King of Dust

Chapter 20

Yra's jaw dropped. His eyebrows bunched into the center of his forehead as we watched the spectacle unfold before us. Astrid was beaming. I don't think she realized the weirdness of the situation that we were in. Masked citizens of Nessden danced down the streets throwing corn kernels into the air. The shower of little golden pellets was hard to dodge, and I flinched out of the way as more were flung in my direction. The residents of Nessden all wore large, papier-mâché masks over their faces in the fashion of a sun. Creepy, terribly rendered faces twisted into smiles graced the front of every single mask.

The citizens donned bells around their ankles, which chimed as they gyrated and jumped down the street. Urien's bird eyed a piece of corn as it sailed by and hopped impatiently on his shoulder. As one citizen passed us, they pushed a bouquet of sunflowers into Astrid's hands. Her smile only widened, her cheeks rosy with amusement. She took my hand and pulled me excitedly into the center of town. "Let's go this way!" she trilled. "I want to see more!"

The four of us flowed against the crowd and my stomach backflipped. One sad flute played in the distance, barely audible over the incessant chiming of bells. I nervously touched my face to make sure my disguise was still active and followed Astrid into the crowd.

"All is well!" someone shouted at us as we passed.

"All is well!"

"All is well!"

That seemed to be the catch phrase of the day. Astrid pulled us past the inn and a few stores to the town square, where a massive wicker person had been built. It seemed that we had arrived just in time. One opulently dressed citizen adjusted his particularly gaudy sun mask and stood before the effigy with his hands outstretched.

"All is well!" he yelled.

"All is well!" the crowd cheered back.

What sort of hellscape was this place?

It had been decades since I'd really been to Nessden. I had lurked around in their graveyard and behind pubs to nab dinner, sure, but never really hung out in Nessden. Nessden hadn't even been a town when I first became a creature of the night. Now, it was the largest city in Starkovia, though it only held around three hundred or so citizens. It seemed every single citizen was out in the streets, and it became difficult to move toward the wicker monstrosity without bumping into people.

"Thank you all for joining me today on this most wonderful day of days! Today we celebrate the sun, its light, and Ohaldin herself. We thank her for opening the clouds in the sky and pouring fresh sunlight down upon our daily lives. In her honor, we will sacrif—I mean, light – this statue. Praise to Ohaldin!"

"All is well!" the crowd roared.

With one smooth motion, the man in front of the wicker person raised a torch above his head and tossed it into the kindling at its base. The flames ignited more violently than expected and embers shot off the pyre, sending the effigy alight in mere moments. Sparks shot from the burning tinder and onto the robe of the man in front of it, which also burst into flame. He yelped out, startled, as several members of the crowd jumped onto the stage to stamp out the blaze.

After a few moments of chaos, the fire had been put out. He, in one triumphant turn, opened his arms to the crowd as the giant man burned behind him, and yelled, "All is WELL!"

The crowd lost it. Someone in the front row foamed at the mouth and fainted. Everyone dissolved into violent dance as the monstrosity burned and Astrid clapped. A real band was stationed over by the stockade, and they played loud and with great energy. Astrid yanked me by the arm into the heart of the crowd and spun with me, petals of her sunflowers catching in the wind and scattering onto the cobblestone. She laughed, and I couldn't help but laugh. A smile spread onto my face as we twirled.

Her heel caught onto the rugged edge of a cobblestone, and she tripped. Before she could tumble to the ground, I reached out and caught her, her flaming hair trailing to the stone in a cascade of curls. A flush bled across her cheeks, and she grinned. The song ended and I lifted her up as the crowd clapped.

"Excuse me! I should have you arrested!" someone shouted.

The hair on my arms stood on end. I bristled up and turned slowly to whoever was speaking. Had I been found out?

It was the man who had caught fire. He pulled his mask from his head to reveal an elderly face. A smile nearly as twisted and uncomfortable as the ones painted on the mask stretched across his wrinkled skin. He blinked bulging eyes at me and tilted his head to the side but said nothing.

"I'm sorry, w-what?" I stammered.

"Your mask!" he beamed, holding out two paper masks for Astrid and I. "It's criminal to be celebrating such a wonderful day with no sun mask!"

"O-Oh," I faltered as I took the ugly thing. "Thank you."

"Are you new to town? I haven't seen your faces before."

"I'm from the town of Starkovia!" Astrid chimed in, her face still flushed from the dance. "I travelled here with some friends, and we were fortunate enough to arrive today."

"Fortunate indeed. Welcome to Nessden, where the sun always shines! Today we're celebrating the Festival of the Burning Sun. Please, help yourself to some corn kernels."

"Thank you, sir."

"My name is Sebastian Kovalev, and I am the burgomaster of Nessden. It is an absolute pleasure to have you here today."

"My name is Astrid, sir." Astrid put her hand out for him to shake. "Good to meet you."

"And you, young man?" he asked.

Oh, shit. I should have probably thought of a name before this exact moment.

"Um, D—D..." I looked around for hints. "D-Daniel."

Daniel. Daniel? Smooth.

"Daniel, Astrid, welcome again to Nessden. Our inn is there," Burgomaster Kovalev gestured to a building on his right, "and my house is just there up on the hill. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask. I like to exercise my title as friendliest person in Starkovia."

"Thanks," I muttered. "We, um. We should be going."

"Without staying for the later festivities? This is only the beginning!"

"Astrid, um... what's-your-name. There you are," someone muttered behind us.

I turned to find Urien there. Apparently, we had lost him in the crowd.

"Now, there's a friendly face I recognize. Inquisitor, how are you?" the burgomaster asked.

Ah, so they know each other.

"Well, Burgomaster Kovalev. How are things in Nessden?" Urien asked.

"All is well!" the burgomaster chuckled. "As you can see."

"Clearly."

"Feel free to stay in the inn at no cost. And actually, now that you're here, I could certainly use your help."

"Oh?"

"If you'd like to come up to my mansion, I would be more than happy to fill you in. How about tomorrow, after the festival is over?"

"Certainly. We'll see you after sunup."

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