Chapter Sixteen - Village in Smoke

Chapter 16

CLAIRE HEART

I was startled awake from the sound of a cracking branch. I shot up. Adam and Sarah were still sound asleep, nestled in their travel bags. A smoldering fire was between us. The moon glared, illuminating the trees only ever so slightly. Ever since we left the dungeon, I had been on edge, it felt like everything in this place was out to get me. I even got attacked by a giant flower the other day.

I sat up and searched the moonlit trees. There was something about travelling in this crazy world that always kept me on edge. Not the worried about your parents finding out you told a lie kind of stress, but more the afraid that I might get eaten by a tree kind of stress. At least with Adam and Sarah I felt some semblance of safety. For all his buffoonery, Adam was strong, and Sarah kept him in check. She was able to read between the lines, still though, she was guarded, kind of like me.

After convincing myself that the nearest tree wouldn’t attack me, I laid back down and stared up at the stars. At first glance they looked like the sky at home, but they were very different. Constellations contained bright blue and yellow stars, and there were considerably fewer of them. My mind began to wonder a little…Leo. Oh, and Drew. What were they up to now? Training? Getting Stronger? Dead? With her? I scowled at the thought, turning my face away from the stars as if they’d judge me for the oddness of the last question. I couldn’t shake this nagging thought about them. I knew I had to get stronger though, whatever combination flaming spear thing they had done in the dungeon was insane. I wanted to match that power, alone.

Dawn broke, and I realized I hadn’t slept much at all. Adam groaned awake, rubbing his eyes open. He caught my gaze and gave me a wink. I promptly threw a rock at his head.

“Good morning to you too,” he muttered, rubbing his head.

Sarah stretched with all the grace of a cat, looking intensely at me. “Another sleepless night?”

“Who needs sleep when you can spend time with paranoia?” I retorted, adding a fake smile.

Adam chuckled and heaved his bag onto his back. “Paranoia is the way to go princess, keeps you alive. Ready to head out guild members?” he asked. Sarah gave him an over enthusiastic salute, and we set off.

The forest groaned and croaked with unsettling noises, something I still hadn’t gotten used to since coming to this world. Occasionally, there would also be a distant growl of some probably-huge-and-definitely-scary monster that would give me goosebumps. The trees were enormous, their branches stretched so high, and the leaves almost completely covered the sunlight out, leaving only streams of daylight that would touch the forest floor.

Adam, for once, wasn’t filling the silence with stupid flirting or an absurd story, which was very unsettling itself. He trudged ahead, his big frame looking a little less indestructible in the eerie quiet. Sarah, ever the owl, kept her eyes darting between trees, scanning for danger. As for me? The short sword Adam had given me slapped against my hip with every step, making an annoying clicking noise. I didn’t even know how to use the damn thing.

After hours of walking (and trying to ignore the fact that my feet were staging a full-blown rebellion), we started up a hill. My legs began screaming at me, how the heck did these two not get tired? I saw a bead of sweat roll off Adam’s forehead which made me feel better. When we reached the top, I froze.

A village scattered in a small valley was up in smoke. The smoke curled menacingly into the sky from the now blackened husks of buildings. The ground was scorched black, as though the ground itself had been destroyed. I gripped my short sword, but my eyes couldn’t help but wander the destroyed buildings and crop. The charred beams from houses jutted into the sky like broken ribs.

Adam’s face was stern, his hand hovered near the hilt of his blade. Sarah’s expression was unreadable, but her eyes flickered with unease.

We moved cautiously through the village. The silence was only broken by the occasional popping of dying fires. I didn’t realize I had stopped walking until Sarah’s hand touched my arm.

“Claire,” she said gently. “There’s nothing we can do here. We should keep moving.”

But I couldn’t. Something about this place felt different. It wasn’t just the destruction; it was the emptiness. No bodies. No signs of life. A little whimper drew me back to reality, my hand instinctively went to my hilt. A child slid back behind some rubble. I crouched low, my hand off my hilt and outstretched.

“It’s okay,” I said, keeping my voice as gentle as I could. “I am not going to hurt you.”

A child emerged from the shadows, her face was streaked with soot and tears. She couldn’t have been more than six or seven. Her wide brown and frightened eyes locked onto mine, and she clutched a scrap of cloth like it was the only thing keeping her from crying.

“You’re safe, princess.” Adam said strongly, kneeling beside her. The girl didn’t speak, just nudged into Adam’s arms. “Sarah, bring food and water.”

Sarah hesitated, then nodded, hurrying to the packs.

“What’s your name?” I asked softly, crouching next to her.

She hesitated, her lip quivering. After a few moments, in a hushed whisper, she said, “Em”. Well, that was a punch in the gut, that’s what I used to call Emily, before, well before all this. Emily’s face flashed through my mind. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “That’s a nice name,” I managed to squeak out shakily. “Em, can you tell us what happened here?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

She shook her head violently, burying her face in Adam’s chest. He stared at me with a stern expression, though not unkind. He gently stroked her soot-streaked hair. This was really giving him major brownie points in my eyes.

Em peeked out, her lip trembling. “Monsters,” she whispered. “Big ones. They…they took my parents.” She stuck out the fabric she had clutched so tightly. It must’ve been a piece of her mother’s clothes. I didn’t think my heart could drop any further in my body.

“What kind of monsters?” I asked. Her tiny hands trembled as she mimed sharp claws, and barred her teeth.

‘They were loud, and dark with…with fire that poofed from their hands!” she said loudly. “They roared and broke everything.” A tear streaked down her face.

Sarah turned towards Adam, “Sounds like Darkens,” she muttered.

“Darkens?” I questioned. “What the hell are those?”

“Big, mean, and territorial. They are pack monsters,” Adam explained. “Usually stay in the caverns to the south. If they are here, something must’ve driven them out, or attracted them here. They must have found some caves nearby.”

I glanced at the destruction that had taken the village again, my knuckles white from gripping my sword so tightly. “Then that’s where we are going.”

“Claire-“ Adam started, but I cut him off. Giving him the most serious look I had ever given someone.

“No. I will not leave these people, I am not a coward. They might still be alive.

Sarah frowned, her lips pressed into a thin line. “And what happens if we walk into a pack of those things and die, we don’t even know how many there are.”

“I don’t care how many there are,” I snapped, “I am not leaving them to die.”

“None of us are,” Adam interrupted, standing. His broad shoulders seemed even wider in the sunlight.

“I’m going to get your mommy.” I smiled at Em.

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By the time we found the caves, the sun was dancing just above the horizon, making deep jagged shadows across the ground. I could hear muffled screams from within. Adam turned to Em, his tone soft. “Stay here with Sarah, okay? Don’t move unless she tells you to.” He smiled.

Em nodded, clutching her cloth tightly. Sarah crouched beside her, she gave me her warning gaze.

Great. No pressure or anything.

I followed Adam into the cavern, the air was wet, and gross. Definitely would not be visiting here again on my summer vacations. Adam reached into his pack, pulling out a smooth black rock. He pressed his thumb against a rune etched into its surface, and the thing came to life, glowing with a pale blue light that made the whole cave look even more scary.

“Nice rock,” I muttered, whispering.

Adam grinned, his confidence infuriating as always. “Try not to get us killed, Princess.”

The deeper we went, the worse it got. The muffled screams became louder, more distinct, and the air grew colder, heavier, like it was weighing me down on purpose. I gripped my sword so tightly my knuckles ached, my ears straining for any hint of a sound.

And then I heard it. A low, guttural growl that made my heart twist into a pretzel. Heavy footsteps echoed off the stone walls, slow and deliberate, each one sending shivers into my spine. I swept my hair out of my eyes trying to get a better sight of the terrifying sounds.

“Hide,” Adam mouthed, pointing toward a little opening in the wall. We slipped into a narrow crevice, the cold stone on my back made me jump a little. I held my breath; all I could hear was my heartbeat pounding through my ears. My eyes slowly adjusting to the dark.

That’s when it stepped through the wall into the area ahead of us.

The Darken.

It was massive, its skeletal reptilian body covered in matte black scales that seemed to soak up the light. Its arms were freakishly long, with claws so large they would be a manicurist dream. A curving tail dragged behind it, moving like a snake as it moved. The worst part? It’s face. A twisted mix of a snake and a dog, with glowing green eyes that seemed to see straight through the dark. Its mouth parted slightly, revealing rows of jagged teeth, each one looking like it would love to bite into my body.

The Darken sniffed the air, obviously noticing our scent, looking for whatever intruders had come into their cave. For a moment, I thought it saw me, but then it turned toward a tunnel ahead where the muffled sounds were coming from. With a low growl, it walked towards the sound.

Adam exhaled, his grip still on his sword. “That’s a scout,” he whispered, his voice barely audible.

“There’ll be more.”

Of course there will. Because why not make things harder? We followed the monster deeper into the caverns. The tunnel opened into a vast chamber, and my breath caught. In the center, a crude cage made of bone and metal held the villagers. They were huddled together, their faces pale and streaked with tears, their clothes tattered. Around them four Darkens huddled.

Adam turned to me. “We need to take them out, quietly, if we can.”-

“Quietly?” I hissed. “They are giant lizards, Adam.”

He smirked, there was his usual annoying confidence. Seeing his smile made me smile a little. “Then follow my lead princess, you take the one on the right. I can take the rest.”

He popped out from our cover. “Hey scaly!” He shouted unleashing his sword. “Over here!”

The Darken pack turned toward him, Adam didn’t wait for an invitation. He charged, his blade dancing with different forms of combat. Show off. I jumped into action, my short sword in my hands. I darted towards the solo Darken on the right and lunged at it, catching it off guard and plunging my blade into its body.

I whipped around and ran for the cage. My fingers fumbled against the crude lock. I could hear Adam fighting behind me, the sounds of clashing steel and bone. Finally, the lock gave way with a sharp click, and the cage door creaked open. “Go!” I urged the villagers, motioning for them to head back toward the tunnel. “Run to the entrance, my friend is there, she will get you out.”

They hesitated, looking at the monster body next to me.

“Now!” I snapped. They jolted into action and ran for the entrance. I followed them and yelled for Adam to do the same. He slashed through a monster while doing a summersault and followed. As we ran, I could hear the growls of monsters behind us. All of us ran out the exit into the rising light of dawn. One of the Darkens reached the exit the same time as us. It et out an ear-piercing roar and reached toward the fleeing villager.

“No!” I screamed, thrusting my hand forward on instinct. The air around me grew impossibly cold, and before I could comprehend what was happening, jagged spikes of ice erupted from the ground, blocking the Darkens path. The monster slammed snout first into the icy barrier, shards scattering like glass. I stared at my hands, my breath catching in my throat. Frost still clung to my fingers, the Aether pulsing faintly before fading away.

Together we all raced away from the cave, the Darkens hissed and howled as the light kept them at bay.

The sun was fully awake by the time we returned to the ruins of the village. The villagers who had been trapped in the cave were huddled together near the remnants of the town square. Adam was receiving praise and Sarah was tending to the wounded. Em was fully embraced into a woman’s chest. Crying happy tears. I couldn’t help but smile. I am such a softie.

She saw me staring and ran over to me. Her eyes lifted to mine, and for a moment, I thought she might say something. Instead, she held the piece of red cloth that she had clutched so tightly. It was a simple thing, just a plain red cloth with white stitching around the edges, but the way she held it out to me made it feel like a priceless artifact.

I hesitated, my throat tightening. “Em, I- “

“Please,” she insisted, her small hands shaking. “It’s for heroes.”

Heroes. That hit me hard. I wasn’t a hero, at least I didn’t feel like one. “Thank you,” I smiled. I grabbed the cloth, put my hair up and tied it tightly with the cloth. “I’ll wear it forever,” I teased, tickling her ribs. She laughed and ran off towards her mother, who waved.

We sat around the campfire later that night, my hands had finally stopped shaking from the adrenaline of facing the Darkens. Adam was cleaning his sword, Sarah sat beside me playing with a stick in the fire.

“Well… that was… impressive,” she said cheerfully.

I looked up, narrowing my eyes. “Impressive?”

She nodded. “I have never seen Ice magic before, only heard about it in stories. You’re Divergent. Especially without casting. For chant less casting one usually needs a rune or some type of magic item.”

“I tried to do it again, but I can’t seem to.” I admitted. She teased me a little more and called me a frost princess, I begged her not to let Adam start calling me that. As soon as my head it the pillow it was lights out, not even visions of Darkens could keep me up.