Through Fire: An Epic YA Fantasy Adventure (Roots of Creation Book 3) Page 2

  “I know other Fae, yes I know you don’t like that term, but that’s what they call themselves. There are many now, and each type governs some kind of elemental power. Like light, darkness, and water.” She wondered for a moment what the gnome’s element was, but now was probably not a good time to bring that up. “Also, my mother is a Fae. She changed while pregnant with me. I don’t really have any way to prove it, but I’ve spent the last year doing what I can to help the Fae. I’ll do the same for you.”

  The gnome considered her. “Well, I suppose you did save me from those men, even if you didn’t know what I was. At least you were trying to help someone in need.” He ran a hand through his spiky red hair. “I don’t know. It’s risky.”

  “I’ll take the risk,” Jak said immediately. “I’ve been in tight spots before.”

  “Yeah, I don’t really care about you. It’s the others that worry me. What will happen to them if you fail? I’ve spent a lot of time working against your Watcher people in that mountain, and we could not afford even the slightest setback.”

  “What could be worse than being slaves?” Jak asked.

  “Like you know a lot about slavery. You have no idea what it’s like.”

  “I know that if there’s anyone who could help you, it’s me. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll do my best to avoid the Watchers and not cause any disturbances until I have a better idea of how to help your people.”

  Girwirt kept running his hand through his fiery hair, long enough that Jak wondered if he’d heard her correctly. Finally he spoke again. “Very well, if you’ll do what you say you’ll do, I’ll take you to the mountain. I’ve got nowhere else to go anyway.”

  “Thank you, Girwirt!” Jak said. She could have probably made it there on her own, but having the little gnome around could give her a lot of information on what she’d find there, and perhaps how to get in without being seen.

  Girwirt strode over to the first wagon and with a great leap pulled himself onto the bottom step. “I’ll bet there’s some armor in here that would fit a girl like you,” he said as he took another jump to get higher up on the wagon.

  “Erm, do you want a hand with that?” Jak offered.

  “No, of course not, I can make do. Though you tall folk really should make everything a little shorter.”

  Jak raised her eyebrows but said nothing as Girwirt finally crested the edge of the wagon, and began rummaging through the weapons. One of the Watchers was stirring on the ground, so Jak walked up to him and jammed the butt of her spear into his head to knock him out again.

  “We’re going to need to do something about that lot,” said Girwirt, throwing aside a plate gauntlet and continuing to sort through armor. “Without their wagon they’ll probably double back to the mountain and alert everyone there.”

  “I’m not going to kill them if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

  “Do you see another alternative?”

  Jak thought it through. There really wasn’t much that they could do. They would just have to take their chances that these Watchers didn’t alert anyone to their presence in the mountain. Perhaps if they could stay hidden well enough, it wouldn’t matter what the Watchers said. They didn’t know for sure that Jak and Girwirt were going back to the mountain. And they were too far away from Skyecliff to worry about the Watchers going there. Besides, Jak didn’t intend to be in that mountain long enough for the queen to send reinforcements against her.

  “I’ll tie them up, and we’ll leave as much food and water as we can. Then we’ll take their wagon. That should give us a solid head start.”

  Girwirt shrugged, throwing another piece of armor over his head.

  “Where do they get these anyway?” Jak asked as she too drew near the wagon full of armor and weapons. “They’re beautiful.” She ran one hand along an arm plate with a large beast etched into it that Jak didn’t recognize. It looked like a lizard with wings, and huge jaws, and something that almost looked like fire coming out of them. The embossing was so good, it almost looked like the animal was moving.

  “This is our work.” said Girwirt. He puffed out his chest as he said it.

  “The Gnomes made this?”

  Girwirt scratched his head. “Well, I guess you could say that without us it would be impossible. But I suppose the Dwarves helped a bit.”

  “Dwarves?” Jak’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “But...aren’t you…I mean.” “Dragons and darkness, you’re an ignorant one. Don’t even know the different between dwarves and gnomes.” He was shaking his head.

  Jak harrumphed. No one knew the difference between dwarves and gnomes because pretty much no one even knew they existed. But she got the feeling that explanation wouldn’t change anything about Girwirt’s attitude. So instead she said, “I’m sorry, what is the difference?”

  “They’re the ones that find the materials, of course,” said Girwirt, as if it were the most well-known fact in the world. “Here, put this on.” He lifted up a set of light armor for Jak to look at, grumbling something like “giants” and “impractical” under his breath. Jak tilted her head at the armor. It did look about her size, and wouldn’t slow her down too much. Besides, it was beautiful.

  “So these dwarves.” She said as she set about strapping bits of the armor around herself. “Are they in the mountain too?”

  “That’s right,” said the gnome. “Your giant friends keep us there, building weapons.”

  “And why don’t you try to escape? Or revolt?”

  “Dragons and daredevils, it’s not that easy, lass. You have any idea what it’s like fighting a giant like you? They’d cut us down in seconds.”

  “But surely you have some...abilities that you could use? The Shadow Fae, they can make themselves unseen, or summon darkness. What can you do?” This was the question she really wanted to ask.

  Girwirt paused. “That thing you did, with the fire? Well it’s something like that.”

  “You’re like a Flamedancer? But that’s a super useful ability.”

  Girwirt was shaking his head. “It’s not the same. We can’t throw it around willy nilly like you giants can. We can sense the building blocks of life, and increase their vibration. That’s what makes fire.”

  Jak frowned. How on earth did vibration create fire? That made no sense at all. But she ignored it for the time being. “And the dwarves, do they create fire too?”

  “Nonsense, girl. I told you, they find the materials.”

  “And...what does that mean, exactly?”

  Girwirt sighed, as if Jak was a child to whom he had to explain the most basic information. “They’re connected to the materials in the mountain, in the Earth, in the ground. Not nearly as useful as what us Gnomes can do,” he said proudly, “But they find what we need and together we shape it. Simple.”

  Jak wouldn’t call it simple exactly, but it was definitely interesting. “I’d very much like to meet these dwarves, and the rest of your people.”

  “Well,” Girwirt loosed the harness connecting the horses to the wagon. “Assuming your giant Watchers don’t kill us first, or burn us alive, or capture us and send us to the ends of the Earth, I’m sure you’ll get that chance.”

  He waved at Jak, indicating she should take a horse. “Come on, lass, or the beast will leave without you. Does it look like my little legs can get it to move?”

  Glad that she had grown up with horses, Jak guided one by the bridle, a beautiful white draft horse. Disconnected now from the wagon, it had no saddle, but Jak could handle that. She thought.

  Running a hand on the horse’s muzzle and side, she grabbed its mane and swung herself up onto its back. Girwirt jumped off the wagon to land behind her. “I don’t much like these things. Naught but dragons should be this big, but it seems everything is backwards with you giants. Nothing the size it should be.”

  Turning the horse, Jak guided it to a soft canter, and smiled with some amusement as Girwirt clung to her, muttering under his breath.

&
nbsp; Well, this was certainly going to be interesting.

  2

  Girwirt didn’t stop complaining much as they rode towards the mountains. The blue peaks slowly grew larger on the horizon, and it seemed the gnome’s discomfort grew the closer they got.

  Jak didn’t mind his relentless chattering, honestly. It was kind of refreshing. None of the other Fae had behaved quite like Girwirt, and she loved getting to know more about him and his people as he spoke. He didn’t always talk about them, but she picked up bits and pieces here and there. She learned that they couldn’t control fire in the same way that a Flamedancer could. They could create fire in fuel, like wood. Or they could make metal red hot, like in a blacksmith’s forge. But they couldn’t direct any of that as a weapon. Or at least not effectively. And apparently the Watchers had a lot of Flamedancers in the mountain to make sure the Gnomes didn’t try anything.

  She also figured out that the gnomes and dwarves had lived in the mountain for far longer than any other Fae that she knew about. Whereas the Shadow Fae had appeared seventeen years ago, and the Bright and Water Fae far more recently. But when she probed Girwirt, asking how long since their transformation, he looked at her like she was slow. “We’ve always been like this,” he said, and left it at that. Jak found that information frustrating. And there didn’t seem to be a Relic involved either. Either they had always had their abilities, as Girwirt claimed, or it was so long ago that no one remembered anymore. She wished there was a consistent pattern to how these Fae came into being. Perhaps then she could figure out what caused it and for what purpose.

  About another day into their journey, Jak could clearly see the mountain they were looking for: Mt. Harafast. It was absolutely magnificent, towering almost twice as high as the mountains around it. Girwirt expressed some pride at seeing Jak’s reaction. “It’s been our home for as long as anyone can remember,” he said, though there was a note of sadness in his voice. Jak understood why. It was no longer a home now, it was a prison.

  They avoided two other caravans on their way there, staying off to the side of the road for most of the journey. There were more foothills here, and it became easier to hide. But when the horse got restless and nearly gave them away, they decided it was best to let it go and continue the rest of the way on foot.

  They weren’t far from the mountain. It towered above them, almost ominously. They completely avoided the road now. Watchers guarded it in small encampments. Even off the roads, they had to be extremely careful, as patrols wandered randomly around the mountain. It was more security than Jak had ever seen, even in Skyecliff. Girwirt kept complaining that it was much harder to hide with someone as large as her hanging around. But they managed to stay out of sight.

  They were hidden now, behind a brush on the other side of a foothill from the main road, hoping that the dim morning light wouldn’t give them away. It must have been another patrol, because they too were leaving the road, looking around cautiously. There were two of them. One in armor, and the other in a dark cloak and hood. Jak couldn’t see the latter’s face, but he was tall, whoever he was.

  Had they caught Jak and Girwirt’s scent? Jak hastily looked at the ground to see if their footprints were too pronounced. Yeah, they were there, she could see them. And if she could, surely someone trained to look would find them. But there were footprints everywhere, right? How would they know the prints weren’t from another patrol of Watchers?

  “Hmm,” muttered Girwirt. “That’s unusual.”

  Jak followed his gaze to look at the patrol, squinting through the light of the rising sun. Come to think of it, there was something odd about these two. They were far enough away that Jak couldn’t make out much, but the armor on the leading scout was scuffed and battered, far dirtier than Jak was used to seeing. Usually each Watcher commander made sure that their soldiers had the best, polished armor. It was part of the Watchers’ look, one thing among many that set them apart.

  And the second figure, he was odd too. You didn’t usually see a non-Watcher on patrols like this. Perhaps he was some sort of civilian leader? Or a priest like that piece of filth she had left back in Skyecliff. But no, he didn’t exactly look the part either. In fact, he looked almost frightened. His hooded and covered face kept whipping this way and that, as though looking for signs of pursuit. Definitely not typical behavior for a Watcher patrol.

  That was when she saw it. As the hooded man’s head turned in her direction, she caught the faintest glimpse of his eyes beneath the hood. And even in the morning light, she could see something unusual about those eyes. They glowed a bright, golden color.

  “Hang on,” she said aloud, and with more volume than Girwirt was comfortable with.

  “Quiet, giant. You want to get us all killed?” He grabbed her arm as she almost stood upright to get a better look at the pair ahead of them. The Watcher was a woman, with short brown hair and a tall build. Yes, Jak recognized the Watcher after all, underneath all that dirt.

  “Don’t call me giant, Girwirt. And let go of my arm. I know these two.”

  Girwirt stammered as she stood and took a few steps forward, to the other side of their little brush.

  “Skellig!” She called out as loud as she dared. Both figures whirled on her, and the Watcher threw up her hands, igniting flames in both of them. Skellig was a Flamedancer. “It’s me!” Jak said, putting both arms out in a gesture of innocence. “It’s Jak.”

  “Jak?” Skellig called out. “What in the blazes are you doing here!” She put out the fire in her hands and began walking in Jak’s direction, followed by the hooded figure. Jak couldn’t see who was under that hood, but she had a decent guess.

  “I’m investigating a few leads,” Jak said, not wanting to get too specific.

  “So are we.” Skellig and Jak met and shook hands, though Skellig quickly pulled Jak into an embrace. She was surprised by the unusual show of affection from the former Watcher Major, but hugged her back all the same.

  “Hello, Jak.” It was the cloaked figure, who gently reached up, removed his hood, and unwrapped a cloth surrounding his face. His exposed skin shone like the sun.

  Jak smiled. “Hello Yewin.”

  Her Bright Fae friend inclined his head. “It’s nice to finally see you again.”

  “Dragons and diddlesniggers!” Jak winced as Girwirt finally emerged from his hiding spot. “It glows! Ain’t never seen something like that before. Hey giant, it glows.”

  Skellig put a hand to her waist where her sword lay, her other hand poised to spout flame again. Yewin tensed, but cocked his head after getting a good look at the gnome. Jak raised one hand to calm them both. “It’s okay, he’s with me.”

  “What is he?” Skellig said, relaxing her shoulders. “Some new kind of Fae?”

  Girwirt scowled. “I swear, the next time someone says that word…”

  “He doesn’t like being called that.” Jak clarified. “His name’s Girwirt, and his people are called gnomes. And apparently there’s another kind called dwarves that live in the mountain.”

  Yewin stepped forward and offered a hand to the small gnome. His hand, like the rest of his body, was covered so as to keep in the glow. Girwirt stared at the hand sideways, but took it eventually. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Master Girwirt. My name is Yewin. I’m a Bright F...uh being like yourself. My people rule over light and truth. What is your domain?”

  The gnome seemed taken aback by Yewin’s formalness, leaning back slightly from Yewin whilst still connected by the handshake. When he didn’t respond immediately, Jak spoke up. “Fire, or at least heat of some kind. I’m not sure I understand it yet.”

  “Well, you’ve certainly had some adventures, Jak,” Skellig said, taking a good look at her. “I thought you were studying in Skyecliff.”

  “I don’t know if we have time to tell you everything now. Girwirt is leading me into the mountain. Besides, our voices could attract a real Watcher patrol if we’re not careful.”

  “You’re go
ing in alone?” Skellig raised one eyebrow.

  “I think that the fewer we have, the less chance of getting caught,” Jak replied. She wondered again why Skellig and Yewin were here. They weren’t planning on entering the mountain too, where they? “Just why are you here?” she said.

  “Well I was discharged from the garrison at Foothold.” said Skellig “It...wasn’t amiable. They would have brought me to Skyecliff for a completely unlawful court martial if I hadn’t escaped and made my way here. A few of the Shadow Fae spies mentioned the queen’s interests here, and the possibility of more Fae. I decided to investigate. And Yewin insisted on accompanying me, even though he doesn’t exactly blend in.”

  “Yep,” said Girwirt. “That’s what glowing will do for you. Wouldn’t last a day inside a dark mountain like this one.”

  Skellig glanced at the Gnome. “I suppose you know another way of getting in? The main entrance is completely blocked off.”

  “Hold on,” Jak cut in. “We can’t all go, that’s far too many. And Girwirt is right, Yewin would give us all away. No offense, Yewin.”

  “None taken.” Yewin inclined his head to her. “I’ve been working on that though. It appears I can control the light around me to a small degree. Like so.” He frowned his face in concentration, and the light around him faded somewhat, though not completely. Jak could still see a slight glow surrounding his face. Yes, it might help, but in the near complete darkness of being under a mountain, even the slightest source of light could give them away.

  “I’m sorry, Yewin, but we can’t risk it,” she said.

  “We’ve come this far.” Skellig cut in. “And I’ve been a member of the Watchers for a long time. I may be able to convince some of them to come to our side, which I see as the best chance we have of liberating anyone. We’re not leaving.”

  “But…”

  “It’s not exactly up to you, Jak. I’m sorry.” Skellig had that formal, military look to her again. “You can let us accompany you, or we’ll follow your trail once you leave. You know I was the best tracker in Kuldain’s camp.”