Firebrand (13 page)

The monster’s gaze bore into his eyes, stirring an unknown darkness lurking deep within.

“You belong to us, now.”
A guttural voice spoke in his mind.

Unable to comprehend the words, the commander cast a blank stare at the revenant. “Who ... What are you?” He could hear the tone of his own voice weakening. The image of the looming monster wavered and transformed into a mass of blackness. He no longer felt in control of his own mind. He no longer felt alive.

The reanimated corpse limped closer to Kaijin. Its eyes burned with unnatural flames. The abomination lunged at the young mage, exhaling a heavy cloud of frigid air.

Kaijin, recalling the previous encounter, leaped back from the monster’s cold aura. “So much power,” he muttered. A hint of a smirk brushed across his lips. “So much freedom! I wonder which spell I should try next.” He thought for a moment then dipped his hand back into his pouch and fished for a new piece of phosphorous. He murmured another incantation, igniting his hands in magical flames which consumed the small rock.

As the thrall lurched mindlessly toward him, Kaijin unleashed the spell, hurling the ball of fire at the abomination. The collision caused an explosive reaction of fire and ice. After a spray of scalding steam, the creature ignited. It lunged at Kaijin, screaming.

Kaijin’s left eye twitched at the hauntingly beautiful sight of the wall of flames eclipsing the dark creature in a blazing prison. The inferno intensified as it consumed the howling creature. The putrid smell of burning flesh penetrated the thick, smoky air.

“Now, to destroy this abomination.” Kaijin created another ball of fire in his hands. He hurled the magical inferno, propelling the monster backward and incinerating its flesh.

A trail of flames burned through the fields of dead, dry grass, expanding into a blazing wall of fire.

Kaijin made no effort to contain the blaze that spread and hungrily consumed the vegetation. He advanced in a trance and entered the inferno. A rush of soothing heat hit his face as he traveled through the burning barrier in pursuit of the abomination and its master.

Its master
...

“How could you simply abandon me to these creatures, Master?” Kaijin grumbled. He considered the riddling words of the unknown voice.

“How long are you going to feign ignorance, Kaijin Sora?”
The crackling voice of the surrounding flames returned.

Kaijin scowled, then said aloud, “You, whoever—whatever you are—are irrelevant.”

“Your passions—your adorations—say otherwise.”

“Enough hiding! Show yourself!”

“You cower from your own abilities and potential.”

“I am not a coward! Master Jarial is afraid to teach me! Rorick betrayed me!” Kaijin clenched both of his fists and looked around warily. “And you refuse to face me!”

A haughty laugh resonated.
“That is right. You mean nothing. You are worthless, Kaijin Sora.”

Kaijin’s head started to hurt. When he was no longer able to withstand the mental abuse, Kaijin lashed out, his hands still ablaze in hopes of destroying the haunting presence. “Enough!” he shouted, tears steaming in his burning eyes, “Enough of your damned games!” Rage curdled his blood. He emerged from the fiery prison, unharmed, and faced the revenant and its thrall.

The monsters faced him in unison. The scalding heat of the surrounding flames trapped them. With a gesture of its hand, the revenant sent its thrall at Kaijin.

The abomination took long strides toward him, growling fiercely as frozen spittle formed around its mouth.

Kaijin stood within the raging flames swirling, still unscathed by the heat. His expression was absent, devoid of concern for the fallen victims.

The thrall stopped before the burning barrier and thrust its halberd at Kaijin, who maintained a deep state of concentration.

In retaliation, the wall of fire drew closer. The heat scorched the creature’s skin. The blaze swept over the corpses of the other guards and consumed their desiccated flesh. The flames licked the bottom of the revenant’s frayed, shadowy skirts, and the creature drew back.

Kaijin closed his eyes, relishing the heat and the sounds of destruction. When he opened them again, he saw the world around him burning in the rising inferno. Kaijin lashed out with blazing hands at the thrall. Upon contact, the thrall’s frozen plate-mail deteriorated, and its skin caught fire, reducing the creature to a pile of ashy remains in seconds. The abomination dispatched, Kaijin faced the revenant.

The monster seemed stunned, witnessing its thrall felled by the young mage. It continued to retreat.

Kaijin guided the blaze toward the revenant. It consumed the creature and burned through its form, causing it to waver alternately between the realms of the living and dead. Its body transitioned from a transparent state to a solid, crumbling form, and then back again.

The monster screeched and slashed its bastard sword in rage. In a final desperate attempt, the revenant struck at Kaijin with its sword.

Kaijin stood firm. His eyes bore into the undead warrior. His body shivered in spite of the heat as the magical essence surged through him.

The unknown flickering voice counseled him once more.
“Cleanse these lands of the taint of this abomination.”

Kaijin strengthened the flames, making them grow until they formed an unstoppable sirocco of fire and dust. The fire seared the land around Kaijin, leaving charred remains of flesh and vegetation in its wake. Small sandy areas melted into glass. The creature’s final cries pierced the choking air before being consumed by the roaring inferno. For several minutes, the blaze devoured much of the countryside before extinguishing on its own.

The overwhelming phenomenon of fiery bliss ebbed from Kaijin’s body. His eyelids fluttered, the redness of his sight returned to normal, and he surveyed the devastation around him.

The land, once blanketed with plush grasses and sweet-smelling irises, was reduced to an ashy wasteland, reeking of seared, rotting flesh and brimstone. The area was quiet. Death lingered. Kaijin tried to recall what happened, but his mind seemed blocked by an unknown void. He spied the remains of several corpses near the road. Kaijin slowly approached, his feet crushing shards of glass and extinguishing the remnants of small fires. He took a moment to scrutinize the corpses, but the charred remains were no longer recognizable.

Kaijin blinked in confusion.
What happened?
He called out to the shadows. “Show yourself!” He paused and listened to his own echoing voice. Convinced he was truly alone, Kaijin finally sank to his knees and ran his fingers through his hair. “What have I done?”

A firm hand suddenly touched Kaijin’s shoulder.

Kaijin held his breath and tensed his body.
So, you decide to face me, after all
. He clenched his shaky, burning fist, spun around, and lashed out at the stranger. His vision wavered between a tinted red and a normal state. “Begone!”

“Enough, boy!” An unseen force grabbed Kaijin’s fist.

The sound of his master’s voice made the last of Kaijin’s rage subside. He fell silent and stared blankly at Jarial.

Jarial delivered a hard slap across his face.

Kaijin grunted. His head snapped to one side. He blinked several times, and his sight returned to normal. “M–Master?”

Frowning, Jarial dismissed the spell which held Kaijin’s fist in place. The fiery aura surrounding Kaijin also dissipated.

Kaijin rubbed his hand. His memories leading up to the harrowing ordeal were spotty and vague. Kaijin wondered if, perhaps, Jarial was simply using illusions to toy with his mind again. He shook his head and said, “Master Jarial? Where did you—how did you—”

“Relax, Kaijin,” the mage interjected. “You’ve proved yourself in more ways than one today.” He frowned and studied the corpses. “They were dead as soon as the revenant touched them. Creatures of the shadows, like revenants, possess a chilling touch which kills their prey. Thankfully, however, the blaze permanently destroyed the bodies, as well as the creature, itself, so we won’t have to worry about them reanimating.”

‘Thankfully?’
Kaijin bit his bottom lip.
Am I responsible for their deaths?
He wanted to believe otherwise. He couldn’t bear living with his hands stained with the blood of innocents. Clarity prevailed in his mind, and he said in a solemn voice, “No one had to die, Master.”

“Yes, they did,” Jarial retorted coolly.

“I’m not a murderer.”

“No, you’re not. But the undead do not belong amongst the living, either.”

“Undead?”

Jarial left Kaijin, approached one of the charred bones, and kicked it. “I witnessed the entire thing, Kaijin, under the influence of my ethereal spell, I watched you confront the revenant. I also realized that this creature had not come here by choice. Something had drawn it to the land of the living, and I think I know who.”

Kaijin frowned. “Why did you abandon me, Master?”

“I did not abandon you, Kaijin. Even with all of my power and knowledge, I have limits, too.” Jarial made a sour face. “That revenant was not of this realm, nor was it summoned here via a spell. It was drawn here by something else, giving it the strength and willpower to cross the threshold between the living and dead. Therefore, one cannot simply banish the thing back to its place of origin.” He paused at Kaijin’s confused expression.

“You’re not making sense, Master. How does a creature like that come to a place like this without being magically summoned?”

“Very easily if the mage in question no longer had control of himself.”

Kaijin tilted his head.

Jarial sighed. “Imagine if you will, that your bat, Miele, was a creature native to the realm of the undead. She thrives on your power, obeys you only for your power, and will stop at nothing to consume your power. It is her willingness to survive that makes her strong. If you were to lose control, she would grow stronger—strong enough to achieve what you consider impossible. It is one of the many curses that befalls a necromancer who loses control.”

“You’re saying that revenant was here because its ‘master’ lost control?”

“Yes, something like that.”

“How was it able to be destroyed?”

Jarial rubbed his chin. “I have faced similar creatures in my time and seen the fates of many of their victims who tried destroying them by conventional means. You, Kaijin, however, are the rare exception. Your incurable, sickening love of fire goes beyond anything imaginable. It seems your arcanic powers have been tampered with by a divine presence, as well. Everything I’ve suspected about you for all these years now makes sense.”

Kaijin arched a brow.
“
Divine ... as in the gods?”

Jarial nodded. “Indeed. But the intricacies of that subject are unfamiliar even to me. I am no priest, so I cannot say for certain if a god is truly responsible for this enhancement of your powers. I do not think that is something either of us will ever know. The ways of the gods are beyond the comprehension of men.”

The mention of the gods prompted Kaijin to clutch the holy symbol around his neck. The warmth of the charm attuned itself to his slowing heartbeat. He wondered if his master’s suspicions were correct—that this was the gods’ influence—or if was it simply a matter of Kaijin’s uncontrollable magical abilities.

“I already told you, Kaijin. You no longer need me. Your success in the arcane arts is dependent on how often you are tested and challenged.”

Kaijin blinked. “Is that all this was? Some damned test? People died, Master!”

“It wasn’t as if I foresaw this, Kaijin. You seem to have handled yourself well enough, anyway. Besides ...” Jarial narrowed his eyes. “Would you have said the same thing if that abomination continued reanimating those corpses into its thralls in order to rip your flesh from your body?”

Kaijin opened his mouth to speak, but immediately closed it. He felt his face fall in defeat.

Jarial smirked. “As I thought. I sensed the sudden spike in your magic which appeared to strengthen the divine presence and trigger the destruction. Something possessed you. I saw it in your glowing, pupilless eyes. There was a halo of flames around you like a shield. This was not just plain magic. Your divine-tainted, arcanic power is unlike anything I’ve seen. The anomaly was apparently powerful enough to allow you to destroy that revenant on your own. You don’t remember much of what transpired, do you?”

Kaijin fell silent a moment and scanned the charred area. “No, I don’t.”

Jarial looked as if he’d been struck with a painful twinge, and his attention turned toward Easthaven. “Sable ...”

Kaijin quirked a brow at the man’s expression. “Master Jarial? What is—”

“No more questions, Kaijin.” Jarial started the trek back to the city. “Let us return to Easthaven.”

Hearing Jarial’s sharp tone, Kaijin scrambled to his feet. He followed Jarial down the blackened road. The air was choked and heavy with looming death.

“Hold!”

Upon reaching the western gates, Jarial and Kaijin were stopped by three guards. The most seasoned-looking guard of the group stepped forward, scrutinizing Kaijin before focusing on Jarial.

“A moment of your time, if you please.” The guard held up his plated hand, which was inlayed with the city’s emblem.

Jarial pursed his lips and regarded the tall, armored man.

“We received news of a disturbance in the fields not far from the city.” the guard continued. “A small group of guards were dispatched to investigate, but they have not returned. We saw smoke billowing from the direction you both came. Have either of you witnessed anything?”

“No, sir, I have not.” Jarial shook his head firmly. His words were prompt and meticulous.

The guard nodded and studied Kaijin. “And you, young man?”

Kaijin blinked, as if startled to be addressed. “N–no, sir.”

Jarial kept silent. His eyes narrowed as he noted the hesitation in his student’s voice.