Of Fire and Ash by Amber Argyle

Author:Amber Argyle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: coming of age, paranormal, fairy, action adventure, myths legends, sword sorcery, epic adventure fantasy, fairy creatures, fairy bargain, gods goddesses
Publisher: Amber Argyle

Nelay woke to the door flying open. She sat up and saw Panar standing at the doorway, his black hair bathed in torchlight. “I brought Benvi!” he said.

Mother struggled up from the chair, her enormous abdomen preceding the rest of her. She gestured to the bed, where Father struggled to sit up. “Nelay brought him home.”

As if he didn’t believe her, Panar ran to the bed. “Father,” he whispered. Then his gaze shifted to her. His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed to slits. “But how? The donkey was gone.”

Benvi stepped into the room, four of his sons behind him. “The child brought him home?”

All eyes turned to Nelay.

“I found water. Asat was there, drinking.”

Benvi crossed the room in two of his giant strides. He stared at Father’s raw foot. “It’s not infected?” he said in disbelief.

His face a mask of tight control, Father uttered, “Not yet.”

The two men clasped forearms. “What kind of snake?” Benvi asked.

“Black mamba,” Father replied.

Benvi gasped. “But no one survives a bite from a mamba.”

Father shook his head as if he didn’t believe it himself. “I know.”

All the adults exchanged glances, but Mother’s gaze was fixed suspiciously on Nelay. Benvi ordered his sons to take the donkeys and go after the sheep—Panar was to show them where they were. No one had any illusions about the animals surviving, but their hides would probably be salvageable.

Tears choking her, Nelay slipped out while they were still arranging everything. She stumbled to a halt when she noticed the seeds she’d planted last night were ready for harvesting. She dropped to her knees as if her legs had been cut out from under her. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch the puffy flowers, touching their feather-soft tips with her fingers.

Her mother stood beside her, breathing hard. “I don’t remember these being here. Must be some sort of weed.”

Nelay didn’t answer as she dug her nail into the base of the leaves and snapped them off. “If you bake them with oil, it helps keep the rot out of the wound.”

Her mother fanned her red face with her headscarf. “How do you know that?”

Nelay forced herself to meet her mother’s gaze. “Nanu told me.” Nanu was Benvi’s wife.

“You didn’t learn it from them, did you?” Mother’s voice was strained.

“No. I promise I didn’t.”

Grimacing in pain, her mother massaged her stomach. “You remember what I’ve always taught you?”

Nelay couldn’t meet her mother’s gaze and was glad she seemed distracted. “When men and goddesses mix, men always lose,” Nelay repeated. But wasn’t her father alive because she had approached the fairies?

She tentatively reached out and placed the leaves in her mother’s hand. “How do we lose?”

Her mother closed her eyes as if counting. After a long time, she answered, “If they use their power contrary to its purpose, they go against nature, upsetting the balance. In order to right itself, the balance takes it back. So if they grant you rain one year, the balance will give you a drought the next. If a fairy heals your fig tree, your pomegranate will die.

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