Page 4 of Up In Flames
“Look, I'm touched that you're all as upset as I am about my neighbors. I know you've grown attached to the kids andtheir sadness is hard to move past. But they're alive, and their parents would be happy to know that men like you are looking after them. Happy and relieved. They're lucky. Someday, they'll see that. Our duty is to make them proud to say that for a little while, they were raised by Wraith Lords. Our honor will avenge their families. That's what we do. That's what the Wraith Lords have always done. You have all gone through tragedy. You died to become who you are. So, we're going to take this extra dose of shit and turn it into strength. We're going to fling it right back into the Corrupter's face!”
The lords applauded, a few of them even shouting their agreement as they came to their feet. Shoulders straightened and conversations began in the normal range. The Creen weren't as uplifted, but a few of them did smile at me. They were particularly attached to the children, and they weren't able to avenge the parents as the lords were.
“Your jobs are important too,” I said to the Creen who were gathered near the buffet table. “You keep us nourished and motivated. We can't fight without you. And do you think we could have kept those children here without you feeding them and cleaning up after them? Can you imagine Lord Loren doing laundry?”
“Hey, now!” Lord Loren, a Makhan with the most beautiful white wings, called out to me. “I can do laundry. But I'm a shit cook.”
The Wraith Lords laughed and called out things like, “Don't let him near the kitchen!” Meanwhile, Creen heads lifted, little people gaining a few inches, and smiles spread.
“Thank you, Lord Ember,” a few of them said.
“Thank you,” I shot back. “You don't know how wonderful it is to be taken care of by all of you. You really do make our lives better and much easier.” I lifted my voice and said, “Wraith Lords! To our Creen staff!” I grabbed a mug from the buffet and lifted it. “Hip, hip!” They all joined me for the, “Huzzah!”
Although there weren't that many lords there, the sound echoed, drawing the rest of the Creen out of the kitchen to hear the cheers dedicated to them. They bowed and waved at the Wraith Lords through another round of hip-hip-huzzah, everyone's mood improving with the show of support. As the sounds of appreciation died down, I went to get my breakfast plate at last, pleased to have helped in some small way.
“You're a leader,” Caleb whispered to me as we filled our plates.
“What?” I asked in surprise.
“You're a natural leader, Ember,” Caleb said. “The way you just motivated all those people is amazing. Even I feel better. You are . . .” He shook his head at me. “Youare amazing.”
I snorted a laugh. “I'm too tired for this crap, Caleb.”
“No, really.” He nudged my shoulder with his. “I understand now why the Goddess chose you.”
“Well, that makes one of us,” I muttered.
Caleb went silent until we had filled our plates and were on our way to my usual table. “So, you expect all the Wraith Lords to keep positive except for yourself?”
“Ouch,” I said and laughed. “Way to call me on my hypocrisy.”
“Well, that speech you gave was so uplifting.” Caleb sat down across the table from me. “It makes no sense that you wouldn't feel any of it.”
Chewing at my lip, I leaned forward, then whispered, “I feel responsible.”
“For what?” he whispered back, glancing at the nearest occupied table.
“For you. For the children. Their dead parents. Fress burning.”
“Why?” Caleb's expression went horrified.
“Because the Corrupter wouldn't have targeted our village if not for me.”
Caleb sighed and stared down at his food a moment before answering. “We cannot hold ourselves accountable for the acts of others.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes.
“Ember, the recruiters are out all over Varr, looking for people to man watchtowers because the Corrupter often strikes twice. Yes, he took the children because of you, but coming back to attack Fress a second time wasn't anything unusual for him. And if you didn't exist, this would go on forever.”
“It still might, Caleb.”
“No, it won't, Ember. You're going to stop it. You just need to embrace all you are.”
“You mean, I should be out with Gray, helping him recruit, instead of sitting here,” I said. “I know. I shouldn't have let them talk me out of continuing with him. Fucking Gray. Ithought at least he would support me, but no. He thought I should be here too. But I should be recruiting. Seeing me uplifts people. I should be letting humans know that things are going to change. I should—”
“Ember!” Caleb cut me off. “That's not at all what I mean. Graysen is fine with his new escort. Our people know about you now. Word has spread. You don't need to be seen to give them hope. You need to be fighting, not recruiting. But you should be fighting with everything you have.”
I blinked. Leaned in. Whispered, “Are you talking about Death Magic?”
