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

Chapter 34 - Stone

“We’ve stayed here long enough.” Chief Blood Wolf said. He knelt, drawing a makeshift map in the mud of the river bank. Stone shook the water from his hair and stepped out of the river, replacing his clothes onto his now clean skin. He knelt and observed his father draw a circle on a portion of the crude map.

“You, White Hawk and Wild Fern will go first. We will travel slowly behind you, and only at night to avoid the scouting parties. Try to find the waterfall, I remember it being around here. It’s safe there, and protected.” he pointed to the circle he had drawn.

Stone dutifully listened. Truthfully, he wasn’t needed. Though it would be her first scouting trip, Wild Fern had been trained by Akecheta personally since she was little more than six winters. She was an orphan, and he had taken her under his wing. Like her, White Hawk was one of their best scouts. Still, Stone was grateful to leave the camp and go hunting through the forest, whether they found the waterfall or not. Anything was better than staring into one more set of weepy eyes, Fox’s endless smirks in his direction, or looking at a father intent on his woman’s death. He needed something new to occupy his thoughts.

Chief Blood Wolf stood, stretching slowly. Then, he grabbed Stone’s shoulders in his hands.

“You know how much we need this.” he said, his brown eyes looked like storm clouds. Stone nodded, and despite this his father eyed him for a long moment before he dropped his hands. As Stone turned, Blood Wolf called out,

“Stone, don’t disappoint me again.” 

Stone gritted his teeth and continued walking. His father had been intent on teaching him a lesson since they had left the gates of Reannihom, and he never gave up a chance to publically humiliate him. Stone shook this off as best he could and stalked toward where he had left Rheo. He caught sight of White Hawk and Wild Fern, waiting patiently a few lengths ahead. Motioning for them to follow, he continued.

He swung onto Rheo’s back and took a deep breath in. Just a few more moments, and he would be away from these people until they met back up at the waterfall. With all luck, it would be several long days from then. When Wild Fern and White Hawk appeared beside him, Wild Fern’s eyes were wild with excitement and a grin was taking up most of her face.

“Are you both ready?” Stone asked, glancing at each of them as they nodded, Wild Fern much more excitedly.

They rode quickly, hardly stopping to rest or eat, but the journey still took longer than normal. With the threat of the Hauks fresh on their minds, they took the longer route to the mountains. Avoiding the large open fields and sticking to the thickest sections of trees, they took a long and winding route that nearly doubled the distance they had to travel. The first night they stopped in the forest, braving the chilly air and did not build a fire.

The next day, they arrived at the first upward slant of the mountains just as the sun was reaching its peak. When they reached the sheer rock face, they each dismounted and led their horses along, watching the rising and falling of the rock above them and looking for a route to the top. The rocks were a dangerous maze, some opening mislead them for long stretches before disappearing off a steep edge. Others ended with no path forward, except one that would force them to leave the horses and climb large expanses of vertical stones. They tried several different paths, turning back each time to return to their start, before Wild Fern finally whooped excitedly. Despite their fatigued muscles, they scrambled up the promising switch backs and further upward toward the bright blue sky. 

Their legs burned and their breathing intensified in the thinning air as they climbed. It took several spans of time, and every turn in the rock they feared would be the end of the path. Finally, as they rounded the final curve of the path, the large rocks faded behind them and the sight made Stone’s already haggard breathing catch in his chest. They had reached the summit, and down below the valley stretched for miles as far as they could see. The thick trees of the forest were speckled of orange, red, and green. The fading sunlight cast long shadows across the land. The great Morro River, the plains, even the splintered wood of Omarihom’s wall stuck out between vast expanses of forest. It was the most beautiful thing Stone had ever seen.

Even if their bodies hadn’t been exhausted by the climb, it was quickly becoming to dangerous to wander along the top edge of the mountain in the fading light. So once they had found a small amount of greenery for the horses to eat, they tied them to a short rope and unrolled their bed rolls. As Stone stretched out on the thin mat, his legs already aching from the past few days, he sighed heavily and willed his body to relax

“Fire tonight?” Wild Fern asked hopefully as she returned from the horses with a small amount of kindling. Stone looked to White Hawk.

“I doubt anyone would be willing to scale that just to wet their blade” White Hawk said, nodding toward the edge of the rock.

“We best keep it small, just in case.” Stone said. “There’s no point in drawing unwanted attention.”

Within a few minutes, Wild Fern had a small stack of kindling smoking. With a few coaxing breaths from the wind, the flames flickered to life. Stone was grateful for the meager warmth, as the wind blew cold this high above the trees. They each pulled their sleeping mats a little closer to the small fire. It was quiet for a long time, as they each munched on their shared provisions and stared at the firelight.

“Do you miss her?” Wild Fern’s voice surprised Stone. He looked up, studying her as she crouched over the fire with outstretched hands. She was watching him from the corner of her eye, but she quickly looked away in embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” she said quietly.

Stone chewed a moment longer and watched her. She was smaller than Rabid, with thin hair that hung in whisps around ears that seemed just a little too large. She was young, no more than fourteen or fifteen winters.

“I do.” Stone said, carefully removing emotion from his voice. “But I am lucky, I will see her again.”

Wild Fern glanced back at him without turning her head. The shimmer of unshed tears hung in her eyes.

“Did you lose someone in Omarihom?” Stone asked softly. She sniffed slightly and turned back to the fire, nodding once. White Hawk met Stone’s eyes, his brow furrowed slightly, but said nothing.

“I’m sorry, Wild Fern. But I am thankful that you are here, alive and well.” Stone said, trying to comfort her as best he could, though he had never been a gifted comforter. She turned and met his eyes with a fierceness he hadn’t anticipated.

“I am here so I can avenge him.” she said. Then, she sat back and wrapped herself in one of her skins. She continued, a little quieter, “It is the only reason I am here.”

Stone sighed heavily. Her anger was normal, she was grieving. Though he had been in her place what felt like a hundred times before, it made him uneasy. He was growing tired of the endless circle of violence. He was tired of watching his people die. She was so young, with so much life ahead of her, and she was intent on wasting it chasing revenge. Stone couldn’t help but hope that somehow she would find happiness, and her need for blood would die. At least then he wouldn’t have to watch her die as well.

The silence grew thick as the darkness closed around them. The ghosts of their dead seemed to dance in the firelight that jumped back and forth with the wind. When Stone closed his eyes, he could hear the distant murmuring of the Morro River far beneath them. If he listened hard, he could hear the small sounds of animals and insects in the trees. He let these sounds pull him toward the first sense of rest he had felt in days. As the soft noises lulled him to sleep, he thought of Rabid.