Magelore Book 1: Smoke and Fire

Chapter 4

Raven

Raven nodded to Akira. "We're supposed to go to class now."
"Oh." The other girl stood. "Let's go."
They started walking.
"So," Akira said. Her voice sounded snappy and angry. "What's up?"
"Um, not much," Raven replied, a little surprised. "Uh–hey, there's my brother."
Oliver waved from a doorway. "Hi, Raven."
"Hi, Oliver."
"Fuck you, Oliver," Akira snapped.
Raven turned to her. "What the hell?"
Akira just shrugged.
"No, stop," Raven said. She stopped in her tracks. "Don't just shrug. Apologize."
"Why should I?"
Raven tried to take a deep breath, to calm her anger like her mom taught her. "Because you were just a jerk for no reason?"
"Whatever."
Raven growled. "What the fuck is wrong with you? You don't have to talk to me. You don't have to like me. But what you can't do is be mean to my brother."
Akira just stared at her, still looking angry.
"Well?" Raven shoved her. Okay, it was a little childish. But it was also pretty satisfying to see Akira stumble and give her a shocked look.
Satisfying, that is, until Akira shoved her back.
And then Raven pushed her again.
They circled each other warily.
"Why are you being like this?" Raven demanded. "I didn't do anything to you!" And your dad hates me for no reason.
"Maybe you didn't!" Akira cried, reaching out to push her again. But her foot caught on the wooden floor and she tripped, falling into Raven, and Raven instinctively caught her, and then they were both on the floor.
Raven's mind was whirling. Akira had landed on her, and adrenaline coursed through her veins, both from the fight and from whatever this...feeling was, the electricity that seemed to crackle at every spot where their skin touched.
I'm–what–what's happening–this can't–I don't want–
"Students!"
The sharp voice came from a teacher standing in a doorway. "There is no fighting at Magelore! Come inside at once!"
They leapt away from each other and slunk inside the classroom.
"Sit," the teacher ordered. He addressed the class. "You may call me Mr. Ash. Today I'll be teaching you how to simply light a flame in your hand, drawing off of both your and your partner's energy. Oh...and your familiar's energy. That's right, kids–today, you're meeting your familiars!"
A ripple of excitement ran through the room. "Alright, sit with your partner and wait patiently."
Raven waited. After a few minutes, Mr. Ash showed her and Akira a small creature.
It looked a little like a fox. It had a fox body, face, and tail–but it also had huge, furry dragon wings and elegant spiral horns on its head.
"This is Fiyero," Mr. Ash said. "He's a fox-dragon."
"Ah." Raven held out her hand. Fiyero sniffed it and, after a moment of consideration, jumped on her and licked her face. "Ah! Fiyero!"
Fiyero sat, looking up at her with a who, me? expression.
"You try, Miss Burns," Mr. Ash instructed.
Akira held out her hand for Fiyero to sniff.
Raven, who had kind of hoped that Fiyero would bite her, or at least show a little less enthusiasm, was disappointed when Fiyero jumped on her partner with just as much joy as when he'd jumped on Raven. But then Akira smiled–was that the first time Raven had ever seen her smile? –and suddenly her angry green eyes weren't so angry. For the first time, Raven almost wished they were friends.
"Alright, class," Mr. Ash called. "Sit in a triangle. Hold your partner's hand, and touch your familiar."
Tentatively, Raven held out a hand to Akira, who took it with a scowl. She placed her other hand on Fiyero's back.
"Close your eyes. Feel your own energy. Draw off of whatever you're feeling towards your partner and your familiar at the moment. Imagine striking a match on that."
What was she feeling towards Akira and Fiyero? Well, she definitely liked Fiyero. Maybe she could start with that. But Akira...her feelings towards her partner were way more complicated.
Anger. That sounded like a good fire-starter. She tried filling her mind with anger, setting it ablaze. She felt what might have been the beginning of a flame in her palm, but it died out quickly.
Then...that other thing. The sparky, electric feeling. She concentrated on Akira's hand in hers.
Akira's grip tightened and Raven squeezed her hand in return. Akira's finger brushed over her wrist and Raven felt her pulse stop, flutter, jump to match her partner's.
When she opened her eyes, a tiny display of fireworks was going off on and around their joined hands.
"Wow," one of the other students murmured. "Hey, that's cool!"
And then everyone was crowding around them, staring at their tiny fireworks.
"Very good!" Mr. Ash cried. "Not a fire, but sparks! Not bad at all!"
Raven looked up and met Akira's eyes. For a second, there was something there, a glimmer of something that wasn't hope, or fear, but somewhere in the middle.
Or maybe it was just a reflection of the sparks in their hands. Because the next second, Akira jerked her hand away and turned towards the door, ending the sparks and cutting off that brief connection.