Chapter 55 Ellowyn
Ellowyn
Isaw the smoke first; big, billowing grey clouds of thick ash that nearly eclipsed the sun.
Then I heard the birds; the faint cawing of crows as they circled carcasses, occasionally diving to the ground below to feast on whatever flesh remained before rejoining their comrades in the sky.
The smell came next, the stench of rotting flesh wafting in time with the billowing smoke until it became so suffocating that it was impossible not to gag. It was so thick I could taste it on my tongue, the sourness of it sticking to the back of my throat and pulling bile from my stomach.
A few cadets retched as we grew closer, the smell of death and decay too pungent for their sensitive noses.
All conversation ceased as we slowly rode down the small hill toward the former city of Cellia.
Alois had explained it was once a trading city just on the northern edge of the Borderlands, teaming with life as traders from all over Elyria came to exchange goods, information, and stories.
Now all that remained was a burning husk of what was; buildings had collapsed, some still actively burning, while bodies were piled just outside the city’s walls.
I had no doubt that once we walked through the streets, we’d see more evidence of death and destruction.
My blood boiled hot in anger, my magic sparking with my emotion. I lost what little control I possessed as tendrils of Creation and Destruction bled from my pores. Cadets shot uneasy glances in my direction until I was able to clear my mind and wrangle control once more.
Lex held up his palm, a clear indication for our group to halt, before dismounting from his horse.
He moved with a precise grace that was enviable, the long ride clearly not affecting him the same way it did me.
My blisters had blisters at this point but, after the small introduction to destruction in Cellia, I decided that my issues paled in comparison to the pain these people felt before their deaths.
“We tie the horses here. There is no reason to risk them unnecessarily.” He spoke with graceful authority, and I dismounted with the remainder of the cadets.
“Dunia,” Lex called to a female with the darkest ebony skin I’d ever seen. She clasped her hands behind her back before nodding at Lex. “Construct poles to tie the horses to, please. But be careful you don’t use too much of your reserves. We’ll need your magic before today is over.”
Dunia nodded once before effortlessly channeling, wooden poles springing from the ground almost immediately. Without a word, the two dozen cadets and I secured the reins of our mounts to the earthen poles before turning as one to regard Alois and Lex.
The grim expression on Lex and Ilyas’ faces coupled with the almost feral savagery on Alois’ set my teeth on edge and had my heart pumping faster in fear and anticipation. I pulled slightly at my black tunic just to give my hands something to do.
“Intel says that this area is free of any lingering rebels,” Alois called, his voice ringing loudly in the quiet.
The stark caws of scavenging birds was the only reply.
“We will move in teams on the off chance the intel was wrong. Lex, Ilyas, and Sasori will take the first half of recruits, and I will lead the second.”
We quickly separated ourselves into two groups of twelve, and I heaved a slight sigh of relief to see Leal on my right and the twins on my left.
“Water Mages, you’ll be in the front of each group and will work together to extinguish the lingering flames.
Air Mages, you follow behind and blow as much of the smoke out of our path as possible.
It’s important that we have a clear line of sight,” Lex instructed.
“Earth and Fire Mages, stand on reserve for when we need you to dispose of bodies.”
He turned to his group, then, and I tentatively raised my hand.
“Ellowyn?” Alois barked, and I flinched incrementally.
“What about Creation and Destruction Mages? Or Pleasure and Pain Mages?” I was proud of my voice for not wavering even as I internally wilted beneath my husband’s critical stare.
“You’re the only one of all four with us today aside from Lex and his Vessels.” Alois shrugged. “And, besides, your control is not where it needs to be to help. I don’t trust you to not accidentally disintegrate one of your fellow cadets.”
His words were like sharp barbs and cut deep as they hit their mark.
Useless. Unhelpful. Uncontrollable. Wild. My mother’s voice echoed sharply in my mind.
I shook my head at the thought and balled my fists so tight I could feel my nails cut into my palms.
“You will walk with me, wife,” Alois said with finality, and I shook with barely suppressed rage.
“If that’s all?” Lex asked and, when no one else interjected, he motioned for his group to take the right side of the city while we took the left.
Leal squeezed my shoulder on her way to the front of the group while the twins and I held back.
“Ellowyn, with me,” my husband clipped. The twins shot me borderline pitying looks before joining Dunia at the back of the group.
I fell into step with Alois and resisted the urge to fiddle with my wedding ring. His presence still made me nervous, especially since he’d all but avoided me after we had sex. I’d learned to stand on my own since but still felt like a cowed child in his presence.
Our boots crunched against the dry dirt, the continual cawing of crows and the occasional word exchanged by the cadets clearing the streets filled the air.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Ellowyn,” Alois said softly, his wild gaze fixed on the burned husks of buildings, keenly watching for any movement.
I scoffed slightly as my eyes were drawn to the groups of Mages.
None had Vessels, a problem I was certain Alois would try to remedy sooner rather than later.
Even with our nonexistent training, the teams seemed to work together effortlessly.
The Water Mages doused the fires in the streets first before the Air Mages came along to blow the smoke through the ravaged city.
Few words were spoken, and it appeared that teamwork was just an inherent concept.
“It’s the truth. I couldn’t lie even if I wanted to.”
I hummed, not really listening to his words.
There were so many other, bigger things to worry about at the moment that Alois’ trust in me was rather far down the list. When it was clear I wasn’t going to respond, Alois stopped talking, choosing to walk with me in silence as we canvased the empty city.
The destruction was staggering.
Not a home or business was left unmarred; some were piles of rubble, while others still burned. It seemed that the rebels didn’t just want to destroy the city—they wanted to eliminate the Cellian people, too.
How could my parents align with people like this? I knew these rebels were different than Torin’s group, but it was hard to reconcile—at one point, he did follow Solace’s descendant.
The thought exacerbated the queasiness in my gut.
Bodies in various states of torment were strewn throughout the city; some lay face down in the street, their clothes singed to reveal blistered and oozing skin.
There were a few who looked relatively untouched until it was clear that their heads lay at an impossible angle from their necks.
The worst were the corpses of the mothers and children who attempted to flee too late into the attack—the rebels paid a special kind of attention to those; babies often separated from their mothers, holes where their hearts should be.
The blood drained from my face, and I tasted bile on my tongue after making the mistake of peering into a large iron pot that held the bodies of more than one infant.
My ears rang as the back of my neck grew hot and my stomach muscles contracted. As I released the edge of the container and spewed what remained of my meager lunch over the bloodied and charred stones.
“What is . . . oh fuck,” I heard someone else say just before the sounds of their retching joined my own.
“Fucking despicable shit stains,” Alois growled before calling for a Fire Mage. I clutched my stomach with both arms as I waited for the nausea to pass. “Incinerate this,” Alois barked.
“What the fuck,” Tine said before I felt the heat of fire on my back. Slowly, I rose from a crouch and wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hands. A black handkerchief appeared in front of my face, and I thanked Alois weakly before using it to clean up my mouth.
I straightened and watched as the flames licked at the cauldron.
“Who would do such a thing?” I mused, more to myself.
“Do you know of no one who would stop at nothing to see their desires come to fruition?” Alois asked, his body close enough to my shoulder that I could feel his heat bleeding through his tunic.
I shot him a side-eyed look with my mouth drawn into a thin line. He barked a laugh, which drew more than a few curious stares. I felt my cheeks redden at his humor at such an inappropriate time.
We literally just saw babies boiled, and you’re laughing? Maybe he really is as unhinged as people think . . .
“Relax, Ellowyn,” Alois sighed, running a hand through his close-cropped black hair. “I’ve seen more than my share of crimes, committed some too, in my life to know that you need not take everything so seriously. You’ll end up like Rohak or put yourself in an early grave if you do.”
“Forgive me, but I think something like this”—I gestured vaguely around us—“should be taken seriously.”
There was a murmur of assent from a nearby Earth Mage before Alois frightened him away with a dark scowl.
“I don’t disagree with you, wife. Which is why my original question still stands—who do you know that would go to these lengths? Would tear mothers’ hearts out? Burn families in their homes? Boil babies?”
My stomach roiled again just at the mention of the atrocities surrounding us. I shook my head, too queasy to open my mouth.