The Brimstone Doctrine Chapter 2: Saffron Once the Full stops focusing on his jaw and eye, he gazes into the thick fog and I watch what thin lips he has curl up into a wide snarl when he finds my eyes. It makes even more of his horrifyingly yellow teeth visible. I swallow hard. A thin line of blood was trickling out from the corner of his mouth. He works up a mouthful of it and spits on the ground beside him, refixing his snarl immediately after. “Oravin, you slime. What business do you have protecting that little bastard?” He rumbles. My throat burns with the sudden heat rising in my chest. Oravin squeezes my shoulder again and I purse my lips and set my jaw to hold it back. “He’s one of the trainees from the eastern base,” Oravin answers. “He’s headed north on a mission and he just wanted to drop by a new recruit for us on his way.” I look over at Oravin, his face calm and unmoving, showing not a hint of the lie he had just told. I had always been in sheer awe of his cunning. He was the best bluffer and swindler of all the Fulls I’d ever met. It came to him with such frightening ease that it was often unsettling, but he’d always done his best to protect me. The Full throws back his head in laughter at Oravin’s words. A woman’s tone still erupts. “Please,” He replies. “That sniveling brat? Don’t make me laugh. He’s elementless. How do you propose he’s going to learn to fight with us when he’s afraid of his own shadow? Thing acted like he’d never seen a pair of red eyes before. It was hysterical. You should have seen his face.” That’s because he hadn’t. I had made sure of it. This time, I‘m forced to let some of the smoke escape through my nose to control the smolder in my lungs. There was so much I could say, but if I said just one more word, the plan would be in shambles and what little chance my brother had of living peacefully here would be over in an instant. So I stay quiet and concentrate on keeping the combustion in my veins at bay. By now my body had sensed that the threat was gone (at least for the time being) and my wings retract. “I’ll be training him myself,” Oravin fires back. “So you needn't be concerned with him whatsoever.” The Full smiles and draws his tongue over the corner of his mouth to collect the blood that had reassembled there. “And as for your little friend there,” The Full continues, raising a clawed finger in my direction. “With eyes like that and hair that color, you know as well as I do that he’s got an element. Probably multiple ones. Plus he’s the first to ever greet me in English. He’d fetch a fortune-” “And exactly what proof do you have of that?” Oravin interjects as I silently curse myself for forgetting to use demon lingo earlier. Mom would skewer me! "He’s lived in Florida with the Humans his entire #life. What language do you expect he knows?" There was that unsettling feeling again. “His markings are genuine." “They don’t have to be fake to be meaningless,” The Full responds, spitting again. “And you’re hiding his wings in your fancy smog.” At that, Oravin breathes back in his black fog and the air around us gradually clears. He swallows and then directs his attention back to the Full, who was scanning me up and down. “I only covered him to keep him clear of you in case you decided you wanted to try and eat him too. Like you need anymore voices in that damned throat of yours.” Oravin tells him. “Well, I usually don’t go after kids, but with that one I can’t say I didn’t try. You see where it got me,” The Full says, motioning to his face. “He's a feisty one. I’ll buy your story. I’m tired of arguing.” He turns around and begins walking back to the door of the base. Right before going in, he looks back over his shoulder and locks eyes with me. “Be cautious, whatever you are,” He tells me, smiling. “I’m betting you know he has trouble with the truth, but I’m not sure you know how much.” With that he’s back inside, the door creaking closed behind him. Oravin gives the closed door a look I can’t decipher and then turns his attention back to me. "Are you alright?” He asks. “Fine,” I reply. “He just caught me by surprise and I couldn’t do anything inside.” “You’re lucky I came up with a good excuse for you,” He tells me, grinning. “Guess it wasn’t totally false. You are going north, after all." I nod. “But Saffron, are you absolutely sure you’re ready to do this? You really think you can make it into Narath?” He continues. “It’s my only shot.” I reply. “I’m not just going to be a sitting duck until the Humans bomb our bases again.” “You’re a medic, Saffron. That's the one thing you’re truthfully branded for. You aren’t allowed in direct combat. It’s against every military rule there is for you to be even remotely powerful. You can be executed for that." “I know.” “And you’re still going to try?” “If I hide it until i get there I'll have a chance. They cant kill me for it in Narath and it’s the only opportunity Serrin has." Oravin gives me another look I can’t read, something between surprise and amusement. I try to ignore it. “Thank you for everything,” I say. “And I mean it. Thank you.” “You’re welcome, kid. Anytime.” He responds, back to normal. “Please keep Serrin safe and don’t tell him where I went. Don’t tell him I love him. Don’t mention me at all. I’ll be back for him but I just don’t know when. Don't tell him that either." “Done, done, done, and done.” I nod at him again, because there’s nothing left to say. I’m about to bring out my wings again, but before I do, I stop myself. "Um, could you black out the base, please?” I ask. “Sure.” Oravin replies, turning and breathing out his fog again, engulfing the entire building in it. I expel my wings and then lift off the ground, flapping them rapidly to gain as much altitude as possible. “Good luck and be careful!” Oravin shouts when I’m about a hundred feet up. “Maybe I’ll come visit sometime!” I give him a wave before tearing off as fast as I can to the west, to what I hoped would be a new beginning and a new #life. It had to be. The incident with fhe Full had been too close. I had to act my part harder, be everything I needed to be, because Serrin's #life depended on it. After over two hours of flight, I find that I’m exhausted. I land on a tall, sturdy tree and make a nest on a thick branch. One more night out of place wouldn’t hurt. I turn on my side, exhale, and let the monotone hum of the wind lull me into a light sleep.