“You can’t be serious?” El said. “They wouldn’t…”

  “They would,” Tas said evenly. “Why do you think they’re after civilians already? The old farmers who couldn’t aim a gun if their life depended on it? The cannons used to only be punishment for criminals, but they’re running out of those. They need somebody to power the weapons keeping the nobility safe. Nothing noble about those bastards, though, if you ask me.”

  “How… how does the pull on their Spark affect them?” Laze asked, having to restart her question as her voice cracked.

  Tas looked down at the gun in his own hand before answering. “One of these, for somebody who’s used to it? It’s kind of like a pinch. It’s uncomfortable, but you get used to it. I don’t even notice it anymore. A rifle—a bigger version of this—is pretty much the same for me or one of my people. Those oversized weapons I talked about earlier? Using one of those is like getting jabbed in the chest. A few shots makes it feel like a bruise is forming. A dozen and it’s like a cracked rib.

  “The pain doesn’t stop you from keeping going, I mean, your Spark is capable, but it hurts.”

  “One of those cannons?” Laze asked, her face screwed up like she didn’t really want to know.

  “I’m told the first shot is like getting kicked by a horse. By the third, it feels like you’ve got a house on your chest, slowly grinding your ribs to dust and making it hard to breathe. We’ve… got a name for the bigger guns on the walls. We call them Screamers, but it’s not for any sound the cannons themselves make,” Tas said.

  “Why would you even use something like that?” Nidina said.

  “Even when we had our Ember, we couldn’t fly like you can, or make weapons of solid flame,” Tas replied. “Our Sparks always manifested through our connection with machinery. Maybe because our ancestors prided themselves on being inventors—or maybe they were inventors because of how our Sparks behaved. I don’t know. Either way, this was what we needed to do to protect ourselves.

  “Even after the… war—if it could be called that—with Pycrin, we still had the scaled bears to contend with. Not to mention the other wildlife roaming around.”

  “There’s more than the bears?” El asked.

  “Lots more. Everything around here kind of wants to kill you. Especially the cute things. If you see a little furry, pink puffball with puppy-dog eyes, run,” Tas said. When El chuckled at the comment, he shook his head very seriously. “I’m not kidding. We call them Death-Sheep for a reason.”

  “Right. Okay,” she said soberly.

  “Even when the snows came,” Tas continued after he was sure El understood the threat of the Death-Sheep, “it didn’t get better. Even though the bears went into hibernation, other things came in the storm. Brutish, man-shaped things two or three times the height of a person. All muscle and teeth. I’m not sure what happened to them after the thaw, actually, but we’ve needed to protect ourselves the whole time.

  “As terrible as Screamers are, they kept the cities safe. Until the nobility decided powering the Screamers was more important than the people they were meant to protect,” Tas said.

  “Burn it,” Laze cursed quietly.

  “Yeah, exactly,” Tas agreed. “So, back to the whole hope for an invading army? Any chance I can convince you? A war with Pycrin kind of seems like a vacation compared to what we’ve been dealing with… well… since our last war with Pycrin.”

  “War is what we’re trying to get away from,” El said, rubbing her hands back across her head as she processed everything Tas had told her. “But, maybe we need to change our position on this.”

  “He could be lying,” Dayne said, and Tas raised an eyebrow at the other man. “We’ve only got his side of things. It’s not enough to go to war.”

  “Part of me is hurt you trust me so little…” Tas said.

  “He’s right, though,” El said. “No offense. We don’t really know you, or what’s going on in your country.” She held up a hand to stop Tas as he opened his mouth to speak. “But, we’re going to find out. If things are as bad as you say they are, we’ll bring this information back to our brass. I can’t make any promises. I’m just a corporal…”

  “Special Sergeant,” Laze reminded her.

  “Sorry, I’m just a sergeant, so I don’t know how much sway I’ll have, but I promise I’ll do everything I can,” El said.

  Tas tapped his chin with the barrel of his gun as he thought, then seemed to realize he was still holding the weapon, and sheathed it back on his leg. “I guess I can’t really ask for much more,” he said.

  “Before that, though,” El said. “How far are we from where you’re planning to meet the ship?”

  Tas looked back at the slumped-over shapes of the exhausted civilians. “I’d like to say we’d reach it tomorrow, but more likely the day after. The run-in with the bears took most of the stamina we had left. If we push much harder, we’re going to lose people.”

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Two days?” El asked, looking first to Laze, then Nidina, and finally Dayne. One after another, they gave her a small nod as if understanding what she was going to ask them. “It’s settled, then. We’ll escort you the rest of the way, if you’ll have us.”

  The man across from El looked at each of the Firestorm, who in turn gave him a small nod. “You’re serious?” he asked.

  “It’d be a shame if we went to all the trouble to save you, only for you to get eaten by more scaled bears as soon as we turned our backs,” El said. “Besides, we’ve come to realize the real purpose of the Firestorm is the same reason you signed up to the army.”

  “Sounds like the world really is changing,” Tas said.

  “Yup, though you haven’t answered.”

  “If you’re willing, we’d be happy to have you. We may not be far from where the ship docks, but we’ve got to pass through some dangerous territory.”

  “What did you get us into this time, El?” Nidina asked playfully.

  “Death-Sheep?” El asked, and Tas visibly shuddered.

  “Seven Cinders, I hope not,” Tas said. “That’d be the end of us. Just one… and…” he shivered again. “No, we’ll be passing through the hunting grounds of lava-slate monkeys. Mean bastards, but with you flying and keeping watch, maybe they can’t sneak up on us.”

  “Lava-slate?” Laze asked. “Literally?”

  Tas shook his head. “No. They have gray, slate-color fur with lines of orange in it. Looks like veins of lava, but it’s just coloring. If we travel at the pace I expect, around mid-morning tomorrow, we’ll pass through another rockwood, which is where the monkeys hunt. They’re about as big as we are, and swing from the tops of the spikes faster than we can run.”

  “Sounds fun,” El said flatly. “They travel in packs, I assume.”

  “Of course they do. Loud ones. Usually hear them hooting a mile away before we see them,” Tas explained.

  “Making noise doesn’t seem like the best way to sneak up on your food,” Laze said.

  “They must enjoy the chase,” Dayne offered, and Tas pointed at the man.

  “Exactly that. The more you run, the more they hoot and holler. Sometimes, if there’s a runner, they’ll ignore people just standing still. I wouldn’t count on that to save you in a pinch, but I’ve seen it happen,” Tas said.

  “You said your—What did you call it?—your pistol wouldn’t work too well on a scaled bear. How about on these monkeys?” El asked.

  “Much better. These things we can kill, which is why we were willing to risk moving directly through their hunting ground. Shortest route by a long shot. They have a few islands they prefer.”

  “What do they hunt?” Laze asked.

  “There are some lizards that like climbing the spikes to sun themselves, as well as some goats, and a kind of rodent, I think?”

  “Any of those a threat?”

  “All of them are, but they shouldn’t bother a group as large as ours. If you ever camp out by yourself, though… actually, just don’t do that,” Tas said.

  “Everything here really does want to kill us?” Laze asked. “You weren’t exaggerating?”

  “Not in the least,” Tas said. “But, at this point, I think I should leave you to get some rest. And I need to go make sure I still have some coffee left for when the sun comes up. We don’t have a lot of food for breakfast, so we’ll be on the move pretty quickly. I hope that works for our generous escorts?”

  “We’ll be ready,” El said. “See you in the morning.”

  With that, Tas stood, gave a little bow of his head, and saluted by tapping two fingers against the center of his chest. A second later, he spun and sauntered off into the darkness.

  El and the others waited over a minute before anybody spoke, their eyes tracing through the darkness around their small campfire. Thanks to the Sparks in their chests, looking at the fire didn’t ruin their night vision—if anything, it improved it, like their eyes were storing the light—and they didn’t see anybody nearby.

  “Thoughts?” El said quietly, trusting in the magic of their armor to communicate without being overheard.

  “They definitely need our help,” Laze spoke up first. “I’d say the civilians look more like refugees than anything else. Barely the clothes on their backs, and not much more. I don’t know if what he’s saying about these monkeys is true or not, but I don’t think they would’ve even survived the bears if we hadn’t arrived. They’re scared of something, whether or not it’s the army.”

  “We could be backing the wrong side here, though,” Nidina countered quietly. “For all we know, these people are some kind of rebels, and it’s the army we should be working with to catch them.”

  “We were basically rebels too,” Laze pointed out. “These people right in front of us need our help.”

  “I know. Not saying we shouldn’t help them,” Nidina said. “Just talking possibilities.”

  “You’re both right,” El added. “We will help them. Like Laze said, they’re right in front of us, and we can’t ignore the danger they’re in. Rebels, refugees, or just scared people, we have a chance to save their lives. After that, well, then we’ll look into what the sides actually are. What about Tas and his soldiers?”

  “We should be careful,” Dayne said evenly. “He told us just enough about his Spark and what it could do to make sure we didn’t ask a lot more questions.”

  “You think he’s hiding something?”

  “Omitting more than hiding,” Dayne said. “There’s more to their magic than he said.”

  “The whole Screamers thing was kind of distracting—and horrifying,” Laze admitted.

  “Are they a threat?” El asked.

  “Might be,” Dayne said. “You heard him start to mention they were using some kind of special material for their—What did he call them?—their bullets. How much you want to bet they started using that after Pycrin invaded the first time, in case it happened again?”

  “Bullets made to deal with our flame armor, huh?” El mused over the possibility, then nodded. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched. “Good catch, Dayne. Okay, here’s how tomorrow is going to work.

  “Laze, you did a good job coordinating during the bear attack. I want you to take up the same role while we’re escorting. Stay with the group, and keep us moving where you need us.”

  “I don’t know if I…” Laze started, but El shook her head.

  “Yes, you’re the perfect person for the job. You’ve been coordinating soldiers since the attack on Aldrana, and you’re burning good at it. You have a knack for reading the flow of battle, so please, do this for me.”

  “I… okay. You can count on me,” Laze said.

  “I know I can,” El responded. “Dayne, Nidina? You two will be responsible for keeping the flanks safe. Also, if these monkeys do show up, I want you to keep an eye on what the Pilish guns are capable of. I’ll be out front, scouting, so, Laze, it’ll be up to you to communicate where I need to go, or if we’re changing direction.

  “Questions? Comments?”

  “We should find out if the Pilish soldiers have a way to communicate like we do,” Nidina said.

  “Or something like flame armor,” Dayne added.

  “No way their Sparks should be strong enough for that,” Nidina said.

  “Let’s not discount the possibility until we know for sure,” El said. “Anything else? No. Dayne, Nidina, get back to sleep. Laze and I will wake you in a few hours to switch. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”