The Girl Born of Smoke (7 page)

She listened as there were several muffled
thumps and a loud crash. Startled, she jumped back and looked
around nervously. Suddenly, one of the windows flew open and Djerr
tumbled out. Landing on his feet, he caught sight of Aurora and
gave her a startled look.

“Come on!” He waved her over and took off
running. Aurora followed close behind, breathing in the dusty air.
He dashed down the road, then veered off into a grove of trees, the
fallen leaves crunching underfoot. The ground sloped downward and
the two slipped and slid through the loose dirt. Finally, they
stumbled to a halt as the hill evened out and the ground became
more solid beneath them.

A thin stream slipped
between large rocks and lightly lapped at Djerr and Aurora's dusty
sandals
.
Silently, Djerr knelt down, dipping his hands in the clear
water and splashed it on his face. The water ran in rivulets down
his olive-brown skin as Aurora stood watching, still catching her
breath.

“Djerr, what is going on?”

Djerr shook his head. “No, don't worry about
it.”

Aurora put her hand on his shoulder, but
immediately withdrew it when he winced. “Please Djerr, you're my
best friend. You can tell me.” She knelt down in front of him so
their eyes were level. “Please?”

Djerr stood and grabbed
her hands, pulling her up with him. “Come with me.” The two walked
silently upstream, away from town.
The
stream gradually became narrower and more rapid. Eventually, they
came to a fallen log that lay just above the water line.

He paused and slipped off his shoes, so
Aurora did as well. The dirt was soft and cool beneath her bare
feet. Looking up, she saw he was already headed across the log,
arms outstretched to keep his balance. Halfway across, he carefully
lowered himself down and sat, dangling his feet in the tumbling
water. He motioned Aurora over.

Slowly, she made her way to him, taking care
not to slip on the damp moss. She plopped down next to him, gently
lowering her feet so that her toes dipped into the cool water. A
dragonfly hovered nearby, zipping sporadically across the
stream.

“I used to hang out around here a lot when I
was younger,” Djerr said slowly, looking down at the water. A
breeze blew his curly hair back away from his face and Aurora
shivered. “My dad and I have never gotten along too well, so I
mostly just try and stay out of his way. My mom died when I was
born,” he continued, “and my dad didn't take it so well. He started
drinking and well, he couldn't help but partially blame me for her
death. After all, she wouldn't have died if I wasn't born.”

Aurora leapt off the log and stood facing
Djerr, calf-deep in the frothy water. Her hands were clenched.
“Djerr, that's horrible! How could he blame you for something like
that?”

He eased himself off the log and put his
hands on Aurora's shoulders. The stream swirled around them. “No,
Aura, don't blame him. He did the best he could. It was just too
much for him.” He paused. “So what happened to your parents? I've
been curious ever since Roxi and Kirian just showed up with you one
day.”

She shrugged his hands off her shoulders and
looked away. “Look, they're dead, alright? My father died years ago
and my mother died in a fire right before Roxanne and Kirian found
me.”

“Oh, I'm sorry. You don't have any
siblings?”

Aurora looked up at him sharply, blue eyes
narrowed. “No.” She shivered suddenly. “I'm freezing. Let's get out
of here.”

Silently watching her for a moment, Djerr
finally shrugged and waded out of the stream, holding the log for
support. Reaching the bank, they both bent down to slip their
sandals back on. Her feet felt gritty and she grimaced as they
squelched back up the bank, the granules of dirt rubbing painfully
between her toes. They headed up the steep hill, pulling themselves
up by the roots and trunks of trees. When they reached the top, he
turned suddenly to face her. “I missed you,” he said
thoughtfully.

She looked at him in confusion. “What do you
mean?”

“It's been awhile since I've seen you.” He
tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “I'm glad you came by. I've
got to get back home, but I'll see you again soon, alright?”

“Sure.” She nodded enthusiastically. “I'll
see you later then.”

Djerr paused for moment longer, then turned
and dashed back off in the direction of his house. With a sigh,
Aurora turned away from the stream, heading into town. As soon as
she reached the outskirts of town, she noticed an unusual number of
people. As she walked closer to the center of town, she heard the
low drone of hundreds of people talking. When she noticed the
bright banners and first couple stalls lining the road, she
realized it was market day.

Swept up in the crowd, she strolled through
the market, stopping to gaze in wonder at a display of intricately
designed mobiles. They turned slowly in the breeze, clinking and
glittering as the delicately balanced wires slowly wove between one
another. Pieces of mirror and hollow balls of colored glass hung
from the revolving wires, alternately catching the light of the
afternoon sun and going dark again. Aurora bent down to look more
closely at the mobiles and briefly caught sight of the crowd behind
her as a mirror turned in her direction. A blur of red stood out
against the others as the people passed by.

Glancing over her shoulder as she stood, she
saw Kalib's red hair disappear into the crowd. Smiling, she dashed
off after him, diving through the press of people, occasionally
catching a glance of his bobbing head. Squeezing between two
people, she suddenly found herself in an inexplicable gap between
the crowd. On one end of the gap, she stumbled to a halt, caught
off guard by the sudden lack of resistance.

On the other end, about to re-enter the mass
of people stood Kalib with his arm around a girl Aurora's height
with long dark hair. Aurora's face went pale as she stared at the
girl. The two paused suddenly and the girl started to turn her head
toward Aurora, just as the crowd jostled Aurora's back and swept
into the gap, separating the girl from Aurora's view. Backing away
slowly, she finally turned and dashed in the direction she had
come, bumping into people as she forced her way through.

She ran home, glancing over her shoulder
occasionally and gasping for breath. The house was empty and quiet
as she threw open the front door and collapsed on the dusty floor.
Feeling sick and weak, she lay on the cool, wood floor for several
moments, catching her breath.

When she finally sat up, she found her hands
were smudged with dirt from the floor, clinging to her damp, salty
skin. Grimacing, she absent-mindedly rubbed her hands on her pants
and climbed to her feet. She suddenly felt cold, but her face broke
out in sweat. Noticing how far away the door to her bedroom looked,
she stumbled toward it and felt her legs give out.

She slowly became aware again. There was a
face over hers, but she didn't know why.

“Aurora?” It was Kirian.

“Oh,” she replied.

“Are you alright? I walked in and you were
lying on the floor.” His face was laced with concern.

She screwed up her face. “I think there's
something wrong with me, Kirian.”

“What do you mean?”

She slowly sat up. “I...I think I'm
see-”

“Don't worry,” he cut her off. “You just
need some rest. You stay up too late and don't get enough sleep.
That's all.” He helped her stand. “I think you should go rest for
the rest of the evening.” Too tired to argue, she shrugged and
trudged toward her bedroom as Kirian watched.

Falling into bed, she sprawled out, feeling
dirty and bedraggled. Her body ached and her head pounded as she
closed her eyes, shutting out the harsh rays of sunlight bouncing
around the room. With her eyelids shut, all she could see was the
girl from the market. That girl who looked unmistakably
familiar.

Chapter
4

“Aurora! Hey kid, wake up.” She felt someone
shake her shoulder and awoke to find herself in her small room,
stuffy with the morning sunlight. It had been months since she had
collapsed and to her relief, she hadn’t seen Kalib or the
dark-headed girl again. She spent most days with Djerr and some of
the others her age. They spent many misty, frigid afternoons at
Aurora's house, playing cards, talking, and laughing.

As the weather grew warmer again, they began
hiking around outside of Kain or poking around in the tidepools by
the ocean. Trying to feel as carefree as the others acted, Aurora
instead felt nervous, as though she should try to enjoy these days
before they ended.

The sun was already streaming through the
window, highlighting half of Roxanne's body as she shook Aurora
awake. Groaning, she turned away and swatted Roxanne's hand off her
shoulder.

“Whaddya want?” she asked sleepily.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. “It's practically
midday. Get your lazy butt out of bed. We're going to the
cliffs.”

Opening her eyes, she turned back over.
“What for?”

Already on her way out of the room, Roxanne
waved a hand dismissively. “Just get dressed. We'll leave
soon.”

Scrambling out of bed, she shuffled across
the sun-warmed floorboards as she threw on her clothes. Hurriedly
running her fingers through her tangled hair, she yelled, “Is
Kirian coming?” When she heard no reply, she peered out the window
and saw Roxanne waiting outside. Bending to retrieve her shoes from
under the bed, she slipped them on and dashed outside. Roxanne
turned when she heard the front door open. “Ready?” she
grinned.

Aurora pulled the door closed behind her and
nodded. “Yeah. Is Kirian coming?”

Roxanne's smile dropped. “No, he's not
invited. This is a girl's day out.”

“Alright.” Aurora shrugged, following
Roxanne down the road. Puzzled, she looked around. “Where is
everyone?”

Roxanne scowled at her. “Already at the
docks, I assume!”

“Oh.” The two hurried through town. As they
grew closer to the cliffs overlooking the docks, they could hear
the combined voices of a huge crowd. Soon, they ran into the frays
of the crowd, even before they could spot the sparkling sea.

Roxanne sighed. “Ugh, this is what we get
for showing up so late.” Grabbing Aurora's wrist, she slid through
the crowded street, slipping in between groups of people. Others
turned to glare and Aurora smiled apologetically at them as Roxanne
drew her deeper into the crowd.

“What’s everyone doing here?” she yelled
over the drone of the people.

Using her free hand to push people out of
the way, Roxanne didn't answer. A few people angrily protested at
being pushed, but Roxanne quickly moved on without giving them an
opportunity to retaliate. Aurora nervously stumbled after her.
Finally, they broke out of the crowd, standing on the brink of the
small cliff overlooking the docks.

Roxanne yanked Aurora forward, so that they
were side-by-side. “Fantastic! Looks like we made it in time.”
Roxanne smiled broadly and pointed out to the sea, ignoring the
grumbles around her about being shoved out of the way.

Aurora squinted her eyes against the bright
reflection off the waves. In the distance, small dark spots sat
nearly motionless, sailing slowly toward the harbor. “Are those
ships?”

“Yeah.” Roxanne nodded, watching the ships
intently. “That's the Wizard's Army, coming to campaign in
Kain.”

Eyes widened, Aurora stared at the fleet of
ships. “Wow, the entire army is coming here, to Kain?”

Roxanne chuckled. “Hardly. That's only a
very small section of the entire army. Probably only a couple
hundred soldiers.

“What in the world are they all coming here
for?”

Smiling down at Aurora, Roxanne pushed back
her auburn hair which was blowing wildly in the breeze. “Well,
coming to see if anyone wants to join their cause, mainly. They'll
probably stock up on supplies and rest up while they're here,
too.”

A man standing beside Aurora scoffed
derisively. “Naive girl. Those bastards out there will be the end
of Kain. Haven't you heard what they've done to all the cities in
their path? Destroyed them. Kain isn't going to be any different.”
He raised his voice. “I'm getting out of here while I can. Anyone
who values their life will do the same.”

Arguing broke out in the crowd once again as
Roxanne laughed and sat down, dangling her feet off the edge.
Sitting down beside her, Aurora watched the ships slowly grow into
ship-shaped spots, the brightly colored masts standing out against
the blue water. “The Wizard's Army. They're the ones waiting for
the wizard to be born, right? To make him their ally?”

Roxanne nodded, pleased. “That's right. Not
a bad side to be on, if you ask me.”

Aurora cocked her head. “Really? Seems a
little risky, don't you think? I mean, who knows if this wizard
will even want to side with the army.”

“Oh please, why wouldn't he?” Roxanne raised
an eyebrow. “I mean, even the most powerful wizard could probably
make use of an enormous army of soldiers who have pledged their
lives to help him.”

“So,” Aurora paused, “are you going to join
them?”

Roxanne continued to gaze out at the
incoming ships. “I'm thinking about it. I never meant to stay in
Kain all my life and a little vacation to the outskirts of places
like Delobo just doesn’t cut it for me.” Smiling slightly, she
turned to Aurora. “You should come with me. Think about it, we
could see the world and be on the winning team when the time comes.
There's no way we'll lose when the wizard is born. With him at our
side, we'll finally be victorious and have a say in the world. Our
lives will really mean something.”