Legacy of Fire (The Blaze Trilogy - Book #1)

Chapter 9

The first thing that strikes me is the darkness. 

It’s even darker than the barren outer areas of the North, the pale moonlight blocked by the thick overhanging trees. Despite my good balance, I stumble through the underbrush, the twisted plants and sprawling roots catching my feet as I run. 

I saw the truth in Matthew’s eyes - he won’t send more guards after us. But Zander doesn’t stop, he keeps going, constantly looking behind us and waiting to hear the shouts and gunshots follow us into the blackness. He’s been well-trained in mistrust. 

I try and ignore the shivering weakness that loosens my grip on Zander’s shoulder as we plough through the underbrush, instead focusing on his manic pace as he pushes us farther into the forest. 

Eventually I have to stop him. I pull back on his arm, planting my weight into the dark soil. “Zander, there’s no one after us,” I point out, panting. 

He swings around, and I see that his eyes are still wide, filled with doubt. “We don’t know that for sure,” he insists. “That guard could have been lying - believe me Ava, I know Beaters. And they’re never that nice.” 

I look down. Of course it would be easy for me to believe Matthew - I’ve been taught to trust the guards of Defense, look at them as the protectors of our city. For Zander, they were only oppressors. “Okay, you’re right,” I admit, and Zander relaxes slightly. “But, listen, we need to make sure we’re headed the right direction to Everwood. Do you know where you’re going?” 

Zander pauses. “Well, sort of.” 

“How sure is ‘sort of’?” 

“Not at all.”

Perfect. “Zander, we’re going to have to find the river Tania was talking about.”

“I know,” he agrees, scanning the forest around us. “But there’s no use doing it tonight. I can’t hear any running water, and we’d be wandering around blind if we tried looking for it in the darkness.” He reaches into our packs, pulling out two bedrolls. “We’ll rest here until morning.”

I glance at the twisting forest that surrounds us - I can’t shake the feeling we’re being watched. “Here?” 

The night air is cool, but not uncomfortably so. It’s a welcome change from the sweltering heat that burns oppressively through the day. But my eyes squint into the darkness, and I find myself thinking about what could be lurking in the shadows - Bane spoke of the horrors of the forest. I try and push the wariness out of mind, but it runs through me like a chill. It seems Zander’s suspicion is contagious. 

But Zander rolls his eyes. “Ava, we’ll be fine.” He lays out the bedrolls underneath the curving fronds of a tall bushy thicket. “This should cover us if anyone comes near here.” 

Zander reaches into his pack, pulling out a wad of rough bandage. “Turn around,” he instructs. Then he gently lifts the back of my shirt, revealing the spot on my shoulder where the bullet hit me. 

“Is it bad?”

“No, you were lucky.” Zander shakes his head. “It’s just a graze.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief, and Zander gets to work wrapping it up. When he’s done, I smooth my hands over the bedroll, then lay down carefully to avoid pressure on my shoulder. My body melts almost instantly, drained of all it’s energy. The bedding isn’t particularly soft, but the moist soil retains a bit of sponginess. My tired limbs are too numb to care anyway. 

I hear Zander lay down on the roll next to me, and I glance over at him. He is staring at his hands, his expression unreadable. 

“I’ve never attacked anyone before,” he whispers, closing his eyes. “It’s something I always thought about. When the Beaters were prowling the fields, just waiting for you to falter, stumble from exhaustion, so that they could bring their batons down across your body,” he hesitates. “For so long, I wanted to hurt them. Hurt them, hurt the taskmasters as they stare down at us from their watchtowers, gazing at us like vermin they could crush at any moment.” He swallows. “But tonight, when I attacked those two guards… Ava, I didn’t like it - I didn’t get that rush of satisfaction, that rush of triumph that I wanted to feel. Their screams echoed in my ears just like the screams of any Northerner I’ve seen punished. And the fear in their eyes… it’s the same fear I felt when they beat me. The only difference is that now; I’m the one making them suffer.”