The Redwood Rebel (The Redwood War Book 1) (15 page)

The singing grew more frantic and became louder, making Arun pause for a moment. Whatever was in that crate was in a lot of trouble, and obviously knew it. He had no idea what kind of creature it might be, but he wasn’t about to stand by and allow these men to commit the torture they were obviously planning. If he stood by and did nothing, he was just as guilty as they were.

He began to move a little more quickly, finally finding a branch solid enough for him to cross into the other tree. Sergeant Naseem was standing on the platform and could now clearly see him. He had his bow notched and ready, watching the exchange below. When he noticed Arun, he went to offer help, but was waved aside. Since Naomi had joined their party, everyone had been treating him as though he were completely fragile. He knew it was probably the loss of Rayan and Esta that contributed to this, as well as his recent displays of emotional instability, but he was still in control.

He made it at last down to the platform and the Sergeant whispered near silently, ‘I’ve sent Rostam around to the others. We’re taking aim so we can consecutively shoot down and finish them all at once, but we have to wait for his signal first.’

Nodding his assent, Arun removed his own bow and notched an arrow carefully. He watched the camp below, their fire now roaring furiously as Paget and Verne looked on eagerly.

‘You boy!’ Paget called to a scrawny young thing almost concealed in the side-lines and clearly not wishing to be spotted. ‘Drag that crate over here.’

The boy hesitated. ‘Sir, we ought not… The Watcher…’

‘You do as you’re ordered, or we’ll leave you here to fend for yourself!’ Verne snapped back, then snorted as the boy jumped to do as he was told. ‘The Watcher. Never heard such crock in all my life.’

As both men laughed, Arun felt a little sorry for the boy, but knew he’d done something very similar when Naomi had mentioned the forest spirit. Had he sounded like this awful man? Scorned her beliefs with no regard? He knew he had. It was yet another thing to add to the list of apologies he needed to make.

‘Open the lid, boy,’ ordered Paget, a long sword held in his hand as he stood between the crate and the fire. The boy did as he was told, looking decidedly miserable about the whole thing, and Paget thrust the sword point-first into the now open crate.

‘A nice bit of sport,’ he laughed.

The wordless singing was loud now and Arun felt the air squeeze out of his chest as a sense of pain overwhelmed him. He felt dizzy and sick, the music igniting a horror he had never felt before and a rage that nearly blinded him. When he looked back down to the clearing, he saw the sword had been pulled from the crate, and wrapped tightly around its length was a winding vine, covered in green leaves and purple flowers. The crying fear was coming from that, and as he saw Paget turn the sword slowly, then look to the burning flames of the fire, he knew they had to act now if they were going to help this poor thing.

‘We can’t wait,’ he gasped, drawing his bow and taking aim. ‘We have to act now.’

‘We could miss them if we start firing without the others.’ Naseem warned, his whisper barely audible. The song was in his head now, pleading, hurting.

‘No, we have to help it.’

‘I’ll signal first, that way we might have a better chance,’ Naseem let out a strange bird call, and drew his own bow. As he took aim, he suddenly asked. ‘What’s Lady Naomi doing?’

The desperation that was humming in his body in time with the tune dulled a little at this question. He grit his teeth. ‘Sleeping.’

‘I hate to tell you this, my King,’ Naseem sounded suddenly less far away, and he looked at his Sergeant’s wry expression as he pointed down to the edge of the clearing. ‘But she isn’t.’

Confused as the anger ebbed a little from his mind, Arun looked to where he was pointing. Sure enough, there she was, and as he recognised his own magic wrapping around her, building in force and power, he realised the fury and pain he was experiencing belonged to her. Now able to target it, he blocked the worst and felt his vision begin to clear. Hot wind blew through the small clearing, and her hands ignited with bright flames of burning power. Afraid for her state of mind, Arun reached out to her mentally, but was pushed back firmly. She was in control despite her world-rocking rage, and it shocked him to see her harness his magic with such skill and force.

The boy noticed her first and screamed. ‘It’s The Watcher!’

‘How dare you,’ she spoke, her voice hushed, but carried threateningly by the magic. ‘How dare you do this in
my forest
?’

Chapter Fifteen

She hadn’t meant to tap into Arun’s magic. She had no experience of using fire like this or being in control of someone else’s gift, but it had happened so fast. It was almost a natural instinct. Her land magic had been strong when she had it, but using it for attack took skill. She supposed the years of practice back then were serving her well now, and walked slowly towards the men that were desecrating her home.

The cries of the baby wood sprite rang in her ears, its pain and fear having woken her from her deep sleep, and finding Arun gone without trace, she’d almost thoughtlessly ignited the magic and dropped down into the enemy camp. Walking slowly across the damp grass with deadly intent, she didn’t notice that the grass where her feet touched curled with the heat and turned black. From the trees, two men ran to attack, swords raised, and without so much as a second glance, she raised her hand and burnt them to a cinder from the inside out. The lifeless husks fell to the ground, a cloud of ash rising from where they made contact, but she didn’t even pause. Her target stood at the camp fire, frozen in horror, the crying baby wrapped helplessly around his sword.

‘Who the hell are you?’ barked the large man beside the perpetrator. There was a teenage boy cowering behind them both, whispering fearfully.

‘It’s The Watcher! I told you, I warned you, but you didn’t listen!’ he bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut. ‘We’ll all perish!’

‘There’s no such thing as the damned Watcher!’ replied the big man. ‘Paget, tell him! That’s just a woman!’

Naomi smiled then, and the one who had tormented the baby he still held looked fit to soil himself. His eyes bulged and he took a step back, but didn’t relinquish his hold on the still crying child.

‘Paget,’ she spoke his name quietly and the fire she held in her clenched fists flared. ‘Release the baby.’

Suddenly arrows were being fired at her, but the magic reacted so quickly, they were burned up before they came near. Naomi turned on the attackers. Before she could act, they had been taken out by a volley of Korenian arrows. For the first time since she’d woken, she felt something other than blinding fury, and blinked rapidly in surprise.

‘It’s alright, it’s just us,
’ Arun’s gentle voice intruded in her mind and she flinched violently.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you alright?’

She shook her head, trying to clear it, hating the way it felt to have him in there, but knowing she had initiated the contact by borrowing his magic. It was invasive, and her natural response was to try and eject him. The magic fought for and against her, the fire consuming and wrapping around her body like a column until that was all she could see and feel.

‘You’re losing control!’
Arun spoke urgently, his voice now panicked and forcing the connection. She tried to shut the magic off, but she couldn’t seem to remember how. Falling to her knees, she clutched her head and clenched her eyes. She was burning up, the heat licking at her flesh, eating her alive. The baby was still crying.

‘Let the baby go!’ she thundered, trying to focus. Arun was fighting to get to her, she could feel his mental push and part of her recognised that he was trying to help. She wished she had her own magic to use, that she could simply reach out and wrap around their necks, choking the life out of them.

Heeding her command, the magic obeyed her, and a long vine of burning flame shot out and choked the biggest man. Instead of strangling him to death, the fire simply burnt him alive, boiling him until he all but dissolved on the grass. The baby cried louder and Naomi shouted out in agony.

‘Come back, little Firefly,’
Arun tried to coax her and she felt the magic react and flare up. It hurt so much, she could barely think.
‘I know it hurts, but you have to calm down. Breathe deeply. Keep breathing and focus on that. Just keep breathing.’

‘The trick is to keep breathing.’

Her teacher’s humble but powerful advice echoed around her head, reinforced by Arun’s repetition. She could hear Gerrard’s voice as though he were there and knew Arun had accessed her memories. She snarled almost bestially. ‘Get out of my head!’

‘You have to close the connection.’
he pressed with a forced calm, and she briefly wondered why he bothered. She could feel all of his emotions as though they were hers and she tried fruitlessly to get them away. His frustration, his fear, his urgency, all swirled around her skull like an unfamiliar and uncomfortably hot brew of cha, scalding her mind.

‘The baby! Let the baby go!’ Naomi knew she was screaming now, her voice hoarse from the pain, and she grit her teeth tightly. The sound was horrific. ‘It’s crying!’

‘It’s crying because it’s afraid for you,’ a familiar male voice that wasn’t Arun spoke firmly from nearby. ‘You’re burning the forest.’

Some of the heat receded and she breathed unsteadily. ‘I’m burning… the forest?’

‘The baby is safe,’ continued the voice. ‘I have her. She cries only for you now, little sister.’

‘Little sister?’ Naomi whispered, then heaved a shuddering gasp as though coming up from a deep submersion and the magic washed completely out of her. She knew that voice. ‘Tristan.’

Her senses came back to her, and laying on the charred grass, she was surprised to find Arun leaning over her, worry plain in his eyes. She gave him a quick once-over, then did the same to herself. Neither of them were even mildly burnt, not even their clothes. Looking back up to him in confusion, she opened her mouth to ask how it was possible, when he immediately spoke over her.

‘I didn’t touch you, I swear.’

It came out in a panicked rush, and she felt a little twinge of appreciation for him. She smiled slightly. ‘I know you didn’t.’

‘Are you alright?’ he asked, still sounding shaken, his hands hovering as though he wanted to touch her, but knew he shouldn’t without permission. She reached up and offered him her hand. He looked surprised, but took it in both of his own without hesitation.

‘I’m fine,’ she was too afraid to look at the damage she had done and kept her gaze focused on his face. ‘Is everyone else? Did I…?’

‘You haven’t hurt anyone that didn’t try to hurt you first,’ he immediately assured her, then looked away, his expression ashamed. ‘This was my fault. I haven’t taken the time to explain how our Bond works. You haven’t had any experience of fire magic. I should have warned you, taught you.’

‘Don’t,’ Naomi spoke firmly, sounding more herself, and he looked back at her. ‘There hasn’t been any opportunity to teach me. We’re not supposed to be using magic, remember?’

She smiled wryly at that, realising for all her insistence in the matter, it had ultimately been her that had broken the rule. She might as well have put up a large sign to show their location, or walked through the forest blowing a horn. Arun smiled too though, and she was glad to see the concern fade a little. She’d caused him a lot of trouble, no matter her motivation. He didn’t deserve it.

‘What happened?’ he asked quietly. ‘You were in control at first, I could feel it, but something changed. It happened so quickly, and I couldn’t get in or out.’

‘I don’t know,’ she lied, realising this was now the second time she had done so to spare his feelings. ‘I was upset and the more upset I became, the harder it was to control.’

He stared hard at her, and she wondered if he could tell she wasn’t being completely honest with him. She was about to cave in and admit it had been his intrusion that cost her control, when he shook his head and sighed. ‘You used a great deal of raw magic and still somehow managed to keep us both from harm. I’ve never seen anything like it, especially not from someone who has no experience of fire magic before.’

‘Let’s hope you never will again,’ she grunted, then realised how quiet it was. ‘The baby!’

Sitting up so fast she nearly head-butted Arun, she looked around the clearing. The sight was crushing and she felt her heart ache for the damage she had done. The grass was black and burnt away, and a lot of the nearby trees were charred on their trunks. She could see the burnt remains of the men she had killed, and a few with arrows protruding from their blackened bodies that she hadn’t. The fire in the middle of the camp was smoking, but out, as though when she extinguished the flames that surrounded her she had done the same to that one as well. The Korenian soldiers were climbing carefully down from the trees in the dark, looking at her oddly or avoiding her eye altogether. She could hardly blame them for being afraid after the damage she had done.

She saw the man, Paget, and the young boy both bound on the ground by long, thick vines, but still alive, and felt a sickening jolt in her stomach. Her eyes scanned the dark and burnt clearing, until she found the figure leaning casually against a tree. He smiled slightly in amusement at the expression she was sure she was making, and she was about to pelt across the distance and throw herself at him when she remembered the company they were in. Naomi sat frozen, unsure how to react.

He looked just the way he always had, his bright green eyes, so like her own, and his messy, mousey blond hair tied in a low tail, but escaping and falling in his face. He didn’t seem as tall as she remembered, but his skinny form made her automatically work out proportions and realise she had grown in height since she’d seen him last.

‘Who are you?’ Arun demanded, turning on the other man, standing and placing himself protectively in front of her. The other Korenians moved to touch their weapons, and unable to watch that, Naomi forced herself to her feet as well.

‘He means us no harm,’ she assured quietly. ‘This is The Watcher.’

He smiled again and straightened from his casual position. She saw that wrapped around his arm was the baby wood sprite, quiet now, and completely unharmed. Tristan seemed to notice the direction of her gaze and gently stroked the little sapling.

‘Normally when someone tries to burn down my forest, I would be a very formidable opponent indeed,’ he raised his eyebrows, laughter dancing in his eyes. ‘But for you, little sister, I’ll make an exception.’

Naomi could feel all eyes on her, and for all her attempts to block him out, Arun’s curiosity and concern. She bowed her head. ‘Forgive me.’

‘So serious,’ Tristan replied, with a note of sadness in his voice. ‘But no harm done. A little fire occasionally is good for cleansing the forest, and this blight was ready to be burnt away.’

She looked up and watched as he walked towards the prone figures he had tied on the ground. The boy was awake, his eyes wide with fear as Tristan approached. It was hard to know how to act; her thoughts were jumbled, she was tired from lack of sleep, and the magic, while being quietly restrained by Arun, was still buzzing around her body, and she could feel his so far unspoken urge for answers. She didn’t know what to tell him. In truth, it wasn’t up to her. She had to follow Tristan’s lead in this, despite how her emotions battered her insides, demanding release. It was hard to keep a lid on them, and she wondered if Arun could sense it.

‘Well, what should we do with you two, I wonder?’ Tristan snarled through his smile at the prisoners, and she remembered just how scary he could be. She had known him almost her whole life, meeting in secret in the forest, playing together, hunting together. He always had been more ruthless than her, and that was no small feat.

‘The boy is innocent,’ Arun spoke up from beside her. ‘He was merely following orders.’

Tristan looked at him in surprise, but Naomi scowled. ‘That’s no excuse. Some of the worst atrocities I’ve ever seen were carried out by people who were
just
following orders. He has a conscience, a will of his own. He should have refused.’

‘They would have killed him.’ Arun argued back, but quietly.

‘No one ever said doing the right thing was easy.’ She tried to keep a lid on her anger, knowing it wasn’t his to bear the brunt of. Looking to the young man, she saw his eyes dart helplessly between her and Arun. ‘One day we will all have to answer for the things we have done in our lives, and saying that the evil you helped commit was because someone else told you to isn’t going to be good enough.’

‘Oh, my poor little sister.’ The weight of sadness in Tristan’s eyes nearly broke her. ‘How dark you’ve become. Where is my laughing girl? My teasing friend, my sniggering companion?’

‘She died,’ she replied firmly. ‘Long ago.’

‘Did she? Did they truly kill her?’ he asked, his voice light despite the words he was speaking. ‘Or is she still in there somewhere, hiding in the shadows of your mind, waiting for it to be safe enough to come out to the light again?’

She didn’t know how to answer him. She was aware that she had changed. She’d had to. Years of darkness and starvation, her annual beating on the anniversary of her capture, had forced her to shut that part of herself down. Her trust had been broken too many times. Five years ago, if someone had told her what was to happen, she would never have believed it. Along with the deaths of her loved ones, the suffering of her people, it had been Adrienne’s betrayal that had broken her heart. To survive all she had suffered, it had been her rage that she had turned to for strength, and it was bound to show.

‘Who are you?’ Arun repeated his earlier question, though without the threat or anger. ‘I know you’re The Watcher, but…?’