Chapter Five – The Hunters Come
768 Words
Chapter Five – The Hunters Come
They didn’t stop running until the trees swallowed them whole.
Kael led the way, cutting through the forest like he knew every root and shadow. Lira clung to Nyra’s side, stumbling through the undergrowth, her scarf flapping behind her like a crimson flag.
Nyra could feel the girl’s fear pulsing through her grip. The fire inside her was unstable—hot one moment, flickering the next. It was only a matter of time before she lost control again.
> “This way,” Kael called, ducking beneath a fallen tree.
Nyra followed without question.
They reached a hollow, shielded by twisted branches and thick mist. It wasn’t much, but it was shelter.
Lira dropped to the ground, gasping.
> “Why are they chasing me?” she whispered.
Kael crouched beside her. “Because you’re powerful. Because they’re afraid of what you’ll become.”
> “I don’t want to become anything,” Lira said.
Nyra knelt across from her, resting a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have a choice. But you do have help.”
The child looked at her, eyes wide and glowing faintly red again.
> “Are you like me?”
Nyra gave a single nod. “Exactly like you.”
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The moment didn’t last.
A branch snapped—clean, deliberate. Not the wind. Not an animal.
Kael stood instantly, hand glowing at his side.
> “They found us.”
Nyra turned to Lira. “Run. Now. Back into the woods. Hide.”
> “I don’t—”
> “Run!”
The girl bolted just as the first arrow sliced through the air, missing Kael’s shoulder by inches.
Nyra turned, hand outstretched. Fire burst from her palm and swallowed the arrow midair in a hiss of sparks.
Three figures stepped from the fog—cloaked in black, armor marked with the sigil of the Inquisition. Their faces were hidden beneath iron masks.
> “Ashblood,” one hissed. “Twice marked.”
Nyra’s eyes narrowed. “You have no right here.”
> “We have every right. You’re an abomination.”
Kael laughed low. “Funny. That’s exactly what I was going to say about you.”
The first Inquisitor charged.
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Kael met him mid-swing, his blade igniting in blue flame. Sparks flew as steel clashed with magic. The forest lit up with each strike.
The second Inquisitor raised a crossbow—but Nyra was faster. She stepped forward, lifted her hand, and released her silence.
It came out as a wave of heat—soundless, searing, white-hot. The air around her cracked. The crossbow melted in his hand.
> “I won’t hide anymore,” she said, voice calm but deadly.
The third tried to flank her.
Nyra turned, eyes glowing brighter now, and raised both hands.
The earth responded.
Roots erupted from the ground, twisting like serpents, grabbing the Inquisitor by the legs and yanking him down. He screamed—until the roots pulled tighter, silencing him.
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Kael ducked under the last strike and sent his blade straight through the first Inquisitor’s chest.
Silence.
Breathing. Steam. Blood in the snow.
It was over in minutes.
Nyra’s body trembled—not from exhaustion, but from release. She hadn’t felt this power surge through her since the fire. And now… she didn’t want it to stop.
Kael stepped beside her, wiping blood from his blade.
> “You’re getting stronger.”
> “They’ll send more,” she said quietly. “Next time, they won’t wait.”
> “Then we don’t wait either.”
Nyra looked back into the trees.
> “Lira?”
No answer.
She darted into the forest, heart thudding, calling the girl’s name in her head.
Until—there. Curled beneath a tree, silent and shaking.
Nyra dropped beside her, pulled her close.
> “It’s over,” she whispered. “You’re safe.”
> “I felt it,” Lira said. “Your fire. It called to me.”
Nyra swallowed the lump in her throat.
> “That’s what Ashblood is,” she said. “We find each other in the fire.”
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That night, they didn’t rest.
They buried the Inquisitors beneath the trees. Covered their weapons. Burned their armor.
And when dawn broke, Nyra stood at the edge of the hollow, cloak wrapped tight, eyes fixed on the horizon.
> She wasn’t running anymore.
She was preparing.
Because war didn’t start with fire.
It started with a girl who finally stopped hiding.
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🔥 End of Chapter Five
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- Writer
