Fire Within: Book Two of Fire and Stone (Stories of Fire and Stone 2)

by Stephanie Beavers

  Well, there will likely still be luminescence from the gem when you use any ability related to it, Verett informed him. But is this satisfactory?

  “Uh, yes. Wow. Thanks,” Esset said, still a little stunned. A small corner of him was secretly pleased about this exciting new addition. Maybe he hadn’t grown up entirely.

  You’re welcome. It was clear that Verett found Esset’s reaction rather amusing. Why don’t you try it out? You should be able to call fire without trouble. Hold your hand out, palm up, and will a small flame to alight above it.

  Esset obeyed and the small fire lit with barely a thought for encouragement. Esset was mesmerized; when he closed his hand, the fire extinguished.

  Excellent, it worked exactly as we hoped. I don’t expect you’ll have further difficulties. Really, this is how your bond with the phoenix should have worked to begin with. I would guess that the phoenix had never attempted such a thing on a person with no inborn magical abilities before, except perhaps the first summoner, but that was very different from your case.

  Esset held his palm out and called fire again, and it appeared with as little effort. It likewise vanished.

  You should also be immune to your own fire, but I would be cautious in testing that, Verett added wryly. Esset grinned at the giant blue ferret.

  “You have no idea how amazing this is,” Esset said. Then he thought about that. “Well, maybe you do, if you can see inside my head, but still.” He summoned and banished a flame once more, for good measure, then lowered his head and decided to at least try to act like an adult again.

  “I have got to show this to Toman,” Esset added.

  Steady, Verett responded, not moving out of Esset’s path to the door. Jonas is speaking with your adopted brother. It would be best if we waited until they are through conferring. In the meantime, I was hoping to learn more of your life—we all would like that. I was hoping you would oblige in sharing with us.

  Esset couldn’t help but feel odd about the request; on one hand, he wondered how his life could possibly be that interesting to them—although perhaps sharing would be a good way to find out. Further, he already felt like his privacy was being intruded upon by the phoenix, in watching through his eyes. On the other hand, he did feel that he owed them, no matter what Verett said. And really, what could it hurt?

  Please, don’t feel pressured to comply. Share nothing, or only what you are comfortable with. I merely suggest it out of curiosity and as a way to pass time until Toman and Tseka are free.

  “I’ll do it,” Esset said after a moment. He wasn’t sure what the reasons for his decision were, but he supposed it didn’t matter overmuch in the end.

  Thank you. You can simply speak to me, or, if you prefer, you could simply call up memories of your past. Others will witness through me.

  “Uh, okay,” Esset said. He sat down on the bed and shifted uncomfortably for a moment before considering where and how to start. In the end, he decided to speak.

  “Well, when I was little, I always dreamed of adventure and stuff, but honestly, I was an introverted little bookworm. I probably never would have done any of it. That changed when I met Toman. The guards saw him wandering outside the city walls; a ragged little boy wearing gloves and an oversized, floppy-brimmed hat. He ran away when they approached, so they recruited me to go talk to him. Meeting Toman was the best thing that ever happened to me. He changed my outlook on everything. I’m a year older than him, but most of the time, he acted the older brother…” Esset told his story—his and Toman’s story, really—mostly using words, but also in calling up memories in his mind in hope that they would add color and understanding to his words.

  He told of walking in on Toman practicing animating, of their crazy imagined adventures in the hills. He talked about when they left Sedina for the first time, to expand their abilities by fighting in the Baliyan war against necromancers in the north. He moved on to talk about their exploits working with Sergeant Warthog, and finally about the Nadra and all that had followed. It was hard to talk about the loss of Toman’s arm and Lady Ateala, and their attempted battle with Moloch. It was even harder to talk about what came after.

  In the end, Esset found it surprisingly therapeutic to spill everything to the Ashiier. Toman had been distant since he’d been rescued. Esset didn’t blame him at all, but he still suffered for want of his brother’s company; sometimes, it felt like they’d only gotten Toman’s body back, and the rest of him was already dead and gone. He even confessed that to Verett; it was easy to forget that other Ashiier listened through him.

  Remarkable, Verett said when he was done. He had said nothing throughout the narration.

  Esset shrugged. He didn’t feel remarkable; he knew he’d done some good, but he felt that in the end, he’d failed where it most mattered.

  I mean that, Verett added. Ashiier don’t lie. And you haven’t failed, as you believe. I promise.

  Esset looked at the crystal ferret but was unable to detect anything but sincerity. Esset didn’t understand; something was just beyond his grasp. He reached for it for a moment, then let it slip away.

  I apologize. In bidding you to speak, I have left you drained in spirit. But I know something that will cheer you up. You are a scholar, a lover of knowledge as we are, and I know you have many questions. Would you care to exchange some information? Verett suggested.

  “Bright Hyrishal, I have so many questions,” Esset agreed with a grin. “But I’m not sure what I would have to offer in exchange.”

  Verett shrugged. You’ve already told us one story, and that offers us perspective. Even a story already known is a new story when told from a different perspective.

  “I guess that’s true. I still don’t know where to start.” Questions raced through Esset’s head, overwhelming his mind and leaving him shaking his head.

  How about something you wouldn’t be able to learn otherwise? Verett suggested. Esset’s mind locked on one subject.

  “Summoning,” Esset said. “I’m a summoner, and I have a Contract with the phoenix, but I really know so little about summoning and how it works…now more than ever.”

  Yes, that would be an elusive topic. How about we start with what you do know? Verett suggested. Or at least what you can tell us, because I know the Contract prohibits you from speaking of a few things. How did you come to be a summoner?

  “It was long enough ago that most of the details have been lost, but…” Esset gathered his bearings and decided to start at the beginning. “The first summoner in my line was a scholar by the name of Cormanth Esset. Like my father, he worked in the university for the Symrian King. He was born a few hundred years ago with no magical abilities to speak of.” Esset briefly wondered why the original summoner hadn’t had the same problem he’d had with the uncontrollable fire, but the circumstances had been different.

  He continued. “The time he lived in was full of unrest and threats to the kingdom. One such threat was a barbarian horde from a nation that no longer exists. They’d laid waste to much of the kingdom and had Sedina, the capital, under siege. The king was desperate to save his city and his people, and he turned to his scholars to find an answer. They researched day and night until my ancestor came across a tome that spoke of summoning creatures of fire.”

  Esset lifted up his summoner’s tome. “I don’t know how he could read it, since only summoners can, but read it he did, and he formed the first Contract and became the first summoner. The story goes that his summoning ability turned the tide of the battle. He unleashed creatures of fire on the barbarian horde and drove them back, saving the kingdom.” Esset smiled. The story had always inspired him: a scholar, the hero.

  “Now,” Esset continued, “when a descendant of his line comes of age, he can form a Contract of his own and gain the same ability to summon the fire creatures, as I did.”

  A fair account. Now what would you like to know? Verett asked.

  “The phoenix: how do you know her? I only met her recently, af
ter I summoned her, and no one here is even a summoner, as far as I know…” Although now Esset was wondering if one of the Ashiier were from his own line or one like it.

  No, no summoners here, Verett said, answering the unasked question first. But we do have ways of communing with those in worlds other than our own. We have too little time to discuss those other worlds, but suffice to say there are many, and most are drastically unlike our own, like the phoenix’s. Now, since she already has connections to this world, through summoning, her world is that much closer. Our interactions are rare, but we have learned much from one another.

  “She does seem…curious about our world,” Esset said. Verett simply inclined his head, but didn’t volunteer more. In truth, Esset’s mind wasn’t much on the phoenix anymore.

  That was not a question, Esset, Verett finally said. Esset blinked and realized he’d been silent for a few minutes.

  “No. I… Well, there’s something I’ve always wanted to know. About my summons. I’m just… There was no way to know before, but I’m afraid that if I did know the answer, and it was…a particular answer, that I couldn’t summon anymore. I can’t afford to not summon right now, but I know I’ll probably never get another chance to know.” Esset knew his explanation was garbled, but he couldn’t help it, not without saying what the question was. Although it belatedly occurred to him that Verett could probably see the question in his mind anyways.

  There was a brief pause, and Esset could only assume that Verett was considering how to answer.

  I can see in your mind that the answer you fear is not the answer you believe to be true. But belief is not knowledge. Will you ask? Verett didn’t seem inclined to give him an easy out.

  “I… Yes. I’ll ask.” Esset had to ask. “Are the creatures I summon willing to come when I call? Do they feel pain? Do they truly die when they take enough damage to be banished from our world? There’s so much I don’t know about them.”

  Let me answer those questions one at a time, Verett said. First, do they feel pain? Yes and no. It is not pain as you would think of it, although they are aware when they take damage.

  Esset nodded; that was in line with what he’d seen. He’d noticed that the fire creatures knew when they took damage; they would evade or retaliate as per their nature, but injury never slowed them down, which suggested they didn’t feel pain.

  Verett continued. Do they die? No. They simply lose their connection to our world for a time and are forced to return to their own. They can even return another time when the energy has had a chance to renew itself. And as for your last question…you know the answer already. It’s in your Contract, after all.

  Esset blinked and tried to figure out what he meant. Wasn’t the Contract with the phoenix? Did she control all the other summons somehow, so if she was willing, they were too? No, that didn’t make sense. What about—Verett cut the train of thought short.

  Your birds must fly, Verett said. Your horses must run. Your wolves must fight.

  Esset blinked again. How did Verett know that? Clearly the Ashiier knew more about the phoenix and her Contract than he’d told him, because that wasn’t something he was free to say aloud. Then again, they could read his mind…

  You’re not thinking about the answer, Verett chided, but with good humor.

  Esset considered what Verett had said. “So you’re saying…it’s a trade, not a command, when I summon them.”

  Verett nodded. Indeed. They are happy to come as long as you fulfill the terms of your agreement.

  “But what about now? The phoenix said I didn’t need to follow those rules anymore,” Esset said.

  Verett acknowledged that with a nod. That is true. That is why it attests to a good heart that you continue to abide by those rules when you can. But there is still no cause for worry; the phoenix grants them compensation in their own world in turn.

  “Oh.” Esset thought that over in his mind. Verett was right; belief was different from knowledge. Although he’d believed they didn’t feel pain, didn’t die, and weren’t bound unwilling, there was a greater peace in knowing for sure.

  “Thank you. I feel like I owe you even more,” Esset said.

  You are most welcome, but there is no debt, Verett replied. Although I’m afraid I must cut this short. Your companion Tseka is waiting just outside the door.

  Verett looked at the door and it opened without being touched. Tseka looked surprised to see it open, then grinned and came in. Esset grinned back.

  “Esset! I love these guys, they’re awesome. Wait’ll you see what I can do,” she said. It took a second for Esset to notice three new additions to Tseka; on her chest, just below her throat, was a blood-red gem. It seemed to be embedded into her body, like Esset’s in size as well, except hers was perfectly visible. On either side of it were two much smaller gems, both orange in color. All three were cut with facets and complemented her scarlet skin beautifully.

  “Wow,” Esset remarked when he saw them. “Those are beautiful.”

  “Yes, they are,” Tseka said, tilting her chin up proudly. It occurred to Esset that Nadran warrior women probably didn’t get many occasions to just be beautiful. Esset had always thought them incredibly striking, as much as their painted counterparts, but he’d never said so. Now he realized that by Nadran standards, without painted and polished scales, they probably didn’t feel beautiful. Now Tseka had something to make her feel prettier; Esset couldn’t help but smile at her.

  “Seriously though, wait’ll you can see what I can do. Attack me. Come on, do it!” Tseka urged him, gesturing at him with a “bring it on” beckon.

  It would, perhaps, be wiser to find a safer place to test your new abilities, Verett suggested dryly.

  “Agreed,” Esset said, wondering what Tseka’s new ability was that she wanted him to attack her.

  “Right,” Tseka said, enthusiasm unabated. “Where can we go?”

  “Should we wait for Toman?” Esset interrupted.

  I think your brother might be a while. I’m sure you’ll have time to test your abilities and come back, and if not, we can lead him to you, Verett suggested. Esset hesitated, wondering why his brother was taking so long, but he decided not to inquire—especially lately, his brother needed his privacy.

  “Okay, sure,” Esset agreed. Tseka was first out the door, but then she had to wait for Verett to lead the way. The blue crystal ferret took them down a few tunnels until they emerged in a cavernous empty room.

  This place is shielded. You may do as you please, Verett told them, standing off to the side. Tseka immediately scooted further out into the room.

  “Come on, Esset, bring it,” she said, beckoning with both hands. Esset was a little concerned, so he just summoned a small ball of fire into his hand and lobbed it at her—if something went wrong, she could easily dodge it. But a large, translucent, scarlet shield blinked up in front of her and the fireball burst against it. Esset was pleasantly surprised, but Tseka wasn’t satisfied.

  “Is that the best you can do?” she taunted. “Come on, bring it!” Esset wasn’t quite so reckless; he made his attacks progressively stronger to see what she could handle. He also wasn’t sure what he could handle—he wanted to work his way through his own abilities to see how the gem worked.

  As far as he could tell, he had nothing at all to worry about. The more he worked with fire, the warmer he got, but he would’ve been even warmer if he’d spent the same amount of time exercising beside a campfire, so he wasn’t worried.

  After Tseka had adroitly blocked, dodged, or deflected everything he could throw at her, he summoned a wolf to test Tseka’s defenses. That gave her pause; Esset didn’t blame her. His wolves were bigger and stronger than they used to be; the cracked coals of their skin were far more fiery beneath, and they looked downright savage with small flames dripping from their jaws. But more than that, Esset had formed a theory about how her new shield ability worked.

  Each time Esset threw fire at Tseka, she waited until it was c
lose and then put a shield up in front of it. She didn’t simply put a full shield around herself and sustain it. Then he’d feinted a few times and then sent a real fireball to follow, forcing her to maintain the shield longer. In some of those cases, the shield had flickered slightly. Esset’s theory was that the shield was strongest in the first second it was erected; after that, it grew progressively weaker. That meant that he could probably destroy her shield by sending a sustained stream of fire towards or around her. But right now, he wanted to test their abilities, not “win.”

  The fiery wolf lunged at Tseka, but she rebuffed it with a shield. She drove it back with a quick series of shields, but the tactic wasn’t going to get her very far. Still, she strategically made shields and dodged to buy herself time to think of a way to beat the wolf. Esset knew she’d figured it out when she suddenly grinned fiercely. She abruptly gave up the defense and let the wolf come at her. Esset shifted nervously; he had no idea what she had planned. Then he was too shocked to banish the summon when she struck out, bare-handed, at the molten creature.

  Tseka aimed for the eyes, and in close quarters, she couldn’t miss. She pointed her fingers straight out together and struck like a snake striking a mouse. A brief glimmer of her red shielding protected her hand until she could recoil. When the execution of the move was complete, the wolf’s head bled molten rock, obscuring its vision. Prepared for the move to fail, Tseka immediately shoved it back with a series of shields as well, but she only pushed it back a pace before Esset banished it.

  “Light, Tseka, you’re totally crazy!” His heart had nearly stopped in shock when she’d pulled that move.

  “Thanks,” Tseka replied, her grin a little wild. “That was fun. Can we go again?”

  “No!” Esset objected.