Soul Fire (20 page)

At least, I thought I could.
“Alright, please line up,” Jett called as usual, and we
arranged ourselves in our lines. “Can you pair with your
soul mate please?”
I raised an eyebrow at nobody in particular as Phoenix
came to stand next to me. I wasn’t impressed with him at
all; since I’d gotten back and he’d climbed out of my
window, he hadn’t said a word, hadn’t even made eye
contact with me. The phoenix feather that had appeared
in my room had disintegrated by morning and I’d woken
up covered in orange dust. Since then I’d tried desperately
to keep him out of my thoughts, but he’d appeared in
many of my dreams more times than I’d like to count. It
had gotten to the point where it hurt to see him and
Eleanora walking hand in hand around the Academy.
He lined up next to me, and I was both surprised and
dismayed when Jett came along and tied my left wrist to
Phoenix’s right wrist. My arm was now pressed along his,
the back of his hand against mine. I wriggled my hand,
trying to get it free, but it just pulled the cord tighter.
“This exercise is all about teamwork,” Jett said,
returning to the front. “You’ll run the course in your pairs
against another pair. You’ll need to work together.”
To not get electrocuted, drowned, or hung on the wall,
I thought bitterly.
We watched a few of the pairs run the course. Yasmin
and Petre worked like a well oiled machine, and I watched
them carefully to try to pick up tips.
Just before we were going to start – pitted against, of
course, Dustin and Eleanora – Phoenix turned his hand
around and grasped mine. I immediately stretched out my
fingers in an effort to get away.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Yasmin and Petre did it,” he replied, grabbing my
hand again. “It’ll be easier than just having our arm
dragged along by the other.”
I gripped his hand, trying to ignore how it felt against
mine, how easily my fingers fit between his and how nice
his calloused palm felt.
Jett blew the whistle, and we dashed off the line.
Phoenix and I had both had the same idea about getting a
running start for under the nets; we hit the mud on our
bellies and slid forwards before beginning to wriggle on
our elbows. It gained us about a second lead, and there
was no way I was losing to Eleanora.
Phoenix reached the other side first and helped me
through. I arched my back so that I didn’t hit the wire and
we were first to the rope.
“How are we going to do this?” I gasped, covered in
mud but still holding his hand tightly.
“Wrap your other arm around me.”
“What?”
“Other arm, quick.”
I managed to awkwardly hug him, holding on as tight
as I could and determinedly ignoring the butterflies in my
stomach. His muscles shifted beneath his shirt as he
grabbed the rope with his free hand and pushed off of the
embankment just as Dustin and Eleanora arrived at the
rope.
We swung out over the water, and despite my tight
grip I was beginning to slip down towards the surface.
“I’m falling!” I managed to gasp.
“Let go... now!”
We both dropped into the water, surfacing at the same
time. We struck out an awkward one armed stroke
towards the other bank, climbing up it clumsily.
The wall was next. Phoenix grabbed a hold of the rope
and then gestured towards the other one.
“I don’t want to use theirs; that’s cheating,” I protested,
and he rolled his eyes.
“Well, follow me up the best you can,” he knew I could
climb it, had seen me do so before.
I followed him up the rope, my arm burning as I
managed to slowly make my way up the wall. Phoenix
reached the top first, and for a second I thought he was
going to leap down the other side. Instead, he pulled me
up to the top with him, and together we dropped neatly to
the other side. Dustin and Eleanora dropped a few seconds
later.
“Good work,” Jett said, cutting us free. I rubbed my sore
wrist as we began to make our way back to the line.
Eleanora bounced over to Phoenix and began chiding
him for beating her, and then pulled him down so she
could kiss him. I turned away, fighting down the urge to
cry or something.
He is your soul mate, I thought angrily. Nothing more!
We changed back into our uniforms and then headed
back to the Academy for Theory. We’d just sat down and
had begun pulling out our books when I realised I’d left
mine in my room.
“I’ll be right back, save my seat,” I told Rain quickly,
darting out of the classroom.
I retrieved the book and was on my way back when I
heard Netalia and Jett arguing just around the corner. Not
wanting to get involved in an ugly scene, I stopped and
tried to work out a way around them, until I heard my
name.
“-and Phoenix worked very well together,” Netalia was
saying in clipped tones. “Maybe too well.”
“You devised the class!” Jett replied exasperatedly. “The
challenge was for them to have to rely on each other to
get through the obstacles, of course they had to work
together!”
“Even so-“
“No! Enough, Netalia, stop looking for reasons to hate
her!” I drew back further around the corner, my heart
pounding. “Sky has done nothing wrong, if anything she
excels at her studies! She’s kind and brave and loyal to her
friends. If you could look past all of your misconceptions
you’d see that!”
There was silence. And then,
“You’ve seen the signs, haven’t you,” Netalia said. It
wasn’t a question.
More silence, and then Jett said, “Yes.”
“And you’ve been teaching her the twin swords?”
“How did you find out?”
Netalia didn’t answer.
“Yes I am. So what, Netalia? She wants to learn them, it
doesn’t mean anything-“
“Of course it does! Out of all the weapons in the room,
she picked those!”
“Why do we have them if they’re not meant to be
used?” Jett asked peevishly. “The weapons are the only
indication.”
“For now,” she was beginning to walk away, to my
relief, in the other direction. “You know your obligation
to the Academy, Jettais.”
That seemingly ended the conversation. I quickly
scrambled back the way I’d come, putting some distance
between the corridor and myself. I turned around and
started walking back. Jett swept around the corner as I
drew closer.
“Sky,” he said in surprise.
“Yes?” I asked innocently.
“Why aren’t you in class?”
I held up my book.
“I left my book in my room. I had to go and get it.”
“Alright. Another lesson tonight then?”
“Sure,” I replied, wondering why he was still going to
teach me now that Netalia knew, and from the sounds of it
was threatening his employment at the Academy. “Same
time?”
He nodded curtly and brushed past. I didn’t waste time
standing about entertaining thoughts; I was late enough as
it was.
“Sorry,” I said to Professor Watt, skidding to a halt at
my seat. “Got lost.”
She rolled her eyes and muttered something that
sounded suspiciously like ‘of course’.
“Where were you?” Dena hissed as I slid into my seat
and began to clumsily flip through the text book.
I shrugged, deciding not to tell anyone about the
conversation I’d just overheard. I replayed it over and over
in my mind, and every time I reached the bit about Jett
calling me brave and loyal, I couldn’t help but smile a
little. I respected Jett a lot, and for him to think those
things about me meant equally as much to me.
The lesson was over before I could find the page we
were up to. I realised that it had been the last lesson of the
day, and I stuffed the book into my bag happily.
“Don’t do that,” Yasmin groaned, watching me trying to
make it fit. “You have to return it to the library you
know.”
“I know,” I replied, using a foot to wedge it inside my
already overstuffed bag. “You know we can do magic,
Yasmin.”
“Yeah, but still...” she trailed off, eyeing off the
crumpled book.
I wolfed down my dinner and gabbled some excuse
about homework in my room. I trotted up there and
dumped my bag and got changed into my breeches. Morri
whistled from the window ledge, and I held my arm out to
him. I’d never thought about having a pet before, other
than my dog, but as Morri climbed up to my shoulder, I
decided that birds were pretty cool too.
I met Jett in the abandoned weapons room. I stepped
onto the practice mat, bouncing slightly. Puffs of straw
marked where we’d murdered the practice dummies
earlier in the day.
“Evening,” Jett said, looming out of the darkness in the
far corner of the room. I bounced to him, taking my twin
swords with the usual feeling of anticipation.
Before I could remove them from his grasp completely,
he unsheathed one just a little bit.
“These have just been polished,” he said. “Why did you
clean them if you were just practicing with them in
Riverdoor?”
“They got dusty on the ride,” the lie came to me easily.
I must be spending too much time with Petre.
“Funny. I also found the remains of an enchantment
against Du’rangor venom.”
I pressed my lips together.
“Alright,” I admitted. I couldn’t really lie my way out of
that one. “There was a Du’rangor stalking Petre’s home
estate. We travelled there to hunt it.”
Jett slid the blade back into the sheath, his expression
blank. He sighed.
“Sky, you’re a good mage, and you’re skilled with these
weapons, but please don’t think for one second that you
can just go off and hunt dangerous creatures. You killed
one, I’ll give you that, but-“
“I killed two,” I confessed. “I found the one in
Riverdoor and killed it as well.”
Jett blinked. Once. Twice. I was beginning to think he
wouldn’t answer when he repeated slowly:
“You killed the second Du’rangor.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it had taken Petre’s little brother and was
threatening the townsfolk.”
“And you killed it? With the others?”
“By myself. I mean,” I scrambled to correct myself.
“They were there, but I was on my own when I found it.”
He paused for a second, and then asked like he didn’t
really want to know:
“How did you kill it?”
“I set the swords on fire with my magic,” I said
carefully. “And then stabbed it through the roof of its
mouth.”
No need to mention the fabric that had been torn from
my shirt by the poisonous claws, or how I fell into the
marsh water and wallowed around. Also didn’t need to
mention the banter I’d used to distract it or the charm I’d
used to protect Sammy.
“You’re... impossible,” he settled on finally. His face
was lined and he seemed to be getting older as I looked at
him. For the first time, I noticed bits of grey at his
temples. “How about we get started?”
I nodded and began warming up. Morri flew to Jett’s
shoulder as I stretched, apparently unimpressed with how
I was moving about. After ten minutes I bounced on the
spot, loosening the rest of my muscles. When Jett handed
the swords back to me, he did so with a certain amount of
reverence. It unnerved me.
We fought, as we usually did. Jett trusted me to the
extent that he didn’t make me use blunt wooden swords
anymore. Instead, we danced a deadly dance around each
other, light from the torches glinting off of the blades.
He stabbed forwards, deliberately leaving an opening
for me. Instead of taking it, I dodged around him instead,
and when he whirled, expecting me to be there, he almost
fell.
Because we’d just started I let him regain his balance,
but I was grinning triumphantly as he righted himself.
“Tricky,” he called, but I could see him smiling.
I flicked my right sword up over my head with my left
sword outstretched. I balanced on the balls of my feet,
ready to swoop down.
My opportunity came a second later. Jett ventured just
a little too close and I spun, bringing the right sword down
and using its momentum to carry me around so that I
could bring my left sword up and over. I knew Jett would
block it, and he did, the swords clashing together. Taking
advantage of his off balance, I reached out with my left
foot and hooked it around his ankle, then snapped it back.
He fell onto the mat and I darted forwards, placing both
sword tips by his nose.
“Yield,” I told him.
He held up his hands and laughed. I held both swords
in one hand and pulled my mentor to his feet.
“You’ve come a long way since we first started, my
young pupil,” he said, bringing out the polishing cloths.
“Thinking on it now, it doesn’t surprise me so much that
you’ve killed two Du’rangors.”
“Do you really mean that?” I asked, taking a long drink
of water from my bottle as Morri landed on my head.
“Course I do. You’ve done me proud.”

We finished cleaning the swords in silence, and then I
headed back up to the dorms to have a shower. To my
dismay, I ran into Dustin on the way up the stairs.

“Hello,” he started brightly, but then he frowned when
he saw that I was all sweaty. “What’ve you been doing?”
“Running,” I lied immediately. “Went for a little run
around the castle.”
He accepted it without question, but he’d also noticed
Morri, whom he was yet to meet.
“Who’s this little guy?” he asked, reached forwards for
the bird, but Morri shrieked an ear splitting screech and
flew up towards the rafters.
“Sorry,” I apologized. “He doesn’t do so well with new
people.”
“Fair enough,” he replied, tucking his hand back into
his pocket. “How long have you had him?”
“He adopted me a few days ago,” I held my arm out so
that Morri could land on it, though he immediately
crawled up my arm and under my ponytail where Dustin
couldn’t reach him. “Since then I’ve been his pet.”
“Right,” Dustin rocked on his heels. “So how’ve you
been?”
“Um, alright,” I could see my door past Dustin’s
shoulder. “Look, I’m all sweaty. I was on my way to have a
shower.”
“Oh right, sure,” to my relief, he didn’t offer to help me
shower. “Hey, why don’t you come by afterwards?”
“Sure,” I said before I could stop myself. “See you in a
bit.”
I more or less shoved past him and made it to my room.
As I collected up my towel and shampoo, I cursed myself
over and over again.
There was no phoenix feather or charm pin on my
pillow. I half-heartedly hunted around my room for a gift,
but there was nothing. I sat down on my bed with a sigh.
I really shouldn’t be pursuing him, I thought sadly. He’s
with Eleanora and I’m with Dustin. Maybe I should work
harder at remembering that.
I showered, deliberately taking my time. Morri perched
on top of the stall, getting his feathers soggy in the steam.
“You’re the only boy I’m letting watch me shower,” I
told him as I dried off. My face reddened as I thought of
Phoenix, but then I pushed him away and tried to replace
him with Dustin. My mind shoved that away all on its
own.
I dressed in my pyjamas and then padded down towards
the boys’ dormitories. I then realised I had no idea which
door was his. I was saved knocking on everyone’s door
when Ispin emerged from his room and stopped dead at
the sight of me standing in the corridor. I quickly asked
him about the room I was looking for, and he pointed at a
door wordlessly.
I knocked on the door, and waited. It was flung open
almost straight away by Dustin, hope shining in his eyes.
“I didn’t think you were coming,” he said, letting me in.
“Sorry, I had a long shower,” I replied, gesturing to my
damp hair. “The water was nice.”
I sat on his bed, looking around. It was definitely a
boy’s room. It was a carbon copy of mine, except it smelt
like deodorant and sweat. Clothes had been bundled up on
the end of his bed and were draped over his table. I found
it strangely comforting, for this was what my old bedroom
back in Ar Cena had looked like.
“Sorry for the mess,” he said, seeing me look around.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, smiling, and then realised
conversation was going to be very strained.
“How’ve you been?” he asked, echoing himself from the
stairs.
“Alright,” I replied. “You know, the usual, homework,
classes, and friends.”
“Sounds like you guys had a nice trip to Riverdoor,” he
said, sitting next to me.
If you can call it that, I thought, but then forced a smile
across my face.
“It wasn’t bad,” I alluded. “It was nice to meet Petre’s
family.”
He smiled back but then slumped.
“I wish you would’ve asked me,” he mumbled.
“I’m sorry,” I said immediately, feeling terrible. “There
was a bit of a family emergency, none of us were thinking
clearly.”
He just nodded, and I felt like rolling my eyes. Did he
think himself more important than Petre’s little brother
being taken? Anger flushed under my skin and I had to
work to calm myself down again.
We chatted for a little longer, but I think both of us
were quickly realising that our relationship was dead. I
wasn’t sure when it had happened, but I suspected it had
been the Riverdoor trip. I’d had a few days away from
him, and had felt free, unrestrained. Heck, I hadn’t even
thought of him until Dena brought it up.
I fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to find the right words
to begin what I wanted to say. I opened my mouth, still
unsure of what was going to come out.
“Don’t,” he pleaded suddenly. “Please don’t do what
you’re about to do.”
Ice shot through my veins.
“I’m sorry,” I heard myself say. “But, Dustin, you can
feel it too, can’t you? You know that this is the-“
“Don’t say ‘the end’,” he got up and paced to the other
side of the room. “How about a break? For a week? You
might feel differently then.”
I highly doubted it, but I felt myself nod curtly. One
more week, and then it would be over.
“Alright,” I murmured. “But, Dustin, I don’t think-“
“Please,” he came back over to me and pulled me to my
feet. “One week to think about it.”
He kissed me before I could stop him. He was
comfortable and familiar but there was no flame there
anymore. I suddenly wondered what kissing Phoenix
would be like...
I broke away from him. I wasn’t about to look him in
the eye.
“I’ll see you in a week,” I mumbled, and then hurried
out of his room and to my own.
I slumped onto my bed, Morri perching on my bed
head, peeping every now and then. I hugged my knees to
my chest, feeling like I was going to burst. Tears welled up
and spilled down my cheeks. I felt absolutely awful. Why
couldn’t I like Dustin? I had in the beginning, I knew it. It
was new and exciting, I thought about him as I went to
sleep and day dreamed about him. But now all I felt
towards him was annoyance and frustration.
Why do you have to be so clingy? I wondered angrily,
though more tears gathered and overflowed. Why do you
have to make this so difficult?
I cried into the night, because I knew I was going to
hurt him and I didn’t like being that type of girl. I’d seen
them back at my old high school, the girls who would flirt
and lead a guy on and then just toss them aside like
rubbish.
Was I that type of girl? The thought brought on a fresh
wave of tears. I needed someone to talk to desperately.
Though the night was slowly beginning to bleed to the
cobalt hue of midnight, I padded down the hall to Dena’s
room. I knocked quickly, hoping I wouldn’t wake her up.
She opened the door a few seconds later, in her
pyjamas, but she’d been reading; she still had her glasses
on.
“Sky, what’s wrong?” She pulled me into her room and
sat me on her bed. “What is it?”
I told her everything quickly, about how Dustin didn’t
want the relationship to end but I was done, I was done
and he was dragging it out for another week. I cried a lot,
and was furiously embarrassed about it but Dena just kept
fetching me tissues and hugging me around the shoulders.
Was this what it was like to have a best friend?
“Am I a horrible person?” I asked finally, sniffling.
“No,” she said without hesitation. “This is completely
normal. Some people just fall in and out of like. It just
means you’re not meant to be.”
“Ok,” her words were like balm to my wounded heart.
“I mean, there were some girls at my school who just
casually strung boys along and then just ditched them
without a second thought. I don’t want to be like that.”
“I know,” she said, patting my shoulders. “And hey,
look how upset you are! At least it shows you care.”
She was right. I bet the girls at my school didn’t feel as
wretched as I did right now.
“Thank you,” I mumbled, throat still swollen.
“Don’t think twice about it,” she replied. “Now, how
about you try to get some sleep? It’s late and we have class
tomorrow.”
I headed back to my room and crawled into my bed.
Morri perched on my statue’s head, rearranging his
feathers. I thought that after all my emotional turmoil
going to sleep would be difficult, but the moment my head
hit the pillow, I was asleep.
The next few days were strange. I felt like I was in
limbo, and despite Dena’s comforting words, I still felt
awful about the situation. I threw myself into my studies
to try to forget about it, and as a result quickly became
more powerful than any of the other students.
We continued hand to hand combat and soon I could
throw even Petre and Ispin, who was surprisingly strong.
Theory remained only slightly interesting, until one
afternoon Watt taught us something that stuck in my
mind for a long time. It was a Tuesday, and theory was the
last lesson of the day. I was bitterly wondering what
would be on offer in the mess hall for dinner when I
began to pay attention to what she was saying.
“One thing a mage cannot live without is their magic;
the only way to kill a mage is to drain him of magic.
However, magic can also be restored by an act of true
love.”
Many of the guys in the class snorted, and so did I.
“Well, it has yet to be recorded,” Watt relented. “I’m
yet to see a mage revived by love, but the fact remains that
the legends tell it, and the legends are based on truth.”
That night I wandered sadly up to my room, mulling
over what she had said. It didn’t really matter much to me,
it was just the last thing I’d heard and it was rolling
around my head like a song on replay. When I got to my
empty room I changed from my uniform and then headed
to the stables. They had become my sanctuary, where I
could dream and think.
Echo greeted me the same as ever; as a treat carrier. I’d
remembered to snag her some carrots on the way and she
wolfed them down as I handed them to her. I let myself
into her stall and began grooming her, though one of the
Academy’s stable hands already had that day. I pulled the
brush over her glossy coat and patiently worked out every
little tangle in her mane and tail. By the time I had
finished, I’d worked my horse into a stupor. I sat down in
the straw like I did every day, trying not to fall asleep. I
did though, but I was woken by someone coming into the
stables.
Please don’t be Dustin, I pleaded silently. Please oh
please don’t be him.
I stood up, peering through the bars of Echo’s stall to
the next one, and saw Phoenix coming up the middle aisle.
He stopped dead when he saw me peering through the
bars.
“Sky? What are you doing here?”
“Giving Echo some love and attention,” I replied
carefully. He continued past me to Validus’ stall. “What
are you doing here?”
“Virtually the same thing,” he answered, letting his
horse pick sugar cubes out of his hand. “How are…
things?”
I looked up at him curiously. Was he trying to pick up a
conversation?
“Alright,” I lied. I noticed that he was looking all over
the stable for something. “Have you lost something?” I
asked.
“No no, I was just… looking around.” He replied, and I
raised an eyebrow at the obvious lie. He was a terrible liar.
I told him so.
“Alright,” he rubbed his horse’s nose. “I was looking for
the stable boy.”
“I think he’s out the back. Do you want me to call
him?”
“No! No, it’s alright,” he was acting very strangely. “I
was just wondering if he was… here.”
He looked at me as though he wanted to say something
more, but then he shoved his hands in his pockets and
strode past me. When he got to the door, he turned back
and opened his mouth, but then thought better of what he
was going to say and strode out of the door. I shook my
head, utterly confused. I’d almost forgotten about Dustin
and all of that unpleasantness.