Kacie
Come on, Kacie.
I’m trying, Ath.
Well, try harder!
Easier said than done.
Sweat beaded on my temple and across my forehead. It was harder than I would have and I grunted as I struggled against the will of my gift. It clearly didn’t want to listen and as I fought against the wall that separated my will from it, the flame flickered. With one final push, it finally shattered.
The wall separating our wants fell to the ground and I felt my power leave my body. Instantly it obeyed me and I grunted as the force almost left me breathless. Opening my eyes, my jaw dropped as I stared at the view in front of me.
What I had been trying to do was send the flames from my fist. That was what I pictured when I thought of hitting Clara. A blinding flame shot out from my chest, not my arm, across the space separating me from Clara. I wasn’t sure what was happening but I knew I had done it.
Wrong, that’s not what I meant.
We do care because we need to figure out how to make it happen again.
Clara.
Her name flashed across my mind and worry welled inside of me. My eyes darted across the way and I sighed in relief. Clara stood across the way, something blocked her from my flames and they didn’t reach her. Instead, they slid around her and went behind her. She was well protected in an invisible cocoon.
I wanted to say something in response to my flames or to ask her if she was okay but I couldn’t say anything. I was in shock at the power that continued to spill from my chest and blast across the way to her.
Clara nodded as she looked at me, her eyes dropping to my chest as she studied where the flames were coming from. Her eyes trailed from my chest to my hand to the other hand. Both hands were engulfed in flames and I wondered when that happened.
With Clara able to protect herself from me, the barriers holding it back were gone and I was able to let it run freely. Something pushed against my flames and I blinked as I tried to make sense of what I was feeling.
I focused on the space around Clara and my eyes widened as my flames moved back. It didn’t stop there, something pushed against my gift and it dawned on me to push back. As the thought crossed my mind, my flames grew closer to Clara again before moving further away.
My eyes darted to Clara’s face and she smiled at me. There wasn’t a hint of fear in her eyes. She was enjoying this and she wasn’t even using all of her strength. My breathing grew heavier as I pushed back with more aggression and my flames didn’t push an inch forward.
“Try and surround me completely in flames,” she said.
As soon as I thought it, my gift contorted to my will. The relief of feeling it bend to me almost made me fall back but I kept myself upright. Clara was surrounded by flames and I couldn’t see her. I almost called my flames back but her darkness broke free from the ball I’d trapped her in.
I was hit again with another wave of relief but I didn’t let it stop me. I wield the flames like a sword and lift it high into the air before bringing it down on her. She tilts her head back and her eyes connect with the sword of flames. Despite the urge to stop, I don’t, I know she can handle it. It doesn’t touch her but it stops right above her head.
“Again,” she commanded, not looking at me. Her eyes were still focused above her head, never leaving the sword above her. Obeying her command, I lifted the flaming sword and it slammed down on top of her again.
“Try and hurt me, Kacie.”
Hearing her, I focused on my fire and told it to stab her. It listened to what I wanted but again she blocked it. Her eyes never left the sword as it moved back and forth as I attempted to land a blow on her.
I smiled to myself as my gift listened to each thought I had. It lifted into the air, sliced, and stabbed without hesitation. There wasn’t any more push against what I wanted. It did as I commanded and it made me feel powerful.
It was the most intense rush, I haven’t felt anything like it since I’d been in the forest with Ken’s men. I welcomed the power that rushed through my body and I threw my strength at her over and over again. Failing to land a hit on her only pushed me harder.
She continued to block my attacks but I was starting to notice something. Every time she dodged my attack, it was because she herself saw it coming. Her earlier words filled my thoughts.
Reactive.
She had said it was reactive and did as she thought. Meaning, if she didn’t see it, she couldn’t block it. The only way to land a hit on her would be for me to do something sneaky and last minute. I’d have to distract her somehow and hit her without her seeing.
Slowly, I made my way closer and closer to her. I kept up my attacks and she wasn’t watching me, her attention was focused on the flames. She didn’t hear me as I stepped closer and excitement began to bubble inside my chest.
My skin felt cold and clammy the closer I got. She continued to dodge my flaming sword as it came down on her head again. Now, I was only a few feet away from her and she still hadn’t noticed me. The flames around my hands weren’t as strong as they had been before I conjured the sword but it was still burning.