Strange New Eyes

Chapter Twenty-Three - Fire

The ride was agony.

Enrick offered to hold her in his arms, like he had done to carry her away from the battle, but Aysel had insisted on riding on his back like normal-- as if anything was normal anymore. She knew she was in trouble as soon as she went to wrap her legs around him; her knee hurt so much she could barely move it, but she bit her lip and told him to go. She bit her lip so hard she drew blood as he started to run, but she did not cry out, not even when his uneven steps jostled her knee so much it felt like it was sloshing around inside her tight cloth wrappings.

She tried to focus on the sky instead of on her broken body. It was brighter now. The fire illuminated the smoke clouds from below with its harsh orange glow, turning the sky into a roof of rock over her head. It bore down on her like the weight of her worry-- if her parents had survived, if Dunyasha was hurt, and, although she didn't want to care, what would happen to Enrick.

His steps were not nearly as graceful as Dunyasha's but they were still familiar as he carried her through the trees. But every step reminded her that she was riding on the back of a murderer, a monster by any measure. He had betrayed her and Dunyasha. He was the reason her brother was dead. He had murdered hundreds. And while a part of her, some primal part, clamored for his blood, another part wanted to hold him and keep him safe from harm.

She pushed that part down. There was no room for mercy in a war.

The low drone of an ancient chant echoed through the trees as they neared the battleground. Every beat pierced her heart, and she stared at the sky, willing her tears not to fall while she was still on Enrick's back. But when the smell of smoke and blood told her that they had arrived and she let her eyes drop, she stopped caring. She could only weep at the sight.

The red haze had finally dissipated, letting her see the full horror of the scene. She stared at a mountain of bodies shrouded in flame. The crackling fire illuminated glassy eyes, bashed-in faces, slashed abdomens, ripped throats as it fed off the charring remains of those who had been on the bottom of the pile.

Oh Ancient Ones, it looked like half of her village was burning.

Aysel released her arms from Enrick's shoulders and slid off his back. Her knee buckled and she gasped with pain, but she limped forward anyway. She needed to see the faces. She pushed past the red-cloaked figures that stood weeping and chanting around the fire, and walked so close the heat was almost unbearable. Were her parents in this fire? Was Dunyasha? Her eyes leapt from face to burning face, searching desperately--

"What are you doing?" Enrick asked. "You shouldn't be walking on that leg. We need to find a Letter to heal you."

She shook him off. "My parents-- Dunyasha--" she choked through her tears. The smoke burned her lungs with every breath.

"Aysel, you need to--"

"Aysel?" a new voice asked.

She whirled around. There, miraculously unharmed, were her parents.

Her leg gave out as she ran towards them, but her mother caught her and held her tight. "You're okay," Aysel heard her mother repeating over and over again as she wept into her shoulder.

"You're okay," Aysel replied. "I was worried you might have..."

"We arrived as the battle was ending," her father said, stepping in to give her a hug of his own. "When I saw Beast fighting Beast, I could hardly believe it, but I suppose you were right. The Ancient Ones did lead you on a path to unite our peoples. Today I saw with my own eyes as we stood together in battle."

"Actually..." Aysel pulled away and looked at Enrick.

Her mother smiled. "You rallied your people to help ours?"