Set the Sky on Fire (Fire Trilogy Book 1)

by L K Walker

  Ari wasn't sure what he meant but she didn’t feel like co-operating.

  “Not to blow my own trumpet, but I’ve had a few games of hide and seek, and I’m pretty good at it.”

  The seether walked over and sat in the spare chair. Ari held her breath, not sure whether she had pushed too far.

  “How about you start by looking for a bit of anger. I’ll put my money on it, that your friend is positively radiating it at the moment.”

  Nevaeh’s hand sat firmly on the table. The seether stroked the top of it, amused at the speed with which she recoiled.

  “Why are you looking so pissy? It’s not like you’ve got a sore hand.” He looked back at Ari. “Although, if you're having problems finding her anger, we could try a little boiling water and see if it’s easier to sense her pain.” He stretched out to stroke Nevaeh’s hair. But, before he had a chance, Nevaeh shuffled closer to Ari.

  Her feelings, being so scared of someone and furious at the same time, left a scream in Ari’s belly that she couldn’t release. She felt trapped. She closed her eyes and then, after a short moment, reopened them to look challengingly at the seether.

  “Perhaps you could go and sit as far away as possible. I can feel your vile presence blanketing me. Makes it harder to feel anyone else.”

  That wasn't entirely true. Although his presence was overpowering, she could still feel Nevaeh’s emotions clear as day. Any excuse to get him further away from her was worth it. The seether placed both his hands flat on the tabletop and pushed himself up, simultaneously kicking the chair out from behind him. The girls jumped in fright. A cruel smile decorated his face, and Ari could see his delight that he’d pushed their fear to a knife's edge. He ambled over to the bed and threw himself down on it, springs creaking under him.

  “Righto precious, do your party trick.”

  Ari closed her eyes and let the feelings inside her surface. They slowly rose and tore through the calm waters of her psyche.

  Ari focused on the room. She could easily identify the seether and Nevaeh. The seether had been right. Nevaeh was unsurprisingly angry and scared. This experience would change her, it would change anyone. Teeming with guilt, Ari decided to move past her.

  As she sensed further outside the hotel room, it became an emotional jungle. There were so many people in the hotel, and they brought with them an array of emotions. The feedback was a blaring mess, and it was impossible to register the feelings of any one person. It was like standing ten metres from a Rembrandt and trying to make out the individual brush strokes. Suddenly, with a little gasp of air, she opened her eyes. Her head jerked back as if she’d been abruptly woken from a bad dream.

  “Well?” The seether had sat up, so his feet were now resting on the floor. He leaned in, waiting for the response.

  “No problems in the room. But anything outside is just a jumble. It all blurs into one. There's no clarity out there.”

  The seether was silent. He seemed to be lost in thought.

  “You need to focus.”

  “What do you think I’ve been doing?”

  “I mean, you need to focus on only one emotion and ignore the rest. Look for grief. It seems to be the strongest in terms of its output. Unfortunately, it appears to be an emotion that you humans feel the least.”

  “And coincidently, it’s the one you’re most interested in,” Ari added.

  He nodded. “Exactly. Try again.”

  Ari had never considered narrowing the scope of her ability like this. With her eyes closed in concentration, she tried again.

  “There is someone overly aggressive and utterly pathetic coming down the hallway.”

  There was a knock at the door and Michelle's voice intruded on the silence.

  “It's me. Open the door.”

  “You’re getting pretty good at this Ari,” Nevaeh chipped in. “Although, you still have a lot of work to do. You missed self-centred, conceited and pathological but keep practicing, you'll get better.”

  The seether opened the door.

  “It's about time, Michelle.” He looked down at the extraordinary number of bags she was hauling into the room.

  “Looks like we need to add greedy to that list,” Nevaeh muttered.

  “If you're going to be gone a while, there is no way I’m getting stuck in this dump with nothing to eat or entertain myself with.”

  “Whatever.” The seether dismissed her. “We're going out now, anyway. Get your shoes on Arianna. We'll be back before dark. Michelle, do what you must to keep our friend under control. Oh, and princess…” the seether added, right up in Nevaeh’s face, “…if you do try anything Michelle here will stop you, and I won't hesitate to use a little more boiling water to wash Ari's hands when I get home. Understood?”

  Confused by the comment, Michelle looked round, finally noticing the damage to Ari's hand.

  “What did I miss?”

  “He ...” Nevaeh was so wild she could hardly speak. “He did that.” One sharp finger pointed at a smiling seether while Ari held her hand up.

  “You were always such a drama queen. Stop blaming Dominic. I bet Ari was just a cluts. Oh yuk, it's all blistered and gross.” Michelle took a closer look. “Does make me feel like a coffee, though. Can someone put the kettle on?”

  Ari could feel rage erupting from Nevaeh, so she diverted her attention. “Can you bandage my hand before we go? I think it'll need a bit of protection.”

  Nevaeh pulled out the first aid pack again and did the best she could with the limited resources it contained. It would be enough to keep the hand clean and out of the sun. Ari struggled to put on her grey Converse shoes. Tying the laces had become a little more challenging. The seether snorted his impatience. Finally, they were secured and she followed him out the door.

  “So, where are you taking me?”

  “I thought we would start with a little practice. Track down a few grievers for you to play with. Best place for that is a cemetery. We’ll go along and see who turns up. Unfortunately, most people who grieve are not mentally unstable and cannot be turned, but at least you can get a taste for it.”

  Ari had only visited a cemetery a couple of times, and one of those had been a school history trip. The headstones here were much more modern, the graves adorned with fresh flowers and plastic mementos. The grass looked well cared for and had been freshly mown, so recently the remnant blades of grass lay scattered along the edge of the paths. The gentle fresh-cut smell wafted over them. It was peaceful and airy. They sat on a park bench and waited for the visitors to arrive.

  “The sooner you get the hang of this, the sooner we can get back to the hotel, so it’s in your best interests to make an effort.” Seeing Ari's reluctance, he added, “I will know if you don't try.”

  Ari couldn't see how that would be possible. She could test it out, not so much by lying, but more by withholding the truth. She would use this time to her advantage by doing as he wanted and honing her senses. That had to be beneficial. She would use all her efforts to test out her boundaries, but tell him as little as possible. It would be a juggling act. How much to tell and how much to keep from him. She knew what he was capable of when he was angry. The pain in her hand was a reminder of that, and rage would, no doubt, bring out an even more vicious side in him. She raised her hand protectively to her chest, but as she did so, the heat from the sun warmed through the light bandage making the burn radiate pain.

  For over an hour, they sat in perfect silence. People walked past the cemetery, but no-one came into the grounds. Even at a distance, when she focused on them, Ari began to differentiate between their feelings. She could sense positive and negative feelings, but not a distinct emotion. The longer she sat there, the more proficient she became. She searched for any hint of Nate’s signature. There were pockets of kindness all around her but nothing like the incredible warmth and calm that Nate exuded.

  She turned her attention back to the emotional tide lapping about her. It was different here to when she was
at the hotel. Then, she had cast a broad net, and she’d experienced the emotions of everyone in that net all at once. It had been overwhelming, like sitting in a room with a hundred radios on while trying to listen to only one. No, this was more like distinguishing which radio she wanted to listen to and choosing to turn its volume up only, while the others remained as background noise. It took a lot more effort, but she could even push the seether's stink away.

  “Finally,” the seether muttered, as two women in their early thirties headed into the cemetery. “I'm not a patient person. I considered filling up the cemetery with a few more bodies simply so we could get more foot traffic.”

  Ari couldn't tell if he was joking.

  Ari watched the two women enter the cemetery through a small wooden gate. They were both well dressed, but their hair and makeup had wilted in the heat. Ari gave a small smile as she noticed their footwear. One was wearing trainers and the other black flats.

  “Right Arianna. Time to work your magic. Focus in on them, and see what you can get.”

  At that moment one of the women let out a small shriek followed by a fit of laughter. She noticed Ari and the seether on the park bench and stopped laughing, shrugging her shoulders as if to say sorry.

  Ari spoke first. “I doubt they’re the grieving type. They're office workers out for a lunchtime walk. I’m not getting anything from them.”

  The two women headed towards the far side of the cemetery where an old oak towered over the grave stones. An umbrella of green foliage hung over a wide tree trunk. The women walked down a small alleyway and out of sight.

  “Arrrggghhh,” the seether shrieked.

  “Why are you making me do this? Why spend all your time trying to make the world a miserable place?”

  “Just because you like cute and fluffy doesn't mean we all do. It's just insipid. All you’re doing is trying to please one another and be nice. It’s time consuming and unnecessary.”

  “Being nice is very necessary. It’s what makes life liveable.”

  “Spare me. We've managed without it for eons.”

  “Yeah? So why do you need to take over our world then?”

  The seether stared at Ari for a second, as if reassessing her.

  “I'm sure your preppy, waste of space boyfriend has given you a run-down of our history, in the most judgmental terms possible. This half-way house you call a planet is no use to either of us the way it is. You can't be both good and bad at the same time.”

  “We've managed it for eons,” Ari retorted.

  “Shut the hell up.”

  Ari watched as the seether reined in his anger, and returned to his earlier overbearing pose.

  “That’s something of value I’ve gained by coming to this poxy world—the use of expletives. You make words carry the weight of your anger. They can be so satisfying, especially the ones that involve bodily functions. The religious-based ones don't have the same force for me, of course. But then, don't get me started on the religions of this world.”

  Ari glanced at him as he shifted in his seat.

  “Oh, looks like bonding time is over. I think we might have a live one.” Interest reinserted itself into his posture.

  Ari sensed the sadness before she turned her head to look in the direction the seether signalled. Emotions sank into her chest like shards of ice as soon as she dropped her guard. An elderly woman slowly shuffled along the path. She wore a forest green button-up shirt accented at the neck by a string of fat, cream pearls. Her white hair, tinged with purple, had been set in waves. Not a hair was out of place. As she drew closer, Ari noted the sadness in her eyes, the loneliness in her gait. The old lady bestowed a small smile, not focusing on either Ari or the seether, simply offering up a politeness as she went by. Ari looked away because it seemed as if by feeling the woman's grief she was somehow stealing into a private moment.

  The woman stopped in front of a well-worn headstone and whispered to it. Ari couldn’t sense whether she was still broken-hearted about the loss of the person buried there, or whether something new and tragic had befallen her, and this was her place of comfort.

  Every part of Ari's being wanted to go over to console the woman. Instead, she rested her head in her hands. It was not long before she heard the old woman heading back towards them. Ari could feel the seether shuffle in his seat. She hoped that the woman would be permitted to walk by. Between her fingers, Ari glimpsed the old woman’s black loafers as she stopped in front of her.

  “Poor dear, is she alright?” the old woman’s voice was low and scratchy.

  Ari still sat with her head in her hands, and she imagined she looked to be in a state of shock. The seether placed his hand on Ari's back and gave it a rub.

  “She’ll be fine. Just having a rough few days. And it’s only gonna get worse for her.”

  His touch made her skin crawl.

  “I'm fine, thanks,” Ari managed to get out, not wanting the attention.

  The women walked away, her grief trailing along behind her like a tired dog on a lead.

  “From the expression on your face, I’d say you can feel her pain. Excellent. Now, I want you to try and track her. See how far you get.”

  Ari felt her, followed her movements. She could track each step. The connection didn't wane but, after about ten seconds, she turned to the seether, “I can't really feel her anymore.”

  The seether didn't seem bothered.

  “That's a good start. Longer than I thought you could do.”

  Damn, she thought, I could have got away with less.

  They sat there for a while longer, but nobody else came by. Ari cast around again for Nate. Still nothing. She fidgeted on the wooden seat. Beside her, the seether did the same. She could sense him losing interest in his experiment.

  “Bugger this, let's go. We can send Michelle out for a late lunch when we get back to the hotel.”

  “I’m not sure she likes being the errand girl.”

  “She'll do as she's told.”

  Ari was taken aback by the harsh comment.

  “Come on, you can't be too worried about the way I treat her? Look at what she’s done to you. Not exactly compassionate, is she?”

  Ari felt a pang of pity for Michelle. The seether used her infatuation to his advantage and Michelle’s feelings made her blind to the truth, even if they smacked her in the face. Ari wondered how long it would be, before he did just that. Michelle’s simpering demands stretched his patience.

  The seether stood on the curb in front of Ari waiting to hail a taxi. For a moment, she wished that pushing him under the cab would finish all of this. It was a fleeting thought, one she knew she wasn’t capable of carrying out.

  “We’re not using public transport?” Ari needled him. Even though she hadn’t had the pleasure of using it, she knew of the legendary tram system that connected Melbourne. One of the many tracks that snaked around the city centre passed right outside their hotel.

  “I have no problem with public transport. I'm under strict directions not to let you on it. We lost one that way before.”

  Ari stared at him. She hadn't considered the possibility the seether had discussed her presence with anyone.

  “About six years ago in London, we had one of you,” he explained. “A fourteen-year-old boy. We’re not sure how, but the kid managed to alert a very solid, pumped-up guy he was being held against his will. As soon as the bus doors opened at the main terminal, the kid took off like a scolded cat, straight into the crowd. In the meantime, the brick-wall of a guy slowed my associate down enough for the kid to get away. It didn’t end well for the guy though, or for that matter, the next guy who tried to help out when the first one went down in a heap. Mostly internal injuries—both carted off to hospital, no idea if they survived.”

  “But the boy got away?” she asked.

  “For a while,” he grunted. “We didn't stop 'til we found him. Took us six months. By then, the kid lived in a mental institution, heavily sedated. Once the mind br
eaks like that, it's no good to us.” He talked of the boy as if he were an inanimate object. “They're not able to differentiate the same again. Or stop screaming when we're near them, which is bloody irritating. Anyway, the moral of the story is—no public transport. I'm sure you're not a fan of mindless violence, so I'm guessing you won't be doing anything quite that stupid anytime soon.”

  Ari and the seether followed the same routine for the next three days. Nate hadn’t shown up, and as each day passed, the hope of him showing up, diminished. Ari tried to drink in the beauty of her surroundings, the parks, the trees and the colonial-age buildings that dotted the city—longing to ease the burden. But the toxic presence of the seether and the purpose of their outings managed to suck away any pleasure she felt. Practising over the past few days had honed her skills. However, she kept the extent of her progress from the seether, only relaying small improvements each day, gradual increments. After all, it was expected. Today, they didn’t have to wait long before Ari sensed someone heading towards them. She had felt the person for some time, his grief drenching the air surrounding him. Ari turned to the seether.

  “Someone's coming.”

  “Excellent.”

  A young man came into view. His eyes were red and he trudged along, barely looking in front of his own feet. He stumbled into the cemetery. Particles of food dotted his blue jeans and T-shirt, and he looked dishevelled. A slight whiff of body odour filled the air as he passed Ari and the seether.

  “Oh yes. You're right on the money with that one. Shall we go and see if there’s anything we can do to help?”

  “Just leave him.”

  The seether hadn’t meddled with anyone so far. This one was different. The young man’s grief swelled over Ari, and with it, a self-loathing that threatened to drown her.

  “Get up.” The seether grabbed her arm. “Do anything stupid and Nevaeh gets a treat tonight. Kapeesh?”

  Ari nodded.

  “Excuse me,” the seether crooned, standing directly behind his target.