Capítulo 23: Conflict
"Like a campfire?" Syd asked in a low voice.
"I'm not sure," Rayvad said.
Syd and Brightise pushed their horses a couple of steps forward, until they were standing right next to Rayvad. There was indeed a faint white light shining between the trees a few meters ahead of them.
The frown on Rayvad's face deepened as he kept looking at it. "Let's approach quietly on foot," he said.
The four of them jumped down from their horses silently. Forgetting about her injuries, Brightise tried to pick Clober up in her arms.
Syd rushed to stop her. "I'll carry her!"
After he lifted the sleepy girl, Rayvad opened the lantern and blew the flame off. "Walk slowly and watch where you're going."
Brightise and Syd followed his pale white form until the light started to get clearer and brighter. When they looked around a wide tree trunk and discovered its source, they all exhaled in relief.
The light was radiating off the petals of a bunch of tall beautiful flowers.
"Midnight Sunflowers," Syd whispered as Rayvad's body relaxed visibly.
"I thought you had seen them before," Brightise whispered back. She had never come across such a flower in her life before, but Rayvad had paid Larryself for his sword with Midnight Sunflower Seeds the previous day.
"He thought it was something else," Syd explained thoughtfully.
"Like what?" asked Brightise.
Rayvad looked at her solemnly before he answered. "We heard rumors about more Fire Demon sightings while we were in Linvas," he said.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You were injured. We didn't want to worry you."
Brightise felt the blood in her veins boil. "Have you even seen a Fire Demon in your life?" she asked them angrily.
Rayvad and Syd shook their heads silently.
"Well, I have!" she said as quietly as she could, so as not to wake Clober. "I was right there when it burned down Clober's school! I could have told you from 100 meters away that this was not a Fire Demon. The flames on their hands and hair burn bright orange, not neon white."
She couldn't believe they had kept this kind of information from her. She needed to know about any rumor that might have an influence on her or her sister's safety.
"Is this why you don't get along with the Amazons? Because you think you know better than women and can choose what information they deserve to know?"
She knew this was uncalled for the moment she said it, but she was too angry to filter her thoughts. This was her sister's life at stake. If a Fire Demon was lurking around, she needed to be prepared.
She expected Rayvad to yell back at her, to say she was a child who couldn't control her tempter and subsequently couldn't handle that kind of information, but instead he nodded curtly and said, "Message received. We'll keep you in the loop."
Syd seemed just as surprised as Brightise by his calm demeanor.
Without another word, Rayvad turned around and headed back to the spot where they had left their horses.
"How about we camp here for the night?" he asked Brightise with a strange expression on his face.
"Okay," Brightise answered.
As soon as they settled down and Brightise made sure Clober was still asleep and comfortable, Syd stood up awkwardly.
"I think I'll go pick up those flowers," he told them. "We could exchange them back at the camp for other goods."
Rayvad nodded in agreement. When his brother was too far from them to hear anything, he turned and told Brightise seriously, "Don't be mad at Syd. It was my call."
Brightise didn't say anything. She had figured as much.
"Just so you know, I'm not worried about you setting fire to the forest anymore."
Brightise looked up at him in surprise, but he avoided her eyes. The soles of his boots suddenly seemed very interesting to him.
"Why are you still following us then?" she asked him.
"It's our job to patrol the forest. Patrolling duty is slightly less tedious when you have company."
Brightise raised her eyebrows at him. "I wouldn't think it's tedious when there are Fire Demon sighting rumors circulating," she told him.
Rayvad didn't contradict her.
"Just admit you are having fun with us," Brightise said with a teasing smile.
Rayvad grinned at her. "The little one is fun. You are merely tolerable," he teased her right back.
"I can live with that."
By the time Syd came back with the Midnight Sunflowers, they were both in a joyous mood.
"Did you sign a peace treaty yet, or do I need to leave for another 30 minutes? I can pick flowers at tortoise speed if I need to," he told them.
Rayvad threw a piece of grass at him.
"Learn to take a joke, man!" Syd told him.
Then he stashed the Midnight Sunflowers in his saddlebag, so they wouldn't attract attention to them in the dark forest, and sat down next to his brother.
"Now that you two have agreed not to kill each other, I think we might have a chance of getting to Lake Falad in the next ten days."
"What about if I kill you?" Rayvad asked him with a grin.
"I wouldn't recommend that. It would take you way longer, because you would have to carry my body and horse back to River Draban."
"Fair point," Rayvad answered.
Brightise leaned back against a tree trunk with a small smile on her lips. She caught herself feeling slightly affectionate towards those two idiots. She had no idea what would happen after she reached the Amazon camp, but she believed the next few days would be enjoyable enough to make up for that.
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