Ignited

by A. M. Deese

  Ash called out across the arena, and she watched with interest as the fat man approached. He walked slow. Kay giggled at the way his body shifted from side to side as he made his way toward them. He walks just like a duck.

  Ash was serious when he greeted him, so Kay tried to be serious too.

  “Hello, my little hellion. I hope you’re staying out of trouble.” The fat man patted her on the head, and she smiled at him. She didn’t know why Ash didn’t like him. He was one of the good guys. She could tell.

  “Hello, sir.” She decided to be polite. Mama would have swatted her bottom good for calling the man fat last time. Mama said she could never tell someone they were fat, ugly, or stupid. She didn’t understand why it was so bad. It was the truth and Mama said she shouldn’t lie.

  Ash and the fat man begun to talk, so she turned her attention back to Kindle and the bad guy. The fight was getting intense. The bad guy moved the flames from the surrounding torches and threw them at Kindle. She was able to catch them and throw them back. Kay was surprised. Kindle had never mentioned that she was special too. She watched the two of them throw flames and poke their sticks at one another. It was terrifying and amazing at the same time. Maybe Ash had saved Kay because he wanted her to be special like Kindle. She thought about this, turning the idea over in her head. She liked that phrase. Daddy said it often, and she always pictured the word doing cartwheels in her brain. I-d-e-a. That spelled idea and—the fat man was speaking to her again. She focused on what he was saying.

  “—fire dancing? I bet you’re excited to show me your own skills with the flame. When can I expect a demonstration?”

  Demonstration? Kay thought it over. She thought the word meant showing someone how to do something. Did the fat man want her to show him how to do what Kindle was doing? Impossible. The fat man had no fire sense, she could tell. She shook her head and frowned up at Ash. She hadn’t told Ash what she could do, so she had better not show the fat man how special she was.

  “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know how to demonstrate fire tossing.” There. She was pretty proud of herself. Not only had she used the new word in a sentence, she also hadn’t lied. Well, not exactly anyway. She really didn’t know how to demonstrate how she was special. She just was. And she had called the fat man sir, so she had been polite too. Mama would have been proud.

  For some reason, her answer made the fat man angry. His voice was loud and quick and he was frowning a lot. Was he angry at Ash? Kay hoped she hadn’t gotten her friend in trouble. Maybe the fat man was Ash’s boss. Ash put his hands in the air and spoke quickly. He looked worried.

  There was a loud pop to her right. Kay turned her head in time to see a ball of flame hit Kindle in the chest. Her friend fell backwards, landing on her back and breathing hard. Kay was worried. She knew that Kindle wore a chest plate made of dragon scales. Dragon scales were fire proof, but what if the bad guy’s fire had hit her someplace else? What if she burned like Mama? Kay Breathed in heat.

  The bad guy wasn’t playing fair. He and Kindle had been tossing flames back and forth at each other using the fire from the torches. Now the bad guy was moving multiple flames at a time, spitting them out at Kindle in short rapid bursts. He was throwing the fire too fast for Kindle to keep up. Kay knew that Kindle wasn’t as special as she was because if she was, she would just Breathe in the flames the bad guy tossed at her. Kay twisted her hands together, wondering if she should try to help.

  Ash and the fat man were arguing now, she ignored them and Breathed in more heat. Kindle and her opponent both had power, but neither of them were as special as she was.

  The bad guy shot another tiny ball of fire toward Kindle. She managed to catch this one, but just barely.

  I won’t let him hurt her.

  Kay Breathed in more heat. There was so much of it. There were torches all around. The sun was a giant ball of fire above her and the sands were hot below. There was heat everywhere. She sucked it all in. She’d forgotten how glorious it felt to Breathe so deeply. The world grew bright around her. She felt big and strong like Daddy. She was ready to show the bad guy what it really meant to be special.

  She was ready to give him a demonstration.

  The bad guy sent another flame up into his hand. Kay Breathed it in too before exploding a giant wall of flame out toward the bad guy. She wouldn’t hurt him. Mama and Daddy would never approve. But she would make sure he couldn’t hurt Kindle.

  The flame wall encircled the bad guy, towering over him and blocking him off from Kindle. Kay thrust out her arms, Breathing in more heat and adding it toward her already massive flame wall. The bad guy stumbled back, falling on his butt and turning to stare at Kay in wonder.

  They all were. Feeling dozens of eyes on her, Kay Breathed out and extinguished the flame, panting softly. Everyone in the field was staring at her. Ash’s mouth was hanging open, and the fat man seemed very happy. He was the only one who seemed happy. Everyone else just stared.

  She cast her eyes toward the ground. Uh oh. I think I did a bad thing.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  JURA

  “This is a bad idea,” Tylak whispered in her ear.

  “I thought we had to stay quiet.”

  He frowned at her. The two huddled against a stone wall in the Third’s banquet room. Tylak had explained that it was easier to bend firelight the closer he was to the source of light, so the two had stayed against the walls bearing torches.

  Jura tired of waiting. It had been nearly two weeks since the discovery of her father’s blood chain. She finally felt close to exposing the mystery. But instead of action, she stood paralyzed against a wall. As much as she didn’t want to admit the Third could be behind everything, she dismissed Tylak’s argument that it was Amira. That thought was ridiculous and she was excited to finally have some answers.

  Soon, everything will be over. She could feel it in her gut.

  The luncheon had begun to die down. The guests had clearly all eaten. The men were lounging in the high-backed leather chairs of the Third’s smoke room, passing around hookahs and sipping on sweetened fermented cactus juice.

  Most of the ladies had already retired. Although Denir and Fatima stood whispering in serious conversation.

  “We should get closer to them,” Jura murmured, eyeballing a tray laden with sweetened delicacies meant to be enjoyed after one’s meal. Flames, but she was starved. She reached out a hand and Tylak slapped it down.

  “Are you trying to get us caught?” His voice darkened in warning.

  “Sorry.” She rubbed at her slapped hand and popped half a tart in her mouth. It was delicious. “We can’t just stand here all afternoon. We’ll never get any information that way.”

  His look suggested that he wished to strangle her, but he pulled her forward toward Denir and Fatima.

  The Eleventh was leaning toward the Fourth, speaking in earnest tones. “The child is absolutely power hungry. I know I’ll think twice before angering this family.”

  Denir yawned before a lazy smile played across her lips. “I think she’s frightened. It’s natural for her to assert herself after being granted interim power. At least she’s doing a better job of it than the daughter of the First. Justir is lucky to still have his seat after leaving her in charge.”

  Jura ground her teeth and threw her tart at Denir’s rump. Tylak shot her a warning glance. She smiled back sweetly.

  Denir brushed the crumbs away, confusion written on her face as she tried to find the source of the attack.

  “That’s another thing. What was that mysterious illness of his? He certainly seems back to his old self now.” Fatima gestured across the room. Jura and Denir both turned to stare at the First who stood with his back to them in the smoke room. The First neither drank nor smoke, choosing instead to listen to the conversation around him.

  Amira sauntered toward the women, a large smile pasted on her face. Her face was done up. Her eyelids heavily lined and her lips painted red, but she still
wore the ceremonial robes from the earlier council session. The robes formed and flowed around her. They fit perfectly and gave her a regal look that was a far cry from the way Jura drowned in them.

  “Ladies, I hope you’re enjoying yourselves?”

  “Of course. Your luncheon was positively divine,” Fatima gushed.

  Denir nodded and lifted her wine glass slightly. “We were just speaking about you. Quite the impressive display. I believe I may have misjudged you before. Clearly you have a real future in politics.”

  Amira lifted a glass of chilled wine from a passing tray and sipped delicately. “People often underestimate a pretty face.”

  Denir smiled. “I couldn’t agree more. I’m surprised the daughter of the First is not in attendance. I thought you two were thick as honey.”

  “And still are. Poor thing has taken to her rooms for a much needed nap. I think the morning session took a lot out of her,” Amira responded.

  “Yes, today’s session was quite—” Fatima was interrupted by Denir.

  “Intense.” Denir finished for her.

  Amira cocked her head to the side. “Intense? Whatever do you mean?”

  “It’s not every meeting that nearly the entire council moves up in Rank,” Fatima offered. “In fact, I can’t recall a time this has ever happened before.”

  “They say there’s a first time for everything.” Amira smiled. “If you two will excuse me, I must make my rounds.”

  She floated away and Jura watched her leave. Fatima began speaking about the wine selection. Jura pulled at Tylak’s arm. They’d discovered everything worth knowing here.

  The two stayed close to the wall and walked around the perimeter of the room, Jura directed them toward the private chambers of the Third. Amira was sometimes strange and she had always been a spoiled rich girl, but despite her snobbery Jura refused to believe that her friend would ever do anything to hurt her. Amira was her best friend. Her sister in every way except blood. It was time to find Amira’s father and prove to everyone that he was behind her father’s blood chain.

  Leaving the main room, Jura pulled Tylak along the deserted hallway that led to the private chambers of the Third. They found him in his study, hunched over his desk engrossed in his reading. She started forward but Tylak pulled her back into the hall, shaking his head. He leaned close so he could whisper in her ear.

  “Be careful, there’s not much light in there.”

  “I have to get closer to him. I have to see what he’s reading. It could be the proof we need to expose everything.” She pulled against his grasp, but he held tight, refusing to budge.

  “Looks like just a book to me. How will that prove anything?”

  She tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. “He’s reading a book from Kitoi,” she hissed back. “Look at the way it’s bound. It’s stitched with horse hair. We use dragon bone and camel. The book proves that he’s brought back articles from Kitoi. A blood chain could have just as easily been one such item.” She squinted at the words on the cover of the book. “If only I could read the cover.”

  “Xao Shin, The Five Elements and Properties of Blood.”

  She stared up at Tylak in wonder. “I didn’t know you could read.”

  “Of course I can, how many times do I have to tell you I’m not a slave.” He stiffened and pulled Jura close against him. “We have company.”

  Amira stomped past them and came to a quick stop in front of her father. She tapped her foot impatiently until she had his attention.

  The Third jumped in alarm and slowly set the book down, an uneasy smile spreading across his face. “Amira dear, I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Not surprising, father, considering how engrossed you were in your reading.”

  “I’ll admit the book has a curious title. I found myself drawn to it.”

  Amira crossed her arms. “Yes, I suppose the magnetic pull from it was such that you felt you had to remove it from my room.”

  Jura felt goosebumps form along the length of her arms. This was wrong. Amira didn’t talk this way, and Amira couldn’t be forced to read anything, not even her studies. In all their years of being friends, Jura had never seen her friend so much as glance at a book, never mind own one.

  The Third also appeared nervous. He closed the book and handed it to her with trembling hands. “Well, you can have it back.” When Amira reached for the book, her father grabbed her hand, snaking his hand out quick as a viper and holding her wrist tight. He pulled up the sleeve of her robe to expose a tiny dangling chain.

  Jura choked back a gasp.

  The Third released Amira and fell back as though he’d been slapped, staring up at his daughter in wonder.

  “No. That can’t be,” he whispered.

  “What is it, father?”

  Jura couldn’t see Amira’s expression because her back was to her, but she could hear the smile in her voice.

  “A master blood chain,” the Third whispered. Jura strained to hear. “You’re wearing a master chain.”

  “Of course it is. Did you think I was being controlled?” she laughed.

  Tylak’s grip on her arm tightened.

  “How…What…Who—”

  “Where and why?” Amira giggled. “Let’s see, what shall I answer first? I’m controlling the First, have been ever since we returned to the Palace. Ever since you dragged your precious daughter to Kitoi with the thought of deepening your pockets. And what a fortuitous trip that was. Sorry about your son. I know what it means to lose your boy, but we needed Dahr dead. And Antar’s death was a handy way to accomplish this.”

  “Amira—”

  “Is in Kitoi where you left her, foolish man. Don’t worry, she’s still very much alive, which is more than I can say for you.”

  “Arbe!” The Third’s voice had taken on a desperate quality.

  “They won’t come. We’ve gotten rid of them. And Jura’s. Just like we intend to get rid of anyone else that stands in our way. We are everywhere. You can’t stop us.”

  He stood quickly in his chair, reaching for the dagger strapped to his waist.

  Before he could unsheathe his weapon, Amira leapt over the desk, her fingers reaching for his throat.

  Her body changed. Jura felt her knees buckle and would have fallen if Tylak hadn’t held her from behind. No longer Amira, but a tall, slim, hairless creature with tightly stretched, gray skin and unnaturally long arms choked the life from the Third. The Third flailed his arms, desperate to gain hold of his assailant, when the creature suddenly bit into the Third’s neck and drank deeply.

  It’s drinking his blood! Jura was going to be sick. She felt herself be lifted from the ground, but barely registered the fact that Tylak was carrying her down the hall and away from the horror filled room. Her friend was behind her father’s blood chains. Her friend was replaced by a blood sucking monster. The Third was dying. He was probably dead. This was wrong. Everything was wrong. She couldn’t see anything. Didn’t want to see anything. There was so much red, and then the world went blissfully black.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  BESHAR

  The day had a less than wonderful start, but what a finish. It was the most glorious day ever. He’d been in a horrible mood when he’d left Denir’s chambers. First to watch poor Dahr’s sentencing. The man was innocent, any fool could see that. And then to waste his one chance at blackmailing Denir. He’d managed to bully her into giving him the boy’s birthstone, but when they’d gone to retrieve it they’d discovered that the damned Shadow Dancer had already broken in and retrieved it himself.

  He’d been furious. He was just getting ready to wring Ash’s thick neck, well order someone else to do it in any case, when the little cadet had dazzled them all. What a spectacular display. She was amazing. It was inspiring. She was worth every drop Ash had paid for her ten times over. He was beside himself with joy. Not only did he own the most spectacular dragon, but he now owned the top two cadets in the arena. He was unstoppab
le.

  He’d wanted her to show her amazing skill again, but the poor child had been overwhelmed and exhausted. Kindle had stood over her glaring at him until he’d backed away. He’d made do with slapping Ash enthusiastically on the back before leaving the arena.

  He was stopped by two men wearing the loose red tunics of the arena council. He frowned. If the council wanted to raise membership dues again, he’d have words with them.

  “Beshar. Quite the display in the sands today.” Tommon smiled at him. He was a tall elderly gentleman with thick white hair that hung loose and flowed to his shoulders. His black eyes were dark and beady like a rat’s. Though in polite society Beshar outranked them, such laws didn’t apply to life in the arena. The council called him by his first name as was their right. Still, it irked him.

  “Thank you, gentlemen.” He stepped forward to move past them, but the two moved closer together, blocking his way.

  “Was there something else?”

  “We’re concerned about your cadet’s training.” Viktor crossed his arms over his chest. He was a short man, barrel chested with ruddy cheeks and thinning hair.

  No need to question which cadet they meant.

  “We feel she’d be better suited with a certified arena trainer,” added Tommon.

  Beshar’s defenses immediately flared up. He didn’t like sharing his toys. He stared from one man to the other. “Ash Fire Dancer has more than proven his skill in the arena. And you’ve never questioned my choice in trainers before.” He raised his eyebrows.

  “Naturally, the council agrees with you. Ash was an exemplary gladiator and surely a talented trainer. But don’t you suppose, given that this specific cadet is so vastly talented, that she would be best served directly under the supervision of the arena council?” Viktor’s voice dropped an octave, and he leaned forward cracking his knuckles.