The Fire Eaters
The fire eaters gnash their pointy teeth at us, screeching and bellowing demonically. They are filthy creatures, naked and barefoot, dwarf-like but strong and big. One of them lunges at me, mouth open, ready to rip my throat out. I run my fist into his jaw as strongly as I can, ignoring the pain I feel when his sharp teeth collide against my knuckles. The creature crashes against the wall to my left, squirming and yelping, and then falls to the ground, immobile.
The other three monsters look at me stupidly, and then run straight at us.
“Stick to the plan, guys!” I hear Shane yell. They get into fighting stance. I jump off the ground and over the fire eaters, kicking one of them hard on the face before I land next to Shane.
“What’s up?” I say. “Long time no see.” He smirks while kicking away another one of the beasts.
“Friend of yours?” he says, pointing at Kismet, who is now holding her head and muttering under her breath.
“Long story,” I say.
“Yeah, thought so.” He grabs my shirt and swings me out of the way. My back hits the hard cement ground, and I grunt in pain. I get up, ignoring the pain, and see Shane walking toward Kismet, kicking the dead babies with the crushed skulls aside.
My eyes widen as I realize what he’s about to do. “No! Don’t touch her!” Before I can reach them, Shane kicks Kismet in the head. She buckles over and rolls on the floor, twitching involuntarily. I run toward her and kneel beside her, checking her pulse. She’s still alive…thank God. She’s still here; she’s still alive; she’s still mine.
“You gave me a day, you fucking traitor.” I snarl at Shane, getting up and pushing him hard in the chest.
“Me? A Traitor?” He says, pushing me back. “That’s rich. I gave you a day, but I didn’t say anything about her.”
“You touch her again, and I’ll kill you,” I say, pulling out my knives.
Alesha screams behind us, and Shane holds up a finger. “Hold that thought.” He turns around and runs toward Alesha. She’s cowering against the wall behind a dead fire eater, looking down at the zombie-like creature with glazed eyes, completely frozen in fear. “Damn it, Alesha! Get in there!” Shane runs toward her and pull her up. “Come on, I’ve got your back.” He pushes her into the fight. She shrieks but starts fighting as if she were possessed. Another fire eater shrieks after she tears a chunk of black, filthy hair off his scalp.
“What am I doing standing here like an idiot?” I mutter to myself. I’m about to turn around, grab Kismet, and flee the scene when I notice Kyle. Bits of flesh and muscle have been bitten out of his arms and legs, which are bleeding heavily. The fire eater he’s fighting, on the other hand, seems unharmed. Oh no, Kyle…
Shane notices him the same time I do and grabs the monster by the hair, slamming him against its brother. They both smash into the ground, and Shane steps down onto their skulls with a sickening crunch. A blackish liquid seeps out of their eyes and nostrils and mouth, and their limbs twitch for a while before going completely still.
The remaining fire eater stops dead in his tracks after he sees his companions getting killed in front of his eyes, and then looks up at Shane. In his black, bat-like eyes I see a sort of intelligence.
“We’re Immortals,” Shane says. “You don’t mess with us.”
The fire eater’s face contorts in anger, and he hisses at Shane before turning around toward the back of the alleyway and fleeing. Brandon and Piper stop him in his tracks. Brandon punches him once in the face, and once in the chest. He makes a raspy sound and falls to his knees.
“Kill him now!” I yell, despite myself. Seeing Piper so close to a fire eater chills me to my bones. I wish I could protect her somehow, but I can’t, not with Kismet lying unconscious behind me.
Shane runs over and kicks him hard in the side of his head, and Brandon jams his fist into his neck, harder than I have ever seen him hit. Piper finishes him off by stepping onto his skull and crushing it.
And that is all.
Shane smiles, I sigh in relief, and all of a sudden, Kyle’s screams echo throughout the alley. “No, ALESHA!” I see him pushing Alesha out of the way just in time to save her from a fire eater who sprang up from the ground pretending to be dead in order to tear Alesha’s heart out of her chest. He bites down on Kyle’s chest instead, and I go cold. Kyle screams as the fire eaters’s long nails rip his flesh apart, his sharp teeth gnawing their way into his heart cavity.
I react at the same time Shane does. Both of us run and tackle the fire eater to the ground. I punch the demon once, twice, three times in the face, and Shane hits him in the chest until he breaks his ribs. The monster yelps and screams and finally goes silent as we beat him into a bloody pulp. Shane finishes him off by severing his head off his body with his bare hands.
And we both stay there, neither of us turning around for fear of what we may find behind us. And then we do…
Kyle is lying on the floor, choking on his own blood, a hole the size of a fist carved out in his chest. A heavyness settles on my own heart. He won’t make it.
“Save him,” Shane whispers to me, not daring to look him me in the eye.
“What?”
“Just… just try.”
My powers don’t work on Immortals. They are immune to us. Unless… I take a deep breath. “Don’t kill Kismet, and it’s a deal.” I whisper back.
Shane nods, and my heart rate speeds up. Am I really doing this? Am I really going to attempt the impossible? Unless it’s not so impossible. Not anymore. “Give the order.” I say.
“Nobody touch the woman!” Shane screams to the rest of the tribe, without looking at them.
“This will be the last thing I ever do for you or for your people,” I say, voice dry. Then I stand up and walk over to Kyle. He’s still alive, but only by a thread.
He’s sprawled on the ground, white-faced and speechless. His chest is torn open, massive amounts of blood pouring out of his body and onto the floor. His eyes are closed, and he’s breathing rapidly, feverishly.
I kneel down next to him and touch him gently on the forehead.
“Kyle,” I whisper. Kyle opens his eyes and looks up at me, holding up his hand to mine with the little strength he has. I feel the golden, warm glow inside of me pour out of my eyes, only this time, it’s as gentle as silk. It laces around Kyle’s chest, fixing the broken skin and nerves tenderly. It doesn’t take anything out of me. It doesn’t demand anything in return. It’s natural and benign.
It’s different.
Kyle’s face and eyes light up as he receives the healing power into his body. I smile at him, never blinking or looking away. New muscle and flesh cover his open wound, faster than I could have ever healed before. Kyle takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, and I can feel his pain gone. His heart skips a beat before slowly returning back to its normal rhythm. There is now smooth skin where there had been a cavity, and Kyle is healed.
My eyes stop glowing. I’m not hungry for life. “Everything has changed,” I say, turning to Shane, the soft tenderness that I used to heal suddenly transforming into a feeling of steely realization. “If I can heal Immortals with my power…then that means I can kill them too.”
Power Shift
Shane looks away.
“Did you not hear me?” I say, louder than before. “I can kill you if I want to, you piece of trash. I can kill you more easily than I can blink. How does that feel?”
Shane stands up, not looking at me. “Daniel, I know you’re upset—”
“I said how does that feel, you manipulative bastard?” I yell, and I grab him by the collar. He puts his hands up and shuts his eyes tight. I want to kill him so bad for hurting Kismet. My knuckles are trembling, the power inside me transforming from silky soft currents into volcanic eruptions of activity.
“No, I won’t kill you,” I say, and push him to the floor, reigning in the waves of power sloshing aimlessly inside me.
“Then go away, Daniel, and tak
e your whore with you,” he says, finally opening his eyes and giving me the full force of his glare. “Because you’re pissing me off, and you better believe I won’t go down without a fight.”
“Fine.” I snap. “Then there’s nothing more to say. Tell your tribe not to follow me.”
He stares at me long and hard, and then nods. “You heard him, people. Let him go.”
“But—” Brandon starts to say.
“I said, LET HIM GO!”
I walk past Alesha, Morgana, and finally Brandon. I look Brandon coldly in the eye, and then send a little jolt of pain his way. Not enough to take his life, just enough to see if I can deliver these shocks in limited doses. Brandon gasps and clutches his chest, his eyes widening in fear.
“What did you…?”
“Interesting, isn’t it?” I say.
“Daniel, just leave,” Shane says sharply.
“Right away,” I say, giving him the brightest smile I have. Piper runs to my side.
“Piper, what do you think you’re doing?” Shane says, disbelief written over his face.
But she says nothing, just looks down at Kismet first and then up at me.
“Goodbye, everybody.” I say, my voice flat. “It’s been fun.” Before anyone reacts, I grab Kismet’s limp body up from the floor and run away.
Piper follows close behind.
-*-
We reach the abandoned house, and I set Kismet down on the floor. Her breathing has become regular.
“Are you sure they aren’t going to follow us?” Piper says.
“Shane gave me a day to get out of here.”
She raises an eyebrow. “You trust him?”
“What choice do I have?”
I sit next to Kismet and touch her forehead. Regular temperature, regular breathing… It seems she’s going to be okay after all.
“Umm… Daniel?” Piper says.
“What?” I snap.
“Please try to be extra careful around me from now on, okay?”
I sigh. “I’ve got it under control. Relax.”
She bites her lips. “You sure?”
I look up at her. “Yeah.”
Then I take Kismet’s hands in mine and try to heal her scars. It doesn’t work. A heaviness sets on me when I realize my power still has no effect on my own kind.
“It’s weird picturing Shane as a mortal enemy,” Piper says, talking nervously. “I mean, will I have the strength to kill them if it it’s necessary? If worst came to worst, and we meet each other again in the future, could I destroy them? Would they be able to destroy me?”
“Are you with me on this?” I say. “Because if you’re not, you’d better get out of here fast.”
“Of course I’m with you!” she says, voice cracking. She doesn’t speak after that, only glances now and again at Kismet.
“We’ll wait by her side until she wakes up, and then we take off,” I say, and she nods. We sit in the darkness, and everything is silent except for Kismet’s slow breathing. Hours pass, but I never leave her side.
All of a sudden, there’s a knock on the door. Piper and I stand up at once, tensed for a fight.
“Protect her,” I say, pointing at Kismet. Piper stands in front of her. I walk slowly to the door, steeling myself for whatever I would find. Shane, Brandon, anyone.
I’ll kill them all.
I pull the door back in one swift motion and stare at the man standing before me. He is tall, and his black, smooth hair falls down to his shoulders, framing his angular face and his bright, cunning eyes. He is dressed in a long, white robe, like always, and there’s a boy standing beside him, dressed in the same attire.
It’s Rafael.
He’s found me at last.
-*-
I stare at Rafael, my mouth forming words, but no sound coming out. He stares back, and there is something like empathy in his eyes.
“Why…Why are you here?” I finally say.
He stares past me at Piper, beaming at her before turning his eyes back to me. “I’m here because of your newly acquired powers.”
“How did you track me down?”
Morgana, I swear to God if that awful scar isn’t fullproof—
“Oh, please, do you really think the Prophetess’s powers are so weak that she won’t see a mass murder in the making?”
I blink. “Oh.”
“How did you do it?” He says, narrowing his eyes and giving me a curious little smile.
“I didn’t choose this,” I say, almost too furious to answer. “I didn’t choose any of it.”
He holds up a hand, looking bored. “Ah, Daniel. You haven’t changed at all. You’re still the same, simple-minded boy.”
“And you’re still the same sociopathic, power-hungry tyrant.”
His smile deepens. “I don’t mean to intrude upon you in such an inelegant manner, but it’s cold outside, and Philippe and I would very much like to come in,” he says in the voice he uses when he’s addressing our people in public. It’s soft and benevolent, and completely full of shit. The hairs prick up on my skin, danger signals going off in my head.
“Or what?”
His eyes flash dangerously. “There’s two of us and one of you,” he says. “Not counting the Immortal. I can kill her whenever I please.”
My fists curl into a ball. I measure them, not sure if I’m strong enough to fight them both at the same time. Something tells me not to risk it, not now, not after he just threatened Piper.
“Piper, close your eyes,” I say without looking back at her, my voice even. I open the door and stand aside. They walk in. They stride into the middle of the room and just stand there. I close the door. “Curious little thing, isn’t she?” he says, eyeing Piper, who’s crouching in front of Kismet in a protective stance, her eyes shut. “She is guarding your friend so fiercely. How sweet.” He smiles, and in that smile, outwardly so innocent, I see cunning, cruelty, and a fierce determination.
Nothing would make me happier than to wipe it off his face for good.
“Kismet must be very tired after her ordeal.” He pretends to be concerned. “I’m surprised she’s alive at all. Do you know—and this is a very interesting fact—that fire eaters tend to eat their own mothers after they give birth to them? I’m sure it’s not easy to give birth to several calcified babies. How is she, anyway?”
“She’s beaten up very badly. But she will heal,” I say, trying to imitate his tone, play the game, gain some time until I figure out what the fuck my next move is.
“Did you try to heal her yourself?” he asks me.
“Yes. It didn’t work.”
“No, of course it didn’t,” he says impatiently. “But you did happen to heal an Immortal tonight.” It’s not a question; it’s a statement.
I swallow. “You followed me?” He nods once, smiling warmly. He followed me this whole night and I never realized it? Shane never realized it, nobody did?
Cold sweat forms in my temples, and I clench my fists. “So what do you want, my transmuted friend?”
He stares at my fists and chuckles. “I see you’re familiar with the term.” P
“I know about what happened in Seattle,” I say.
Rafael taps his fingers together. “What exactly do you know, boy?”
I laugh. “What game are you playing at, Rafael?”
His smile tightens. “This isn’t a game, boy,” he says, “Don’t you understand? We are special.”
He walks closer to Piper and Kismet, and I step in front of them.
“I won’t hurt them,” he says impatiently. “I just have something to show you.”
I tense, but remain where I am. “Why should I believe you?”
“I want to heal her, Daniel.” He says, staring straight into my eyes. “Please let me.”
He brushes past me, and I quickly turn around and kneel next to Kismet, too afraid to fight him in her delicate condition nearby.
Slowly, gently, he lifts up Kismet’s shirt and exposes her b
ruised and scratched stomach. Then he sweeps one hand, the one with the scar from where I stabbed him, over her bare skin, and the bruises and the scratches completely disappear, even the scars disappear, leaving her skin soft and smooth and tight as if it were brand new, as if she had never been tortured or pregnant. A small sigh of relief escapes her lips.
I stare at him in awe. No, that’s… impossible?
“Like I said, we’re special.” He smiles, standing up. “You are only the beginning, my killer boy.”
“I am not your killer,” I say. “I serve no one but myself.”
“Come, Daniel. And lead a life like yours?” He scoffs. “You shouldn’t be hiding in the shadows, living a sad little exiled life. You should lead with me. You should rule alongside me. People with great power, like you and I, shouldn’t be enemies.”
“You forced me to go away,” I spit out. “You forced me away from my people, from her. You wanted me dead!” I am yelling now. “If it weren’t for you, none of this would have ever happened.” It takes every ounce of control I have to not lunge at him and wring his neck. I can’t do that, because if he can heal our kind…well. I don’t know what else he can do to us.
He raises his hands, his eyes widening.
“Daniel, please understand,” he says. “Do you know how my people view me? They see me as the incarnation of a god.”
“I find that especially primitive,” I say.
“And I find that powerful,” he says, a dangerous flash in his eyes.
“Then why do you want me now? What’s changed?”
“You’re not a threat to me anymore now, Daniel,” His eyes light up. “Not now that I have it all. We could work and even lead together, young man.”
“What are you talking about?” I say. “I’m not a leader. I never was.”
“Leaders can be made, Daniel,” he says. “We could do great things, you and I.”
“Why does it feel like you’re lying to me?” I take a few steps closer to him and grit my teeth. “Why does it feel like you’re trying to use me for some reason I don’t know?”
His stare darkens. “You don’t understand, Daniel. You’re still too young.”
The Sun Child (The Sun Child Saga Book 1) Page 24
