I look around for something I can use to move the rubble without burning myself, and settle on a wooden plank near a half finished house. I grab the board, a rusty nail digging into my skin. I ignore the pain, and rush back to Daison. All around me is chaos. Fire. Smoke. The smell of burning flesh.
I ram the plank under the burning legs and push down. The wood tumbles toward me, spraying me with embers, singeing my hands. I bite down in pain, and realize I bit my tongue. Warm blood fills my mouth.
I block out the burn between my jaws, the fire on my hands. I jam the plank forward, moving away more wood. Sparks hit me. This time, I don't flinch. I shove the board forward again. The last of the wood rolls away.
I drop the burning plank and grab Daison by the feet. His body is blackened by fire. Part of his face has melted away. He smells of cooked meat. "Oh Daison."
I don't know what else to do. I pull off my cloak and use it to pack snow around his body to cool the burns and numb him.
His eyes flicker open. "Ari... " His voice is a cracked whisper. I lean down closer to hear him. "Ari, a little girl is trapped. Help. Her."
He coughs and his body spasms. For a moment, I am frozen, my hands numb. Then I run to the burning house and yell for anyone who might be inside. I hear a girl scream, and I rush in, covering my body with my arms. The girl sits in the stone fireplace, one of the only places not on fire. I reach for her. "Come to me. I'm here to help."
She shakes her head, her pink curls bobbing around her pointed ears.
"Sweetie, I can't reach you in there. Come on out and let's find your parents."
Slowly, she crawls out. I grab her hand and pull her into my arms. I rush outside, flaming wood falling behind me. We get back to Daison. His body still shakes and spasms.
"I've got her, Daison. Now we need to get you both to Kayla and out of the city."
"I can't, Ari. Save the girl."
I hold his hand, the one not burned, my throat constricting. "No, this isn't over. You'll make it!"
"Tell Kayla... " He chokes and blood stains his lips. "Tell her it's not her fault. She's family. Always."
His eyes close and his chest stills and my heart breaks, all in the same moment.
I don't know what to do. I can't leave him here, but I have to get the girl to safety. The city is burning.
I check Daison's pulse three times. Then I cover his face with my cloak and look at the girl. He died trying to save her. And I will die too, if I must.
I stand, tears staining my face, and grab the girl into my arms. I carry her past the smoke and rubble. I carry her to the waterfall by the castle. I do not know how long it takes. I only know that I must succeed. When I reach the stone steps, I glance down and see Daison in my arms. But it is just a vision. A trick cast by madness and sorrow.
This world cares nothing for me.
It cared nothing for Daison.
I am half conscious. Half mad.
And then I hear it.
Water. Splashing.
I fall to my knees behind the waterfall, and the girl drops to the ground. Someone takes her hand and pulls her toward the tunnel. They try to lift me up. They cannot. They yell. They take the girl and disappear. I sit there for minutes, hours, eternity.
Something licks my hand. Nudges my head.
"Baron?"
He growls.
Slowly, my head grows clearer. "What's going on, boy?"
Baron whines in a way I've never heard before. He scratches his paws on the ground. "I don't understand what you want me to do, buddy. Is it Fen? Is he okay?"
War cries bleed through the wails of wind and snow. A bluster of snow swirls around me and Baron. I shiver and try to pull my cloak tighter. It's no longer there. It's still wrapped around Daison.
Baron takes a few steps towards the gate.
I hesitate.
He looks over his shoulders, checking to see if I'm coming, then walks again. I have no idea where he wishes to go, but I know in my gut I must follow.
Chapter 13
STORM OF BLOOD
"I would have gone with Dragonslayer or Heartbreaker personally."
—Daison
Baron leads me higher up the mountain, to a small tunnel in the stone. "I really hope you know what you're doing, Baron."
I have to hold onto him and let him guide me in the darkness. My mind flashes with images of Daison, where I left him by the waterfall.
I push away the memory and focus on my steps, on the sound of dripping water. We step out of the tunnel and into a graveyard. The dead litter the ground: the soldiers of Stonehill clad in white and red armor, the raiders covered in brown and grey furs. In the distance, past a fog of white snow, Fen's soldiers chase the Fae through the forest. We won, and yet the city is destroyed.
Baron guides me through the red snow, away from the city. We enter a forest, where the branches are thick and the sky is dark though there are no more leaves. I have never been here before.
The sun is setting now. Twilight is descending upon us, bringing with it more snow and sub-zero temperatures. Baron seems fine with the cold. I'm freezing, but I keep moving. Something is wrong. I can feel it like a shackle around my gut.
Twenty minutes into our hike, Baron's ears twitch and he stops, a low growl in his throat. A moment later, I hear what the wolf heard first.
Men. Talking. I crouch next to Baron and listen.
"He'll tell us soon enough. Lester here, can get anyone talking. Even a prince." My stomach drops.
And then I smell flesh burning, and I turn and release whatever was in my stomach as silently as I can.