when you accepted the rank of Brigadier.” Lumberjack’s face was contorted from exertion. “Even as an Ash, he has earned his life for tonight.”
The angry woman glared at Jim, but she pushed her sword into the dirt. And, instead of speaking, she screamed at the thief just beyond her reach. Then, she walked away from the fire and into the darkness of the trees.
“She is honor bound,” Lumberjack spoke, “and will not attack you tonight. You will be free to leave at sunrise.” His burning eyes betrayed his defending action. “But, if I have the misfortune of seeing you again, Heir of Ash, I will not fight by your side.” His gaze fell to the dark earth. “My time of serving your faction is over.”
“Thank you, Captain Blackthorne,” Emma said softly.
“Good luck, Fencer.” For once, the Hero left without a smile.
Emma’s gaze shifted to Jim, and he held her stare. In her eyes he saw so much confusion, so much new uncertainty. If she asked, he would tell her everything, anything. He only hoped that, someday, she would.
8: A traitor's story
The morning was uneventful, and Emma was grateful for it. The remaining group rose with the sun, had a small breakfast of cold portions and hot tea, and decided to part ways. Helmet hadn’t returned from storming into the forest, but Lumberjack assured them that she was fine and would return once she cooled off. And then Emma was alone with Jim, with the Heir of Ash, walking towards the Southern edge of the dense forest.
She had heard stories, so many stories, about the Ash faction. They held the strongest of the Hero forces and guarded the Southern territories. But devious intentions were buried beneath their good doings. They killed the heir of one of the Pure Families, the Dogwood’s, if Emma remembered correctly, an act that began the Southern War.
The humans of the Southern colonies, and the few Heroes who remained loyal to Ash, struck a devastating blow inside Paradise’s wall, and chaos threatened the balance. The war lasted a few years, the bodies of the fallen could be piled halfway up the wall.
In the end, the Northtrees rallied most of the Pure Families and successfully defended their great city from the Ash deceivers. The South was given to the Dogwoods as penance for their initial loss in the war, and the Ash faction was dismantled and disgraced. The Ashes who remained in the city were stripped of their purity but were allowed to remain inside Paradise’s walls.
Every child, human or Hero, was taught the downfall of the Ash faction. The riots in the South grew too out of hand for the Dogwoods to handle alone. So, the Northtrees sent their forces and burned those who stood in their way. The Northtrees proved to be the most powerful faction, and the riots quickly stopped.
Emma shook. Those tragedies, that war, it had all started by the action of the Heir to the Ash family. The man who she had been traveling with, Jim. Knowing his title, knowing his past, changed everything she thought she knew. Jim had caused so many deaths, had shattered the ever-growing alliance of the humans and Heroes, all for a petty gain of power for his faction.
“I’ve been able to feel your hesitation since last night.” Jim said, pulling Emma from her thoughts. “And your disdain grows with each step you take with me.” His tone was sad, pathetic almost, Emma thought. “Just…don’t believe the stories…not all of them.”
Emma blinked. Her prejudice towards the Hero made every word he spoke feel like nails piercing her eardrums.
“How should I be feeling, Heir of Ash?” she asked unkindly, “The man I’ve been traveling with turns out to be the most notorious rebel in recent history. My mother was loyal to the Ash faction, Jim.” Emotion harshened her voice. “She died fighting for what you did. You might as well have killed her yourself.” Angry tears streamed down Emma’s face, blurring her vision.
Jim slowed, but she kept her pace. Emma didn’t dare look in the Hero’s direction, didn’t let him see the hot vulnerability that escaped her eyes. She could hear the subtle rustle of his cloak as he jogged to catch up to her.
Emma’s tears caused her to miss a root that tangled with her foot and caused her to trip. She fell but felt the Hero’s hand grab her shoulder to bring her back to stability. Emma recoiled at the Hero’s touch and punched where she knew his face would be.
Fist contacted cheek, and Jim stumbled backwards. But that wasn’t enough. She moved towards the stunned man, throwing her fists in a barrage of blind fury. Tears flowed heavier with each hit Emma landed on the Hero. He never made a sound, never tried to defend himself from her punches, never tried to stop the barrage of attacks that rained from the angry girl.
Jim’s face was bruised, and his lip was bloodied, but he just stared at the canopy above. “Are you finished?” he asked.
The Hero’s words filled Emma with boiling rage. She pulled the rapier from her sheath, gripping its pommel until her knuckles turned white. Jim made no move to stop her, just kept staring at the leaves and sky above. He wouldn’t defend himself; she could cut him and rip the bones from his body, and he would just speak to her in an arrogant voice and condemn her with words.
“Damn you.” Emma whispered, attempting to steady her angry grip.
She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t talk to him, couldn’t kill him. He was the cause of the worst thing to ever happen to her, but she felt powerless against him. She stared at the ground, trying to find the ability to slay the Heir of Ash.
They stood in silence for a while.
Her hand cramped painfully before Jim finally spoke. “What they say about my faction isn’t true.” He needed Emma to believe him, needed her to hear what he had to say, “They weren’t trying to gain power or bring Paradise to its knees. It was all an accident, my accident. I killed the Dogwood Heir, and I ran.” He paused at the painful memory, “I was young, and I was angry. But afterwards, I was just afraid.”
Emma listened intently to the story that she had heard hundreds of times throughout her childhood. Some of what the Hero said sounded familiar, but many of his recollections seemed to be distorted from her taught truths.
“We always treated our colonies, and the humans who lived there, as equally as we could. We protected them from husks and laid down our lives for their families. Many of the Pure Families hated the way we treated humans, thinking that we should be harsher on those we ruled. But we saw humans as our younger brothers and sisters and continued to strive towards humanity becoming part of the Hero world.
“Our faction was strong, but Paradise is full of powerful families and full of hatred towards humanity. They decided to teach us a lesson and began to attack our colonies by pretending to be husk hoards. We could never bring concrete evidence to the Twenty-Four, so we sent more of our fighters to the colonies for protection.” Jim paused. “When our forces were the weakest inside the walls, they struck.
“There was a…an outsider who lived with my family. She was a loyal member of our faction, but many of the Pure Families wished for years that she would be banished from their city.” Jim hid his emotions well, so Emma was shocked to hear the stone-faced Hero sniffle. “They took her when I wasn’t watching. I was supposed to be guarding her, but…” Jim cut off his words.
Emma looked at the Hero’s face, saw the torment that the repressed memories caused him. She placed her hand on his cheek and rubbed at a tear with her thumb. This was a tale much different from what she had been taught, and the monster in her stories was
