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Chapter 28: The Burning of Forbidden Flames

Bharath was feeling edgy. Unnerved even. Something just wasn’t right. Master Keahi had been on Obsidian Volcano for the entire night and day, yet there had been no impromptu meetings of the Fire Council.

That was rather unexpected as Princess Flamenca was the one who ordered him to complete his meditation training. Could it be that she was simply exerting her authority over him again and nothing else?

It didn’t seem right.

Bharath’s suspicion for his Fire Princess only grew when he stepped into a private chamber of the Fire Temple to find Princess Flamenca standing there, looking as though she had every right to be within the temple, especially within a chamber that was forbidden to all but the high ranking Fire Priests.

“Is he back yet?” It wasn’t so much a question, but a demand to know the answer.

And it was obvious who she was talking about.

“I apologize Princess, but Master Keahi isn’t here at the moment,” Bharath said as he glided into the chamber, his head held high with a sense of authority. She was in his domain now. She had no right to be here, no matter what she said. “And I...cannot let you pass. This is the Fire Temple, reserved for Fire Priests only. Not even you, Fire Princess, are allowed beyond this point.”

Flamenca looked highly displeased at his words, and yet didn’t appear totally enraged like she would have in the past. Something was different about her, now that Bharath thought about it. She felt…darker.

“How dare you,” Flamenca suddenly stated as she lifted his chin in defiance, unfurling her sash from her shoulders in one fluid movement. “I will punish you for your insolence. Prepare for battle, peasant.”

Bharath narrowed his eyes. “I have no desire you fight you, Princess.”

Flamenca would have none of that. “I order you to battle, fool!” she yelled at him.

“...I see I have no choice,” Bharath said as he sighed, taking a step forward, elegantly holding his hand out to the side of him. “Essence of the Flame - Fire Opal!”

Immediately, his Spell Binding Circle erupted around his feet, encircling him within its fiery and protective warmth. It was reassuring to Bharath to feel the flames lick as his legs and hands.

“Figures you’d be a FireBrand too,” Flamenca snorted, hardly impressed it seemed.

Not that Bharath was trying to impress her, of course. “Most Fire Priests are,” he said before he held his hands in prayer before his chest, closing his eyes to call upon his beloved Fire Beast. “Fires of a Celtic Moon - Flame Owl, Kotori Hakan!”

The fires flared up behind Bharath, forming a beautiful flamed owl, his wings furling protectively around Bharath, engulfing a large proportion of the chamber. Normally, being wrapped up in Kotori Hakan’s wings was reassuring, comforting…yet, something didn’t feel right. He felt highly uncomfortable, he had the minute he stepped into the room to confront the Princess.

Peering through the flames, Bharath felt a sense of fear when he watched a smirk, no, a sneer slip across Flamenca’s face.

“Deathly Ribbon Dance - Flame Shadows!”

Bharath found himself forcibly pushed back by a power so dark, so empty that it took his breath away. That feeling…it was just like what he felt at that village where all those unfortunate souls were departed.

“T-that’s...dark fire...?” Bharath stuttered, his eyes wide with fear, a feeling of cold washing over him as he watched those dark flames encircle the Fire Princess, Flamenca standing unaffected by them.

He then felt nauseated when a realisation dawned on him.

“It was you,” he whispered in disbelief before a desperate anger overwhelmed him. “You killed those villagers! Why?!”

Flamenca gave a cold laugh. “They were simply a step in my glorious rise of power.”

Bharath could only stare at her in absolute fear. This was his Fire Princess, how could she be so…wicked. There was no other way to describe what she had become; purely malicious.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, trying to find some way to comprehend what she was doing. “You’re going to anger the Fire God if you-!”

“I don’t care,” Flamenca cut him off sharply, flicking her long hair over her shoulder in a rather casual manner. “This is his punishment for defying and humiliating me,” she explained as though it should have been obvious. “And since you are close to that useless cousin of mine, you will be the best place to start.”

Things were slowly starting to come together. She had planned something, but he never thought she would do anything so immoral.

“Is that why you ordered him to complete his Fire Meditation?”

“So I can destroy everything he holds dear in his absence?” Flamenca filled him in, that unhuman sneer still sitting on her lips. “So I can separate the two of you in order to pick you off one by one? Is that what you want to know?”

It was all so hard to fathom.

“Y-you…” Bharath unwilling stuttered. “You didn’t leave those huts to burn to punish me, did you?”

“That was just a minor incident,” Flamenca waved off, literally flapping her hand dismissively. “One that proved quite useful in the long run. Not that I needed to weaken you to battle you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Bharath swallowed thickly, his fear growing. Even Kotori Hakan was uneasy by the Princess’s malevolent presence. “Why? Why do you hate him so much?”

“That’s a stupid question,” Flamenca retorted harshly. “He’s stopping me from fulfilling my own destiny.” She suddenly thrashed out her sash, literally using it as a whip to fan the dark flames around her feet. “Now, enough. I’m through talking with you. Adar Askook!”

“K-Kotori Hakan!”

… … … … … … …

Spending the night upon Obsidian, Keahi had fulfilled his duty that his cousin had set for him. It was rather…unconventional way of completing his meditation, to put it lightly. And it made him blush thinking about what had happened.

But the flames did not retaliate in anyway and Keahi did manage to communicate with Nootau Chatan in his dreams, although his Fire Beast had nothing to offer him in his research and desire for the truth. He did, however, offer him some encouraging words about how it was alright to allow himself to be with Masou, allow himself to be loved by him.

And, well, Keahi was starting to feel that way. He truly was. He liked being with Masou. He wanted to be with him. He needed to be with him. Keahi hadn’t felt so happy and light for such a long time.

Although, he did have a bit of a limp, which Masou cheerfully apologised for, only to coo when Keahi flushed darkly.

Leaving the mountain top, Masou by his side, Keahi was greeted by Brendis, the Fire Guard looking edgy and tense. Which, in turn, made Keahi feel tense as well. But before he could ask a question, Brendis beat him to it.

“Nothing,” he said tersely.

Keahi blinked at him while Masou tilted his head to the side in question. “No gossip? Nothing?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

“Flamenca didn’t pull any last minute meetings?” Keahi asked, completely and utterly bewildered.

Brendis pressed the tip of his forefinger to his thumb to make a ‘o’ sign with his hand, the other resting on his hip. “Zip.”

“T-that can’t be right,” Keahi spluttered. “She-”

Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the area, the ground beneath their feet trembling, causing them to stumble slightly, Masou instinctively shielding Keahi as he clung to him. It lasted for only a few seconds, but it was intense. And close.

“What was that?” Keahi immediately asked, alarmed.

“It came from the direction of the temple!” Brendis announced, immediately turning on his heel and running in the direction of the temple. “Bharath!”

“Let’s go, Keahi,” Masou said, once again his expression unnervingly serious.

“Right.”

Immediately, the two of them ran toward the temple as well, ignoring the other Fire Priests as they filed out in panic and confusion. Amongst the masses, Keahi noted that he could not see Bharath and his heart leapt into his throat.

He fear only grew when he heard Brendis’ voice, loud and clearly distressed over the bellowing smoke.

“Bharath!”

Skidding into the room he heard Brendis’ voice echo from, Keahi nearly collided with his friend, who was staring forward, his eyes wide and his face drained of colour.

“Brendis, what is it?” Keahi asked as he tugged on Brendis’ arm, not getting a response from him. He glanced quickly over in the direction he was staring in and had to do a double take. He immediately let go of Brendis’ arm and took a sudden step forward. “Bharath!”

There, in the middle of the smoking and sooty chamber was Elder Aodh, and he had Bharath in his grip, one arm around his neck in a choke hold, the other pinning Bharath’s arm behind his back. He was holding him slightly in front of him, pulling Bharath back so his feet were barely touching the ground.

But Bharath was…

Blood was coating his tattered white robes, staining them a sickening crimson colour. His hair was matted and his skin a deathly pale with patches of soot. His face was creased into a look of sheer pain, his eyes glazed over from the agony.

“B-Brendis...?” Bharath murmured, struggling only ever so slightly against Elder Aodh’s hold on him. “M-master Keahi...”

“Elder Aodh, what are you doing?!” Keahi demanded to know, an unfamiliar rage and anger rising steadily.

Elder smirked and adjusted his grip on Bharath, placing him so that he was looking over his shoulder, using Bharath as a shield. “Orders of the Princess,” he said simply.

Keahi felt his body become tense. “Flamenca?”

She did this?

That…that bitch! She attacked Bharath? She did this to him?

“Master Keahi,” Bharath wheezed, his voice low and was barely heard. “Run, please.” He then let out a gut-wrenching cry of pain when Elder Aodh tightened his grip on him, intentionally causing him pain. “Ah!”

“Bharath!” Brendis screamed next to Keahi, his body trembling with barely restrained anger.

“Stop it!” Keahi yelled, his voice full of both anger and concern. “You’re hurting him!”

Elder Aodh just smirked, which only added to the anger and hatred that Keahi, and most certainly Brendis, was feeling toward him.

“I don’t care if you’re a Fire Elder or not,” Brendis said, his head low, his eyes hidden within the shadows of his hair. But his posture was tense, even as he fisted hands shook by his sides. “I’m going to have to kill you if you’re the one responsible for Bharath’s injuries.”

His voice was so…angry. It brought shivers down Keahi’s spine.

Not that he could fault him for that, of course.

“Quite some strong words, Fire Guard,” Elder Aodh spoke, a haughty tone in his voice. Although, there was also a slight sense of trepidation in his voice, unnerved by Brendis’ threat, though he hid it well. “Can you back them up?”

Bharath cried out again when Elder Aodh unexpectedly twisted his arm further, the older man smirking infuriatingly. “Without hurting your friend in the process?”

“Why you-!” Brendis hissed and lunged forward, ready to attack and rip Elder Aodh to shreds, but he was suddenly pulled back by a hand grabbing him by the arm.

“Wait,” Masou said as he suddenly appeared, keeping a firm grip on Brendis’ arm.

“What?” Brendis whirled around, ready to attack Masou if needed. But then he stilled, Masou looking at him with a telling and serious gaze, relaying something to him through his eyes. Surprisingly, Brendis seemed to understand what he was trying to convey and simply slunk back, slipping into the shadows and smoke hazing the room.

“You’re completely out of line here,” Masou stated as he stepped boldly into the centre of the room, placing himself in-between Keahi and Elder Aodh. “This is the Fire Temple, you have no authority here.”

Elder Aodh looked surprised and a little bit vexed at Masou’s appearance, indignant to receive a lecture from a man he did not know. “And who are you?” he asked tersely.

“That is none of your concern,” Masou reply was equally abrupt, his eyes narrowed into a look of fury. The air around them spiked significantly and it was easy to tell that Masou was a superior FireBrand, without casting a single spell. “You better let him go. It would be within your best interest if you did.”

Surprisingly, Elder faltered for a mere moment, caught off guard by the power that Masou was radiating. “I am merely following the orders of our Princess.”

“She’s no princess of mine,” Masou spat, surprising Keahi by his animosity for his cousin. “I refuse to follow such a disgusting creature.” He took a threatening and ominous step forward. “Now, if you don’t do the smart thing and let Bharath go, you will be severely punished.”

Elder Aodh took a faltering step backwards, Bharath uttering a small whimper at being jostled in his grip.

“Now Brendis!” Masou suddenly yelled.

Behind Elder Aodh, Brendis appeared from the darkness, his eyes narrowed in a fury-filled glare.

“Blade of Fire!” Brendis snarled, flames bursting forth in the air in front of his hand to form a long dagger. He then flicked the dagger into the palm of his hand, grasping it tightly as he sprung forward. “Hah!”

He moved so fast that the elder had no chance to move or make any form of retaliation. A scream of pain erupted from elder Aodh’s lips when Brendis embedded the fiery dagger into his back, pushing forward with all his strength, instantly making him loosening his grip on Bharath.

“Bastard,” Brendis growled at him. “I told you.”

With a sudden gasp, Bharath slipped from the elder’s hold, falling ungracefully toward the floor. However, thankfully, Masou was quick enough to jump forward, gathered the injured priest into his arms and jump back, getting him to safety.

“Gotcha.”

Sitting in Masou’s arms, Bharath’s head lolled back to rest on his shoulder, gazing blearily up at him. “Masou…?”

Brendis removed the dagger from Elder Aodh’s back, only to kick him harshly in the side, sending him sprawling a few feet across the room before crashing to the ground, skidding across the floor in a highly painful manner. He then slumped there, unmoving, saved for the harsh rising and falling of his chest, indicating that he was still breathing.

“Easy now,” Masou said as he slowly and carefully lowered Bharath to the floor, Keahi and Brendis immediately racing over to him.

“Bharath?” Keahi said softly, gently brushing Bharath’s hair from his eyes. Oh, he was so pale.

Please let him be ok, Keahi silently pleaded, tears welling in his eyes.

Bharath slowly turned his eyes toward him, his expression blank with pain. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Shh, it’s alright,” Keahi said soothingly, putting aside his anger and absolute hatred for his cousin for the moment. Bharath needed help right now. “Don’t try to talk.”

Bharath murmured something, but it was faint and Keahi couldn’t quite hear him. Although, the way his lips moved, it was almost like he said; “Dark Fire”. Then, before anything else could be said, Bharath’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went limp against Masou.

“Bharath!” Brendis cried as he moved forward to gather Bharath carefully in his arms, fear evident in his eyes.

“He fainted,” Masou said as he helped Brendis cradle Bharath carefully.

“He needs to be taken to a healer immediately,” Keahi interjected, a sense of authority in his voice. “Those injuries, they need to be tended to straight away.”

Brendis nodded and carefully pulled himself to his feet, being mindful of the delicate man in his arms. “What about you?”

“I’ll be fine,” Keahi brushed off his concern, his golden eyes as piercing as twin candle flames within a dark night. “Flamenca and I really need to have a chat.”

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