The Girl Born of Smoke (9 page)

Pulled to her feet, Aurora put a hand to her
throbbing head. The man released her as two other men piled into
the small room. All three were wearing identical blue and
silver-colored armor, dull and scratched in places. Djerr stepped
in front of her, protectively. His curly black hair looked tousled
and stood up at odd angles.

The men laughed. “How cute,” one said dryly.
“So, how about it, kids? Wanna join the big bad army or just die
here in this piece of crap house?” Neither Aurora nor Djerr
answered and the man slowly drew his sword. Aurora realized all
three men were armed.

“We would never join you!” Djerr hissed,
fists clenched.

The men laughed ever harder. “Did you think
he was serious?” one of the other men asked. “We don't need a
couple of kids like you. Well, maybe the girl.” He winked at
her.

The man next to him clapped him on the back.
“Gettin' a little lonely, eh?”

Djerr darted forward with a short yell. The
men immediately stopped laughing and he slid to a stop when he
found the tip of a sword pushed against his chest. The man shook
his head. “That wasn't a smart move, kid.”

Aurora shut her eyes as the man's arm tensed
and Djerr stood helplessly at the end of the sword's blade. A thud
and her eyes flew back open. To her amazement, Djerr was still
standing in the middle of the room and the armed man standing near
the door had fallen.

Everyone turned to see Djerr's father
standing in the doorway, doubled over. One hand was clutched over
his stomach, the blood seeping out through his tattered shirt, onto
his hand, and dripping onto the floor. His other hand held the
knife, now bloodied. The man on the floor let out a gurgle while
the two others stared at their comrade, open-mouthed. “What the
hell?” one muttered. They turned their backs to Djerr and Aurora,
facing the new threat. “Didn't we already take care of you?”

Djerr's father let out a low moan and lunged
toward the men. Both with swords in hand, they easily fended off
his attack and one pierced Djerr's father through the chest with a
sickening sound. Collapsing heavily to his knees, his arms dropped
to his sides and he let the knife fall with a clatter. He let out a
loud roar: “GO!”

The men scoffed, thinking he was talking to
them, but Aurora's eyes went wide with understanding. She grabbed
Djerr's hand, realizing they had one last chance. In several steps,
she had crossed the room, dragging him along behind her. Raising
one arm in front of her face, she threw herself out the low, closed
window. Djerr stumbled out after her.

Hearing the crash, the men turned, reaching
out after them, but Aurora was already on her feet, sprinting
toward the forest. Realizing there was no way they could fit out
the small window, the men ran for the door. Imagining every branch
was an arm grasping for her, she ignored the twigs whipping her
face and focused on trying to keep her footing as she half-slid
down the dusty hill.

Glancing back to make sure Djerr was still
following, she gasped with surprise when the hill suddenly ended
and she toppled off a ledge into the mud a small distance below.
Covered in the muck, she crawled underneath the low ledge she had
just fallen from, pulling Djerr in with her. Heart pounding, she
waited and listened for what seemed like half the day. She realized
he was shaking beside her. She put her arms around him, resting her
cheek on the top of his head. He touched her arm and held it out in
front of him.

“Aura, you're hurt.”

She looked at her arm. Small shards of glass
had buried themselves in her skin and there were long thin
scratches from the branches, all mixed in with the mud. She
couldn't even imagine how her face must look. Her entire body began
to ache. “No, I'm fine.”

He stiffened. “What was that?”

She heard faint voices coming from deeper in
the forest. Barely breathing, she stared in the direction of the
noise and waited. Several soldiers, most of them wearing various
pieces of green and gold-tinted armor, came into view and caught
sight of them wedged under the ledge. One immediately rushed over
and knelt down. Feeling exhausted, Aurora tensed her muscles, even
as she realized that there would be no escape this time. More
soldiers made their way through the maze of trees to where they
hid.

The first soldier reached out a hand. “Are
you two alright?”

Aurora hesitated as she noticed the men’s
armor looked significantly different than the soldiers from their
previous encounter. The colors and design were different, the metal
more scuffed up and dull. “What do you want?” she finally
asked.

The man wrinkled his brow. “We're on our way
to Kain. I'm assuming we must be getting close.”

“Leave us alone,” Djerr growled.

Drawing back his hand, the man continued to
regard the pair. “Look, are you from Kain? We're a group of
soldiers with the Citizens' Army. We believe the Wizard's Army may
be heading your way. We've come to warn you and help you out in any
way possible. Hopefully, your town will understand this and perhaps
join our cause.”

Aurora gulped back a sob of relief and
despair as she crawled out from under the ledge and stood shakily.
“You're too late. They've attacked us. The town's being
massacred.”

The statement ignited a chorus of curses as
the growing group of soldiers heard the news. The first man closed
his eyes and breathed a heavy sigh. “I was afraid they might have
gained a lead on us. Well, let's hurry on.” He waved the rest of
the soldiers forward, toward Kain.

Aurora and Djerr wearily followed the
soldiers as they entered Kain. The Citizens' soldiers erupted into
a unanimous roar as they saw the smoking buildings, bodies lying
motionless in the street, and blood pooling in the gutters. They
tore off, chasing after the scattered Wizard's soldiers.

The man who had offered Aurora his hand,
stood back and slowly shook his head. “What a terrible tragedy.” He
glanced over at Aurora and Djerr. “My name is Jonah. I'm the
captain of this company. You two are welcome to join us, of course,
either until you find a new town to live, or indefinitely. We can
offer you food and supplies. In return, of course, we would
appreciate it if you would help us in our fight against the
atrocities of the Wizard's Army.”

Aurora immediately shook her head. “No. I've
had enough of this fighting and Kain is my home. I'll help rebuild
it. My life is here.”

Looking remorseful, Jonah sighed. “What
about you, young man? Don't you want to help prevent a tragedy like
this from happening to another innocent town?”

Djerr glared and said nothing in response.
Jonah sighed again and turned away from the two, looking back at
the town. “So much unnecessary carnage...”

“Aurora!”

Aurora's head snapped in the direction of
the voice. “Kirian?” she mouthed soundlessly. She spotted him
walking slowly down the street, looking at the houses. He had not
yet spotted her. “Kirian!” she screamed, running toward him. Seeing
her, he stopped walking and closed his eyes for a moment. She threw
her arms around him, wincing as the slivers of glass were pressed
deeper into her skin. After a moment, he pulled her away and looked
at her.

“Aurora, you look-”

“I know, I know,” Aurora pushed back her
dirty, matted hair, “I look awful.”

Kirian shook his head and smiled. “No, you
look beautiful.”

Jonah made his way over to the pair.
“Kirian, is it? My name is Jonah. Nice to meet you.” Before Kirian
could reply, he continued, “I was just telling your little friend
here about our cause. I'm sure you've probably noticed our army,
the Citizens' Army, fighting off the people who foolishly destroyed
your town. Well, we need all the help we can get-”

“Of course we'll join you,” Kirian
interrupted. “Aurora and I both.”

Aurora's mouth dropped open. “But-”

“I'm happy to hear that!” Jonah exclaimed.
“This will be a wonderful experience for the both of you and you'll
be saving so many other lives.”

“Kirian, I don't want to join their army,”
Aurora interjected.

Looking displeased, Kirian put his hand on
her shoulder. “It's our duty, Aurora. We can't go through life,
expecting someone else to save us. We need to take control of our
own lives.”

“What about Djerr?”

Kirian glanced over at Djerr, noticing him
for the first time. “Well, there's no reason he can't join us too,
assuming his parents don't object.”

“Well, there's not much chance of that,”
Djerr mumbled.

Walking over to where Djerr stood, Aurora
leaned her forehead against his and said in a low voice, “Djerr, I
have to go with him.”

“You don't have to do this, Aura.”

“I don't have much of a choice.” She grabbed
his hand. “You need to do whatever you feel is right. I want you to
come with me, but I won’t be mad if you stay here.”

He sighed and nodded slightly, causing her
head to nod too. “I’m going wherever you go, Aura.”

Aurora turned away, feeling resigned. “Then
it's settled. All three of us will come with you,” she said to
Jonah. She froze suddenly and looked around, her gaze resting on
Kirian. “Where’s Roxanne?”

Silence. Kirian said nothing.

“I said, where is Roxanne?” Her hand dropped
away from Djerr's. “Answer me!”

Kirian's face was emotionless, unreadable.
“She's dead, Aurora. The Wizard's Army killed her when she fought
back against them. She's gone.”

Aurora turned away, saying nothing. She
watched as a couple Citizens’ soldiers returned, followed by a
small group of former citizens of Kain, recruited as soldiers.
Their talk was a droning noise, the words indistinguishable from
one another. More soldiers approached, followed by Citizens. Some
greeted her, patted her on the shoulder, talked to each other.
Aurora stood still, off to the side. She could see Djerr out of the
corner of her eye, also standing still, watching her. Everyone else
moved around them. The day went on.

In the early evening, the last few soldiers
returned, reporting that the town was empty of Wizard's soldiers.
Most had already left and the last few were killed. “We'll continue
through the valley, away from the sea,” Jonah explained, “stopping
at all the towns along the way to warn people about the approaching
danger.”

“How will we track the Wizard's Army?”
someone asked.

“We won't,” Jonah answered simply. “Although
it wouldn’t be hard to track an army of that size, our duty is not
to battle the Wizard's Army. We are not fighters, we fight only
when we have to. Our duty is simply to warn as many people as
possible.”

The army began to depart as Aurora stood
still, watching. “I understand you're sad, but we have to get
going.” She recognized Kirian's voice.

She shrugged. “I'm not sad. Let's go.” She
followed the group out of Kain and Djerr fell into step beside her.
The road was broad and well worn. Although she had left the city
only a few times and never by this route, it seemed familiar and
she realized it was the road she, Kirian, and Roxanne had used to
enter Kain over a year ago.

She glanced behind her and saw the city in
its shining glory. Bright flags raised, windows glinting in the
sparkling sunlight, buildings standing taller than she had ever
imagined. Then the sunlight abruptly faded, the buildings crumbled,
and the flags disintegrated into smoke. Feeling lost, Aurora turned
and headed away.

As the large group trudged along, the houses
became spaced further and further apart, instead replaced with
increasingly taller, wilder trees. The road became narrower and
windier until they found themselves on a dusty path, twisting its
way through the forest. Djerr and Aurora were silent as they
walked, although they were surrounded by people chatting and
consoling each other.

As it grew darker, the group finally slowed
to a stop and everyone gradually stopped talking. When it grew
silent, they could hear Jonah's voice speaking, although they
couldn't see him through all the people standing in front of
them.

“We'll stop here for tonight,” he said, “so
make yourselves comfortable and stay in the area, of course. Oh,
and any newcomers from that last town, make your way up to the
front and come see me, alright?”

“Guess that means us?” Aurora whispered to
Djerr. He nodded and she glanced around for Kirian, but didn't see
him nearby. As the soldiers sat down, pulling out loose blankets
and something that looked like food from the backpacks they all
carried, Aurora and Djerr carefully made their way forward,
stepping over people's legs and slipping around their backs.

She saw several other people doing the same
thing. When they finally reached the front, she found Kirian was
already standing near Jonah and she counted several dozen other
people from Kain, some of whom she vaguely recognized.

Jonah waited patiently for everyone to
arrive, then smiled cordially. “Alright everyone, I would have done
this earlier, but things were a bit hectic back in your city, so I
figured we could just do this now. There are just a few things I
need to hand out to you. First, your armor and swords.” He gestured
toward a pile of green and gold-tinted pieces of metal, stacked up
next to a tree. “Help yourselves.”

The group began to pick through the armor,
trying it on. When Aurora picked up a piece, she discovered it was
surprisingly light and flimsy and most pieces had deep scratches
embedded in the metal.

“How'd this all get here?” she asked,
turning to Jonah.

His smile widened. “We all work together
here. If there are spare supplies that need to be carried, we all
volunteer to carry it until it can be used. Now, most of this will
probably be a bit big for you, but as long as you wear something
from this pile, you'll be fine. It's important to display the group
we are a part of.”