“Shade! Guess what? I have fire powers too!” Anna ran up to her wearing a gleaming smile that squeezed her eyes into small slits. Shade returned a grin, wondering what the heck Anna was talking about.

“What do you mean?” Shade stumbled as her sister grabbed her hand and yanked her forward towards the table. Benton gave her nod, and a wicked smile. Shade gulped, hoping she wasn’t about to witness something she was gonna wish she didn’t know.

“Benny? Tell her I can do it just like you can.”

“Do what Anna?” Shade sat down on the bench, watching them intently as they glanced at each other.

“Can I?” Anna asked Benton. He nodded and continued to smile. Shade pressed her lips together as she squirmed in her seat.

“Okay, Shade, you have to see what I can do! Watch!” Anna held out her hand towards the unlit candles. She gave her wrist a flick, and the candles flared to life, igniting in a slight flare before settling into the normal height of a burning wick.

“Did you see that?” Anna jumped and squealed in excitement. Benton looked pretty smug and proud, as though watching an apprentice achieve their first lesson. Shade stood up suddenly, wide-eyed and almost speechless.

“Wh-what was that? You can do it too? She’s a Fire Witch too?” Shade looked at her brother, who sat quiet and still as he watched her reaction.

“Yes Shade. Anna can do it too. She is my sister too you know. We do share the same genes.” His smirk made Shade want to whack him on the head. She restrained herself as she willed her anger away.

“Okay, does mom know this? Because if she doesn’t, all hell is gonna break loose.” Shade crossed her arms feeling more ignored with every word as Anna and Benton shrugged their shoulders and turned back to what they were doing. “I mean it guys. She needs to know right now. She’s gonna flip if she finds out some other way.”

Anna frowned, rolling her eyes at her sister and sighed. “I know that. I’m not a child anymore, in case you haven’t noticed. And yes, mom knows. She knows everything now. I wouldn’t worry about that!” She flicked her hand again and the candles whooshed, expiring with tendrils of smoke floating away into the sky when she finished. Shade couldn’t help feel a tad left out. Her siblings were full humans, even with their special powers, and she wasn’t.

She shook her head, sitting back down onto the bench. She watched as Anna continued to make balls of fire and light float around like enormous fireflies. She couldn’t resist wanting to reach out and touch one. Instead, she concentrated on making sure none of the balls of fire hit James, who was standing way too close Benton and Anna.

She eyed them until her eyeballs dried out. Blinking, she sat back, letting herself relax just a bit as she fumbled with her ampoule of Santiran Water around her neck. She watched them drop some of the flaming balls onto the dead grass, fire flaring up instantly. Shade jumped to her feet, searching for the hose that lay snaked across the lawn to douse the flames. She turned the spout on and sent a spray as far as it would reach, hitting the flames with a blast of water. The flames hissed and died in places, leaving shadows of itself on the blackened earth and dead grass.

One fireball flared up some of the drier brush near the edge of the lawn, sending Benton scrambling as it lit up, angrily eating the kindling as it hurried towards the house.

“Crap! I can’t control it, it’s too wild now!” Benton yelled out as he waved his arms frantically, calming some of the flames, but unable to keep up as new spots flared up. Anna grabbed the hose as Shade handed it to her.

If mom was here, she could douse it, thought Shade as she ran closer, racking her brain for what to do. Fingering her necklace, she gasped, the ampoule of course!

Shade remembered her amulet of Santiran Water. Grasping it, she could feel the magic seep out into her. She held her hands up, gathering the water spraying from the hose and began to send it spraying along the bottom of the raging fire. The flames fought back, angrily bursting up into the atmosphere and grabbing onto more dried grass and brush. The heat burned and the water dissipated into columns of steam. Shade breathed in again. She closed her eyes, trying to pull water from not only the hose, but the air and clouds above too. She could feel the air shift as she willed a storm to gather and begin to dump its cooling downpour over the fire and them.

Clouds of steam continued to hiss and float away as the flames calmed and withered under the heavy rain. Shade finally opened her eyes, watching the sheets of water continue to pour down onto the scorched earth. Breathing hard, she let the cool water ease the sudden exhaustion that flowed through her bones. This was the most water she had ever wielded, more than the light drizzles of rain she had conjured up before. She collapsed down onto her hands and knees, feeling a drip of warm, oozing, blood from her nose trickle down her lips and chin.

“Shade! Are you okay? Shoot, shoot, shoot!” Benton knelt down next to her, their clothes already soaked through and through. His dark hair clung to his face in matted, drenched curls. Shade nodded as she looked towards him, wiping her nose on her shirt. He helped her stand on her wobbly feet that didn’t seem to want to work. Her head swam as the world seemed to spin. Her eyes rolled back as she blinked, fighting unconsciousness. Only the cool splashing of the rain kept her awake, reminding her to keep her eyes open.

“Hold on, sis. Let’s get you to the house.” Anna took her other arm and helped Benton as they practically dragged her back into the house. Shade managed a glance towards where the fire had eaten its path. Small tendrils of smoke were all that were left its rage. The tinkering of rain on the roof filled her ears as the rain continued its pounding.

“Grab some blankets and towels Anna! James help her, and hurry up before I put Shade on the couch.” Shade heard more than she saw. Her vision wavered in and out. Shadows and light flickered as she tried to get more focused.

I’m gonna be sick!

“Um, bring her a bucket too!” Benton plopped her down on the soft towels Anna had laid over some blankets. Shade’s clothes stuck to her like a second skin, feeling cold and making her shiver. She rolled over as Benton fitted a bucket in her hands.

The wave of nausea subsided as she breathed in hard. She let Anna take the bucket from her, and rolled back into the warm bliss of blankets that were now wrapped around her. Shade let the darkness fill her vision until nothing but quiet and black cocooned her.

*****

“I DON’T KNOW what you were thinking, playing with fire is not a game! You’re young and untrained, and you’re irresponsible to boot. You can’t be wielding fire without my supervision. Is that understood? You too, Anna.” Jade’s voice echoed from the kitchen into the living room where Shade roused to it. Her eyes blinked, adjusting to the dim light of the room.

Gosh, this is a familiar scene. Shade tried to sit up on the couch but quickly sank back down as her temples throbbed in protest. Oh, ow, ow, ow! She grabbed her head as the pain surged through it. As she waited, it calmed to a dull ache. Her healing magic was working, but she still felt depleted and worn out.

“Shade, are you up? Feeling better? Here, drink this. It helps you get better faster and re-energizes you.” Her mother said as she came to sit on the couch next to her. Handing her a cup of sweet liquid. Shade drank it greedily, and was feeling amazing almost immediately. She closed her eyes, letting the liquid run its course through her. Shade glanced up to her mother and smiled. Jade’s concern shone in her eyes as she studied her daughter’s face.

“Yeah, I feel much better now. Thank you. How’s everyone else? How long have I been out?” Shade looked around the room, but only spotted Soap sitting quietly in the lazy-boy chair next to the couch. She smiled weakly at him as he grinned at her.

“Everyone is fine. You’ve been out for about an hour. I need you to do something. I’m hoping you can get up and work some magic that only you can do. How ‘bout it? Feel up to it? If not I can get you some more elixir to help you out.” Jade’s voice was shielding something as she helped Shade slowly sit up.

“Um, yeah. I think I can. Why, what’s going on?” Shade furrowed her brows, staring at her mother’s blank face.

“It’s nothing serious really, but if you don’t shut off the rain, it will be.” Jade’s face cracked into a smile as they both burst out laughing.

“I guess I went overboard there! At least nothing else caught fire.” Shade sighed, thinking back to the raging fire that had almost reached the house.

“Yes, indeed. I already told Benton and Anna to be more careful. I have to start training them, or we might not have a house left to live in!” Jade smiled, her warm motherly self resurfaced on her face. Shade had missed it. Everything had been so different since she had returned. She had been sure nothing would return to the way it was before, especially her mother. “So whenever you’re ready, we should shut off the water spout of heaven out there before we need an ark.” Jade winked at her.

“Okay, I’m ready.” Shade went to stand, but found her legs very shaky and weak. Soap was at her side in a flash and basically carried her to the back porch. Sitting her on a chair, he let his arms slide away from her slowly, staring into her eyes as he relished her touch. Shade flushed as she smiled, brushing her stiff, disheveled hair away from her face. She must look a wreck after sleeping with her hair sopping wet. She bit her tongue, trying not to think about it.

Shade watched the rain as it tapped its rhythm on the roof and rippled the small puddles now forming in the grass. The world was soaked. She wondered if she could make it flood. Probably, if I really wanted to. She smiled, fingering the ampoule around her neck and willing the power to swirl around her. She held her hands out, feeling the rain’s power vibrating in the atmosphere. It felt wonderful. Cool and reeking of power. It would do what she wanted. Pour, spray, drizzle, or gather into a fierce rushing wave. It felt exhilarating and made her skin tingle with magic. She let the energy fill her as she pulled it back into her, wrangling in the storm.

She took her time. The last time she had let the magic fly madly out of her; it caused her to weaken and wear out too fast. She breathed in slowly as the magic funneled back to her, swirling into the ampoule around her neck. The clouds dispersed and the blackened storm clouds faded until the rain was all but gone. Opening her eyes she grinned, feeling proud and elated that she was able to control the magic this time. Soap hugged her as they all praised her efforts.

“See? I knew you could do it, Shade!” Soap reluctantly let go as Jade tapped his shoulder, motioning him to move. He stepped away as Jade now hugged Shade.

“Mom,” Shade groaned as she squirmed in the chair from all of the attention. She felt more like herself, and didn’t want to be babied or treated like an invalid. She sat in the chair a while longer as she watched the sun shine down, slowly drying up the sopping grass and trees. Huge droplets of water dripped down from the porch roof and glistened in the light. She smiled, hoping that their happiness would last.

Chapter Twenty-two

“WHERE ARE YOU going?” Shade stood at the doorway of Soap’s room as he stuffed his recently cleaned and sharpened weapons. She watched him nervously as he finished depositing the last sword into his pack, and stuffed a dagger in a hilt strapped to his belt.

“Nowhere,” he said. “I’m just stowing away my weapons. Making sure they’re ready to go just in case I need them.” He turned towards her as he dropped the bag onto the bed, and came to stand before her. He reached out, sweeping a loose strand of her hair out of her face. Her eyes darted back and forth across his handsome face. She was feeling torn, and attempting to hide her panic. “Why so nervous? I said I wouldn’t leave you, didn’t I?” He pulled her close and embraced her in a warm hug. She let his scent envelope her as she pushed the crazy thoughts of him possibly leaving out of her mind.

“Sorry, it’s just, for a second there, I thought you were going to leave too. Just like…”

“Just like Dylan?” Soap stepped back away from her, studying her eyes and searching them for whatever it was he was looking for. His lips pressed together, firm with slight irritation. “I thought you would not think of me like that,” he sighed as he tied up the end of his bag on the bed. He refused to look back at her as he finished and started on his clothes, folding the freshly washed trousers and shirts. He had taken to using khaki cargo pants and jeans while living with her instead of the linen and leather pants he usually wore in Faerie. He wore a pair of jeans right now. They were soft and worn, and clung to him like a well-worn glove. She couldn’t help but gaze at his arm muscles as they rippled while he worked. He was not a wimpy kind of guy, and it had not escaped her notice.

“I’m sorry,” Shade stumbled as she spoke to him. “I didn’t mean for you to think that I was thinking of you like that. I can’t help it if I still miss Dylan. We are still bound, and I don’t know how to undo it. The way I feel probably has something to do with that.” She sat down in the chair next to the bed, moving a pair of his boots from the chair to the floor.

Soap turned to her. His eyebrows furrowed as his stare intensified. His eyes turned dark green as he continued to stare, making her gulp. She could feel something upsetting him. His eyes were like a mood ring that never lied.

“Shade, I don’t think it has anything to do with that at all,” He said as he sat down on the bed and ran his fingers through his long hair, ruffling it up and causing some strands to dangle out of place. “Do you know what I mean, Shade?”

“No, what do you mean?” She pulled her legs up onto the chair and leaned on her knees, hugging her calves tight and dreading his answer.