Into the Fire

Chapter 6

Varis:

 I ran to the passed-out human, catching him in my arms. I forgot he had been touching one, stupid stupid stupid! Why can't I think for once? I eased him to the ground very carefully, since he's my hopefully-to-be-boyfriend. Call it wistful thinking but, come on, he's so cute! I admired his dark brown skin, he was beautiful, still is. Not to mention his beautiful blue eyes, I swear I could die from them looking at me. Only when Emenga shouted at everyone to set up camp a ways down in the field, away from the trees, was I snapped out of it. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but they were all too busy walking with Em. Except for Orphi, who was balancing her own stuff in a way that allowed it to fit on her back with mine. I wondered how she had slipped the backpack off of my back.

"Hey, let me carry my own stuff." I told her, standing up.

"I'll be fine, it's only a little ways, besides, you have to carry your boyfriend." Sher responded, nodding at Aoth at the last bit. I felt my face getting hot.

"He is not my boyfriend."

"Yet." She walked away before I could protest. What is up with this girl! How does she know so much? I'll have to ask Aoth when he wakes up, he knows everything about everyone. He knew my favorite food before I told him! Even the exact way I like it served! When I asked how he knew, he told me it was magic. I wish I had left it at that. When I pressed on he went into an in depth lecture about all the tell-tales. For 45 minutes. Never again. Well, maybe just to hear him talk. His voice sounds amazing as well. It's smooth and fairly deep, wait, I'm supposed to be doing something. I bent back down and picked up Aoth in bridal position, maybe someday I'll- NOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEE! Not finishing that thought. I joined my friends and after finding a soft patch of grass, only the best for Aoth, I helped set up our tents. I was the last one finished and when I sauntered over to where the rest were talking. I found that they had decided that someone would have to share a tent with Aoth because we didn't know when he would wake up. They had put it to a vote, and they had picked me. I asked who had come up with that. Orphi looked directly at me and told me she had. I blew her up with my mind.

"Fine." I told her. It's just one night.

One night can feel like an eternity, I learned. Especially when two people have to squeeze into a one person tent. I tried to stay perfectly still, because Aoth was literally touching me. I cursed us all for only bringing the lightest tents, it made sense but still... There was a good chance he wouldn't even wake up, and it was practically impossible to enter a trance. I decided the only way I was going to meditate was outside, so I opened the tent flap and slipped into the night. Aoth would be fine for a couple hours, but I stayed nearby anyway. The air around me was damp, or maybe those were my tears on my face. I didn't remember starting to cry, but there I was. I looked around at the moonlit terrain. We were up on a hill in the middle of the field. I could see the forest we came from on one side, and field as far as I could see in all other directions. The moon made the plantation look a pale yellow, rather than a lush green, creepy. It was quiet, as quiet as the night of March 17th, three years ago. I breathed in deeply, inhaling the air brought the faint scent of, nutmeg? I guessed it was that it did because I was snapped out of the memory I was about to relive. I stood, the smell was coming from my left, so I followed it. Back into the forest. At some point I must have dropped the lyre I grabbed when I left, it was no longer on my back. Did I care? I entered the forest, amber leaves brushing my sides. I went off the trail, I think I must have. I stopped at a tree, and started to climb. I had a sneaking suspicion that I shouldn't touch the leaves, but I already had, so I thought it was probably nothing. I climbed and climbed until I reached the top of the tree. A single blue leaf stuck out like an arrow. It wasn't in season, why? I thought as I reached out to touch it. Pulling it from its branch, I studied it in my hand. Catch fire. I thought at it for some reason. It caught fire. I dropped it on its tree. The tree caught fire. The tree dropped me on the ground. I looked helplessly at the quickly spreading blaze. Eventually I came to my senses, running from the flames in search of water. After maybe forty meters I found a pond. It worked with fire, let's see if it works with water. I stretched out my arms toward it and thought, UP. It went up. Put out the frickin' fire! It put out the frickin' fire.

Apparently, that wasn't all the excitement life had in store for me tonight. The smoke billowing up from the fire twisted and condensed into the shape of a girl. She landed in front of me without a noise, her face still obscured by the smoke.

"Um, hello?" I greeted her tentatively.

"Hello." She replied and bowed. I didn't want to be rude, so I bowed back at her.

"Who, what are you?"

"You may call me Clover."

"Oooooooooookay, what the frickity frakity fruit snack just happened?" I questioned, gesturing at the burnt trees in front of us.

"You set a tree on fire." I scoffed.

"Yeah I know that, how?"

".......Magic"

"I'm a bard! I can't do sh!t like that!"

"Are you sure that's all you are?"

"Last time I checked yes."

"What about the night of the fire?"

I stiffened, "What does that-"

"How did the fire start?"

"They never found out, they thought maybe a wizard-"

"So like magic?"

"Yes but what does that-"

"How did this fire start?"

"Well you just said it was-"

"Magic, like that night in March. Who was there both times?"

"Me."

"You see now?" I nodded. "Go eat the leaf."

"The one I set on fire?"

"Yes."

"It's not burnt?"

"No."

'It won't kill me?"

She laughed "No."

"Okay then." I had no way to tell if she was trustworthy, but I crawled over to the burned pile of leaves on the ground anyway. After a bit of searching, I found it. In any other situation, I would have hesitated, but I was preoccupied with what Clover had revealed to me. Stuffing it into my mouth, I swallowed the leaf without chewing. My vision blurred. Clover was lying. Stumbling to my feet, I tried to run back to camp, but I didn't make it five feet. As I felt the ground greeting the side of my head, one coherent thought surfaced. Clover was right about one thing, I started that fire, I killed my father.