Fire in Ice Valleys

Chapter one: Fire in Ice Valleys.

There was once a fire in his eyes. That fire was extinguished long ago. All that was left was small embers of what once was.

The falling snow didn’t reach where he was. It was in a dark alley, and the roofs blocked the snow as well. The cold was unbearable, but the pain was worse. Either ways, they both made for a terrifying combination.

A young boy – appearing to be at least ten years old – burst into tears. His black hair was messed up, stained with crimson blood, and his face was swollen purple. His pudgy little hands struggled to raise his body off the floor, and cold sweat dripped from his brow.

His expression was one of fear and terror. He had believed that it was over; that the fear and agony would go away if he just gave up and resigned to his fate. However, reality came crashing down; like a wooden plank slamming against his back, causing him to fall on his face again even before he could get up.

“He’s still alive.” A lady’s voice mused in disbelief.

“He’s suffered enough,” It was another voice this time. A man. The boy’s eyes were shut, so he couldn’t see him. Not like he wanted to.

“...Let’s just kill him already.”

Somehow, those words inspired a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. Death meant a permanent end. An out. An escape from this hell.

“No. Do you understand what these things did to us? My mother, father. My fucking children. Burnt to death in the last attack.”

“The Vanguards could be here any minute. Kill the bugger and be on with it. Torturing the little monster won’t bring them back anyways.”

The boy in question was barely conscious at this point. Everything hurt. The funny thing was, he was finally relaxing. Fully adjusting to his fate. He believed he was going to die. And that believe brought him peace. Which in turn robbed him of the adrenaline pushing him forward. Now, the pain just came in full force.

“I will not kill him,”

That sentence confused things for him. Now, the previous “no” uttered by the male voice made the boy sceptical, but he simply brushed it off. This...this was a direct statement. His heart started beating faster. His eyes went bloodshot for a moment. It was time...to endure...

The next moment, screams erupted. They weren’t the boy’s screams. They were their screams. Holding his head to the ground, he saw nothing of what happened. All he heard were those screams, loud crashes and more screams. Then silence.

The boy cautiously rose his head and his eyes opened up.

It was a young lady at least a decade older than him.

She was stunningly beautiful and had such a charming smile. But that was a smile on a woman whose hands were covered in blood.

A smile. A silly smile.

Why are you smiling?

Why?

Tell me why?

How can you smile?

The boy reached out towards her, ignoring the pain. But before his hands could reach her, she smiled at him again. And then the wind came and took her away. She vanished.

The young boy forced his body up. A moment ago, he believed that getting up was a herculean task. Now, he felt like running.

___________

Five years later.

He didn’t stop running.

This time however, he had a more articulate reason.

“It’s Flamez! Six o’clock!” A uniformed man yelled at the top of his voice, pointing at a fast departing athletic teenager.

“Flamez?”

“Flamez.”

“Flamez!”

Flamez didn’t slow down. The silly grin he had on his face was complemented by the expression of sheer bliss reflected in his eyes. Today was a good day.

The officers ran as fast as they could, hot on his trail. From the corner of his eyes, he spotted seven of them, holding their spears with both hands, ready to attack as soon as they got close.

They were getting dangerously close.

Flamez took a sharp right, moving in between two very close buildings. The officers arrived at the alley way, and shuffled themselves to a single file to get through. The ones in front stopped running abruptly.

“Where is he?”

“Up. Up there!” One pointed to the roof with a hint of surprise.

He was standing at the roof of a three- storey building.

Flamez winked at them, then dashed away. A split second later, a spear made out of ice landed where he once was.

They almost got me there.

I might be getting rusty.

The young man sprinted across the rooftop, and took the jump at the last moment, landing perfectly in the next building and sprinting again in the same motion. The grin never left his face.

“He’s heading north!”

“How does he do that?”

Flamez jumped again, this time he landed at the edge of the next roof. Gauging the distance with his eyes, he guessed six feet.

I am getting rusty.

Refusing to rest, he dashed forward again. Twisting his head slightly, he saw the spears landing at the edge of the building. Four of them, rather than seven.

Ahead of him was an even bigger jump. The road was divided so that the next building was on the other side of the road, and the road was wide. So wide he knew it wasn’t possible.... For any body else..

Before he made the jump, he twisted his wrist in a certain manner, towards the direction of a nearby clothes wire going across the two buildings, over the street. Fire ignited and burnt apart of the wire right before he dived downwards, hands stretched out. The small flame went out the moment Flamez hands clasped around the wire and the force of gravity sent him swinging across the road.

“Bring the bastard down!”

Flamez tilted the wire from side to side, narrowly avoiding the spears. However, one managed to cut the wire and send Flamez hurling to the ground.

Without a hint of fear, Flamez landed on his feet and right into a dash. The busy streets of Ice Valleys had carriages speeding across left and right. This one was no different.

Three uniformed men chased after him, evading the traffic. Flamez ran in the centre of incoming traffic, only jumping away at the last moment. He was running along the road, eyes darting around like he was searching for something.

The men tried their best to follow him. They failed. Flamez suddenly appeared to have disappeared yet again.

Holding on to the back of the carriage, Flamez sighed. It wasn’t a sigh of relief; it was condescending.

Amateurs.

Flamez shook his head before hiding his face, squeezing himself through the cloth draped over it, and into the back of transport vehicle. The back of the carriage was packed with goods. Fruits, vegetables, and all sorts of fresh farm produce. Things that don’t grow in this frozen desert.

Those fools didn’t even use their horses. They had to be newbies. They probably don’t know how to use ice magic and ride a horse at the same time... Well, I better stop complaining.

“...I’ve hit the jackpot.” He whispered with a cheeky smile.

His eyes wondered to the wooden frame of the carriage. It looked worn out. Old.

The smile faded away in an instant. He sighed instead, sitting down on the wooden floor. Reaching into his pocket, he brought out a small gold coin. He tossed it to the ground next to the merchandise.

“There you go, merchant. One gold coin – recently stolen. I’m not a monster after all. Okay. That aside, let’s dig in!”

______________

Conor felt like throwing up. The exhausting search was getting to him. The short boy had bags underneath his eyes. His young handsome face was ragged and he walked in a strange manner, staggering from side to side as though he was drunk. People avoided him as he made his way across the streets of Ice Valleys.

Conor sighed, for the tenth time that day.

“Where are you...”

He felt something with his leg and stumbled on it causing him to fall backwards head-first to the floor. His long snow white hair cushioned the fall but he still grimanced.

Clutching his head with both hands, he got up from the ground and swore something nasty. With a frown, he continued his trek.

“Where are you, Flamez?”

Conor glanced at the sky for a moment as though it was meant to answer his question. The short teenage boy stopped abruptly, his head staring far ahead, towards the towering figure not too far away. It was a marble statue older than Ice Valleys, and easily over 100 ft tall.

Glancing down at his exposed hands he saw the snow flakes landing on it.

“It never stops snowing in Ice Valleys, huh.”

Damn it’s cold...

Raising his head again, Conor’s gaze fell on the statue. A smile crept into his cracked lips.

___________

Meanwhile...

Two Frost vanguard officers faced eachother.

“Ava, you’ve been here longer than me. I’m curious. Who the heck is Flamez?”

The female officer frowned.

“Frank...”

“What’s the matter? Is it something I said?” He pleaded dramatically.

Ava shook her head.

“No. Yes. We’re on duty, Frank. Small talk is..”

“Unacceptable. I know. But I’m just curious. It’s not like Cobra’s gonna jump out of that manhole and start a murdering spree. Please, honey..”

“That too isn’t allowed. I mean, this is a matter of life and death.”

The balding man scratched his scruffy beard.

“You’re not giving me many options here.”

Ava glanced to the left and then to the right. No-one else was in this alleyway. No activity from the manhole across the street either.

“Flamez is a theif with fire abilities.”

“I realise that.”

“That’s all we know about him. Honestly, we believe that’s all he knows about himself too. Born in a remote village in the lands of Ice, but has no memories of his time as a toddler or of his parents. Has always been alone, fighting and running for money and food.”

Frank caught the expression on her face. She was... guilty.

“Why isn’t he in some orphanage? I mean, isn’t he sixteen?”

“You... You don’t know? He has innate fire magic. He’s from the lands of fire. Figured it out, yet?”

“No, baby. Just spell it out for me.”

“Our mortal enemies. The lands of fire. Because he’s from there, he’s automatically a criminal here. Also, he’s suspected of espionage.”

Frank went silent. The unyielding cold breeze assaulted him for a moment.

All of a sudden, Ava’s eyes went bloodshot.

“Ava...”

Foot falls could be heard on the snow. Frank couldn’t see it because it was behind him- he was facing Ava. He slowly turned around.

“Sir!” They both assumed a salute as quickly as they could.

The newcomer was a bit plump and he had a different uniform. This uniform had stars and badges decorated on it. On his left breast a badge was placed. The badge had words spelling out: “City captain.”

He smiled. The sudden cold went down a bit.

“It’s nice to see the two of you lively. I might be a fan of romance, but I don’t condone it during work hours, Frank.” He was so peaceful and nice that one would believe he wasn’t angry at them. Ava knew better.

“Yes sir. Yes, Captain Gerald.” She practically bowed, forcing Frank to do the same albeit reluctantly.

____________

Conor heaved himself upward for the last time, sweating as he did so. Nothing fired him up more than this. A good climb.

There was something on his waist, attached to his belt. A long brown scabbard, matching his brown trousers.

He breathed in and out deeply, standing on the mouth of the giant statue. The nostrils resembled small caves from where he stood. He was thin, but he believed he could snuggle up inside of one of them.

Stretching himself abd yawning, Conor staggered to the left nostril. He appeared to be several times more exhausted than he was before. He didn’t lie down; he practically collapsed under the nose, and slid himself into the nostril.

“Pretty snug, huh?”

That wasn’t his voice. It came from the right nostril. Someone was in there.

“Yeah..” Conor replied. It was a cramped area, so tight he couldn’t stand up. He reached for his sword.

“You’re a kid, aren’t you?”

“I’m 15.”

“Don’t believe it. You’re about four foot three, right?”

“How..”

“Good guess. Also, my eyes are said to be the finest in town. Makes guaging distances easy when you’re in a tight spot. Em... Not really. More like sky walking? Jumping? I’ll call it city running for now, since I don’t have a better word for it.”

“Parkour... That’s the word you’re looking for,”

Conor’s grip tightened. He grit his teeth, but kept silent.

“Say, what’s a kid like you doing here?”

“Maybe I love city running too?”

“Nah. No one in the great Imperial capital of the lands of Ice is a real fan of the thing. If you really are...I must say, you’re a weird one.”

He’s so...cheerful. Is he really a bad person?

Conor shook his head furiously. He started to slide his way out of the nostril.

“Leaving already? Aww...”

Conor hesitated for a moment, before climbing out completely. In the same motion, he pulled the sword out of the scabbard. With trained accuracy, the boy assumed a stance and held the sword to the right nostril.

“You’re under arrest!”

“Playing cops and robbers,”

“Stop calling me a kid!”

The human inside the right nostril shuffled out and stood up. Conor got a good look at him up close for the first time. Spiky jet black hair just like the wanted posters. He wore the exact same black leather shirt and trousers too, numerous little slits on the side where he hides his knives. His signature smile pasted across his face. Without a doubt it was the man he was searching for.

The sword was only an inch away from his neck.

“Kids shouldn’t be playing with swords. You might get yourself hurt.”

“We’re almost the same age.”

“No. I’m 16. You’re 6.”

“Stop. Just stop it. You’re Flamez, right?”

“What are you talking about? Ever heard of anyone with a name like that?” Flamez raised a finger and touched the tip of the sword.

“What are you doing?”

“Why? Why do you want to do this?” His voice became serious all of a sudden. He didn’t answer the question.

Conor watched as blood trickled from his finger. He shifted the sword away.

“You’re not used to seeing people bleed, are you? You weren’t prepared to use that thing.”

“I was! I am... I’m going to be a knight!”

Flamez stared back, quiet. And then he just suddenly burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. He laughed and laughed, holding his belly as he did so.

“What’s so funny?” Conor cried.

“Your silly face, kid. You’re actually serious, aren’t you?”Flamez laughed some more.

“Laugh then. I don’t care. I’m really going to be an Imperial knight. It’s my dream. I don’t care if I’m not a noble or that I’m weak right now! I will fulfil my dream!”

Flamez stopped laughing and stared at the kid, with a frown.

“That wasn’t the reason why I made fun of you.”

“What is?”

“You frowned when you said that. Dreams aren’t worth much if they make you cry. I reckon, it’s more of a nightmare.”

Conor stared back, now silent.

Cry? I’m not crying...

He raised his free hand to part his hair and touch his eyes. His pupils dilated.

He’s right.

Flamez shrugged, smiling again.

“It’s really none of my business though.”

Conor wiped away his tears eagerly. Then he sighed, yet again. He repositioned his sword, with the tip touching Flamez’s neck.

“It’s not a nightmare, Flamez.” He said coldly.

“Okay, Okay... It’s all right, kiddo. No need to get all stabby all of a sudden. Why don’t we take a stroll, have some fun. I’ve got some food stashed up too, you look pretty hungry,”

“No. You’re going to the vanguards. Then you’re going to prison for what you’ve done.”

Flamez took a step forward. Conor hurried to walk backwards a step. The sword only pierced his skin a bit, drawing some blood.

“Are you trying to die?”

“I’ll say it again, Kids shouldn’t play with swords. You’ll get hurt.”

Flamez took another step, Conor did the same. Sweat dripped from his brow. Somehow, he wasn’t feeling cold anymore. He was feeling warm instead.

Flamez grinned even wider. Then he took yet another step. And another, and another. Conor did the same until he felt his feet were at the edge. He swallowed hard.

“You could try fighting me. Beating me down would make arresting me a lot easier.”

No way I’d win. I knew that from the start.

“Are you crazy?”

“I might be.” His smile didn’t go away.

Then he took yet another step, and Conor scrambled to the side. The white-haired boy ran until he was right behind Flamez, with the sword pointed at the back of his neck.

“You know what I’m going to do.”

“Don’t do it.”

“Alright. I’ll do something else then. Too bad I’m not a fan of hurting children. I’ll just give you a little scare instead.”

Flames ducked down and twisted to face Conor. In the same moment, he grabbed him by the ankle. He attempted to free his foot, but he couldn’t.

“Grip strength just happens to be something a veteran city runner has in abundance.” Flames pulled on him, with so much force that he was sent to the floor. But he didn’t stop there.

It was at that moment, Conor realised it. His eyes went bloodshot.

“No. No. No. I’m... We’re going to die!”

Then flames got up, still holding the boy’s leg. Conor furiously kicked with the other one, but Flamez didn’t let go, keeping the smile on his face.

“Let’s have some fun.” He said, right before he jumped. The two boys plummeted down from more than 80ft above the ground.

___________

Three minutes ago.

Gerald let out a puff of smoke, whilst staring at the monument from a distance.

“Someone’s there, Ava.”

“Yes sir!”

Frank’s head turned around from Gerald to Ava. He raised an eyebrow.

“He’s the real deal, Franklin. The head of the Ice valleys vanguard team. He also has history with the army.”. She whispered to him.

“I can hear you.”

Frank frowned.

“Sorry sir.”

“Don’t be. Be proud you have a man like me as your boss. Gather the men. Frank can tag along,”

Gerald took another smoke, then he let it out. He was still staring at the giant statue. Frank got a good look at his expression, from where he stood. It was one of unbridled anger.

“We’re heading out for some...pest extermination.”

_________

Currently...

The two boys were falling rapidly.

Flamez was grinning, while Conor was screaming at the top of his voice.

“Somebody! Save me!!”He drew out the last word as he plummeted to the ground, hands and legs flailing in the air.

Flamez on the other hand wore a cheeky smile and had his hands straight and pressing hia torso, while his legs looked like they were glued together.

They appeared to smash into the ground violently. A cloud of dust went up into the air.

“Don’t tell me you died of shock.” Flamez laughed as the dust cleared up, revealing the both of them. Flamez held Conor in his arms, princess-style.

Conor’s eyes opened up, slowly.

“How...how are we not dead?”

“I dunno. Magic, maybe? There are things I do, I don’t really know much about. So you could say I made a miracle.”

“Fuck you.”

Flamez frowned. He dropped Conor on the ground. The shorter boy stood on his feet.

“Where did you learn words like that?”

Conor ignored flames, his eyes searching for something. Frustrated, he tossed his empty scabbard.

“What’s wrong?”

“My father’s sword, Flamez. I dropped it because of you!”

“What? Would your daddy spank you if you don’t bring it back?”

Conor stared at flamez.

“My father is dead.”

His smile wiped out of his face.

“Don’t agonize over it. It... happened a long time ago.”

Flamez took a few steps towards Conor. Then he stretched his arms wide and wrapped them around him.

“I told you, It was a long time ago.”

Flamez hugged him tighter.

“You’re crying again.”

“I know.” Conor sobbed.

The two of them stood like that for a few moments. Conor sniffed and cried out loud.

“Alright. It’s enough, Flamez.”

When Flamez didn’t respond, Conor raised his voice.

“Flamez!”

Flamez shook his head slowly, though Conor couldn’t see it. He could see uniformed men, standing around them. Turning his head, he confirmed it. They were surrounded.

Conor squeezed out of Flamez’s grasp.

“Hi!” He waved at them.

The uniformed men weren’t weaklings. Most of them had well-defined muscles under those clothes. Their spears were held with both hands and pointed at Flamez and Conor.

“Stay right where you are!” One of them said.

“What do you mean? I just helped you catch Flamez!”

A fat man in uniform walked into the fray. Some men shuffled away to let him pass.

“Yes. You did. You should’ve outlived your usefulness, Conor. But It appears that Flamez seems to care about your safety. You might be useful, if he manages to slip away again.”

“But what about the ...”

Gerald raised one hand, signalling his men. They didn’t hesitate for a second. They rushed in to attack.

Flamez consciously smiled again. Small sparks of fire slowly lit up on his hands. They coalesced and became balls of fire, one in each hand.

“Let’s get started.”

The fire balls hit two of the men, right in between their legs, causing them to stumble and fall. The rest arrived in an instant, but now Flamez had made a gap in their circle. Dragging Conor, he dodged a direct attack from a metal spear. Another one grazed his side as he fled with Conor now on his back.

“After him!”

The men were already right behind him.

They have ice magic. All of them. I’ll need a better strategy than just running.

Flamez continued to run. He dodged shards of ice being thrown around. Howeve, probably due to the cheer amount of people in the road, they weren’t eager to start attacking him in earnest. Eventually he took a turn into an alley. A dead end. Dropping Conor, he turned to face them.

“Well what do you know, It’s turned into a brawl.” Flamez cracked his knuckles.

Too bad, running away is pretty much the only thing I’m good for. If these guys are really good, I’ll probably fall today.

Flamez had to force the smile again. Fire lit up from his exposed hands. Raising his hand upwards, both fire balls fused together to form a single big fireball, which in turn started to expand.

Two men in front-as many as can fit through the alleyway- threw their spears at him. He twisted his body and dodged them, right before tossing the fireball at the men. An ice wall emerged in a split second, stopping the attack, but shattering to pieces at the same time. Flamez rushed forward, a knife in each hand, a large smile on his face. The two men fell backwards, a knife in each torso.

The men ahead were on their guard. They had abandoned their standard issues spears and held a sword and round shield instead.

You need focus to perform magic. These guys are geared towards fighting without it. I can do this.

An ice spike lodged in his left shoulder and another in his right arm, proving him wrong.

Damn, that was fast.

Flamez didn’t fall backwards; he ran forward. Though his smile became just him gritting his teeth.

More fire emerged around him, melting the ice and sealing his wounds. He ran right into them, and used both palms to slap their necks right before they could pierce him with their blades. They fell over, coughing repeatedly. A burn print remained on their necks, the flesh raw.

All right. Two more to go.

Jumping back into the alley, he invited the last two in with a wink.

They charged one behind the other, this time. Jumping over their comrades, the one in the front stood his ground all of a sudden. Then he threw the spear just inches away from Flamez, who sidestepped it and lodged a dagger into his side, causing him to scream in pain. Four ice spikes winked into existence and flew at Flamez with incredible precision. With a wave of his free hand, a flare melted them in an instant. At the same time, Flamez removed the bloody knife, before stabbing again, at his thigh. And then again, prompting more screams.

His smile remained. As cheerful as ever.

“You’re a demon!” The one in the back accused.

“I’ve heard that once or twice,” Flamez replied.

“But for the record, you all appear to be trying to kill me rather than arrest me.”

A huge ice spike materialized. Big enough to pierce a fist size hole through him.

“Flamez, watch out!” Conor yelled.

Flamez instantly created a fireball as that to counter it. They met in mid air and the ice spear broke and partially melted in mid air. Small shards still managed to reach Flamez, turning red instantly.

“Flamez.”

“I’m okay. I’ll make a miracle.” Flamez walked briskly towards the last man. He was a lot scrawnier than the others.

Frank stared at flamez with a frown. Sweat went down his brow.

“Please. Don’t hurt me.”

“You just called me a demon. Why shouldn’t I?”

“Because you’re not.” A woman spoke from the street. She walked in to stand between Flamez and Frank.

“Ava...”

Ava stared at flamez.

“You’re... You act like I’m supposed to know you.” The teenage boy raised an eyebrow.

“I tortured you. When you were a kid. I... helped him beat you up, to make him feel better.”

“Oh. Now I remember. How’s your cousin these days? Is he alright?”

Tears streamed from her eyes.

“How...how could you say that? We scarred you for life.”

“Thomas did. You were just there for the ride, and honestly, I don’t hate any of you.”

“Ava.” Frank said, again.

All of a sudden the cold in the air became palpable. Conor suddenly screamed.

“Ahh!”

Flamez turned around to see Gerald holding conor up by his neck.

“How did you,”

“Short distance teleportation. Went to meet a genuine Mage to do the job.”

“Thomas.”Ava whispered.

“Yeah. That was his name. He laughed when he told me we were using it to bring you in. I know locking you up would be a fate worse than death. Fireland vermin like you deserve to be in the deepest portion of the dungeons. Now then, take one step and the kid dies. Ava, chain him up.” Gerald smiled.

Flamez stood in shock. He could hardly process what had just happened.

“Run” Ava whispered.

“Ava, do you want to lose your job?” Gerald asked.

“Run Flamez! He won’t really kill me! I’m going to be a Knight, remember! Nothing’s going to happen. So run!”Conor managed to scream.

Running. Really, the only thing I’m good for...

____________

The little boy flamez stopped running. His wounds hurt a lot more than before. His warm tears filled his cheeks. Raising his hand to them, he wiped them away.

“She...she was smiling. Why ..”

His lips curled up to form a smile.

Just like this. This was how she smiled.

_____________

Currently...

Flamez grinned.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“But Flamez...”

“Shut up, kid! You don’t get to tell me what to do.”He barked.

Gerald frowned. He raised his voice this time.

“Ava, you really want to lose your job, don’t you?”

Ava stood still.

“Run already!” Conor screamed, painfully.

“Are you really going to be a Knight, Conor? Did this man have what it takes to put you there? No. He didn’t. It was just a joke to him!”

Gerald smirked, his right hand still grabbing conor’s neck.

“This kid...”

Conor looked at the man in terror.

“Really?” He asked, softly.

Gerald held a smoke to his lips. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a single match stick. He proceeded to strike it on the wall, and use the burning stick to light the cigarette. Then, he smiled.

Flamez cracked his knuckles.

“You’re not smiling, kid!”

Conor’s frown deepened.

“No! Don’t do it! He’ll kill you!” The boy wailed.

“Hey Ger, it’s time for you,”

Suddenly, flamez erupted with fire. Then he practically exploded towards Gerald, fire igniting from his blood.

The grin remained as he arrived right in front of Gerald, whose face went pale.

A spear of ice pierced right through flames right breast, but even that didn’t stop him. His hand smacked Gerald’s face, causing him to let go of Conor.

“...to say good night.”

Fire streamed out. So much fire that it engulfed his face in a second. Then massive stream of flames burned the wall behind him too.

Conor, Ava and Frank watched, horrified.

The fires ceased abruptly, only a few seconds after it was conjured.

Gerald landed flat on the ground, his face disfigured beyond recognition. A twitch from one his fingers was the only proof that he was somehow still alive.

“That’s what a fire demon can do...” Flamez said weakly, right before collapsing on his face.

__________