Empire of Blood

Chapter 12: The Forest

"I know what the Empress said," the boy snapped but stopped. Kiba squinted at him, wondering if he was arguing with himself or the dragon. "I'm sorry," the boy ruefully said, "It frustrates me. I'm trying to be better, and I've been doing what I can to help, but then I'm forced into these situations I have neither say nor control over." He waved his hand in the fire; the flames under his palm changed from yellow and orange to blue and purple.

Kiba was taken by surprise by his sorcery and growled. What is this magic?

He spat on the ground. "Selena confuses me by trying so hard to protect everyone when most of the world has already accepted its fate. I've admitted mine, but why can't she?"

Kiba crept closer but held her breath when she stepped on a small twig, snapping it. Her heart raced, ticking and thumping in her ears; ensuring her party escaped, she ran as fast as she could, feeling frightened for the first time. Both Doragon and the boy immediately looked in her direction, but Kiba and her hunters fled deeper into the forest before they were seen.

*****

Hours had passed before Thor returned from making his rounds with Selena and Rahim, but he took a slight detour and caught two large wild boars; he ate one in mid-flight before returning to camp but saved the other until he landed.

Doragon gorged on a pile of trout and catfish after finishing off the basket while Azrael busied in fishing for more. Selena and Rahim joined him as Thor tore into his catch and licked his chops when he finished devouring the pig in two bites. He snorted before taking several large mouthfuls of river water, gathering fish in every swallow.

Selena sat beside him and watched before her stomach growled; Azrael groaned and pulled his empty line away. "Soon, there won't be any fish left."

Thor backed away from the riverbank and gave him a long, irritated groan. The putrid air from his throat made him gag, and Azrael fell on his back, coughing. Grumbling, he approached Doragon, who nudged the rest of his untouched food towards him, and prepared their meals to roast over the open fire.

Yet, Rahim dug through their remaining supplies, searching for jerky, while Azrael seasoned the meat with salt and pepper; Selena looked at him in disbelief and said, "We just restocked. Please don't tell me that you've been eating it all."

Rahim was about to bite into a piece of cured pork before setting it down. "I-I haven't; there's more in here. I'm sorry, but I get so hungry on long trips."

"Azrael is making our food—you can wait."

Rahim grumbled and reluctantly packed away the rest and crouched beside the fire, arms crossed. Once he placed their fish over the fire to cook, Azrael pulled out a map from his nearby bag. "We should be right around here," he said after placing a finger where it read 'Hinterlands' and moving it across the parchment, "I'm hoping that we'll get to Rhumbek by tomorrow, but there's no telling."

"That's what I'm good for," Rahim called out and attempted to snatch it away, but Azrael was faster; he rolled it up before Rahim could get close.

When assured that Rahim retreated, Azrael announced, "Since the Council forced Doragon and me to go on this assignment, I might as well keep us on track."

Rahim's nostrils flared; flames would have erupted if he possessed the aptitude. "I don't care. I'm always the map guy. Besides, I know your mission is critical, but we still need to track down those monsters that took Niamh."

"Our assignment is more important," Azrael snapped. "Niamh will be fine for a while, and we may even run into those creatures, but we still need to focus on the eggs. I think preparing for this upcoming war is more important than rescuing one person."