The Girl Born of Smoke by Jessica Billings Page A

much
less success. He never again asked Aurora if she wanted to leave
the army. They fell into the routine of the army quickly and grew
accustomed to walking for long periods of the day. Soon, they left
the forest and came across another town, destroyed as well. They
picked up several more survivors.
    Aurora began to worry that the Wizard's Army
had swept across the entire world as they lagged behind. After
nearly half a year in the Citizens’ Army, she counted a total of
sixteen towns that had been destroyed, several without a single
survivor. Those were the worst, where the fires had blazed out of
control until they spread to engulf the entire town and the
surrounding area. They were often still burning when the Citizens’
Army arrived. Jonah labeled those towns “lost causes,” although
they still spent a day each time, searching the outskirts of the
fire for survivors. They never found any.
    Even after so long in the army, Aurora had
yet to draw her sword.
    She often wished they would hurry their
pace, especially after she heard how nearly they had missed the
Wizard's Army. They were often only a day or two behind them.
Sometimes less. But no matter how much she pleaded with Jonah to
walk just a little longer each day, he refused each time, claiming
that not everyone in the group was as young or fit as she was.
    A few others were not content to accept this
explanation or they couldn’t stand the destruction and death they
encountered so very often and left the army, often during the
night. It was not unusual to wake up and find a spare set of armor
lying where a person had lay down to sleep the night before.
However, even with the deserters, the army steadily grew in
size.
    They meandered slowly across the land, never
heading in a single direction and sometimes nearly doubling back on
the direction from which they had come. One time, Aurora recognized
the landscape and realized they were nearing one of the towns she
had stayed at with Roxanne and Kirian, during their trip to Kain.
At the same moment, she also realized that had been well over a
year ago and felt startled that so much time had slipped by.
    That town turned out to be one of the “lost
causes.” She could never explain to Djerr why she broke down crying
that night as they fell asleep. She didn't know herself. More than
ever, she felt like she had lost something that could never be
reclaimed.
    Many days later, in the dusty hour between
afternoon and evening, the group crested a hill that looked down
upon a wide valley. A river twisted through the center, glimmering
in the sun. Buildings and farming fields were scattered on the near
side of the river and after a moment, Aurora realized she could
just make out little dots of people moving throughout the village.
With a rush of relief, she realized that they had actually arrived
in time. The people below moved about in no great hurry. All was
peaceful. Aurora paused to smile at Djerr, then started down the
tall hill.
    “Wait,” Jonah called to her.
    Impatiently, she paused and turned.
    “We camp here tonight,” he continued. “It's
getting late and the Wizard's Army is nowhere in sight. Those
people will be fine for today.”
    Aurora stared in shock. “What are you
talking about? It's not getting late. We could easily make it down
there before dark.”
    Crossing his arms, Jonah shook his head
firmly. “I think you're forgetting who's in charge here, kid.”
    Aurora opened her mouth, but caught sight of
Kirian glaring at her, and reluctantly stayed silent. Stalking
away, she sat down on the bluff and looked down at the villagers
obliviously going on with their lives. She caught sight of one
little dot, running frantically between the houses, then spotted
several others, following close behind. She squinted worriedly at
them, but noticed none of the other dots seemed alarmed and
continued on their way. Smiling slightly, she realized they must be
children, playing chase.
    “Hey,” Kirian sat down