Breaking the Ice (Book 1)

Chapter Nineteen

SCORCH

Complete strangers helping a complete stranger, very strange indeed. Things couldn't get any stranger. Scorch finally asks the question that lingered in his mind. "So, how exactly do you know where to go?" He turns to Luna, not sure what to make of her helping him.

"I've read that Scorpians are good smellers. Not as good as the Vine Elves were, but close enough." The Icee, Sleet, offered. Scorch certainly didn't know how he felt about him helping out.

"Good sniffers. Right. Us." The Scorpian eyed him warily. Luna put her ear to the sand.

"No vibrations, means no snakes."

Well THAT'S a relief. Scorch sighs. He lifts his nose to take a sniff. "How'm I 'posed to know what my parents smell like?" He says at last.

"THEY'RE YOUR PARENTS!" Sleet erupted, clearly not as patient as the Nightling.

"Do your parents have anything on them that has a significant scent?" Flare, the Heatling, rolled his eyes as if that was obvious.

"I thought you didn't care if we found his family or not." Sleet smirked. He and the Heatling had a...unique bond indeed. It reminded Scorch of two brothers that enjoyed pissing each other off.

"I don't. I'm just keeping an eye on my hostages." He shrugged indifferently.

"Hostages?" Sleet chuckled. "I thought you were our prisoner." There was a moment of silence; the Icee, Heatling, and Nightling stared expectantly at Scorch, who shrank at their gaze.

"...Well my dad always carries toluto on him for good luck." The Scorpian offered. At this, the Nighling gagged.

"Who the hell would carry toluto on them?" Flare wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"What's that?" Sleet asked, his ears perking up. Scorch couldn't help but stare at them, he's never seen such exotic blue ears before.

"Only people who are actually smart-" Flare caught Luna smirking and said, "and NOT a Nightling, would know."

"Toluto is kinda like a piece of animal, such as a fur or a tail." Scorch explained, combing a hand through his sand-colored hair.

"And it smells like rotting death." Luna groaned. Sleet's eyes widened and looked at Scorch with newfound revulsion.

"Yeah, yeah. No need to get so pale about it." Scorch jokes. "Get it? Pale? Because you're-" Receiving the Icee's frown, he shut his mouth. He must have heard that one before. But pride floods him as Luna snickers.

"You two have terrible taste," Sleet scoffed dramatically. At this, Luna licks her hand, then gives him a look saying 'I taste fine'.

"It was a figure of speech, ya tattooed freak." Flare says, kicking at sand. He's been trailing behind them, which makes Scorch uneasy. As if by instinct, his tail twitched, ready to strike anything in range.

Not that it could do much.

Brushing the grim thought aside, the Scorpian returned his attention to the unseemly trio. Luna's walk sped up, she jogged past Scorch and scouted ahead. It has been a miracle that no snakes had bothered them yet. But that may not be the case for long.

Suddenly, the Nightling let out a yell.

The others ran over - well, the Heatling more like dragged his feet as he approached. Luna bent over and examined the sharp object she had stepped on (with her barefeet. Ouch!) It looked like a rotting piece of a mammal corpse...Scorch refused to look any closer for the details.

The snakes wouldn't have eaten this for their diet was swallowing live prey (and no one in their right mind would want to taste this abomination)  The object was sprinkled with black dust, a gasp escaped Luna's lips as she dropped the rotting object in terror.

Scorch then gasped in recognition. "T-that's my dad's!"

"What is it?" Sleet asked Luna, who still looked distressed.

"I've seen this before..."She looks up at Scorch with sorrow. "I'm sorry."

"What? What's wrong?" Scorch asked, praying his parents weren't swallowed whole. Or taken by a Scorpian gang...or-or-

    "Shadow magic." Luna replied, pointing at the black dust. Scorch hadn't noticed her picking the toluto back up.

    The dim desert was silent for a few suspenseful moments. "What's shadow magic?" Scorch and Sleet asked in unison. Flare rolled his crimson eye at them.

    "Only one creature can do this...it's a kind of twisted magic that's been forbidden on the continent." Luna frowned, a dark shadow fell over her face, a look that did not suit her.

    There was more silence.

    She groaned. "It means your parents were kidnapped by the Clan of Sins!"

    "Ohhh." Scorch nodded.

    "I knew that." Sleet crossed his arms.

    Flare slapped his forehead at them as they froze, Luna's words finally sank in. "THE CLAN OF SINS?!" They shrieked.