Of Fire and Fury (Book 1: Light-Born Series)

Chapter 41 - Rabid

Rabid’s little group walked through the forest for hours, leaving Reannihom long behind. Turning away from the Morro River, they wound through dense brush that would give them cover from Hauk eyes and kept moving until their legs ached. Rabid suddenly missed Talia intensely, hoping she had been taken with the Omari and not lost in all the excitement. Even as her legs began to throb and her chest pounded, Rabid felt excitement and a strange anxiety well up inside her. This was a new world she was facing. 

This time, wandering through the trees, it did not feel the same as the thousand times she had done it before. The familiar quiet of the forest was nowhere to be found. 

“You will love the golden city. It’s nothing like the forest clans or even the Reanni. The Amarin do not live so uncivilized. Oh, no offense.” Karver was saying. 

He was still talking. 

Rabid didn’t understand how he hadn’t grown tired of his own voice by now. They had been walking since just after their first meal of the day, and not once had he stopped to breathe. Even when they took a breath for food, he just continued on, flashing his perfect teeth in Rabid’s direction every few steps. Even Roan seemed annoyed, though he walked silently across the fallen leaves and trees with his eyes straight ahead.

Kizi nudged Rabid slightly, a motion Rabid didn’t understand, before saying,

“Isn’t the Great Hall near here?”

Karver broke his monologue and glanced around.

“Yes! Just over the hills, less than a half day’s walk.” he said, nodding confidently.

“Could we take a small detour? I’ve always wanted to see it, I’ve heard such incredible stories!” Kizi said excitedly, acting as though she were years younger. Rabid looked at her in confusion, knowing they shouldn’t waste any extra time. Kizi widened her eyes at Rabid’s glance, raising an eyebrow in attempted communication.

“Oh, we can’t…” Karver started, shaking his head.

“Karver, I would really love to see it, I’ve never been this way before.” Rabid said, smiling as genuinely as she could. She saw Roan roll his eyes over Karver’s shoulder. Rydich eyed them, but said nothing. While she wasn’t sure what Kizi wanted, Rabid didn’t want to mess it up for her.

“Well, I guess… Roan what do you think?” he said, but before Roan could even open his mouth Karver said. “I suppose we could alter our route. It is basically on the way, after all.”

Rabid grabbed his arm and grinned in her most innocent smile.

“Oh, thank you, Karver!” she said. He grinned even wider, then turned and led them off course, veering sharply west. Rabid slowed her pace so she was close to Kizi, behind the three men.

“What are we doing?” Rabid whispered.

“You just feel like you need to see this.” she whispered back. “Plus, I can’t take his incessant talking, we need a distraction.”

Karver’s memory served true. They stopped once more to rest and eat, and then out of nowhere they found themselves walking on an upward slope. The trees grew sparser as the land turned into rolling hills. As the trees thinned, Rabid caught sight of what looked like large, moss covered rocks.

When they broke from the cover of the trees into a large clearing, Rabid saw the ruins clearly. They were vast: larger than Reannihom and Omarihom put together, despite their dilapidated nature. The large stones she had seen were just a fraction of a wall that had broken and fallen to the grass. The stone’s themselves were wider than she was tall in every direction. Her breath caught as she looked up, seeing the remnants of turrets with balconies on each level. She couldn’t imagine what it must look like standing in one of the highest windows, or how magnificent this place would be if she had seen it a few hundred years before.

“Wow.” she breathed, still staring at the vast structure that loomed over the valley like the ghost of a guard. Around the thick stone walls were splintered and rotten wood, as though hundreds of carts had been thrown against the walls and shattered there.

“Let’s go inside!” Kizi said, dropping her pack and grabbing Rabid’s arm. They hurried off to the nearest gate, Roan and Karver jogging to keep up. Without a word, Rydich decided to remain outside and stand guard. As they neared the broken down door, they paused before the dim entrance. Rabid felt a shiver go through her as she stared inside.

“This is where Khaya lived and ruled, isn’t it?” she asked. Kizi nodded and stepped through the threshold.

“It’s where all the leaders would gather together to discuss strategy, plan for wars, things like that.”

Once inside, their eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light that flooded through massive windows. They were facing another set of doors, standing in a hallway that led off into darkness in either direction. The ceiling above them was several stories high, carved out of stone and covered in cobwebs and dust.

“This is what I wanted you to see.” Kizi said, stepping forward to the closed doors before them. “This is her throne room.”

Kizi shoved the doors, letting out a loud creak, but they would not open. Karver stepped forward and assisted, and after pressing their weight into the door it cracked and slid halfway open. They both stumbled and disappeared inside. Rabid paused, looking around. Suddenly alone in the great halls she felt a shiver run down her spine. Uneasiness seemed to come from nowhere. For a second, she had thought she saw a shadow moving in the darkness to her right; but, she shook off the thought and followed Kizi and Karver inside the dim room. 

The room itself lay in tatters, the remnants of colored tapestries strewn in strips across the dust caked floor. The remains of a rug were barely seen underneath the muck that covered it. A large circle was carved into the ceiling that shed golden light all around them, Kizi danced through it, spinning and looking excitedly at everything she saw. Karver hung back, his eyes locked straight ahead, where Rabid’s own eyes were drawn. 

Her vision from Salma Veth came back full force as she looked before her. The tree that had bloomed in it was now dead and grey-black, shriveled slightly but still stretching upward toward the sunlight. The twisting branches of the back and seat still wound together in an intricate network of wood. It still looked regal, strong, despite its emptiness, as if it was waiting for the queen’s return.

“Just soak in all the power.” Kizi called, lifting her arms around her as if the air itself held the power Khaya had wielded. Rabid laughed, watching her, and stepped gingerly around the piles of old armor and shredded flags until she reached the base of the stairs. 

“This is so strange to see.” she said quietly. Kizi moved beside her, staring up at the throne.

“It’s kind of eerie.” Kizi said. “You should sit in it.” 

Rabid flashed her a look. 

“Doesn’t that seem… I don’t know, like heretical or something?” she said.

“How is it heresy? That throne belongs to you.” Kizi argued, grinning. She gave Rabid a little shove until she stepped up the first two stairs.

“If you don’t, I will.” she said playfully. 

“Fine!” Rabid said, almost too quickly. She hurried up the stairs and placed a hand on the smoothed wood. She flinched as she touched it, half expecting something to leap from it. But there was nothing, just the cool dead wood underneath her fingertips.

Rabid turned and sat, and looked out at the tattered floor. It felt strangely comfortable, sitting in a tree. She could feel the heat of the sun against her shoulders coming from way above, the curve of the branches cradling her back. As she sat there, something in Kizi’s expression had changed. Rabid glanced at Karver, who was also wearing a strangely awed expression from further back. 

“What is it?” Rabid said, feeling foolish.

“I’m not sure I know.” Kizi said, shaking her head. Karver blinked his wide eyes several times, but said nothing. Eventually he cleared his throat and glanced around. Rabid stood suddenly and smoothed her skins, hopping quickly down the stairs.

“I want to see the rest.” she said, wishing to move away from their strangely reverent moods.

They stepped back out the double doors and walked through the narrow halls, dodging fallen carvings and tapestries, until they saw more rooms than Rabid even knew existed. This was still only scratching the surface of what the massive castle held. When they wound their way through the various servants quarters and hallways, avoiding the darkness of windowless rooms, they eventually ended up back at the open front gate.

“Okay, enough. It’s getting dark.” Roan said, glancing past the splintered wood at the orange on the horizon. “We need to make camp.”

Somewhat begrudgingly, Kizi and Rabid followed the brothers back out of the castle walls and through the overgrown meadow, until the reached Rydich, standing like a statue in the tall grass. He looked each of them up and down, then nodded once, taking a seat cross-legged on the grass.

“I’ll get firewood.” Roan said, disappearing into the trees just beyond them.

“We need to move our things into the trees for a little cover.” Karver said, staring the way his brother came. 

“I agree.” Kizi said, glancing around the clearing quickly as though anyone could be watching.

“What about Roan?” Rabid said, looking toward the place where he had disappeared into the brush.

“He’ll find us, come on.” Karver said. Together, they grabbed their small packs and moved several steps into the trees, until they were sufficiently surrounded by foliage and not as easily seen. After placing his belongings down, Rydich began to dig into the ground with his bare hands to create a space for a fire. He hissed suddenly, drawing his hands back out. A trickle of blood ran down his palm.

“What happened?” Kizi said, kneeling down with him. He pulled a sharp stone from the ground, tossing it away and looking back to his hand.

“Here, let me.” Kizi said, taking his hand. Rabid watched curiously as they both paused for a moment, looking at each other. Finally, Kizi blinked a few times and reached into her pack. She pulled out some cloth, wrapping his hand. His eyes never left her face while she gently tucked the folds of fabric under eath other so that they would stay in place.

“Maybe use a knife or something to dig?” Kizi offered.

Rydich smiled slightly, nodding. Kizi moved and sat down next to Rabid.

“What was that about.” Rabid said, low enough that Rydich wouldn’t hear. Kizi flashed her a dark look,

“What are you talking about?” she said, but she looked back at Rydich, who had already gone back to digging with one of the knives at his belt. Rabid giggled at the flustered look on her face. Rabid was about to poke fun at her, but Roan reappeared with his arms full of tree branches.

“Nothing big, yeah?” Karver said, rummaging through his packs for something to eat. “Just enough for warmth, we don’t want to be seen.”

Roan grimaced, but nodded, as he and Rydich began to stack the woods and make fire. The camp was quiet as the men went about their work. Finally a small flame was coaxed from the wood, and they each sat around it, sharing their meager rations.

“What was that about, back in the throne room?” Rabid asked Kizi. Kizi looked at her out of the side of her eye as she chewed on a handful of berries.

“I’m not sure. It felt like… something powerful.” she said slowly. 

“You guys looked like I was glowing or something.” Rabid joked. 

“You looked like a queen up there, a real one.” Karver said. Rabid glanced at him, sitting with hands outstretched toward the fire, but he didn’t look back. His eyes were dark, staring at the flames.

“I could feel it.” Kizi said.

“Feel what?” Rabid asked.

“I don’t know how to describe it.” Kizi said. “It just felt… right. Like there has been something missing and you just filled it.”

“It’s been a long time since anyone sat on that throne.” Karver said, still looking at the flames as though he were deep in thought. “The whole world has been waiting for the descendant of Khaya to take her rightful place.”

Rabid shivered suddenly, the thought making anxiety ball up in her stomach. Karver looked up then, his blue eyes peircing hers.

“It was like all of creation was singing.” he said.

Rabid looked away from his eyes, but now everyone was looking at her in a mixture of awe and wonder, even Kizi. Rabid looked at her hands, avoiding their gazes. She didn’t feel what they had felt, the ‘rightness’ or whatever it was, she didn’t hear creation sing. She didn’t feel like a queen that belonged on the throne at all. All she had thought was that she was going to fail them—she was going to fail everyone.