Fire's Flame [Elements Book 1] (2 page)

“You look like a wrestler my daddy likes,” she gushed.

Ignis chuckled. He was six-foot-five in his human form. Very large compared to the small child. His powerful muscles flexed to make her smile. Yes, he was built big, like all of his other brothers. It was their parents’ wish. Ignis saw no harm in offering her a doting smile. Her appreciation of him was earnest. Normally, Ignis watched humans from a distance; oh, some females caught his attention from time to time. Some humans were very cute. Ignis had a soft spot for human children. It saddened him when his flames were the kiss of death. If it wasn’t the end of their time on earth, Ignis found a way to spare lives. Sometimes it proved to be a bit tricky. Miracles, the humans called them. He was happy he could spare this child; she was an enchanting little thing. The way she looked at him, like he was a God.

The girl suddenly coughed and Ignis frowned. Her hand left his skin to fly to her lips when she coughed again and again. Smoke was billowing around them. The child’s face turned left then right. She looked at Ignis with fear—not of him, but with hope he would save her from another presence she was obviously seeing as well. Ignis narrowed his eyes. His brother, Fumus, was here.

“I don’t remember inviting you,” Ignis roared as the child gasped and collapsed against him, her little red face buried into his side. With fury, Ignis ignited his brutal flames and pushed the smoke back. His broad arm encircled the girl. The damned smoke seeped through his barrier to slip into the child’s nose and mouth.

“Where there’s smoke there’s fire,” Fumus said and chuckled, behaving like the imp he was.

“I have spared her life,” Ignis snapped.

“Perhaps I won’t.”

The words enraged Ignis.
How dare he?
Mother would be angry if they fought, but his youngest brother needed to be taught a lesson. Ignis snarled and curled a massive fireball before him. The child was still struggling for breath and clinging to him for dear life. Her pitiful whimper sent a surge of seething anger down Ignis’ spine, the likes of which he had never felt before. Fumus would pay for this. Before Ignis could hurl the fireball, a powerful wind blew the atmosphere clear and the girl drew in deep breaths of clean air. Ventus, Ignis’ brother, second born of Mother Nature, now stood beside him.

All three brothers regarded one another. In his anger, Ignis’ flames still whipped around his waist, rolling across the child’s back, leaving no harm. Fumus’ swirls of billowing, misty, smoke slipped around his torso in a loving caress.

“Mother wishes to see you,” Ventus informed Fumus.

His words were controlled. Ventus was always the mediator, but Ignis could see by the whirl of wind ruffling his hair and flowing across his body distorting his image he was angry. The churning wind of his brother added intensity to Ignis’ flame…and it appeared the child had become the flame. With her arms wrapped around Ignis, she looked perfectly content to stay where she was, even though the image must have been more than her little mind could fathom. For now, Ignis pondered another thought.

Both Ignis—fire, and, Fumus—smoke, had hot tempers that could smolder and blaze. Fumus never got over the fact he wasn’t born before Ignis. But fire started with a spark, not a piddly puff of smoke. In the early years, they warred often; smoke trailing after fire, an annoying baby brother. When the two did battle they struck fear into the hearts of others. Fumus could be careless; he had learned nothing from their battle of 1871. The great Chicago fire—poor Mrs. O’Leary and her cow. All along, it had been Fumus’ fault. Fumus was lucky their brother interfered now, he should know better than to infuriate fire.

Fumus sighed. “I wasn’t going to kill the child, I was only teasing. Besides it’s only a small human. A toy. Ignis was about to hurl a fireball at me—his own brother.”

“You have much to learn little brother,” Ventus said with narrowed eyes. “You never take the life of a brother’s spared, you know that.”

It was the one rule their mother imposed. If each human had to go through each of the nine element brothers during any disaster there would be no more humans left. Some of the brothers had yet to learn mercy, Fumus was one; their mother had been known to step in and temper them. The only one allowed to interfere with the law was their mother—in either a yay or nay scenario. Fumus nodded and looked solemn when he left.

Ignis gazed down on the child who stared raptly at both Ignis and his brother. It was an odd feeling to have the arms of a human wrapped around him in life. Normally, it was he who embraced them in death; this tiny flame had more than a spark of courage.

“Well?” Ventus asked, eying the child curiously.

Ignis sighed. “She can see me in my element. In fact, she saw Fumus and from her expression, she can obviously see and hear you too. No human has ever seen me before when I’m in my element, at least not all of me—it’s unheard of.  Oh, some have been positive they have seen a face in the flames, a dancing arm or something alive, but this one sees me whole.”

“Intriguing. Is my brother finally taking a real notice in human life? Humans are pleasurable at times.”

“She’s just a human child,” Ignis stormed. “Besides, my heart belongs to another.”

“Ah yes, Sun. Remember my brother, Sun is in love with Moon and look what happened to him when she got too close.”

Ignis knew what happened. Moon had been lush and vibrant billions of years ago. Earth had yet to be born and Sun and Moon flirted shamelessly. When Moon and Sun acted on their love, she had scorched Moon beyond repair until there was no trace life had ever existed. Moon was a wasteland of feeling, both pain and pleasure. He was a soul with a desert of emptiness. Moon had given up everything for fleeting moments of passion. Sun and Moon met again and again, and though both saw what havoc it wreaked on Moon they couldn’t stop themselves. Moon was depleted of handsome beauty, ravaged beyond repair, and still Sun loved Moon.

Ignis was different. He had reminded his mother yet again hours earlier when she had tried to urge him to stop his exhaustless pursue of Sun. He too was fire. Surely Sun would see that in time. She couldn’t spurn him for all eternity.

“Sun will come around,” Ignis said wistfully, envisioning her fiery beauty. Sun, like Ignis created life. They would make the perfect couple if she would just give him a chance, a fleeting moment of her immortal life.

“Sun will never come around, brother,” Ventus said with a gentle air. “Moon shows her his love is full with her every month when he shines bright just for her. His beacon is a magnet she can’t ignore. They meet and he is depleted when his love is spent. The cycle starts over as he regenerates.”

Ignis didn’t like to be reminded Sun took Moon as her lover once a month. The fullness of Moon’s love not only impassioned Sun but humans as well. There was something that charged the air with a full moon. When Moon and Sun met there were those humans and some animals who
felt
their union and became different.

For now there was no time left to ponder, humans were advancing on the charred building. Firefighters had respect for Ignis and in return Ignis admired their tenacity and bravery. Not many battled willingly with elements.

Ignis hated taking the life of a brave soul; firefighters were warriors and sent to a place akin to Valhalla when they died. An honorable place for an honorable deed. Many of these souls returned to watch loved ones in any flames they created. These brave souls always had a connection with Earth. They were always welcomed back, their sparks flying on the wind to trail the ones they loved most, a gentle reminder they were never alone.

Ventus began to blow air and wind. Soon the girl’s hair was whipping around her. She giggled as it slapped at her face and though Ventus was in his element, it was plain to see that the girl saw him in his human form. She buried herself against Ignis who cuddled her close. Outside was now abuzz with firefighters and Ignis spun round with the girl, using his brother to fuel his fire. The girl was lifted into the air as the brothers carried her away in what appeared to be a dark billowing cloud.

In a distant field, she was set carefully down unharmed. She was only a child. There was no risk of exposure. No one would ever believe such a tale of man-fire or man-wind, and most assuredly not smoke-man. In a few years, she would doubt the incident herself. Ventus tickled the girl under her chin; he was fond of humans, especially their young. He loved to watch them play with kites and beg for a gentle breeze at night in the stifling heat. He was a wanted element at times.

Other times, Ventus was less wanted when his liaison with a spurned lover sent him into a tailspin—or hurricane, or tornado in his case. Ignis never did understand his brother’s fondness for human females. As far as Ignis knew, no mortal had ever seen an element in human form while in their natural state of existence—until this small child. He often wondered if his brother had tried their primitive lovemaking. It was curious to watch when humans had sex; they did it often enough in front of a burning blaze, the flames adding sizzle to their heated bodies. There was no real passion or sparks as far as he was concerned. Entities were boring—it was the elements that gave raw wonder in all they did. Ignis wanted no other than the sun. Any other than Sun would fear Ignis’ fiery erection.

Ventus tugged playfully at one of the child’s curls making her smile and he left on a gust of blasting wind, opening a portal into the element dimension. Ignis squatted down before her and held her tiny shoulders with his hands. His gaze was firm.

“You must never play with fire, my little flame,” he told her.

“But how will I ever find you again?”

“My little flame, fire can be a very good thing or it can be a very bad thing.”

“Nothing about you looks bad. You are very handsome.”

Bright eyes gazed upon him in adoration. Like he was her hero—he supposed he was. Ignis sighed.
Damn, the little thing has a crush on me.
Now what?

“When will I see you again?” she asked. “I will won’t I?”

Ignis nodded. He realized she would. Maybe she even had before and that was why she hadn’t been afraid. “Have you seen me before?”

She giggled and nodded. “When I saw the fire, I knew you would be in there. I have seen you many times, but thought I was seeing things. I wanted to prove you were real. I just wanted to see you. You can’t be bad when you make yummy S’mores.”

Hmm, can’t argue with that logic.
“Then it’s our secret. Do you understand little flame? No one must ever know of me.”

“I won’t ever tell, not anyone,” she solemnly promised. She hugged him tight, uncaring of his fiery loincloth covering and once more Ignis felt…
something
…

* * * *

And she had never told anyone about what had occurred in the burning building. Ignis was positive. Time and again the child drew him back. She had been a beauty in her teens, he had been right; she was almost thirteen when they had first met. That night, after he had saved her, she had called to him using a mere candle. Foolishly he had gone. She had only wanted to see his face, what could be the harm?

Her little girl crush on Ignis grew with leaps and bounds as the years moved forward, until it was no longer a crush but mature passion. She had spurned every human male and Ignis knew she was waiting for him. She saw him in each of his fires when it was he who began to seek her out. He told himself he only felt responsible for her because he had saved her life. He had spared many lives.

Why did she draw him to her?

Ignis watched as Flame—the name he called her—wandered through the darkening woods behind her home. She would build a fire in her favorite spot under a clear sky filled with stars and call to him, beg him to come to her. At times, he showed her rare glimpses. Like a game of hide and seek in a campfire, a match, a fireplace. Her new home had a fireplace she lit every night, in any season. It was a portal he could slip through any time he chose, which would turn him from element into the human-looking male figure he was certain she loved.

Flame told him out loud in her living room on one occasion that having him close was a comfort. When she curled up on the couch, Ignis would watch her sleep. She was so beautiful, fearless. And yet for all her confessions of love, Ignis was still wary. Each time he appeared, half of him remained in his element, his shield of protection lest she spurn him as Sun had.

He was showing himself to Flame more often than not. When she hit her twenties she had become a confident young woman. There was spark in his Flame. Her specialty career was, of course, arson. She was brilliant. Her work helped Ignis as well. Flame tracked down the starters of killer, uncontrolled fire. Fire must never be uncontrolled, it would wreak havoc, it would murder any age, it had no mercy when left to its own devises—without Ignis it was soulless. Ignis found his own retribution when Flame caught the culprits. Live by the flame—die by the flame. Who says revenge is a dish best served cold?

Flame came to her special spot and struck a match. She watched the match burn for a few seconds, slowly turning it within her fingers and smiled. Ignis breathed deep, catching her unique sweet scent. Though he could watch her anywhere she roamed, he was unable to go to her if there was no portal into her world. Ignis could create his own portals, but they were combustive and he preferred when she called to him, wanted him. A campfire, Ignis could simply step from; when he came into the Earth’s dimension to be as one with humans of his own accord, he appeared on a rolling crash of thunder, riding the back of lightning, or a fireball. After all, he was an element to be reckoned with.