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Then he snapped his other hand forward, pinched out the flame, and flicked the lighter into the air to snap it closed.
She lifted her eyes to meet his. Impressive, but nothing supernatural. “Should I applaud or something?”
He turned his closed hand over and uncurled his fingers. “You tell me.”
She froze. Fire sat on his palm. Not like his hand was burning, but a suspended flame, as if his hand had lifted the plume of fire off a candlewick. A blue base climbed to orange and red as it flickered there.
“Let’s see a frat boy do that,” said Gabriel. The flame was big enough that it threw light on his face.
She uncurled from the chair and moved closer to the bed, unable to help herself. She reached out a hand to touch it. Her fingers brushed across the tip of the flame, feeling it nip at her fingertips.
“Careful,” said Chris. “Sometimes it looks for something real to burn.”
She couldn’t tear her eyes away. “What’s it burning now?”
“Energy,” said Gabriel.
“What energy?”
“Mine.”
Did that mean he was ... feeding the fire somehow? She swallowed, almost compelled to touch it again. A breeze whispered through the open window, lifting the ends of her hair. The flame flickered and jumped, biting at her outstretched hand.
She thought of the drums on the beach, the way they’d snapped fire at Tyler and Seth. She pulled her hand back. The fire began to swirl in the breeze, a tiny whirlwind of flame stretching higher in his palm.
Then it lifted clean off his hand, spinning wider and faster until it burned out into nothing. She couldn’t even smell smoke.
“I’d say you’re playing with fire,” said Nick from the doorway, “but it kind of loses effect when you really are.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” Gabriel rolled the closed lighter across his knuckles again. “I had it.”
“You had it this time,” said Chris. He paused, and there was a thread of envy in his voice. “Your control’s gotten better.”
“My control?” Gabriel grinned. “I’m not the one who brought down a tsunami on Sillery Bay.”
“Yeah, well.” Chris glanced at Becca, and he looked a bit sheepish. “That didn’t quite work out like I’d hoped.”
Becca had thought it was downright amazing, but she didn’t say that. “Are you worried about Tyler and Seth coming after you?”
“After that?” said Nick. “They ran.”
He sounded pleased. She’d wondered earlier what kind of parents Tyler would have, allowing him to run around with a gun. But Nick’s tone reminded her of something she’d read once in a textbook, about how guns were invented so man could level the playing field.
“They’re afraid of you,” she said softly. After watching the demonstration on the beach, she almost couldn’t blame them.
“Of course they’re afraid of us,” said Nick, his voice a bit dark. “That’s why they’re breaking the deal.”
“They’ll try to prove that we’re a danger to the community,” said Chris. He folded his arms and looked at Gabriel. “Some of us try a little harder to stay out of trouble at school.”
Gabriel sat up straight. “I haven’t gotten in a fight yet this year!”
Despite everything, that made her smile. “It’s September.”
He waved a hand. “Details.”
“So why do they care about me?” she asked. “I’m not involved in any of this.”
“They’re really after us, not you,” said Chris. “We scared them off tonight. That will buy us some time.”
