Icefire

by Alessandra Jay

  She nudged her back and threw her head back.

  Everything the doctor said was exactly correct. What Juliet had was a blessing and she was lucky there was such an item that could help her through her journey as a phoenix with both ice and fire. With a new perspective, she could take on whatever the book had to offer and she could do it with an open mind.

  Chapter 11

  Phoenix Pride

  With a single message to her loved ones, she explained that she would be cramming in her room with the journal. They all responded only once, leaving her to her peace and quiet. Turning the phone to silent and stuffing it in her bag, she devoted her day to research what filled the book.

  When Juliet got into an organization frenzy, she didn’t stop until she was completely finished. By the end of the journal, Juliet rewrote everything in her own book. Colorful post-its stuck out of the top, labeled and placed into different categories.

  Juliet’s personal favorites were the combative sections that taught her different ways to use the ice in battle, tuning into the right waves of ice and holding the connection. The color that brought her dread was orange. Those were the ones she didn’t understand. And there were quite a few of them.

  The historical entries gave her the most emotional reaction because the link between the past and the present filled her with an intense energy of excitement. She needed her father for those entries, though, so they were also labeled to be read at a later time. So what she focused on were the things she could actually understand.

  The exercises seemed simple enough to master. Since Juliet was filled with both fire and ice, she chose to learn the ice moves and mix them in with her phoenix training. It confused her, though. So much so that she was severely tempted to give up and call it a day.

  A move that was simple when it was just fire was no longer as easy when she tried to mix the ice in. A spin kick was her favorite move to do and when she added fire in to explode on contact it was a pleasing rush. Except now, when she wanted ice to burst on contact, it would only be flurries of snow, like a fluffy and not-lethal snowball.

  Falling to the floor in a heavy sweat, Juliet tried to regulate her breathing. Frustrated, she slammed her palms against the cold wood floor. Groaning to herself, she fought the urge to stop her cram day. She refused. Instead, she sat up and chugged her entire bottle of water.

  Taking a small break from trying to balance the two sets of moves, she did what she knew worked for her. Raising her hands high above her head, she kept them there until her breathing was slow and steady. She knew it wouldn’t be safe for her to shift in her bedroom, but she was desperate to feel in control.

  Meditating only took a few minutes and it was just enough for her to call her phoenix to come out. All it took was for her to stop her heart. That was always a bittersweet sensation. It was like she was on a rollercoaster, paused at the top and staring out at an uncomfortable height, knowing she was about to fall in a dizzying rush.

  Her stomach sank and tears escaped her eyes without her knowledge, but all she could do was laugh because she knew she was safe and it’d be over in just a moment. That was exactly how Juliet felt every single time she died and came back to life--a comforting and blazing warmth welcomed her in her new form.

  Juliet took pleasure in knowing the heat would be there and she focused on the beat of her heart. Matching it’s rhythm, she slowed her breathing like she was about to take a dive into the deep end of a swimming pool. The dizziness was the first sign that it was working, so she continued until the darkness consumed her.

  When she felt her heart beat its last beat, she smiled, knowing what awaited her. There wasn’t anymore fear linked with shifting because coming back to life was exhilarating and completely worth it. She was thankful there wasn’t any pain. Although, the moment she came back to life as a fiery bird, her heart zapped back to a different beat.

  The slight uncomfortable zap was what signaled Juliet to her successful shift. As her webbed talons left the floor, she hovered in the air beside her bed, making sure not to get close enough to light a fire. Her head fell back as she savored the intoxicating warmth that covered each and every fiber of her feathery body.

  The waves of heat pulsed off her wings that steadily thumped in their own slow rhythm, causing a shiver to run down her spine. She stretched her wings as far as they could go without touching anything that could end up in flames. She felt more herself in that form than she did in her human form.

  The fire was ablaze around her and within her, bringing her to a peace that she could only feel as a phoenix. She wanted to stay in that warm shape forever. Spinning around in a twirling dance, the pages of her books beginning to flip on their own.

  Suddenly, an icy chill fought its way through the heat, causing her to stop her dizzying whirl. First she felt the cold sting in her heart. It made her wings twitch. She stopped them from beating and landed gently on the cold floor.

  Next, the chill spread to her wings. They felt frozen in fear. Even in her phoenix form, catching her breath was difficult. The ice traveled down her back to her talons, bringing another chill down her spine, but a different kind.

  As it ran through her whole body, she stood there in a frigid trance. She waited for the next sting to come. Instead, the fire inside her enveloped the ice, mixing together but staying separate, like oil and vinegar. They blended, but stayed their own true gift.

  Juliet concentrated on how they both made her feel. She urged them to work together as she tried to summon them both. She blew out of her mouth slowly, smoke and fire escaping her beak. Then, like a switch, she changed it to ice and the smoke turned to a cold fog that evolved into frost.

  She laughed, but it came out like a loud caw as she celebrated her small win. As she was about to attempt something else with her ice and fire, a loud knock on her door made her jump out of her feathers. Literally. She got so frightened that she shifted back to a human without warning.

  Juliet coughed as she stayed on her knees, ignoring the knocking that seemed to get louder and stronger. She tried to catch her breath, but as the smoke from her shift circulated around her small room, it made her cough even more. She got to her feet and walked to the door, hunched over, still trying to get her breathing regular.

  “Yeah?” she answered, coughing in the student’s face when she opened the door.

  “Um, are you okay? I was walking by when I heard that shriek. And smoke was coming out of the bottom of your door. What’s going on in there?” The tall and lanky dragon student tried to look into Juliet’s room, but she stepped out and closed it behind her. He looked her up and down and she could only imagine what her appearance was like while in her smart clothing.

  “Oh, yup, I’m fine. Just working on a project, that’s all. Thanks for checking in.” She ran her fingers through her hair as she slipped back through her door. Smoke formed shadows that looked like ghosts dancing around her room.

  She grabbed her pillow and began waving it around, trying to get the smoke down. When she was satisfied, she went to her mirror. Immediately a loud cackle escaped her lips as she stared at her reflection. Her hair pointed in every direction and there was soot spread across her forehead and cheek.

  Tears rolled down her face as she laughed about her image and what the dragon boy saw. As she cleaned her face, she thought of what she did moments before the interruption. She remembered how invigorating the sensation was shifting into a phoenix and she craved for it again. Though she wasn’t brave enough to shift again after almost getting caught.

  Juliet cleaned herself up and picked up the room, then sat back down in front of her journal and wrote exactly what occurred in her phoenix form. Ice and fire merging into a breathtaking blend. It brought goosebumps to her arms. She smiled, knowing she was able to use them at the same time.

  Taking her shift as a success, Juliet decided she wanted more, but was smart enough to stay in her human form. She set her book aside and flipped the ancient journal to a page label
ed TRAIN. Those pages were the ones that trained her ability to use ice. But she had a new method that she was confident in.

  If she started with her normal phoenix fire, then she could transition to her unfamiliar alicorn ice. It seemed like her only effective approach. Because of that, it was important to write down. So after she highlighted it, she returned to her task.

  Closing her eyes, she brought herself to a zen state. With a clear mind, she called to them. Just as she hoped, her fire came first, quickly and prepared. Her ice came a second after, just as ready.

  With a small smirk, Juliet opened her eyes and found the part on the page where she could try a few things for ice training. Only it wasn’t going to be just ice. The first seemed too easy, which was encasing something living in frost and keeping it alive underneath the protective frost. Kind of like her new ice whips that covered the blazing fire rope.

  The next, she liked. To create a miniature snow cloud no bigger than the size of her head. The lack of instructions that each of the practices listed was discouraging, but she felt like she was on a roll. Although she couldn’t figure out how she could incorporate her fire.

  Then it clicked in her and she wanted to begin right away. Thinking of how a storm cloud looks and sounds, Juliet raised her palms, focusing on her ice. The falling snow started with a cloud and ended with melted water, like rain, except for the cold temperature.

  She concentrated on the length of the cloud that she wanted to create. When the picture filled her mind, it was as if her hands were thinking on their own. They danced in front of her, forming an invisible cloud and fluffing it until it began to appear. The light gray cotton was cold to the touch and she knew it was working.

  When it was large enough and floating in the air in front of her, she thought of the thick and beautiful designs that snow had as it fell out of the cloud. She thought of the graceful way it fell, unlike the fast and chaotic way rain did. And she thought of it glistening in the air as it found its place on the cold floor.

  So into the moment, Juliet decided not to add her fire. But the single thought of fire was enough for her to somehow mess it up. She felt the sting as she watched the cloud glow a bright red color. The cloud shook and trembled in its place, confusing Juliet and leaving her wondering if she should take cover.

  The shaking stopped and the first snowflake to fall was… normal. It was white with an intricate design etched in its flake. She watched it, hypnotized by its lightless beauty, and stunned that she created it. The cloud changed back to gray and Juliet took a deep breath, thinking she was in the clear.

  The first snowflake touched the ground and, instead of melting into water, it practically melted her actual floor. Confused, Juliet reached her hand out and caught the next snowflake. It melted into an acid-like liquid that was hotter than any volcano filled with lava.

  She wiped the liquid away immediately and ran to the sink, where she could put it under cold water. Forgetting that the cloud was still letting out those lethal snowflakes, Juliet ran back to it with her mouth in a big round O. A hole the size of a golf ball was in the middle of her floor, where a puddle of snowflakes landed.

  She ran for an empty cup and filled it with water, running back to spill it on the cloud. As it began to disintegrate, she wrote every single thing down, making sure not to miss anything. Aside from the hole in her floor, she thought her day was well spent and incredibly educational especially since the hole hadn’t gone through the floor to the room below hers.

  Surprisingly, the first person she wanted to tell was her dad.

  Chapter 12

  Date Night

  “I can’t believe you shifted in your room. That is beyond dangerous.” Nik looked at Juliet with wide and unforgiving eyes. It was comical for her, though. His reaction to her story made her laugh, which made him look even more frustrated.

  “I was fine, Nik. I expect this from my dad, not you.” She rolled her eyes as she fought another smile from cracking through because she didn’t want to push him further. They were in the dining hall eating breakfast. The commotion about her ice whips had finally cooled down. She didn’t need them talking about her again.

  “All I’m saying is that you could’ve gotten hurt or burned the room down or something. That’s all.” He placed his hand above hers and held it there.

  “But I didn’t. And I learned some new things about my gifts. That’s worth celebrating, don’t you think?” Juliet raised her eyebrows and bowed her head as she waited for him to agree with her.

  “Of course I do. I think it’s great that you’re discovering what you can do with your ice gifts. Just promise me you won’t shift in your bedroom again?” He was annoyingly cute and it again caused her to roll her eyes.

  “Fine, Dad.” She laughed as she threw another chip into her mouth. Nik groaned as she squinted her eyes at him.

  “Very funny. What do you say we go see a movie tonight? We can celebrate you not killing yourself and burning down the Dome.” Even when he wasn’t happy with her, he still tried to be sweet. Juliet’s cheeks heated into a blush that now caused Nik to be the one to laugh.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. After we eat I’ll clear it with your dad. That way he’s not on your case about leaving the Dome after what happened last time.” She knew he didn’t mean to be so blunt. He must have forgotten that it was still raw for her. Juliet tried to push those memories to the side.

  “It shouldn’t take much," Juliet said. "Ever since he started his sessions with Dr. Ember, he’s been… different. But in a good way.”

  “I noticed that, too. She’s a great therapist. She’s been helping me, as well.” Nik took the last bite of his apple before tossing it into the garbage a few feet away.

  “How are your nightmares? Are they still coming around a lot?” Juliet felt sorry for Nik and the trauma that had stuck with him since he died. He began to have nightmares of falling, causing him to wake up in a panic. She could tell when he was having them by the circles under his eyes, tinted a dark purple.

  “Definitely less.” Talking about it made him uncomfortable sometimes. When his answers got shorter and shorter, she knew to let it go. Nodding, she crumpled up her chip bag and stood to throw it away. Nik followed her so they could walk to the training room together.

  Juliet didn’t like to use her dad as an excuse to get out of things, but she did take advantage of not having to attend all of her classes because of it. With his influence, she was excused so she could work on her new ice gifts and learn to control both of her gifts so as to avoid another clumsy blowout. Although those blowouts gave her massive anxiety. Whenever she had one she was pardoned for the rest of the day from her normal schedule.

  Since she had her ice whip fiasco, she didn't have to worry about attending her classes. Instead, she chose to focus on her training, on her ice, and the new sessions she had with Dr. Ember. Those things required her focus and attention so she could better center herself just in case there was ever another time her anxiety triggered.

  Having the support of her loved ones meant more to her than she thought it ever would. With the way her mother used to treat her, she never depended on any support for anything. Which meant whatever she did do, was kept to herself and herself only.

  Things were completely different in this new world for her, and getting the hang of it was much harder. She blamed it on Malina for messing up her brain. With the help of Dr. Ember, she was sure she could overcome the damage that was already done. The doctor was already helping her and the people she loved, and Juliet hooked onto that.

  If she wasn’t sure about opening up entirely about her mom to the doctor before, she was sure now. The only way to help herself was to be one hundred percent honest with Dr. Ember. No matter how much it hurt to talk about her mom, she knew it was something she had to do.

  “You okay?” Nik looked down at Juliet with his lips in a pout, as if he were trying to figure her out.

  “Lost in my own thoughts. Ready to train.”
Before she knew it, they were in the training room. It caught her by such surprise that she jumped into her stretching too fast. Forgetting she had her bag, it came up and hit her on the head. Nik squeezed his lips together as he tried to hide his smile, and that made Juliet’s cheeks red all over again, though for a completely different reason.

  As she walked to the lockers, she was sure to nudge him in the arm. But that only made his smile break through as he laughed quietly. Shaking her head, Juliet walked back to him and decided to start the training without notice. She snuck her way behind Nik and swung her leg underneath his feet.

  Falling on his back, Nik grunted loud enough to turn the heads of the other students that were in there. When they heard Juliet laugh, they returned their attention to something else. Nik groaned as he got up, giving Juliet a comical death stare.

  “That’s how you wanna play?” With those five words, Juliet knew she was in for it. But it was a challenge she was happy to accept. Giving him her own death stare, she got into her fighting stance, waiting for her boyfriend to charge.

  That was what Juliet found romantic. And Nik seemed to be on the same page.

  ***

  “So did you like the movie?” Nik took Juliet’s hand in his as they walked through the crowded street.

  “Um, it was amazing. There’s nothing better than watching a woman kick ass, even if it’s just acting.” Juliet didn’t hold back.

  “Yeah, it was pretty cool how she got all those kills on the airplane. That was my favorite part. Wanna stop for froyo?” The frozen yogurt shop came into view, and Juliet nodded happily.

  It took them less than five minutes to get their cups and leave the store. Just as Juliet thought the night couldn’t get any better, Nik’s phone rang. She knew who it was because the ringtone was menacing… like her father.