Fire

   My breath was exasperated and short as I rushed into the woods, overhead was dark as the trees covered the moonlight. I was following the shadows of the hunters that took my sister from afar. They were faster than me, but I knew these woods better than them. I grew up in them; they were strangers to this land and it showed as they took the longest route possible around the mountains. My plan was to cut them off at the pass a few miles up. If I was lucky, I’d get to the pass before they did.

   Behind me, fire and smoke rose into the air, threatening to devour the entire valley one tree at a time. I prayed it would wait until I had gotten my sister back, but… these woods were dense. Dryer in the summertime. It would surely burn through the entire woods as it did my entire village.

   Trust the land, I could hear my mom say.

   My parents may very well have burned in the fire that the seers set. They burned down my village and stole my sister —the robed people of Entropy. They looked like Priests. They called themselves seers, and they were pretty distinct from their purple colouring. Patterned in white ovate shapes; it looked like they were covered in eyes. Very creepy. Given what just happened, I didn’t feel bad about making the comparison anymore.

   Back when I was a kid, my mom showed me these trails. She taught me this route so that I could get to the river for water. Going around and following the river was faster than through the mountains. I might not be able to catch up to them directly, but I quickly formed the plan to go around and cut them off at the mountain pass. If I got lucky they’d take a wrong turn or two, and I’d have time to set up traps.

   I got to the river. Even all the way out here, it was empty. The animals must have run farther than this to get away from the fire. It was no longer visible from here, but I could still catch the smoke that floated high into the air. Above even the mountains.

   My sister was my only family left now. I wouldn’t let them take her.

   I came to the entrance of the mountain path. The air here was colder; the smoke had not yet reached it, so it was fresh. The scent of the sea lingered nearby. It helped that I could see in the dark (Most elves could) so I didn’t have to give myself away with light.

   The fire would give me time, but the seers did not. Light bled down from the mountains from the torches they carried. I could hear their footsteps. I’d have to go without the traps. Heading for the nearest tree, I planned on taking them by surprise. As they walked through, I grabbed my bow from my back and aimed.

   They appeared. Four total. They all wore purple robes with white ovals. Singed from the fire, they were also covered in dark spots. Their details hidden by long hoods that drooped over their faces. They surrounded Evera. Pushing her forward. Her staff was with one of the seers.

   One of them was clearly the leader of them all. Her robes were a bit different than theirs. No hood, but instead she donned a purple veil, its edges covered in that ovate eye motif. Red hair draped down from her head and bandages covered her eyes. I’d met this one before. That was The Doyenne. I aimed at her, knowing that the others may very well scatter if their leader was attacked first.

   I let go of my arrow and watched it fly towards her side, only for her to look at it, and it stopped. It turned to ice and shattered. She smiled.

   “How interesting,” she said, her voice dominating the air and taking over any hope that this wouldn’t have to be difficult. She turned to the other seers and said, “Cel, Kirn. Go.”

   Two seers rushed forward. I turned around. As an elf with no magical ability, and my only weapon being a bow, I was at a disadvantage in a straight fight. I had to catch them off guard; I would fall back and try again.

   At least, that was my hope, but then I tripped and fell. The two seers approached me. “A straggler from the fire?” a man said. His voice was raspy like it had been burned, exactly what you’d imagine a scoundrel to sound like. “What makes him so foolish do you reckon, Cel?”

   “Quiet Kirn,” The other was a woman. Deep in pitch, stern in tone. Cel was her name. She picked me up by the collar of my shirt and said, “State your business.”

   I stood; my leg hurt but I could still walk. I turned to look at her.

   “You have my sister,” I said.

   The man, Kirn, asked, “You want to try taking her back by force? I don’t recommend it.”

   “I want you to hand her back over rather than starting a fight,” I said, “Haven’t we both been through enough tonight?”

   Cel crossed her arms and said, “You’re wasting your breath. The Doyenne won’t listen to you.”

   “She might kill you,” Kirn said.

   “Well?” The Doyenne asked.

   The two seers steered clear to let her through. Behind her, I saw Evera. Her bright blue eyes were filled with tears. The big seer behind her had a hand on either shoulder. Her eyes grew bright and somehow more afraid than before when she saw me.

   Kirn said, “He wants his sister.”

   “Ah,” The Doyenne said as she brought her hand to my cheek. “And you thought you could shoot me to get her back?”

   I stepped back. The seers were always a little creepy and off-putting, but right now? The Doyenne was downright terrifying. “I want to discuss her release,” I said.

   “Do you have something for me to trade for her? Money, perhaps?” my jaw tightened; no, I didn’t. I wasn’t able to retrieve any gold from my village before I’d heard my sisters scream as they stole her. She said, “How much is your sister’s life worth to you?”

   “She is the only family I have left. I’ll do anything to get her back,” I said.

   “Evern…” I could hear the lightest squeak of a voice say. It was Evera. My jaw tightened.

   “Bold claim,” The Doyenne said, her head lifted ever so slightly, towards my back, I realized as she said, “that bow won’t be enough to stop us.”

   It was wooden; nothing special. I can’t say I’d ever seen a seer fight, but I knew they knew magic. Clearly something that let them see clearly despite their bandages and hoods. The other two seers started to approach.

   Distantly, I could remember a time years ago. When I was a child and my sister was just a small toddler, I read to her. Stories about dragons and princesses and knights. Heroes that would save the world from the bad guys. I remembered when my dad sent us for water alone for the first time. He’d told me, “If something happens, it is your job as her older brother to protect her.”

   Her eyes stared into mine. Fear. She needed a hero now. I could only hope that I could be that hero. I aimed my bow. Foolish as it was, I had to stop them. The seers were about to pull their weapons on me when The Doyenne held out her hand, stopping the other two seers from approaching.

   Cel asked, “What is it?”

   “Let me handle this,” The Doyenne said.

   She walked towards me. Slowly, menacingly. The wind picked up, prickly my back with the cold air of the night. A weird coincidence, or was it possible this woman actually had control over the weather? No, my imagination was getting ahead of itself; magic had to be cast with ones hands, or a staff. You couldn’t just think a spell into existence.

   “How about we make a trade?” The Doyenne asked. “I’ll trade your sister for you.”

   “me?”

   “Yes. Unless you want to take back your words from before. You said you’d do anything to get her back.”

   I would easily trade her life for mine, but there was an issue. “Yeah, but… we’re in the middle of nowhere, basically. You burned down our home. If you release her now… where is she supposed to go? How will I know she’ll be safe without me?”

   “That is not my problem,” The Doyenne said.

   “I can’t leave her on her own.”

   “Then I suppose you want to die.”

   She waved her hand. In that quick motion, a dagger appeared. I backed away again and said, “You’ll kill me?”

   “You tried to kill me first.”

   I tried to shoot her, not kill her. Even so, I don’t think I’d feel bad if that happened. “You burned down my village,” I said,

   “And I’m killing all but one survivor, unless you drop your bow right now.”

   I aimed right at her, but… I looked to my sister, and I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t risk it. I was her only family left too.