By dawn, we were all ready to leave the ship.
The horses snorted, armours clinked softly and somewhere in the distance, a hron echoed.
But we weren't going with the Northern Army. We were going alone because according to Killian, only a Fantastic Child could fight a Fantastic Child.
Killian, Arya, Lora, Belderwon and me set out to bring in the new FC.
I pulled the cloak tighter around my shoulders, glancing at the others.
Arya looked excited. Belderwon looked relaxed. Killian looked like he was ready to go to war. And Lora… she looked genuinely bored. Her facial expression concerned me more than the mission we were on.
When we arrived at Onyx Ridge, I held my breath.
The air was thick with ash, grey matter swirling gently. We would've had difficulty breathing if not for Arya's mask. She'd crafted it just before we left.
As I sucked in clean air from the mask, I peered outside the moving cart. The land looked like ash. The trees bore fruits but they looked like burnt skeletons. The buildings surrounding the desert region were built like windbreaking structures — tall and mostly triangular. It was morning when we left but here, it looks like midnight.
This place feels wrong, I thought.
"That's because it is." Lora said, as if reading my mind or maybe she did.
I nodded slowly and looked away. I was terrified of her.
The cart wheeled to a stop in the middle of the road. We were at our destination.
The back of the cart landed on the ground with a thud. I jumped down first, my boots hitting the ground. Killian followed, landing effortlessly before returning to help Arya and Belderwon.
Lora didn't wait.
She hopped down on her own, landing lightly like the fall meant nothing. Straightening, she brushed off her thigh. That's when I really saw it.
Her clothes were different from ours.
While Arya, Belderwon and I wore thick woven clothes with layers and layers meant to resist the wind, weather and minor impacts, Lora was wrapped in something different. It was a deep violet leather fabric that clung to her like a second skin. The material wasn't bulky yet it covered her completely, curving over her shoulders, hugging her waist, protecting her arms and legs. It didn't look like armour meant to block attacks. It looked like something that would adapt to them. And even when we wore masks, she didn't.
Belderwon must've caught me staring at her because he gave me a light nudge. "You're probably wondering why she looks different from us, aren't you?"
"Yeah." I whispered, still staring at her. I couldn't stop myself.
Lora glanced at me briefly and I threw my gaze upward.
Belderwon chuckled beside me. "That's because it's not a cloth."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
He tilted his head slightly and smiled. "It's an extension of her power."
My gaze snapped back to Lora. She simply rolled her shoulder once and for a split second, the armour shifted with her movements, like it was part of her body.
I gasped in awe. No wonder she's a Fantastic Child. Nothing about them was normal.
Lora crouched and brushed her fingers against the ground. "There's magic here."
"A very old one." Arya added.
Killian didn't stop walking. "Stay close. She's here."
"She?"
"The Fantastic Child we're here for," Belderwon slapped my chest lightly. "Keep up, kid."
I nodded shyly and followed him.
After a few minutes' walk, we arrived at the base of a broken mountain. It had a massive opening, jagged like something had claws its way out instead of inside it.
Something screamed inside of me when I saw it and I stopped walking.
I want to go back.
"She's not alone." Killian said.
My jaws dropped. "There's two of them?"
Killian didn't answer. He moved inside and I swallowed hard. So much for my first mission.
"Come on." Lora whispered and joined him.
I exhaled softly and entered.
The deeper we went, the warmer it became. All of a sudden, I didn't need the mask anymore. The air was breathable and water dripped from the ceiling in slow echoing drops.
It was really warm here.
As we got near, so did the growl. It was low, deep and absolutely animal-like. It wasn't human. Not even close.
I stopped again. "What was that?"
Belderwon held up a hand to shush me. He looked around the place again. It was dimly lit with a bright light but where was the light coming from?
Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, followed by a faint light and scorching heat. The water kept dripping over my head and the snow melted as quickly as….
"Shit! Fire!" Arya screamed.
A hand shoved me away and I landed on the ground with a heavy thud.
When I looked up, Killian was standing in front of me. Unscratched.
He looked over his shoulder and at me. "I told you I won't let you get hurt."
I swallowed hard and shuffled to my feet.
"What was that?" I trembled.
My reply came in the form of the sharp sound of weapons unsheathing.
Before my very eyes, a white staff formed in Belderwon's hands, golden runes flickering faintly along its length. Lora drew a long purple sword that looked less than something she held and more like an extension of her arm. Arya raised a bow, a quicker full of arrows already on her back as if it had always been there. Killian swung an axe over his shoulder, the massive blade reeking of power and blood.
And then there was me.
I looked at my hands, only to find them empty.
Lora was right. I was more useless than thought.
The growl came again and the creature behind it emerged.
I wish I didn't look.
With scales that looked like they'd been stitched by fire itself, blackened horns curled from its skull and eyes that resembled burning coal, it looked like a nightmare.
"That's the HellRaiser!" Arya's eyes went wide in fear.
"And it's not a beast," Lora stepped forward. "It's a protector."
"It's guarding something!" Belderwon called out.
"Not something," Killian said. "Someone."
"The Fantastic Child." I whispered.
The cave shook as the creature roared. And in a split second, it charged towards us.
Towards me.