Fire's Mage (Book One) Kyoko of Fire Country

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kyoko knew something was wrong the moment she had past the last tree into one of the channel's ports. Mist in front of her as she spotted a male backing away from three bandits, so that meant more could be near by. The would-be victim had a fishing pole in his hands, made out of a dark wood and was pointing it at his tormentors.

Without thinking about it, she landed in front of the smaller male and pointed her staff at them. They weren't Missing Soldiers, Kyoko didn't recognise their faces, clothing or weapons. She knew she didn't look threatening, but she was able to wipe the smug looks off their faces when she summoned fire under their feet, spreading around her and the man behind her to create a semi-circle.

She had left a gab, about a meter between the fire and wooden dock. So she didn't want them to burn on her, if they did, then they'd have to go to the next port for a boat. Or the man behind her would lose his boat.

"You okay?" Kyoko asked him, keeping an eye on the idiots in front of her, even as the sand underneath her fire slowly turned to glass as she watched.

All three bandits were glaring at her, muttering to themselves as they glanced at the fire that separated them from their prey.

"Didn't get close enough to do anything," he admitted, Kyoko slowly walking forward as she kept an eye on them, raising the flame higher as did so. How was she going to deal with them without giving herself away? Winston and the rest couldn't be that far away. "Arrived a few minutes before you did."

"Kyoko," she told him watching as one of the thugs looked determined as he walked towards her fire. The other two looking at him with pride and understanding.

"Jakob," he told her, but before she could say anything else, one of the bandits had stuck his hand into the fire, catching light faster than dry grass during dry season. She was grateful that they were in the middle of the wet session, and that there was only dirt and no grass beneath their feet.

His friends tried to put him, by hitting him with their hands, but they caught fire as quickly as their friends did. Their screams cutting through the air, Kyoko never liked the smell of burning flesh.

It reminded her of the forest burning around, Grandmother Sapphire's body lying next to her. While all she could do was scream and cry, six people burning to death in front of her.

She was going to put her barrier down, use the seal that Stanley was wearing to save some of her energy for what needed to be done, she needed to create a barrier around the three bandits. So that they didn't cause a major forest fire, she didn't think Stanley, Sheikh or Winston would live through a forest fire. Jakob was with her, so he would be fine, unless she passed out.

Closing her eyes, she put the head of her staff on the ground, black lines appearing on the ground, turning into a seal around the bandits. It would stop them from running into the forest, the moment they tried they would bounce off the edge and land off the ground.

If she could cut air from the barrier, then they'll be put out and the only left would be the glass underneath their feet and their dead bodies.

The thing was, she didn't know how long she could hold the barrier. She would have to undo her energy storage seals, ones that she had placed on her shoulders three years ago.

Kyoko had made them just in case she ran out of energy while someone was trying to kill her. But she was glad that she done, since she was sure she would have passed out long before Winston could make it.

She was going to have to tattoo the seal that collected energy from around them, but first, she'll need to research if it was safe to do so first. And she couldn't find an answer, she'll have to find a dying animal to test it on. Still, it wouldn't help her here, not without the hours of prep time that she needed.