by Unknown
Slag stood and walked over to the sideboard. “I believe we will be at this for a while and feel in need of fortification. Anyone else interested in something to drink?” He poured a small amount of amber liquid from a decanter. When no one accepted his offer, he returned to his seat. “Matriarch, Mirada supports Ice’s position, but can you insure me that Mirada is advocating for Zeal?”
Mirada thought Slag was being brazen. All his humbleness had definitely been placed aside, and the man had made himself right at home. Who is he, really?
Izlan smiled. “You have asked a pertinent question, Master Slag, for which I thank you. Mirada is not only a former Raider, whose counsel in the past has prevented loss of life in and outside of the company, but is also a dear friend. I trust her to do right by Zeal.”
Slag took a sip and rolled the liquid around in his mouth before swallowing. “Then the question I have is what does Zeal want?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
ZEAL NODDED TO OBIN, who held the mausoleum door open for him. He always wondered how Obin, who never left the inside of the mausoleum, knew when a visitor was approaching the building. When he entered, the familiar interior seemed subtly changed. He viewed it with new eyes. The sun mosaic on the floor emitted a soft glow he’d never appreciated before, and the light from the flame-free sconces shone more brightly on the engraved plates by the residents’ niches.
At the far end of the chamber, Iris sat with his fellow apprentices. He’d excused himself ostensibly to relieve himself in order to have a few moments alone with his thoughts. He still had a discomfort in his mouth; it had prevented him from eating much of the evening meal or enjoying Cook’s cake.
Iris repositioned the babe into the crook of her arm and placed the kitten in her lap as he hurried to join his peers, plopping down between Mehrle and Tulip.
The little feline reminded him of Kit, but thinking of her made his tongue hurt all the more. Iris’s smile, however, lightened his low spirits. She leaned forward and touched his lips with her fingertips. Surprisingly, her hand felt cool on his mouth. His pain abruptly diminished, and his tongue became less swollen. There was still some soreness, but he felt a lot better.
She removed her hand and leaned back. “Zeal, you have a tale to tell tonight. Do not be troubled, as all will be as it should be, my champion.”
At her words, he ceased feeling sorry for himself and found himself blushing. Normally, he sought to be the center of attention but didn’t feel his usual confident self at the moment.
Tulip placed her arm across his shoulders. “Remember, Mouse, we are all family here.”
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly released it before beginning. He purposefully left out the details regarding Essmee and Kit but planned to share the information with Iris when they were alone together. He ended stating, “So I am some kind of Phosfire and can be a Practitioner, as well.”
Liddea looked toward her lap. “I am happy for you, Zeal, but why you?”
Zeal saw a mixture of emotions on her face, including surprise, jealousy, and pain.
Liddea, head down, continued, “It hurt when Qwen told me I didn’t have the potential to become a Practitioner. Even though I’d hoped one of us would succeed in passing his test, I still wish it had been me.”
Zeal crawled over, knelt in front Liddea, and placed his forehead to hers. “Sorry.” No other words came to him, but he let her know he understood.
Nester loudly cleared his throat and said, “Zeal, could you tell us more about the Phosfire thing?”
“Yeah, why didn’t you burn your hand when you supposedly took the stuff from Master Ice?” Fronc asked cynically.
Zeal briefly glanced over at Fronc, whose face was full of doubt. He knew that Fronc preferred life to remain predictable and not become…quirky. Meeting and accepting Iris had been quite a challenge for him.
Tulip readily came to Zeal’s defense. “Believe what you want, Fronc, but everything happened just as Zeal described.”
Liddea looked up and met Zeal’s eyes. “I believe them, Fronc. One thing Zeal doesn’t do is lie. You should know that. Zeal, what was it like?”
He gathered his thoughts. “Well, I kind of sucked the fire inside of me—”
Fronc interrupted, “You ate it?”
Zeal held up his hand. “No, into here. I felt it travel up my arm then spread. Like when you’re in a hot bath and dunk under the water, you can feel the heat penetrate into your body. It felt much like that, but the bath was inside me and the heat radiated outward instead of inward. That’s the best explanation I have right now.”
Liddea laid her hand on his arm. “You don’t feel hot to touch. Is Qwen to be your mentor?”
He shook his head. “Masters Ice and Feneas believe it’s best for me to leave the Temple and go to a place called Havensharth. They don’t think Arlanda has the resources needed to help me. If I don’t go, I might do something terrible. I’m scared. I don’t know what being a Phosfire will mean. What if I accidently hurt one of you or burn down the Temple?” He closed his eyes and lowered his head, not wanting to see what the others thought of him.
Tulip spoke up. “Master Feneas is too old. Qwen is gone. Master Ice is returning to Havensharth, where there is a Repository for people like Zeal to safely train. Havensharth has other enclaves there, places to learn many different skills. Mehrle told me Lady Mirada said there is even an enclave training mercenaries.”
Nester laughed. “Yeah, it would be terrible if Zeal were to explode and burn everything up.”
Mehrle sighed. “Nester, be serious. Can’t you see that Zeal doesn’t want to leave? We are his family. Ever since Master Slag picked us, we have been there for each other. Zeal needs our support.”
Zeal covered his face to hide the tears that threatened to spill. He wanted to be brave for Iris. “But I must. Once I learn the control I need at Havensharth, maybe I could return to Arlanda.”
Liddea said, “Well, you can’t travel there alone. Someone needs to go with you. Why don’t we all go to Havensharth?”
Nester stood. “Not me. My home is here at the Temple. Even though I don’t like the idea of Zeal having to depart to Havensharth, I’m staying. I want to become a Master in the trade and want to continue working with Bell, Kaid, and Master Turk.”
Zeal looked up. “I understand. Be at ease, Nester. No one should think any less of you, and none of you need feel obligated to go with me. I’ll survive. But let me say one thing. Mehrle has the right of it. You are my family, and I will carry you with me wherever I go, just as I hope a part of me will always remain with you.” He stood walked over to Nester and placed his arm across the boy’s shoulders. “Perhaps you could pay me a visit.”
Mehrle slapped her palm on the floor. “Whenever we’ve needed to make a decision, we’ve done so together. I still think Zeal shouldn’t travel alone to Havensharth and one of us should go with him.”
Tulip raised her hand. “I would like to journey to Havensharth.”
Mehrle nodded. “Tulip, I am glad you feel that way, and here is why I think you are the right person to accompany him. You are the best fighter amongst us. He’ll need someone protecting his back while he learns to burn up his enemies. You knew about and kept Zeal’s secret connection to Iris until she felt the rest of us were ready to meet her. Then, with Iris’s assistance, you and Zeal gathered the tools we needed to help Liddea, even though we ended up rescuing Inara, instead. Tulip, whether or not you realize it, you and Zeal have already made a fine team together. Liddea, Fronc, Nester, and I belong in Arlanda.”
“I happen to agree with everything you’ve said, Mehrle. I hadn’t planned to leave our nest, but I’ll go if Zeal will have me.” She held her hand out toward him. “Heck, Zeal, I might just accompany you even if you don’t.”
He stepped over, took her hand in his, and sat next to her. “Thank you, Tulip, and thanks to all who are staying, for caring about me.” He gazed into each of their faces and tried to me
morize how they appeared in that moment. Briefly, he thought of Kit and became saddened because, chances were, he would probably never see her again.
Tulip smiled. “It’s going to be you and me, Mouse. Now that everything is decided, how do we convince Lady Izlan?”
He smiled back at her. “We’ll think of something.”
Mehrle, Fronc, Liddea, and Nester gathered around them both. They embraced as a group and quietly held each other.
Iris broke the silence. “I think the path you children have bravely chosen was made with the love you all share. Always remember that I love you, as well, and will be here for you. Zeal, I wish to speak to you alone before you leave, but now I want you to head to the Temple kitchen. You are needed there.”
Puzzled, he looked up at Iris. “You want me to go to the kitchen?”
“Yes, and you should hurry. The rest of you, take care once you get there, since I know you plan to follow Zeal.”
Zeal stood and hastened to the entrance, where Obin opened the door for him. As he ran to the Temple, he wondered what had happened to cause Iris to command him to kitchen.
The sound of his family’s footsteps following close behind him helped to further lift his spirits. He would carry their love in his heart and never be alone.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
MOLLS, COOK’S ASSISTANT, stood supervising the cleaning of the kitchen. He was proud of the cake he had helped her decorate for the night’s celebration and planned to enjoy the piece he had set aside to eat once all the work was done. The evening’s assigned workers were making good progress scrubbing, washing, sweeping, and putting away. Earlier, he had noticed the grease trap was full. It was large enough for a little one to fit in when empty and an all day job to clean. He decided the task could wait till the morn; his dessert was calling him.
After checking the bread dough that had been left to rise through the night, he thought to chase his young labor force out early. But as he turned to do just that, he saw one of the girls standing on a stool and reaching for a crock of oil on the back of the counter. The crock was coated with a light sheen, the surface left unclean. Before he could tell her to leave the crock alone, she picked it up.
As he had anticipated, the slippery vessel slid out of her hands, tilted in the air, and landed on its side, spilling oil all over the counter and soaking the front of the girl’s clothing. Molls sighed. His cake would have to wait until this mess was cleaned up. As he hurried over to rescue his upset charge, he noticed that the oil, which had continued to flow along the counter’s surface, had reached the far end and begun to dribble off the edge.
His stomach tightened, his heart began to race, and he felt a chill sweat form between his shoulder blades. Who had left the lit lantern on the floor? The bead of oil trickled on and into the chimney. The flame, given a new source of fuel, flared and then rapidly traveled back along the oil’s path.
He jumped to grab the girl and pull her away as the fire raced across the counter. Cushioning her with his body when they hit the floor, he rolled them both until the flames in her oil-soaked clothing were smothered. Then Molls heard a whoosh and looked up in fear. The contents of the trap had ignited. A grease fire would be much harder to deal with than the oil. Smoke began to fill the kitchen.
The girl in his grasp wrapped herself around him as he stood. Molls bellowed, “Everyone out! Out now! Go get the Matriarch!”
***
The door to Izlan’s workroom was flung open. Ice heard doorways open and close outside the room, as well as people running and shouting, some in excitement, others in fear.
“There’s a fire in the kitchen!” Having made his announcement, the proclaimer ran off to continue crying out his warning.
Izlan stood. “Just like we have drilled, everyone clear their sections, and then report to the kitchen. Ice, Mirada, Slag, stay with me.”
The room cleared quickly, Ice following behind Izlan and Mirada. Slag, who walked alongside him, asked, “Can you do something about the fire?”
He focused on following Izlan. “Don’t know till I see what we are dealing with. I have limited skill with the element.”
When they reached the kitchen, Ice saw controlled chaos in action. Cook addressed a man who was busy trying to throw sand on the flames, to keep them from spreading.
“Molls, what happened here?”
Zeal and the other apprentices appeared in the kitchen at that moment.
Izlan turned to them and ordered, “Report to your proctor. Now!”
Ice yelled, “Wait! Zeal! Over to me! Quickly.”
Zeal’s five mates took the opportunity of Ice’s distraction to stay put but wisely remained in the background.
Zeal asked excitedly, “Are you going to put the fire out, Master Ice?”
Ice shook his head. “Anything I can do will make the problem worse and cause significant damage to the building.”
Zeal gave him with a puzzled look.
“Zeal, I can’t conjure the fire out. But there may be a way you can help.”
“You want me to make this all mine, like I did your ball?”
He didn’t sound his usual confident self as he stared, wide-eyed, at the flames. Ice didn’t think Zeal was fearful, just a tad overwhelmed.
He gently placed a hand on top of Zeal’s head. “The fire is too large for you to do that. Tell me, what are you sensing?”
Zeal cocked his head and appeared to listen for a several heartbeats. “The fire is happy where it is because it has lots to eat.”
It was Ice’s turn to be puzzled. “You can feel what the fire wants?”
“No, it is hard to explain. The fire isn’t… alive, exactly, but something is there, trying to communicate. Maybe we can convince it to be happier outside, if there was something for it to eat that was better than in the kitchen?”
“Provide tastier food?”
Zeal’s face brightened. “Yes! That is what I mean!”
Ice looked around the kitchen and spotted four pony casks in one corner. He thought that he recognized the symbol branded on their surface and yelled for Cook’s attention. “What is in those casks?”
Cook’s eyes widened when she saw where he was pointing. “Brandy. I need to get those out of here.”
Ice turned to Mirada. “Take two of the casks far enough away so that they won’t endanger the building if the contents burn, but not too far. Open both of them, then pour the contents of the third around them and lay a trail of the liquid back to kitchen. We’ll keep the fourth cask in reserve.”
“You want a fuse leading to the two others?”
“Yes. Hurry! Let me know when you are done.”
Before Mirada could move, the flames began to creep up the wall. Black smoke was making it hard to see, let alone breathe. Ice conjured, “Foro,” and blasted a large hole in the exterior wall to the outside. With a gesture, he conjured a second time. “Cinicul.” A semi-transparent cone formed over the flames and directed the heat and smoke through the hole. Air drawn into the room through the open doors, however, aided the fire’s spread under the cone.
Slag turned to Izlan. “Is the man crazy? He is making things worse.”
Ice gave first Mirada then Izlan a pleading look.
Mirada, without hesitating, nodded. “Commander, I advise you to do as Ice suggests. I have faith in him.”
Izlan gave Ice a hard look before nodding. “Mirada, proceed.”
Mirada and Slag each grabbed a cask and carried them out the building. Molls took the third, broached it, and began to carefully pour a trail of liquid out of the building. The three of them soon returned, Slag in the lead.
He looked back over his shoulder. “Task completed. It’s your move.”
Ice knelt in front of Zeal, blocking his view of the flames. “Zeal, look at me. The fire wants better food. Let it know there is better food outside and you will help it to get there.”
Zeal blinked and looked at Ice as if he hadn’t realized Ice was in front of him. �
�I don’t understand. What is the better food? If I don’t know, how am I to show the fire?”
“Hold a moment.” Ice broached the fourth cask, dipped in a jar, and filled it with the amber, fruity-smelling liquid. Taking care not to spill any on his clothing, he brought Zeal the jar. “Zeal, take a taste.
He took a sip, coughed, shuddered, and then said, “I don’t think I like brandy.”
Ice smiled. “The fire will.” Then he threw the container. The jar broke when it hit the wall, splashing the area and causing the fire to explode with a lustful roar. Ice felt a wave of heat wash over him.
“There is more waiting outside.”
“Yes, we understand!”
Ice didn’t like Zeal’s use of “we” or the way Zeal stared hungrily at the blaze.
Zeal stepped up and stood near the flames. He didn’t appear to be bothered by the heat. Ice heard him talking to the fire. “So you see, there is more. It soon won’t be anything good for you in this place. Why don’t you follow me instead?”
Ice thought the fire’s sound dampened; the flames seemed to lean toward Zeal.
Izlan exclaimed, “Zeal, you’re too close! You’ll get burned!”
Ice picked up the fourth cask. “I think Zeal is fine, and burns can be healed.” He then began to pour a stream of liquid toward the door until it flowed into the one Molls had made. “Try it now, Zeal. Everyone out!”
Izlan announced, “If Zeal is injured it will be on your head, Master Ice.” She then ushered people out of the kitchen and gave the apprentices a stern look. “Go, and make sure you avoid the trail of brandy as you leave.”
Mirada took the cask from Ice and used the contents to refresh the path to the waiting containers.
Ice returned to Zeal’s side. “I’ll guide you, Zeal.”
Zeal slowly began to back up. The fire gradually gathered together, formed into a large, almost spherical mass the size of a horse, its smoke worn like a garment. Slowly, it reached out to Zeal and seemed to act like a hungry, but cautious, creature. When it made contact with the trail of spirits, the blaze brightened. Using the moisture as a guide, it sped up.