Eagle's Guard

Chapter 7

2. A Tale of Fire and MagicThe building juddered and dropped suddenly, Aiden’s stomach lurching into his mouth. The girl tightened her arms around him, as if somehow, together, they might live. Her whole body trembled, her head of tawny hair buried in his chest. Aiden wrapped his arms tight around her, unable to stop the shaking in his own limbs. Slates slipped away beneath their feet. These were the last seconds of his life. His throat tightened at the thought of his family waiting for his return that would never come.

Stone cracked and wood splintered, the roof splitting apart beneath them. They fell down amidst the rubble. Acrid smoke billowed up, searing Aiden’s lungs and blurring his vision. He longed to see the sky just one last time. He did the only thing he knew and frantically sketched a rune in the air. The curved lines of Eadha, the wind, swirled around them with a thunderous roar, sweeping aside wood and stone and lifting them out of the reach of the flames.

For a second they rose up from the building, Aiden casting rubble aside with the current of Eadha. He reached for the sky, but he was tired, so very tired. His eyes streamed and flickered. As if from a great distance away he felt the solid glow of the rune slip from his fingers. They floated for a moment and then they were falling once more, back down through the rubble, past the stairs they had so frantically climbed.

The cry of an Eagle pierced the flames and a shadow swooped, breaking through the clouds of smoke. A twisting rope dropped down into the maelstrom, flashing past Aiden’s face. With a speed that surprised himself, he grabbed the rope, still clinging to the girl with his other arm. They jerked to a halt, swinging over the void that had once been the third floor. A horrible tearing ripped through Aiden’s shoulder as he took their weight. He cried out but somehow held on to both the rope and the girl.

The walls dropped around them and Aiden flinched back from falling rubble. Flames leapt towards them, but they rose skywards, away from the crackling heat until blue horizon broke through. Aiden closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and tried not to think of the pain or the height as the Eagle carried them away.

Aiden’s feet hit solid ground and his eyes jolted open. He tried to stand, but his legs buckled beneath him and he collapsed sideways onto the cobbles, the girl rolling limply out of his grasp. His other hand still fiercely gripped the rope, a dull throb pulsing along his arm. People he did not know crowded around them. He ignored their meaningless babble, blinking through smokey tears to focus on the girl. He was alive, but was she?

She lay on the cobbles, her cloak tangled around her body. Her eyes were closed, her face pressed to the ground, almost peaceful. Aiden’s throat tightened. Then he saw her chest rise with the tiniest of breaths. Aiden let his head roll back. She was alive.

Soldiers pushed through the crowd, hands reaching down to lift her up and carry her away. Aiden opened his mouth, trying to speak. What was her name? Who was she? But a violent cough racked his body and he rolled onto his front, pain spiking along his arm. His mouth tasted like ash.

Someone stepped into his vision. From his position on the ground all Aiden could see was a pair of boots, well-worn but still slightly ornate. He squinted up at the man who occupied the boots. He had a weathered face with wind-worn cheeks, yet his armour was intricately made and even Brokk would have envied the fine blue cloak on his back. A few paces behind him, oddly out of place in the middle of the street, was a Great Eagle, golden feathers shining through the grey air. He was an Eagle Rider.

The Rider dropped to a crouch next to him. “Are you hurt?”

Aiden put a hand to his left shoulder, the ache sharpening as he acknowledged it. He tried to sit up but winced as his raw and blistered hands touched the ground. Dizziness washed over him.

The Rider helped him up and held him steady.

“Thank you,” Aiden rasped. “You…” He bowed his head. “You saved my life.”

“And you saved two others,” said the Rider with a smile.

Aiden opened his mouth to speak, but he did not know what to say.

“Here, drink this,” said the Rider, lifting a bottle to his lips.

The cool water burst down his throat and Aiden gulped at it until he choked. The Rider beckoned someone over, taking a wet cloth and a bundle of fabric from them. Then he took Aiden’s hands and began to dab away the sticky blood. Aiden gritted his teeth and tried not to flinch.

“You’ve done extremely well today,” said the Rider. “What’s your name?”

“Aiden Brokksson,” said Aiden. It was unfathomable that this man of legend had saved his life and was even speaking to him. Over the Rider’s shoulder he caught a glimpse of the Eagle watching the street, yellow eyes blinking slowly above the sharp hooked beak.

“What brought you to this fateful street?” the Rider asked.

Aiden winced as the Rider spread a salve over his hand. “I was just passing through.” He had no intention of revealing his real purpose. It all seemed so foolish now.

Other Eagle Riders now circled the blaze throwing down runes of Suil, water, and Eadha, the river. The curving lines of the runes arced over the building, shimmering like rainbows in the mist, then bursting into rain as they fell. Aiden’s eyes widened and his skin tingled as if the air around him was filled by the power of the runes.

“How did you know there were people in there?” the Rider asked.

Aiden’s mind went blank momentarily. “I… I just saw her go in.”

The Rider nodded slowly. The building rumbled and a cloud of dust billowed out as another section of wall collapsed. Aiden flinched. He had been inside that only minutes before. The Eagle Riders flying above threw down more runes dampening the flames and smoke.

“Why did the building explode?” said Aiden, turning sharply to the Eagle Rider.

The Rider looked at him, head tilted slightly back as if to see him better. “I don’t know.” He leaned in then, knotting the last bandage around a cut on Aiden’s arm, before laying a hand gently on his uninjured shoulder. “You’ll live.”

The Rider turned back to his Eagle. “Wait,” Aiden called after him. “What about the girl and the woman? Will they be alright?”

The Eagle Rider smiled over his shoulder. “Because of you, I think so.”

“Who were they?” said Aiden, but his words were drowned by another rumble from the building. The Rider ran the last few steps to his Eagle before swinging himself nimbly onto its back. The Eagle’s wings flexed, muscles bunching as it lifted itself into the air. Aiden’s heart leapt with it. All the stories he had heard as a boy could not match the awe of seeing an Eagle Rider with his own eyes.

A foot scuffed behind him and Aiden dragged his eyes from the sight. A young soldier stood there. “I’m to see you home,” he said.

Aiden nodded, letting his eyes close briefly before standing and following the soldier away from the burning building. His feet dragged like deadweights beneath him. What had just happened? He fingered the bandage on his arm, following it up to the tattered and blackened threads of his shirt. How had he even survived?

“Aiden!”

A familiar head of thick brown hair pushed through the crowd towards him. Aiden wearily waved before turning to the soldier. “I’ll be fine from here.”

The soldier nodded and began to retrace his steps.

Branwyn burst upon him, breathless. “Aiden, I’m so glad I found you.” Her face danced as she spoke. “I tried to find you after I heard the explosion, but your Mum said you hadn’t come back after lunch.” She stopped and frowned, looking him up and down. “Aiden, you stink and you look like a mess.” She took his arm and inspected his bandaged hands and various other injuries, causing Aiden to flinch. “Did the girl do this?”

“No. That was the explosion.”

Branwyn’s mouth dropped open and she stared at him, eyebrows raised. “You mean…”

Aiden started his slow walk along the street again. Everything was too much effort. He just wanted to be home. Branwyn ran a few steps to catch up with him. She put an arm round his waist and he gratefully leant on her shoulders.

“You look terrible,” she whispered. “And you sound awful too.”

“I’ve been through fire,” said Aiden, laughing. He coughed as smoke caught in his throat. It still felt like his lungs were full of ash.

“So what happened?” said Branwyn, watching him intently. Aiden gave her a sideways smile. She scowled at him. “Come on. Tell me.”

“Well, after I left you I followed the girl to a house near the old barracks. I never found out what she was doing. The building exploded almost as soon as she went inside.”

Branwyn’s hand tightened on his waist. “Is that how you got injured?”

Aiden shook his head. “The blast only knocked me over. I got these,” he gestured to his bandages and charred shirt, “when I went in to get her out.”

“You did what?” said Branwyn, gawking at him.

“No one else was doing anything to help,” said Aiden. He wondered if he should mention the other woman he had saved too, but Branwyn’s awed gaze was already making him uncomfortable. “By the time I got to her the fire was really bad and we had to go up to the roof. Honestly I thought we were going to die. There was nowhere else to go.” Aiden gave an involuntary shudder, as he remembered that moment of hopelessness when he thought there would be no escape. He could still feel the rumbling under his feet and the blackness of the air as the smoke enveloped them.

“But how did you get out?” said Branwyn, a frown creasing her brow.

“An Eagle Rider saved us,” said Aiden.

“An Eagle Rider!” said Branwyn, eyes widening. “What was he like?”

Aiden smiled at the memory. “Really he was just a man, but he felt like so much more. And he was kind. He bandaged me up. Anyone could have done that, but he did it.”

“And the Eagle?” said Branwyn.

“Magnificent,” said Aiden, remembering the brief glimpse of the sleek golden feathers, the curved beak and the hard, glinting eyes. “Just like you would have imagined from all the old stories.”

“Wow,” Branwyn whispered. “I wish I had been there to see that.”

Aiden smiled again, knowing that he would never forget his encounter with the Eagle and its Rider. It was the same sense of longing and excitement that he felt when he dreamed of the Silver Eagle. Aiden looked to the sky, expecting to see a Great Eagle, but there was nothing but hazy blue tinged with smoke.

“So tell me about the girl,” said Branwyn, giving Aiden a playful smile. “What was she like?”

“There’s not much to say,” said Aiden with a small shrug. “It’s not like we had much chance to chat.”

“No?” said Branwyn, turning her face to him, one eyebrow raised. “You must have found out something.”

“She was brave,” said Aiden. And beautiful, he thought, turning away to hide the tug of a smile around his mouth. Branwyn would only tease him.

“Oh, brave,” said Branwyn, poking him in the side and smiling up at him.

Aiden frowned. She was going to tease him anyway.

“And what was her name?”

Aiden frowned. “I don’t know.”

“Didn’t you ask her?” said Branwyn, giving him that smile again.

“I didn’t get a chance,” said Aiden. “By the time we were safe she was unconscious. Her injuries were much worse than mine and the soldiers took her away so quickly.

Branwyn was silent for a moment. “It sounds like you were lucky.”

Aiden nodded.

“Do you know what caused the explosion?” Branwyn asked, her voice quieter now.

“I don’t know,” said Aiden, frowning again. “I asked the Eagle Rider, but he never really answered my question.” And why would he? He was no one special.

They turned onto their home street, the shadows lengthening around them. Branwyn walked Aiden right up to his door before removing her arm from his waist. Aiden smiled gratefully at her. “Thanks Bran.”

She returned his smile and turned to make the short walk across the street to her own home. Aiden reached out to push the door open, then stopped, turning back to Branwyn.

“I’m sorry about this morning,” he called over to her. “It wasn’t fair to ask you to come when you were working.”

Branwyn looked back at him. “It’s alright,” she said, smiling. “I did want to come, it’s just my father would have been annoyed and… oh you know.”

Aiden nodded, grimacing. “I’ve got my own father to face now.”

“Good luck,” said Branwyn, laughing.

Aiden gathered his thoughts and opened the door to his house. His father was sitting by the counter, a slim silhouette in the candlelight, waiting for him. He stood up quickly as the door swung open, a sharp frown on his face. But almost instantly Brokk’s expression changed, his step faltering. He reached out towards Aiden, taking him gently by the shoulders.

“What on earth happened son?”

Aiden sighed. He wondered where to begin and what even to say. Should he tell his father he had been chasing a girl? Should he tell his father why? Brokk would not want to hear that runes were involved. But if he did not mention the runes, his father would think him a fool for getting into such a mess over a mere girl. And if he did not mention either, how could he explain his actions?

A gasp sounded from the kitchen doorway and Aiden’s mother rushed over to him, her fingers brushing over his tattered and blackened clothes and hovering over his bandaged arm. Her eyes met his.

“I’m fine Mum.”

Kari shook her head. “No you’re not. Now come through and sit down.”

His mother led him through to the kitchen and sat him down at the table. Aiden sunk into a seat, gratefully lifting his weight from his tired feet. Andor looked up at his arrival, his mouth dropping open. Brokk followed them through, standing over the table.

“So where have you been Aiden?” said Brokk.

“I didn’t mean to be so long,” said Aiden. He looked down at his red raw hands under the table feeling the blood pulse under his skin. It had been easy to tell Branwyn the whole truth, but why could it not be easy now?

Brokk folded his arms. “You disappeared for most of the afternoon and now you come home looking like… like this.”

Aiden pressed his lips together. He could not—no would not—lie to his family. No matter how much they might hate the truth. He looked up. “I saw something when I stopped for lunch. It was a girl in the street and she wore a cloak covered in runes. So many runes for secrecy that people hardly even saw her…”

“I should have known it would be magic,” Brokk said, shaking his head. “It’s always magic that gets you into trouble.”

“Who said I was in any trouble?” said Aiden, raising his voice in return. Why did his father always jump to conclusions? Why did he even bother trying to tell him the truth?

Kari put a hand on her husband’s arm. “Let him finish his story Brokk.”

Brokk frowned but fell silent.

Aiden scowled at him. “I was curious so I followed the girl further into the City. But the house she went into exploded.” He paused, his skin prickling at the memory of the fire, the girl’s scared blue eyes looking up at him. “I went in to rescue her,” he said quietly.

His family stared at him, utterly silent. No one moved.

“Did you save her?” Andor asked, biting the tips of his fingers.

“She wasn’t the only one there,” said Aiden. “There was an older woman, who was unconscious, so I had to help her first. By the time I went back for the girl, we were trapped. An Eagle Rider saved us both.”

Andor’s eyes grew wide. “You met an Eagle Rider,” he said in wonderment.

Aiden nodded, half smiling.

Brokk took a step closer to Aiden so that he was looking into his eyes. “Believe me son, it was a brave thing you did, going after that girl.” Brokk nodded. “But it was also a reckless thing. You can’t just go running off chasing runes and putting yourself in danger. You’re not a wizard or an Eagle Rider. You have duties here.”

Aiden’s throat tightened. Even after the whole story, all his father seemed to care about was work and responsibilities.

“It wasn’t magic that caused any of this…” said Aiden quietly, leaving the rest of his sentence unsaid. He did not have the heart to tell his father that it was a dream of the Silver Eagle that had taken him up to the roof. A dream of adventure. Of something more than cloakmaking.

“Aiden you were almost killed today,” said Brokk, throwing his arms out wildly.

Kari put a calming hand on his arm. “Enough Brokk. He’s had a hard day. And your son saved two people’s lives. Just be proud of him.”

“I am proud,” said Brokk, gazing at Aiden, his eyes shining. “I’m just afraid that one of these days he’s going to get himself killed because of magic. It was bad enough when you were only nine and I had to come and get you from the Restricted Zone. You were all bruised and blackened from the runes they had thrown at you. And I thought then, I never want to see my son like that again.”

Aiden looked up at his father and wished he did not have to put him through this pain. But magic had saved him today. It was the runes that had given him the speed to outrun the fire. It was the runes that had bought him and the girl those extra few seconds before the Eagle Rider arrived. He had tried to ignore the dreams of the Silver Eagle. He had tried to focus on his work. But after today how could he go back to that life when he knew, with a deep certainty, that something more was possible?