Ember (17 page)

Even after seeing the magic flames so many
times, I could still hardly believe my eyes. I walked over and sat
on the couch so that the fire was directly in front of me.

My initial reaction, like last time, was a
desire to touch it. I resisted, but held my hand over it to test
its temperature. It was very hot. This seemed perfectly normal
until I wondered why the wood of the table wasn't catching. I
turned my head to the corner light and saw that it was dangerously
close to the bookshelves. I scratched my head.
What
gives?

After a moment, I laughed slightly at
myself.

I was sitting in the room of an impossibly
large lodge, full of bad-guy hunters, watching magic fire float
midair.
And here I am, wondering why the close proximity of fire
to wood isn't reacting as it should.

I let out a couple more laughs then puffed
back into the couch, I'd have to ask Cornelius about it tomorrow. .
. .

I sat like that for a few more minutes,
slowly getting more and more antsy. It was definitely dark and
there was still no sign of Ikovos. I got up and read some more of
the book titles, but was practically forgetting them as I read. I
walked into the bathroom and peered out the window on my
tippy-toes.

I couldn't see a thing.

With a sigh I dropped back down and started
intricately braiding my hair.

By the time I twisted in the final strand I’d
realized something. Even if the boys did come back they would
surely be very tired. And even if they weren't, they'd made no
promises to visit me.

Feeling a little disappointed, I went back
into the study and sat down to watch the fire again. I was trying
to get used to it so I wasn't always so distracted when I saw it.
It didn't help to be entranced every time Jaden decided to . . . do
whatever it is he does to conjure fire.

I slowly turned to drop my head onto the
large armrest. There was no way I would be able to get to sleep
this early, but I didn't have much else to do. And, to be honest,
staring at the brilliant, green flames kept me perfectly
entertained.

It was nice to have the validation that
Thoran really did say I could come back. The curious side of me
hoped I would see him tomorrow, but the scaredy-cat side of me
wanted the opposite. To my frequent detriment, curiosity usually
won out.

I yawned loudly as the fire blurred out of
focus.

I liked the green . . . it was different,
nice
, I guess. But by the time I fell asleep, I found myself
wishing it were shades of red and orange instead.

~ ~ ~

I WOKE UP WITH A heavy gasp. It took me a
moment to realize where I was and even longer for my heart to slow
to a reasonable pace.

It was a dream.

I sat up and put a hand over my stomach. In
quick succession, I remembered three facts. In the dream I was very
cold, I was very alone, and worst of all . . . I shuddered
uncontrollably.

Sylvanus was there.

I pushed my hands into my head as memories of
the nightmare began to resurface. I couldn't force them out. I
stood up and started pacing the room. My stomach was quivering and
I could feel water burning in my eyes.

I hate dreams. You can't control them any
more than you can control the exaggerated feelings that accompany
them. Sometimes it wasn't such a bad thing, but this one . . .

I shuddered again as a yucky ache hit my
insides. At first I thought I wished I were home, but when I
imagined any of my family consoling me . . . I realized it wasn't
what I wanted. I stopped my pacing as I realized what,
who,
I did want here, right this second.

I shook out my head quickly. It was almost as
disturbing as the dream. I tried to sit down, but the feelings
overwhelmed me again. Without thinking I grabbed my coat and rushed
out of the room.

It was cold in the hallway, but different
enough to keep me somewhat distracted. As I followed my feet
unconsciously, I felt very grateful that I'd never changed into
pajamas last night. I didn't want to go back to the room anytime
soon, at least not until it was light out.

I realized now that I was heading towards the
side door. When I reached it I pushed through thankfully.

It was still raining and much colder. I
didn't care. I leaned back against the wood and sunk down. The
roofs out-cropping kept the rain from falling on me, but the ground
was fairly wet, seeping water through my pants.

I spent an undeterminable amount of time
sitting there, trying to wrestle my head away from two thoughts
simultaneously. By the time I noticed a dim glow on the horizon the
dream's effects were starting to wear off. I let out a sigh and
looked up at the water pouring down. There was no way I was gonna
let a little nightmare ruin my day. I leaned my head back with what
may or may not have been a forced smile, and closed my eyes.

Just seconds later I heard two heavy boots
trudging through the muddy ground, before the door opened beside
me.

I looked up, startled to see that it was
Thoran. He was sopping wet and looking down at me.

“Come inside and get some breakfast,” he
said. “We need to talk.”

Without waiting for a response he walked
inside, leaving the door open behind him. I gulped once, then
jumped up to follow his quick pace.

I don't know where he had been this early in
the morning, but he seemed suited up for
something.
A large,
sheathed sword hung down from his waste, along with quite a few
other unhidden weapons. He wore layers of thick leather with many
oddments I couldn’t name attached to his belt.

As I had guessed, we ended up at the kitchen.
What I
hadn't
guessed was how busy it was already going to
be.

I'd seen it like this before, but
before
I'd had been well-hidden under a hooded robe. We
seemed to make it through the hall okay, but once we got into the
cafeteria eyes began to look our way. I kept my head down.

“Why don't you get some coffee,” said Thoran.
“Then meet me at the table over there.” I followed his gesture
quickly to one of the few empty tables.

Before I could respond he was walking away
towards Sophie. It was nice to see Sophie again, though it seemed
more of a background thought at the moment.

I set my eyes on the coffee. The bar was
filled with people of course. I didn't want coffee
that
much, but I wasn't about to deny any of Thoran's suggestions
either.

I walked over to the counter and filled a mug
as quickly as possible before running to the empty table.

Trying to act normal, I took a drink of my
coffee. Only to practically choke on its contents. No sugar, no
cream, I'd forgotten to put it in.

I slid the cup a few inches away and forced a
glance at my surroundings. Not as many boys were looking as I would
have thought, though I didn't know whether that was out of courtesy
or disinterest. . . . Still, I felt free to study them. Only a
handful were older than me; most were younger. They all looked
ridiculously fit and hard-faced. There was a contentedness about
them though. And they appeared to eat their breakfasts amidst
pleasant banter.

I found myself scanning through the faces
quickly soon, and I wasn't unaware of why. It was weird, in this
big room full of
everyone
else, that I still hadn't seen
Jaden and Ikovos. I looked back at the table and traced a groove of
the rough wood.

“Well, get something to eat child,” came
Thoran's voice commandingly as he sat down across from me. “We
can't have you starving to death.”

I looked anxiously up at his all too serious
face then grabbed an apple off the platter and took a bite.

Silence followed.

“How was your first night back?” he asked
after a while. I was surprised by the nicety.

“Fine.” I corrected, “Good, actually.” The
dream came to mind, but I pushed it down.

Thoran nodded once, then folded his hands in
front of him on the table.

“Now,” he started. “As you might guess there
are a few things we need to go over.”

I nodded my understanding, gazing up at him
now. He was so rough looking. His hair was charcoal, but had
obvious spots of silver dabbled here and there. This continued onto
his face, though he didn't have a beard. It was more the unshaven,
very unshaven, look.

“First,” he said. “Cornelius told me you want
to stay in the study.” I nodded slowly. Words escaped me.
“Alright.” He sucked in a breath. “That works out fine. The room is
very far from the other boys, which brings us to our next
subject.”

I waited patiently. My throat was dry now. He
seemed to be considering his words.

“You understand the . . . difference between
you and the others, and the complications that might present.”

I looked around me. In any other situation I
might have laughed at the obviousness of his statement, but I was
much too scared now.

I glanced back. “Of course.” I said. “Yes, I
understand.”

“Good,” he said. I thought I saw the corners
of his mouth go up just a fraction. “Then you will know how to
conduct yourself properly so as not to put any added stress on the
situation.”

I nodded fiercely. “No. I mean, yes.” I
cleared my throat. “Yes, definitely.”

“Great.” He seemed relieved. “Now that that's
done with we can concentrate on the important subjects.”

He reached for a plate, added some food, and
took a few bites. I did the same with my apple.

“Despite appearances, we have a very
dangerous life here,” he said, looking at me again. “You must first
and foremost learn how to defend yourself.”

I waited for him to continue, trying to
settle the butterflies of excitement that were building.

“Ikovos told me you're quite adept already,
but a little training wouldn't hurt.”

I nodded my agreement. Adept was a terribly
generous word to describe my fighting skills.

“You can get started on that today,” said
Thoran. He took a few more bites of food. “And then there's the
subject of magic.” His eyes seemed to zoom in on me.

“Jaden seems to believe you could be an
offense artisan . . . what do you think of that?”

Under his gaze I could barely collect my
thoughts. I fumbled considerably. “Well I . . . I don't really
know. I mean it's hard to believe but,” I looked up at him, “I
would like to.”

He nodded once and leaned back, seemingly
satisfied. “Well, I
would
have had you start on that right
away as well, but it appears Jaden has vanished.”

I straightened in. “You mean he's still not
back?”

Thoran looked as surprised by my sudden
outburst as I was. “No. Neither is Ikovos.” He rubbed his whiskered
jaw absently. “Though I can guess at where they are.”

I turned my eyes down so as not to give any
notion of my knowledge away. But then looked back at him
impulsively. “Is it safe?”

His eyes turned back to me gravely. After a
moment of silence he lightened. “You shouldn't worry about such
things.” He started to get up. “Why don't you go talk to some of
the other boys.”

I tried to interrupt, but he was too
quick.

“I'll make sure you start weapons instruction
today, and don't forget what we talked about.”

He was walking the other way before I could
say anything.

I huffed heavily then looked around,
realizing that I was standing. I thought about his suggestion to
mingle, but was officially more afraid of that than him, and walked
off instead towards the kitchen.

A cup of good coffee was definitely worth any
potential social interactions at this point.

*

Like three days prior, as the boys cleared
out I helped Sophie in the kitchen. Every once in a while one of
them would give me a wave or a smile, but overall they seemed
rather busy with their lives here. It was odd, if just
one
regular family
came to Tiver they were under constant scrutiny
for at least a month.

I heard Sophie sigh as she set the last dish
in the cabinet. We were in the kitchen now. Everyone else was gone.
I made a mental note to figure out where it was they all went at
this time of day.

“I've got to say,” started Sophie, “that is a
lot easier with you here.”

I smiled. “I just wish there was more I could
do.”

She laughed shortly as she stepped down from
the stool. “Not unless you happen to be a master chef.”

I laughed too and waved my hands up. “Not me.
I either overcook or undercook every time.” I paused. “I can bake
though.”

She looked curious. “Like desserts?”

I rocked my head. “So, so, on that. Pastries
are my forte.”

She smiled. The first tooth-revealing smile
she'd given me thus far. “That's
perfect!
I'm an absolute
wreck at pastries.”

Again, I was glad to find some way to be of
help. “Cool. Is there something I could make for you now?”

She looked excited for a second then shook
her head. “Oh, no, no, no. I shouldn't be taking you away from your
training. You didn't come all the way here just to make
cookies.”

I felt the counter behind me and leaned back
against it slightly. “Well . . . you probably know better than I
do, but Thoran said he would let me know when it was time to
train,” I said. “And I really would like to help.”

She smiled mischievously. It made me
grin.

“Okay,” she said. “Maybe just this once.” She
started to rush towards the pantry, but spun around to face me
halfway. “You have to promise to let me know if you get sick of
it.”

I nodded my agreement, then rolled up my
sleeves as she headed off again.

An hour or two later we had quite a variety
of sugary goodness laid out on the counter. Sophie praised me every
step of the way for the most basic steps.