Fire Page 2

  There were footsteps. They were closer than the helicopter noise. Their rhythmic pattern of hitting the ground was accompanied by the sound of dry twigs rustling beneath them as they broke under the weight. I could make out at least three pairs of feet.

  It didn't take long before I could hear voices, too. They were hushed, whispery noises, mixing into the symphony of sounds around me.

  Amazed by my ears, I listened to them approaching. It took me several seconds before I comprehended what this meant. They were coming closer. They were heading in my direction, I was positive about that. What I couldn't tell yet was whether or not they were taking this route on purpose. Did they know that I was there, hidden in the shade of the skeleton-like trees?

  I slid a little further into the bushes nearb the tree I had been resting under, just to make sure I wouldn't be visible to whoever was coming this way, here in the middle of nowhere. The bright sunlight didn't help my disguise. It felt as if a spotlight had been turned on me and whatever direction I was crawling, trying to evade it, it followed me, merciless.

  The footsteps were so close now I was sure I could see the source of them any second. It must be more than three people, I was sure about that. One pair of feet was touching the ground comparatively lightly—like a delicate melody between drums of various sizes. And then they appeared between the branches of the trees. I counted five figures. All of them wore long, black robes with hoods covering their faces in darkness.

  “He should be somewhere near here,” a satin, female voice said. “I can sense him.”

  Even though I knew it was hopeless, I froze into the undergrowth, hoping that they wouldn't notice me cowering there. It wasn't long before they spotted me as I pretended to be invisible.

  “Look what we have here,” a bulky man said as he pointed his blunt finger at me, “I think we found what we were looking for.”

  The voice was incredibly rich and deep. Amazement mingled with my initial fear and melted into curiosity as I heard the other three voices agree with the first one. It was like a rainbow of frequencies, a rich spectrum of sound, full of meaning…yes, there had been a meaning in the first statement: …what we were looking for?

  So they had obviously been searching for me. Hope made its way from my stomach up to my head. If they had been searching for me, maybe they knew who I was…and why I was hungry for gleaming fish…

  3

  Clan

  “Don’t be scared, son,” the first of the men to let their hood down addressed me. He had a blond ponytail and his features were benevolent.

  “Am I supposed to know you?” I asked cautiously, not trusting myself or anyone. Hope to be recognized or recognize anyone, didn’t smother my caution. Even if I didn’t remember a single thing about myself—especially because of that—it wasn’t a reason to become reckless.

  “It’s us,” the man continued, eyes full of pity, “Volpert,” he pointed at himself, “Blackbird,” he gestured at the tall figure behind him. Then he turned to the other side and smiled widely. “Jin, Nora,” he gestured at a short, black-haired man, and a tall woman, “and…Maureen.”

  My eyes followed his gaze, appreciating each of the faces that were appearing from under their hoods, until I stopped at the last face. It was Maureen. A young woman. Her dark eyes stared at me, wide, almost fearful. Bluish-black hair hung down to her waist, covering her shoulders and parts of her arms.

  “Maureen,” I repeated as if the name had a deeper meaning, hoping her ivory face would trigger some memory. It didn’t. Everything remained as silent in my head as it had before. It was empty.

  “Hello, Adam.” Her voice was like a thin layer of satin on the cold air. A hint of a smile was there on her red lips.

  I nodded, unable to figure out how to feel about the name she had called me. Adam. The same name as on the gravestone. It must be my name.

  While I was still debating, the one with the ponytail addressed me again, “We have been looking for you, Adam.” He smiled and held out his hand, gesturing for me to get to my feet and join them.

  “You know who I am?” I asked and straightened up, wondering if they would be able to help me. The friendly expression on their faces suggested they would.

  “Of course,” Volpert replied with glee, clapping his hands together and looking around at the others. “You are Adam. You are part of my clan.”

  As I stared at him for a minute, trying to figure out the meaning of his words, the tall one with the black eyes laughed. “Let’s take him home with us. He obviously is confused. I’m sure he’ll feel better after he feeds.”

  While the others nodded, Volpert and the girl, Maureen, shared a look.

  I wasn’t certain if I wanted to go with them, but what other options did I have? How long would I survive alone in the woods, even with my temperature-immune body? Hadn’t he said something about food? A hollow feeling in my stomach pushed me to take a step toward them.

  “Alright.” It was all I needed to say, and the one called Jin lifted his cloak from his shoulders and held it out for me. I took it, well-aware that I didn’t need it, but hesitated before putting it around my shoulders.

  “Put it on, son,” Volpert encouraged and glanced down at my clothes. My suit was more brown than the original black it must have been, smeared with mud, partly rinsed by the rain from last night. Frozen to my body. It didn’t hurt me. My skin was immune to the little crystals of ice which had grown along my legs, chest, and arms.

  I shrugged into the thick fabric and took a step toward the kind man who had offered it to me. “Thank you.”

  “You are most welcome.” He gave me a brotherly smile. “Time to head home.”

  Home. The word sounded wonderful. Just that I had no idea where home was for me.

  “This way.” Volpert stepped to my side and laid his arm around my shoulder. It felt oddly natural. There was a connection there with this person. I couldn’t tell what exactly it was, but it was definitely there.

  He led me back through the forest, the others following closely, until we got to a small field.

  “Adam,” Volpert said as he stopped and turned me toward him. “We’re going to take good care of you.” He smiled and tightened his arm on my shoulder, almost as if he was going to hug me. Then the surroundings faded away and it went dark for a couple of seconds before I looked at a flicking flame in front of me.

  “Welcome home,” Volpert said and let go of me.

  I looked around. We were standing in a narrow cave, bare, stone walls decorated with torch lights were lining a corridor which led out of the circular space.

  “This way.” He started walking, following the flames while I remained frozen to the spot, unsure what had just happened. How had I gotten to this place? Despite the fact that I couldn’t remember who I was, I could very well remember what was normal and what wasn’t. My strength, my speed, and especially Volpert’s location-hopping were most certainly not normal.

  “Are you coming?” he called back over his shoulder before he disappeared behind a corner.

  I set in motion, suddenly anxious not to be left alone again.

  “Over here,” Volpert’s voice echoed from the cave walls, and I followed it until I saw a fiery light at the end of the tunnel.

  As I stepped into the big space, it reminded me of a medieval castle dungeon combined with a throne room. A huge fire was crackling across from where I stood, tinting everything in a reddish-orange tone, beautiful and inviting. The light drew me, kindling something inside of me, a yearning for warmth…

  “Welcome,” Maureen startled me as she popped up beside me. My eyes flickered at her and she smiled as I met her gaze. “It’s good to have you back.”

  She bent forward and laid her hands on my chest, gently opening the cloak. I stood still, unsure how to react. How well was I supposed to know this person? How close had we been?

  As she pulled it off my shoulders, the heat of the fire hit my body and the clothes melted from my skin.


  “Let’s get you cleaned up,” she suggested and handed the cloak back to its owner.

  I looked up at Volpert, and he nodded with encouragement. “We’ll be here waiting for you. Maureen is going to take good care of you.”

  Reassured by his statement, but still hesitant, I followed Maureen as she led me into another long, dark tunnel. The sound of gurgling water greeted me from an opening in the rocks in front of us, reminding me of the stream in the forest. And with the sound came the memory of how it had felt to make that little fish’s light disappear.

  “Right there,” Maureen pointed at the gap ahead. “You can take a bath, get rid of those,” she pulled on my sleeve and the collar of my shirt, “and get ready to join us back in the council room.”

  I looked back and forth between her, the undefined space ahead, and the orange light behind us.

  “Don’t worry, Adam,” she slid her hand down my arm and squeezed my hand, “I’ll be right outside the door.”

  Whether or not this was supposed to calm me down, I couldn’t tell. Something about the way she looked at me stirred a primal instinct in me.

  “Promise,” she added and leaned against the wall.

  I stepped through the opening and found myself in a candle-lit chamber. Natural stone had been shaped into straight lines, so the room was rectangular with a low, moist ceiling above a steaming pool in the center. As I walked further in, my eyes pierced through the haze. Candles were arranged at the sides to the pool, flames dancing in the movement of the hot air.

  With a glance over my shoulder, I made sure I was still alone and shrugged out of my jacket. I dropped it on a bench-sized rock next to a set of fresh, black clothes which apparently had been laid out for me, and took off the rest of my garments. I tested the water with my foot before I slowly gauged the depth of the pool. It was deep enough that I could sit upright and still be under the water up to my chin. My legs had enough room that they never touched the other end. Warmth spread through my body, and with a sigh, I rested my head on the edge of the pool and watched the candles which were now framing me on either side.

  “You okay in there?” Maureen’s voice interrupted as I for once stopped worrying over who I was and why I couldn’t remember.

  “Thank you,” I said in a tone loud enough I was certain she would hear over the gurgling of the water. With a glance to the side, I noticed a narrow waterway along the back wall which must have provided the contents of my bath.

  I slid down and brought my head under the surface. The dirt came off with a wipe of my hand and I opened my eyes. Beautiful orange patterns were glowing at the bottom of the pool, heat rising from them. Was this the way the water had been warmed up?

  With a startling, fast movement, I dove out of the water. What were those symbols? Who were those people? Could they do magic? Was I one of them?

  I dried off, using the piece of cloth next to the pool, and slid into the black pants and shirt. Was this what I’d normally wear? I couldn’t even remember if I’d had a style…

  “Much, much better,” Maureen commented as I stepped back outside, black curls still wet and still not any wiser as to how I had ended up without a single memory about my life.

  As I walked in silence next to her, back to the others, my eyes searched the walls in the hope of seeing something I’d recognize.

  “No need to be nervous,” Maureen reassured me.

  The reality was, I was beyond nervous. Right now I had to trust these people, whoever they were. And I wasn’t certain if I liked that type of dependency.

  As my emotions wallowed back and forth between gratitude and worry, we stepped into the throne room. Volpert was sitting on the large chair beside the fireplace, hands folded in his lap, watching the flames. Blackbird was standing at his shoulder like a bodyguard, eyes flashing at me with a kind of humor I didn’t understand.

  “Come closer,” Volpert said without looking up.

  Maureen led me forward by the arm, across the rough, stone ground, closer toward the warmth of the fireplace.

  “Nice, isn’t it?” Volpert finally looked at me. “Please, Adam, sit.” He gestured at a second, much simpler chair on the other side of the fire.

  “Thank you.” With a glance at Maureen and an encouraging nod from Blackbird, I settled down.

  For a moment the room was silent, the crackling of the fire the only sound, as I waited for Volpert to speak. He didn’t. His eyes were gazing back into the flames.

  “Who are you?” I asked when I couldn’t bear the growing curiosity. If I didn’t know who I was, maybe understanding who he was—who they all were—would help me put together the pieces.

  “I am the seeker of light, the king in hiding, the darkness in her dreams,” he mumbled to himself before he faced me. “I am Volpert, keeper of these halls. I am a demon, the same as you are, we all are, here in these caves.”

  He gestured around at Blackbird and Maureen, and the other two from the forest who had joined us quietly. It took me a second to understand Volpert’s words.

  “Demons,” I repeated.

  “Demons,” Volpert nodded, “creatures of the dark, shadows, the forsaken…call us what you wish. In the end, it all has the same meaning.” He gave me a dramatic look.

  “I am a demon?” I clarified, struggling to keep up.

  “Why do you think you can see in the darkness or are fast and strong like no human could ever be?”

  My mind flickered back to the moment I had dug out of my grave, how I had run and put miles and miles behind me within seconds.

  “I was dead, wasn’t I?” I tried to figure out what had happened.

  Volpert nodded, sadness in his face.

  “You were dead.” His features displayed anger for a brief second. “And it was her fault.”

  He got to his feet and slowly walked over to me.

  “Who are you talking about?” I wondered aloud.

  “No one you need to worry about right now.” He laid his hand on my shoulder and smiled. “Aren’t you hungry? You have been without nourishment for a while…” He glanced over my head before he looked at the others. “Jin, Nora, prepare a meal for our guest.” He clapped his hands together with enthusiasm. “In fact, let’s all have a feast in the banquet hall, shall we?”

  Food sounded great. Maybe a full stomach would help my blank memory.

  The two demons disappeared and Volpert returned his attention to me. “Don’t worry, Adam. You’ll be safe here.”

  What worried me more than his strange statements, was the fact that I had been dead. That I had dug out of my own grave and that I couldn’t remember a thing that had happened before. The name, Adam Gallager, from the gravestone, was all I knew. And that I’d supposedly had a family, a brother.

  “Are you my father?” I asked without thinking, remembering the words from the stone.

  Volpert chuckled. “I wish I had a son like you.”

  Disappointment filled me. Even though I knew nothing about Volpert, it would have been nice to find my family.

  “Do you know who is?”

  Volpert sighed. “Your family is not around any longer, Adam. I am sorry.”

  I swallowed.

  “They disappeared a long time ago.”

  “What happened?” Sadness was replacing the initial disappointment.

  “They are dead.” He squeezed my arm. “We are your family now. You are not alone, Adam.”

  “We thought we’d lost you,” Maureen joined the conversation, with a shaky voice. “But now, everything is going to be fine.”

  There was some kind of emotion I couldn’t categorize streaming toward me as she spoke. I tried to figure it out, but Volpert claimed my attention.

  “You are home, Adam,” he said. “A family takes care of each other, and this is why we will start preparing you for your new life tomorrow. Today you can rest.” He shot Maureen a look I didn’t understand.

  “We are ready, Master,” Jin’s voice sounded from behind me. I jumped and turn
ed, ready to spring, as my instinct of self-preservation kicked in.

  Jin gave me a half-smile. “We need to teach you how to feed.”

  Volpert clapped his hands again and Maureen walked toward the tunnel behind Jin.

  “Come on, Adam,” Volpert encouraged me and laid one hand on my shoulder. “You must be starving.”

  The narrow pathway brought back a flash of anxiety from my first seconds in this new life when I had realized just how small the confined space under the soil had been. The darkness didn’t conceal anything from my eyes now, though. It seemed that the longer I existed in this new form, the keener my senses were. I could hear the slow breathing of someone far ahead, echoing from the stone walls, the footsteps of Jin and Maureen ahead of us. Volpert’s black robes gliding over the ground beside me. He was leading me at a pace that seemed slow for what I knew I was capable of.

  “Where are we going?”

  “We are taking you to the banquet hall,” Volpert explained, “It’s just around the corner at the end of the tunnel.” He eyed me from the side “You do see the turn ahead, right, Adam?”

  There was a subdued shimmer at what seemed like the end of the tunnel. I nodded.

  Volpert followed my gaze and smiled. “Doesn’t the glow make you hungry?”

  His words didn’t make sense until we turned the corner half a minute later. When we entered the banquet hall, all I could see at first was a cluster of bright lights, quivering in the center of the room. They consumed me completely, my attention drawn and my mind unable to focus. They were beautiful, alluring, they made my mouth water…

  “Adam,” Volpert called my attention.

  I snapped out of my trance, the urge to please my savior stronger than the draw of the brightness, and faced the demon instead. He was a dark void, calm and peaceful compared to the lights.

  “You haven’t seen any of those before, have you?” he assumed, watching my struggle to keep my eyes on him.