The Archer & the Flame (Whispers of the Night Ravens #1)

Chapter 9

It took less than a day for me to regret asking for Silas’ help.

“Are you sure it’s this way?” I asked, glancing between the map and dozens of winding paths. With no easy means of figuring out where they led, we’d lingered on the outskirts of the Blossom Sea for a while, frozen by indecision. The pressure of choosing the right route had only brought on a headache.

Silas was attempting to lead me down one which veered off just ahead of us, towards an arch of twisted branches, crooked and gnarly, my least favourite suggestion. Even its entrance, bereft of the vividness of the meadows, gave me an uneasy feeling. But with our alliance newly forged, I thought better of shooting him down without hearing him out first.

“Do you have a better idea?” he said.

“No,” I admitted. “But we should think this through carefully.”

“I’m taking this one,” he said, ignoring me and striding ahead with such confidence that I felt compelled to follow.

I sighed, reminding myself that I had a purpose for bringing him along. That his powerful magic would be useful to weather the challenges ahead.

“What happened back there with your Blessing?” I asked instead, Silas’ body shading me from the sunlight as I trailed behind him towards the arch. “It was like you were someone else.”

“You weren’t complaining at the time.”

“And I’m not complaining now, either. But I’ve never heard of a Blessing taking over someone’s entire body like that. I thought it was contained to your hands?” The power he’d displayed was staggering. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.

“No. As long as my hands are free to conjure the first flame, there are no limits, but it’s easy to lose control when using so much power. It’s like the magic has a mind of its own. If you don’t master it, you can lose all sense of reality.” He faced me, his boldness melting away, leaving behind an unexpected vulnerability.

“Then why did you?” I asked, surprised he’d risked so much.

“You helped me when I needed you. Returning the favour was the right thing to do. My Blessing tapped into that thought and channelled more power than I knew what to do with. The safest solution was to burn some of it away.” He smirked. “And who can resist a dramatic entrance?”

The archway led to a crop of trees, but where the Yewdew Forest was teeming with wildlife, this forest was its opposite. There was no fear of straying from the path, because it simply wasn’t possible, every inch of space taken up by thorny brambles and dead branches. A distinct chill clung to it, like it had never known the comforting caress of the sun.

Our steps crunched on a carpet of twigs that littered the ground, the only sound to be heard in the otherwise silent woodland. I kept my arms close to my sides to prevent my cloak from catching on the undergrowth. Bare trees twisted around each other, shielding the forest from any sunlight and shrouding us in near darkness until Silas summoned a flame. The fire masked the musty, stagnant odour lingering in the air with a pleasant, smoky aroma. It relaxed me, if only slightly.

I didn’t have much experience with the places touched by the curse, but I knew deep in my heart this was one of them. The very essence of the forest felt hollow, like something crucial was missing.

I was familiar enough with the stories. During the Malus era, over a thousand years ago, Idrix was ravaged by war. The enemy, a warrior race, sought to conquer Idrix and its rich resources for themselves. They hadn’t expected us to fight back. Years passed of death, destruction and despair, until one day, when the tide was finally turning in our favour, the enemy released a devastating curse. It ate away at everything that sustained Idrix, from its connection to the gods, to the divine magic they’d used to forge it.

If they couldn’t have Idrix, no one could.

Over the years, many had tried to break the curse, only succeeding at slowing down its destruction. Pockets of decay littered the realm, where every drop of magic had been consumed, leaving only bleak emptiness behind. One day, there would be nothing left, and Idrix would cease to exist. Just a forgotten memory.

I shivered at the prospect of the rest of the realm becoming as lifeless as the forest, the crowded streets of the capital eerily empty, the Blossom Sea sapped of colour, the flowers withered and dry; carriages stopped on the High Road with no one to ride in them.

Now I realised why so many opted to take the High Road to Gladhaven, despite being hounded by merchants and opportunists. Being in this place felt wrong, an unsettling sensation that made my skin crawl.

“Silas,” I grumbled, berating myself for following him without a fight.

“I had a good feeling about it. I suppose I may have been mistaken.”

That was an understatement.

Attempting to salvage things before they became worse, I consulted my map, using the light of his fire to read it. My finger trailed across the parchment as I searched for where we’d ended up. “Let’s retrace our steps.”

Silas flopped to the ground with his legs stretched out in front of him, undeterred by the horrified look on my face. “Can’t we stop for a bit? We’ve been walking for ages.”

He had yet to build up the stamina that journeying took. It reminded me of my early missions and how long they’d taken me, needing to rest every few hours to recover my strength. Now, with decades of experience under my belt, firm muscle had built in my calves, and I only tired after days of travel.

“We should press on. There’s something off about this place,” I said.

“You didn’t let us stop last time, either. At this rate, you’ll need to carry me the rest of the way.”

Our debate was interrupted by the arrival of another.

A young lady approached us. She was fresh-faced with round, rosy cheeks and kind eyes. The cloak she was wearing was too big for her, swamping her body, a basket with a lid peeking out from underneath it.

“Excuse me. I couldn’t help but overhear. I know a comfortable inn nearby if you’re looking for somewhere to rest for a while,” she said.

Her presence in this dangerous place bothered me, but before I could decline her offer and send her away, Silas enthusiastically jumped to his feet.

He pestered her with questions about the amenities of the inn. How many rooms did it have? Was the food delicious? Was the bar well-stocked? I groaned, knowing this wasn’t a battle I would win.

The young woman answered all of his questions with a good-natured spirit, but I didn’t let my guard down. Appearances could be deceiving.

Over the course of the previous day, I’d imparted my wisdom, distilling years of my experience as best as I could. It had evidently gone into one ear and out of the other. The first thing I’d told Silas was to be wary of strangers, especially those who seemed too good to be true.

I let them lead the way, laughing and trading stories as they walked. Something twisted in my gut as I watched them, at the natural warmth they shared with each other, the huge grin on Silas’ face and the answering smile that the stranger gave him. It was none of my business who he chose to interact with, so long as it didn’t derail my mission. Yet my bad mood persisted.

Everything happened too quickly.

Silas yelped as the earth gave way beneath him, a groan of pain reaching my ears as he fell into a deep pit. Its existence had been hidden on the path by a thick covering of twigs, tricking my eyes too. The woman had gracefully leapt to the side, leaving him as the sole victim.

“Silas!” I shouted, skidding to a halt just shy of the hole in the ground. He’d landed on his rear with no visible injuries, though he was covered in twigs and dead leaves. He shook his head, dispersing the debris. It wasn’t shallow enough for him to climb out, trapping him there for now.

“I’m fine,” he said. “The only thing that’s bruised is my ego.”

I faced the lady, unsurprised at the sickly-sweet smile on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, likely to continue the charade, but I interrupted her before she could.

“What do you want?” I said, my tone curt. I had no interest in playing her games.

“I have something that’s available, for a price,” she said, opening the lid of her basket to show me the coil of rope inside. Of course she did. “I’ll sell it to you for five silver coins.”

Five silvers? The rope wasn’t even worth one. The swindle was as old as time and, like a fool, I’d fallen for it, too distracted to notice what was happening around us.

I pointed an arrow at her heart. “How about a different offer? I won’t shoot you if you give me the rope.”

She laughed, barely flinching. “You think it’s the first time someone has threatened me? I’m Fire-Blessed. If you move another inch, I’ll burn it and he can rot in there.”

Silas might be an idiot, but he didn’t deserve that fate. However, without assistance, there was no way for him to escape. The smooth walls provided no foothold, she’d made sure of that, and it was too deep for me to reach over and help him out.

“Rot? That would be an awful waste of this face,” Silas said.

Five silvers would empty my coin purse, and I’d have no hope of finding the Threstian Gap without it.

“Don’t do it,” Silas said to me, the gallant fool.

Despite the words, his voice wobbled. He would be far from fine. Leaving him trapped in a forest plagued by the curse, armed only with a basic knowledge of how to survive was as good as killing him myself.

I swore, knowing I had no choice. There was no other option, and I needed him by my side. Reluctantly, I handed over the silver coins, receiving the basket in return.

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you.” She nodded, making a quick getaway before I could say another word. It was probably for the best. If there was someone who deserved to have an arrow fired at them, it was her.

My hand clenched the handle tightly, seething with rage that she’d taken advantage of us and there was nothing I could do about it. I only had myself to blame for the oversight.

I opened the basket, aiming to help Silas and get us out of the cursed forest as quickly as possible.

It was empty.

A sick feeling grew in my stomach. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong?” Silas asked.

“She tricked me. The rope was a glamour.” I kicked myself. She’d never directly offered the rope, only showing me the contents of the basket. And I’d yet again allowed myself to be fooled.

If I’d given myself a few minutes to think, had examined the basket more carefully, I would have seen the signs. Would have spotted the telltale flicker even from afar. But I’d thought the deception to be simpler, merely a case of overcharging for the rope. And now I had nothing to show for my expensive purchase, just a useless basket.

I sank to the ground. It was hopeless. No wonder Reuben had only trusted me with simple scouting missions until this point. The moment I didn’t have a plan laid out for me, I became sloppy, reckless, an embarrassment to the Night Ravens.

As if things couldn’t get worse, rain lashed from the skies, heavy enough to permeate the canopy of branches, soaking me through and leaving my skin cold and clammy.

“Hey.” Silas’ voice was soft. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure something out.”

“Like what?” I snapped, my teeth chattering. “I should never have listened to you. First, we get lost, then tricked. What’s next?”

“I’ll happily be your punching bag once you help me out of here and into a warm inn,” he said.

I wanted to bite back, but he was right. Taking out my frustration on him wouldn’t fix the problem. I focused on my breathing, giving myself room to think.

Scouts use nature’s resources to their advantage. Use the terrain, conditions, shadows, anything you can think of to help you navigate a challenging situation. Anything can become an asset if viewed from the right perspective. Reuben’s words rose to the forefront of my mind, recalling my extensive training. I gazed up at my surroundings, shielding my face from the rain. Perhaps I could find a vine?

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Silas.

“I’ll just entertain myself, I suppose. Who knows, when you come back maybe I will have floated to the top? Or drowned. Only one way to find out.”

I trudged through the mud, hoping my boots would fare better than the last time. The vegetation remained similar no matter how far I walked, nothing visible that could bear Silas’ weight. With the rain affecting my eyesight, I soon became disoriented, relying on the sturdy tree trunks to navigate myself back to the pit, my fingers numb with the cold.

“Thank you for not abandoning me,” Silas called out.

What else could I use?

His Blessing was no use here, neither was my bow without something to fix it to. The trees were unsuited to climbing, lacking footholds and with no low branches to grip, and the only possessions inside the pit with him were the clothes on his back and the small pack he carried.

Unless…

An idea sparked.

“Silas, do you see that tree? The one that looks fairly straight?”

“The one on your left?” he asked in confusion.

“Yes. Can you use your fire to cut it down without setting it alight?” I hoped it would be possible, if his power wasn’t limited to his flames, as he’d led me to believe.

“It would take a tremendous amount of skill and talent, but you are talking to me. Where are you going with this?”

“Just trust me.” I moved a safe distance away. “Please.”

“I hope you’re watching.” Silas stood in the centre of the pit, arms outstretched. Rain hammered down, soaking him in icy water, but he persevered. With a quick flick of his wrists, a red-hot line cut through the tree trunk, felling it in a single motion. It landed on the path with a crash; the sound echoing through the silent forest. Where it had been sliced, the wood was blackened and singed, smoke rising where the rainwater met the heated surface. It remained otherwise undamaged.

“What’s next?” Silas asked.

“Now, you wait patiently and quietly. I know that’s a challenge for you.”

“I’ll just stay here enjoying this fine weather while you do all the work. Don’t mind me.”

“I won’t,” I muttered. My wet clothing rubbed against me uncomfortably as I dragged the tree along the path, inch by excruciating inch, using muscles I did not know existed. I would’ve been sweating if not for the rain drenching me.

By the time I’d finished, the cut tree resting at the pit’s edge, my palms were raw and my clothes clung to my skin, smeared with dirt.

“Stand back. Press yourself against the wall as much as you can.” I said, waiting for Silas to move.

When I was satisfied with his position, I began the difficult job of heaving the log down into the hole. My movements were slow, taking great care to keep it under my control.

Silas watched me curiously. Once I was sure it wouldn’t hit him, I nudged it, letting one end fall next to him. He flinched at the impact.

“Now take off your doublet,” I instructed.

“I beg your pardon?” Silas said, eyeing me dubiously from below. “If you want to see me naked, you just have to ask. This hardly feels like the time, though.”

“Your clothing. It’s expensive, isn’t it?” I’d noticed it the moment I’d met him. Anything can become an asset if viewed from the right perspective. “It’s well made. You can use your doublet to grip the tree and pull yourself up. The material should be strong enough to support your weight.”

I had no idea if it would work, but what other choice was there?

He smiled, pushing his rain-soaked hair from his face and peeling off the wet garment. “You’re rather brilliant. I hope you know that.”

The compliment caught me off guard, but he didn’t give me a chance to recover. My breath faltered when he unlaced his undershirt slowly, making a show of pulling it over his shoulders.

“What are you doing? I said your doublet, not your shirt.” He wasn’t going to remove all of his clothes, was he? With Silas, I never knew what was coming next.

“It’s too stiff. Here, take it.” He threw the garment at my feet, splashing my boots. “My shirt will work better.”

I tried not to watch the rain run down his toned chest, or the way his arms flexed as he wrapped his shirt around the fallen tree. To my embarrassment, I realised he’d noticed me staring, a smile tugging at his lips.

Silas’ face screwed up in a grimace as he pulled himself up the trunk, slow and steady. At first he struggled to find a rhythm, slipping down the log as much as he climbed, but then he found a technique that worked for him. When he neared the top, I grabbed onto his arms and lifted him the remaining distance, our bodies colliding in a tangled heap.

Exhausted, we laid on the wet ground, gasping for breath. When my heart had stopped thudding in my chest and some of my energy had returned, I sat up.

“Next time,” I said between breaths, “you should heed my warnings.”

“I guess we’re even. I saved you, now you’ve saved me. Let’s hope that’s the end of the heroics.” Silas pulled on his wet shirt, not bothering to fasten the laces, allowing me to glimpse his chest. I quirked an eyebrow at him.

“You seemed to enjoy the view before. It would be unfair of me to deprive you, especially when you’ve been so generous with your help,” he said with an infuriating smirk. I rolled my eyes, rising to my feet and throwing his doublet at his head.

“We made a pretty good team,” Silas said.

“You mean me doing all the work?” I flexed my fingers where they throbbed.

“I mean us playing to our strengths. You figuring out how to solve our little situation, leaving me to provide the entertainment.” He adjusted his shirt, exposing more of his damp skin. I averted my gaze.

Mud caked me from head to toe, my hair plastered to my face by rain. Silas didn’t look any better. We couldn’t continue our journey like this.

“Let’s find this inn to clean up, and quickly. I don’t want to linger here,” I said.

“I couldn’t agree with you more. But no more taking directions from strangers. We’ll look for it ourselves. I’ve learned my lesson in that regard,” Silas said, tucking his doublet under his arm, unable to get back into the soaked garment even if he wanted to. As we marched on, he brushed the ground with his boot, checking for more traps. “Now, what other lessons do you have in store for me?”