Inferno

Chapter 3: To Play with Fire

I followed Reese up the stairs to the attic and flopped down on my bed, which was rolled out on the floor.

"So pretty, Finny." He brushed his hand over one of the braids.

"Shut up!" I jumped at him, but Reese was a lot bigger and slammed me onto my back.

"Boys!" yelled Mr. Haywood from downstairs. "That's enough."

Reese jolted me against the ground. "You're lucky their room is underneath us," he laughed as he rolled onto his bed.

"It's not funny." I ripped off the little bands and messed up my hair until the braids fell out.

He groaned something I couldn't make out and pulled a blanket up to his shoulder.

"Hey, Reese?" I pulled my knees to my chest.

"What?" he muttered.

"Have you ever seen someone burn?"

He peeked over at me. "Twice, why?"

"Mrs. Haywood and I went to town today, and they burned a woman. Mrs. Haywood said she was a monster, a shapeshifter."

"Yep." He moved around until he was comfortable. "That's what you do with shifters."

"She said the gods sent them to test us."

Letting out a deep breath, he turned onto his back. "Look, Fin. The gods are immortal bastards who are bored out of their minds. I don't even think they're actually gods, just really powerful shapeshifters."

"Don't let Mrs. Haywood hear you," I whispered. "She'll be mad."

"The Haywoods are superstitious idiots. This whole town is. There is no such thing as a god. Wouldn't we have seen one or heard more about them than just some made-up legends? I mean, they are gods." He dropped his head onto his pillow. "It's just a bunch of shifters. If the guardians ever catch one, they'd burn them just like the others. No shapeshifter can escape fire."

We fell silent for a moment, while I picked at the stitching on my blanket. "I like fire."

"Well, good for you," he shot back. "Just don't be burning anything down, or the governor will have you hanged."

I rubbed my neck. "I wouldn't." My head fell to the side as I straightened out the blankets. "Have you ever touched fire?"

Reese sat up and gave me a weird look. "What? Why would anyone touch fire? Did you forget what fire even is?" Flopping back down, he yanked the blanket to his neck. "I think watching that woman burn has messed with your head. Either that or they pulled those braids too tight."

"It was just a question." I rubbed my head.

"Just go to sleep, Fin. I have work tomorrow, and so do you."

Clenching my jaw, I laid down and turned away from him. I just wanted to know what would happen if someone actually did play with fire. It didn't seem like that weird of a question to me.

***

Clearing a spot on the dirt-crusted window, I peeked into the cluttered shop. Different-shaped jars lined the shelves and weird plants grew from planters that dangled under the skylights in the room. I slowly opened the door and poked my head inside. It smelled musty, like moldy old people, like the widow Mrs. Haywood always made me visit with her. Her house was just as cluttered, too.

"Mr. Hobbs? It's me Fin. Mr. Haywood sent me." I stepped into the room, but there was still no sign of him. "Hello?"

I wove through the stacks of papers and jars to the door at the back. Pushing it open, I scanned the area. "Mr. Hobbs?"