The Girl Born of Smoke (2 page)

She hit the rough water feet first with a
wet smack. As she scrambled to get her footing, she caught a
glimpse of Kirian and Roxanne above her, shouting things she was
unable hear. The water roared all around her and she felt it pull
her away from the shore. Keeping her body pointed toward them, she
kicked fiercely against the current, but noticed the shoreline
moving by at a faster and faster rate. The river tore her around a
corner and she lost sight of them at the same moment she crashed
back-first into a rock sticking out of the water.

Her head buzzing with the impact, she weakly
grasped at the rock, half stunned as the river began to slip her
around it. It grabbed her hand back. Shaking her head, she looked
up and saw a girl kneeling on the rock, her hand grasping Aurora's.
With her other hand, she smoothed her long dark hair out of her
face.

“You shouldn't be out here,” the girl said
with concern

“I fell in,” Aurora cried. “Please help
me!”

The girl shook her head,
giggling. “No, I mean out
here
, away from home. You need to
come back.”

“I can't.” Aurora tried to pull herself up
onto the rock as her legs trailed out behind her, tugged by the
river. “Help me!”

The girl looked at Aurora sadly for a
moment, then released her hand. Screaming, Aurora caught a mouthful
of the frigid water and tumbled away down the river. As she tried
to cough the water out, more entered her mouth and she floundered
helplessly, trying to stay above the surface. Flailing in panic,
she felt something scrape against her foot. The feeling continued
before she finally realized it was the bottom of the river.

She scrambled to get her footing, tripping
several times until she managed to stand with her shoulders and
head out of the water. Choking, she stumbled toward the shore,
slipping on the loose, slimy rocks below. The river had widened
out, growing shallower and calmer for a short stretch.

Reaching the shallow-sloping shoreline, she
collapsed on her side, still coughing until her throat and chest
ached. She caught sight of something strange and glanced down. Her
fingers were desperately clutching around a small, spindly stick.
Blinking in confusion, she tossed the stick out into the river and
watched it drift away, slowly picking up speed. With a groan, she
dragged herself completely out of the water, her clothes stuck
tightly against her body.

She lay in the damp dirt for a few moments,
raggedly catching her breath and staring up at the overcast sky. It
slowly began to rain and she closed her eyes, listening to the
patter of raindrops on the ground, feeling the rain run down her
face. Finally, she sat up and smoothed her soaking wet, tangled
hair back. Taking a deep breath, she climbed to her feet and
stumbled along the bank, back upriver.

The ground was sodden and the mud squelched
beneath her feet with every step, her sandals rubbing the grit
painfully into the back of her heels. When she passed the area
where she had seen the other girl, she kept her gaze on the ground,
refusing to let her eyes wander to the river.

The rain gradually became heavier until
streams of water dribbled down her face and dripped off her chin
and nose. She shivered, wrapping her arms around her thin body.
Over the sound of the rain drumming on the trees and river, she
thought she heard a voice and she stopped walking, listening
intently. After a moment, she decided it had been nothing and
continued walking, keeping the river nearby.

She blinked the rain out of her eyes and
looked around. The bank had slowly risen up above the level of the
river and she looked down on it, shuddering and closing her eyes as
she felt the cold water tugging her away again.

“You shouldn't be out here!”

Aurora's eyes flew open and she spun around
toward the voice. “What?”

“I said how'd you get out of there?” It was
Kirian. He and Roxanne stood a few footsteps away, staring at her,
shocked looks on both their faces. “Are you alright?”
Aurora blinked. “I'm...fine.”

Kirian and Roxanne exchanged glances. Kirian
opened his mouth, then closed it again with a shake of his head,
brown hair glistening with raindrops. Roxanne sighed heavily.
“Well, look. You managed to get yourself out, which is good. But
we've got to get going. I'm tired, I'm wet, and it’ll be getting
dark soon.”

Managing a half-smile, Aurora smoothed out
her damp shirt. “Ok, well let’s get out of here then.”

“Fantastic,” Kirian said dryly. “Now are we
going to start heading home?”

Roxanne shot him a fierce glare. “Kirian,”
she muttered through clenched teeth.

Giving a long sigh, he looked up at the sky,
small raindrops splashing on his face. “Let's just go. There's
nothing more for us here.” He glanced at Aurora. “Just be more
careful, alright? I hope you know you got lucky this time.”

Aurora nodded quickly. “Yes, I'm sorry.”

Putting her arm around
Aurora, Roxanne looked at Kirian, but spoke to Aurora. “You have
nothing to be sorry for,” she said coldly, still locked eyes with
Kirian. “
I'm
just
happy you're alright.”

Kirian shook his head with disgust and
walked off without a word, followed shortly by Aurora and Roxanne.
The drizzling rain continued until the day faded into the gloomy
hour just before twilight and they finally reached a bridge across
the river. Kirian still walked slightly ahead, paying no attention
to the other two until they crossed the bridge.

“Do you know where we are on the map?” he
asked Roxanne suddenly.

She shook her head.

“Great,” he said, his voice thick with
sarcasm. “Just great.” He threw his things to the ground. “So I
guess we'll just camp here on the ground in our soaking wet clothes
then?”

“Fine,” Roxanne snapped. “You do that. The
kid and I will find a town to stay at while you sulk here in the
dark.”

He rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, that's a great
idea. I don’t recognize any of this scenery. That last town we
stayed at is nowhere around here. You’re going to end up wandering
through the forest in the dark, just asking to fall down a ravine
or into another river.”

Aurora's eyes opened wide. “Maybe-”

“Yeah sure. I bet we'll be out of this
forest before it even gets dark.” Roxanne interrupted. “See you
later.” She stormed off without a backwards glance.

Aurora hesitated for a second, looking at
Kirian, then shrugged and ran off after Roxanne. The two walked
hurriedly through the forest with Aurora glancing back every few
moments to see if Kirian was following. He wasn't. The ground was
already covered with shadows and when Aurora looked up at the sky,
she saw it was quickly growing dark as well. As the day faded into
night, Roxanne increased her pace until Aurora had to jog to keep
up with her. “Roxanne!” she protested.

“What?” Roxanne snapped, glancing back at
her. “Hurry up, will you?” She slowed her pace just slightly.

The forest showed no signs of ending as they
hurried onward. The slight path that had led them from the bridge
had long since faded away. The underbrush wasn't terribly thick,
but Aurora still managed to trip over a vine as she darted along
after Roxanne. She fell hard on her already scraped up hands and
winced. Roxanne paused as she heard the thud and turned. “You
alright?” she asked, breathing heavily.

“Yeah.” Aurora carefully climbed to her
feet. “I'm fine.” The forest was dark around them and filled with
the strange scrabbling noises of night animals waking. She felt a
bug crawl across her foot and quickly brushed it off,
shivering.

“We've...got to keep going,” Roxanne said,
sounding slightly unsure.

Biting her lip, Aurora nodded.
“Alright.”

They walked more slowly, feeling their way
between the trees and over the tangle of roots on the ground,
stumbling occasionally. “Is this really a good idea?” Aurora asked,
but was met only with silence. “Are you glaring at me?”

“Yes,” Roxanne replied tersely.

Aurora grinned despite herself, then froze
as she heard a crash. “Roxanne, was that you?”

“Oh damnit.”

Slowly moving toward the sound of Roxanne's
voice, Aurora suddenly bumped into something soft. “Is that you,
Roxanne?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, are you alright?” Aurora squinted
into the darkness, trying unsuccessfully to see what the problem
was.

“I'm, uh, kind of stuck.”

Aurora blinked. “Stuck how?”

Sighing, Roxanne shifted slightly. “Under a
root, I expect. Listen, I need you to go get Kirian for me.”

“In the dark?” Aurora exclaimed. “But I
won’t be able to find my way back!” She knelt down and prodded
Roxanne. “Can't I help you get out?”

Roxanne swatted her hand away. “No. Just go
get Kirian. The moon will be rising soon and the clouds have pretty
much cleared. You'll be able to see where you're going well enough.
Just go back the way we came.”

“I don't know which way we came!” Aurora
wailed. “I was following you.” She heard Roxanne shift again and
saw a dark shape rise up in front of her. “Roxanne?”

“You’re useless!” Roxanne exclaimed, her
voice coming from higher above the ground.

“Did you get yourself loose?” Aurora asked
in confusion. There was a silence and she could imagine Roxanne
rolling her eyes. “What’s going on? I can't see a thing.”

Roxanne sighed. “Fine, I'll show you the way
back. Just tell Kirian I'm trapped and need his help.”

“What? But if you-”

“Can you please just do what I ask without
questioning everything?” Roxanne asked in exasperation.

“Alright. Sorry.” She followed Roxanne back
the way they had come, following the sound of her footsteps and
occasionally calling out when she ran into an obstacle or got
turned around. Glancing up at one point, she noticed the moon had
begun to rise above the treetops, dimly lighting the forest with
silver shadows. The clouds slowly shifted overhead, illuminated
against the dark sky.

They continued to shove their way through
the damp, dripping forest until Aurora noticed the sound of rushing
water. Roxanne slowed her pace until she finally came to a halt and
threw up a hand. Cautiously, Aurora approached her and looked
around. She saw the bridge a short distance straight ahead of them,
but Kirian was nowhere in sight.

Roxanne shoved her forward. “Well, go on,”
she hissed. “Find Kirian and tell him I'm hurt.”

“But why!” Aurora protested. “I still don't
understand. You're not hurt, are you?”

“That's not the point,”
Roxanne groaned. “Look, do you have a better idea? Or do you just
want to leave Kirian behind? If we get separated now, we might not
find each other again until we get back to Kain. That's
if
we both manage to get
back to Kain. So what else do you suggest? This will work, trust
me.” She gestured toward the bridge. “Just go find Kirian and get
him to follow you. I'll be a short distance behind and after you've
gone far enough, you'll find me,” she explained, sounding
frustrated. “It's not a big deal. Just do this one simple thing,
alright? I'll do the rest. You do want Kirian back with us, don't
you?”

Aurora bit her lip. “Well yes, but-”

Smiling pleadingly at her, Roxanne put her
hands on Aurora's shoulders. “That’s a good girl. Do it for me,
will you?”

“I guess,” Aurora mumbled and turned away.
She headed into the clearing, starting to shiver now that they had
slowed their pace and the cold night air was seeping through her
damp clothes. Crossing the bridge, she saw the moonlight flash
below her, its reflection flickering off the swift-moving water.
“Kirian?” she whispered, seeing no one. The river easily covered up
her voice. “Kirian?” she asked again, slightly louder. Looking back
to where she had left Roxanne, she could see no one in the shadows.
She was alone.

Aurora kept searching the area, crossing
back and forth across the bridge and starting to feel desperate,
although she assumed that Roxanne must still be in the area.
Finally, she took a deep breath and held it for a moment,
hesitating. “Kirian?” she yelled finally, wincing at the sound of
her own voice.

Cocking her head, she listened for an
answer, but heard nothing over the sound of the river and bugs
chirping nearby. Sighing, she looked up at the stars and blundering
into something soft at the base of a tree. Tripping, she yelped and
tumbled over the lump, which grunted and rolled, pinning her to the
ground with its weight.

“Who is it?” she heard a voice grumble near
to her ear.

She struggled to get free, thrashing wildly.
“Let me up!”

“Aurora, is that you?”

“Yes!” she protested. “Let me up!”

He grunted again and rolled off her, slowly
climbing to his feet. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Pausing for a second, Aurora stood up as
well, brushing herself off. She looked away from Kirian. “I, uh,
need your help. Roxanne tripped and fell in the forest and sprained
her ankle, I think. She sent me back to get you.”

Kirian was silent for a moment as he looked
up at the moon. “It's been quite awhile since you two went off by
yourselves. I imagine you two must have traveled quite awhile
before Roxanne tripped. So how is it that you managed to find your
way back in the dark? No offense, but you’re just a kid. One who’s
never gone beyond her own town.”

“Well, I'm here, aren't I?” Aurora frowned,
still looking away.

“You are. I could be wrong. Maybe you have
an excellent sense of direction. Maybe you have enough trust in
yourself to know that you can find your way back to Roxanne. Maybe
you even have no fear of walking through a strange forest in the
night by yourself. But one thing I know for sure is that Roxanne
would not put up with being rescued if she was really hurt.
Especially not for something as minor as a sprained ankle.” He
gently turned her head to face him. “Aurora, tell me what's really
going on.”