couple of hours of walking and I refuse to slow down.

I try to focus on the trees, naming each plant in my head to distract me from everything else.

He better not die on me or I will kill him.

A black oaken tree, on my left, is one of our holy landmarks. It’s said to be the tree of Nyxie; the goddess of night and death. There are a couple of them close to the border, it’s how you know you’re getting close. It’s said to have a few white oaken trees just on the other side, letting Khyrel know when they’re getting close to our border. Those trees are from Sorin, the god of day and life.

Nyxie and Sorin were lovers in their time; both so vastly different but alike in some ways. The trees were a gift for one another. I never thought I’d see them in my lifetime but I don’t have time to stop and gaze upon them. I had to keep Hadeon alive— keep myself alive.

As I trudge forward, my feet heavy with exhaustion, I sense that I am roughly halfway to the border. Suddenly, a warm sensation trickles down my back, making me stop in my tracks. My initial thought is sweat, but as it continues to flow down, I realize it is something else entirely. It is thick and sticky, leaving a trail of moistness along my skin. I shudder as it drips separately down my side and leg, the unfamiliar feeling causing a sense of unease to bloom within me. What can this be? An injury? Something from the forest? “Fuck!” I wanna yell but my throat is hoarse now, without any water, so it’s barely a whisper.

I try to let Hadeon down gently, but after walking with him on my back for half an hour, he more so drops to the ground and I groan from the release of weight before apologizing mentally to him. His lack of groans makes me nervous but I don’t have time to think about it right now.

I look over Hadeon first, checking for a pulse and finding it weak. I curse again, ripping the bottom of his shirt and using it to wrap around his bleeding side before laying my head down on hischest. Tears slip down, mixing with the dirt and blood on my face.

I want to cry. I want to stop and lay down and cry.

Why am I even doing this? Why did I leave the comfortability of the castle?

His shallow breathing moves my head.

“I can’t do this…” I cry, my voice is raw. “I can’t do this Hadeon.” Tears continue to flow. What was I thinking? There is no way I can possibly do this.

A ravens cry comes from above and I jerk my head up, searching around us for something making the noise. Nothing.

I quickly dry my tears, trying to calm my heart.

Another chime happens and this time it is not a bird. Now in view, a glowing dark blue light spirals around the wind before coming to a sudden halt next to me.

It flickers at me, almost as if it is trying to communicate.

“What are you?” I ask in a whisper, trying to think back on all the books I’ve read. I know of many, if not all, the lores from both kingdoms, and I search my brain for one.

It hops around me before meeting my gaze and turning its head North, where the Court of Dusk reigns. It hops three times North and I can only assume it’s trying to keep me going. I stand, trying to keep my breathing even.

Then, more blue lights appear, trailing North, one after the other.

I freeze.

The Will O’ The Wisps.

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