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I hardened.
I wanted.
I caressed her again.
Manipulating the shadow, I ordered it to graze over her lips. The sharp blistering connection between us made my heart fist and belly clench.
The shades weren’t just a part of me.
They are me.
A direct manifestation of my will, unbound from mortal form.
The longer I sank into its darkness, the more it pulsed and quickened, greedy for a command, hungry to create any shape I desired and complete any task I required.
I breathed heavily, picturing the infinite possibilities of what I could do with such a gift. A gift I didn’t know how I’d acquired, but a gift that felt as colossal and as powerful as the cloak of midnight that covered the world every evening.
I flexed with demands and more shadows tickled their way through my flesh, pouring into daylight, dancing over my eyes with their blotting darkness, twining around the fire and dampening its orange blaze. The fire hissed and popped as if in retaliation of my play.
Its bite of heat wrenched me back and I let my control go.
The shadows dissolved into nothing, vanishing back to where they’d come from.
Another few tense moments passed.
And then a few more.
The fire continued crackling away.
Runa sucked in a breath.
I stiffened, waiting for images to explode in my head, or a name to suddenly appear on my tongue.
But still...nothing.
Just us sitting between wildflowers with bees fascinated with Runa, a river chuckling with watery amusement, and wolves never taking their piercing eyes off us.
Eventually, Runa whispered, “I’ve tried speaking to it. I’ve tried asking for permission to tread within its flames, but it hasn’t responded.”
I ignored the fact that she knew how to talk to an element and chased away my many, many questions. Clutching her hand tighter, I spoke as quietly as she, “What else did you do with the Fire Reader? Forget the toxin and the symbols...was there anything else?”
She took a few moments before she replied, “There was a chant.”
“A chant?”
“Yes. He made me repeat it after him.”
“What was it?” I kept my eyes closed, twitching as a fly landed on my shoulder. I resisted the urge to summon a shadow to flick it away.
She murmured, ““Fire, fire, fire, we come willingly to thee. By your light, heat, and mercy, we are here to see. Guide, show, and teach for we will listen to all you say. Protect, defend, and shield for we are yours until the light of day.”
I mulled over the rhyme. “I suppose we could say that. Or something similar. It’s day now, so perhaps that part should be changed.”
“You’re right.”
My skin prickled as Runa shifted closer, her crossed knee nudging mine.
“Do you mind if I try one that’s more suited to us?” she asked softly.
My body hardened into discomfort, distracting me with how near she was. I was grateful her eyes were closed so she wouldn’t see the pelt over my lap rising. “Go ahead.”
Wriggling a little, she said, “Repeat after me and hopefully the fire replies. I don’t really have any ideas otherwise. Don’t let go of me and focus entirely on the fire. Ready?”
I squeezed her hand in answer, keeping my eyes shut.
Inhaling, her voice hitched as she pondered over correct words. A bee darted between us with its droning hum. “Fire...w-we request your kindness. Give us guidance and cure our blindness. Grant us answers to what we’ve lost but be gentle with your chosen cost.”
My chest swelled with urgency.
I spoke over her, weaving a plea that unspooled from my heart. “Give us our history and Destini. Reveal our name and memory. Shed light on our darkness so we may finally be free.”
Runa stayed stiff beside me.
The occasional quake of her body rippled through our linked connection.
Yet again, nothing happened.
“Again,” I whispered, squeezing Runa’s hand.
We straightened; our voices blended into one.
“Fire, we request your kindness. Give us guidance and cure our blindness. Grant us answers to what we’ve lost but be gentle with your chosen cost. Give us our history and Destini. Reveal our name and memory. Shed light on our darkness so we may finally be free.”
Her soft voice threaded with my gruff one, light and dark, pure and deep.
The words fell around us, sizzling into the fire.
I held my breath...waiting.
The waiting dragged on, slipping swiftly into disappointment.
Runa’s hand stuck to mine with shared perspiration.
The sun seemed to erupt with blanketing brightness, searing my eyelids and turning the unseen world gold.
Anger replaced my disappointment.
Frustration made my teeth clench and muscles lock with annoyance.
I’d had enough.
I’d put too much hope into a fire that I despised. Perhaps that was why it didn’t want to help me. It knew I would rather douse every flame I ever found than use it to worship and live by.
Exhaling with terse temper, I wrenched open my eyes.
And choked on fire as I fell onto flame-licking knees.
