The Soul Forge Read online

  The farm was burning.

  Chapter 3: Priorities

  The horse had stopped moving before Thomas was even aware that the animal had slowed down. The barn was burning, the stable was belching flame, and the house seemed to be freshly caught, not yet fully aflame.

  Thomas flicked the reins, and the horse started moving again. He led the horse straight to the house, coming to a quick stop and jumping off.

  “What are you doing?” the barmaid shouted over the flames.

  “Whatever I can!” Thomas shouted back as ran through the door. Without thought, he barreled into the growing inferno that was his master’s house. He was greeted by intense heat and smoke, causing him to cover his mouth to keep from choking on it. Flames jumped at him, but he was too focused on his mission to think about it.

  “Anna!” Thomas shouted as loudly as he could, “Master!”

  He ran through the house, opening whatever doors he could, but he found nothing but smoke and an increasing sense of dread.

  Then he tried to open Mrs. Lucinda’s door, and found that he couldn’t.

  “Mrs. Lucinda!” Thomas shouted, kicking at the door. It didn’t budge, and a large pain resounded through his leg. He tried knocking down the door again, but he got the same exact result. He shouted again as he tried to get the door open, feeling the flames lick at his back. He was running out of time, not to mention breathable air. Panic started to take control when he hit the door again and he heard a scream he recognized all too well. Now fear jumped to a level he had never dreamed possible, cutting off his air and almost paralyzing him.

  “ANNA!” Thomas screamed as loud as he was able.

  “Stable boy?!”

  Never before had he been so happy to hear his unwanted nickname. He felt the turn of the lock, and the door opened just slightly. He shouldered it open the rest of the way and slammed it shut, keeping the fire out.

  Ms. Anna and Mrs. Lucinda were there, with Anna screaming her head off. Unsurprisingly, Mrs. Lucinda looked completely unperturbed by the fire consuming her house. It took Thomas a few moments to notice that Anna wasn’t simply screaming, she was screaming with purpose.

  “Daddy’s hurt!” she screamed over and over again.

  Thomas looked around quickly, finding exactly what was wrong in a moment. Master Kimpchik was buried underneath a beam that must have burned free from its place in the ceiling. Thomas’ heart jumped into his throat as he reached down to grab the beam. It was heavy and hot, but he refused to let go even though it stubbornly resisted moving.

  “I’m not about to let anyone else die today,” Thomas growled at the beam, and he pulled with all he was worth.

  It was slow progress, but eventually the beam shifted. Another heave, and Master Kimpchik was free of the large hunk of wood. Thomas knelt down to check his pulse, his hands shaking. The pulse was faint, but it was there, and Thomas took it as a good sign.

  “Stable Boy, help!” Anna called, trying and failing to pull Mrs. Lucinda from her chair. Thomas looked at Mrs. Lucinda and looked back at Master Kimpchik, torn. Did he have time to save them both?

  Fire roared under the door, spurring him into motion. No matter which option he chose, thinking about it was going to get them all killed. He lifted Master Kimpchik onto his broad shoulders, moving him towards the rarely used bed. He dumped the big man on the sheets, trying his best not to cough.

  Thomas stared at the window, thinking hard. They could escape through the window if they could just get it open. But Thomas didn’t have the time to dig out all of the nails…

  His head dropped as he took as deep a breath as he could. There was only way to get he window open as quickly as possible.

  He sprinted into it, leaping through the glass without a single doubt slowing him down. Glass shattered upon impact, and Thomas felt both the cool air of the outside world and terrible stinging pain of cut skin and bruised body. He crashed to the ground with enough impact to drive the air from his lungs, and he had to devote a few moments to convince his brain to stop spinning.

  But Ms. Anna was screaming, meaning Thomas didn’t have time to think. He pushed himself achingly to his feet, sprinting back to the house and pulling Ms. Anna through the window. He unceremoniously tossed her down the little hill that led to the stream, and she rolled. Then Thomas pulled himself back through the window and into the smoke.

  In only twenty seconds, the situation had gotten vastly worse. The door was burning, as well as the ceiling above and bits of the floor below. Mrs. Lucinda still hadn’t moved, and Master Kimpchik was out cold on the bed. Thomas had to move fast.

  He rushed to the bed and lifted Master Kimpchik, feeling every pound of the large man on his shoulders. His legs shook as he carried the Master to the window, and praying for some good fortune just this once, he tossed the bigger man through the window.

  Master Kimpchik missed every bit of glass and rolled down the hill after his daughter. His momentum stopped when he rolled into the water, and Ms. Anna made sure he was face up.

  Which only left Mrs. Lucinda.

  That was as far as his train of thought got before a burst of flame shouted in his face, knocking him to the floor. His air once again stolen from him, it was all he could do to stay conscious. But his muscles were exhausted and his vision was swimming. There was nothing he could do now, nothing at all. He was going to fail… again…

  Thomas shook his head, anger renewing his strength. He would not, could not, allow Mrs. Lucinda any more heartbreak. She deserved better.

  He stood, every muscle angry and aching. He ignored it all. All that mattered was Mrs. Lucinda. All that mattered was the Kimpchiks.

  He pulled Mrs. Lucinda from her chair, who offered neither resistance nor assistance. He held her in his arms, and carried her to the window, but then he stopped. He didn’t have the strength to throw her through, and even if he did, there was no guarantee she would be okay. She was just too frail.

  “Give her here!” a familiar voice called. Thomas looked up to see the barmaid staring at him from the other side of the window, holding her arms out. “Come on!” she shouted, spurring him into motion. Following her voice alone, Thomas held Mrs. Lucinda out to her. The barmaid had a good set of muscles of her own, because she took Mrs. Lucinda’s weight without any difficulty.

  “Jump!” the barmaid shouted, turning and sliding down the hill. Using the last bit of strength he had, Thomas leapt through the window once more, hitting the ground without so much as a sound. Gravity took him, and he rolled down the hill without even attempting to stop his momentum.

  He felt hands on his face, but he couldn’t open his eyes to find out who they belonged to. Without realizing it, Thomas’ mind disengaged and he passed out.

  Thomas snapped awake, panic forcing him to sit up and look around wildly. He didn’t see anyone except the barmaid, and that scared him. Where were the Kimpchiks? Where was his family?

  “Stable Boy, you’re awake!”

  Thomas looked down, seeing the nine year old hiding under the bridge. Master Kimpchik was there too, along with Mrs. Lucinda. The Master’s wife alone looked completely unaffected by the situation, not that that was surprising.

  “What happened here?” Thomas asked, though he already suspected he knew the answer.

  “Men… men all dressed in black, they attacked the farm,” Master Kimpchik stuttered.

  Thomas couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Were those brigands trying to burn the entire countryside to the ground?

  “But what happened to you, Thomas? Anna said you were taken away.”

  “I was. These guards showed up, and they were going to take Ms. Anna, there. I had to do something. So I took her place.”

  “Who’s she?” Anna practically snarled, pointing at the barmaid. It was only when Thomas couldn’t answer that he realized he had never asked her name.

  “I feel terrible,” Thomas said, “but what’s your name, sweetheart?”

  “Took you a while,” she w
inked, “but my name is Cynthia.”

  “Pleasure,” Master Kimpchik said, “but our home… our farm…”

  Thomas couldn’t find anything to say to that. All he could offer was a helpless shrug, which he knew was of no consolation.

  “We need to get out of here,” Master Kimpchik said, “we make for the Capital…”

  “No!” Cynthia said, “we should head to the Verdonti! They’ll protect us.”

  Thomas stared at the burning house, watching as the frame collapsed in on itself. Master Kimpchik and Cynthia started to argue, each one stating their reasons for their chosen destination.

  “The brigands wouldn’t dare attack the elves!” Cynthia reasoned.

  “The elves have no love for humans, they would turn us away and then where would we be? Lost and defenseless! The Capital will defend us, I’m sure of it.”

  “You maybe, but not Thomas here. Thomas will die before dawn.”

  “What?” Master Kimpchik said, completely confused. “What is she talking about, lad?”

  Thomas tore his eyes away from the flame in order to fill in his master. “I was taken because I’m a magic-caster, sir.”

  Master Kimpchik’s jaw dropped in shock.

  “Found out this morning,” Thomas said apathetically, “great way to start the day.”

  Master Kimpchik stared in silence for a moment longer before clearing his throat. “Then I guess that settles it.”

  Thomas met the older man’s gaze, uncertain.

  “We head to Verdonti,” Master Kimpchik said. “Hopefully they’ll protect all of us.”

  Cynthia looked taken aback, looking to Thomas with a smile. For some reason, hearing Master Kimpchik agree with Cynthia made everything clear to Thomas.

  “I’m going to the Capital,” he said. As expected, everyone present practically yelled their disagreement, but Thomas’ mind was made up.

  “And you, sweetheart, you are going to Verdonti. You warn the elves, and I’ll warn the humans. Everyone needs to know.”

  “What are you talking about?” Cynthia pleaded, “if you go to the Capital, they’ll kill you on the spot!”

  “Nah,” Thomas replied, “not if I don’t tell them I’m a magic-caster. ‘Sides, I’ve got this,” he finished by holding up his hand, where the metal emblem the soldier had given him was. He still didn’t know what it was, but it surely had to be important. It was a simple gold circle, not that much different than a coin. On its face was a picture of a sword crossed with an ax, and on the back was a banner Thomas didn’t recognize.

  “What if that doesn’t stop them?” she argued, moving forward so that they were mere inches apart.

  “Then I’ll run,” Thomas said with a smile, “getting pretty good at that today.”

  “I agree with the girl, lad,” Master Kimpchik said, “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  Thomas nodded, but his smile didn’t falter. “I don’t particularly think so either, sir, but they have to be warned. And they’re only going to believe me cause I’ve got this.”

  “I’ll take it then,” Master Kimpchik replied, holding out his hand.

  “This road’s going to be dangerous, sir. I could never forgive myself if something happened to you, especially considering your family is right here.”

  “Stable Boy…” Anna started, her face turning red.

  “Now that’s enough argument. You have your family to look after,” he said to both Ms. Anna and Master Kimpchik. “And you have the elves to warn,” he said to Cynthia, who looked almost angry at him.

  “We’ll all meet again,” Thomas promised. Master Kimpchik shared a look with Ms. Anna, who looked over at Cynthia as if it was all her fault. The thought made Thomas smile.

  Thomas called the horse over, and handed the reins to Cynthia.

  “I don’t know where Verdonti is, but I know it’s not close. Take the horse, and be careful.”

  In response, Cynthia kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll be looking forward to you getting back,” she replied with a passable imitation at her former flirting.

  It was only when Cynthia took off astride the horse did Thomas remember something incredibly important.

  Lucille.

  Thomas whirled towards the stable, but it was nothing more than a smoldering wreck now. He felt the blow straight in his stomach, like someone had taken a log and smashed it into his abdomen. He sunk to the ground, trying to breathe but unable to do anything at all.

  “Stable Boy, what’s wrong?” Ms. Anna asked, shaking his shoulder.

  “What is it lad?” Master Kimpchik was at his other side, his face nothing but concern.

  “I forgot…” Thomas forced out, “about Lucille.”

  To his very great surprise, Master Kimpchik laughed. “Not to worry lad. Lucille was grazing when all of this happened. She probably ran off, but she should be just fine.”

  Air rushed into Thomas’ nostrils so quickly that he felt he might float. That was the best news he had received all day.

  Then a whinny reached his ears, and he immediately had a new contender for the best news.

  Lucille ran forward from the forest, looking agitated. She stopped in front of Thomas, and in her eyes was a patronizing look he almost laughed at.

  “It ain’t my fault there are bad men about,” he laughed.

  “Alright then,” Master Kimpchik said, “if you’re serious about this, take Lucille. You’ll make it to the Capital within the hour if you let her run. We’ll head to my cousins. It’s not more than half a day away, and hopefully the brigands haven’t put it to the torch…” His voice quieted as the possibility no doubt closed his throat.

  “Don’t you worry, sir,” Thomas said, “it doesn’t look like they were heading in that direction. It should be fine.”

  Slightly mollified, Master Kimpchik nodded. Then he pulled Ms. Anna and Mrs. Lucille along, heading for the pasture where the horses were. Maybe some were still there.

  “Ride fast, lad. There’s little time.”

  “And be careful, stupid Stable Boy!” Ms. Anna added. Thomas smiled at them both, resisting the tear in his eye that so desperately wanted to fall.

  Then he mounted Lucille, grabbing a hold of the horse’s mane. Without saddle of bridle, this was going to be an unpleasant journey.

  “Let’s get going, Lucille,” Thomas said. At his words, Lucille moved at a full gallop, carrying Thomas hopefully to the right place.

  Chapter Four: Concerning Kings

  The trip did take less than an hour, and at its end Thomas was incredibly sore. He resisted falling asleep a number of times by the searing pain between his legs and the importance of his mission. The fires of destruction seemed to be slowly going out, and no new ones were taking its place.

  When he reached the Capital, it became quite clear that they had no idea what was going on in the countryside. People were still out in the streets, laughing and going about their business as if nothing was wrong. Guards patrolled, smiling at passerby and joking with each other. Everything appeared perfectly fine.

  That was until Thomas entered the town square.

  Immediately, everyone present could feel the severity of his approach. Covered in soot and smelling of smoke, it was little wonder why he drew everyone’s attention. He looked quite literally as if he had been to Hell and back.

  “Hold, sir,” one of the guards said. His armor was a polished red, a far cry from the scored armor of his dead comrade. Thomas clicked his tongue, and Lucille came to a stop.

  “I need… to speak… to someone… in charge,” Thomas forced out. What he wouldn’t give for some water. Why hadn’t he had any by the stream before he left? That was stupid of him…

  “Sir, you look ill. Are you alright? What’s happened?”

  It took most of Thomas’ attention just to focus on the guard speaking to him. “The countryside… is under attack. Brigands… dressed in black. Burning… they’re burning the villages and the farms…”

  “What?!”
the guard replied, aghast. “You must speak to the Chancellor immediately. She must hear of this.

  The guard whistled, and two more guards down the street opened a gate for him. Thomas clicked again, and Lucille headed off in that direction. If Thomas was more awake, he would have marveled at the massive amount of people surrounding him, openly staring. There were so many shops and businesses. It was a busy place.

  Then Lucille and Thomas passed through the gate, and the commotion stopped immediately.

  This area was all green save for the few buildings and the path. At the end of the road was a building with a pointed tip that stretched into the sky. Thomas didn’t know what it was, but he liked the way the red brick building was made, as well as the windows made of stained glass.

  Lucille stopped just short of the building, and Thomas dismounted with a mix of gratitude and pain.

  “Stay here,” he told Lucille, as he couldn’t tether her to anything. The horse whinnied once to show she understood, and Thomas headed inside.

  “And who is this?” a female voice called as the door shut behind him. He couldn’t see where it was coming from, mostly because he really couldn’t see.

  “I… I need to warn you… people… danger…” Thomas fell to one knee, unable to keep going. Almost immediately, he felt hands on his back and something wet pressed against his face, and he felt a little better.

  “It’s okay, dear, just calm down,” the voice said, but now the voice had a face. It was a gorgeous one, with dark brown hair and eyes so blue they seemed to be translucent. Her eyes were full of concern, which really only made her prettier. Her mouth was small but her lips were full and she had a smile of encouragement that almost made him feel better than the water she was dabbing at his forehead.

  “Please, ma’am, I have to warn you. The countryside is under attack by brigands. They’ve been burning the villages, the farms… everything.”