The Fire Within Read online

  “Cass and I had thought it better if we moved as one unit from here on out. Arriving at Celestial City together would be preferable.” Kne said, still almost fighting to get the words out.

  “I agree,” Hayden said. “Is there something wrong Kne, you seem uncomfortable,” Hayden asked. He was not trying to bait the Bone Thief.

  “I, like Cass, was hoping that we could take the stronghold without a fight,” Kne said.

  “Ah, I agree,” Hayden said with a smile.

  “Then why did you not remain silent when I told you to, why did you charge into battle and force us to follow you?” Kne asked. Hayden knew he was angry, but his voice gave nothing away.

  “The arrows that they fired at us sealed their fate. I wasn’t going to wait for that copper dragon to put its flame to your people before we attacked.” Hayden said, locking eyes with the skull that covered Kne’s face.

  “Cass believed we could have talked them down,” Kne said.

  “Cass, where is she?” Hayden held up his wet stone and copper blade, looking around him as if Cass was hiding behind a rock.

  “This was all her big plan, and yet she is gone and the only person that knows where she is, is you,” Hayden said as he pointed his copper blade at the Bone Thief.

  “And you won’t tell me where she is, what her plan is, or if she is even alright.” Hayden almost growled.

  Kne’s head lowered before the Bone Thief spoke. “Cass is fine, she has a plan, but it must remain secret.” Hayden shook his head.

  “She wanted you to have this,” Kne said, pulling something out from behind the rib bones that made up the Bone Thief’s breastplate. It was a dragon’s scale, about the size of Hayden’s hand and a yellowish dull gray color. When he took it and turned it over it shimmered with a brilliant gold that could only come from a dragon.

  “She wanted me to have this?” Hayden asked as he looked the scale over.

  “Yes, and I thought that you should have this as well.” Kne handed Hayden another scale, this one a black and gray color. “It is from my dragon.” Hayden was unsure how to feel, but he held the scale in his hand and looked it over.

  “Thank you,” Hayden replied not knowing what to say.

  “I might not agree with your decisions, and you may not trust me, but we are in this war together. For the good of Arvain.” Kne locked eyes with Hayden.

  “For the good of Arvain.” Hayden agreed.

  “Cass is ok then?” Hayden asked one last time to make sure.

  “She is fine, and she will meet us at Celestial City,” Kne said. Hayden didn’t know if Kne was smiling, but he liked to think the Bone Thief was.

  “Which brings me to another reason why I called you here. What is the plan for tomorrow?” Hayden asked as he put his copper blade back in its sheath and walked over to his saddle to put the scales safely in one of the bags.

  “We will rest for a few hours and allow those that will be arriving shortly to rest as well. About midday tomorrow, we should be on the move to Celestial City, and there should be nothing in our way after this.” Kne said.

  “Good, good,” Hayden said, thinking it over. “I assume you will lead your people?”

  “Cass wanted us to lead them together.” Kne corrected him.

  “But they will follow you?” Hayden asked.

  “They will, but they will follow you as well. Why do you ask?” Kne asked, concern not evident on the Bone Thief’s voice.

  You need to be honest with Kne. Draek replied already knowing what Hayden’s thoughts were.

  “I am going to head north,” Hayden answered honestly.

  “Dwarves,” Kne answered, understanding what Hayden wanted to do.

  “Dwarves.” Hayden agreed. “They have a right to be in this fight, just as much as the rest of us,” Hayden explained. “And their numbers could very well be the deciding factor in this fight.”

  “If they don’t kill you,” Kne said.

  “That is the same thought I have had every time I have met a new race. It will work if the Frost Fangs don’t kill me, or the Sea Serpents.” Hayden smiled as he spoke.

  “Did you think that way about the Bone Thieves?” Kne asked.

  “Of course,” Hayden answered. “And after watching your people fight today, I would think that my fear was well placed.” Hayden said with a smile, knowing he wasn’t joking.

  “Thank you,” Kne said.

  They stood in silence for a few moments, not sure what to say or do.

  “Is Draek hurt?” Kne asked, looking at the scratches on Draek’s chest.

  “He is, but he insists he will be ok. His wing is the only thing bothering him.” Hayden pointed out. Kne walked over and looked at Draek’s wound.

  “What happened?” Kne asked.

  “I shot an arrow through his wing,” Hayden answered. Kne looked over at him, and Hayden quickly explained what had happened. Kne thought the wound would heal fine, but it would not close back.

  The stood in silence for a few moments, enjoying the quiet.

  “I guess this will be goodbye then?” Hayden said, finally speaking.

  “I believe you are right,” Kne replied.

  “I am going to trust you Kne. To take your people to Kirin and to help us win this war.” Hayden said with all seriousness.

  “I will, and my people will fight, and together we will win,” Kne said turning to leave to disappear back into the darkness. Just as Hayden lost sight of the Bone Thief, he called out to him for one last question.

  “Kne,” He said loudly but not quite shouting, “Cass. She is ok right?” He asked, one last time.

  “She is fine, and you will see her soon.” Kne’s voice echoed out of the darkness. Hayden looked up at Draek’s silver eye and smiled.

  I am sure that she will be fine Hayden. Draek’s voice said calmly. We need to focus on what we are doing, and she will meet up with us. Soon. Draek reassured him.

  Hayden moved over and sat against Draek. He tried to close his eyes and get some rest knowing that Draek was going to keep watch over him, but sleep did not come easy.

  Chapter Three

  Hayden woke several times during the night, out of breath and covered in sweat. Every time he sat straight up with his hand reaching for his sword that wasn’t strapped to his back. Draek reassured him that he was fine, but Hayden couldn’t stop his heart from racing and his mind from worrying. Not about himself but about Cass.

  She is fine. Draek said for the tenth time. You need to rest. Draek insisted. Hayden stood up and walked away from Draek as his dragon raised his head and watched him leave.

  I know but what if something happens? Hayden asked as he walked around and looked at what remained of the stronghold. Draek did not follow him but did not fall asleep either.

  It was still dark, but there were fires set around the temporary camps they had set up within the walls. Most of the Bone Thieves seemed to be asleep, or laying still, Hayden couldn’t be sure either way.

  What could happen to her that you could protect her from that Shaylin could not? Draek asked, ending the debate. Hayden wanted to say something back, but he didn’t have the words. He was worried for both Shane and Cass. No amount of reassurance was going to fix that.

  Both friends were now missing, and he had no idea where Cass was or what was happening to her. He knew where Shane was, but that brought little comfort to him, knowing what he must be going through and hoping that it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was.

  Hayden hadn’t bothered putting on his armor, but he had grabbed his sword belt and strapped it to his waist, leaving the copper blade behind. He tried to hold his sword to his body to make as little noise as possible. Even the smallest sound of a rock falling over seemed to scream in the silent night.

  Most of the torches left by the inhabitants of the stronghold had burned out. This left long expanses of darkness between the light, but Hayden wasn’t bothered.

  He walked without fear as he moved throughout the darkness. H
e knew the monsters that hid in the dark were real, but they were at least on his side.

  After several minutes of walking, climbing, and sliding down one mound of rubble that had been a house, Hayden found his way to the wall where the first of the copper dragons that had died fell.

  The Bone Thieves had allowed only one small torch, right at the mouth of the hole in the wall to stay lit. This one torch made an orb of light that sat in the gaping gash in the wall. Wind blew from outside the stronghold and the single torch flickered, but never went out.

  Hayden carefully walked around the parts of the wall and dragon remains that were smashed together. It was here that the fight had started and ended. The Aldreth Stronghold’s only hope had been the wall, but Hayden and Draek had punched a hole through their defenses. Having the black dragons meant that they were going to go over the wall anyways but destroying their defenses had ended the fight faster and saved a lot of Bone Thieves lives.

  The Bone Thieves on their shadow cats would have suffered losses until they either broke the gate down or found some other way into the stronghold.

  Hayden climbed on the rubble until he was standing in the gap with the wall behind him. The landscape around him was still asleep and quiet. Darkness was beginning to lift, but the land was not yet stirring.

  Why do I feel like we are disturbing this land? Hayden asked himself, but he knew that Draek was listening.

  Everywhere we go we bring fire and death with us. Destroying the whole town and bringing down walls. We destroyed the landing pad at the Ice Keep and burned part of Eytherka. Hayden imagined the land around them covered in fire and smoke with dragons fighting in the sky.

  Before Draek could answer a voice spoke softly behind him.

  “Hayden,” Kne said. The Bone Thief had moved silently, and Hayden hadn’t heard Kne until the thief wanted to be heard.

  Hayden couldn’t help but jump a little at the sound of Kne’s dry voice. Hayden turned with his hand already on the hilt of his blade before he could stop himself.

  “What brings you here? I assure you our defenses are kept.” Kne insisted.

  Hayden hadn’t seen a single Bone Thief awake as he had made his way through the small town, but he knew that they had been there and that they had seen him.

  “I just… I couldn’t sleep any longer.” Hayden admitted. Draek continued to remain silent, but Hayden knew his dragon was beginning to stir.

  “War weighs heavy on you,” Kne said more as a statement than a question. Kne walked up beside Hayden and stood with him. They both looked past the orb of light but, at least for Hayden, they couldn’t see anything.

  “War does not bother me Kne.” Hayden shot back. A dry wind found its way through the opening in the wall, bending the flames of the torch and shuffling Hayden’s hair.

  “I meant no disrespect rider,” Kne said but did not move, and like always there was no change in the dry, raspy voice that emitted from the broken skull. The wind seemed to ignore Kne, and the Bone Thieves’ robes did not move under the skeleton pieces.

  “I was simply saying that the war weighs on you, not that you cannot handle it or how it makes you feel,” Kne explained.

  Hayden walked around the torch, not trying to go anywhere. Kne means no disrespect. Draek reassured.

  “Does war weigh heavy on everyone?” Hayden asked.

  “No,” Kne said, turning away from Hayden and looking back into the stronghold behind them.

  “War is different for different people.” Kne continued speaking. “You look at our dragons eating other Bone Thieves for survival as something horrible?” Kne asked.

  Hayden nodded his head.

  “We see it as survival. It is what we must do. We do not do it for fun our out of enjoyment but out of necessity. If we had fields filled with animals as some of the other lands have then we would have no need for that sacrifice to ever be made again.” Kne’s voice never changed as the Bone Thief spoke and together the two of them stood in the ring of light.

  “We do what we must to survive, to see another sunrise.” Kne said. “There is no shame in that.”

  “I just feel like we are causing so much damage by fighting,” Hayden said honestly.

  “We are. Does a storm not cause damage?” Kne asked.

  “It can,” Hayden answered.

  “There is no difference. We are a storm that must cleanse the land.” Kne said. “We are the darkness that must come before the light.” The wind died down, and with it, silence fell back on the land. Hayden realized what had unnerved him so much about the silence was that even the bugs and animals had vanished.

  Another Bone Thief silently walked up and stood behind Kne.

  “Kne, the bodies are prepared.” The thief said. Kne nodded, and the other Bone Thief disappeared back the way it had come.

  “The bodies?” Hayden asked. “Are you going to bury or burn the dead?” Hayden asked.

  “We will burn them when we are done,” Kne admitted.

  “Done with what?” Hayden asked, confused as to why Kne was not speaking clearly.

  “You have fought in several battles before this one, correct?” Kne asked.

  Hayden turned and faced the thief. “I have.”

  “When you finish a battle, your people clear the bodies correct?” Kne asked.

  “I don’t think I understand,” Hayden admitted. What does Kne mean by clear the bodies? Hayden asked Draek but before his dragon could answer Kne began speaking again.

  “Clear the bodies? Do you get their armor and weapons and dispose of the bodies or do you simply leave them?” Kne asked. Kne grabbed the rib cage armor that the Bone Thief war to make a point.

  “We went out and got their gear and disposed of all the bodies we came across,” Hayden said. His mind went back to the battle over Eytherka when the days following the fight had resulted in constant work to find the living and show respect to the dead. They had even made it a point to bury the enemies they came across as well.

  Hayden had thought that it wasn’t right to leave them out for the animals.

  “We do the same,” Kne said.

  “Ah, I understand,” Hayden said. He hated dealing with the aftermath of a battle, but he had been taught from a young age that if he made a mess, he had to clean it up.

  “I don’t think you truly do,” Kne said.

  “You are going to take their gear and dispose of the bodies,” Hayden said, understanding entirely what Kne was saying.

  “We will take their gear in hopes to use it for trade later on, but we have no use for metal armor,” Kne said.

  Hayden looked at the Bone Thief, and he realized what Kne was saying. They wore parts of skeletons sewn together, and there were a few rib pieces missing from Kne’s breastplate.

  “You’re going to…” Hayden started, but he couldn’t finish saying the words.

  “We are going to do we must, and what we have always done,” Kne said.

  “But . . .” Hayden was appalled by what Kne was suggesting. He couldn’t believe what they were about to do.

  “They are bodies Hayden, nothing more,” Kne said. “We will do the same to my people that we lost taking the stronghold as well. We need the bones.” Hayden felt his knees go weak at the thought of having to butcher the bodies of the fallen Bone Thieves and humans.

  “They aren’t just bodies, they were people that led lives,” Hayden complained.

  “They were, and now they are gone, what difference does it make if their bodies are burnt, or buried, or if we take the bones and use them?” Kne asked. “Does it make a difference to them?”

  “No, but it’s wrong,” Hayden said.

  “It’s surviving. Surviving is not wrong,” Kne said.

  Hayden shook his head, but he didn’t know what else to say. He didn’t think there was anything else to say.

  You might not agree with it Hayden, but they are Bone Thieves, it’s how they live. Draek said. You can’t make a dragon be anything other than a dragon, an
d you can’t make them be anything other than what they are.

  “When are you going to start?” Hayden asked, accepting the thoughts of his dragon even though he did not agree with them.

  “As soon as I get there we will begin. We show the dead respect, and we only take what we need. When we are done, we will burn all that remains.” Kne said.

  “Just make sure that there is nothing left. I don’t want the survivors that are here to know what happened to their loved ones and I don’t want them to find anything left. Let them think that we burned all the bodies.” Hayden instructed.

  “That is a good idea, we will take your advice,” Kne replied.

  “If you will excuse me rider, I believe you need to prepare to leave. It won’t be long until we need to leave this place as well. We both have pressing matters to take care of.” Kne said with a short bow.

  “Kne,” Hayden said as the Bone Thief turned to leave. The dark figure stopped but did not answer.

  “I feel that I owe you an apology,” Hayden admitted.

  “You have not wronged me, you owe me nothing,” Kne stated.

  “That is not true. I haven’t trusted you fully, and I have not accepted your ways.” Hayden didn’t like admitting his faults, they made him uncomfortable, but he felt that he needed to say it before they parted ways.

  “Our ways are not your own, we do not require you to accept them. If you do, that is fine but if not that is ok as well.” Kne said. “Trust though,” Kne said thoughtfully.

  “Trust is something that must be earned, not freely given,” Kne said.

  “You have earned my trust,” Hayden said.

  “And you have gained mine,” Kne replied.

  “I know that there are things we might not agree upon and secrets we must keep, but in the end, we have the same goal.” Hayden turned to walk away and leave Kne to lead the Bone Thieves in disposing of the bodies.

  “Freedom,” Kne said, almost as silently as the night wind, as if speaking it too loudly would make it harder to obtain.

  “For all of Arvain, to live how they see fit.” Hayden smiled as he walked away.