Stroke the Flame

2

Deep, cavernous thunder sounded all around me as my sight returned. My entire body shook and trembled uncontrollably. Mud covered me completely, rain pelted my face, wind lashed at my hair, and sparks danced in my blood. As if the elemental Gods themselves had thought to strike me down, then decided to let me live after all.

I scrambled back to my feet, nearly slipping again in the slick mud. When I was steady, I grabbed the bag with the rabbit from where I’d dropped it, before stumbling to the back door of the inn. I opened the door with some effort, the wind battling me still, and then stepped inside the familiar warm kitchen that smelled of stew and baked bread. Once the door was shut, I fell back against it, breathing heavily.

I’d been struck by lightning. Yet somehow I still lived.

I quickly checked my body, searching for signs of injury, but I seemed to be physically fine, although my cloak was charred and I was in great need of a bath. The only thing that afflicted me was shock.

None of it made sense. Lightning usually hit the tallest thing around, and I was nowhere near that. I’d been surrounded by much better targets. The inn. The stables. The trees. Why had it hit me?

And how had I made it through without a scratch?

2

Kira

“K

ira?” a friendly voice called out. My best friend, Tash, who worked as a waitress in her father’s inn and tavern. Like most of the people in the Earth Realm, she had dark skin and thick black hair, which she often wore in a braid, and with her cheerful smile she made even the drabbest apron look good. She rushed over to me and gasped. “You poor thing. You’re completely soaked and look like you went mud wrestling with the pigs. Come in out of the cold and we’ll get you something to warm you up.”

“I’m all right,” I said, but it wasn’t very convincing. I’m pretty sure my teeth chattered. “Just need to change my clothes.”

Tash bit her lip, but nodded. “Did you get anything?”

“Yeah.” I handed her the bag with the rabbit. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. Between the elemental attacks on nearby farms and the Black Dragon’s taxes, food was scarce these days. Something Roark reminded us of often.

Her face softened with relief. “Thank the Gods.”

I snorted. “The Gods have abandoned us. Thank me for setting up the traps in advance.”

She chuckled. “Go clean yourself up, you’re tracking mud all over the kitchen. Mother’s going to have a fit.”

I stepped out of the kitchen and into the small room behind it, where I currently lived. Roark, Tash’s father, owned this inn and allowed me to stay here as long as I caught him some game and fetched some herbs and spices from the forest. If I brought something back, I got to eat that night. If not, I didn’t. If I missed two days in a row, he’d beat Tash in punishment. Oh, originally he’d tried to beat me, but I hadn’t cared. I’d suffered much worse before. He soon realized it hurt me more to beat his own daughter, my one true friend.

I’d never missed two days in a row again.

I quickly stripped off my soiled cloak, along with the rest of my hunting leathers, then changed into a simple blue dress with frayed edges. I exchanged my muddy boots for my one pair of dull slippers. Nothing could be done for my wet, crusty hair, which was more brown than red at the moment, but I tried smoothing it down anyway and wiped away the dried dirt.

Once again, I checked myself for any signs of injury, but there seemed to be no lasting damage from my brush with death. Even so, I sank onto the narrow bed and rubbed my eyes with trembling hands, willing the sense of dread to leave me. Between the old woman’s words and the lightning strike, my twentieth birthday was definitely not going as I’d hoped.

After pulling myself together, I returned to the kitchen. Tash herded me into the tavern, to the lone empty table in the corner. “Sit here,” she said. “I’ll fetch you something to eat.”

“Thanks.” I gave her arm a quick squeeze before she slipped away.

The inn was packed with soldiers and travelers trying to avoid the storm, and the air had a humid, musky scent. I quickly scanned the room, but the old lady wasn’t in sight. Perhaps she’d already gone to her room to rest. I ducked my eyes when one of the Black Dragon’s soldiers on duty gave me a stern look. They were always watching from behind their winged helmets and scaled black armor, ready to enforce her rule. The green markings on their shoulders signaled they were in the Earth Realm division of the Onyx Army, under the command of the Jade Dragon.

At the bar, a couple travelers were speaking in hushed tones, but the word “elemental” drifted over to me and caught my attention. I leaned forward, straining to hear the rest.

“Miners dug too deep and angered those big rock elementals,” a man wearing a dark green cloak said. “They smashed up the town pretty good before they were finally driven off.”

“Aren’t the Dragons supposed to deal with those?” another man muttered into his tankard. A woman with a red scarf around her neck snorted quietly. “They’re too busy collecting taxes and trying to stomp out the Resistance.”

“I saw the Crimson Dragon the other day in the next village over,” another man said, making my back stiffen. “Flying overhead like he was looking for something. Or someone.”

The woman glanced warily at the nearby soldier before whispering, “I heard the Golden one was in Pebbleton a week ago.”