Those Who Walk the Flame Road
Hugo felt something winding around his neck, but it didn’t hurt. A taramu? He hadn’t seen one of those since his last visit to Yoar and Ryuan’s house.
The other tavern boys noticed that Hugo had stopped and asked him what was wrong. They were on a wide, well-kept street back to Mar’s tavern. Hugo looked around and saw Ryuan standing at the side of the road.
“Go back before me,” Hugo said. “There’s someone that I have to meet.”
“You can’t stay here alone at this time of night! It’s not safe. This is Dauran territory. If they notice you’re alone, they might attack.”
“I’ll be fine. Just go,” Hugo said.
The other tavern boys exchanged uncomfortable glances, but they did as Hugo said and soon vanished in the surrounding dark. Hugo waited until he couldn’t see the other tavern boys anymore, then crossed the street to Ryuan. The night breeze fluttered his hair as he walked.
It had been four years since Ryuan had saved Hugo on the night of the city’s terrible battle. He hadn’t seen Ryuan in quite a long time, and her sense of otherness--of being different from most people--was readily apparent to him. Her eyes stared right through him like she could see all the way to his spirit.
Ryuan was of an age to marry and have children, but she kept her hair long and loose, in the style of unwed girls. But she looked her age, so a few people gave her curious looks as they passed her by. She smiled at Hugo, but it wasn’t quite a natural smile.
Ryuan had caught sight of Hugo well before he’d seen her. She’d never met any of the boys from Mar’s tavern before, so she stared at them openly, wishing she could speak to them. She recognized Hugo, of course, though he had his adult height and his black hair was much longer than it had been the last time she’d seen him. There was also something else that was different about him; something subtle that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Ryuan sent the taramu around her neck over to Hugo to verify that she was looking at the right person. He moved quickly, but there was a certain rigidity to his movements, as if he were hurt. He was too thin, almost gaunt; his facial features were as sharp as a blade.
Hugo hadn’t visited in a long time, but Ryuan knew at least a little of what he’d been doing--both inside and outside of the tavern--from rumors.
“Ryuan! It’s been awhile.” Hugo’s voice had dropped; it was completely different from his child voice.
“It has.” Ryuan spoke through the taramu. “I wasn’t sure it was you. I was surprised to see you. You’ve changed… a lot.”
Hugo laughed. “I suppose I have. You’ve probably heard people talking about me beating people up and things like that. Well, they tried to beat me up first, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. I guess I’ve become a ruffian, like your dad said. I bought myself a good pair of leather boots to hide a dagger in.”
Ryuan’s expression was very serious, and there was something sad in it. “Where are you staying now? The tavern?” she asked.“Hugo, where are you staying now? I heard you quit your job at the tavern.”
“Yeah, I did. About six months ago now.”
Ryuan looked like she wanted to say something else, but she remained silent. Hugo remembered bringing her and Yoar the feast of soup from the tavern kitchen and felt a pang of loss. That wasn’t something they’d ever do again.
Ryuan’s lips trembled. She looked like she was about to cry—like she’d guessed everything that had happened to him over the past six months.
“Ryuan, it’s okay,” Hugo said. “You’re right; I’ve changed. That’s why I never told you that I quit. I didn’t want to cause you or Yoar any more trouble.”
“You wouldn’t cause us any trouble at all,” Ryuan said. “The Talsh stopped looking for you a long time ago.”
Hugo’s lips twitched upward in a slight smile. “It’s not the Talsh I’m worried about. There are a lot of people around that want me dead. I’d rather not bring them to your door.”
Ryuan flinched. Like Hugo thought, she had heard the rumors. Hugo had become the leader of a gang in the lower city, and more young men were joining it all the time.
“How did your life get so dangerous? Is it something you chose?”
Hugo shrugged. “Yes and no. I didn’t want this to happen, but it did.” He walked closer to Ryuan and spoke quieter. “Besides, I’m used to it now. If I’m honest, it’s actually getting a little boring. So don’t worry about me. I’m not in danger.
“But I am bored,” Hugo practically spat. “I feel like I know everything there is to know about the lower city. It’s only a matter of time before I control what happens here.” His eyes were lightless: dark as pits. “I already have the western half under my thumb. It’s only a matter of time before the east is mine, too.”
Hugo snorted, then leaned against the wall of a store near where Ryuan was standing. He looked up at the starry sky. “Even taking over the other gangs is boring. It’s too easy, but I don’t know what else to do.”
“Couldn’t you work? Do something for a living?” Ryuan asked.
“I am working. I’m at Tomuran’s now.”
“Tomuran’s? You mean that big, fancy restaurant?”
“That’s the one, yep.”
Tomuran’s restaurant wasn’t in the lower city. It was in the heart of the capital and received only wealthy customers: merchants, warriors and nobles mostly.
“Tomuran and his son don’t get along. His kid doesn’t do anything right, so the old guy relies on me. I help keep the place coming and keep it safe. His son didn’t like that, of course, but now he dumps his work on me, too.” He laughed. “You look surprised. Didn’t think a street ruffian could work an honest job, too? The pay’s a lot better there, and I get a lot more time off.”
Hugo smiled again, but there was a bitter undercurrent to it. “Tomuran pays our fees for us, too. So that we won’t be conscripted into the army.”
The Talsh had started recruiting Yogo’s young men into their armed forces that year. Those who could pay a high fee were able to avoid conscription. Romui and Tam had only recently been recruited. They’d never make enough money to pay a fee that high at Mar’s tavern.
No one fought the fees. Families had to choose which sons they could afford fees for and which should stay home. Once again, Hugo was depressed at just how easily his homeland capitulated to Talsh demands. The poor were affected the most, of course. The fee for avoiding conscription was so high that paying it would prevent most people in the lower city from being able to buy food. The city was still suffering from famine, and food was expensive everywhere. Families sacrificed their sons to the army so that the rest of them could hold on to bare survival.
Before the Talsh came, the people of the lower city were poor, but they were able to help one another ease their burden. Now Talsh was coming to take their most able-bodied workers and helpers. Life in the lower city was going from bad to worse.
A bell rung the hour. Food stalls along the street were packing up after the dinner rush. Hugo looked into Ryuan’s reddish-brown eyes. “Where are you headed now?”
“Home. Where else?”
“I’d ask you over, but my part of town isn’t the safest. Are you all right to get back to your house on your own?”
“I can go alone.” Her expression was lonely, but she didn’t put her emotions into words.
“All right. See ya around.” The taramu unwound from around Hugo’s neck. His neck felt colder without it there.
Ryuan paused. It seemed like she wanted to say more, but ultimately, she turned around and started walking back to her and Yoar’s house.
Hugo sighed, put his back to Ryuan and kept going to where he was headed. He didn’t really pay attention to where he was going. By the time he realized he was lost, he was standing in the middle of a group of people, all closely pressed together.
Suddenly, Hugo felt the tip of a knife pressing against the small of his back.
“Where are your friends?” The man threatening him was young—possibly younger than Hugo was himself.
Hugo was still in Douran territory. The Douran gang was made up of wealthier criminals; the Douran factory in the city produced woven silk clothing and bedding. There were four other men surrounding Hugo in addition to the one threatening him with a knife.
“Come along with us now,” the knife-wielder said.
They were close to a wider canal. Hugo saw a boat moored to a post with a small warehouse next to it on the other side of the street. They probably wanted to fight Hugo behind the warehouse, where they were unlikely to be interrupted. Hugo shrugged. He felt a chill go up his back, but he held himself rigid. He pretended to be calm and found that it didn’t take much acting.
Hugo nodded, then walked toward the warehouse. His would-be attackers followed him closely. When they were out of sight of most people, Hugo grabbed the knife out of his attacker’s hand and stomped on his foot so hard that something cracked.
The man screamed and stumbled backwards. Another started chasing after Hugo and ran right into his fist, knocking him out cold. Hugo kept running, weaving his way through the narrow roads between tall buildings. One of his pursuers managed to cut him off; he smiled at Hugo from the shadow of a wall.
Hugo slammed the man in the cheek with his fist, and he went down. There should only be two more. He might have lost them already. He didn’t see them in the street, but they might be hiding somewhere, waiting to ambush him. If Hugo could get to a more populated area on the other side of the canal, he might be able to get lost in the crowd.
He was about to cross the street toward the canal when he halted. His two remaining pursuers were there, along with two others. Ryuan was in the center of them, being dragged along by the arms.
“Stop struggling, girl. You should know that talking to that one would make you a target,” one of the men said.
Then the men saw Hugo. His vision went red with rage and a desire to kill. The young men noticed his expression and gave him mocking grins.
Hugo didn’t look at Ryuan’s face; he had no reassurance to offer her. The odds didn’t look good, and starting a fight here, in a somewhat crowded street, might not end well for Hugo or his attackers if the patrolling Talsh soldiers caught them at it. He hated himself for getting Ryuan caught up in all of this.
“Let her go.” Hugo took a few steps closer to the men. “She’s got nothing to do with this. Let her go and I’ll follow you wherever you want to take me. If you don’t, I’ll kill all of you where you stand.”
The men made no move to release Ryuan, so Hugo freed his knife from his boot with his left hand and yanked in the nearest man by the hair with his right. He pulled the man forward so that the tip of his knife rested against his stomach.
The other three men closed ranks around Ryuan. “Oi! Let Tagun go, or we’ll kill her!”
The men weren’t threatening Ryuan with weapons. They were still focused on him. Hugo guessed that they weren’t used to killing people. He could still save Ryuan.
“Oi, you there! The guards are coming! Break it up!”
There was another man standing in the street. He had the look of a merchant, but he was armed, and his voice carried the ring of authority. The three boys flinched at the word “guards” and let Ryuan go. They ran up the street without giving Hugo so much as a backward glance. Hugo released his captive and kicked him away. He, too, took off running.
If the other man hadn’t called out at just that moment, it was likely that Hugo would have killed all four of them. He waited until he couldn’t see any of them anymore, then rushed to Ryuan.
“Are you okay?” Hugo asked. “Are you hurt?”
The taramu around her neck didn’t move to Hugo’s. She remained mute, crouched down and staring up at him with terror in her eyes.
Hugo extended both arms to help her to her feet. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say.
The guards were visible in the street, talking to one another. Ryuan managed to take a step back from Hugo. She was trembling slightly. She stood up straight and folded her arms to prevent them from shaking.
“Are you hurt?” Hugo repeated. “Do you need help?”
Ryuan shook her head.
The man who’d called out was still in the street. Hugo bowed his head. “Thank you!” he said.
The man looked Hugo over in puzzlement. He came closer to Hugo and Ryuan. He was thirty years old, but his sunburned, weather-beaten skin made him appear older. He wasn’t Yogoese. By his clothes, Hugo guessed that he came from the west, from Orm or Horam or other such places. From a distance he appeared to be nothing more than a simple merchant, but his eyes were sharp and he carried himself like a fighter.
Hugo was still holding his knife. The man’s eyes flicked to it, and Hugo sheathed it quickly inside his boot.
“You don’t look like a commoner,” the man said. He smiled. “You weren’t going to win that fight. You hesitated.”
Hugo shrugged. “I didn’t care if I won. I just wanted to save…” he trailed off. “Besides, it doesn’t matter now. Thanks for the warning. No one wants to be hauled off by the guards.”
The man’s smile deepened. “Truer words were never spoken. I have my own reasons for not wanting to attract the guards’ attention.” He bowed politely to Ryuan and set his hand gently on her shoulder. She nodded, and he escorted her across the street.
“Uh… could I ask a favor?” Hugo asked.
“Another, young man?”
“Just… Can you make sure she gets home all right?”
“Sure. I’ve got some time today.” He turned to Ryuan. “Let’s get you home, miss.”
Ryuan looked to Hugo mutely. She couldn’t speak to give directions.
“It’s in the Mayaru neighborhood, next to the canal,” Hugo said. “She knows the way. I’ll follow you at a distance for a little while to make sure no one else shows up to cause trouble. Thanks again for your help.” Hugo pulled some money out of his breast pocket and offered it to the man.
“I don’t need to be paid to escort someone home. Don’t worry about it.”
The man probably wasn’t a merchant. He was pretending to be one. Who was he, really?
Hugo bowed his head deeply.
Ryuan and the man walked up the street a little way. Ryuan turned back to look at him. He held her gaze until she blinked, rubbed her eyes and kept walking.
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