Fire Study (40 page)

in a parasitic embrace.

Through Bavol’s confused mind, I returned to my body. Valek had disappeared

and the smell of smoke burned my nose. I rushed to the window.

The stable was on fire.

“KIKI!” I SCREAMED, running. The image of her trapped in her stall and

engulfed by flames filled my vision.

A voice yelled my name.

A black horse stood in the pasture.

A Daviian Warper coaxed the blaze higher. Brighter. Hotter.

It didn’t matter.

The parasite in my mind had gained control.

I ran straight into the stable, diving into the fire.

The heat burned my face and seared the inside of my nose. Flames danced with

delight on my cloak, eating the fibers in gleeful disregard. The soles of my boots

melted. The smoke robbed air from my lungs. My throat closed.

Hot knives of pain stabbed into my skin. Layers burned off in sheets of torment.

The sound of boiling blood sizzled in my ears.

Pleasure followed pain and the colors of my world turned from white-hot and

blinding yellow into bloodred and ice-black.

I marveled at my surroundings. Lit with a soft gray light, the flat world extended

for miles in every direction. With reluctance, I glanced at my body, expecting to see

a burnt corpse, but was surprised to find no damage. A weightless feeling tingled,

and my arms and legs were slightly transparent.

A ghost perhaps? Was I in the shadow world? Then where were the others? All

the Sandseeds who waited for me. Perhaps they had been a figment of Moon Man’s

imagination.

A soft laugh sounded beside me.

“You don’t see them because you have chosen not to see them,” a voice said.

A voice I feared more than anything. The Fire Warper stood next to me. He had

lost his cloak of flames and appeared as an ordinary man. Broad shouldered with

short dark hair, he stood as tall as Moon Man. His skin gleamed as if carved from

coal.

He raised his arm to me. “Go ahead, touch it. It’s not hard.”

I hesitated. “You read my mind?”

He laughed again. “No. I read the question in your eyes. Despite your fear,

you’re curious. An admirable trait.”

The Fire Warper stroked my arm with his fingertips. I jerked away.

“So afraid of being burned. I knew I needed a big fire to attract my little bat. It

wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“Bad enough.” Caught here with him, my fear turned to resignation.

He seemed delighted with my response. Gesturing around, he said, “So what do

you think of my fire world? Rather dull?”

“Yes. I thought it would be…” I scanned the featureless plain, with black ground

and crimson sky.

“Hotter? Filled with burning souls? That you would be welcomed by your old

tormentor, Reyad, for an eternity of rape and torture?”

“Filled with souls,” I agreed. Drawn into the fire before, I had seen others.

“That’s because you were with Moon Man. He has chosen to see those

unfortunate souls. They’ve all lived colorful stories of life. You block them from

your mind. Unwilling to see and unwilling for Moon Man to show you.”

“I saw them in the shadow world, and relieved him of those painful images,” I

protested.

“Really? Do they haunt your dreams? Are you working with Moon Man to soothe

them?” He paused and, when I didn’t answer, he smiled. “Of course not! You have

locked them away just like you have pushed Moon Man and your brother out of

your life. Soon Valek will follow.”

“At least they’ll be safe.”

“No one is safe.”

Tired of his wordplay, I asked him what he wanted.

The amusement dropped from his face in an instant. “The sky.”

I stared at him.

“I rule the fire world. I now have control over the shadow world, thanks to those

Daviian magicians. And even though the shadow world is a borderland between fire

and sky, I still can’t access the sky.”

“Why?”

“Because once I rule the sky, I can return to the living world.”

Horror rolled through me. “What’s in the sky?”

“The source of all magic.”

I didn’t quite understand. All magicians had access to the power source. Would

he block others from using it?

“You know so little of magic,” he said. His expression was incredulous.

I peered at him. His face had changed from smooth to covered with burn scars.

His skin rippled as if melting.

“Why do you need me?”

“You’re the only one who can get me into the sky.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because this is what I’ll do to your family and friends.”

He touched my arm. Burning pain seared up my shoulder and encompassed my

head. My eyes turned hot and dry. The other occupants of the fire world became

visible through a shimmering veil of heat.

Souls writhed in pain, dancing as if flames clinging to a log. Twisting and

contorting, their misery pulsed off them in waves. The force of their emotions

slammed into me. I stepped back into the Fire Warper’s embrace.

He pointed to the different souls. “A few belong here, like Hetoo and Makko.

Others were sent by the Daviians to feed me. Increased my power so much I can

travel into the shadow world and steal more souls.” He dragged me through the sea

of suffering. “Your brother would add nicely to my collection. His magic is strong.

Moon Man.” He savored the Story Weaver’s name. “Would bring me a cooling blue

power. Combined, your mother and father would give me a boost. But I’ll let them

all live if you help me.”

“If I help you, you’ll be able to rule the living world, so how does that save

them?”

“I’ll show them special favor.”

I knew they wouldn’t agree. Yet spending eternal life in complete misery wasn’t

an attractive alternative.

The Fire Warper released me. The souls faded from sight and the dull plain

reappeared.

“Much better, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“This could be your eternity. It’s not very interesting, but it is safe. However…”

I leaned forward.

“You could live in the sky. It’s peaceful and filled with contentment and joy.”

“Until you join them.”

“I only need to use them for a while. Once I’ve returned to the living, I will let

you preside over their happiness.”

An appealing prospect, except he had changed his story and I knew then I

couldn’t trust anything he said or promised. Being dead hadn’t released me from my

responsibilities at all. Perhaps if I went into the sky, I could tap into the power

source and stop him.

“What would I have to do?” I asked.

“You need to find a soul on its way to the sky and follow it.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be with you.”

I looked at him in confusion.

“When you go to the sky, you’ll be able to explore all aspects of magic. But to

get there, you need to draw a soul to you. You know how to do that. Once you have

the soul, step into the fire. Come to me and together we will go to the sky,” he

explained.

“But I’m dead already. Why can’t I take one of the souls that doesn’t belong

here?”

He shook his head. “You must come under your own volition. You’re not dead.

I pulled you from the flames before they could consume your body. Besides, all

these souls belong here. They don’t deserve to be in the sky.”

Another contradiction. I didn’t know what to believe. And his motives were

unclear, so I asked him, “Why do you want to go back to the living world?”

His burned face creased with anger. Fire erupted on his shoulders. “He sent me

here to spend an eternity in misery. But his descendant released me, fed me power in

exchange for knowledge and obedience. My master is strong, but not that strong. I

have exceeded my savior’s power. Now I want to regain my life that had been stolen

from me.”

“Who sent you here?”

“An Efe traitor named Guyan. Now do we have an agreement? If not, then you

will remain here.” He shrugged as if my decision didn’t concern him too much.

Guyan’s name was familiar to me. He was Gede’s ancestor. So my new Story

Weaver was in league with the Fire Warper. Perhaps Gede was also their leader Jal. I

would have to remember that tidbit the next time I had a lesson scheduled with

Gede. I choked out a laugh. At this point, there would be no future sessions for me.

I scanned the flat plain, peering into the red-tinged light. A gray shape swooped

from the air. It dived and danced over a figure. I moved closer. The shape was a bat.

But there weren’t any insects or sources of heat to warrant its actions. Yet it picked

and yanked at the figure. Another torture on the poor soul?

“What do you see, Yelena?” the Fire Warper asked. “Your future?”

“Perhaps.” I turned away.

“Will you come back?”

“Yes.”

He held out his hand. I grasped it. My world melted in a blaze of heat and cooled

just as quickly in a swirl of ash and smoke. I lay among the ruins of the stable.

Charred beams rested in crooked angles, twisted pieces of blackened metal littered

the floor, and the scorched smell of burnt leather hung in the air.

I stumbled from the still-warm pile of wood. Singed holes peppered my clothes

and soot streaked my skin. My cloak was gone. The hair on my arms had been

burned away. I reached for my head, stopping when I encountered half-burnt stubble

instead of hair.

My ruined boots crunched on the remains of the stable and shuffled through

ash-filled puddles as I walked out, seeking Kiki. No response to either my mental or

physical calls.

A loud bang sounded behind me and I turned to see Valek standing in the

doorway of the cottage.

I laughed at his expression of complete and utter surprise. Then my legs turned to

liquid as I realized what I would really lose when I kept my promise to the Fire

Warper. My efforts were so focused on trying to protect him—protect everyone—I

hadn’t considered the cost of keeping them safe. I fell.

He was beside me in an instant. Caressing my face with a feather-light touch, he

looked uncertain.

“Are you real?” he asked. “Or just some cruel joke?”

“I’m real. A real simpleton, Valek. I should never have said…I should never have

done…” I drew in a deep breath. “Forgive me, please?”

“Would you promise never to do it again?” he asked.

“Sorry, I can’t.”

“Then you certainly are real. A real pain in the ass, but that’s who I fell in love

with.” He pulled me close.

I clung to him with my ear pressed against his chest. The beat of his heart, steady

and solid, comforted me. His soul, nestled within its chambers, was unreachable

with my magic, but he had given it to me freely.

“Why were you so determined to push me away, love?”

“Fear.”

“You’ve faced fear before. What’s different?”

Good question. The answer horrified me. All this time I believed I wanted to

protect my friends and family from the Fire Warper. “I’m afraid of my magic.” The

words tumbled from my mouth, breaking through the invisible barrier I had built

between us. “If I harvested enough souls, I know I would possess ample power to

defeat all the Warpers, including the Fire Warper. That’s tempting. Tempting enough

to want to protect you from me.”

Valek pulled back and tilted my head so he could meet my gaze. “But all you

need to do is ask. We wouldn’t hesitate to give you our souls to defeat the

Warpers.”

“No. There has to be another way.”

“And that would be…?”

“When I figure it out, you’ll be the first to know.” Before he could comment, I

added, “You never answered me. Am I forgiven?”

He sighed dramatically. “You’re forgiven. Now come inside, you reek of

smoke.”

Valek helped me to my feet. I swayed on unsteady legs for a moment. “Where’s

Kiki?”

“Once you disappeared into the stable, she ran off and hasn’t come back.”

I wanted to find her and reassure her, but my body lacked the energy.

We walked to the cottage. The bright light of midday burned in the sky. I could

no longer think of the sky without remembering my deal with the Fire Warper.

Unease wrapped around chest.

“Where’s Bavol?” I asked to distract myself.

“The Daviian Warper captured him while I tried to douse the fire. Will they kill

him?”

“No. They need him and all the Councilors for a while to keep up the pretense

that the Council and Master Magicians are in charge.”

“How long will it last?”

“Not very.”

“Will they come after us here?”

The Fire Warper had gotten what he wanted. “No. But we need to retake