Claiming Flame

by Desi Lin

  Fuckin’ Aguirre. What the fuck did she want now?

  “You stupid cow!” A sharp sting accompanied the slap to my cheek.

  My head bounced off the headboard with the force of the blow.

  “What were you doing? Not taking notes! Yelling at the teacher! Leaving class without permission!” Another blow, this time to my shoulder.

  Shock froze me as a burning sensation told me she heated her hands. Being Ignis didn’t mean I had immunity to fire or heat, unfortunately. Tears stung my eyes as my flesh seared.

  I jerked out of her grip, but she didn’t notice as she continued. “You think you’re hot stuff, don’t you? You think my rules don’t apply to you? After your stunt this weekend, you think you’re going to go whore around with boys?”

  Eyes wide, I shook my head as a flame danced over her fist. She extinguished the flame, and a rustling noise in the darkness made me wonder until she gripped my wrists in one hand. Pain shot through me, but I managed to hold in the cry as she dragged me across the bed. My initial fear turned to anger, and I kicked out at her, unable to use my powers with my hands being held. She sneered when I connected with her shin, smacking my leg with her free hand.

  “Stupid child,” she snarled, yanking me off the bed completely.

  Caught by surprise, I landed hard on one knee, barely getting my foot down in time to stop the other from slamming into the floor. Pain flared in my knee, and a small noise escaped me. A nasty smile crossed her face, and it burned me up.

  Fire rose inside me, and I glared as I tore out her grip, heedless of the pain searing through my wrist.

  “You fucking bitch! I’m not a child!” I ground out as I tried to rise to my feet.

  Rough hands snatched my hair, yanked backward hard, and made me lose my balance. I latched onto her arms, heating my own hands. If she wanted to play with powers, I was all in.

  Her face twisted, and she growled as I seared her flesh. Flinging me away from her, she raised a boot. I rolled to my side, attempting to get away from her, but she rested her boot heavily on me. Forced onto my back, I shoved at her boot, squirming and cursing.

  “Listen here you little bitch,” she spat out, her foot pressing against me.

  I quit fighting, choosing to watch her warily. Fighting tended to make things worse. With luck, I would only end up with a few bruises.

  “If you think you can defy me, think again. They put me in charge of you, all of you. Your life is mine! I own you!” Her voice rose, gaining a hysterical edge. “You’re just some good for nothing little whore. You think those boys care about you? No! They’re going to use you and toss you in the trash.”

  My breath hitched at her words, even knowing them to be untrue. A gasp from the door made my gaze shift to find a couple of the midgets peering in. I tried to give them a subtle go away sign. No way did I want to chance Aguirre getting her hands on them.

  “I could ruin you, and no one would give a damn! All of you stupid, useless, little brats! I’m better than this! I’ll make them see! I’ll bring you in line, all of you!” The first strike of her boot to my side shocked me. Not nearly as hard as I would expect, I still grunted at the impact. At least it was low enough to miss my ribs.

  Spittle flew out of her mouth, her eyes wide and unfocused, not even noticing me anymore. Her screaming became nearly incoherent, the only words I understood mostly slurs against myself or kids in general as she kicked me twice more. She seemed to lose steam after I let a whimper escape.

  “You should remember who’s in charge,” she snarled.

  I waited, listening as her steps faded to be sure she wouldn’t return, before I dared to move from the floor. Rolling onto my stomach, I tucked my knees under me and tried taking a deep breath. No searing pain assailed me, just some twinges of pain where she’d kicked me, though a deep breath never happened. At least, it didn’t appear she’d done serious damage. I rose onto my elbows, forgetting about my wrist. It throbbed in pain when I leaned on it, and I bit my lip against a sob. I rose slowly, more conscious of my injury.

  My side ached as I limped to the bathroom to assess the damage. I hoped it wouldn’t be bad since she’d mostly yelled. When I peered into the mirror and lifted my shirt, I nearly cried with a combination of relief and pain.

  Color bloomed across my side where I’d been kicked. I attempted another deep breath. Nope, not happening. Clutching the counter with my good hand, I tried moving my knee. I winced, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip, as pain flared briefly. The knee barely moved, and I racked my brain to figure out how to hide the inevitable limp.

  Angry, red palm prints marred my shoulders. Teeth sinking farther into my bottom lip, I twisted and leaned experimentally, trying to figure out my range of motion. Muscles pulled and twinged around the forming bruises, and I suspected they would be stiff in the morning.

  Taking it slow, I reached under the sink where I kept my first aid supplies and set the bin on the counter. I had stocked up over the weekend. After coating my arms with burn cream, I rewrapped my wrist. By the time I finished, my bottom lip turned red and swollen from biting back cries of pain and burns marred the bathroom counter. Gingerly I slid a long sleeved, black shirt over my head, the muscles on my side pulling and smarting with every motion.

  Anger rose in me. She couldn’t get away with this. I needed to call May, but Aguirre still held my phone captive.

  Silence in the building told me the other residents went to sleep long ago. I cracked the door and slid out without a sound. Years of mischief taught me to be light on my feet. Moving slowly down the hall, part for quiet and part because of my injuries, I made my way the few feet to Aguirre’s room. With an ear pressed to door, I caught the sound of snoring coming clearly from the other side. Turning the knob with care, I cracked it enough to peer through to be sure she slept. Moonlight shone through the window and revealed the beached whale on the bed. I slid in and searched, quick and quiet, until I found my phone in her nightstand drawer. Taking it, I made my way out. When I reached my room safely, I let out a sigh of relief and sank down on the bed.

  My phone lit up the moment I pressed the power button, like a beacon in the darkness, but I hesitated when I found May’s number. Would she pull me out of here? Now, when I finally start connecting with others, I risk her taking me away from the guys? It would be a good thing, though, right? It didn’t seem like a good thing. I didn’t want to be shipped away from the boys.

  No, Aguirre sounded like a raving lunatic tonight. I dialed May but her voicemail picked up right away. May only shut her phone down if absolutely necessary. As I listened to the monotone voice tell me to leave a message, I considered whether or not I should. This didn’t feel like something to leave a message about. Instead I took May not answering as a sign.

  My resolve hardened, and I dropped the phone into my nightstand. At least I possessed it, if I needed to use it later. Right now I needed to prove to myself I could be strong. I was Ignis, for element’s sake! We were known for our passion, our impulsiveness, and our love of danger! I flipped onto my stomach in bed since my side still smarted. As I drifted into a restless sleep, I contemplated ways to hide my new injuries from the boys in the morning.

  CHAPTER NINE

  I ached when I woke up. Everywhere. I usually slept on my back and sleeping on my stomach didn’t help keep the aches away. Getting dressed made my back muscles pull, and I worried I wouldn’t be able to hide it. I couldn’t skip and didn’t really want to. Aguirre would know. I cobbled myself together as best as possible, layering my makeup heavier than usual, and headed toward the school.

  As I pushed through the doors, I spied the guys waiting for me. They clustered together, palms laid flat between them. A small whirlwind raced around Souta’s palm, while a little wave of water rose from a tiny bowl on Brooks hand and a decent sized rock rolled back and forth on JJ’s hand. The boys pushed their elements toward each other, the three coming together in a strange sort of shoving match. Each pushed against
the others, gaining a little ground, losing a little. Elbows got thrown into sides, and I caught snippets of good-natured ribbing.

  They played Power Push, a clever little training game most often played by the newly powered. Watching the boys enjoying such a simple game sent a jolt of happiness through me, and I grinned. I wanted to set myself down and join in the fun.

  As I stepped into the brightly lit courtyard, JJ glanced up and caught my eyes. He seemed to light up, dropped his rock and stood in one swift motion. He closed the distance between us in a few quick strides.

  “Hey,” he greeted, reaching for my hand and holding it gently.

  “Hey.” I grinned, pulling my hand from his gently and holding up my phone while I peered at the others still playing. “I can’t believe you guys are playing Power Push. I haven’t played in ages.”

  “Uh, yeah.” JJ’s voice sounded a bit flat as he took my phone, and I glanced at him.

  He punched in his number, called himself in order to get mine, but his face remained blank the whole time. Was something wrong?

  “We were killing time.” A shudder ran through him, and he grinned at me again.

  Souta and Brooks finally quit playing and came up behind JJ. I started to wonder at the odd expressions on their faces as they watched JJ and me. JJ shifted on his feet, and licked his lips.

  Oh, no. Not again.

  “Go to the dance with me, Sera?” JJ rushed the words out on one breath, and I closed my eyes. Why did he keep doing this to me?

  “I can’t, JJ,” I muttered.

  The shock on Souta and Brooks faces didn’t escape me. Heat bloomed over my cheeks. I hated this happening in front of them.

  “Why not?” His tone contained no anger, only genuine wondering. I couldn’t give him the real reason, though.

  “I...I... I’m washing my hair.” I blurted out the first thing popping into my head like some kind of idiot girl from the 1950s and took off for class. Behind me, laughter rang out.

  “That won’t take long!” came Souta’s voice.

  Of course, JJ didn’t leave it alone, stubborn ass. I made things worse with my rather lame excuse. He kept at it all day, coming up with new and creative ways of trying to get me to either say yes or tell him the real reason why. He texted, or sent notes or caught me between classes.

  “You were completely lying with the hair thing, and you know I know it,” he whispered as he passed by me on his way to his seat in history.

  With Mrs. Kalan watching me closely he didn’t do more, but as soon as the bell rang, he snatched my bag from the floor and walked out with it.

  “Hey!” I called, chasing after him. He turned and walked backward, a goofy grin on his face.

  “Tell me the truth, or I keep your bag,” He shook the bag and made a silly, over the top questioning face at me. “Why won’t you go with me?”

  I fought back the grin threatening to break free. “I already said I’d go with someone else.”

  I hoped he bought my second lame excuse, even though it might upset him. Instead of pissed off rejection, JJ burst out laughing, doubling over at the waist and dropping my bag to the floor. Well, almost. A gush of wind went by me, and my bag slowly descended to the ground.

  “Nice try, Sera.” JJ gasped out. “But Souta’s a gossip king. He’d know if anyone else asked you.”

  I narrowed my gaze at him and stuck out my tongue as I reached for my bag. At the last moment, JJ snatched it back up and slung it over his shoulder before heading in the direction of our next class.

  Our math teacher, Mr. Lane, tended to be oblivious, which meant everyone played with their phones in class. JJ texted me.

  Go with me to the dance.

  No.

  Why not?

  I didn’t reply since the only reason I could give, I refused to tell him. He persisted, though.

  You have cooties?

  I snorted. No.

  You need to take a litter of rescued kittens to find new homes?

  I shot him a disbelieving glance. No.

  You're a member of a secret society of superheroes, and Saturday is your day on call.

  I snickered. You watch too much TV. No.

  I do not!

  He joked, right? Please, Souta told me you watch all those weird superhero shows.

  He sent me a big, grinning smiley face, knowing he got caught.

  You’re waiting for some celebrity to ask you?

  The bell rang, and this time, I managed to get my messenger bag from the floor before JJ. I shook my head at him as I left.

  He caught me quickly, matching our strides. “You're actually a guy and Saturday you're having gender reassignment surgery?”

  “What?” I stopped dead in the hallway, someone bouncing off my back and muttering an apology before skirting around me. I winced, but JJ missed it as he grinned and gave a little wave before he headed off to his third period class. I shook my head and hollered after him, “You’re crazy!”

  “And you love it!” he hollered back, giving me a jaunty salute.

  I hoped that might be the end of it. But he went right back at it after lunch with a slightly different tactic. “You know I like you, right?”

  “Yes.” Not exactly a secret.

  “You like me?”

  Elements help me, I did. “Yes.”

  “You know how to dance?”

  What did my ability to dance matter? “Yes.”

  “You like hanging out with all three of us?”

  Duh. “Yes.”

  “You’re an Ignis?”

  Did he really ask that? “Yes.”

  “Go to the dance with me?”

  “Ye—” I caught myself in time. His rapid firing of the questions nearly caught me off guard. “I can’t.”

  Like every time before he took it in stride, and in science, he tossed me notes with reasons on them.

  You’re volunteering at a soup kitchen.

  You can’t go out on a full moon?

  It’s that time of the month?

  I shot him a glare. One last one landed on my desk as the bell rang.

  You have some crazy superstition about the date?

  He hit a little too close to home on the last note. I took off, grateful we didn’t share another class until the end of the day. When JJ didn’t continue during PE I figured he decided to finally drop it. We worked on powered defense moves and the control needed in order to avoid serious injury took a lot of concentration. More than one person lost it while trying a move, and half the class ended up soaked or toasty. One poor girl got sent to the nurse with blistering burns.

  “Go to the dance with me.” JJ’s voice surprised me as I walked out to the courtyard after class. Startled, I lost my balance, tripping over my own feet. Souta caught my elbow, steading me.

  I sighed. “I can’t.”

  “Why?” Something about the way he asked this time worried me.

  I didn’t want to lie anymore, and he knew my excuses to all be bull anyway. I hunched my shoulders, the muscles in my side smarting, and fixed my gaze to the ground.

  “Saturday is my eighteenth birthday.” I barely whispered the confession, but JJ caught it all the same.

  “That’s great!” Souta clapped from where he stood behind JJ.

  I shook my head rapidly, though.

  “It’s not great?” Souta questioned.

  “I don’t have any family.” I muttered. “I won’t get an Ad Aetatem.”

  An Ad Aetatem, the Elementum coming of age, was a big deal. Combination of ritual and big, fancy, expensive party, every child got one at eighteen. It was the first time Iunctura could occur between Elementum, and parents would invite those of age from far and wide in the hopes of their child finding their Genus. Being part of a full Genus meant an increase in control, strength, and discipline, along with a few other perks. Without anyone to plan or pay for an Ad Aetatem, I wouldn’t be getting one.

  The guys’ faces fell and their eyes met, then Souta lit up again an
d grinned. “Then we’ll give you one ourselves!”

  “Huh?” They wanted to what?

  “Yeah,” he said. “It won’t be real big or anything but we know the rituals. We’ve all had our Ad Aetatem. We could pull this off.”

  I could practically watch the plans unfurling in his eyes and shot a panicked glance at his boyfriend to cut off this craziness. Brooks shrugged and gave me an apologetic smile.

  “It’s a good idea,” he rumbled, and my mouth dropped open.

  I sent a pleading gaze to JJ.

  “Don’t expect me to stop him.” JJ held up his hands. “I love the idea.”

  “You guys, you can’t…” I sputtered.

  Ad Aetatems traditionally only got hosted by family. Their importance meant not any old person threw them, not like giving someone a regular old birthday party. They all began talking at once, bouncing ideas around for the Ad Aetatem.

  A strange emotion rose in me, embarrassment yes, but something more, and it mingled with a bit of hurt. It felt like they mocked me, but I understood the feeling to be false. They wanted to do this for me, but what about when I left? Would they end up regretting their hasty actions?

  I couldn’t let them get attached to me. They needed to find their own Ignis after all.

  “Stop!” I hollered.

  Silence descended, along with my tears.

  “Please, stop.” I sobbed. “I’m not part of your Genus. I’m not yours to celebrate.” I choked on the words. I wanted to say more, to explain my fears and worries, but I couldn’t speak past the lump in my throat. “Don’t do this,” I whispered and turned to run.

  I took about three steps when searing pain shot up my arm, and I cried out. Glancing back revealed surprise on JJ’s face, his eyebrows arched high, and his hand gripping my injured wrist. His expression hardened as he shifted his hold to my hand. I wanted to pull my arm away but pain stabbed through me when I tried. He stepped closer and yanked up my sleeve with his other hand, revealing the wrap on my wrist. Fury engulfed JJ's face.

  “Who did this?” Barely contained anger made his voice a low growl, and his eyes flash.

  I licked my lips and darted a glance over to Souta and Brooks, hoping for some help diffusing the situation. Instead I found the same fury on their faces.