A Meet of Tribes (A Shade of Vampire #45)(41)

I mulled over the words, trying to figure out what they meant. Was it a glimpse into the future like my visions, or was it a warning? Or a piece of advice from some superior deity sending its messages through our Oracle bodies, telling us that there was hope?

“I’m not sure I understand what that means,” I ultimately replied, hearing the defeat in my voice.

“You are fire. Fire gives light.”

Once again, the Daughter was conservative in her use of words yet infinitely more coherent than I could ever be.

“When darkness swallows everything,” I repeated. “Given our circumstances, I believe the darkness is Azazel’s doing, or Azazel himself. So, when darkness swallows everything, it is up to the light…” I trailed off, as the idea forming in my mind became clearer.

“To bring salvation upon us,” the Daughter completed my sentence, never taking her eyes off me.

I knew what I had to do. If the runes were correct, then my inner fire could help against Azazel and the destruction he brought with him. I gave the Daughter a faint smile and turned my focus back on the candles.

Time wasn’t on my side, and I had yet to get close to mastering my fire fae abilities. I took a few deep breaths, trying to empty my mind of everything that cluttered it, particularly my recent visions of death and the freaking apocalypse. But something kept holding me back. I felt it clutching my heart.

“You know, my mind sometimes wanders in different directions,” the Daughter’s voice broke my failing attempt to concentrate. “It gets overwhelming because I don’t know what is what, and I get dizzy and weak and frustrated with my own shortcomings. But then I think of Phoenix, and everything clears. All the pieces fall into place, and I can see where my mind needs to go. The many thoughts I have in my head unravel one at a time, and I can focus on something. Phoenix helps me think. Is there someone who helps you think like that?”

“You never cease to surprise me.” Astonishment warmed me.

The Daughter was accurately tuned into everything, including myself and my thoughts it seemed. I figured she was in perfect unison with Eritopia as a default setting, given that she had been birthed by the world itself.

I was in touch with the natural elements—elements that were the same as back home. Fire, water, air, and earth. So, in a way, the Daughter and I shared some kind of common ground, which explained why she was able to understand me and identify the feelings that tumbled around in my chest.

Most importantly, she was right. The first time I had successfully communed with fire and manipulated the flame was when I had abandoned all thoughts except Bijarki. Even during breakfast that morning, my mind had run toward him as I developed that flaming sphere above the table. Bijarki was my catalyst, the only thought that helped me harness the fire within.

I put my palms out above the three mason jars and invited the image of Bijarki to take up residence in my head. The clearer he became, the quieter my other thoughts got, to the point where all distractions were washed away by the incubus who had been causing extraordinary chemical reactions in me.

I channeled my energy, using him as a cable of sorts, and pushed it outward onto the candles. Their wicks lit up on their own—yet another wonderful first! I gasped and moved my hands outward, beckoning the flames to follow my motions. One by one, the flickers grew and combined into one large sphere of pure fire.

I glanced at the Daughter quickly and noticed her wide eyes and silent enthusiasm. Overcome with gratitude toward her selfless support, I decided to show her something worth looking at.

I took a deep breath and allowed the idea of Bijarki to flow through my veins. I thought about his skin against mine, his silvery eyes drilling right into my soul, and the strength of his arms wrapped around my body.

The more I thought of each sensation that he had ignited in me that morning, the bigger the fire sphere grew. I stretched my arms out fully. I stood up and held the sphere in my hands. The flames licked my skin without burning it. It was as if Bijarki, even in his absence, was giving me the courage I needed to explore my unique relationship with fire.

I walked ahead with the incandescent sphere no longer connected to the candles. Heat coursed through my veins. It was delicious. The excitement fanned over the fire, and I raised my arms above my head as the ball swelled further outward until its diameter was bigger than the magnolia tree’s crown.

I laughed and threw another glance at the Daughter. She stood up with a bright smile on her face and her hands clasped together, waiting to see what more I could do with my ability. I licked my lips and filled my lungs with air. Then, I clapped my hands once, and the fire ball burst into billions of sparks, bound together by some kind of gravity.

I turned around and moved my hands, mimicking a ballerina’s pirouette, and the incandescent sparks flowed around me like ribbons of liquid fire, swaying with the wind and following my motions in perfect harmony. I could control fire through kinetics!

The happiness that rushed through me was impossible to describe. My heart was close to bursting out of my chest as I danced across the grass, followed by a wide stream of white sparks that burned as hot as my soul. I laughed, and the Daughter watched me revel in my newfound skill.





Aida





By nightfall, the more positive energy I’d accumulated from my conversations with Vita and Serena had slowly fizzled out, leaving room for doubts and the harrowing possibility of a full Oracle transformation.