Fan the Flame

by September Thomas

  “What about the tunnels?” Briar motioned at the pit in the ground. “Would those help? Do you think they reach all the way to the temple?”

  I only saw it because I happened to be looking at him when the flash of panic crossed Phenex’s face. He didn’t want us going down there. I picked at the blood that had dried on my palm. Interesting.

  Maat’s mouth dropped open and he smacked his forehead. “Of course! The tunnels. Why didn’t I think of that.” He rushed to the opening and peered down. “We haven’t used them in hundreds of years because the snakes infested them, making them too dangerous. But considering…” He gnawed his lip and crouched, arms angled on his knees. “It might just work. They were a shortcut forever ago.”

  “Do you know how to navigate them?” Finn asked. “It has been hundreds of years…”

  One of the other nero smiled broadly and stood, tapping his temple. “I traveled them before with my dad. There’s no way I’d forget that.”

  “I believe that settles it then.” Joseph uncrossed his arms. “We’re going down, unless anyone has any objections.”

  The fey muttered their agreement while I kept my attention fixed on Phenex as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He stopped when he realized I was watching. “No objection from me,” he said.

  Ryder heaved a sigh, his chest pressing against my back. He squeezed me a little tighter, his lips nuzzling my spine. “I suppose we should get going then.”

  With effort, I stood. The nero were already moving toward the bodies of their friends and the pyre they’d built to consume their remains. Maat told me the flames cleansed their souls and granted them passage to the underworld. The pixies would dispose of their fallen comrade in their own ritual that I wasn’t privy to. The green skin of their backs glowed in the harsh sunlight as they each gripped the edge of the sheet and hoisted her high.

  We’d move after this because sometimes the rights of the dead mattered more than the needs of the living.

  Chapter 22

  My thirst diminished in the cool tranquility of the caves. At first, I attributed it to the slight chill in the air, but then considered that I might finally be adapting to the burn of my fire magic. Whatever it was, I was infinitely grateful because I could finally concentrate again.

  “I have a question for you,” Maat said. He’d joined our group when we’d slipped into the tunnels, yet this was his first time actually speaking.

  We’d mostly segregated ourselves into tiny pockets on the walk yesterday, but after stopping for some quick snatches of nervous sleep, we’d started to mingle. Well, everyone but Phenex who led the way with the nero who’d spoken about knowing the tunnels earlier. We’d left the animals behind, but brought scraps from the tents and used them as torches that I intermittently lit to counter the suffocating darkness.

  “What’s up?” I edged around a hole in the ground while pointing it out to Finn who followed me with Joseph at his side. The tunnels were only wide enough for us to walk two across.

  “I didn’t know you had fire magic.” The nero snapped his fingers unhelpfully.

  “Was that a question?”

  “How did you get it? I’ve never heard of that happening before.”

  It was funny how the true extent of pain had a way of fading the longer time went on. “I burned alive.” But I could still remember the sounds of bones cracking, the scent of skin burning. I rubbed my nose as if rubbing away the memory. “I guess I didn’t want to die as much as I felt like dying.”

  Ryder walked alone, he was so tall and broad, and I felt him turn toward me in the near darkness. I nudged his back in warning before he walked into a low shelf of dirt.

  Maat went quiet and I wondered if I’d been too blunt. I’d never had to explain what happened that day to anyone else before. It amazed me a little that I was able to speak the words as casually as I had. I felt very different from the girl who’d locked her emotions away for weeks rather than deal with the reality of what had happened. I rolled the lid of my canteen in my fingers, working it almost off then screwing it tight again.

  “How did you do that?”

  I almost dropped the cap. “Do what? Survive?” I rubbed my brands through my shirt, thinking back to the flashes of light and the blissful black. “I guess… part of me didn’t want to be done. I didn’t want that to be the end. And I had a ton of help. Ryder and Finn and Joseph and my Great Beast, the Kraken, they all came through for me.” I flipped him a half-smile. “They’ll deny it, but I owe them.”

  Joseph squeezed my shoulder in silent support while subtly guiding me around another hole.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Just wondering,” he said.

  Finn rolled his eyes.

  “If you say so.” I fiddled with a tear in my shirt, thinking about those emeralds again. “Now I have a question for you: Why don’t you use magic?”

  Maat’s nostrils flared, knuckles whitening around his staff. He kept his face straight, fixed on the torch held by the nero alongside Phenex, who directed us down the right shaft of a fork in the tunnel.

  “I can sense it inside you, like a powerful cat prowling, ready to pounce.” I took a sip of water. A muscle in his jaw fluttered and his biceps flexed around the metal bands clamped around them. “You’ve had ample opportunity. I saw some of your people use it back in Cairo. But even they’re restrained. Why?”

  His skin stretched thin, his eyes flinty and brittle, the look of someone preparing to turn tail and run. He raised his staff incrementally, threateningly. I’d pushed too hard, but I’d learned enough. It wasn’t a decision he made of his own volition. If it was, he wouldn’t have such an issue talking about it. I also had a funny feeling that a certain djinn was the answer to the mystery. I was convinced he was somehow manipulating Maat using that stone.

  I bumped the nero with my elbow, making him start.

  “Never mind. Don’t stress it.” I forced lightness into my tone. “There’s a bunch of fey who don’t use their magic. It’s still pretty new to the universe and all. You’ll figure it out sometime. Though, if you ever want help tapping into it, give Joseph or me a holler.”

  “Totally.” My fellow God adjusted his glasses. “Even an Earth-sworn like yourself could benefit from my masterful teachings.”

  Maat stared at Joseph, eyes wide, and a glimmer of a smile appeared on his lips. “If you’re saying Air is better than Earth, you’ve got another thing coming.”

  The two traded jabs as I faded into my thoughts. Controlling the nero and restricting their access to magic would definitely explain their attitudes toward him. He was practically a God in that sense. And while Maat was strong and capable, even he couldn’t counter someone holding that kind of power over him. It all made sense.

  We walked for what felt like hours before stopping to rest in a cutout of the caves that allowed our group to cluster as one. The nero hauling the sacks of water refilled our canteens with what they could before dropping them on the ground with sorrowful shrugs. We all knew what that meant. Our source of water was almost gone and I was still no closer to tapping into a reservoir.

  I eyed Phenex as he met with Maat and a few other nero when a haze of smoke unfurled behind my eyes. Kaleal was finally stirring from her slumber.

  There’s strong magic nearby, she hissed.

  It had prickled my skin for the past hour or so like a splinter I couldn’t pick out, but I had attributed it to us getting closer to the Earth Temple. Kaleal was weirdly right about so many things, it was possible she was on to something.

  Care to share any other fun tidbits? I asked.

  You’re such a teenager, she muttered. If I had my own body this wouldn’t be an issue.

  If you had your own body, we probably wouldn’t have these wonderfully vague conversations.

  Something’s not right with it, she said, ignoring me. It’s not the Lost City.

  I thought about the Great Beast and the oily quality of Its power. Plenty of that g
oing around.

  “Alright, grab your stuff. We’re getting close,” Phenex called, clapping his hands. “Maybe another twelve hours, twenty-four at the worst, and we’ll be there. Let’s not waste time now that our water supply is out. And I’d rather not run into any more ramalia that might be lurking.”

  There was no grumbling like I was used to hearing at swim meets or other group events as everyone formed their dutiful lines once more. We were all eager for this to be over, to get out of these caves. We’d certainly beaten back a large number of the snakes, but the thought there might be more was horrifying. Going sword against fang with them in these close quarters would be more difficult—and likely more deadly.

  I allowed the nero to go first this time while lingering at the back of the line. Maat stood beside me, keeping a close eye on the procession.

  “Listen, you relied on others to save your life,” he said quietly. “I’m choosing to rely on you to save the lives of my people.”

  I perked up and snapped my fingers at Ryder. When he glanced over, I zipped two fingers over my mouth. He understood my command and his magic went up like a curtain around us, a bubble that allowed us to speak freely.

  “Go on. You won’t be overheard, but you don’t have long before Phenex picks up on it,” I cautioned.

  “You have to take him down.”

  “I figured as much,” I said dryly, my eyes slitting as Kaleal pressed against them. “But how?”

  He shifted on his feet. “There’s a myth that even once freed, djinn can become bound once more, as long as you know their true name. It’s part of the reason they kill their former masters, so they can never release that information.”

  I blinked and thought back on my conversations with the djinn. I had a funny feeling I already knew exactly what his name was.

  “I’ve been searching for his name for years,” Matt said, lowering his voice. “The Earth Temple has the biggest, most selective library in the world. It’s slow-going, but I’m making progress. With the help of you and your friends, we could probably get through more books faster. I need help, but I don’t have many people I can trust.” He heaved a frustrated sigh, and I glanced around the nearly empty cavern, realizing that we were quickly running out of time to talk.

  “Phenex… he’s got a way of manipulating my people,” Maat said. “They’re scared of him, of what he can do to them if they go against him. I understand why, but my father was a leader among our kind, and so was his father before him, and his father before him. I owe it to them to break the chains he’s wrapped us in, but I don’t think I can do it alone anymore.”

  “You’re still sure you don’t want to tell me what Phenex has on you?” I asked.

  “I can’t.” He sounded like I was asking him to rip out his heart. Maybe I was. “I can’t.”

  I hummed noncommittally. I understood what it was like to have a secret that I literally couldn’t spill. Kaleal chuckled darkly. “Alright then. What do we do once we have his name? How do we bind him?”

  “I’m hoping to also find that in the library,” he said. “And normally blood is involved in ancient rituals, or so I’ve been told.”

  “Time’s up,” Ryder said, snagging my elbow. Cool air rushed over me as he dropped his magic. “We’re already drawing attention.”

  One of the nero was watching us suspiciously as he held a torch at the opening of the tunnel. When Maat passed by to catch up with the rest of the group, I caught his eye.

  “I’ll help however I can,” I said, then turned to Ryder as if I’d been talking to him all along. The incubus’s smile was forced and he wrapped an arm around me protectively until we caught up with Finn and Joseph.

  I didn’t talk much, trying to figure out what to do with the information I had. Not knowing the binding spell would be tricky. And I wasn’t sure I could even perform it. The goosebumps trembling along my arms stiffened the more we walked, and soon it grew impossible to ignore the pull of magic.

  Joseph had skirted a particularly deep hole when Phenex called out our next left turn. One of the nero protested, but was cut off sharply. The line started moving again.

  “Do you feel that?” I hissed to the God of Air, touching my sternum that ached from the constant pounding of magic. Ryder’s golden eyes narrowed at our exchange.

  “I thought I was the only one,” he said, rubbing the same spot on his chest.

  “I don’t think it’s normal.”

  “Neither do I,” he said. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. It’s why I like you so much.”

  We hit the fork in the road.

  There was an obvious pull to the right, yet the group had gone left. We traded looks.

  “He’ll catch us if we’re not fast,” I said. But Joseph was already gone, a gust of wind marking his departure. I scoffed and scrutinized Ryder who was already grinning saucily and rubbing his hands together.

  “Does this mean I get to create a diversion?” he asked.

  Chapter 23

  We raced through the shrinking tunnel, our way lit by a flame I cupped in my palm, the looming sense of danger chasing our heels as we hurdled toward a mystery begging to be solved. The closer we got, the greater the pounding in my chest grew. Kaleal rode close to the surface, keeping watch as we ran faster.

  “It’s ahead,” Joseph called.

  I risked a glance backward in the dark. “No Phenex, yet, though he must know we’re gone.”

  Joseph slowed so I could catch up, our feet pounding in tandem, my braid flopping against my back. In the dark ahead, an arch appeared and we stopped before passing through, panting hard, glancing at one another with trepidation, wondering if this was something we truly wanted to do, a barrier we wanted to cross.

  The opening was slightly stooped, low enough that Joseph would have to duck. When I moved my flames closer, we discovered its frame was etched delicately with little flowers and vines. What lay beyond was a void, dark and sucking and ominous. I tried throwing my fire magic through it, but it was no use. An invisible wall prevented the flames from crossing the base.

  Joseph’s throat bobbed, his eyes bright. “I bet he’ll know we’re here once we breach whatever that barrier is.”

  “Probably.”

  “But he already knows where we’re going.”

  “Probably.”

  “Time to take a page out of your book, I guess,” he said, and before I could process the words, he stepped through the opening.

  I released a breath I hadn’t known I was holding when he emerged safely on the other side. He looked back. “It feels like stepping through silk.” He paused. “I can feel it’s a room. It’s not particularly large, but definitely closed off.”

  Even if I wanted to turn back now, the press of magic wouldn’t let me. I counted to three, then slipped across the invisible line. Joseph was right, the sensation was like cobwebs brushing against my face, the surface of water sucking at my skin. Subtle yet pleasant. When I opened my eyes, he was right there, hair tangled and mussed and badly in need of washing.

  “Light it up.”

  My lighter clicked and it was as if my magic instinctively knew where to go. I gasped and covered my mouth when the flame filled a trench dug along the four walls, the shimmer it cast burned impossibly bright. The polished gold of the walls and ceiling refracted the light, turning the room to day. Each wall bore a copper shelf at eye level; on each self were a dozen items. The magical aura emanating from them was similar to the aura of Phenex’s emerald, and I knew we’d hit jackpot.

  Carefully, I approached one wall, my arms wrapped around myself as I greedily drank in the offerings. Two fat, matching vases the size of my fist and the color of newly-blossomed violets were closest, their lids latched closed with clever little hooks concealed in the clay. Next was an Arabic lamp, its brass finish tarnished with age. The list went on: a wooden container the size of a box of cards, a hollowed-out book bound by satin ribbon, a crystal decanter, a sapphire inkwell with a rubber stopper.<
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  At the end, tucked in the corner of the wall, was a slender vial the length of my index finger. Silver caps clasped the top and bottom of the tube, through one was woven a long, brassy chain. The glass played peekaboo through the delicate, swirling pattern of silver encasing it.

  I wondered if these were the same containers that had been used in the past to bind Phenex and his brothers. When I reached for one an explosion rocked the tunnel behind us.

  “Time’s up,” Joseph yelled as dust and sand slammed the barrier at the doorway. “Any idea what these might be? Or why they’re down here?”

  “Remember that story you told Phenex?” Another explosion rocked the tunnel, this one much closer. “I don’t think it’s only a story.”

  I snatched up the pendant and slipped the chain over my head, its strange magic dissipating as if it never had been. Hurriedly, I shoved the vial beneath my clothing, and when I looked up I jumped at the shadow darkening the doorstep.

  “I knew you Gods would be more trouble than you’re worth,” Phenex hissed roughly. “And now you’ve forced my hand.”

  A booted foot stepped past the barrier and I barely caught a flash of needle-like teeth when the world around me erupted. My body was sucked into a sandstorm, barely able to move as I was pummeled from all sides. It was sheer luck that I’d pulled my arms high to protect my face. I couldn’t get a sense of up or down or where I might be going. Fear blanketed me in waves. If this was what it felt like to be buried alive, I wished it would end already. There was so much sand and dust in the air I could barely breathe.

  Then the world stopped.

  I was buried.

  I’d never been more horrified.

  I clawed at the sand encasing me, not knowing or caring if I was going in the right direction, a desperate drive to survive pushing me harder and harder. When dizziness hit and I was sure I’d pass out from the lack of oxygen, my fingers punched through the sand and met… open air.