Cinda Williams Chima - The Demon King

For my father, Franklin Earl Williams

Han Alister squatted next to the steaming mud spring, praying that the thermal crust would hold his weight. Hed tied a bandana over his mouth and nose, but his eyes still stung and teared from the sulfur fumes that boiled upward from the bubbling ooze. He extended his digging stick toward a patch of plants with bilious green flowers at the edge of the spring. Sliding the tip under the clump, he pried it from the mud and lifted it free, dropping it into the deerskin bag that hung from his shoulder. Then, placing his feet carefully, he stood and retreated to solid ground.

He was nearly there when one foot broke through the fragile surface, sending him calf-deep into the gray, sticky, superheated mud.

Hanaleas bloody bones! he yelped, flinging himself backward and hoping he didnt land flat on his back in another mudpot. Or worse, in one of the blue water springs that would boil the flesh from his bones in minutes.

Fortunately, he landed on solid earth amid the lodgepole pines, the breath exploding from his body. Han heard Fire Dancer scrambling down the slope behind him, stifling laughter. Dancer gripped Hans wrists and hauled him to safer ground, leaning back for leverage.

Well change your name, Hunts Alone, Dancer said, squatting next to Han. Dancers tawny face was solemn, the startling blue eyes widely innocent, but the corners of his mouth twitched. How about Wades in the Mudpot? Mudpot for short?

Han was not amused. Swearing, he grabbed up a handful of leaves to wipe his boot with. He should have worn his beat-up old moccasins. His knee-high footwear had saved him a bad burn, but the right boot was caked with stinking mud, and he knew hed hear about it when he got home.

Those boots were clan made , his mother would say. Do you know what they cost ?

It didnt matter that she hadnt paid for them in the first place. Dancers mother, Willo, had traded them to Han for the rare deathmaster mushroom hed found the previous spring. Mam hadnt been happy when hed brought them home.

Boots? Mam had stared at him in disbelief. Fancy boots ? How long will it take you to grow out of those? You couldnt have asked for money? Grain to fill our bellies? Or firewood or warm blankets for our beds? Shed advanced on him with the switch she always seemed to have close to hand. Han backed away from her, knowing from experience that a lifetime of hard work had given his mother a powerful arm.

Shed raised welts on his back and shoulders. But he kept the boots.

They were worth far more than what hed given in trade, and he knew it. Willo had always been generous to Han and Mam and Mari, his sister, because there was no man in the house. Unless you counted Han, and most people didnt. Even though he was already sixteen and nearly grown.

Dancer brought water from Firehole Spring and sloshed it over Hans slimed boot. Why is it that only nasty plants growing in nasty places are valuable? Dancer said.

If theyd grow in a garden, whod pay good money for them? Han growled, wiping his hands on his leggings. The silver cuffs around his wrists were caked with mud as well, deeply embedded in the delicate engraving. Hed better take a brush to them before he got home, or hed hear about that too.

It was a fitting end to a frustrating day. Theyd been out since dawn, and all he had to show for it were three sulfur lilies, a large bag of cinnamon bark, some razorleaf, and a handful of common snagwort that he could pass off as maidenweed at the Flatlander Market. His mothers empty purse had sent him foraging in the mountains too early in the season.

This is a waste of time, Han said, though it had been his idea in the first place. He snatched up a rock and flung it into the mudpot, where it disappeared with a viscous plop. Lets do something else.

Dancer cocked his head, his beaded braids swinging. What would you?

Lets go hunting, Han said, touching the bow slung across his back.

Dancer frowned, thinking. We could try Burnt Tree Meadow. The fellsdeer are moving up from the flatlands. Bird saw them there day before yesterday.

Lets go, then. Han didnt have to think long about it. It was the hunger moon. The crocks of beans and cabbage and dried fish his mother had laid up for the long winter had evaporated. Even if hed fancied sitting down to another meal of beans and cabbage, lately thered been nothing but porridge and more porridge, with the odd bit of salt meat for flavor. Meat for the table would more than make up for todays meager gleanings.

They set off east, leaving the smoking springs behind. Dancer set a relentless, ground-eating pace down the valley of the Dyrnnewater. Hans bad mood began to wear away with the friction of physical exertion.

It was hard to stay angry on such a day. Signs of spring bloomed all around them. Skunk cabbages and maidens kiss and May apples covered the ground, and Han breathed in the scent of warm earth freed from its winter covering. The Dyrnnewater frothed over stones and roared over waterfalls, fed by melting snow on the upper slopes. The day warmed as they descended, and soon Han removed his deerskin jacket and pushed his sleeves past his elbows.

Burnt Tree Meadow was the site of a recent fire. In a few short years it would be reclaimed by forest, but for now it was a sea of tall grasses and wildflowers, studded with the standing trunks of charred lodgepole pines. Other trunks lay scattered like a giants game of pitchsticks. Knee-high pine trees furred the ground, and blackberry and bramble basked in sunlight where there had once been deep pine-forest shade.

A dozen fellsdeer stood, heads down, grazing on the tender spring grasses. Their large ears flicked away insects, and their red hides shone like spots of paint against the browns and greens of the meadow.

Hans pulse accelerated. Dancer was the better archer, more patient in choosing his shots, but Han saw no reason why they shouldnt each take a deer. His always-empty stomach growled at the thought of fresh meat.

Han and Dancer circled the meadow to the downwind side, downslope from the herd. Crouching behind a large rock, Han slid his bow free and tightened the slack bowstring, trying it with his callused thumb. The bow was new, made to match his recent growth. It was clan made, like everything in his life that married beauty and function.

Han eased to his feet and drew the bowstring back to his ear. Then he paused, sniffing the air. The breeze carried the distinct scent of wood smoke. His gaze traveled up the mountain and found a thin line of smoke cutting across the slope. He looked at Dancer and raised his eyebrows in inquiry. Dancer shrugged. The ground was soaked and the spring foliage green and lush. Nothing should burn in this season.

The deer in the meadow caught the scent too. They raised their heads, snorting and stamping their feet nervously, the whites showing in their liquid brown eyes. Han looked up the mountain again. Now he could see orange, purple, and green flames at the base of the fire line, and the wind blowing downslope grew hot and thick with smoke.

Purple and green? Han thought. Were there plants that burned with colors like those?

The herd milled anxiously for a moment, as if not sure which way to go, then turned as one and charged straight toward them.

Han hastily raised his bow and managed to get off a shot as the deer bounded past. He missed completely. Dancers luck was no better.

Han sprinted after the herd, leaping over obstacles, hoping to try again, but it was no use. He caught a tantalizing glimpse of the white flags of their tails before the deer vanished into the pines. Muttering to himself, he trudged back to where Dancer stood, staring up the mountain. The line of garish flame rolled toward them, picking up speed, leaving a charred and desolate landscape in its wake.