Chapter Heralds of Fire

Boom. Boom.

Whoosh.

‘Imposter, usurper of the righteous flame – how brave you are to have come this far.’

‘Then die.’

‘So be it.’

‘If it is Ush’Ra’s will,’

a contest of fire it shall be. Approach my throne, herald of fire, and upon my life your worth shall be judged.’

Rocking back and forth, back and forth.

Have I opened my eyes? Can’t even tell, since it’s pitch black and freezing either way. Oh but there’s warm skin against my face, smooth skin, smelling faintly of chrysanthemum.

Kathanhiel’s neck.

She’s carrying me on her back; short one arm, she’s holding her sword between her teeth. Even with the weight of an extra idiot she’s still practically gliding on the snow.

Right here. My fingers have been slack but the grip is stuck firm against the skin. Figured. Just because it was missing in the dream doesn’t mean –

Alright, enough of being pathetically silent and silently pathetic.

‘What…happened?’

She pats me on the butt. Twice. Cheerfully, I think. She can’t speak because of the sword in her mouth.

The world brightens with yellow light. We have come out from the shadow of a tall building and the black mound is right in front of us, not a hundred paces away. Up close, the fiery glow of the Kalarinth Citadel resembles that of a giant bonfire, roaring in defiance of the very notion of winter.

Without warning Kathanhiel drops me to the ground. My butt lands on something jagged and before a yell of pain could come out one of surprise cuts in before it. The snow explodes around us; three prowling dragons, each the size of a giant mastiff, leap at Kathanhiel with balls of blue fire seeding in their throats.

The exchange lasts two seconds.

Her sword falls, edge twirling in mottled reflection. She snatches it up and drops to her knees. A crescent of deadly silver, too fast to keep track. A wave of heat blasts out as if ejected from a furnace, and the three dragons land in six pieces, all their heads severed precisely below the ear.

She promptly regains her feet, wiping her blade on the snow and leaving a crimson gash.

‘They kept coming while you were Scoured,’ she says, offering me her hand as if nothing happened. ‘Only stunted ones here it seems. We would be in trouble otherwise.’

‘So…what exactly…?’

‘Rutherford sensed you; he tried to overwhelm your mind.’ She pulls me up effortlessly. ‘One of the dangers of using Kaishen, consciously or not. Fortunately, the sword has a countermeasure for those who are fit to wield it.’

‘Is that what it was, the cottage in the willows, with the red door?’

Kathanhiel stumbles; I catch her by the shoulder just in time. ‘I…didn’t know it would show you…’ she looks at me with strange eyes. ’It should have led you to a safe place, a sanctuary, but…but why had it been my…my…

I could only shrug. There is a more pressing concern.

‘I didn’t try…try to kill you did I, during the Scouring?’

She seems relieved, or just relieved to answer another question instead. ‘No. That’s something only I would do.’ She makes a sound that’s halfway between a chuckle and a sigh. ‘Come. We’re almost there.’