Cleansing Fire

“What is your real name Ioshi?”

Shock registered on the boy’s face and he began to cry again. Every Initiate was given a new name when they joined the Academy. Right now, it was important that he knew Ioshi’s. Balden held himself in check and waited until the sobbing had subsided a little.

“Please tell me your name. If you don’t, I won’t be able to let your family know that you’ve been lost to them. Wouldn’t you want your mother to know what happened to you?”

The boy only cried a little harder and began making feeble attempts to break from the grip of the Brothers. With so many of them behind him, it was a futile gesture. He finally sagged between his captors and mumbled something, spittle dropping off his face and onto the floor.

Balden leaned closer still, bringing his ear close to touching the boy’s lips.

“What was that? I’m afraid I didn’t hear you.”

“J-j-Jayden. M-my real name is J-j-Jayden. Please don’t hurt me anymore. I won’t tell, I swear it.”

Balden made a soft tutting noise under his breath. Did the boy really think that after all this effort they would just let him go so easily? Surely nobody could be that naïve. He cupped his chin in one hand and traced the edge of the knife over his cheekbones.

“How long have you been working behind my back, Jayden? It must have been some time for our man to only find out about it now.”

Jayden simply stared and shook a little, not managing to keep his sobs quiet any longer. Balden raised his head and looked a question at one of the Brothers. Silently, the man held up four fingers. Four months. Jayden had been working secretly for someone in the Academy for four months. That he’d managed to evade detection so long was quite remarkable.

“Now Jayden, listen carefully because this is what’s going to happen. In a moment, I’m going to cut into your chest with this knife. I’m going to remove part of the skin over where your heart is,” he paused to wipe a tear from the boy’s cheek, “now don’t start crying again or you’re not going to hear anything I say and that will make me very angry indeed. You know how angry I can be.”

Jayden closed his mouth and sobbed silently, the tears still flowing down his cheek, his body shaking uncontrollably. He had to know by now that his situation was hopeless, that nothing else could be done.

Looking into his eyes, Balden thought he saw a little bit of life still there. That was good, it would be better for the Summoning if the boy still had some energy in him.

“Now, I need to know one more thing and then we can move on. Who were you working for?”

Marius climbed in through the window and closed it silently behind him. He knew he was blocking off a potential escape route but there was always a risk that someone would see the open window and wonder why it was open. He saw that he was inside a relatively rich looking house – for a village anyway. Magnus’ knife was lying on the table near the window – the fool had obviously gone in unarmed. Marius grabbed it and tucked it into his breeches; it never hurt to have some insurance. As he walked through the house, without thinking about it, he quickly valued the contents. When he realised what he was doing, he laughed softly. Once a thief.

He thought he could hear talking from upstairs. What sounded like a few women and a man. The man had to be Magnus. Had they already confronted Arfor? Magnus would have to go through him to take her out of here before he’d had his questions answered. He heard a scream and a thud as something heavy hit the floor and he found himself running up the stairs, taking them two at a time. There was a door just ahead, light seeping out below it. He ignited the flames on his fingers briefly, checking that he was still in control and reached out a hand to the handle.

“Who were you reporting to, Jayden? We know you were – one of the Brothers saw you sending off pigeons every few days. We know it was someone close to the plains. Tell me and I’ll make this easier for you.”

When there was no response, he sighed and let the knife grind into the boy’s cheek a little.

“This can happen one of two ways. Either you can struggle and fight and we’ll still get through the tasks that we need to or you can cooperate, tell us what we need to know and then this can all be over quickly. Then once we’re done and you’ve gone on to a better place, I’ll write a letter to your mother myself and let hew know. I imagine with everything that’s been going on lately she’ll be terribly worried about you. Don’t you think a letter will bring her comfort? Would you really abandon her like that without any word? I’m sure a good boy like you wants his mother to have some comfort in these difficult times.”

All resistance seemed to go out of the boy and he slumped again in the Brothers’ grip.

“I’ll tell you. Only… swear you’ll tell my mother that I died well?”

Balden nodded impatiently and gestured for the boy to go on.

“I… I never really knew very much about her, just how to get hold of her. A…and her name. Lura, her name was Lura.”

Balden couldn’t keep the surprise off his face.

He pushed the door open and it took him a second or two to take in the scene. Lori lay on the bed, a sack pulled over her head and her arms bound. Magnus was sprawled on the floor near the window, a dagger protruding from his side and a pool of blood slowly growing beneath him. In the frozen moment while he watched, he saw one shallow rise and fall of his chest and then his attention was wrenched away.

In the centre of the room, Kaylee and Mistress Arfor grappled for a dagger, fighting each other tooth and nail. Although Kaylee was much smaller, she fought with a ferocity that surprised him. The larger woman wasn’t giving up easily though and she was just getting the upper hand when Marius threw up his hand and fire bloomed between them.

“Stop!” he shouted, fire dancing in his eyes and across his arms.

“Lura who, boy?” he asked, though he feared he knew the answer to the question. It was not a particularly common name.

“Think! You must know her full name!” he realised he was shaking Jayden and forced himself to stop, to release the crying child.

“Valina! Valina! I’m s…sorry, I couldn’t remember! I’m sorry!” he stammered, breaking down again.

So, Triman’s daughter was alive and well. He realised then why the name was especially familiar to him. It was the name of that woman whose farm he had ordered destroyed not so long ago. The one with the boy living on it. Marius. It seemed like such a staggeringly strange thing to have missed that he felt like laughing. What were the odds that the boy he’d tried so hard to have killed – even forcing the Governor to sign that absurd death warrant – had been living under her roof all this time?

Well, he had enough information now. It was time to move on.

“Now hush, Jayden,” he said, employing a small spell to keep the boy still, “it will all be over quite soon. I’m afraid I lied about it being quick though – the Well demands pain.”

He leaned closer and experimentally, gently, placed the tip of the knife over the boy’s chest. Besides a small flinch and a renewed flow of tears, Jayden held quite still. Signing contentedly, Balden brought the blade down and pushed it firmly into the soft flesh, at the same time dragging it downward a little way. Despite the magic, Jayden let out a low groan, flinching away from the knife. Balden was undeterred. Once the blade had completed its downward trip, he brought it up and to the right and then back to the point of origin, making a rough triangular wound.

Now began the real work. Jayden would be remembered by his family and most importantly by the world. Neither was likely to forget the role he played tonight.

The women stared at him as they fell backwards from the ball of flame hovering where they had been standing.

He rounded on Arfor, his hands writhing with the need to punish her.

“Explain. Now.”

His voice sounded like the flame – hungry, eager.

She flinched and stood up, brushing her skirts down.

“I know what this looks like Marius but you have to believe me. Kaylee is the one who started the fire, not I. I have been trying to take her to justice at the Academy.”

He stared at her for a moment, trying to see the trick in her words. What she said was impossible.

He turned to Kaylee and she flinched back from him.

“It’s a lie, Marius! You know me! You know I could never do such a thing. She killed everyone in the farmhouse and kidnapped me!”

He looked at both of them – it was impossible to decide between them. On one hand, the woman he loved – on the other, a woman who had taken him into her home.

When the time comes, look to the eyes. Persidies voice rang through his head again and he turned to Arfor, looking her in the eyes. He could see nothing but fear in them. Nonplussed, he turned to look at Kaylee. The same fear was in her eyes, nothing more, and nothing less. Gods! Why couldn’t you give me something useful! He had to make a decision soon – Magnus was bleeding badly and he had no idea whether Lori was injured and if so, how seriously.

He was about to turn back to Arfor when he saw Kaylee’s eyes flicker to the dagger in Magnus’ side. In that moment, he knew.

In his shock, his fire snuffed out and he collapsed on the side of the bed, staring at her.

Something feral moved in her eyes and she lunged for the dagger before he could move, ripping it out of the old man’s side, making him groan in pain. She held the dagger in front of her and suddenly her eyes were wild, filled with madness. He jumped to his feet and moved between her and Mistress Arfor, holding his hands up to stop her.

“Easy Kaylee. Just calm down. I’m sure we can talk about this and sort everything out.”

“You fool! You gods blinded fool! If you’d just killed her like you were supposed to, we could have been together! We would have been happy, Marius!”

“Kaylee, I don’t… I don’t understand. Why are you doing this?”

“Even more of a fool. Haven’t you figured it out yet, Marius? Hasn’t this little vision witch told you what your destiny is? Who she is,” she screeched, pointing the dagger at Mistress Arfor.

“Not that it matters now. Soon the world will tremble to the core. He comes.”

She looked to be steeling herself for something but he couldn’t judge what.

“What do you mean? Who is coming? Kaylee?” Despite himself, he reached out to her, trying to take the dagger.

She sprang back, the wild light in her eyes growing stronger.

“I live and die for my master! Freya will take you all,” she shouted, plunging the dagger towards her chest.

“No!”

He leapt for her, desperately trying to grab her hand. The blade sunk into her chest and her eyes shot wide open. She fell to the floor, her arms suddenly slack and her eyes vacant.

He scooped her up in his arms and cradled her, rocking from side to side. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Not at all.