Embers and Icicles

Chapter Nine

Silver led Frank through the halls in silence, without so much as a glance back. It was like even the house was absorbing noise. Every step was muffled. Frank tries to get a better look around the house, but Silver gave him a no nonsense look that told him this was the wrong time to test boundaries.

They reached a room with a small boy inside. He was colouring–left-handed, like Frank–and surprisingly talented. He shrugged his sleeve up, and Frank saw a sliver of diamond peak out. He furrowed his brow, but smoothed it out when he caught Silver looking. Why would a renowned mafia boss have a diamond elemental child in his house?

"Daniel, this is Frank. We're going to go for a walk, okay?" Silver's voice changed completely when he talked to the boy. It was unsettling, seeing how well Silver could lie.

The boy ducked his head shyly, but still stood up.

"Hi, Daniel. It's nice to meet you." Frank held out his hand, and Daniel shook it. The two of them trailed after Silver as he exited the room. Frank pointed at him, then made a silly face, causing Daniel to giggle softly. The diamond boy shuffled closer to him, and Frank held out a hand for him to hold. Daniel's hand was only large enough to hold two of Frank's fingers. It was the most precious thing he had ever experienced, in one of the worst predicaments. The irony was not lost on him.

They walked for a couple more minutes before reaching a diatinite door. It looked thick too, expensive. The room behind it was straight out of a horror film. The walls were lined with tools for who knew what, vials full of mysterious substances, and any number of restraining devices. At the back was a small laboratory, complete with a tray of plants growing under purple lights.

Silver had Daniel sit in a chair in the centre of the room and told Frank to step back. "Okay Daniel. Now we're going to do the thing I told you about. It's going to help a lot of people. Are you ready?"

"Okay," Daniel reluctantly agreed. Silver lifted the boy's left hand, the one made of diamond.

"This blade is so sharp, it will be through the finger before you feel it." Silver lifted the tool in his hand, but Frank took a second too long to process what was happening. There was a flash of metal, and then Daniel's pinky finger was lying on the floor. Frank reached him in a second, unsure how to help. The wound wasn't bleeding, so he grabbed the loose finger.

"We need to put this in ice. It's not a human finger, but maybe the doctors will still be able to reattach–"

"Step away from the kid, Frank. He and I have it covered." Silver strode over, strange vial in hand. "I've been working on a way for elementals to regenerate body parts. Summoning an element in one thing. Putting themselves back together is entirely different. I think figuring this out could be the key to allowing them to survive multiple extractions."

"You did this to a kid. What the f- ... heck, Silver?" He side-eyed the kid, wondering at which age it was normal to learn some of the more colourful words in the English language.

"Progress requires sacrifice. This kid knows that, and maybe if you stop throwing tantrums you can realize it too. Now let me give him this serum before he loses the finger forever."

Frank looked at the kid, who was holding the hand out in front of him, his expression something like shock. But not pain. "Fine. But you better not pull this type of thing again."

Silver didn't answer, opting instead to pour his serum down Daniel's throat. The reaction was almost immediate. Frank felt Daniel's body temperature drop, a vague mist of diamond-coloured fog forming the silhouette of a finger. Silver stepped closer to Daniel, saying, "Focus on the finger. Think about rebuilding it piece by piece."