Yay, new characters! I like Heralds. They're fun. Plus, they have mindspeech.

This is a fun story for me to write. I hope you all are enloying my story as much as I am. Yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Valdemar. But all the characters you have not heard of in the books are mine!..."Cept maybe one...but that will be later so you guys don't have to worry your pretty little heads about it.

"Blah" - speech

'Blah' - thoughts

:Blah: - Mindspeech

~~~~~

"Whole building burned-"

"No survivors-"

"Heard it was intentional-"

"What's going on here?" asked a commanding voice. The crowd that had gathered turned to see a Herald in full whites approaching them, his Companion at his side.

"There's been a fire in a brothel 'round the corner. The Guard won't let us see." Said one of the men in the crowd.

"Stand aside please." The Herald said courteously. The crowd parted and the Herald and his Companion walked through.

:What do you think, Senna?: He mindspoke to his Companion.

:I can still sense that presence we felt earlier, Chosen.: Senna replied :But I can't tell where it is exactly.:

:That's all right, dearheart.: he said, patting her on the neck, as they turned a corner and surveyed the damage.

The building was still smoking, but nothing more than a few wispy tendrils that were barely visible against the early morning sky.. The entire building was charred, all three stories of it. Part of the third story had collapsed. There was something odd about it that the Herald couldn't place, until he realized that the few windows in the building were shut, and that the establishments on either side had not burned. 'That's odd.' He thought. Usually a fire in Haven was disastrous, because it spread to the other buildings so quickly.

:In there.: Senna said.

:You sure?: he asked.

:Positive.: she replied. The Herald sighed. Earlier this evening he and Senna had sensed a powerful Gift being activated. He and his Companion had a knack for sensing developing Gifts. It was like a Gift, except it was not something he could block or shield against. He always knew what kind of mind-magic someone had, and whether or not it was an active Gift.

One of the guards approached them. "We've got the fire mostly under control, Herald..." the man trailed off, hoping the Herald would supply him with a name.

"-Herald Kyle." The herald said, surveying the damage with keen blue eyes. He was tall, with long, elegant fingers and an odd, catlike grace. His face was handsome, with a thin nose, full lips, and a tanned complexion. His shoulder length brown hair was tied back into a horsetail, though a few strands had escaped imprisonment. His face was grim, but it seemed awkward on his face. "Anyone killed?"

"Anyone?" the guard said. He laughed bitterly. "Everyone was killed, Herald." He said, his voice strained. "Every person who went in tonight never came out."

Kyle took a deep shuddering breath, and put a hand over his eyes. "Has anyone gone in to check for survivors?" he asked after a moment.

"Not yet." The guard said.

Kyle sighed deeply. "Wait for me outside, Senna." He said to his Companion. She nuzzled him briefly.

:Be careful, Kyle.: she said.

:I will.: he responded.

He walked toward the building, a slight breeze ruffling his hair. When he got to the door, he hesitated slightly.

"That part of the building hasn't been burning for an hour or so." The guard said, noticing Kyle's hesitation. "The door shouldn't be hot."

"What about blastback?" Kyle asked. When a fire ran out of air, it stopped burning, but if fire was reintroduced, a blastback occurred.

"Nah." Said the guard. "When the third floor collapsed, it made a hole straight to the first floor."

Kyle nodded, and tested the door's handle. It was a little warm, but when he tried to open the door it wouldn't budge. He cursed softly and kicked the door. Weakened by fire, it collapsed under the force of his blow, leaving the doorknob still attached to the doorframe. Curious, Kyle examined the lock to find that it had been welded to the doorjamb. "Odd." He said softly, then walked inside.

The first thing he noticed was the smell, a mixture of charred wood and charred flesh. It was a revolting smell, but Kyle had a job to do, so he breathed through is mouth and tried not to notice. There were bodies everywhere, most of them burned so badly they were beyond recognition. He went to one door and opened it, then yelped and jumped back when the body of a woman fell out, half of her face black and cooked.

:Chosen?: Senna asked, alarmed.

:I'm all right, dearheart.: He said, catching his breath. :Something startled me.: he sent her an image of the body.

:Ew...: she sent back.

'Ah, the life of a Herald.' he thought as he stepped gingerly around the woman's body and walked through the door into a hallway. He lowered his shields slightly, and used his thoughtsensing Gift. 'There...second door on the left.' He thought as he Felt a person.

He walked down the hallway and opened the door. It was another hallway that would have been dark except for the small windows near the top of the wall. The person he had sensed was a teenage girl, about fourteen or fifteen, who sat against one of the walls. Her brown hair was singed, and she had minor burns all over her body. Her green-brown eyes stared blankly ahead at a charred skeleton that was propped against the opposite wall. Both her hands were very badly burned, but one of them slowly stroked the body of a gray cat that lay on her lap.

"Miss?" Kyle said, squatting down next to her. She did not respond.

"Child, are you all right?" he asked, his eyes scanning her face for some response.

Her face remained impassive.

He sighed. :Senna, I found her.: He sent, along with an image of the girl.

:We need to get her to the Healer's.: Senna sent.

:Contact Rolan. I think Talia could-:

"I can hear you." The girl said suddenly, her voice raw from the smoke. Kyle jumped and looked at her sharply. "In my head." She put one burned hand to her forehead and winced. "You're so loud..."

Immediately Kyle put up the strongest shield he could around her. She looked up, and a ghost of a smile flitted over her face.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Miss, what happened here?" he asked gently. He glanced at the skeleton.

"I killed him." She said, her voice flat and expressionless. "He killed Siri, tried to hurt me. So I hurt him. I hurt them all." She coughed. "They all wanted it," she continued. "I heard them all, in my head." Now she looked up at him for the first time, and he was astounded by the despair in her eyes. "All they were thinking about was sex, or booze, or drugs. They were all sick. They were screaming inside. S-so I burned them." Tears started to form in her eyes as her emotional wall started to break down. "I burned... I burned them all!" the last few words came out as a wail, as she burst into tears.

Kyle instinctively put his arms around the girl, making shushing noises like his mother used to do. The girl clung to him as well as her burned hands would allow, sobbing brokenly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she repeated over and over again.

"Shhh," he said. "it's all right, everything will be all right." But as he stroked the girl's hair comfortingly, he realized that he really didn't know if it was going to be all right.

~~~~~

Guess what happens? Yep, more issues. Well, time for Review Response Time.

Studio Audience: Yay!

Etcetera cat: I understand that your biased toward kitties. I promise that there will be no more cruelty against felines.

RonethDragon Tiamat: Yes I know you know things they don't know. And I will edit if I feel like it! Nyah!

Herald Mistylenna: I like firestarters. And empaths. A firestarter empath would be coooool...

Flame o' Darkness(or whatever name you are now): No, I'm sorry to say they were just plain wood.

Trina Ti: thanks for the compliment. I'm not sure I can get more descriptive than that though. And if you're talking about the harassment bit, that's just about the best you can get out of me.

Me: I will tell you for the second time that that was not you! I would never have made you a character like that, and I don't put my friends into my stories. Cept when they belong in them, but that's not important. I'm sorry, darling, but the world does not revolve around you.

Okay, now that I've responded to what you all have to say...

REVIEW!