The Heroes of the Elemental Academies Book 2: Dragon's Breath

Chapter 11: The Cost

They were over an hour into their journey. The sun just coming over the horizon, when Seth spoke to the group. Seth had been holding in a lot of emotions in the hours since his mother had been taken, but these were his friends he needed to at least tell them what was going on Inside his head. The chill of the morning air was causing the whole group to move slower than usual so Seth decided to use this moment to get his emotions off his chest.
   " You know guys, I'm not meaning to be rude or anything, I just have a lot on my mind." The whole group paused and it felt as if they all simultaneously looked back at him.
   "Well that was random," Clovis said as he wheeled his horse around to face Seth. The smirk he always wore evident on his face. At this even Aria cracked a smile
    "You pick the weirdest times to talk about your feeling," Travice said.
   "How about you hear him out before you start telling him how weird he is."   Seth turned around to see Rylee trot her horse up along side his. She turned to Seth encouragingly. Seth heard a scoff come from Jack's direction but he continued.
   " I know it's not like me to be quiet but I have a lot on my mind. To find out my mother was the demons target was surprising enough, but then to find out that she was hiding one of the gems we've been searching for this entire time and didn't tell us. It got me confused. It made me wonder what else she could be..."
    " She had to have her reasons," Strat interrupted.
   "Yeah the commander never did anything with out a reason," Michelle stated.
   " Well I don't know her like you guys do," Travice said. " But from what I have seen of her I would agree with what Michelle said. John muscled his way in between Rylee and Seth's horses
   " Yeah, well I think this little pity party is a waste of time," Johnathan said as he willed his horse forward, past Seth and the others. A twinge of anger touched Seth and he struggled to push it down. Seth noticed that everyone in the group was throwing looks at John's back.
Seth was about to say something back when a smell wafted across his senses. He immediately gagged. It was a horrible smell, but one Seth unfortunately knew. And it seemed like he wasn't the only one who noticed it. The others had begun to take notice as well. It was the smell of decay. One so profound that Seth instantly knew that it was the smell of death.
   " This can't be good," Rylee stated a look of worry replaced the smile she had just before. Seth turned to Strat who had already turned very serious. 

   "Clovis, Matt I need you to scout ahead," Strat created a light sword, appearing in his hands in a flash of light Seth also drew his weapon. Readying himself for an attack at any time.

   "We'll go in safely. I already think i know where the smell is coming from but it doesn't hurt to be careful. But we need to hurry. 

    Seth heard the gallop of Clovis's horse as he came flying back toward them. When he was still about thirty feet away he stopped and cupped his hands around his mouth.

   " You guys need to come see this now!" He exclaimed clearly shaken. Even from thirty feet away Seth could tell Clovis was trembling. He wasn't the only one who saw it either. 

    "Ha!" Strat exclaimed as he dug his heels into his horse. The horse took off past Seth and Seth followed suit. 

     The sight that greeted them when they came over the last hill to overlook a tiny farmstead shook Seth to the core. It wasn't right to call it a village for it was just a collection of tiny houses arranged in a circle and surrounded by a fence. At least it had been a Farmstead, now it was in ruins. Every house was on fire or in smoldering ruins. But that wasn't the worst part, the worst part was the bodies. At least a hundred bodies were strewn all over the area. children, adults, and even the elderly, no one had been spared. Their faces still frozen in the fear they felt in the moment of their death. Blood splattered all over the valley. Seth immediately heaved. He'd seen death last year when Isbith died and again on the wall against the demon dragons. But nothing like this. Everyone in the academies understood the risks of what they did. But these people, they weren't given that chance.