Free The Hungering Flame by Andrew Hunter Page A

drifted through the air like dandelion fluff. “ A wisp! ” he said.
    Cabre looked at him, eyes narrowed.
    “ A wisp, ” Garrett said, “ Marla told me about them! Look! There’s more. ”
    Glowing orbs rose from the pool and floated upward, filling the cave with rainbow light. Some drifted in lazy circles, others darted to and fro like hummingbird spirits.
    “ What do they do? ” Cabre demanded, jabbing at a bold wisp with the point of his sword. The blade scattered it like smoke, but the glowing orb reformed again, just as quickly.
    “ They don’t really do anything, ” Garrett said, “ They’re what remains, sometimes, when a fae creature dies. They don’t mean any harm. Marla says they don’t even remember who they used to be most of the time. They’re like little kids... babies almost. ”
    “ Get away from him! ” Cabre shouted. He dropped his sword and swatted away a trio of pinkish wisps that had settled on Inglefras’s back.
    “ It’s all right, ” Garrett said, “ They won’t hurt him. ”
    “ Get away! ” Cabre said, “ We don’t want you here! ” His hand went through a large ball of green flame that had just lighted on the horse’s nose.
    The prince’s movements seemed to draw the attention of more wisps, and soon a crowd of them gathered around him as he tried, vainly, to shoo them away. A score of the colorful orbs now moved over Inglefras’s flanks as though stroking his fur, but the warhorse showed no sign of concern. The lids of Inglefras’s dark eyes began to droop, and his breathing slowed.
    “ They’re bewitching him! ” Cabre shouted, frantically scrubbing at a golden orb that had taken an interest in his hair.
    “ No, ” Garrett said, “ I think they’re trying to help. ”
    A cluster of wisps clung tightly to Inglefras’s injured leg, and their colors began to shift, pulsing together in a warm red-gold hue.
    “ Cabre, look! ” Garrett said.
    The prince’s hand fell to his side as he stared, ignoring the golden coronet formed by the wisp in his hair. All of them watched as Inglefras stretched his broken leg, the splint falling away, unneeded.
    The horse shook his mane and reared, scattering the cloud of wisps with a loud neigh. The glowing orbs returned again immediately, crowding around him as he pranced across the cavern floor, testing his freshly healed leg.
    “ Inglefras! ” Cabre cried out, running to catch up with the big horse. The wisps scattered, moving back a polite distance, as the prince knelt to inspect Inglefras’s leg.
    “ He’s healed! ” Cabre exclaimed, looking at Garrett.
    Garrett laughed. “ Marla never told me they could do that! ” he said.
    The prince looked up at the hovering orbs that surrounded him, his eyes full of wonder. “ Thank you! ” he said, “ Thank you for this. ”
    “ See, I told you things would work out! ” Warren said.
    Garrett yawned, the tension and fear of recent events finally draining from his body.
    Cabre smiled, his eyes still on the rainbow-colored orbs that danced in the chill cavern air. “ We should get some rest, ” he said, “ Just a few hours. From now on, we should only move at night whenever possible. ”
    “ Thank you! ” Warren said.
Chapter Seven
    Warren found a way through the twisting caves that lead from the sinkhole. Several times, they had to stop while Warren shoveled out plugs of dead, matted vegetation that had washed down from somewhere above. They emerged from a damp hole beneath an old willow tree well before dawn. From there, they managed to find the road again and put in several hours of travel before the somber glow of sunrise sent them back into the forest to seek shelter. They nestled down beneath the boughs of a titanic pine tree and made beds of tarp and blanket over a thick mattress of pine needles.
    Garrett found it hard to sleep. His weary eyes kept drifting toward the tiny patch of daylit sky visible through the canopy above. The half-dreamed image of something