No. 14: Flare
Nikolai ushered the fleeing masses through the tunnel, urging them forward as the enemy gained ground behind them. They only needed to reach the next juncture and then someone could trigger a cave-in behind them, blocking any pursuit. But they needed a Grisha for that. Nikolai whipped his head around in search of one amidst the chaos.
A rumble echoed from back down the passage, one that sounded like a roaring wind. And an unearthly orange glow began to fill the darkness. Nikolai's eyes widened as he realized what was coming.
"Move!" he bellowed, shoving the last stragglers forward and off to the side.
The wall of heat buffeted his back before the inferno did, a massive wave of fire cascading down the tunnel. Nikolai dove for cover down the side passage but not in time to escape the scorching flames skimming his back. The force of the fire knocked him off his feet and through the air, and it was only pure luck that he landed behind a large rock that shielded him from being completely consumed by the flames.
The sweltering heat was suffocating, and the gale-like force of the fire kept Nikolai pinned on the ground. Screams resounded off the rock walls. Then the rush was over as quickly as it'd come.
Nikolai struggled to suck in air that was so hot it felt like he couldn't breathe at all. He tried to push himself up onto his elbows, only for his back to abruptly scream. He gasped and dropped his face back to the dirt. His entire body was radiating with agony and he couldn't parse out the reason for it.
"Nikolai!" someone's harried shout echoed in his ears. Alina dropped down beside him a second later. "Saints," she gasped. "I need help over here!"
Nikolai strained to at least lift his head. "Seal- the- tunnel," he ground out. He pressed his forehead into the ground again and focused on breathing through the pain in his back. He thought he at least heard Alina yelling for someone to follow his orders.
More shuffling and scuffed sounds surrounded him, and he didn't miss the muttered curse in Shu that Tamar uttered. He was almost afraid to ask.
"We need a Healer!" she shouted.
Nikolai again tried to prop himself up so he could evaluate the situation and the level of danger they were still in.
"Don't move," Tamar urged.
"Kirigan-" he gasped.
"We're sealing the tunnel," she replied. "They won't get through here."
"How far- from the- cache tunnels?" he managed to ask.
"Not far. We'll get everyone mobile there and help the rest. So stop trying to move."
Nikolai exhaled roughly and sank back onto his stomach again. "How bad?"
"How bad is the pain?" Tamar asked.
"Bad."
"Then you haven't suffered nerve damage."
He supposed that was meant to be reassuring…
"Alina!" a voice shouted.
"Mal!"
Nikolai heard her jump up and hurry away. He was relieved at the confirmation another friend was okay and had survived the attack. There were so many others he still wanted to ask about…
The pain in his back began to dull, and Nikolai roused himself enough to realize someone must have been doing something.
"Can you walk?" Tamar asked a moment later.
"I'll be damned if I don't try," he replied.
Strong hands gripped one arm and another pair the other, then both started to pull Nikolai to his feet. He bit down on a cry as his back erupted in fire again, and he staggered to stay upright once he was there, though the pain bowed him forward. Tolya and Tamar kept a firm hold on his arms and helped him shuffle along down the tunnel. They passed Alina and Mal, the tracker's eyes widening at the state Nikolai must look.
"I need to know who made it," Nikolai said breathlessly. "Will you two help with that? And, my mother…"
"We'll find her," Alina quickly assured him.
He grunted out a barely audible thanks as the pain overwhelmed him again.
The twins got him to the cache tunnels where they at least had supplies they could make use of.
"Over here," Tamar called to someone.
A young woman hurried over, and Nikolai could only assume she was a Healer. He craned his neck to try to read her expression, which was frightened and horrified, though whether because of his injuries or what had just happened, he couldn't quite say for sure. Though he suspected it was mostly the former.
"This will be delicate," she said tremulously. "And we should sedate him. Moi tsarevich," she added hastily, then even more quickly, "Moi tsar."
"No," he ground out. "Not now. Just do what needs to be done so I can get back to work."
The twins shared a look at that but neither argued with him. He was the king now, and as such he could not afford to be put under while his people were fleeing for their lives.
"We'll try to dull the nerves," Tamar said.
They found him a chair and he straddled the seat, resting his arms and head against the backrest. He felt the pain in his back diminish somewhat as the twins used their heartrending to manipulate his nerve endings. But he still felt the unsettling sensation of the Healer beginning to peel away the charred sections of his coat—and with it damaged portions of flesh.
His gorge rose and he fought to keep it down. It wasn't so much the pain, which Tamar and Tolya were doing an adequate job of keeping manageable, but the knowledge of the debridement process, and Nikolai was grateful he couldn't actually see it. He kept his head down and focused on breathing.
"Oh Saints," Alina interrupted.
"You really should come up with another response to seeing me," Nikolai quipped.
"Sorry." She came around to stand in his line of sight. "Your mother's okay. Well, she's distraught and someone's watching over her, but she's unharmed."
Nikolai nodded. "Thank you."
"What else can I do?"
"There are other entrances to the tunnels. We need to set guards at them. Someone needs to be put in charge of distributing supplies. There are also more chambers down here that were part of the old monastery that we can use to bed people down for the night. Then we need to take stock and determine how long we can stay down here and where to go next."
Alina's expression looked overwhelmed.
"You did volunteer to lead an army," Nikolai pointed out.
"So I did. Will you be okay?"
"I'll join you soon," he promised.
She reached out to squeeze the tips of his fingers, and he smiled gratefully at the touch. And then she was gone and his attention was wholly devoted to not envisioning the state of his back as the Grisha worked on him.
But finally it was over and Tamar said he could sit up, though carefully. Nikolai straightened, and the tug of raw skin was uncomfortable but not excruciating.
"It will scar," the Healer said nervously.
Nikolai nodded. "Risk of infection?" He knew burns were nothing to scoff at.
The young Grisha shook her head. "It was a mixture of first and second degree burns, but I healed the worst parts. It will be tender for a while."
"I'll see if I can find a salve for that," Tolya put in.
"And an extra uniform," Nikolai added as he pulled off the rest of his burnt royal coat. The cool air on his still hot skin felt like ice in places.
Tolya returned with the salve and some linen bandages, which he and Tamar covered Nikolai's back with. It helped cushion the new skin as he put a fresh shirt and army coat on over it. Now it was time to address the damage of his kingdom—and the state of their doomed future.