Enflamed (Book 2) (14 page)

The red-haired man ran toward
the fray, his hands encompassed with a bright, fiery glow. He extented his
hands toward the remaining duplicates.
“
Flarago
!”

A sudden flash of light caused
Omari to drop his staff and shield his eyes. When the brunt of the spell
subsided, he slowly uncovered his eyes and grunted, disoriented. He was tackled
to the ground, and someone—light, compared to the giant, but still strong—held
him down.

After blinking the dancing
after-images from his eyes, Omari found himself gazing up at the red-haired
mage—he presumed it was Kaijin—who glowered at him. Kaijin smelled of burned
wood and brimstone, and Omari could sense a strange power from within
him—something he’d not felt before in another mage.

Kaijin grabbed Omari’s throat
and dug his thumbs into his neck. Kaijin’s hands were uncomfortably hot against
Omari’s own cold skin, and the sensation made Omari flinch and gag. He grabbed
Kaijin’s hand but was unable to pry off his strong grip. All he could do was
stare
helplessly up at Kaijin.

The longer he gazed deep into
Kaijin’s brown eyes, the more Omari felt something strangely familiar about
him.
No. I have never met this man before in my life.
With his mind too
scattered to ponder it further, Omari reluctantly held both of his hands up in
surrender.

“Who are you? Answer me, now!”
Kaijin growled, shaking him.

Omari choked, unable to breathe.

“Kaijin!” the woman barked.
“Stop!
Get off him!”

“Why, Zarya?” Kaijin asked.
“Why should you be so concerned? He is a mage like me. We’re monsters,
remember?”

Omari fluttered his eyelids.
The images around him became a blur.

“’Ey, now,” the brownie said.
“That’s no way to talk to a lady. Where are your manners, mate?”

“Shove off, Nester!” Kaijin
snapped. The direction of his voice then turned back to Omari. “You have three
seconds to explain yourself, or—”

Kaijin’s weight left Omari.

“No more violence, Kaijin,”
the silver giant said gruffly.

“Argh!
Release me this instant, Aidan!”

The blurred images came into
focus. Kaijin struggled against the giant’s grip, but Aidan grabbed both of his
arms and restrained him.

Omari gasped for air, frantically
eying everyone. Terror and confusion swept through him, and he finally croaked
out hoarsely, “All right! Confound it, I yield!” He rubbed his neck.

All eyes turned toward him.

Omari rubbed his temples, his
mind still reeling from the chaos. “My name is Omari. I am a traveler.”

Kaijin ceased his tussle with
Aidan and studied Omari. “I’m Kaijin. I daresay that you are dressed rather
lavishly to be a simple traveler.”

Omari huffed and locked his
gaze on Kaijin. “I am a student of the Citadel in Ghaeldorund.”

Kaijin blinked.
“The Citadel?”

“Ghaeldorund?”
Nester exclaimed.

Omari slightly raised his nose
at them. “Yes, is that a problem?”

“No, of course not,” Kaijin
replied. “I did not realize students of the Citadel were allowed to travel so
far.”

“I have my reasons for my
travel.”

Aidan released Kaijin and
approached Omari, scrutinizing him. “What were you doing, intruding on our
camp?”

Omari curled his lip at the
giant and crossed his arms. “I was simply looking for a place to rest when I discovered
your camp. I thought you were all part of the same group of raiders that
attacked me before. After all, you
did
have the very locket that they
stole from me.”

“Locket?”
Nester looked intrigued.

“Yes.
My
locket.”
Omari glowered at him. “That means it does not belong to you,
brownie.”

“Don’t get your robes all
foddled.
I ain’t got nothin’ like that.
And if I did,
I wouldn’t be tellin’
you
about it.”

Omari fumed.
“Liar!”
He pointed to the discarded locket near Kaijin’s
bag.

Nester blinked.
“Wha—!
Where in th’ soddin’ ’ells did
that
come from?
I ain’t
prig
it!” He looked flabbergasted. “Kaijin,
did ... did
you
prig it without me knowin’?!
No one
prigs without
me knowin’!”

Omari turned a stern gaze on
Kaijin.

Some thief you must be,
then,
Kaijin thought, amused, then
shook his head. “You were busy looking for bandits, remember? Besides, I found
it beneath some debris. It looked like it was discarded. I had no idea—”

“Give it to me,” Omari
ordered.
“Now.”

Kaijin raised an eyebrow.

“Nay!”
Nester crossed his arms, scowling at Omari. “’Ow do
we know it’s
really
yours?”

Omari balled his fists. He
kept his eyes on Kaijin. “It is silver.
Tarnished from age.
On the cover is etched a rune: ‘storm’. Now give it to me.”

Nester looked to Kaijin for
confirmation.

Kaijin hesitated,
then
retrieved the locket. He handed it back to Omari.
“There.”

“Now that
that’s
settled,” Zarya said, “would you mind telling me why in Celestra’s name you
were traveling
alone
looking for bandits?”

“That was not my sole
purpose,” Omari replied. He deflated a little, as his rage ebbed. “And I was
not always alone. The Citadel assigned me a small escort of four guards. No
sooner did we enter the Forest of Winds than were we attacked by a group of
bandits. They burned our cart and killed everyone else. I barely escaped with
my life, thanks to my invisibility spell.”

Nester stroked his sideburns.
“I wonder if those were
th
’ same blokes we ’ad a
scuffle with earlier, aye?”

Omari scowled at the brownie.
“What?”

“Rude buggers, they were.
Started shootin’ at us for no soddin’ reason.
Poor Aidan ’ad
a back full o’bolts, ’e did.”

“Well, I certainly hope you
killed every last one of them!”

“Yes.” Kaijin shot a cool and
slightly sinister gaze at Zarya. “They got what they deserved.”

Zarya shook her head slowly.

“No one deserves death,” Aidan
said.

“Tell that to the bastards who
killed my escorts,” Omari said flatly. “I do not understand your sense of
pacifism, creature. I find it rather ... disturbing.”

“That’s just ’ow ’e is,”
Nester said. “You learn to get used to it.”

Omari returned his attention
to Kaijin. “So who are the rest of these people, Kaijin?”

Kaijin gestured to each of his
comrades. “That’s Aidan, Nester,”—Kaijin paused a moment, before continuing in
a more bitter tone—“... and
that one
is Zarya.”

Zarya’s face flushed.

Kaijin turned his nose up at
her and scowled.

Omari looked between the two
and then stroked his chin. “What an interesting group you all are.”

Aidan shrugged. “We have all
met in these past few days.” Aidan shot Nester a glare as he opened his mouth
to respond, and the brownie promptly closed it again. “Where were you headed,
exactly?” Aidan asked Omari.

“To the Mallowyn Crags,” Omari
replied. “I have been searching for a road that travels west, but I think all I
have ended up doing was getting lost. Those raiders killed the only scout in my
caravan. I have been wandering alone for almost a day now.”

Nester’s
pointed ears perked up.
“Mallowyn
Crags?
I know of that place. My Uncle Nickle used to tell me stories of
’is adventures there. Sounds like quite a place, it does.
’E
told me about th’ amazin’ view you can see from th’ tallest point.”

Omari scoffed at Nester. “Yes,
well, I have official business there. I am to find and speak to the Dragon.”

Kaijin, Nester and Zarya
gasped.

“Soddin
’ells!”
Nester exclaimed.

Kaijin blinked.
“A Dragon?
Are you serious?”

Zarya scrutinized Omari. “Are
you speaking the truth?”

Aidan crossed his arms and
kept silent.

Omari snorted at the group’s
reaction.
I cannot believe I have to waste my precious time trying to
convince these idiots.
Before he could respond, he heard a squelch in the
nearby underbrush. Percival leapt from the tall grass and zipped past him. A
small fruit bat zoomed behind the weasel, nipping at his tail.

Ow!
Omari grabbed his head, feeling his companion’s pain.
He heard a deafening, high-pitched shriek in his mind. He let go of his head
and gripped his quarterstaff. Energy surged from his hands into the staff,
charging it with an electric shimmer.

Kaijin lunged at Omari. “No!”

Omari glanced up, jarred by
the sudden interruption. He glared at Kaijin.
“What the—?”

“Miele!”
Kaijin yelled to the bat.
“Stop!
Come here, now!”

The bat ceased its chase and fluttered
over to Kaijin and rested on his shoulder. Percival took refuge between Omari’s
ankles. Miele shrieked happily, proclaiming her small victory over the
frightened weasel.

With the jarring sensation in
his mind eased, Omari was able to focus again.

Zarya requested, “Omari,
please tell us more about this Dragon.”

“I would rather not. My
business with the Dragon is my own. Now, if you will all excuse me, I must find
a place to sleep—”

As he turned, he felt a firm
hand on his shoulder. He could hear deep breathing from behind him. He shivered
and whipped his head around.

“Stay here with us.” Aidan
nodded politely.

Omari cast a half sneer at the
giant and managed to tug
himself
out of his
surprisingly gentle hold. “No. We are on separate journeys.”

“Aidan does not think it is
wise for anyone to be out alone at this hour. There is strength in numbers,
after all.”

Omari sighed and looked at the
others.

Nester nodded once. “Aye,
Aidan’s right. There’s plenty o’ room to get some winks ’round ’ere. Just don’t
go snoopin’ ’round our things again, eh?” He looked at the giant. “By the way,
Aidan, it’s your turn to take
th
’ last watch.”

Aidan nodded and sat under the
willow tree.

Zarya cast an apprehensive
gaze at Omari. “I suppose ... it will be all right.”

Kaijin crossed his arms, his
eyebrow
raising
at the priestess. “He almost tried to
kill us!”

“I am far more willing to
forgive someone who has seen the error in their ways.
Now.
I will not have this conversation with you anymore. Good night.” She stormed
away.

Kaijin watched her and
sneered.

Omari looked curiously at
them. “Did I miss something?”

“No.” Kaijin shook his head at
Omari.
“Nothing at all.”

Omari smirked at Kaijin.
That
is a crock of shite.

* * *

Kaijin placed his hands behind
his head and stared at the cloudy night sky, unable to sleep. He occasionally
heard Miele’s soft, playful shrieks in the sky. His mind wandered from the
day’s events to what his future journeys would hold. He turned his head and
stared at Omari across the cooling embers of the campfire’s remains. While
everyone else rested, Omari was reading his spellbook. A small glow of light
emitted from his hand, which hovered over the pages.

Something furry tickled
Kaijin’s hand. Startled, he sat up and discovered Percival sniffing at him. The
weasel trilled apprehensively at the sudden movement.

Kaijin exhaled a relieved
sigh. “Oh, it’s only you.” Smiling, he rubbed Percival’s back. Never had he
seen such a species of weasel with such coarse fur and a tail nearly longer
than its body, and it intrigued him. “You’re a sly little fellow, aren’t you?”

Percival chirped and then
scampered to Omari, climbing up his back and settling on his shoulders.

Omari glanced up from his book
to the weasel, and then to Kaijin.

“You have such an interesting familiar,
Omari,” Kaijin said.

Omari stroked Percival under
the chin. “Percival is a long-tailed sand weasel. He and I have been
inseparable since I was a child. I daresay your familiar is just as strange.”

Kaijin smiled. “Miele is a
fruit bat.”

“Yes, I can see that.
Though she is rather small for a fruit bat.”