Playing With Fire

by Jordan Mendez

  “So the Guardian really did succeed,” she said distantly. Kyra stood up and stretched her arms. “I won’t let her efforts be wasted then. Come with me.”

  Kyra strode out of the tent, leaving me to scramble after her. The sun’s early rays warmed the ground beneath my feet, and changed the nearby hanging mist to gold. People were just beginning to stir, and yawns and grumbles of not wanting to wake up could be faintly heard with each tent we passed.

  We didn’t stop walking until we were at the edges of the camp and the forest greeted us once again. The trees towered over us like mountains, but they were spaced out enough for light to come in with a green twinge. A few birds passed by overhead.

  “Come out Ed, I need you to do something for me,” She said, and out of nowhere, the shy boy appeared by Kyra’s side.

  “Yes ma’am?” he said quietly.

  “I need you to go get Vaze,” she said. Ed nodded and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

  “Is he one of your students?” I asked.

  “He isn’t just one of them,” she said. “He’s absolutely the most talented boy I have ever taught, even more than when I trained Vaze, though he seems to have forgotten most of his training. Ed may not seem like a strong fighter, but he is the equivalent to five special unit soldiers, which is what my students are. I want to see if you have what it takes to be one, and if Vaze still deserves to be one. If you pass, I’ll take you to the priestess who can seal the curse, because I’m the only one who knows where she is now. But if you fail, you will never use your power unless you want to risk becoming that monster again.”

  “And if Vaze fails the test?” I asked curiously.

  “Then I’ll beat him to a pulp,” she said in a matter-of-fact way.

  “Well then I hope I don’t fail,” Vaze said from behind, making me jump.

  “Is there anything else you need me to do, ma’am?” Ed asked from the opposite side of me, but still making me jump.

  “No, you can watch if you’d like,” Kyra said, and in response Ed chose a tree branch above to watch at.

  “What kind of test will we be doing?” Vaze asked.

  “A simple one,” she said. “One of you has to hit me at least once without being blocked.”

  “Is that all?” I asked in disbelief. “This’ll be easier than I thought.”

  “If you think so,” Kyra said while laughing. “It sounds like you’re ready, so let’s begin.”

  With her last word Kyra disappeared from where she stood, and appeared right in front of me. She smiled and let out a flurry of punches and kicks. I had almost no time to react—all I could do was block. Vaze came in from the side and tried to punch her. Before he could thrust his fist Kyra had one hand on his head. She pushed him down, and flipped over him, kicking him in the back and sending him flying into me. Vaze grabbed my shoulders to keep from hurting me, but it didn’t stop us from colliding. The minute we hit the ground we both bounced back to our feet. Kyra smirked and sat on the ground.

  “This might be fun,” She said as Vaze whipped out his wings and took to the sky. I went for a head on attack and raced towards her. I swept my leg at her head, but she grabbed me by the heel when my foot was an inch from making contact. Not missing a beat, I thrust my fist at her face, but she caught it with her other hand. From the sky behind her, Vaze was rocketing silently towards her. I thought he was going to get her, but I should have known better.

  The second Vaze was about to hit her, Kyra hurled my body behind her effortlessly, causing me to crash into Vaze midair. The sudden impact felt as if I had hit a charging horse head on. It didn’t feel the same way to Vaze, because the second he touched the ground, he ricocheted straight back at Kyra. He brought his leg down with one swift movement, but it never hit her. She disappeared from sight and all Vaze’s foot hit was dirt. Vaze searched around with a confused look on his face. In the blink of an eye, Kyra was behind him with a smirk.

  “Behind you!” I warned, but too late. As Vaze whipped around, Kyra had already pulled back her arm to punch him. Soon enough a wide eyed Vaze was sailing back through the air. Vaze caught his footing again and skidded back on his back a bit. He looked back up at Kyra with determined eyes and a little blood trickling out of his nose. He let his wings extend to their full length, which was twice my height from head to toe on both sides. With one beat of his mighty wings, he was sailing over Kyra’s head. Kyra tried attacking him, but he sailed right past her, and straight towards me. He scooped me off the ground and before I could scream at him, we were high in the air, about five stories more than I would have been comfortable with.

  “What are you doing, Vaze?” I screamed in his ear. “We have to pass that test!”

  “And we won’t, if we keep attacking without a plan,” He said. “Kyra is always going to be a step ahead of us, so we have to know how to be two steps ahead of her.”

  “You realize I don’t even know what that means, right?” I said extremely lost.

  “It doesn’t matter; just listen to what I have, okay?” I nodded, and Vaze began to tell me his plan. With each phase he explained to me, the more skeptical I became. With the past attempts we’ve already done, it was a long shot. But it was all we had, so I agreed to it.

  With the first part of the plan in motion, Vaze went back to face Kyra again, but this time, alone. Kyra searched around for me and looked up to Ed, but he just shrugged. That was good. If Ed hadn’t seen me yet then I was doing my part well, or at least well enough.

  “Where’s Scarlet?” Kyra asked, letting her guard down. “Did you make her sit this out so she wouldn’t get hurt? You know there are better ways to show affection than risking your own hide for her, right? Flowers work quite nicely too.”

  “I didn’t make her sit this out because I thought she would get hurt,” Vaze said with a confident smile playing across his lips. “I made her sit it out because I know I can beat you myself.”

  “Showing off doesn’t get you noticed either, Vaze,” Kyra said while laughing. “It makes girls think you’re a complete idiot.” That last statement was completely true, no matter the scenario.

  “You should really take me more seriously, don’t you think?” Vaze said calmly. Vaze bolted at her, but Kyra just laughed. Vaze threw punch after punch, but Kyra dodged them all. It looked more like she was dancing rather than dodging blows.

  I came up behind Ed on a parallel tree branch, and hesitated a little. I didn’t want to do it. He had hardly done anything to me, and he was an okay kid, but it was a part of the plan. While Ed was watching the spectacle from below, he was completely oblivious to me, which was going to have to be the way it had to be until it was time.

  “You’re not going to do anything but tire yourself out this way, Vaze,” Kyra said between her swift dodges.

  “And why would it matter to you, Kyra?” Vaze said without halting his attacks.

  “It would be a boring way to lose, wouldn’t it?” Kyra said mockingly. “That wouldn’t show anything of your efforts of running from Velkire all this time.” With one swift kick, Kyra bested Vaze and he toppled over clutching his gut. Kyra was in position facing away from me.

  “I really expected more from you Vaze,” Kyra said disappointedly. “All you got out of this was a couple of broken ribs, and soon to be a lot more broken bones.”

  As fast as I could go, the blur of a body hissed through the air towards Kyra, who still didn’t bother to turn around. It turns out she didn’t need to. With one swift movement, Kyra grabbed behind her, catching it midair and yanked it in front of her, about to punch it hard as she could. She stopped short.

  “What?” Kyra exclaimed as she stared into the deep blue eyes of a gaged and bound Ed. He tried to spit out the shreds of cloth I gaged him with, but it was useless. His arms and legs were bound at the joints with shredded cloth. Kyra whipped around, but much too late. As she turned her head, she realized what was happening—but it didn’t matter. My fist made contact with her face, and sent her
flying back to the ground.

  “That was great Scarlet! I see you improvised on the binds,” Vaze commented at my ripped pants and shirt. My pants were above my knees, and my shirt no longer possessed two sleeves, making me freeze, but beaming with victory.

  “I’m used to wearing rags,” I said back smiling. Slow clapping made our heads turn back to Kyra.

  “Congratulations, you pass,” She said while wiping a little blood from her mouth. “I should have guessed you would have come up with a plan like this Vaze. Using yourself as a distraction to not only me, but Ed as well, was something only you would think of. And using Ed as a decoy was genius. But I am disappointed you didn’t put up a fight, Ed.”

  Kyra cut Ed’s bonds and Ed removed the cut up shirt arm I shoved in his mouth. I felt bad for him; I couldn’t have passed without him, unless I used an animal maybe. Rubbing the back of my neck, I approached him.

  “Sorry about that, it wasn’t my idea to use you,” I said apologetically. I could feel Vaze’s eyes shoot to me as I unloaded the blame on him, and I smirked in satisfaction.

  “It’s alright,” Ed replied quickly, still avoiding looking me in the eyes. “I’m glad you passed. Good job.”

  “So, are you going to keep your promise to Scarlet?” Vaze asked Kyra.

  “Of course,” Kyra said. “Would you like to come? She can fix your broken ribs.”

  “I wasn’t going to let Scarlet go unless I came any way,” He replied.

  “Aw, young love!” Kyra cooed, which subtly bugged me. Vaze’s composure didn’t sway, which pleased me.

  “If that’s what you think,” He said emotionlessly.

  “Ed, you’re coming too,” Kyra said and Ed nodded. The next hour was taken up following Kyra through the forest, and I soon noticed we were going in circles.

  “Kyra, where are we going?” I groaned impatiently.

  “We are going to the priestess so you won’t have to worry about become a demon,” Kyra said in a ‘why are you asking’ tone.

  “But we’ve gone past that tree and that rock five times now!” I complained. It was true. We really had passed the same tree and rock five times.

  “And your point is?” Kyra replied. I rolled my eyes and sighed. There was no point in fighting her. If it took too much longer I was going to have Vaze fly us back to camp, because my stomach was complaining as well.

  Just about when I was going to ask Vaze, a stone cottage appeared before us. The only part that freaked me out was that it hadn’t been there before.

  “Finally!” Kyra said in exhaustion. The smell of chicken soup wafted out from the small cottage, causing the chorus of earth shattering stomach growls from the four of us. Kyra raced towards the cottage, with the three of us in tow. Without bothering to knock, Kyra threw the door open and revealed a cluttered mess of string strung across the entire room, lacing around furniture, doors, and every loose object. A little woman with light blonde hair that had traces of grey was furiously stirring the contents of a pot three times her size.

  “Still haven’t learned your manners I see, little Kyra,” The little woman said without turning her head away from the pot. Her voice was slightly gravely with age, but it had a soft kind grandma feeling to it.

  “I’ve always found that manners are unnecessary at most times, Madam Gale,” Kyra said while making her way through the spider web of multiple colored strings to the small woman.

  “So that’s how you think of it,” the little woman said as Kyra finally reached her.

  “Well, I guess they are important sometimes,” Kyra said shrugging. The little woman drew the giant wooden spoon from the pot and whacked Kyra over the head with it, making a satisfying loud crack.

  “OW! What was that for?” Kyra whined while grabbing a the bump that was forming on her forehead.

  “You never listened to my lessons when you were little, did you?” Madam Gale nagged. “Manners are an essential part of life when you’re a woman, you should be more lady-like!”

  “I’m a general of a vital part Moraj’s army! I have more important things to worry about than manners!” The little woman whacked Kyra across the head again.

  “Don’t sass me young lady!” The crabby little woman said while shaking the giant soup spoon over head. “I didn’t waste long hours each day on manners for you to go off to war like some man! If you keep acting like a man you’re never going to get one! And for the sake of the Healer stop slouching!” The little woman whacked Kyra’s shoulders and immediately she straightened up. “Now are you going to tell me why you’re visiting for the first time in ten years, or are you just going to stand there?”

  “I brought a friend who needs to have a curse sealed,” Kyra said while rubbing her new various bruises and bumps.

  “I know that!” The woman said.

  “Then why’d you ask!” Kyra fumed, losing her patience, but was hit on the head again by the little woman.

  “I said don’t sass me!” The scary little woman could use a spoon like a weapon. The she turned to us with a sweet smile. “Why are you all just standing there children? Come in, come in!”

  The three of us made our way through the obstacle course of string towards the woman. She looked at us with a smile, but the only thing I noticed were her eyes. They were glazed over, and possessed no pupil or color. She was completely blind!

  “What are they feeding these children at that camp of yours, Kyra?” Madam Gale said while poking Ed in the ribs. Ed looked uncomfortable. “This one’s nothing but bone!”

  “I don’t eat much, ma’am,” Ed mumbled, and I could have sworn he was shaking.

  “Speak up, boy!” She said while whacking him over the head with her spoon. “No one’s going to listen to you unless you talk with that strength you have! And you shouldn’t be afraid to use it either; you could put that bratty older brother of yours in his place for once!”

  “How’d you know about my brother?” Ed asked, rubbing his head where she hit him.

  “The Healer tells me a lot of things, and I can see things others can’t,” she said.

  “Like what?” Ed said curiously. The little woman whacked him across the head again.

  “Either speak up or don’t speak at all!” she said again. Ed fell silent.

  “So you’re back,” she said as she touched Vaze’s face. “Did you perfect summoning your power?” The little woman yanked the back of Vaze’s shirt down, and I expected to see his wings, but was surprised to see they weren’t there. In their place were two amazingly realistic tattoos on his back of bat wings trailing down on either sides of his spine. Madam Gale touched one of them and smiled. “It seems you have.”

  “Vaze where are your wings?” I asked.

  “They are the tattoos,” he replied. “They come out of them when I need them, and go back into my back when I don’t. It’s hard to explain better than that.” I would have asked more questions, but had no time to.

  The little woman walked over to me while holding onto a string. She touched my face and crinkled her nose.

  “You smell like blood and ashes,” she said as she inspected my face with her slightly wrinkled hands. Alarm flashed through her face, but as quickly as it came, it was gone. “What is your name, girl?”

  “Scarlet,” I replied, hoping that I wouldn’t get wacked in the head with her spoon.

  “I already knew that!” The woman said and whacked me across the head.

  “Hey! Stop it!” I snapped, and was hit across the head again.

  “Watch your mouth!” she nagged, and I caught sight of Kyra trying to conceal giggling. Madam Gale whipped around and whacked Kyra across the head with the spoon. “Do you think that’s funny? This girl acts as if you taught her how to behave!”

  “Would you stop that?” Kyra said while rubbing yet another bruise. The little woman whacked her again.

  “Stop whining, I know what you want,” She said while putting her hands on her hips.

  “You do?” I said eagerly. The
little woman nodded.

  “I can see things others can’t, and that includes that curse that was placed on you,” She said while poking my stomach. “I know why you need it to go away also. You are the spawn of a Guardian and a mortal, and Velkire wouldn’t waste so much of his effort to put that curse on you if your power was not natural.”

  “Wait a spawn of what and what?” I asked confused. The small woman hit me with her spoon again.

  “Don’t interrupt!” she said. “As I was saying, Velkire obviously wants you to not be able to use your power, so I’m going to seal his curse so that you can. After all, I was born to be a thorn in his side. Now let me see it.”

  “Huh?” was my genius response.

  “The imprint!” she said while poking my stomach. “Velkire likes making his curses painful, and always leaves a mark.”

  “But you’re blind. You won’t be able to see it,” I replied, and was whacked over the head with the spoon that I was really starting to hate.

  “Just lift your shirt enough so that it’s visible!” She nagged.

  “Um, ma’am…” I said while gesturing with my head to the wide eyed and blushing Vaze and Ed. Kyra noticed my gesture and hit both of them on the backs of their heads. They understood pretty quickly and went outside. I lifted my shirt and tied it above my stomach, but below my chest. I was very surprised to find something that hadn’t been there before. An unfinished star inside a half-finished circle rested on my stomach. The blind woman touched the imprint and frowned.

  “This is not good at all,” she mumbled.

  “Can you seal it?” Kyra asked.

  “Of course I can,” Madam Gale replied sharply. “But not entirely.”

  “Not entirely?” I said with a little fear creeping into my voice.

  “I can seal it enough so you may use your power again, but,” She trailed off.

  “But? But what?” I asked my voice getting a little more urgent.

  “I can’t seal off the demon,” She said sadly. “You will have to control your anger and hatred; that is what triggers the transformation. The seal should make it harder for the curse to transform you, but it would still be a possibility that it could happen.”