My Darkening Ember

Chapter Fifteen

Mayra helped me out back, as I tried to capture myself. I had lost complete control, for a moment I was choking on every breath. My gut was a roaring storm of panic and desperation. All senses had told me to flee but my body had betrayed me, made me weak and unable to move an inch.

Xander had stayed behind, likely collecting whatever I had dropped. I ran my hand across my forehead, coated in sweat, and rested against the cliff wall. Mayra watched me carefully.

"You know him, don't you?" Her words were calm, her voice gracing the line of concern.

I clenched down hard without realizing it. My jaw only relaxed as I prepared my, almost silent, response.

"I thought he was dead." The words left my mouth before I even realized what I said.

"All in good time," Xander said as he exited down the stairs we'd come from. His eyes scanned me up and down, landing on my exposed hair. He knelt by my sides and reached out, placing the scarf around my head. His fingers grazed my skin and I looked up into his eyes. He held my gaze for only seconds which felt like years and I finally took a deep clear breath.

"We can not afford to lose any more time. Let's move." He turned away from me, stalking ahead. Mayra grabbed my arm helping me to my feet, her hands grazing over the tattoo. Only the fabric of my jacket and tunic made sure she would never know.

By the time we reached the barn, I had calmed down and we slipped inside its darkness. As my eyes adjusted to it, a familiar presence greeted me. His horse. I had wondered where he'd left it.

Mayra followed my gaze to Xander as he began stroking its muzzle. Then he picked up two pouches, the belt carrying his weapons, and turned towards me.

"Let's go," he strolled past before I could say anything.

"Is he just going to leave it here?" I looked at the horse.

"It knows the way home." She smiled and strolled out.

I looked at the animal one more time, wondering where home would be before sprinting after the others.

It was still daylight but the fog had returned to our advantage, helping to cover any trace of our exit. We slipped through the big port to Olien, leaving the enchanting circus city behind.

We walked the whole day, even into the night, before Xander finally allowed us a break. The tundra was a massive field stretching far with bare planes of nothing but dirt and rocks. Occasionally there would be smaller mountains which were good for shelter. I felt the cold getting closer and knew, that within half a day across the tundra, the snowy mountains would be in sight.

Mayra and I collected wood for the fire while Xander strolled around in the darkness. He melted into the shadows because of his dark frame. Only his milky skin could give him away.

The fire was warmer than what I had remembered and with the air becoming colder by the hour, it was a blessing.

He returned once, likely making sure I was where he left me and that Mayra was doing her job, not letting the bounty lose. He dumped a rabbit into Mayra's lap which prompted a cursed response from her before he returned to the shadows. My eyes peered after him until he was out of reach from the light.

"He is not a monster you know." She suddenly cut in, while skinning the dead animal.

I sighed and turned towards the fire. Mayra sat across, on the other side of the flames.

"It doesn't change anything," I replied to her weird choice of words.

"No, but as long as you are with us we will protect you. You won't be harmed by any of us, no matter how much Xander threatens."

I squeezed my arm. "Because otherwise you won't get paid," I responded a little too bitterly.

She merely snorted, very unbothered by my hidden attitude.

"Well, I certainly won't. But for him, it's not about the money. It's about freedom."

My eyes shot to hers. The last word burned into my heart. Freedom.

She saw the interest and continued. "He is made to kill. To be a puppet. He won't be allowed to find a woman or start a family, not for love anyway. Those kinds of feelings aren't permitted." A pitiful smile ran across her face.

"They teach them from birth that there is no warm embrace of a mother. That no one cares about them. They were all human once. Made from love and born from pain. Stolen the second that love could wield their heart, they are moulded and poisoned by the older generation to fit the purpose of a Mile man. To serve for over a hundred years, until their bodies give up and they wither and die."

I knew all this. The books at home had taught me the history of Mile men. But there was always a missing page. A piece of the story that went untold.

"How are they made?" I stuttered. A question that had lingered as I kept rereading the pages over and over again trying to figure out an answer.

She continued, "Tales say, they break their bones when they are merely younglings. Over and over they break them so they can fuse stronger than before. So they are more resilient. They learn to fight and kill each other without mercy. The ones strong enough to make it will bathe in the blackened waters given by the stars. If they emerge they are reborn. Remade into perfect killers, destined to serve anyone rich enough to afford their skills."

It sounded horrible enough to be true. His eyes had never flinched when he pulled the trigger. When he ended someone's life. There had been no hesitation or pity escaping his two-coloured eyes.

"Is that why his eyes are like that?" I asked, looking into the alluring darkness.

"When he emerged from the waters, it did something different to him. It made him—,"

"Stronger? Able to feel everything and nothing at the same time." I interrupted, quoting Djevel's words to me.

She nodded. "But he is not like them. He can be merciless, yes, but his heart, as poisoned as it might be, still has remnants of the humanity he once possessed. They say it makes him dangerous and that is true, but it doesn't make him a monster. He is just a man seeking to be released from the chains he was born with." She took a deep breath and sipped from a bottle filled with something, I figured wasn't water.

"So with me, he can be free?"

"With you, he can trade." She corrected and whipped her mouth with her sleeve.

"Trade me to whom?"

"The royal court," his voice was sharp, cutting into my bones, making me shiver as he emerged from the shadows. I wondered how long he had been there.

Mayra retreated, her faded eyes looking away. The story she had told had not been hers to share.

I weighed his answer. The royal court was a court not of royal blood. They were mostly counsel, made up of the most trusted men and women to the late king. They ruled the capital and its people. Waiting for someone brave or entitled enough to take the title of king.

"They hired me to catch you and bring you to them alive and unharmed."

I almost snorted at his last words. Unharmed wasn't exactly abided by.

"Don't ask me why. I don't get paid to question why." He walked to the fire, slumping down, and taking off his hat. His dark curls fell onto his forehead.

"Now you know as much as I do, so don't ask any more questions I don't have an answer to. I might be the perfect killer but my patience is not equally as well trained." He shot Mayra a warning glare.

"So I am worth your freedom to you?" I asked.

His face was not even surprised I asked another question after being told not to.

"Does that make you feel powerful?" His tone had a hint of intrigue.

"It makes me feel pity. For you." I squeezed my arm again. The tattoo lingered under the fabric.

Unbeknownst to Xander, his freedom was closer to being lost than earned.