King of Darkness and The White Flame

Chapter 15

"What are you guys doing here?" I stumble toward the table, pull out a chair and plop down. "Looking for you of course," Jessie says, he smiles at me and pushes a plate of home-baked chocolate chip cookies toward me. I devour two of them at once. The woman of the house, Dayna, puts down a pitcher of ice-cold water. Jessie takes the liberty of pouring me a glass while I devour two more cookies. 

"How did you find me?" I ask between bites. 

"Well, turns out, the army found a way through the wall." I almost choked on a cookie. Hunter pats my back while I cough out the crumbs. "How? They're all okay?" Jessie hands me the glass of water. I take a sip. 

"Not everyone, unfortunately," he says. "Asher and a few others that were aligned to him vanished." 

"Vanished?"

"Yeah, they were all walking in the forest. Asher and the two guys carrying him were at the back of the group. When they looked back, Asher and his crew were no longer there."

"Do they know what happened? Did they run away... or taken?" I'm scared to know the answer. 

"They heard a growl, that's why they all turned around. They didn't come across anything strange other than Asher and his crew disappearing." I'm relieved to know the soldiers have returned and that they weren't murdered by a bunch of homicidal monsters. On the other hand, I mourn for Asher. 

"Anyway," Jessie continues " Evan let us know that you had run in this direction. Indra and Atticus were of no help, Agathon wanted them killed. We imprisoned them instead."

"Did Evan say anything about Lilith? Did she come in this direction?"

"You don't know?" Jessie looks shocked "We thought you saw her or heard her or that you somehow knew where she was. Why did you run then?"

"I was so frustrated with Indra and Atticus. We were getting nowhere and I felt the anger start to take control. I couldn't stand it. I needed to run. I wasn't seeing clearly unfortunately and fell into a deep ditch. While I was struggling to get out, I heard her scream for help. It sounded like it was coming from this direction. I was about to give up when I heard water. I found the stream and followed it here. In the distance, not far from here, there's a city. Did you see it?"

"Yeah," Hunter says "It's called Dragon City. The home of Prince Demi. He's been looking for a queen for a very long time. According to their laws, they are only allowed to become King once they have their queen. Prince Demi will remain a prince until this happens. He's power-hungry and particular about his taste in women apparently. It's very possible that he had her taken to be his bride." 

Over my dead body. I think. Fury bubbles beneath the surface. The frustration of my ankle limiting me doesn't help. 

"Do you have an idea of how we might be able to get her back before this happens?" I ask Hunter. 

"Lilith is strong, but with her injury, she might not be able to escape on her own. I know some people in the city. We can find refuge there. Figure out where they're keeping her and perhaps sneak in and rescue her." 

"She's not going to like being rescued," I tell him. He nods knowingly. 

"I think this might help you," Dayna says. I had almost forgotten she was in the room and hadn't noticed her standing next to me with a brown little drawstring pouch in her hand. I look at her sceptically. She nods toward my injury. I would try anything that might possibly heal it faster. If I can be at full strength when I see Lilith, it'll be to our advantage. I needed her to know that I am strong enough to protect her, and make sure no harm comes to her ever again. If they touched her. I struggle to take slow, deep breaths and calm myself down. 

I swing my ankle toward Dayna. She kneels down and gently puts my ankle on her lap. She opens the drawstring pouch and takes out a tiny pot with a lid on it and what looks like twigs and leaves tied together with a red string. She unties the string, takes out a few leaves and twigs and ties the rest back up. She unscrews the lid of the pot and dips two fingers inside. Her fingers emerge with a thick black paste with a foul smell. She spreads the paste around my whole ankle, pulls a few leaves off the twigs and places them on top of the foul-smelling paste now penetrating my swollen ankle. I feel my ankle heat up gradually until it feels like it is on fire. I close my eyes and feel the tears burn my retinas. I squeeze my hands into fists and wonder why I trusted this woman. She's clearly trying to kill me. I'm just about to pounce on her and demand she fix me when I feel my ankle start to cool. It becomes colder until it feels like ice and I realize that the pain has completely subsided. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. 

"Can you try to walk?" She says.

I use the table and the back of the chair to stand, still holding my foot in the air. Gently, I put my foot down on the floor and apply my body weight. There's a slight sting, and some pins and needles but besides that, no pain. 

"Thank you, Dayna." I throw my arms around her in an embrace. Her body is tense at first but slightly eases up and I feel her hug me back. 

"I'll put more salve and then wrap it up before you leave. It might take away the rest of the sensitivity." I thank her again. I remember Lilith's ankle and how it might be easier to run if she were fully healed too. 

"Do you mind if I take some of this salve to Lilith?" 

"Not at all." She smiles. 

Dayna and her little boy Derick sit on the floor in front of the fireplace. We all slurp the delicious stew that Dayna had prepared for us. The plan was to leave at nightfall. It is better for us to enter the city hidden by darkness. Jessie had laid out the plan and Hunter had given directions on where his friends were staying. As soon as we were done eating, Jessie, Hunter, Bear and I set out to enter the Dragon City to find Lilith.