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“Come on . . . Come on . . .” I muttered as my flames licked the door. I’d been at it for ages but the heavy metal door refused to melt or buckle or do anything useful.
Eventually I let my flame die out and brushed my bangs out of my face, muttering a curse under my breath. Stupid door. Stupid as that creep. I started pacing in the small room. There was a cot in one corner, a metal desk at the side, and a metal table with two metal chairs in the middle.
I felt like a caged animal. Fire hated to be contained and, by nature, so did fire elementalists.
I yelled as I spun and launched more fire at the door. It had the same effect as before. Nothing. I pounded on the door with my fists.
“Let me out of here you imbeciles!” I yelled. “Please?” Yeah, probably too late for the please.
I went to the other side of the room and took a running start, slamming my shoulder into the door before sliding to the ground.
“Great,” I muttered, rubbing my shoulder. “Another bruise for later. Alright.” I sighed and stood back up. I hated feeling useless. There was only one thing to do, even though I knew it wouldn’t work.
I sent a steady wave of flames towards the door. I was getting tired from using so much fire, but I wasn’t. Giving. Up.
A muffled cry sounded from the other side of the door and I stopped.
“What are you trying to do?” a now familiar voice called. “Burn the door down?”
“Yup!” I said.
“Well stop it!” the stalker called back.
“Why?”
“So I can open the door.”
I started a low flame, centered on the doorknob. “Try now.”
“It’s glowing, I’m not an idiot.” I lowered the heat so the knob changed from red-grey to just grey.
“Now?” I asked, slightly hopeful.
“No!” Oh well, it was worth a try.
“Fine.” I crossed to the chair on the far side of the table from the door. I sat upside down, so that my legs hung over the back of the chair and my back was on the seat. I let my arms dangle down to the ground and watched the door under the table. It opened.
“How long were you trying to burn the door down?” the stalker asked.
“A while,” I said simply.
He propped the door open. “Well congratulations, you made the room as hot as an inferno.” He crossed his arms. “Would you please sit upright?”
“Make me,” I said, crossing my arms as well. He sighed and walked over. “No no no no no!” I protested as he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me upright. I knocked the chair over. He just picked it up and pushed me into. “Point made.”
He sat down across the table from me. “Have fun interrogating Mira?” I asked.
“How did you –” He looked confused, and I loved it. I might not be as good as Mira, but I’d learnt a few tricks from her.
“It’s the logical thing to do, and you were gone for a long time. If you were trying to break us down first, you wouldn’t be here.” I paused, slightly confused. “Wait, since I’m in here, I assume you think I’m dangerous. But there was no guard. Why risk me escaping?”
“Easy,” he said, clearly pleased at having the upper hand. “You wouldn’t leave without your sister.” There was no malice in his voice, but I still bristled and stood with my hands pressed against the cool metal table. It quickly grew hot.
“If you have hurt her in any way, I swear . . .”
“Relax. If anything, I was the one in danger. I think she was considering attacking me with ink, which I’m glad she didn’t. It would have been beneath her.”
“How would you know what’s beneath us? Oh yeah, you were stalking us.”
“What do you know about the Arasha Crystal?” he asked forcefully. His tone made me move back.
“What crystal?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
“Does it look like I’m in a position to play anything?” I gestured to my surroundings.
“Your sister told me everything.”
“Possible, she does know more about stuff than I do. However, unlikely, since she’s not an idiot and you are clearly an enemy.”
“She showed me the scroll,” he said, folding his arms.
“Then you already know everything we do.” I mimicked his stance. “We head east to the next town then head north.”
“You’re lying. You aren’t a complete idiot either. Why would you share your plans with an enemy?” The conversation was not going in a good direction for me. I didn’t have Mira to twist his words around, so I tried to come up with something on my own.
“You’re pretty good looking,” I said.
“What?” The sudden change had caught him off guard.
“And modest too.”
“. . . What?”
I’d probably get in one question. I had to make it count.
“How did you become so important here?”
“I don’t know,” he said distractedly. “I didn’t – wait! You’re twisting things around like your sister!”
“Well, I’m not nearly as good as her, but you know how she has one of those faces that makes you want to tell her everything?” He nodded cautiously. “I have the same face!” I smiled and pointed at my cheeks.
“Can you just answer my questions?”
“I have answered all the questions you asked. You’re clearly not asking the right ones.”
“What do you know about the Arasha Crystal?”
“Clearly not as much as you think I do.”
“How did you find the scroll?”
“Exploring.”
“Why are you following the directions?”
“Why not?”
“You nearly died several times.”
“That’s not unusual.”
“Because you regularly set things on fire? Why haven’t you tried to do so yet?”
“I did. It didn’t work.”
“I meant since I opened the door. I know you couldn’t before. We’ve taken precautions.”
“Like?” I was genuinely curious. Anything that could be a possible weakness I need to know for future reference.
“The room is fireproof.”
“All of it?” I asked, looking at the cot doubtfully.
“All of it.”
“What did you do to Mira’s room?” I’d noticed the ink pot and a thought was forming. I started to get hopeful.
“We took her Relic and locked the door. It’s easy to deal with a water elementalist if they don’t have water. She doesn’t have enough ink to do anything to anyone aside from stain some clothing.”
“What type of door does she have?” I tried to keep my voice as casual as possible. I didn’t want him catching on.
“It’s just like yours.” He followed my gaze. “She can’t.” There was a yell from the hall. He spun in time to see Mira run by, flashing me a smile.
He muttered something under his breath and ran into the hall. I ran out behind him, shoved him to the ground, and bolted the other way. “Guards!” he yelled.
A man came around the corner and stepped into my path. I tried slip around but that didn’t work.
I heard Mira squeak and turned to see her scowling, a man holding her arm. A tiny patch of black ice told me that she had tried to slide under her guard.
Both of us glared at the man who had been stalking us for longer than we cared to think. He looked annoyed.
“Would you please just go to back in your rooms and stop causing trouble,” he said.
“Fine,” I said. I went into Mira’s room and looked around quickly. Bingo. There was a note on the table. I grabbed it and stuffed it beneath my sweater.
“Your original rooms.” Mira and I both obeyed. As we passed each other, her eyebrows rose, and I gave her the smallest of smiles.
Then the creep stopped Mira and I felt a moment of panic.
“How can you pick a lock with water?” he asked.
She smiled at him. “Simple. I’m brilliant.”
He stared at her for a moment, then walked away, clearly having no idea how to respond.
I went into my room. The door slammed behind me, which was uncalled for in my opinion, and I heard the soft click of the lock. Sitting with my back against the door, I took the note out, pulled my knees up to my chest, and began to read. She’d written it in the code we’d made up as children.
Don’t cause trouble. They’re dangerous. All of them. We have to get out of here, but they will probably keep guards on us at all times if you manage to get this. I don’t have my Relic, so we need to know where they’re keeping it before a real escape attempt. I got some information about the guy who followed us. I’m still trying to understand it, and most of what he told is too complicated to write here. At the very least, it doesn’t seem like they mean us any harm. Play it safe and we might get out of here all right. He asked about something called the Arasha Crystal. I think he’s talking about something the scroll references, but I still don’t know the specifics. He can’t read the scroll, either.
And no, I don’t know his name. I asked him three times and he wouldn’t tell me. I think he knows about what we’re doing – more than we do. I didn’t get a chance to ask him. He caught on to what I was doing. I don’t like it. Be careful Fera.
I folded the note up and slipped it in my pocket. I probably should’ve burnt it, but I couldn’t. I didn’t like being away from Mira. It felt wrong. The note was all I had at the moment.
For a long time, I was alone. When the door swung open, a large basin was brought into the room and filled with water. A woman brought in a changing screen.
Needless to say, I was very confused.
The woman locked the door, leaving just us. I looked between her and the tub, realizing what was going on.
“I’m not getting in that,” I said, crossing my arms.
“Yes, you are,” she said simply, pulling the changing screen in front of the tub, blocking it from view.
“No way. Not happening. Not now, not ever.” I took a few nervous steps back. As much as I needed to get clean, I didn’t like water. A bath for me was using a damp cloth to wipe down, or occasionally Mira and I washing each other’s hair. Not climbing in a tub. That was Mira’s thing.
“Miss, you are going to get into that tub while I wash and fix your clothes, and then I am going to properly dress your wounds.” I don’t know if it was her tone or her stance, or just the way she was looking at me, but she reminded me of my mother.
So I did as I was told.
A bar of soap was tossed over the screen. It landed in the tub and slipped out of my hands a few times before I got a good grip.
“These clothes are filthy. How long has it been since you washed them?” the woman asked. I heard the water sloshing in a bucket.
“I’m not sure.” I remembered what Asher had said. “Three weeks?”
“And I assume there’s a tale behind this stitch work.”
“Long story?” I tried.
“We’ve got time.”
She didn’t say anything after that, and the silence got to me, and I found myself explaining what had happened, from finding the scroll to getting there.
I kept in the stuff that made it sound like a cool adventure, and left out the personal bits, such as seeing Asher. By the time I finished the water had turned cold. The woman finished with my clothes, and passed them, still damp, to me over the top of the screen.
Once dried and dressed I didn’t complain as she inspected my cuts and bruises, although I may have made a few faces when I didn’t think she was looking. Each time she pointed out seeing them.
When she got to my back, I got a lecture about ‘keeping it clean,’ and ‘to not overexert myself.’ I also got a lecture on ‘appropriate language’ after my string of curses while she cleaned it.
By the time she had finished I was struggling to keep my eyes open. She had just started packing up when there was banging on the door.
“Come in,” the woman called. The lock turned and the door opened to reveal at least five very wet women. I smiled. Only one person could do damage like that. “How is it going?” she asked, even though it was pretty obvious.
“Not well,” one answered. She didn’t look much older than me.
“Well, what did you expect?” the woman who had tended me asked.
“Less trouble than her,” one said with a nod in my direction.
“Hey!” I wasn’t too tired to be offended.
“I’ll see what I can do,” the woman replied, putting the last of her things away. “Goodbye miss.” With that, she turned and left, the door closing with the click of the lock behind her.
With nothing else to do, I crossed to the cot, lay down, and slept.
***
I WOKE UP WITH A SHADOW over me. Someone was sitting in front of the cot.
“Mira?” I muttered, rubbing my eyes.
“Unfortunately not.” I bolted upright. It was the guy that had been following us.
I lunged off the bed and knocked the guy over, rushing past to the door. I pulled on the handle but it stayed shut. I heard him muttering behind me as he stood up.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and grabbed it, stepping and dropping low like Ben had showed, and regretted showing me, one summer. The guy flipped over my shoulder, landing on his back.
He took in a breath of air with his eyes closed and stayed still. “Would you stop attacking me!”
“Take me to my sister,” I demanded, pulling fire into my hands.
“Not going to happen.”
“Take me to my sister,” I repeated, my voice cracking a bit. “Now.”
He looked at me from the floor. “Why should I?”
“Because I said so!”
“You’re not in a position to call the shots.” He rolled as I threw my fire at him. In a fluid motion he knocked me off my feet and stood.
“We got interrupted last time. Shall we continue?”
“No,” I said, climbing back to my feet.
“How did you find this building?” I didn’t say anything. “Why did you come in here?” Again, I didn’t answer. “Where did you –”
“Where is my sister?”
“She’s fine.”
“That’s not the answer I want.” I clenched my fists at my side. “Take me to my sister.”
“Who knows you’re following the scroll? Who knows where you are?”
“Why do you care?” I thought back to the note Mira had given me. “Are you a demigod or something?”
“Why does that seem to be the most logical explanation?” he said, looking genuinely confused. “Both you and your sister . . . Never mind.” I started pacing. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
He sat down in a chair and watched me. I sped up, back and forth across the room.
“This isn’t just your element, is it?”
I stopped and looked at him. “What?”
“You’re not being a typical antsy fire elementalist. It’s more than that. How long has it been since you and Mira were apart?” I looked at my feet. “Never?”
I flinched a little. The longest Mira and I had ever been apart was when we were seven, and had fought so bad we decided to sleep in separate rooms. I couldn’t remember which one of us had been the first to get up in the middle of the night and run to find the other.
“I don’t have answers to your questions. Whatever you got from Mira is what you’re going to get from me.” I said quietly.
“Alright,” he said, getting up. “We’ll leave it at that.” I watched him go to the door out of the corner of my eye. He gave me a sympathetic nod before closing the door.
I began to pace again.