Volos covered his face with his hands and his shoulders shuddered with grief. After a few moments, Volos very carefully and tenderly straightened the fae's body and clothes, and then covered him with vines and flowers. He called Nyxia, who seemed to always know exactly where they were, to send word to his people of the defender's death. He also sent word to Freya, briefly explaining what had happened.
It wasn't just the death of this defender that shook Ayden to his very core, but also the fact that he had, for the first time, actually killed something. He walked, legs still shaking, over to the beast and drew his sword from its skull. The hilt was cool against his rope-burned hands. A sickly suctioning sound accompanied the oily liquid that oozed from the wound. A smell similar to rotting garbage overpowered Ayden, and he had to fight to keep from gagging. He looked to Volos and asked, "What do we do with it?"
"Burn it," Volos said, scowling.
"I-I can h-halp with that," the strange boy said eagerly as he finally came out of his trance. "Th-that's one s-spell I can do."
Volos and Ayden gaped at him as if he were a ghost. The boy couldn't have been much older than Ayden. His face turned red under his jagged, sandy hair as he scowled at them.
"W-What? Y-You thenk jost cuz I-I c-c-can't talk lllike you, I c-can't do it?" Not only did the kid have a terrible stutter, he had a slight accent, making him difficult to understand.
The boy cupped his hands together and closed his eyes. As he clearly mumbled some strange words, a bright glow formed inside his fingers. It grew in size until, suddenly, he shouted and flung the blazing ball of fire toward the creature. The entire animal was engulfed in flames as soon as the fire ball made contact.
The three men watched the beast burn until nothing was left but ashes. Then, Volos took seeds from a curatree--a plant that holds a sap used for healing of wounds--and scattered them over the ashes. "So that something good can come out of this tragedy," he said solemnly. "If only I'd had sap instead of seed."
Finally, Aden and Volos turned to the boy who'd saved Ayden's life. "I'm sorry I didn't thank you properly for that goo you made." He extended his hand toward the youth. "And thanks for the fire, too."
The kid raised his hand hesitantly, but then grasped Ayden's tightly and shook once before letting go.
"My name's Ayden. This is my friend, Volos."
The boy's wide eyes surveyed Volos, who stood with a scowl on his face and his bulging arms crossed tightly over his chest.
"I-I'm Pax," he whispered, still staring up at Volos.
Pax's clothes were tattered, but clean. He carried a small, bulging bag across his back. Ayden wondered if that was his entire world in there. "Where are you from? Do you have family nearby?" he asked.
Turning his eyes away from Volos, Pax answered, "N-No." He cast his eyes to the ground. "M-My uncle was a-all I h-had. He's ggone now."
Ayden turned sad eyes toward Volos. His mentor scowled back, then silently pointed to the back of his own hand. Ayden jerked his head toward Pax. Across the back of his left hand a scar shone silver; a circular design with what Ayden thought looked like a ghost in the center.
Pax looked up, and Ayden met his gaze. "You're a sorcerer."
The boy looked down again, as if ashamed. He mumbled, "M-my uncle was teaching m-me." His face seemed to soften, and he even smiled a little. "H-He saved me fffrom my fffather." The tenderness evaporated as quickly as it had appeared. "My fffather was evil."
Shoving aside thoughts of the dead sorcerer they'd just defeated, Ayden relaxed and resisted the urge to chuckle. Somehow, he couldn't imagine that Pax's sorcery could be very threatening.
"M-most p-payple think I'm b-bad because I p-practice sarcery. B-but I want to use m-my magic far d-doin' good. I-I don't w-want to be like my fffather," Pax ended bitterly.
There was an awkward silence. "Are you any good at it?" Volos asked, startling Pax to jump.
"Uh, w-well, m-most of the t-time, I g-get narvous and c-can't get the w-w-wards out right 'n the s-spell is m-messed up," he said nervously. "P-plus, I'm a l-little c-clomsy."
"What were you doing out here?" Ayden asked. "How did you find us?"
Through a lot of stuttering, Pax explained that he had been on his way to the village to find work when he'd stumbled across the battle. He'd been turned down everywhere he'd been because of his speech impediment.
Ayden felt tenderness and wanted to help Pax. He looked knowingly at his mentor. Volos rolled his eyes and sighed as he polished his head with his hands. "Alright, but you will be the one explaining this to your grandmother!"
Ayden beamed at Pax. "You're going to stay with us. Maybe we can figure out a way to help you with your spells." If he could help Pax gain more self-confidence, he could be a great help to their missions--the kind of help he'd just been thinking about.
Pax's face shone like the sun and he stuttered out a long and excited 'thank you' before they continued the journey. A sorcerer! Ayden thought excitedly. Then, feeling a strange lump in the pit of his stomach, he thought, I hope I know what I'm doing!
As they left the clearing, Ayden glanced back at the defender's grave one last time before leaving. A cluster of butterflies, their colors forming a live rainbow, covered the fae's body. They suddenly took flight, gracefully fluttering through the trees like a colorful cloud. When Ayden could no longer see them, he looked to the grave and gasped. "Volos! He's gone! The fae's body is gone!"
Volos gazed at the flowers and vines that he had placed there earlier. "He's home," he said and turned sadly to leave.
They had traveled in silence for only an hour before the western trees stabbed the belly of the sun. Another half hour found them setting up camp. Pax lit a small fire long enough to cook some food; they extinguished it shortly after under Volos' instructions.
The defender's dying words echoed in Ayden's mind, and he wanted to question Volos. He looked at Pax who held a small pinpoint of light in the palm of one hand as he held a book in the other. He wore a pair of round, wire-rimmed glasses and seemed absorbed in what he read. He had told Ayden, "I r-read so that I-I don't have t-to talk so m-much." Volos still didn't trust the young sorcerer, but Ayden wasn't too worried.
Seeing that Pax was pre-occupied, he walked over to where Volos was sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree. He was staring at the stars, his arms crossed. "Can I sit with you?" Ayden asked cautiously. He wasn't certain what kind of mood Volos would be in after the day they'd had.
Volos looked at him and attempted a smile. He nodded, motioning for Ayden to sit next to him. They remained silent for a few moments, staring up at the milky trail of stars in the sky. Finally, Volos said, "His name was Tyran Willowshimmer. He was one of the best defenders of Shae Vale in his time. He and my father and your grandparents fought many battles together. My guess is that he was hunting the creature and came upon it suddenly. He must not have had time to call for help."
Ayden hadn't thought of the defender being old enough to know his grandparents. "Did you know him very well?" he asked Volos.
"We were as close as you and I--at least for a time." Volos' eyes moistened and he took in a deep breath. "I hadn't seen him for many years."
Ayden understood the horror of losing someone close. He placed his hand on Volos' shoulder. "I'm sorry." That was all he could think to say.
Volos nodded and then continued to gaze reflectively at the stars. "You know that meadow fairies can transform in size at will?"
"Yeah."
"When I was young, I used to look at the stars like we're doing now. One night, one of the stars started coming toward me. 'Scared me half to death! It wasn't until it was in front of my face that I realized it was a fairy. She transformed to our size right in front of me. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."
He smiled at the sky, lost in the memory. "I found out later that she was Tyran's sister. She was looking for my father when she found me."
After an uncomfortable silence, Ayden couldn't resist the urge to question Volos. "What did Tyran mean when he said to keep 'him' safe? Was he talking about me?"
Volos stiffened a little and glanced uneasily over to Pax who still had his nose in a book. Jynx was curled at Pax's feet, resting comfortably. "We won't talk about that here." His shoulders relaxed as he looked at Ayden's concerned expression. "It would be best for your grandmother to explain things to you. For now, let's try to get some rest. I'll stay awake for a while to keep guard. I'll wake you later for your turn."
"So, we are in real danger then?"
"Maybe."
Chapter Ten
Heritage