[Imdalind 01.0] Kiss of Fire

by Rebecca Ethington

  Finding a belt in the mess was surprisingly more difficult than locating pants. I held the pants around me as I searched through drawers and boxes that were littered around the large space. I carefully lifted a sheet that covered one section of the wall and stopped short.

  Behind the curtain was a perfectly organized wall of clothes. Each piece of clothing hung on its own hanger, covered with a clear protective bag. On its own, it would have been surprising, given the lack of organization among the rest of the clothes.

  It wasn’t just that though; at first, I thought they were costumes. Each shirt was longer and would probably fall to the knee on an average-sized man. Given the lengths and the style, I would almost call them tunics. The light colored garments were cut from fabrics that I could automatically tell where expensive. I fought the urge to remove the bags and run my hands over the soft silks, touch the fine jewels and golden ropes that adorned each one.

  I hungrily ran my eyes over the glittering stones, the deep colored embroidery. The sleeves on each piece were exaggerated, but I couldn’t tell by how much, given how loosely they hung on the hangers. Claudius, Macbeth, Lear, Romeo. I could see these on-stage in a million different plays, but they weren’t fake, like costumes; they were shockingly real.

  “Pretty, aren’t they?” I jumped at Ilyan’s voice, my hand clutching my chest.

  “You scared me!” I spun to him and balked. While now soap-free, he was still only dressed in a towel. I inhaled sharply and stepped away, hoping he hadn’t noticed my reaction. His chest was strong and thick with sinewy muscles, but that wasn’t why I had reacted. The skin across his chest was criss-crossed with hundreds of raised scars, like he had been whipped.

  I shook my head and looked away. My skin buzzed as my agitation returned, coming in full force again. I wasn’t as mad as I should have been to see him dressed in only a towel.

  “Sorry, but you were looking at my private collection; you kind of deserved it,” he chuckled.

  “Private collection?” I let the sheet fall over the clothes again. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. They are not a secret after all. I wear them to council.” He handed me a belt he had removed from under a pile of undershirts; I would have never found it.

  “Council? You mean the meeting you had yesterday?”

  “Yes, it is an official meeting, so I have to look the part.” He grinned, but it looked more like a grimace.

  “You mean, like King?”

  His face fell. He turned from me and grabbed a few items of clothing off the many disorganized piles.

  “Not ‘like’, Joclyn, just King.” He gave me a sad, little smile and disappeared behind a partition I hadn’t noticed due to the large amount of clothes draped over it.

  “So, do I need to call you ‘My Lord’ now?”

  He flung the towel over the side to join the clothes already there, and I instantly looked down at my feet, turning my back to him in embarrassment and frustration.

  “That depends on a few things.”

  “Like what?” I asked as he came out from behind the partition, still pulling his shirt over his head.

  “Well, for starters, when we are together like this.” I blushed, which only caused him to smile. “Just the two of us, I mean. Or with Wynifred and Talon, then, no. But around anyone else, then, yes.”

  I nodded my head in understanding, knowing I would mess it up.

  “Why not Wyn and Talon?”

  “Wynifred was not raised with us, so she forgets from time to time. Most of the time, I let it slide as she and Talon have undergone the Zȇlství, but there are times when she probably needs to remember her place a bit more.”

  “And Talon?”

  “Talon and I grew up together; it would just be weird if he started calling me ‘My Lord’ and bowing all the time.”

  “Were you not always king?”

  “No, Silnỳ.” His answer was definite, and strangely final.

  I shut my mouth, sure he didn’t want me to ask any more questions about his royal status.

  “What does that mean?” I asked, hoping my change in subject was easy to follow.

  “What?”

  “Silnỳ?” The word sounded odd on my tongue.

  He looked at me quietly, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

  “It means, ‘little one’.”

  I only nodded at him. What an odd nickname.

  “Now, what do you say to a little bit of training for that newly awakened kouzlo of yours?”

  “Training?”

  “Yes, that buzz in your fingertips? I think it’s dying to get out.”

  I looked at my fingers; it seemed silly that I hadn’t realized exactly what it was before.

  “It’s…” I stopped mid-sentence, the proper words not finding the right place.

  “It’s your magic, Joclyn. Perfectly centered and dying for you to learn to control it.”

  I looked up at him, stunned; the buzzing grew a bit at Ilyan’s sly half-smile.

  “I think it’s waited long enough, don’t you?” He left the closet quickly; I padded after him in bare feet, so that I could keep up. He nodded to the guard and kept moving. I finally caught up to him as he opened a large door that led outside.

  “Now,” he announced, “the real fun begins. What do you say to growing a tree?”

  “Growing a tree?” I said, alarmed. “How is that going to help me save Ryland?” The buzzing grew as panic joined my frustration.

  “It will help because then you will be able to use your magic,” he chuckled, which only made me more upset.

  “Growing a tree is not going to help me! How will I use that? Grow a tree and then go hide in it? That doesn’t help anyone.” I could hear the harsh edge of panic creep steadily into my voice.

  “It helps us more if you know even a little bit of what you are doing than nothing at all.” Ilyan’s voice was still calm, and somehow, that helped to decrease my panic.

  “So when will I learn magic that can help me save Ryland?” The buzzing grew more with the fuel from my stress. I felt like I was going to explode. I breathed deeply, trying to gain control.

  “We have eight days, Joclyn. I can’t possibly teach you everything in eight days. So we will be learning the basics.” His calm voice was a whisper compared to mine.

  “The basics? How am I supposed to do anything with the basics?”

  “We will begin,” he continued, ignoring my outburst, “with plant growth so that you can gain control of your power. I will then teach you how to control wind, and if you are very lucky, we may touch on energy fields.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yes, Silnỳ. I will teach you enough so you can go in, defend yourself if you must, and so you can run away when necessary.”

  “Run away?” My heart plunged into my toes, my voice dropping in tone as my heart rate increased in timber. “I thought we were going to save him.”

  “We are.” He left it at that and strolled away from me.

  “Then why do I need to know how to run away?”

  “Because you will not be strong enough to fight any of them. You are going with the sole purpose of getting Ryland out, and that task requires you to run away. You must know how to run away from Edmund, from Timothy, and maybe even from Ryland.”

  I followed him slowly to the courtyard Wyn had shown me last night. I didn’t know what to say; my anger had lessened, but now I felt somewhat worthless. All my life, Ryland had protected and supported me, and now it was my turn to protect him, and I couldn’t do it. Even with all the power that I now had buzzing under my skin, I couldn’t. There wasn’t enough time to learn how to do that.

  The courtyard in the middle of the motel was the type of place I would gladly waste days in. The large branches of the tree that stood in the center of the space reached far over us, shading most of the courtyard throughout the day. What light seeped through the canopy speckled the stone paths and grassy patches with pools of warm sunlight and golden colo
r.

  I sat in one of the sun bathed pools of light, Ilyan by my side as he gently taught me to stretch and bend my magic. At first, all the pent-up energy came out in a rush and I covered us with dirt as a small area of ground exploded rather than causing the flower to grow, as I was supposed to do. I was elated; if it was really that easy, then perhaps I had a chance to actually help Ryland after all.

  After the initial use however, getting the magic out was a different story altogether. I could still feel it tingle and move under my skin, but I could no longer get it to move beyond my veins and into my control. The buzzing grew and swirled around inside as my frustration twisted into anxiety. Perhaps this was all just a pointless exercise; my magic had been hidden too long. My magic simply didn’t know what to do and was just as stubborn as I was. It made me feel dead inside.

  By the time the sun had cleared the roof of the old motel, Wyn and Talon had joined our group. They sat off to the side, a sleepy Wyn curled up against Talon. I was happy they were there, but grateful that they weren’t offering their own advice. I didn’t know how much more failure I could take anyway. After about three hours of trying, I slunk away and leaned against the giant tree that was shading us.

  “I give up,” I moaned as Ilyan came over and joined me.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You give up and Ryland dies, simple as that.”

  I flinched at his brutal honesty, his stern voice cutting through me.

  “Are you still going to give up?”

  “No.”

  “Good. Now, I have an idea, but it involves breaking a rule. Are you okay with that?”

  “What rule?” I wanted to agree, but I was apprehensive about what he was going ask.

  “Just answer the question, Joclyn.”

  “Fine,” I grunted at him, folding my arms across my chest. I could hear Talon laugh at me from across the clearing; it didn’t do much to improve my mood.

  I followed Ilyan back to the space where we had been working, my foul mood increasing as he invited Wyn and Talon over to join us. Wyn bounded over with a wide smile on her face as she barreled into me with a bear hug before settling in next to Talon.

  “All right,” Ilyan began, “I need you to take off the necklace.”

  “What?” I clutched it in a desperate panic; I couldn’t take it off—I had promised Ryland.

  “Don’t worry; you can put it on the second we are done.”

  “Why? Why do I need to take it off in the first place? It’s just my magic, right? You said it probably just doesn’t know what to do.”

  “While that may be the problem, I think it is something else. I think Edmund’s magic, that is repressing Ryland, is repressing you as well.”

  I heard Wyn breathe behind me, but I could only stare.

  “But I thought you told me... you told me Edmund couldn’t affect me.”

  “I thought he couldn’t, but it looks like he might be able to. If that’s the case, we need to get you using your magic so we can train you to block Edmund’s barrier. Do you understand?”

  I nodded solemnly before moving to take off the necklace. My stomach flipped around inside of me. Not only was Edmund hurting Ryland, but he was hindering me as well. I sincerely hoped Ilyan’s guess would be wrong. I handed the necklace to Ilyan, who wrapped it up in a cloth.

  “Now,” Ilyan looked at me eagerly, “make the seed grow.”

  I exhaled deeply, flexing my fingers as the buzzing shifted into the tips of them. I closed my eyes and focused. I could feel the energy; I could feel what it wanted to do. I placed my hand onto the ground and felt my magic move out and into the ground. Everything shifted under my fingers and a loud popping noise filled my ears. Talon and Ilyan yelled out in irritation while Wyn laughed hysterically.

  My eyes popped open. Instead of being surrounded by large craters or flames, I sat in the middle of long grasses and prairie flowers up to my head. I hadn’t conjured all of these, had I?

  I looked around in a panic before jumping to my feet. Ilyan, Talon and Wyn all sat in the same places they had a moment ago, except that now they were all covered in dirt and sticks. Wyn continued to laugh hysterically as Ilyan spat and wiped dirt out of his mouth and ears.

  “Well, I don’t think we have to worry about how strong your magic is, just how to control it,” Ilyan said between dirt clumps.

  25

  I was devastated that Ilyan was right, that Edmund’s restraints had moved through the necklace into me. I didn’t want to think about what Edmund could do to me if he knew about the necklace, about the connection. What worried me so much more was the thought that if Edmund’s magic was restricting me that much, what was he doing to Ryland? I couldn’t get the image of Ryland’s blood-covered bedroom out of my mind; it added to my tortures.

  “I can’t believe it was that easy. Especially after all the trouble I had before,” I spoke quietly to myself as I stared at my hands. I almost expected them to catch on fire.

  “Evil overlords can do that to you,” Talon said as he handed the wrapped necklace back to me.

  I took the necklace and looked at it solemnly. I desperately wanted to put it on, but wasn’t sure if I could, or even if I should. The thought of how much it hindered me, of what it was now beginning to mean, was a heavy, choking weight.

  “Go ahead,” Ilyan urged as he sat beside me again. “Put it on.”

  “Do you think I should?” I carefully peeled away the folds of fabric to look at the jewel nestled there, the fine silver chain circling around like a snake.

  “Yes, I do. I want you to try something,” Ilyan replied.

  I removed the necklace from the cloth and carefully placed it around my neck. At almost the exact moment that the ruby touched my skin, I felt my magic slow down, the energy lose some of the wriggling nature that I was becoming used to.

  “How bad is it?” Ilyan asked, and I knew what he was referring to.

  “Everything slowed down; it almost feels like my body has become sludge.”

  Ilyan nodded his head in understanding.

  “Your magic is very strong, Joclyn. I think you can fight through this. In fact, if you can master it, it might help everyone in the future, especially Ryland.”

  My head perked up. I leaned closer to him, even though my instinct was to move away. My dark hair fell around my face as I bent toward him.

  “How, Ilyan? How do I do it?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. You will have to figure it out yourself.” He smiled, and I had the distinct impression he did actually know what I was supposed to do.

  “Can’t you just tell me?” I pleaded. I needed to know if it could help me save Ryland.

  “I would, but I have never actually witnessed something like this. I have ideas, but they will probably not work for you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, Joclyn, because your magic is not developed. For example…” His voice had taken on that deep, commanding tone that I had heard in him the first moment I had met him, in front of the school.

  I flinched away.

  “…if I told you to try to perform a double barrier and reverse it, would you be able to do it?”

  I just stared.

  “Or, how about an extended growth spell? No. You would not know what to do. I could teach you all that in a month, maybe two, but not today, not when your knowledge of magic is so limited. You have to figure it out for yourself because you don’t know all of the basics yet.” He looked away from me with superiority.

  Wyn rubbed my back sympathetically, whether because Ilyan had just put me in my place or because I looked absolutely forlorn, I had no idea.

  I lay back in the grass, dejectedly. Of course, it couldn’t be quite so simple. I looked through the grass to the dirt, my mind spinning as I tried to figure out what to do. I could feel the low buzz of my magic. I still felt the desperate need for it to get out, but no matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t come.

  I flexed my fingers and placed the very tips in th
e dirt, digging them in a bit. The warm earth and the electric hum from within me combined aggressively, but the magic would not move. I had the foolish thought to cut my skin to simply let it out. While probably a very natural progression, the image of cutting my own skin brought visions of Ryland being tortured to the forefront of my memory.

  I flinched at the image, wiping it from my mind. Then I paused; the image had instigated something. I could still feel the super-charged buzz as the magic released into the ground where my fingers touched it. I now knew what I needed to do, and although I sincerely didn’t want to, I brought a vision of Ryland to my mind.

  This time, I chose the gentle image of him placing the necklace around my neck. The beautiful memory caused my heart to swell, and with it, a tiny bit of energy expelled itself. It wasn’t enough to do anything, but it was something. I felt the warmth of it leaving my fingertips before it subsided.

  I tried again, this time remembering the first time we had climbed the trees and how he had gently coaxed me down and hugged me tightly. My soul flew at the imagery, the magic surging momentarily and shooting out of me, causing the grass to grow about an inch. It was more, but it still wasn’t enough.

  I sat up, staring at my dirty fingers in amazement. I had felt it; felt the change. I could have sworn I could almost feel the restrictive cover that the necklace placed over me shift. If only I could shift it enough to overcome it.

  “What is it, Joclyn?”

  My head snapped up to see all three of them looking at me, confused. I could tell they had just been laughing about something; Wyn’s shoulders still stuttered, as if trying to restrain a latent laugh.

  “It’s... I thought...” I paused. No matter how much I was learning to trust Wyn and was growing to like Talon and Ilyan, I still wasn’t sure I was ready to go into everything quite yet. “It’s nothing,” I finished lamely.

  Talon turned away from me, returning easily to whatever conversation they had been having a moment before. Wyn stared at me a moment longer before shrugging and returning to jabber along with Talon. Ilyan, though—Ilyan continued to look at me curiously. The intensity of his gaze locked me in place, the familiar blue shooting into me, sending shivers up my spine.