In shadows danced a flickering desire, A soul entranced by flames' alluring choir.

With every wisp that danced in the night, They felt a pull, a longing to take flight.

In the heart of ember's sultry embrace, They found a world where boundaries erase.

A dance of orange, red, and golden hue, A tantalizing tango, forever anew.

ACT II:

BY FIRE

Chapter 13: Chasing Shadows

The steam powered city of Nabiil

Never thought I'd miss the noise of this city. I'm a desert girl. Hooves clopping on sandy roads sounded a lot more natural than they do on concrete. But I suppose I should be grateful to hear anything right now.

My ears would still ring occasionally after what that banshee Chakma did. I'll never, ever, forget her! She stole the one thing I wanted the most!

"Look, momma!" D.J. exclaimed, pointing joyfully to the sky. "Another flying boat!"

I rubbed his hair and smiled. She stole the second thing I wanted the most. "It's called a chariot, D.J. Would you like to ride one?"

D.J shook his head, heartily.

"Awh, How come? You've never been on one before." I looked over the crowded street and spotted Casper. I threw him a wave. He said he wanted to meet me here today. I wonder what was on his mind. "Afternoon, Casper. Come, sit with us."

"Amara, I don't have a lot of time to talk," he said, fishing a pouch from his coat. "I just wanted to give you back your deposit."

Money? Was hoping he had that Rebirth! "You mean, what I paid you? Keep it." I dismissed.

"The job was incomplete. You should take your money back or I could search for another...."

"Casper," I left the bench and looked him in his dark, brown eyes. "The last thing I want to do is send you after another Rebirth. You could get hurt or killed. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if something happened to you because of me. So, please, keep the money. You might run across another traveling salesman with more kindling."

He looked at me with a surprise, kind of confused expression on his face. Was this the first time a customer refused a refund?

"If you're certain," he said.

"Why don't you sit for a minute and watch the chariots with us?" I invited.

"No, thank you. I've got somewhere else to be." He tipped his hat and continued on his way.

"Take care of yourself!" I sat back into my seat and tried not to think about Casper's next dangerous adventure. If he wanted to continue Rebirth hunting, that was his business. He really should try settling down, though. It might do him some good.

I mean, he might grow to like me...er..it. He might like it.

......

...Anyway...

I grabbed the news flyer from the bench and skimmed over it. There was an announcement from the Ahrmanian capital that I ignored at first. After the crown sent their royal dog to destroy my home and murder my husband, I wasn't too interested in Parigrah.

But then, something in bold caught my attention. "D.J, you and mommy are going for a ride on a chariot."

***

Somewhere else....

The ally ways were how I liked them; dark and empty. Shadows worked in my favor, after all. I've borne several runes during my time as a Royal Guard; this one was by far the easiest to manipulate.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Although sometimes I feel like it was manipulating me. After what happened with Damnation, the thought of being controled by a rune was unnerving, to say the least.

Being able to blend into the shadows was automatic; I don’t even have to think about it. And that helps me focus on my mission: find the Sisten and save the queen.

If she’s still alive.

Jericha believed Queen Katherine was being held captive somewhere; that the rune she gave Katherine was her only saving grace. I wasn’t as hopeful. I knew Sisten; he had no reason to keep her alive.

Either way the crown needed confirmation; good or bad.

Plus there was only so much wool we could pull over the public’s eyes before they became suspicious. With the queen being out of their eyes for so long, rumors were beginning to spread.

I hope Jericha’s plan to appease the masses works. I don’t think that the kingdom couldn’t take the loss of the queen as well.

Anyway, I was getting close to the rogue encampment. An informant claimed to have seen a man fitting Sisten’s description hang around here on several occasions. Not surprising. The Ozarks was his home.

Bar flies, bums, and bushwackers; the Ozarks was one of the most lawless territories on the continent. As far as I was concerned, no one here was fit to live. Someone really wipe this place off the map.

Hmph......Now where did that thought come from?

Let’s stay on point, Breuke. The sun was set to rise shortly which would make prowling through the shadows a lot more challenging.

By the looks of the empty bottle in his hand, the guard outside the gate was likely sleeping off a drunk. So far so good.

There were voices not too far ahead, though. None of them sounded familiar. I peeked around the corner to see what was going on. Just four...maybe five rogues gathered around a table, playing cards, counting coins...

No sign of Sisten. I guess that would be too easy. There weren’t that many men here, but there were loads of weapons. Were they expecting company?

Huh? A rider headed this way?

A heavy set man trotted into the encampment on a dusty horse with half a dozen more in tow. He likely stole all of them.

Still not Sisten and early morning rays were starting to peek through the surrounding brush.

There was enough darkness for me to ease a little closer and catch them all by surprise. But the closer I got, the clearer their voices became. Understanding them through their thick Ozark accent took a second or two. Wasn’t sure if they were saying push or putsch. When one of them mentioned a revolt, I knew exactly what was on the agenda.

The horses, the weapon stockpiles; these men were planning to overthrow the crown. And if that’s the case, their plans need to be squashed immediately.

I drew my sword and stepped out of the shadows. “ By order of the Royal Guard, I’m placing you men under arrest!”

“The farge..?!” a startled bandit exclaimed, falling backwards in his chair.

The others didn’t hesitate to raise their swords against mine. Like I said, I’m a Royal Guard. If I fell to this trash, I’d turn in my rune.

“What’re yar doin’ sneakin’ ‘round ‘ere, royal scum?” the heavy set bandit asked, longsword at the ready.

“Did you think we didn’t know about your foolish plot to overthrow the crown?” I claimed.

The man grinned. “What crown?”

He lunged at me ready to draw blood. I’d have to admit, he was a better swordsman than his friends. But he was still trash and making him regret challenging me was easy.

I twisted his arm behind his back and slammed him to the ground. “How many of you insurrectionists are there?”

“I’m not tellin’ yer nothin’, yer filthy royal scum!”

“You can either cooperate here or in a vault,” I said, tightening my grip. “No food. No water. No light of day. And no escape until you talk.”

“Yer don’t scare me!”

“Maybe it’s time I did.” I began to manipulate the surrounding shadows and envelop the Ozarkian in suffocating darkness. “A friend of mine claimed my eyes turn completely black when I do this. I’ve never looked in a mirror to check so I’ll ask you..”

In a lower, more menacing tone, I smiled like a fiend in a children’s book. A couple of shadow fangs should set his heart racing too. “Can you see the white of my eyes?”

The darkness pressed on him like a boulder, causing him to gasp and wheeze. His struggles were music to my ears. Did I really need to take this one alive?

“Killin’ me won’t...stop what’s comin’...!”

“And what’s that?” I asked. But before the bandit could respond he was engulfed in fiery light. A very hot light.

I jumped back and watched everyone of the bandits light up like a star. Then, in an instance, they were gone..?

Nothing but a whole lot of burnt grass to remember them by? Were they all dead? That had to be some kind of heat to burn men to death and leave nothing behind.

An extremely hot fire.

Quite impressive Sisten.

I could almost feel the heat of his presence on my skin. Show yourself. “Come out and face me, Sisten! Where’s the queen?!”

The heat immediately subsided, everything seemed normal again. But that was him; I know it was him. I need to find a griffon rider. Fast.

The Royal Guard has a big problem.