章 114: - Whispers and Wonders: The Fire Lighting the Night
The Manor was in flames even as Lia made her way through the halls, her body being pulled behind Cain who chased after the fleeing figures of Saul and his group of guardsmen. From hall to hall they ran, flames licking the walls with a burning touch that spread to the roof, tearing the expensive tables, chairs, even the golden arches were now covered in a flaming rust.
It was the beginning of the end for this chapter of the Manor. The Dorrows had fled somewhere, Marcus must have made his escape out one of the many exits, and the whole house was turning into ash even as they fled as fast as they could to the nearest exit.
Lia watched as Cain's hand gripped her wrist, his body bouncing from one hall to the other, dragging her along like a rag doll about to be caught in the fire.
"Cain, where are we going?"
"Anywhere but here!"
He called back, barely giving her a glance over his shoulder as his pace quickened before coming to an abrupt stop, her body slamming into his back from the sudden stop.
Before him nearly ten of the same guardsmen Lia had seen before stood around Rian, Lukali, and Saul, who carried Winslow over his shoulder. Before them a wall of fire consumed the ceiling and walls around them.
"This way is blocked! We have to go around!"
Saul half turned around, ready to race against the fire at his back until Cain kept his facing forward, one hand on his shoulder.
"The halls behind us are closed off. This place is coming down - we don't have a choice!"
He gestured to the wall of fire that stood before them, Saul's gaze hardening as he learned of what he was suggesting.
"You're insane! We can't make it through there! We'll all be burned alive!"
Cain smiled, his grip on Lia's wrist loosening as he took a step before them, pushing everyone back several steps as the fire raged behind them, another sea of flames consuming the very ground they once stood on.
Lia, seeing this, turned to call after Cain, held back only by Rian's strong arms.
"Cain, don't. You can't fight fire with fire!"
He smirked, giving her a cold glance over his shoulder.
"Says who?"
At once he reached out with both hands before him, crossing them over his face as his eyes panned over the wall of flames that burned everything it touches to ash and dust.
The fire seemed to react to his gesture, the wisps of fire turned towards him like they were dancing to a tune, as he gripped his hands into fists, slamming them to his side in one quick gesture.
The result of his unseen magic came in the sound of a loud crack - a snap like a wooden log had been snapped in half, as the fire pulled itself form the walls, the furniture, the floor, all flying towards Cain enveloping his body in a cloak of fire before disappearing behind him.
The wall of fire was gone, the remnants of its presence seen only in the charred remains of the things it burned through.
Cain gave a simple nod of his head before he grabbed Lia's wrist, flying down the hall, closely followed by the rest.
The sounds of wood popping behind them as the halls began caving in on themselves.
They were making their escape.
***
A hand gripped the wooden railing, a labored breath echoing through the foggy morning, the smell of smoke and ash vivid in the air around him.
A man with misty gray hair, wet with his sweat, leaned over the railing, his leather armor hooked to his chest sagged unevenly before him, loose and about ready to fall.
He pulled free the leather chest plate, letting it fall on the muddy ground, still wet from yesterday's rain shower, as he turned his gaze over the scene before him.
The man looked over the cliff, mesmerized by the view, mountains pulling themselves like tall pillars of thick stone reaching towards the sky. Thick woods and rivers full of fresh water ran themselves through the land between these tall pillars of stone. An even fog spanned over the land before him, highlighting the beauty of this scenery.
But the man didn't care for it, he was too busy catching his breath, having chased the footprints of some unknown two for yards. His lungs were still full of smoke from the fire that burned his once beautiful home to ash.
To his left, he laid eyes on his lover, her body handing over the railings breathing hard from the same smoke he had inhaled before. Her body curved with smooth and pale skin that complemented her pale and white hair. It made his uneven and dirty gray hair look dull in comparison.
Even though her face was red from running, she looked beautiful in the morning sun's rays.
"Malkova, can you sense them?"
Though a summons senses were far sharper than that of a humans, Malkova's were nothing in comparison to Cain's, and thus, the woman shook her head, leaving only a sad look in her eyes.
"Agh….!"
Voln placed his forehead on the wooden railing, yelling out his anger, before his voice turned to the open air before him, letting his fury fly to the skies' limit.
"Agh!!!!"
His voice echoed off the mountains, the trees, the fields of flowers and grass that blew in the fresh morning wind.
"We were so close!!"
Voln grabbed at his hair, pulling at it in anger. Five years of hard work, putting up wit the constant searches, Hunters, his hunger, the weather and nature's rage. He had put up with it all.
Even the occasional body he would find in the woods, maids or butlers murdered and framed as a suicide. It reminded him of why he was doing what he was doing. Why his anger was carrying him so far.
But now, none of that mattered. Everything he had worked for, all the pain he had endured, the nightmares he slept through. They were all for nothing.
Nothing had come from any of it. His family had made their escape, confident they could start fresh somewhere new. The Scholar's Chapel men may have been burned, but there were still a great number of them out there in the world, and they would surely hunt him down once they learned of what had happened here.
It was all for nothing.
Nothing.
Voln leaned his back against the railing, sliding to the ground with Malkova's sad hand on his shoulder. Even though he knew he was angry, he found tears flowing down his cheeks in helplessness.
He now had nothing. And there was no way of getting any of it back.
"I'm sorry dad…I'm so sorry…"
Amidst his violent and choked sobs, Malkova stroked Voln's hair attempting to brush away the depression eating away at his heart. He felt so helpless and lost that even the thought of falling over the railing did not go unnoticed in his mind.
Suddenly, with his head in his hands, Voln felt a slight tug at his sleeve, incessant and needy.
"Stop Malkova. I'm not in the mood for kind words. Just…just leave me alone."
The tugging became harder, more needy as Voln's patience was wearing thin. Finally, after a short time of this constant pulling, he turned to Malkova with a sharp tone to his voice.
"What? What do you want?!"
He stopped immediately as soon as his eyes landed on her face, which was turned away from him, her eyes wide at the sight of something in the distance along the forest line. Even as Voln turned his head to gaze at what had caused this reaction in Malkova, his suspicions already told him what it was.
In the distance, amidst the fog and the dark wooden background, a small floating flame danced in the air, attached to nothing but the empty space around it. The flame danced and flickered threatening to go out, but just as Voln narrowed his eyes leaning closer to the fire, the small flame shot to the side in a streak of orange and red before stopping again in mid air.
It was waiting for him. Waiting for him to follow.
Malkova's worried gaze did not hinder Voln's trance as he stood up slowly, taking a step forward, prepared to chase the fire. But Malkova's grip on his wrist stopped him, forcing him to turn, facing her fear filled eyes.
Malkova never did like him. In fact, Voln knew that Malkova was terrified of the man.
But he wasn't.
"This is it Malkova. This is what he promised us…"
He turned his head towards the flame as it shot out deeper into the woods, ready for him to follow close behind.
"...he's leading the way for us."
Though Malkova wanted to argue, she did not. Having seen the tears flowing from Voln's eyes a moment ago, she did not wish to see the man she loved so dearly to cry again. Thus, she slowly stood, her white hair falling behind her, waving in the wind, and gripped Voln's hand tightly.
As one, they set off after the flickering flame, as it danced its way deeper into the woods.
Father down the trail to their goal.
***
The group stopped just as soon as they entered the deeper section of the woods, their lungs already out for breath. Saul was speaking with the guardsmen farther away from the group as Lia watched
Rian fed Winslow a small green mixture of herbs one of the men had on them by chance.
The herbs were more of a concoction Cain had created for him, in order for his bones and bruised muscles to heal. It would take him far before he would need to rest again, but by then, they would have reached the nearest town.
"Have all the housekeepers made their escape?"
Lia asked as she sat down next to Winslow. His uneven and whitening hair drenched in sweat did not look well for his age. In fact, it made him look more sick than she feared he was.
However, despite this look, he spoke with the same politeness and tenacity she had heard in his voice a dozen times before.
"I believe so. The morning after your little late night visit, Saul had told me about the arriving Chapel men. So, being afraid for their safety, I ordered them all to go home for the week."
He gave Lia a side glance, his eyes full of knowing.
"I knew they wouldn't be back ever again, so I didn't bother hiding it. They'll hear about it soon, so I have no need to worry."
Lia glanced over at the group of guardsmen who were now shaking hands with Saul, thanking him for something.
"And what about them?"
"Oh, well…I'm not entirely sure. I asked Saul to escort all the employees to the nearest town, but I didn't expect him to be back with more men. Ha.."
He sighed, holding his head in his hand.
"I guess he figured it out."
"I guess he did."
Lia shrugged, resting her back against the tree trunk. Her lungs were heaving at the taste of fresh air, having been full of only smoke and short gusts of wind due to Cain pulling her along after him.
It was refreshing to relax again, and soon, she found Saul sitting down before both her and Winslow, joining them under the shade of the large Helm tree.
"Done having your chat with your friends?"
She asked, smiling as Saul returned her smile with his own.
"Yes. I asked them to help me get you guys out of there. They're on their way back home now, and I've bid them goodbye."
Saul watched as his men fled down the trial, some draping their arms over their buddies laughing with one another, a smile on his face.
"You think you'll see them again?"
"Maybe. Maybe not."
He turned to face her, his smile turning into a slight frown.
"Hope you don't mind me asking but, was that man back there your…?"
"Summons? Yes."
Lia nodded her head, resting it back against the hardwood of the tree's bark.
"His name is Cain."
"Well, I would be surprised that I heard your summons speak, if I wasn't already eternally grateful for his help in getting us out of there."
Lia smiled, glancing around the group. But soon that smile turned to a frown as she slowly leaned forward, turning her head left and right.
"Wait…where's Cain?"
The man was gone and Lia had not once heard him leave, nor had she seen him since he was making Winlsow's medicine.
Rian and Lukali also glanced around, only to find no one but themselves.
"Maybe he-"
Before Luklai could say anything, a small cluster of bushes farther down the path rustled, before two figures emerged from deeper within the woods. Rian, Lukali, and Lia were already on their feet by the time they heard the sound, confident in it being a Chapel member who escaped the fire.
However , much to their surprise, it wasn't.
"Voln?"
Saul called out, standing beside Lia as his gaze lingered on the gay haired man.
"Saul?"
Voln's eyes narrowed as he struggled to make out the man from afar, but his eyes soon adjusted to the clearing light, even as his eyes passed over Lia and her friends.
"You…You all made it out alive?"
"Yeah, not thanks to you."
Rian stepped forward, tempted to give the man a good punch to the jaw for leaving them behind, but Lia stopped him, reaching out an arm across his path.
"Why are you here Voln? Weren't you too busy chasing the Dorrows to busy yourself with us?"
Lia asked, her voice mocking the man before her, some part of her own anger edging her words like a grindstone of steel.
Voln however, didn't flinch one bit. Instead, his eyes narrowed as he understood the meaning behind her words.
"Alright, where are they?"
"Where are who?"
Voln's face twisted in anger at the sound of Lia's sarcastic tone.
"Don't play coy with me! I know you have them!"
"Who?"
"The Dorrows! Who else?"
Lia turned to glance behind her, as if she had missed the Dorrows in their little group of tired and battle-ridden people. But even before she could speak, Saul's voice cut through the air around them.
"The Dorrows aren't here Voln. Whatever you thought you were chasing hasn't made their way through here."
Though Saul said it calmly and in a reassuring tone, Voln staggered back a step, as if the words were some living representation of a weapon slicing through his flesh.
"Don't lie to me. I followed the flame! It led me here -"
"Wait. The flame?"
Lia's voice cut through Voln's words like a knife with the sharpest edge.
"Yes, 'The flame.' I followed it here, and you're the only one that uses fire magic for miles around here."
Voln pointed a stabbing finger in Lia's direction, now confident that it was she who led him here. Whether that was to mock him or not, he had still not given up hope that the Dorrows were hiding somewhere close.
However, her next words cut his hopes to pieces.
"I'm not the only one…"
Just as her words left her mouth, the "flame" that Voln was talking about shot out from behind him, zigzagging its way across the space between them before shooting off deeper into the forest.
Their eyes watched the woods, the pressure weighing in on the air between them was as heavy as the mountains that surrounded them. But even as those wary enough to draw their blades moved, the brush surrounding the spot their eyes lingered on burst into flames, turning everything around it to ash in seconds before dissipating into the air.
A body flung itself from behind the nearly burned bushes, tumbling to the ground before stopping. The body was of Mr. Dorrow, who groaned from the pain of falling onto the cold and hard ground.
A figure emerged from the trees taking a step into the light, revealing himself as Cain, who held Mrs. Dorrow is his hand, struggling against his grip.
However, despite her struggling, he tossed her to the ground beside her husband, taking little care in how rough he was with her as she yelped in surprise.
Lia's wide eyes watched him as he stood above them on higher ground, his eyes passing between her and Voln before she spoke.
"Cain…you…you?"
Her eyes lingered on the groaning figures of the Dorrows, her mind racing, trying to understand his intentions.
But she didn't need to wonder any longer.
"Every story has an end, Lia."
His eyes were cold, calm, but above all, neutral as they passed from her to Voln.
The red flame rested calmly in his hands as he spoke, but his eyes never left the man before him.
"It's time this story ended."
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