Anic could sense that he was losing her, that she was ready to bolt at any second. He didn't let her go, his grip tightened around her hand. “Stay with me Lilae. Please.”
The tears stung her eyes. Crying was for the weak. Pirin had told her so years ago, and she would never forget it. She pulled her hand away from his and turned to leave. She began to run, but stopped after a couple of feet. She turned back to him.
“Some nice girl will be lucky to have you. And most girls here don't even deserve you.”
Lilae didn't give him a chance to respond, she darted through the forest without stopping. She felt the vibrations all around her and it was maddening. The Winds pushed Lilae along. They screamed that something was wrong. All it told her was that she must flee. Fast.
She began to feel ill. Lilae grew weaker. The air felt thicker, seeming to deplete her of her energy. Her insides raged. The pain grew worse and she collapsed when she reached the cottage.
Lhana stood at the hearth, over a pot of stew that hung over the blazing fire. She usually loved the smell of lamb and turnips, but tonight it made Lilae’s stomach churn.
“Supper is almost ready.” Lhana turned, setting the ladle in the pot. She wiped her hands on a rag that hung from her waist. A worried expression settled on her face when she saw Lilae.
“Lilae?”
Lilae wanted to speak, but the room became a blur. She coughed. She groaned in pain. Her head spun and she started to twitch. “Help me.” She panicked. This had never happened before.
“Help me!” Lilae fell to the floor, shivering.
Lhana knelt down to her and touched her sweaty forehead. She snatched her hand away as if she had touched the flames in the fire. Lilae couldn't open her eyes. They were sealed shut. She feared what she would see when they did open.
Chapter 23
“Wake up Lilae.”
Something nudged at Lilae, urging her to awaken.
“Wake up.”
She heard footsteps from afar. Then, she heard the screams.
“Wake up!”
Within her feverish slumber, Lilae wasn't sure if she was dreaming.
“WAKE UP!” The Winds screamed at Lilae, lifting her from her bed.
She fell to her bed and instantly sat up so fast that it made her dizzy. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the room to stop spinning. Lilae fell backwards into the wall. Her head pounded. She was soaked with sweat. Her clothing clung to her chest and back. Her body felt weak and ached all over.
As her head spun, her heart raced at the loud screams of terror she heard coming from outside. She climbed up from her place on the floor. The old wooden floorboards creaked.
Darkness filled the house. She rushed to the small opening that served as their window in the tiny room and saw that it was early dawn. Then she saw the chaos and destruction that had once been a peaceful village.
What she witnessed made the blood drain from her face. There was smoke and fire everywhere. Dozens of, muscle-bound, men were scattered about. Their attire was unlike any she had ever seen. Most had long black hair in ponytails that were held by gold bands at their nape. Some had bald heads with bright tattoos drawn on their flesh.
Gold rings were pierced in their ears and hanging from their lips or on the corners of their eyebrows. They sat above large horses, trampling along the dirt paths, and they were merciless in their killing of the men. She noticed that they were gathering the girls and young women.
She almost called out to Jacodi for answers as he ran past her house. He ran with such purpose that she felt his tension and fear. Lilae sucked in a breath.
“No. No,” she whispered. Then she saw Jacodi slashed with a sword across the back by a man on a horse. The other villagers wailed and ran in every direction as they tried to avoid a similar fate. Lilae gasped when Jacodi’s body was trampled to a bloody mess by the soldier’s decorated battle horse.
Her stomach lurched. Her hands went to her head as she tried to make the vision go away. She couldn’t take her eyes away. Her stomach churned into acidic knots. She would never be able to forget the frantic look in Jacodi’s eyes, or his body splattered all over the street. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a long groan of pain.
When Lilae opened her eyes she looked across the road to see the soldier throw a torch into the blacksmiths shop across the road. The flames grew larger and larger, consuming the lower floor and Lilae called out when she saw Anic look out a window on the second floor.
“Anic!”
His eyes were wild with shock when he looked at her. Not only Anic heard her scream, a group of soldiers glanced up at her and headed towards her house. Lilae felt her heart beat faster, her hands tingled. She had to rescue Anic.
Her eyes welled with tears. He had promised his life to her. She squeezed her eyes shut, roughly wiping the tears away from her face.
Through her fever, she didn’t waste time in grabbing her dagger and making her way to the door. Just as she did so, the front door was kicked in. It was knocked from its hinges and crashed to the floor.
Lilae grunted as she dove out of the way. Two large soldiers entered the house. Lilae stabbed one in the chest. She saw the shock in his eyes as he fell into the wall, crashing into a shelf of clay bowls.
She swirled around just as the other swung at her with his sword. She ducked as she tightened her grasp around the hilt of her dagger and stabbed his booted foot. His yell was deafening. Lilae grunted as she withdrew the blade from the thick leather to pierce the bearded flesh beneath his chin, the warm blood dripping onto her knuckles.
As she tried to pull her dagger from his wound someone grabbed her by the neck. His hand was large, crushing her throat.
Lilae frantically tried to fill her lungs with air the instant his grip released her neck. He slammed her onto the table. She banged her head on the wood and squeezed her eyes shut to block out the pain.
“Little savage,” he growled.
Tears stung her eyes and she screamed when he reached underneath her sleeping gown. She heard her under garments rip. His fingers pressed deep into her skin as he roughly pulled her closer to him by her thighs.
Lilae punched and kicked, eying her dagger on the ground. She clawed at his face and tried to wriggle free. He slapped her hard across the face and she gasped at the pain. Lilae grunted when he pressed her face into the table so that her cheek became embedded into the rough crevices of the wood.
Lilae felt her eyes stinging as tears clouded her eyes. She saw a knife near the edge of the table above her head and tried to reach it. It was too far and she began to feel her resolve waver. He barely made notice of her struggles as he unbuckled his pants, his eyes glazed as he looked at her exposed body.
He held her still as he stared down at her. “Such a waste.” He shook his head. “Let’s say we enjoy this moment, before the Sisterhood claims you.”
Lilae focused on the knife.
“Better yet, maybe I’ll buy you for myself.”
Lilae’s entire body tensed when his hands went between her legs. Her face grew hot. Such an unwanted touch both angered and terrified her.
“Get off of me!”
Her anxiety rose as his pants were now around his ankles.
This cannot be happening, Lilae thought with terror. Sweat dripped from his forehead and onto her face as he leaned in to kiss her.
She felt a force deep in the pit of her stomach, rising within her chest, and the tips of her fingers began to tingle. Lilae reached for the knife on the table above her head once more. The tingling sensation increased.
It slid into her hand. Her fingers curled around the wooden handle.
Without a second thought, she stabbed him in the head with all of her strength.
Lilae let out a guttural scream with the impact of the blade into his brain. She then stared in silence, breathing heavily. Her icy glare met the shock in his eyes. His body began to jerk and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Thick, dark, blood trailed down
his forehead from the stab wound. Knife sticking out of his head, his large body fell backwards onto the floor with a loud thump.
Lilae stood and tried to fix herself. Her clothes were ripped, most of her flesh exposed. She wiped tears from her face, remembering Anic. She had to save him.
Lilae jumped over one of the dead bodies and pulled her dagger from his chin, his blood dripping from the blade onto her white knuckles. She wiped it quickly on his shirt to keep it from slipping from her grasp. She wouldn’t be caught off guard again.
Lilae ran from her house and instantly stepped back as a horsemen swept past her. She sucked in a breath at seeing his large sword raised high, the rising sun reflecting off of its metal blade. Lilae watched the direction that he was galloping in. The ground trembled beneath the horse’s hooves, a cloud of dust trailing him.
She looked up to see that Anic wasn’t waiting at the window as he had before. The flames destroyed everything and her heart sank into her stomach.
Lilae darted across the dusty road and turned the knob to Anic’s door. She was cautious as she reached for the knob. The knob was hot from the flames. When it didn’t burn her hands, she ran into the shop.
Everything was ablaze. The floorboards were being eaten away. The smoke was thick and stifling. She ran for the stone stairs and gasped when the flames seemed to chase her.
Lilae shrieked as the flames migrated towards her and attacked her. She flailed and stomped the fire frantically, but it swarmed her. She paused. She sucked in a breath when she realized that she was fine. The flames didn’t harm her. Somehow, she was immune.
Lilae was covered in fire when she made her way to Anic’s room. His eyes grew wide as he stared at her. His jaw dropped and he rushed to help her.
“My god.” His face turned ashen. “Lilae! What is happening to you?”
The flames captured her in a red aura that protected her from being burnt. She looked frightening to him, smothered in flames like a creature from his childhood nightmares. Her hair danced lightly with the flames and he gulped.
“Are you all right?” She asked awkwardly, trying not to focus on the flames that engulfed her. She was the Flame. Her secret was out.
Anic nodded hesitantly, his eyes were staring in horror at the flames that covered her.
“What’s going on Lilae?” Anic coughed raggedly into his hands and looked around. Lilae realized the smoke was thickening, seeing a black cloud above their heads. She wondered how she would get him out of the house.
“Why are you asking me? I don’t know!”
“What do we do? I tried to leave through the front door but the fire is too intense down there. God only knows how you managed to get up here.” They both looked around for an exit as the flames began to enter his small room. They heard the crackling sound grow louder as the floor began to sink into the fire.
The ceiling began to collapse onto them. She took Anic’s hand and he shouted when the fire burned him.
“Sorry about this Anic!” She pulled him behind her and out the window. She only hoped she was right about her abilities as they fell to the ground. Delia had warned her. She was the Flame.
Anic held his breath as they glided down to the road. The flames reached out and pulled Lilae and Anic to the ground, slowing their descent so that they lightly stepped onto the dirt.
Lilae quickly withdrew her grasp and Anic shook the flames from his hand. He winced and grunted with pain as he smothered it in his shirt. A hole was burnt into it. When the flames were extinguished, he stood silently, staring at her bewildered.
Lilae closed her eyes and the flames were absorbed into her skin. It was as if the flames were never there. Steam, however, radiated from her body.
“I knew I wasn’t imagining it,” he said, mesmerized. “It was you that started that fire in the forest that night!”
Lilae started to speak when she saw Lhana motion to her from a cottage. She looked from side to side and saw that it was clear of soldiers.
“Come on.” She ran over to the neighboring cottage and Anic followed. They quickly ducked inside before the soldiers saw them.
Inside there was the dressmaker and her little girl. They clutched each other in the corner. Lilae caught her breath as Lhana shut the door behind them.
“What’s happening out there?” Maude asked. She held her daughter, Stella, in her arms. The toddler had no idea that something was wrong. She shook her rag doll at Lilae and smiled at her.
Lilae stared at the girl unable to come up with the words to respond to her mother.
“Foreign soldiers are here,” Anic said. “They are killing everyone.”
Lhana shook her head. “No. Not everyone. They’re taking the girls.” She looked to Lilae. “Have you seen Risa and Sara?”
Lilae shook her head. “Hopefully they are with Pirin.”
Anic put a hand on Lilae’s shoulder. “We can’t hide out in here. We need to make it to the forest. I know a secret way.”
“He’s right,” Lilae said to everyone. “Is there a back door? The streets are filled with soldiers.”
Maude nodded. “Yes. But, my husband—“
Lilae shook her head. “No time to wait for him. Let’s go.”
Lhana nodded. Her calmness was unnerving. Anic went to the back door and peeked out the small window above the door. He froze.
“What is it?” Lilae whispered. Everyone in the room fell silent.
Anic slowly turned to them. “They’re coming around the front.”
Lilae felt her heart race. She looked out the front window. There were soldiers coming to the door.
“We have to go now,” Anic urged, reaching for her hand.
Maude let out a muffled yelp and hugged Stella close. “They’re here!”
Lilae motioned for them to follow Anic. She drew her dagger. There were four men at the door. She would have to kill them all. She breathed in deep. Her face was set as she glared towards the door. “Lhana, go.”
“Lilae,” Lhana called. Lilae felt her heart pause at the look on Lhana’s face. Her eyes were wet. She smoothed Lilae’s hair and tilted her head down to kiss her forehead.
Lilae froze as she looked into Lhana’s eyes. Lhana had never, ever, kissed her.
Lhana hugged her. “I’m sorry. For everything. I’m sorry you had to suffer. I’m sorry I made your life harder than it already was. I’ve watched you for eighteen years and I know, deep down in my heart, that you are special. You are going to save this world.” She smiled a tortured smile as she stroked Lilae’s cheek. “Kiss my girls for me, and tell Pirin that I love and forgive him.”
Lilae caught her arm. “What are you doing? What are you saying?”
Lhana blinked away tears. “I’m saying…you need to live. Run Lilae. Save our world.” She pulled her arm from Lilae’s grasp and took off her shawl. Her face settled into a focused look. They heard yells outside as a woman ran into the soldiers. Her screams trailed as some of the soldiers pulled her into an adjacent cottage.
“The people of the North are greatly feared. I never noticed until we began our travels. Seeing the separation always made me a little self-conscious about my inherited skill. You see, to my family, skills were for warriors. I always wanted to be a lady.” Lhana rolled up her sleeves. Her eyes dilated and she reached out a hand.
She met Lilae’s eyes. “But there is no denying that we can do things that many humans cannot. This makes them fear us, even when we are the same race.”
Lilae stumbled backwards when Lhana held out her hand before her and her body did something she had never seen, but only heard of.
Lhana… Split. An inaudible puff of light made her into two of the same person. Both women let their arms down in unison, like twins, but connected by the same mind. One pushed Lilae forcefully. The other ran towards the door.
Before Lilae could speak Lhana’s double ran through the front door and into the street. She pressed the door closed with her back.
Lilae gasped and reached
for her. Anic grabbed her and dragged her away. “Lhana,” she said in a strangled whisper. While her double was outside, Lhana watched Lilae with tears streaming down her face.
She felt her heart sink when she saw the soldiers grab Lhana’s double through the small window above the door. She covered her mouth in disbelief and went limp in Anic’s arms when Lhana’s double was lifted into the air by her shoulders and ran through with a sword. Lhana clutched her stomach and fell just as her double did outside the wooden door.
She never even screamed.
Chapter 24
Once out into the back alley, Lilae fell to her knees.
For a moment Lilae was transfixed. The world around her stood still and she heard nothing. Her voice was caught in her throat and she felt such grief that she was unable to move. Despite never accepting Lilae as her own, Lhana was the only mother she had ever known. All of those years, Lilae had thought she was an ordinary human woman, when she hid a trait that was more rare than even the twins.
Lilae felt like she would vomit. Lhana’s last words haunted her. Anic yanked her to her feet and everything started to move fast again, the mixture of noises were loud in her ears once more.
“Let’s go Lilae. Come on!”
Lilae shook herself awake and grabbed Anic’s healthy hand and dashed through the crowd of running people.
Maude ran with Stella and into the crowd. Madness and chaos surrounded them. Lilae knew how they were feeling.
She had to shrug off the numbness she felt as she and Anic hopped over lifeless bodies of men and the elderly. Their blood was splattered everywhere on the dirt road. The soldiers rode through the village and killed as if it were for sport. Homes that she had seen built from scratch were now burning to the ground.
Lilae would not let them get away with it. Her hand tightened on the hilt of her dagger.
She wished Delia had waited to take her impromptu journey.
She knew they were after her. Running from village to village, Delia’s tales of evil beings who sought to kill her, and years of training to fight, filled Lilae’s head. She was confused. She was frightened. These weren't bandits. These men were trained soldiers.