Playing with Fire

Playing with Fire- Chapter Ten

Hey, would you look at that! I've made it to chapter ten. Double-digits baby! I really like this story so far, and I'm hoping you don't utterly detest it. Anyhoooo, you didn't come here to read about how my day went (unconditionally and irrevocably boring) or what gave me the inspiration for this chapter (the fact that I don't like getting punched without being able to punch back).

Okay, I'll shut up now. Just keep reading on, my furry friends!

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Reiara Minn and family...

I skimmed through the scroll, trying to find a specific piece of information and completely skipping over anything else. Nothing really registered in my mind as my eyes zoomed over the words. It was hard to read in the flickering candlelight, with shadows dancing on the page and messing with my mind in my sleep-deprived state.

Finally, when my eyes were starting to close of their own will, I found what I was looking for. Not knowing any other way to find it again without searching, I held up the candle to a blank space right next to it. Paper crinkled and turned to white ash as a thin wisp of smoke floated up into my eyes. I blinked several times, the sting irritating but not painful.

After rerolling the scroll and binding it with the smooth silver ribbon, I collapsed on top of the covers and sighed. I could allow myself to sleep now, seeing as my goal had been accomplished and my body was screaming at me to get some rest.

Goodnight, little one. I will be keeping watch over your dreams. The sound of Yín sè's voice in my head filled me with a sense of peace. I smiled contentedly, despite the scent of body odor and sweat that invaded my nostrils. Goodnight, Yín sè.

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I had a graciously dreamless sleep, although I was more tired than I would have preferred. By the time I was awake Hayden was already up and moving, wrapping his leggings around his face again to conceal his red tattoo.

"Hey," I mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and pulling away the covers. Hayden greeted me with a wave of his hand as he put the finishing touches on his head wrappings.

"Where to today?" he asked after a moment of silence, his deep voice muffled by fabric. I don't answer right away, instead opting for pulling out the stolen scroll and showing Hayden what I'd found last night. His eyes widened slightly, but he didn't press the issue as to why we were going there.

For breakfast we had sweet rice and finished off the last of the cinnamon tea. Thick grey clouds stretched over the sky, blocking out the sunlight and giving everything a rather dismal and gloomy appearance. Beads of water formed on the pale skin of my arm from fog, and I pulled in my elbows to let my long hair cover me.

Soon it started raining, but it wasn't the fine mist that cooled us down on the unnaturally warm Dragon Isles. Thick raindrops fell from the sky like an angry swarm of bees, giving the cobblestone streets an almost reflective quality and chilling Hayden and me to the bone.

"I don't like this type of rain," I decided. We'd taken refuge under a store awning, waiting for the downpour to move on and let us get to our destination.

"It is a little cold," Hayden agreed, pulling his cloak around him like a blanket. "Almost makes you miss those impossibly hot days back on the islands." I gave him a look, thinking of the stifling heat that sometimes surrounded the islands like a smog. He laughed and bumped me with his hip. "Well, I did say almost."

My bare toes were almost frozen, thanks to the icy stone and cold rain. I figured Hayden's were too, considering he kept hopping from foot to foot and his toes were a bright white. For the first time in my life, I wished that I was wearing shoes. Anything to keep my feet dry and off of the freezing cobblestone.