Burn

With not even a sword on his hip, Daniel stalked to the stables, took the saddle horn in his hand, and then mounted his horse in a single motion. His heels dug deep into the animal’s sides, and it carried the King away with a jolt that startled the other horses.

His Riders gave chase to Daniel, who was nearly a furlong from the gates already. The Darke King rode fast and bound over streams and downed trees that blocked his path. Like a torch in a windstorm, flecks of charred pieces of Daniel’s fear and devastation blew off him and blanketed everyone who followed.

Every scorching bit that slapped Haldir’s face was a hint of the Hell about to rain down on the unsuspecting rapist hiding in the encampment they were barreling towards.

In all the years that he’d been traveling back and forth between the worlds, Haldir only ever met one other Firebreather, and the anticipation of seeing one in all its glory made his whole body numb.

The full moon lit the path South, and when the dim firelight of the camp set alight the night sky, Daniel’s horse came to a halt, and his voice reached into every ear of his entourage as the blue-eyed stranger’s face came into view. “Bring him to me alive and kill anyone who stands in your way.”

The sparkles and flickers of their swords at the ready led the men into the shantytown, and they moved with silent precision as they proceeded from shack to shack.

When Agamori ripped the tent from the sticks that held it together, the shaggy-haired man dashed for the woods. Before Agamori could land his first step, the man’s face met Haldir’s fist, and he fell to the ground.

“Mmm!” Haldir blew out hard through pursed lips and cringed at the pain in his knuckles, then hugged his hand close to his chest.

Agamori crouched beside the unconscious man and lifted his hand. It slapped back to the ground when he let it go, and the wizard glanced up to the Viking and shook his head with a disapproving sigh shooting through his nose.

Haldir’s mouth twisted as he shrugged his shoulder. “His Majesty said alive. He never said anything about wanting him awake.”

His long white hair slapped at his face as the night breeze swept through the valley, and the rare chuckle came from the Lord Commander’s mouth when he nodded to Haldir’s hand. “Was this piece of garbage really worth all that?”

The memory of Rosemary lying in a filthy alleyway crossed his mind, and he glanced back to Agamori. “Yes. My only regret is that it took so long.”

Haldir squatted beside the man and wrapped his arm under his, then nodded to Agamori. “On three.”

“One, two, three.” With a face contorting groan and a jerk, the two men lifted the prisoner from the ground. His feet dragged against the grassy cover, and his head bobbed up and down as he slowly came back to his senses. “Why are you doing this? What have I ever done to you?”

A hateful blast of air huffed from Haldir’s chest as they started up the hill where Daniel waited. In the blue glow that enveloped him and eyes as dark as the sky above them all, the Darke King stood there like an underworld god, and the Viking knew that whatever followed would be the stuff of nightmares for the man he dragged along with him. “Don’t fret. It will all come back to you shortly.”

They threw him before Daniel’s feet, and with a calmness that sent a shiver down through Haldir’s nerves, Daniel crouched beside the man and rested his chin on his hand, then pushed his hair off his face. “I’ve often wondered if I’d ever get the chance to meet you. You must be very confused about what’s happening right now, but I want there to be no doubts in your mind about why I’m about to tear you apart.”

Daniel offered his hand to him and tugged until he stood. “Come on. Get up.” He rubbed the stubble of his chin and backed away a few paces, then pointed at the stranger. “You’ve lived in my head for so long that I feel like I know you already, but let me introduce myself to you properly.”

After a deep breath through his nose, Daniel’s eyes rose up to the moon and prayed he still held the Fates' favor. The bolt on the old wooden door in his mind popped, and it opened with a creak. The screams and pleads of Rosemary came rushing out, and Daniel balled his fist so tightly, little drops of blood pooled in his fingernails. His whole face pulled into an ugly, wrinkled scowl as his arm swung wildly and his fist connected with the man’s jaw. The man fell backwards to the ground before the sound of bone on bone even finished echoing through the countryside.

With that hard, brutal punch, Daniel sent the flash of his memory back to the rapist, and it all became clear to him.

Daniel’s shoulders pitched up and down as he shook out his hand and circled the man pushing himself to his knees. “That’s right. That was my mate. My wife. My Queen. Mine.”

As he came to his feet, the blonde man pushed his hair off his face and stretched out his neck from side to side. “Not that night she wasn’t.”

His hands rose to his sides, and Daniel glanced to the sky. “The Fates are kind this evening.” His black orbs fell back down to the prisoner. “I thought I’d never get the chance to kill you, but here we are.”

A guttural yawp sprang from the man as he lunged at Daniel and took him to the ground. The Riders encircled the two men punching and wrestling for dominance until Daniel made his way to the top.

Through screams and grunts, Daniel delivered his fist to the bloodied man’s face over and over until only the faint jerk of the dying body’s legs remained.

Haldir came forward, whipped his knife from his belted sheath, and slapped the hilt to Daniel’s outstretched hand. His jaw popped as the crazed man hissed through his teeth. “Wake up, goddammit! I want you to see me killing you.”

The stranger’s blue eyes fluttered open as Daniel balled his hair into his fisted hand. The sharp blade sliced through his neck like soft butter, and soft moans fell from Daniel’s nose as a smile rose under his cheeks.

While the ground soaked in blood and it seeped into the fabric covering Daniel’s knees, the memory he carried for so long drifted from his pores and ignited in the flames consuming them.

The stench of skin and hair and blood boiled in the air until Daniel emerged unscathed from the inferno and faced his men. He stood before Agamori and yelled to the Riders. “This was for Rosemary. Your sister.” The old wizard bowed his head to Daniel and slid his hand to his chest.

The King’s aura glowed in the brightest colors that Haldir ever saw as Daniel laid his hand on his shoulder. “For your Queen. Your friend.”

The Darke King stepped back and called back the fires into his skin and spoke out to the old gods watching down over him. “Any man who stands against us, against our family, our kingdom will suffer the same fate. They will all fucking burn. I swear it to you!”