Book 2, Chapter 1                                                                                       

            “Kill him.  Kill him now.”

            The voice hummed in Alaysa’s ears.  She did not fear the voice.  Only its source.  The Lightfire encased between her lungs and ribs.  Alaysa felt her fingers flex.  Saw her arms reach out over her horse’s back, across the smooth leather of the saddle toward Darsis.  Unaware, he leaned over so that only the back of his skull and neck showed as he stuffed clothing into a knapsack. She knew her hands couldn’t reach him but why didn’t her fingers stop?

            “The time is right,” the voice spoke, again.  Its gentle undertones hugged her chest, her back bringing a warmth she had last felt the night before her parents had been massacred.

            “Stop this.” Alaysa jerked her hands back to the saddle, clutching the saddle horn hard so that the leather bit into her skin.

            “You don’t need Darsis.”

Alaysa shuddered.  The Lightfire had changed tactic, withdrawing the warmth, leaving a thin spike of cold clasped to her spine.  Alaysa drew in a ragged breath through both nose and chattering teeth. 

“I do so,” Alaysa said, jaw aching.  “We both need him.”

Darsis straightened, brushing dirty blonde hair out of his eyes.  “Alaysa, you should…”

Her hands jerked forward at the sound of his voice.  He jumped back and stumbled into a group of her soldiers.  One of them spun around, grabbed Darsis by the arm and held a knife up to his throat.  Then, just as swiftly, the soldier shoved him away. Alaysa heard him mutter about not wanting to dull his knife’s edge on an impotent god.

“Impotent?” Hands clenched at his sides, Darsis took a step toward the soldier.

“Darsis.”  She spoke and he stopped.

She took a deep breath for she felt the Lightfire’s anger building, again.  “Darsis just keep out of their way.”

He stepped away from the soldiers, studying her.  Pity and understanding filled his eyes.  “It has only been two days.  The Lightfire grows strong.”

“Is this how it was with the other Ladies?”

“You show none of the physical damage,” Darsis said.  “No shaking hands or limbs.  But I can see your weariness.  I’ve watched you when you sleep.”  His voice softened.  “You do not rest well.”

Even with the sleeping tea she drank each night, Alaysa drifted in and out of consciousness.  The Lightfire’s obsession with gaining its freedom filled Alaysa’s thoughts constantly.  Once it became free, it would kill Darsis for having stolen it.  Then it would return to the ether from whence it had first come.  But it needed Darsis to find the rest of itself.  Of course, that meant it tortured Darsis every chance it got.

To clear her mind, Alaysa walked away from Darsis and up a footpath.  The sounds of the camp faded as she entered a grove of trees.  No one followed but she knew all eyes at the camp had watched her leave.  No one would bother to follow. She wasn’t going far.

The trees ended at the edge of a cliff.  Alaysa stepped up to the precipice.  The Lightfire became silent as if holding its breath.  The cliff face dropped below to a river filled with frothing white caps bouncing over rapids. Mist rose, curling inward up into the air.  A dense forest lined the other side carpeting the land for as far as Alaysa could see.  The dull green ended abruptly at a glowing bar of orange that vanished at the horizon. 

The orange.  The beauty of a desert that should not exist and Alaysa’s destination.  The Dead Lands that she had to heal.

Surrounding air shimmered with the rising mist.  A faint tune, high and airy, not unlike a child’s aimless whistling floated through the mist.  Alaysa leaned forward to try to make out the tune.  It seemed familiar.  The mist grew dense, blocking out the sky behind.  A child laughed.  The laughter became deeper as if an adult had joined the child.  The voices multiplied. 

Figures began to form in the mist.  They stood very still among the wavering fog and faced Alaysa as if they wanted her to notice them.  A breeze shifted, blowing tendrils of her long black hair across her face.  She brushed them back behind her ears as she tried to see if the figures became men or women.  The laughter died away.  The whistling began but this time as a sad, mournful tune.  One of the figures raised its arms, held out its hands beckoning Alaysa to join them.

Alaysa glanced around.  The mist had moved into the forest and across the path.  Wisps danced on her deeply tanned skin, warm and dry, not cool and damp as she had expected.  When Alaysa looked up again, the figures had floated closer to the cliff’s edge. Alaysa could no longer see the river below. In fact, she could barely make out where the cliff ended.  When she looked at the figures, she did not feel threatened by their presence.  In fact, she felt they needed to communicate.  She could hear no words coming from their mouths but their hands had floated so close she could reach out and grasp them.  Wondering what they needed to tell her, Alaysa raised her own hand. 

A dark shadow darted through the mist.  Teeth, fangs and claws ripped the mist figures apart.  A loud screech filled Alaysa’s ears and she stumbled, fell onto her back and rolled to the edge of the trees.  The dragon landed where she had just stood, wings beating furiously.  The mist shredded with each beat.

Alaysa lay very still, trying to become so small the dragon would not see her.  His scales glittered blue as the sun appeared through the fading mist.  Alaysa’s head felt so heavy.  She tried shaking it but it would not clear.  The whistling filled her ears and a sadness overwhelmed her.  She scrambled onto her hands and knees and reached out to the last remaining bits of mist.  The dragon stepped in front, blocking her way.  It lowered its head and gently touched her forehead with its snout.

‘Ladyfire.’

Memories flooded back.  The mist vanished from her head.  ‘Tay. Who were they?’

‘Lochorians.  Water spirits.’

‘They needed to tell me something.’

‘They are not to be trusted.’

‘Do they not belong to Oseanus?’

‘Yes, but not all who belong to your god of the water can be trusted.’

‘I thought I could trust them.  I felt I could.’

Tay tilted his head ever so slightly.  ‘They lure travelers to their deaths, Ladyfire.  They wanted you to join them.  To step out.’

Alaysa shuddered and tried to get the picture of her falling to the river below out of her head.

‘Your Healer comes.’

Alaysa heard footsteps running up the path.  She stood as Janek appeared between the trees.  His reddish brown hair had been tied tight at the back of his neck.  He still wore the priest’s robe, splattered with dried blood – her blood.  Darsis and another boy, Kir, followed close behind.  Kir held a book against his chest and clutched the strap of a satchel over his shoulder.  His long, brown roughcloth robe had been torn up the side to show dried blood on his pant leg.  His eyes, green, brightened up a face pale from too many days spent studying his trade indoors.

   She held up her hand as Janek skidded to a stop, his eyes wide with fright. His hands, extended to start the healing, dropped to his side.  “I…I felt you moving away from me.”

“I’m still here, you can see.”   Moving away, she thought.  Had the mist been another place?  Maybe she would have been safe with the Lochorians.  Maybe they hadn’t meant her any harm.  Maybe they had wanted to tell her about the plague.  Maybe… Something struck her in the back, pushing her off balance so she had to take a few stumbling steps forward or fall. 

‘Ladyfire, the Lochorians are not to be trusted.’ Tay did not bothering to apologize for shoving her.

“Tay, I think I can judge who I can trust.”  She turned her back to the dragon to show her anger.

Janek cleared his throat.  “Oh, really?”  And jerked his head toward Darsis.

“We had all been fooled by him. No one was supposed to figure out his identity.”

“Why did you go off on your own?” Janek asked.

“Can’t I get some time to myself?”

“You know you shouldn’t go anywhere without an escort.”

“You were just down there.” She waved her hand down the path.  “You got here quick enough.”

Janek lifted an eyebrow.  Tay blew out a puff of air.

“Okay,” she held her hands up defensively, “Tay got to me first.  But I did not fall.”

“You nearly did.”

“I don’t think I would have.  They wanted to tell me something.  If I’d only had a little more time.”

“And where were you?” Janek turned to Darsis who leaned against a tree watching with mild interest, his dark curly hair overshadowing his eyes.

“You know I can do nothing to help her.”

“I’m starting to wonder, Darsis.  The Lightfire is glowing under her skin.  The gods must be able to see it from wherever it is that they live.  How is it that they don’t put one and one together and guess that you, too, must be close by?  How is it that they haven’t found you yet?  That you are still here?”

Darsis shoved away from the tree, hands clenched and advanced on Janek.  “How is it that you are not dead disowned, bastard son?  Any one of the mortals here would be very rich if they removed your head from your neck and gave it to the Emperor.”

Kir jumped between the two of them.  “Stop this.  You know why Janek cannot die.  The Lady would die, too.”

Darsis looked over Kir’s head.  “Yes, very coincidental, wasn’t it?  You saw it as a way to get out of that horrible library, didn’t you?”
            “It was an accident,” Alaysa raised her voice but no one heard.

“You’re just angry that you didn’t make it in time,” Janek met Darsis’s eyes and did not look away.

“She needs my immortality to survive the healing. What can you give her?”

Janek opened his mouth, said nothing and closed it.  He turned his head and stepped back from Kir.

“What by the gods is going on here?  If we don’t leave soon, we won’t make Christentown by the end of the week.”   A red-haired boy strode up the pathway.  His left hand clutched the handle of a sword riding low on his hips.  No one responded.  His eyes studied the group.

“I could hear you back in the clearing.” He glanced at Darsis then at Janek.  “If there is anymore bickering, I will personally let the gods know where you are Darsis.”

“Then who will lead you to the other Lightfires, Eric?”

Eric stepped very close to him.  “I didn’t say when.”

Darsis raised his fists, took a breath and then backed off.  “I don’t have time for this.”  He walked over to the dragon and jumped on his back.  Tay hopped up to the edge of the cliff, spread his wings and dropped out of sight.

“We should get going,” Eric stepped aside so Alaysa could pass but when she did not move, he prompted with  “My Lady?”

“I wonder where they go.” Alaysa watched as the dragon and rider glided over the distant forest.

“Let them go. As you can see, Darsis stirs up too many bad emotions here.  The sooner we can find the rest of the Lightfire, the sooner we can get rid of him.”

Alaysa nodded even though she didn’t think it would be that easy to get rid of the god.  She turned and led the way back down the path.  Darsis and Tay had been spending a lot of time together the last couple days.  She wondered if Darsis felt the same.  That he could hardly wait to be rid of them.

As she walked, the Lightfire sparked inside her chest.  Alaysa ignored it.  She didn’t want to tell a star that it was right.  That they should be rid of Darsis – one way or another.  But Alaysa couldn’t help feel pity for him.  He had held the Lightfire for nearly a thousand years.  It had eaten away at his body and his mind.  Now, fully clear of the tiny star, Darsis had regained the use of his body.  It was his state of mind she worried about.

Back at the clearing, they found their horses and mounted.  The emperor’s soldiers moved out first, then Alaysa with Janek close behind, followed by Kir and Eric. The Lightfire soldiers followed last.  They had left the lower rocky trails of Mount Loris by mid-morning but still could only ride single file for most of the day through winding trails in dense forests.  Whenever space allowed though, Janek moved his horse up beside Alaysa.  They rode mostly in silence but Alaysa did enjoy the feeling of him so close.  She thought maybe he did, too.

“Janek, even though it shouldn’t have happened,” Alaysa said during one such moment. “I am glad it was you I bonded with even if it is a wild bond.”

            “What? You’re not a romantic? Don’t you like the idea we get to die together?”

            “That’s not even funny.”

            “Don’t worry.  Kir will find a way to break the bond.  I hear the Emperor’s library has grown to be the largest in the Land.  He’ll find the answer in one of the books there.”

            “Eric’s taken well to being in charge.” Alaysa wanted to change the subject.

            “He was born to it.”

            “Still, his soldiers respect him. He’s had to take on so much because of me.  His father’s death.  Having to take on the leadership so soon.  If I hadn’t been found, he wouldn’t be in this position.”

            “Stop blaming yourself for his father’s death. Sir Jackson died defending you.  It was his job.  It was his honour and privilege to die for you.”

            “What about my parents? Do you think they felt honoured when Zaren’s soldiers stabbed them?  And Jake.”  Alaysa stared at her hands.  She had held her second oldest brother in her arms as he bled to death.

            “Alaysa, you can’t let the dead torment you.”

            She stared at him.  “And what about you?”

            “Me?”

            “I can feel your anxiety.”

            “I’m not anxious…” but his voice faded.

            “I’m taking you back to face a father who no longer calls you son.”

            “It doesn’t matter.”

            “It matters very much now.  Only because the Emperor has two sons.  I got the heir and his wife kidnapped by Zaren because I didn’t have what Zaren wanted.  Wait until your father finds out the next in line to inherit will die the moment I try to use the full force of the Lightfire.”

            “Kir will find a way to break the wild bond. Right, Kir?”

            Kir had his head down reading a book he managed to balance on the horn of his saddle and raised a hand to wave back at them.  Alaysa figured he hadn’t heard Janek.  He had probably just acknowledged the sound of his name.

            Kir was another who had had no choice but to join.  He had been trained in the art of messenging, sending mental thoughts across great distances, and was supposed to stay at the Keep to help the Doctor find answers while the Doctor accompanied Alaysa on her journey.  The Doctor had died in the battle two days ago. Kir had inherited his position, no longer apprentice.

            Kir’s family had sent him at a very young age to the Darsinnian’s Keep to learn a craft.  Then they had left him when they had decided to cross the ocean in search of a new home, far away from the plague, like so many of Pen’nBru’s people.  Kir’s fear of the ocean and its creatures had kept him from joining his family.  He had been overjoyed when Alaysa had arrived at the Keep.  Suddenly, he had become part of a greater family with a wondrous purpose.

            Alaysa thought him too young to be so serious.  No one had thought, not even she, that the final Lady of the Lightfire even existed.  The fifth Lady had died over two hundred years ago.  Her stories had become the stuff of legends.  No one alive even remembered what she looked like.  No one except Darsis, of course.

            And then the last Lady, Alasya, had been found, living on a remote mountain ranch.  From a young age, she had been able to warn the neighbouring village of changes in the weather so that they had had time to bring in their cattle, sheep and horses.  Rumours, exaggerated by enthusiasm, spread of a little girl, a wind-seer, who could control the weather and the Darsinnians came to investigate.  The day they arrived Alaysa’s life was destroyed.  Within two days, her parents and one brother had been killed.  Her younger sisters and brother had been kidnapped.  The Darsinnian priest and soldier, Sir Jackson, had died by the third day.  Her oldest brother had been kidnapped, too, but only after suffering a mortal wound.  Alaysa did not want anyone else to die but she knew of no way to stop Lord Zaren.

            Alaysa tried to push those thoughts out of her head as the day wore on.  By the time they stopped to set up camp that night, Alaysa’s stomach was so twisted she could barely swallow the tea Kir brewed.  Tay and Darsis had not returned by the time she pulled out her blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders.  She curled up on the ground close to the fire and fell asleep, the childlike tune of the Lochorians playing in her mind.