Shield of Fire (A Bringer and the Bane Novel) by Boone Brux

hundred such stitchings for the feel of someone’s caring touch. Not trusting her voice, she shook her head.
    “Let’s get you bathed.” The innkeeper helped her to stand, but the floor tilted under her. Willa’s grip tightened and kept her standing before she plopped back on the bed. “Take it slow.”
    After a few seconds, Ravyn found her balance. With expert hands, Willa stripped off the rest of the dress and led her to the bath.
    The warm water massaged Ravyn’s legs and banished any shyness she might have felt at being nude with a near stranger. The Sisters rarely permitted full baths in the abbey. Such luxuries took place once a year, during spring at The Time of Cleansing . A bowl of cold water and a rough rag served her the rest of the year. Sometimes in the summer, she’d escaped to the small pond on the abbey’s property to swim and bathe.
    The steaming liquid folded over her body. “I think the Afterlife must be filled with large marble tubs and warm pools.”
    Willa chuckled and pulled a stool up next to the tub. She leaned forward, placing her arms along the edge of the bathtub. “Now then, why don’t you tell me about your adventures?”
    “Oh, our adventures.” How would their hosts feel when they found out she and Rhys had known each other less than a day? “I was attacked by one of the Bane—Icarus, I believe Rhys called him.”
    Willa bolted upright. “Icarus?”
    “You’ve heard of him?”
    “Oh yes, I know of Icarus. I’ve always believed that demon to be a myth. That’s unfortunate.” She leveled a serious look at Ravyn. “Why would such a high-ranking Bane be after you?”
    “I don’t know.” Ravyn threw up her hands and splattered Willa with water. The woman barely flinched. “Sorry.”
    Willa’s gaze didn’t waver.
    “Until last night I’d never heard of Icarus. Actually, the only things I know about the Bane are what the Sisters at the abbey told me as a child. When I got older, I thought the stories were just tales spun to frighten me.”
    Willa’s brow knit as her gaze narrowed. “But how can this be, considering what you are?”
    Every thought froze in Ravyn’s head. Time seemed to slow. She stared at the steaming water. This mystery had plagued her all her life. Willa’s answer could define her, give her a place in the world. She met the woman’s eyes. “What do you mean, what I am?”
    Willa’s scrutinizing stare was steady. The question hung in the air between them. “A Bringer.”
    The pronouncement rang through the room like the tolling bell of the abbey. Waves of awakening rippled along Ravyn’s skin. She shuddered. Emotions tumbled and rolled.
    Her—a Bringer? A mythical warrior? She—part of something greater than herself? Hope mixed with disbelief. Could it be true? If the Bane were real, why not the Bringers? In every legend she’d ever heard, both had existed, the Bringers to defeat the Bane. She focused on the surface of the water, the meaning of Willa’s pronouncement taking hold.
    “There’s no need to hide your identity from me. As with the Bane, we know of the Bringers. After all, you can’t have one without the other, can you?”
    “No.” Her voice wavered. “No, you can’t.”
    Questions formed and faded and new questions took their place. Ravyn tried to close her mind against the onslaught of possibilities, but they refused to be silenced. She grabbed onto the most basic question plaguing her. “Why would you think I’m Bringer?”
    “I may not be one, but I’m not without my talents.”
    Ravyn looked up. “Such as?”
    A radiant smile spread across Willa’s face. “Such as knowing a Bringer when I see one.” The woman held Ravyn’s gaze and her smile slowly faded. “You didn’t know, did you?”
    Ravyn looked away. She didn’t want to see the pity now apparent in Willa’s voice. “No, I didn’t know.”
    “But, again I must ask, how can this be?” Willa pressed.
    How would she ever survive if she couldn’t tell