The Girl Born of Smoke (3 page)

She opened her mouth, then closed it again,
glancing around the surrounding area. “I-I'm sorry, Kirian. Roxanne
just wants you to come back,” she told him in a low voice. “She
thought this was the only way. Please just play along. She'll be
mad at me if she finds out I told you.”

Taking a deep breath, Kirian shook his head.
“You don't have to be sorry Aurora. I'm sorry you had to get
wrapped up in this. Just give me a second to get my things together
and I'll follow you. It's probably for the best, anyway.”

“Thank you.” Aurora sighed in relief. “I
really didn't want to lie to you, Kirian.”

“I know. It’s alright though. You’re not a
very good liar. It makes me trust you more, to know I can tell when
you’re lying.” He folded up his blanket, stuffing it into his
backpack and pulled on his boots. “Let's just get going.”

The two walked back into the forest, the
moon now almost directly overhead. Aurora led the way through the
trees and around the areas of heavy underbrush, glancing around
once in awhile to try and see if Roxanne was following as planned.
She didn't see her, but after several moments of meandering through
the forest, she heard something rustling in front of her. She
slowed her pace. “Roxanne?”

“Aurora? Did you bring Kirian?”

“Yeah, I'm here,” Kirian answered. “Are you
alright?”

“I'm alright,” Roxanne replied. “I'm
actually much better now, but figured I had better stay put so you
two could find me.” Aurora hung back as Kirian walked forward to
where Roxanne sat on the ground and reached out his hand, helping
her up. “I'm sorry, Kirian,” Roxanne said softly. “I'm glad you
came.”

Kirian bent down and kissed her on the
cheek. “Of course I came. Come on, let's just sleep here for the
night.” She nodded slightly and Kirian settled down on the ground,
pulling his blanket out and lying down almost immediately. Roxanne
glanced over at Aurora and motioned to her as she walked a short
distance away.

Walking quickly to catch up, Aurora cocked
her head as Roxanne stopped and turned toward her. “What is it?”
she asked.

“I know you told him,” Roxanne said quietly,
“but it worked out, so...thanks.”

Aurora tugged at a strand of her hair. “I'm
sorry. I really tried to lie to him, but I guess I'm not very good
at it.”

“Don't worry about it.” Roxanne shrugged.
“But don't you dare tell him that I know.”

“What?” Aurora asked, blinking. “But if you
and him both know that you were faking, why does it matter?”

“Because if he knew that I knew that he
knows I was-” Roxanne yawned. “Look I'm too tired for this. The
point is, I don't want to get into a discussion with him about it,
which is what would happen. It's just better this way. We can both
pretend we know nothing and go on with our lives. Okay?”

Suddenly feeling dead tired, Aurora nodded.
“’Kay, Roxanne. I won't tell him.”

“Good girl.” Roxanne patted her on the head
and headed back to where Kirian lay. “Now get some sleep,” she
called over her shoulder, tossing over a spare blanket.

Nodding again, Aurora plopped down on the
ground a short distance away from Roxanne and Kirian, wrapping
herself in the blanket, which was unexpectedly dry. Resting her
cheek down on the wet ground and closing her eyes, she felt herself
almost immediately floating away into dreams. With a small sigh,
she nestled deeper into her blanket and relaxed, drifting off into
an exhausted sleep.

Chapter 2

They reached a small town the next morning,
nestled on the edge of the forest. Aurora felt a strange sense of
disappointment deep in her chest at the sight of the town that
would be her new home. The people looked at the three with stares
of suspicion. “People really aren’t too friendly in this part of
the world, are they?” Roxanne muttered under her breath.

Aurora shrugged. “Well, thanks for showing
me the way,” she said, reaching down to slip off the loaned
sandals. “You can have these back now, I won’t really need them
here.” Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she looked up.

“Look,” Roxanne said awkwardly. “We kind of
talked last night and we don’t feel right just leaving you here. We
want you to come back to Kain with us. We have a house there with
an extra room and you could stay with us, if you wanted.”

Confusion tickling at the disappointment in
her chest, Aurora looked between the two, noting Kirian’s unhappy
expression. “No, you don’t have to-“ she started.

“Seriously,” Roxanne interrupted. “You can
come. It won’t be a problem.” She gave Kirian a look.

“Yeah,” he said flatly.

Aurora’s eyes lit up. “Really? I can come
live with you? I swear I won’t be a nuisance,” she said hurriedly.
“And if I am, well you can kick me out if you want.”

Roxanne laughed and tousled her hair. “Don’t
worry, it’ll be fine. Now let’s get out of here.” She grimaced at
the people openly staring at them, silently disapproving of their
presence.

The three left quickly, only stopping to buy
more supplies and find out the name of the town so they could
locate it on the map. After that, they walked and walked. They
walked longer than Aurora thought possible without walking right
into the ocean. They slept huddled in the sweet, warm grass in
meadows, on the needle-padded banks of streams, and occasionally in
rented beds if they were near a town. Although Kirian was mostly
silent for the first week, he slowly opened up when Roxanne began
naming the things Aurora would like about Kain.

“Leafy trees,” she said, “and pastries and
the sea.”

“Kites,” Kirian said suddenly. “She’ll like
the kites.”

Roxanne grinned. “Yeah, and the sight of
mountains in the distance. It’s too flat here.”

“That’s for sure.” Kirian nodded. “Hey, and
buildings more than one story tall.”

They both laughed and the tension that had
been present finally eased. Aurora felt herself relax for the first
time since leaving Delobo.

“You know, I'm kind of surprised we haven't
seen any Citizens’ or Wizard's armies on our trip,” Roxanne
remarked, leaping from one boulder to another as they climbed a
grassy hill.

“I imagine they're probably all still over
in the Caleth area.” Kirian answered, walking calmly around the
boulders. “They couldn’t have moved all that far in just a year,
especially with all the fighting that was going on.”

Aurora scrambled up the hill, struggling to
keep up with the older two. “What?” she panted.

“Oh, Caleth,” Roxanne explained, “it's an
area far from here, on the other coast. Probably not the nicest
area to visit right now.”

It hadn't been what Aurora was asking, but
she shrugged and leapt off a rock into the long grass. They were
approaching the top of the hill and the chilly wind swept through
the grass, tickling her bare arms.

“You don't think maybe the war is over?”
Roxanne asked.

Kirian scoffed. “Yeah, right. They all just
gave up. Like that'd ever happen.”

With a quick glare over her shoulder in
Kirian's direction, Roxanne shook her head. “Maybe they found that
boy they're looking for.”

“You honestly think he exists?” Kirian asked
incredulously.

“Sure, he might. Or will.”

Aurora glanced back and forth between the
two of them and sighed slightly as her hair blew in her face. She
brushed it back impatiently, just in time to reach the top of the
hill where Kirian and Roxanne had paused. The clouds above her
seemed closer to touch than the land sprawled below. She leaned
into the wind and squinted her eyes, peering at the rivers and
streams dividing up the land below. Huge groves of trees sheltered
the towns and cities and far off in the distance, the hills leveled
out and faded away into blue, smearing together with the sky.

“Aurora.” She barely heard it over the rush
of the wind past her head.

“Huh?” She turned to Roxanne, standing
beside her.

“What?” Roxanne asked blankly.

Aurora screwed up her face. “I thought you
said my name.”

“You're hearing things.” Roxanne
grinned.

“Guess so.” Aurora half-grinned back at her.
As she looked down at the land spread out beneath her, she wondered
how long it would take to walk through it all. They slowly began to
descend, leaving the lonely peak and returning to the world. The
wind subsided and the warmth she didn't even notice missing
returned to her body. She tried to connect the forest they walked
through and the streams running through it with the overhead view
she had seen from the hilltop, but the world looked different
straight on.

Over the following several weeks, they
passed through many more towns, hills, rivers, and forests until
they finally intersected a wide, dusty road. The road was covered
in footprints and they frequently passed people traveling the
opposite way, who Aurora always peered at curiously. The people had
colors of hair and tones of skin she didn’t even know existed and
absolutely everyone was dressed in bright colors that matched
everything from the intensity of the deep cerulean sky to the pure
scarlet of the setting sun. She looked down ashamed at her own
clothes, ragged and dull-gray from wear.

“Hey,” Roxanne said, giving her a sideways
look, “don’t stare at everyone. It’s rude.”

“Oh, sorry,” she replied, looking down, but
continued to peer at the others from the corners of her eyes.

They walked in silence as the sun crept
closer to the horizon directly in front of them. Aurora squinted
uncomfortably at the bright light and began to wonder where they
would camp for the night. She had begun to lag behind and dashed
forward to catch up to the other two. “Hey, where are we staying
tonight?” she asked tiredly.

Roxanne grinned at her. “You'll be staying
in a bed tonight, kid.”

“Oh, alright.” Aurora was silent for a
moment. “What town are we staying in?”

Even Kirian had started to smile slightly.
“Oh, just some big town by the sea,” he remarked off-handedly.

Aurora's eyes widened and she darted in
front and turned to face them, walking backwards. “Are we going to
make it to Kain tonight?” she asked with excitement, nearly
tripping over her own feet.

Shrugging, Roxanne looked at Kirian. “I
don't know, it's been so long, is that the name of it?”

Kirian rolled his eyes, still smiling, and
didn't answer. Barely able to contain herself, Aurora sprinted down
the road with a new burst of energy. “Wait for us at the entrance,”
Kirian yelled after her. As she ran, the road became wider and more
people milled about, talking to each other and glancing over in
amusement when they saw her run by. She slipped between the groups
and dodged the people walking the other way until she reached a
clearing.

In front of her sprawled the sea, glowing
brightly as the edge of the sun brushed it. To her left was the
city. It was much larger than any town she had seen so far and she
paused to catch her breath. Brightly colored flags danced atop the
buildings and all the windows glinted in the bright sunlight,
causing the city to glow with light. The buildings were taller than
she had ever imagined, taller even than the leafy trees scattered
throughout the city.

She stood staring, awestruck, until Kirian
and Roxanne walked past her, waving her forward. “Come on, come
on,” Roxanne urged. She looked nearly as excited as Aurora. The
three walked quickly through the city, glancing back and forth at
the buildings and people they passed. Several times, Kirian or
Roxanne pointed out a particular building to the other, commenting
on how it had changed.

Strings of lamps, only some of them lit,
criss-crossed above the main street they walked down, hanging just
out of reach. Finally, they turned down an unlit smaller road and
stopped in front of a squat brick house with spindly vines creeping
up the sides.

Kirian scowled when he saw the vines and
idly began pulling a few of them off as Roxanne hunted through her
backpack for the key to the front door. As the sky slowly darkened,
she finally pulled out a key triumphantly and unlocked the door.
Aurora was the last to enter through the front door and she
immediately wrinkled her nose at the musty, wet smell of the
house.

“Ugh,” Roxanne complained, “the entire place
mildewed while we were gone.”

Kirian shrugged and opened a couple windows,
spilling in a little light and fresh air. The room they stood in
was bare, except for a couple dusty chairs and table sprawled in
front of a cobwebbed fireplace.

Roxanne silently observed the room for a
moment before turning to Aurora and gesturing widely. “Well, this
is it,” she said. “How about a tour?”

“Sure.” She nodded, following Roxanne out of
the room as Kirian began cleaning out the fireplace. They turned a
corner around one of the walls of the main room and Aurora found
herself surrounded by counters and cupboards. “I'm guessing this is
the kitchen,” she ventured.

“Smart girl,” Roxanne said with a tinge of
sarcasm. “Clearly we have no food. At least, I hope we don't.” She
opened a couple of the cupboards and shrugged. “Yeah, nothing.
Kirian can go shopping tomorrow or something.” She glanced at
Aurora. “You're just kind of on your own for food, once we have
some”

“’
Kay.”

“Fantastic. Well, let me show you the rest
of the house then.” They walked down the shadowy, narrow hallway
connected to the kitchen. Several closed doors were on either side
and Roxanne gestured to each one with a quick explanation. “Closet,
bathroom, another closet, my room, and,” she paused as she flung
the door open enthusiastically, “your room!”

Aurora entered the room timidly. A bed sat
near to the ground in the corner, its dusty blankets neatly tucked
in. The only other furniture in the room was a small desk in front
of a window. She walked over to the window and stood on her tiptoes
to peer out. She saw the road in front of their house, dark and
abandoned.