Dragon's Mage (An Advent Mage Novel), The - Raconteur, Honor (33 page)

I found it hard to see, even with my nifty goggles. A thick layer of smoke milled about the city like a white fog, blanketing the area. Unusually, there was no wind today, and so nothing encouraged the smoke to go upwards and away. But I trusted Mari’s instincts in this regard better than mine. She’d been reading smoke behavior for years in this job.

Kaya didn’t wait for any directions from me, but dove straight for the park. I tried to look for other places that were ablaze, but Kaya got us there so quickly that I barely managed a glance around before I had to focus again. In fact, she moved far too fast for me to do more than get a few pieces of the fire out. I put both hands against her neck and stroked down, signaling for her to slow down. Even as she came in to hover more around the park, the roar and snap of flames below made it hard to hear. At least I
could
hear now, though, without wind rushing into my ears.  

The park had indeed been hit, and I could tell even this high in the air that oil had been the ignition source. As I focused on the fire below, putting the flames out, I told Mari in a loud voice, “He’s here.”

“You sure?” she demanded, already twisting around in every direction, looking for him.

“I’m sure. The park was set on fire with oil.”

“Then he’s here all right.”

“Keep your eyes peeled for a new fire. This one has been burning for a good hour. The south side had been going for half a day.”

“So…he had to have been here recently and he’s probably still setting fires,” she finished the thought aloud, coming to the obvious conclusion. “Right. There’s another fire toward the center of town. Get that one first. The fire toward the east section our men can probably handle. They’re right next to the lake, after all.”

“No, they can’t,” I refuted, shaking my head. “Remember? The water level is low in the lake right now because of those thrice-cursed towers spewing water everywhere.”

Mari groaned. “I’d forgotten about that. How much water do you think they have to work with?”

“Not enough. Helen told me it would take a good month for the ground water to regain its normal levels. I doubt the lake is recovered enough to use right now.”

Swearing, Mari shifted in the saddle again so that she could get a better vantage point. “Then you focus on putting out both fires. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for him.”

“Will do.”

Kaya swooped in lower, smoke blowing in my face and making it hard to see once more. I was
so
glad for the goggles and mask. Not eating smoke or dealing with watery eyes was worth every bit of bargaining in Merton.  

With the park finished, we climbed again, getting more altitude so that we could see the rest of the city. We were just feet away from the tops of the highest buildings in the downtown section now, and the heat of the fire below felt almost scorching hot against my skin. The crackle and snap of the fire sounded loud in my ears, despite the rush of the wind as Kaya flew. Focusing, I systematically dealt with the fire below, smothering it with my magic until it died out with a last puff of black smoke. The insides of the buildings were harder, at least the ones that still had a roof left to them, as it blocked my view of the fire. I preferred wild land and forest fires for this reason alone—nothing blocked my view there, not as much as a city does.

It took several passes back and forth before I felt confident that I had caught all of it, and then Kaya looped back around and headed for the eastern section, where our house sat on the edge of the lake. As we flew, I saw that the fire of the downtown area and the fire from the lake had almost come together. I also noticed in relief that nothing sitting next to the lake had been touched, so our house was still safe. A selfish thought, but I couldn’t help it.

Through the haze of smoke, I caught glimpses of firefighters below, working hard to keep the blaze at bay so that it wouldn’t spread to the rest of the city. Worried for them, and the city they were trying to protect, I worked from the outside in, extinguishing the flames more with each pass. Kaya, fast becoming a pro at this, did slow, circular passes in the air so that I could see from every angle.

“Krys, there’s a fire still inside that corner store.” Mari leaned over my shoulder and pointed at it. “See the backdraft?”

“You’re right.” I couldn’t see it well enough to fight it from the air, though. “Is that the only thing you see?”

“Yes.” She blew out a breath and sat back. “Still no sign of the arsonist. Do you think he’s gone to ground again?”

“I sure hope not.” I didn’t look at her to answer, trying to find a good angle to see inside the building and deal with that fire. The front of it had so much damage that I knew I couldn’t actually go inside and extinguish it. The structure wouldn’t be safe to go into. Maybe from that two story building that’s kitty-corner to it… “Kaya, drop me onto that roof.”

She obediently banked left, slowing and hovering in place just long enough for me to unstrap myself and hop the five feet to the flat tar roof. It had been miraculously untouched by the blaze, and the building felt reassuringly solid underneath my boots. I waved her off and went to the edge, which provided the perfect line of sight for me to see in through a busted window at the fire.

As I worked, Mari called down to me from Kaya’s back, “Krys, they’re calling me!”

Oh, the ground crews probably did need her about now. I waved her on. “Go!”

She gave a soppy salute from the forehead as Kaya flapped upwards, taking Mari to where she needed to go.

Putting out the last fire in this area didn’t take two seconds and then I had nothing else to do. I looked around me to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, but saw nothing but sooty water flooding the streets and blackened buildings. A lot of damage had been done here.

But why here? It still didn’t make any sense to me. Mellor didn’t have anything famous in it, except the nearby lake, and that could hardly be burned. He had set three different fires here, no less, all in seemingly random locations. I’d lived in this city now for almost a full year and knew that nothing here had any special significance to it. So why here?

An ominous tingle pricked the base of my spine. My magical sense had picked up a new flare from behind me, a new source of fire, hot enough for a split second to register. I spun around so fast, my neck cracked. Where? My eyes darted this way and that, jerkily, searching for it frantically. Then I saw the barest wisp of smoke rising from between the buildings.

In the next instant, I was running, leaping for the edge of the roof. I had moved in sheer instinct toward the fire, knowing that the arsonist was there, that he had started another one. If I could just get there
fast
enough—I created a hot, intense fire from the palms of my hands and from my feet, boosting myself into the air so that I went up and over the street level, landing on the roof directly across from me.

Mari must have seen me move because from where she stood next to the firewagon she yelled, “WHAT’S GOING ON?”

I paused just long enough to yell back, “HE’S HERE! TWO STREETS OVER!”

I didn’t wait for her response, just kept running along the roof, which was a little harder on this one because of the way it slanted. But I thought I heard her curse aloud before calling for Kaya. I knew they’d catch up with me fairly quickly, but I kept running. I would
not
let that man get away from me again. He had torched the last thing for his amusement.

It took two more hops across streets, moving from roof to roof, but I finally spotted him. Unlike any sane person, he hadn’t immediately fled the area he’d set ablaze, but stood there in the middle of the street and watched it spread. This time, he’d started one of the restaurants that Mari and I liked ablaze, the fire just starting to crawl all along the front edge.

Snarling, I squashed the blaze flat, not letting it go any further. Only then did I create that high burst of fire from my limbs and used it to maneuver my way to the ground.

When he saw his fire go out, he turned around, as if looking for the source. Then his eyes fell on me, tracking my progress to the cobblestone, and I swear he looked…pleased.

I stood in front of the man, finally having an answer to my question. He wore a bulky contraption strapped to his back, which had a long tube winding around one arm and a handle that came down into his other hand. So
that
was how he’d set fires so quickly. It wasn’t a magical device, though. Just an interesting machine he’d either bought or somehow concocted. He looked poised to start a fire any minute. Oddly enough, he didn’t appear absolutely insane as I had mentally pictured. He looked…normal. Almost non-descript, really. Mousy brown hair, short stature, plain features. He could walk through a crowd and not garner a second glance. He had in fact been doing that for weeks.

My first instinct was to hit the man with enough fire to squash him flat. But I couldn’t do that. That contraption strapped to his back changed the game entirely. A large, cumbersome pack was on his back, filled to the brim. In his right hand was a level that I assumed controlled the flow of oil. But in his left was an open funnel that had a small flame dancing in front of it. If I provoked this man, he would release the oil on his back and when it hit that open spark, fire would shoot everywhere. This city had already suffered too much damage. I didn’t want to do even more. Besides, I wanted him behind bars, not dead. But to do that, I had to be crafty.

“Do I qualify now?” the man asked excitedly, tenor almost squeaking like a child’s.

I stared at the arsonist blankly. Everything I had been planning to say flew out of my head. “Qualify?”

“To be a Fire Mage,” he answered impatiently, excitement dimming for a moment before bouncing back. “I’ve set more fires than the other one did. I set more cities ablaze. Surely I qualify!”

Great good guardians, did that man think that you could somehow
earn
the right to be a mage? My mind whirled in a chaotic jumble as different pieces fitted themselves together. He must have heard the story of Remcarparoden and thought that torching a city was an initiation right or something to be a Fire Mage. In that insane, twisted mind, everything he had burned in the last few weeks had been nothing but a proving ground. This was probably the man that had sent me those crazy letters as well. Shrieking hinges, but I wish now I’d paid more attention to them.

I opened my mouth to respond, with what I wasn’t sure, but something soothing and calming so I could approach him.  What, I had no idea. I’d never been accused of being a smooth talker before. “So…are you the one that wrote me the letters?”

He almost bounced in place, becoming more animated and swinging his arms around him. Considering what he had in both hands, that scared me right down to my toes. “That’s right, that’s right! You read them?”

“I did,” I admitted honestly, frantically trying to think of a way to drag this conversation out. “I wasn’t sure what to think of them at first. Why didn’t you sign your name? The initials confused me.”

Wrong thing to say. His eyebrows slammed together and he pointed the nozzle end straight at me, although fortunately he didn’t do anything else. “But you know who I am!”

“
Now
, I know, yes,” I said and attempted a smile. It felt very forced although hopefully it didn’t look that way. “But the first letter, I wasn’t sure. But you know, if you came and talked to me, instead of just writing, I would have been able to help you.” To the nearest jail cell, that is.

“No!” He shook his head adamantly, but not angrily, as if he spoke from pride this time. “I had to prove myself, as you did, as
he
did. I had to show I could do it. I did show you, didn’t I? I can become a Fire Mage now!”

I licked dry lips and tried the first thing that came to mind. “Well, you know, I don’t actually have the ability to make you a Fire Mage. It takes a different power than the one I have.” The man jerked to a stop, eyes flaring wide, almost jittery. Instead of trying to explain that magic couldn’t be passed on, I continued calmly, “Did you know? That it takes a full circle of magicians to do any major magic like that.”

The arsonist shook his head violently from side to side, burbling a denial that didn’t even make sense. “No. NO! You do have the power!”

Uh-oh. I had apparently said the wrong thing. Although I still had no idea what the right thing would have been. “Well, if you want—” I started.

But he flung his head up again, a mad and ferocious smile on his face. “I know! I’ll beat you. I’ll beat you and the power will come to me.”

…Ah, come again?

Before I could really comprehend what he was saying, he flicked the flame open on the open funnel in his left hand and then squeezed the bar in his right. The flame thrower roared to life, fire spraying in every direction.

I swore and ducked the flame aimed at my head automatically, self-preservation instincts sending me rolling off to the side before my rational mind could point out that my shields would take the brunt of that with ease. Of course, in missing me, the fire had gone on and struck the buildings along the street behind me.

Shrieking hinges!
I didn’t like the idea of turning my back on the enemy (and my old Weapons Professor at Strae would scalp me if he learned I’d done such a thing) but I couldn’t let that fire go out of control either.

In that split second of hesitation, the arsonist threw another stream of flame in my direction. This time, my shields did take the brunt of it, but it threw up sparks all around me and the building behind me got rather scorched. Busted buckets, this wasn’t good.

I dodged the next flame he threw at me, twisting just enough to keep him within my sight, but still giving me a chance to put out the flames he had started. Then I turned and dodged another line of fire, which of course set another building behind me ablaze.

This was never-ending! Maybe I should just focus on defeating him quickly and
then
worry about the city. I might be forced to do that anyway. My magic level was much too low. Fighting fire in different areas of the Empire only to come here and do it again over half the city had taken its toll on me. If I were at full strength, I could squash this man like a bug. But at this rate, the personal shields were steadily eating away at my remaining power, and I wouldn’t have enough to deal with both him and the flames he started. Great good magic, I wished I were stronger.