The Land Set Aflame

Chapter 28: The Nymph's Kiss

It had been five years since Svenden last felt the sensation of his own hooves digging into soil, or of his hair flapping in the wind as he tore across the plains at inhuman speeds. But the rush of freedom and power lasted only a matter of minutes. Now that the initial rush was over, his mind was still distracted by the knowledge that he was still falling behind. Even a pure-blooded centaur couldn't have any hope of keeping up with a fleeing fire elemental.

And Svenden's blood was not pure.

Half an hour into his first centaur run in five years, his distractions started to give way to larger concerns about why he was running across the plains in the first place. Tracking Kithana seemed like an obvious move, but it was starting to feel more and more like barreling unprepared into the unknown. Something was clearly very wrong with Kithana, and it felt like they didn't have enough information to be acting without a plan like this.

So, why was he still running?

He knew why. Because Callyndia. What other reason did he ever have for doing anything?

He'd always seen her as more clever than he, and so it seemed natural to let her do the thinking, and him do the following. But this really was a stupid plan. Why had he left her behind? Why had she wanted him to? Why had it sounded like such a good idea at the time?

Perhaps he was only questioning it now because he had gone far enough from Callyndia and her fairy magic, that his mind was now free enough from her influence to think clearly.

There was still a roaring flame in his chest, and a tingle of residual ecstasy on his lips from the nymph's kiss, but there was also a modicum of clarity in his mind now. And that clarity brought a reminder of what Callyndia was, and what her presence did to him.

And what she hadn't said to him.

But why did she want him to leave her behind in Tiirynshix, alone?

No, not alone. Ilyssia Shadowflame was there.

It's not that he didn't trust Ilyssia. Well, he didn't. But, she wasn't a danger: she had taken Svenden aside to try to convince him to stay away from this business with Abdus Garrafey. She didn't want him or Callyndia anywhere near it.

Still, while Ilyssia certainly wasn't fully complicit in whatever dark things Abdus was doing, she had been a bit too sympathetic and knowledgeable about his dealings for Svenden's taste. And he knew that she could be dangerous. Callyndia could usually take care of herself with her fairy magic, but Svenden wasn't at all confident that Ilyssia — being a woman, and a generally dispassionate person — would be particularly moved by nymph charms.

Wait, didn't Callyndia say Ilyssia was invisible to her magic, anyway?

So, she was completely defenseless.

Why did he go along with her stupid plan?

Svenden groaned as that growing epiphany finally soaked into his stupid brain. He was such an idiot! She used magic on him! She'd compelled him with her kiss!

But why?

He risked a glance back over his shoulder at Leofric, who was getting a rude first taste of bareback riding. His body probably was not accustomed to the type of beating it was surely taking now.

"Are you alright back there?" Svenden asked over his shoulder, "Do we need a rest?"

"No rest!" Leofric said, though his voice was dry and weak, "We have to find her! Keep going!"

Svenden's mind thought up a witty retort about whether getting to Kithana fast would still matter if Leofric's groin weren't still intact when he got there. But, that only brought up some uncomfortable questions about intimacy between a human and an elemental, and Svenden wasn't ready to think about that any further.

But of course Leofric wanted to continue forward: he was being driven by his heart just as much as Svenden was, but in the opposite direction.

And Leofric was right: they couldn't stop now. Going back would probably waste their only chance to track Kithana. But, she was miles ahead of them now. They wouldn't catch her. Running at full speed was pretty meaningless at this point.

He slowed his pace.

"Why are you slowing down?" Leofric asked, "We're going to lose her."

"It doesn't matter," Svenden said, "We won't catch up to her until she gets to wherever she's going. We'll only wear ourselves out trying to keep up that pace, and then we'd be no good to her if we found her."

"But, she's getting further away as we speak!" Leofric protested.

"She's faster than I am," Svenden said, "And she doesn't get tired, like I do. We can't catch her: the best we can hope for is to not lose her trail. And slowing down for a few minutes isn't going to make much difference — probably make it easier to track, to be honest; but we need the rest."

He could hear Leofric sigh in acquiescence.

He walked along for a moment in silence, and Leofric jumped down to walk beside him.

"Do you think it was wise for us to leave Callyndia behind like that?" Svenden asked, "I feel like we should go back for her."

"But..." Leofric said meekly, "Kithana."

Svenden gritted his teeth. "I know," he said quietly, "We have to keep going. Callyndia probably doesn't need me to protect her, anyway."

"Kithana needs us," Leofric said, "I don't know what Master Garrafey has done to her to make her behave like this, but we can't give up on her."

"I don't know Kithana," Svenden said, "What do you think she'll do when we catch up to her? Run away again?"

"I don't suspect she'll do anything," Leofric said grimly, "I think it will be Master Garrafey, and not Kithana, who's there waiting for us."

"You don't think she'd try to fight us, do you?" Svenden asked.

"Master Garrafey might compel her to," Leofric said, "But we haven't the tools to properly fight an elemental anyway. Our weapons can't hurt her, and I'm certainly not going to use the dust on her."

"What if we have to?" Svenden asked.

Leofric didn't answer, and Svenden didn't push it.

After another momentary pause, Svenden chuckled and shook his head. "Well," he said, "I'm worried about the girl we left behind, but that's only because she's manipulating me. And she's probably fine without me, anyway. And you're worried about the girl we're following, but she's probably going to kill us when we find her." He chuckled grimly. "Isn't chivalry the worst?"

Leofric apparently wasn't in the mood for jokes.

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Thanks for reading Chapter 28! If you've liked my story so far, don't forget to give me stars: it really makes me feel better about myself.