Inferno

by N. A. Carson

  Reese jolted me against the ground. “You’re lucky their room is underneath us,” he laughed as he rolled onto his bed.

  “It’s not funny.” I ripped off the little bands and messed up my hair until the braids fell out.

  He groaned something I couldn’t make out and pulled a blanket up to his shoulder.

  “Hey, Reese?” I pulled my knees to my chest.

  “What?” he muttered.

  “Have you ever seen someone burn?”

  He peeked over at me. “Twice, why?”

  “Mrs. Haywood and I went to town today, and they burned a woman. Mrs. Haywood said she was a monster, a shapeshifter.”

  “Yep.” He moved around until he was comfortable. “That’s what you do with shifters.”

  “She said the gods sent them to test us.”

  Letting out a deep breath, he turned onto his back. “Look, Fin. The gods are immortal bastards who are bored out of their minds. I don’t even think they’re actually gods, just really powerful shapeshifters.”

  “Don’t let Mrs. Haywood hear you,” I whispered. “She’ll be mad.”

  “The Haywoods are superstitious idiots. This whole town is. There is no such thing as a god. Wouldn’t we have seen one or heard more about them than just some made-up legends? I mean, they are gods.” He dropped his head onto his pillow. “It’s just a bunch of shifters. If the guardians ever catch one, they’d burn them just like the others. No shapeshifter can escape fire.”

  We fell silent for a moment, while I picked at the stitching on my blanket. “I like fire.”

  “Well, good for you,” he shot back. “Just don’t be burning anything down, or the governor will have you hanged.”

  I rubbed my neck. “I wouldn’t.” My head fell to the side as I straightened out the blankets. “Have you ever touched fire?”

  Reese sat up and gave me a weird look. “What? Why would anyone touch fire? Did you forget what fire even is?” Flopping back down, he yanked the blanket to his neck. “I think watching that woman burn has messed with your head. Either that or they pulled those braids too tight.”

  “It was just a question.” I rubbed my head.

  “Just go to sleep, Fin. I have work tomorrow, and so do you.”

  Clenching my jaw, I laid down and turned away from him. I just wanted to know what would happen if someone actually did play with fire. It didn’t seem like that weird of a question to me.

  CLEARING A SPOT ON the dirt-crusted window, I peeked into the cluttered shop. Different-shaped jars lined the shelves and weird plants grew from planters that dangled under the skylights in the room. I slowly opened the door and poked my head inside. It smelled musty, like moldy old people, like the widow Mrs. Haywood always made me visit with her. Her house was just as cluttered, too.

  “Mr. Hobbs? It’s me Fin. Mr. Haywood sent me.” I stepped into the room, but there was still no sign of him. “Hello?”

  I wove through the stacks of papers and jars to the door at the back. Pushing it open, I scanned the area. “Mr. Hobbs?”

  No reply. Maybe he’d died. He always looked like he would keel over at any time. Shuffling through, I folded my arms to keep from knocking anything over. This was a waste of time. The man wasn’t even here.

  Someone moved above my head as dust filtered down from the floorboards.

  “Mr. Hobbs?” I maneuvered around the mounds of what I considered to be garbage to the small set of stairs that turned around a corner. My foot caught on something and I stumbled forward. Somehow I managed not to crush anything as I hit the floor.

  “Filthy old man.” What he really needed was a maid. I placed my hand on a box to move it out of the way but stopped. An incredible heat was coming from it. It flowed through my whole body. Whatever was inside, I wanted it. It ignited a new kind of excitement inside of me.

  I popped the first latched open, and a wave of heat escaped through the small crack. It felt amazing. A pleasure I had never experienced before. Swallowing hard, I undid the other. A foot slammed down on the lid before the fire could escape.

  Frozen, I stared at the boot. This didn’t belong to an old man. I slowly peered up at the hooded figure.

  “Little boys should know better than to play with things that don’t belong to them.”

  Even though I couldn’t see his face, I still felt the anger of his gaze.

  “Close it,” the stranger ordered.

  I quickly flipped the latches back into place.

  “Hand it to me.”

  Picking up the black box, I stood and gave it to him. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “What are you doing here?” He examined the casing before balancing it on his hand.

  My eyes grew wide as the dull markings on the outside started to glow a bright red. “I’m here to see Mr. Hobbs.” I swallowed—my mouth felt really dry—and tried to get a look at the man’s face. “I’m supposed to start working for him today, gathering herbs and things like that.” I wrung my hands together and shifted my weight from foot to foot.

  “A useless little thing like yourself?”

  I glared at him. “I’m not useless.”

  “You nearly got yourself killed.” He tucked the box under his arm and the marks grew cold.

  Killed? By some stupid box? I doubted that was possible. “What’s in there?” I nodded toward the case.

  He held it out in front of me and examined it. “Nothing that concerns you.”

  I could feel the heat exuding from it. “I want it,” I breathed without thinking, overwhelmed by the warmth.

  The man tucked it away. “Why?” He placed a finger under my chin and lifted my head. “What would a little boy like you want with my box?”

  A weird sensation traveled through my body. I closed my eyes and melted into his touch. The heat began to build. It felt so good. My mind started to get lost in it.

  “Zoran?” called a shaky voice.

  The hand was withdrawn and I dropped to my knees. The sharper coldness returned and I felt like crying. Clasping my forehead, I tried to recover from whatever had just happened. Something was wrong with me.

  Mr. Hobbs wobbled down the stairs as fast as he could. He helped me to my feet. “Oh, Fin. Go outside and wait for me while I see to this customer.”

  I nodded and slipped past the stranger. I felt so strange. My balance wasn’t right, and I was worried I might topple into something. I sunk to the ground outside and breathed deeply. An emptiness was settling in my chest. “What’s happening to me?” I whispered.

  I covered my face. I didn’t understand what I was becoming. The sight of the woman burning must have cursed me. The gods were punishing me for some reason. The door opened and I spun around. The men stepped out and let the door fall back, nearly hitting Mr. Hobbs in the face. He stood in front of it for a moment so Hobbs couldn’t come out.

  Taking a step forward, the man held out his hand to me. “This is what you want.” A black flame flickered from his palm.

  My breath caught. He was one of them, a shifter. But a shifter of fire? That didn’t seem right, and I really wanted the warmth only he could offer. Shifters were bad people, but this man couldn’t possibly be bad. Rising to my feet, I stared at it, before sticking out a finger to touch it. I waited for the pain as it wrapped around my hand, but it never came. He snatched my wrist and yanked me forward. I gasped and stared into his glowing red eyes.

  “Never play with fire,” he said with a smirk. “Something like that will get you into trouble. Understood?”

  I nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

  With a smile, he turned and walked away, taking his fire with him.

  Chapter 4: Tribute

  Mr. Hobbs peeked out the door. “Is he gone, Fin?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  The old man let out a sigh. “Thank the gods.” The short, squat man wobbled over to me. “Are you alright?”

  “I’ll be fine.” I glanced in the direction the man had left. “Who was he?”

 
“Best not to discuss him.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “Someone like that man, you should forget ever meeting him. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” I breathed. I really wanted to know what kind of man could hold fire, though. Well, if anything, I just wanted to touch him. “He’s different.”

  “Alright, Fin.” Mr. Hobbs took a list out of his pocket. “Your caretaker said you know herbs.”

  My shoulders dropped. I didn’t want to look for stupid herbs. I wanted to go after the stranger. “Yes, sir. I gather them for Mrs. Haywood all the time.” I snatched the list out of his wrinkly hands and quickly read it.

  “Yes, well,” he stepped inside and grabbed a pouch with a shoulder strap. “Here you go.”

  I took it from him and looped it over my head.

  “Be careful with them. There’s nothing worse than a squashed plant. Ruins the integrity.” He waved his finger at me before going back inside.

  “Weird old man,” I whispered. Turning down the road, I headed for the cliffs where most of this stuff could be found.

  Once I reached town, I found it was a lot quieter that day. Everyone was busy, hurrying about their different tasks. A large black stain still marred the center of the courtyard. I dropped to a knee at its edge and went to touch it. Someone stepped in front of me and I looked up to see the governor.

  “Best be leaving that alone, boy.”

  “Yes, sir.” I quickly stood and backed away from the singed ground.

  “What are you going this far away from the Haywoods’, Fin?” He narrowed his dark eyes at me. “I know Paul won’t hesitate to give you a good beating if he finds out you’ve been causing trouble.”

  “I have a job now, sir.” I grabbed the list from my bag and held it up to him. “I’m going to the cliffs.”

  Mr. Lockhart took it from me and read over the contents. “Taking on some responsibility.” He gave it back to me. “Just be careful. The cliffs are dangerous, and if you see anything inhuman, come and tell me and I’ll take care of it.”

  “Like what?”

  He patted my head. “You better be off. Don’t keep the old man waiting for his herbs.” Turning sharply, he left me standing there.

  I quickly messed up my hair where he had touched it and tried not to glare at the arrogant man. This wasn’t the first time I had gone to the cliffs. And even if I did see something, I wasn’t telling him. He’d just kill it. I marched down the road, but my mood started to lighten as I thought it over. Shapeshifters were burned. If I found one and told the governor, I could see the flames again. I could watch the fire grow.

  The excitement was enough to make me jog all the way to the drop-off. Herbs weren’t the only thing I’d be looking for now.

  I stood atop the small hill that overlooked the junction. Two paths ran off in either direction. One led to the mine and the other to the bottom of the ravine. A tall gray tower sat in the middle where the watchman made sure nothing crawled up from below. Men were herding animals toward the southern path. The forbidden path, unless someone wanted to get themselves killed. At least, that was what I had been taught in school. I was still curious about what might be down there.

  “Well, well.” A hand slapped my back. “What’s the little orphan doing here?”

  I shrugged our neighbor’s hand off. “Getting herbs for Mr. Hobbs.”

  Jake folded his arms and looked out over the gathering. “Paul found you a job. He’s been bringing it up for awhile now.”

  “Yep.” I adjusted the strap on my shoulder.

  “Be happy it’s not the mine,” chuckled Jake.

  “Yeah,” I sighed. I was really, really happy actually. “What are they doing?” I motioned to the animals.

  “Tribute,” he replied. “Every three months we send a little something to the god that lives in the ravine. He’s more likely to keep all his little monsters down there with him when he’s well fed.”

  “No one’s ever said anything to me about that before.”

  “It’s a sensitive topic,” laughed Jake. “The governor hates that we’re feeding a demon. The one that lives in that hole isn’t your typical god. But from what I hear, he’s not one to make mad, either.”

  A man yelled for Jake’s help and he hurried off to tie off a wagon. Slowly walking down the slight decline, I watched them for a moment. Men had come by before to take a chicken or a pig from the house. Mr. Haywood was always in a bad mood afterward, and his wife had a tough job of getting him to calm down. This was the first time, I actually knew what they were doing with it.

  I moved a little closer and stretched out my neck. There was a mist that blurred out the trail. Demon or god? It seemed Reese wasn’t the only one who didn’t believe.

  Sucking in my cheek, I gazed across the ravine. I didn’t know what I believed. I moved a little closer to the rocks that outline the edge of the cliffs. Peeking over the side, I couldn’t see the bottom through the layer of mist that sat around five to six hundred feet below. God or demon, that didn’t look like a very pleasant place to live.

  “Boy!” A middle-aged man started waving his arms at me. “Get away from there!”

  Running off toward the northern path, I kept my head down and hoped he didn’t see my face. He’d probably tell the governor on me for being in the way if he recognized me. I cut off the path and started climbing the mountainside. I worked my way along to a different outcropping I already knew grew certain plants. I scoured the forest for a few others before returning to the cliffs. That last one on my list was a little hard, simply because I had to climb down a sheer incline to get it.

  I made sure my pack was done up before lowering myself over the edge and carefully making my way down to the small ledge. This wasn’t my first time doing it, so I knew where all the holds were already. It still made my heart pound, as a misstep would send me falling a good thirty feet.

  My feet hit solid ground and I picked three of the purple flowers from the wispy bush. With the last item tucked away in my bag, I sat on the ledge to let my arms rest and watched the mining carts roll along below. I was really glad I didn’t have to do that. That was where they’d shipped Reese off to when he turned fourteen. He hadn’t been at the home very long before they put him to work after his parents were killed by a shapeshifter.

  I laid my head against a rock and pushed small stones over the edge. No one had ever mentioned how my parents died. All they said is the governor handed me over to the Haywoods as an infant. Probably the fault of a shapeshifter, like the majority of people who were killed in the village.

  Standing, I stretched my arms above my head and debated whether I should go back. The old man would probably give me another list, or I’d have to go home, which meant more chores. I didn’t want to be stuck with either. It wasn’t like Hobbs had given me a time limit. For all he knew, I might not know where half of these things were located, and it could possibly take me all day to find them.

  Grabbing onto a handhold, I started the climb back to the top. I pulled myself onto the ledge and dragged my body the rest of the way up. Voices from the village could still be heard, and I had an itch in my pocket that I really wanted to try out. Rising to my feet, I dusted myself off and slipped my hand into my pocket. As long as I didn’t hurt anything, it should be fine. I jogged off into the forest that surrounded the town and made sure I was far enough away that no one would notice the smoke. I couldn’t risk someone seeing me, or the governor snooping around to see what I was up to. Finding a secluded area, I sat down and took the flint and steel I had borrowed from the house from my pocket. I rolled them around in my palm. Maybe the stranger was right. I shouldn’t play with fire. I’d get in so much trouble if someone caught me.

  But the thought of feeling the heat on my skin was making my hands shake with anticipation. The stranger had played with fire. He didn’t really have a right to tell me not to. Grabbing all the sticks around me and pulling up some dead grass, I created a little pile in a patch of dirt I had cleared. I stuck th
e flint and steel together and showered the kindling with sparks. Leaning down, I started to blow. It took me awhile, but I soon had smoke. I kept blowing and watched a small flame appear.

  I nurtured that small spark until it engulfed the whole pile. I added more sticks and had to restrain myself from making it any bigger. A little smoke would go unnoticed. A bonfire would have the whole town tracking me down.

  Sitting back on my heels, I watched it. It danced and flickered, calling to me. I held out my hand but was hesitant to continue. The black flame hadn’t hurt me, but I didn’t know if this would be the same.

  I slowly stretched my hand forward. The fire warmed my skin without any sign of pain. Scooting a little closer, I placed a finger into the orange flames. It flickered around it and my skin remained unharmed. Retracting my hand, I examined it, but the blisters that usually came with burns didn’t form. Mrs. Haywood always had one appear when she burnt herself cooking. Honestly, I couldn’t even remember what it was like to get burned. I had just been told to be careful not to get close to anything hot.

  I studied the blaring red embers at the bottom. I wanted to hold them in my palm and feel their warmth. Slipping my hand through the wood, I grabbed them. My head fell back, and I closed my eyes. The ever-present coldness in my chest melted away.

  This was heaven.

  Chapter 5: A Proper Job

  —Five years later—

  “Fin!”

  I jolted upright and slammed my head on the beam above me. Cursing under my breath, I laid back down and rubbed my forehead. “What!”

  “If you want breakfast, boy, get down here now,” replied Mrs. Haywood. “You’re going to be late.”

  “Alright!” I shouted back. The throbbing in the back of my skull had yet to subside, and her constant nagging wasn’t helping. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “Now, Fin!”

  “Alright!” I carefully sat up. “Always yelling,” I muttered as I grabbed my shirt and pulled it on. My head was still pounding, and I checked to see if I was bleeding.