Page 168 of Volik

And when his insides start to burn, I stand.

Vameer is not the only one in the family with Fire Touch.

Then I remember the man’s head.

Palming the back of the unattached skull, I wonder if I should bring it back for Nix.

Trying to picture how that might go, I decide no, I will not bring it back.

I also decide that finding a loose head next to a pile of ash might be even more traumatizing.

Let it burn.

I set the head on the man’s back.

It rolls off.

I sigh and pick it up again.

The scene is not that messy. Since the man is missing most of his blood. But bits keep falling out of the neck, and I would rather not ruin my new clothes.

I put the head nose down in the crevice between his thighs and butt cheeks. And this time when I let go, it does not move.

Done, I exit the garage and detour to the kitchen sink.

Using the dish soap left on the counter, I scrub my hands clean, then my face.

Then I open the fridge and grab a bottle of beer.

As I open it, I wonder if it’s the same brand that Nix used to smash him over the head.

I swish the beer around in my mouth before spitting it out in the sink. Then I drink the rest, washing away the last lingering taste of his blood as I walk back to the door leading into the garage.

Eyeing the bottle, then the glowing corpse, I decide that yes, he’s probably been drinking the same brand for seven years.

With that thought, I grip the bottle by the neck and chuck it at the dead man.

It hits him on the head. Just like Nix did.

Only, instead of breaking, it knocks the head loose.

I watch as his face rolls off his ass, toward the front corner of the garage, flinging little burning embers in every direction.

I sigh. Merde.

Turning back around, I walk back out of the house, the way I came, leaving the front door unlocked, like I found it.

But by the time I reach the street, I can already see smoke seeping from the edges of the garage door.

No one else is in the house. No pets. No other life source. But… I look at the houses on either side. How close they are.

Okay, so my Fire Touch needs some work.

I watch as a flicker of flames joins the smoke.

I look back down at my hands.

I wonder.