Born Of Fire

Born Of Fire Chapter 23

 Sorry it's short guys, but I banged this out in a rush. More coming soon!

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“We are getting off subject,” interrupted Ember. “What are we going to do?”

Silence reigned on the rooftop. After a long moment, Phoenix spoke again. “Ember, you have obviously been thinking about this for quite some time. What do you have in mind?”

Embers eyes twinkled in the star light. “We take the fight to them. Find more of Demetrius’ Zuhdalay, and you take their powers.”

Phoenix balked. “You realize that me taking other peoples powers seems to require their death, right?”

Embers reply was quick, and well rehearsed. “A necessary evil to protect our home. The Zuhdalay who fight for him are evil anyway, and would not hesitate to do the same to you.”

Phoenix was beginning to see what Ember meant, but still argued. “We would be leaving the village unguarded. What if they attack again?”

“Anon, Secrat and the others could protect it well enough if they know you wont be here.”

Lindani broke in, her voice strong. “She is right Phoenix.”

Phoenix turned to Lindani in disbelief. “You too?”

Lindani nodded, and Phoenix turned to Spedro. “And what say you?”

Spedro did not reply right away, instead looked towards the stars filling the night sky. The three waited patiently until he brought his chin to his chest and sighed. “They are right Phoenix. His armies will not stop until this village is razed. If you acquiring the other two elements is the only way, then so be it. If an even larger force comes next time, we may survive, but the village may not.”

Phoenix looked between the three of them, wondering how they had all come to the same conclusion that he had. With a shake of his head and a low chuckle, he admitted defeat. “We leave in the morning then. Traveling village to village, tracking the armies of Demetrius.”

A nod passed between the four as the decision was cemented.

The next morning Phoenix rose with the sun. He lay in bed for a moment, remembering the events of the night before. A whisper of fabric caught his attention and he sat up with a start. It sounded again and he rose from his bed silently. Peeking around the threshold of his doorway into the living area, he spied Lindani moving languidly in the middle of the room. Her arms extended to the side, she brought them close to her sides, then angled her palms outward. Bringing her arms up above her head, she stretched onto her toes, then settled into a crouch. Moving swiftly, her leg shot out and she spun on her other toe. Sweeping her imaginary opponent, she stood back up quickly, then dropped back onto her knee with a strike aimed to crush an opponents ribcage.

“And why are you up so early?” Lindani asked, not even turning to look at Phoenix, who wondered how she knew he was there.

“We leave today,” Phoenix said simply.

Lindani turned to him, and his eyes widened. She wore a green shirt, topped with a plate of thick leather to protect her chest and abdomen. Greaves covered her shins, and a larger than normal water skin adorned her hip. Finding his voice, Phoenix asked, “What are you wearing?”

“If everything goes according to plan, we will encounter much resistance on our journey.”

Phoenix stepped into the room, and sat in one of the obsidian armchairs Spedro had fashioned for them. “And how should we handle this resistance?”

Lindani stepped closer to him and sat on the arm of the chair. Leaning her head closer to him, she whispered, “We kill them all. To avenge those they killed, those we loved.”

A throat was cleared, and Phoenix jumped out of the chair, startled. Spedro stood in the doorway of his own room, smirk painting his face. “If you two are finished? We really must be going.”

Ember stumbled out of her room, eyes blurry with sleep. Without a word to anyone, she made her way to the washroom. Spedro and Lindani looked at Phoenix questioningly before he chuckled and spoke. “That is not a woman you want to mess with before she has fully woken. She turns into a She-Demon quite quickly.”