The Spirit Academy

Chapter 11 - Fire

Mishal watched from outside her window, writing in her diary with her pen, Kenna was reading, sitting on her bed, taking everything surprisingly well. Mishal looked out the window, everything was going so horribly wrong. Ilesha was frozen. Dahlia was missing.

Her diary was less like a diary and more like a book filled with random poems, and random bits of writing or words.

She was writing now, scribbling furiously, hunched over in her bed. 

Each spirit is taught, that life, water, earth, fire and air,

Exist with each other, help each other, that is good and fair,

But how is existing possible when the fire burns too bright?

And burns away the water, and the air and the earth?

This truth is old and unbending, not ours to rewrite,

As true as the cycle of birth death and rebirth.

How is existing possible when the fire only knows how to destruct?

And steals away the life burning in the brightest soul?

So much so that one can never be whole?

What good could possibly come from the blazing fire?

When it takes everything good and leaves behind just a trail of forgotten ashes,

And a smell of sickening smoke?

"Ouch."

Mishal looked up to Kenna, she was staring at her with a concerned, and slightly amused expression. For a second she thought she was talking about the poem and quickly shut it, but then realised that she smeared blood against the cover.

She looked down at her hands and realised that she had cut her hand with her pen.

She didn't react. She didn't feel the strength left in her. She felt weak, and tired, and most of all worthless. She had failed in keeping Ilesha safe, she had failed in keeping Dahlia safe. She looked down at her hands. And to top it all off she was a coward. She hadn't owned up, or taken the blame, or even told anyone. Ilesha would stay there froze.

She wondered what would happen to her say ten years later, people would come to the lake, and see her as what? A girl that had come ice-skating, just as they had, and became frozen?

No they wouldn't. They would see a statue made of ice, or a fountain of some sort, probably covered in ice. Or would they see her at all, when the ice would melt would Ilesha too? Or would she stay frozen sinking to the bottom of the sea?

Forgotten.

Lana

"Lana?"

It was Marina, she was wearing a sea-green jumpsuit, her dark hair tumbled down behind her shoulders. After both Marina and the girl, Roxy, had left her she had walked around the room. It was true, they had not binded her, but the room was still locked, and without any windows, just a chair.

"Marina," Lana said, eager to exist again, "How are you?"

She didn't really care but Lana just needed someone to talk to.

Marina, looked at her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, but all she said was, "Very well thank you,"

Lana blinked. "Oh," Then in an attempt to make conversation, make her stay a bit longer, she said, "How do you know Roxy?"

Marina gave her a wry smile.

"Roxy is my sister."

Lana gasped, "But-but you're both so-so,"

"Different? Yes it's true. I have dark skin, and dark hair, and she has pale skin and light hair. It's difficult to imagine we're related at all," She looked to the ground when she said this then looked back up, "But we are."

"Not just how you look, Marina-Marie, she's so cold and mean,"

Marina continued on as if she hadn't heard her. 

"But she wasn't always." she said almost to herself.

"What? Mean?"

"Yes," Marina said, looking down, "She wasn't always like this. Used to be a lot like me. Look a lot like me too."

Lana shook her head. What do you say to that? Had Marina gone mad, delirious?

They stayed in silence for a few minutes before Lana said, "I'm sorry,"

Mishal

Mishal looked at Kenna. Still reading. She sighed. 

She slipped out of the door. Kenna hadn't even looked up.

The fire hallway was eerily quiet, and dark. The windows were closed, and the curtains were draped over.

She closed her eyes. It was easy being an air or an earth or a water or a life. Water was all around, in the bathroom, in the lake, in the sky. So was earth, in the ground, in the wood, in the jewellery, the precious diamonds, that each earth often wore to give them energy. And life was everywhere too, the gardens, grass, trees, even the spirits seemed to give life spirits their energy.

But fire was far away. In the fireplace sometimes, maybe a candle. But it was rare to find such a constant source. But now she found one. It was strong and thrumming with constant energy, beating alive and wild. It gave her strength. She drew energy from it, but stopped halfway through. This was strong. Too strong to be a candle. Too strong to be a fireplace. Too strong to be a stove. Too strong even to be a campfire.

And she ran. Her feet thudding along the ground, the fire giving her energy, she ran straight out of the fire dorms and into the common room, where hallways led to each of the spirit dorms. Making a split-second decision Mishal ran straight across, out of the fire dorms and into the air dorms. Then she ran straight to Guthrie's room and banged on the door, there was a time when Mishal would have ran straight to Auretta's dorm, but she thought, things won't ever be the same.

Guthrie opened the door with a relieved expression, "You won't believe-"

"Move your butt!" Mishal said through gritted teeth, gripping Guthrie's wrist and pulling her along the hallway, into the common room, and then let her go. "This place is on fire! Get Lynn!"

Guthrie nodded, a horrified expression on her face.

Mishal closed her eyes. She tried to be one with the fire, feel it inside her, and she saw the stables, the wood, burning and cracking. The horses neighing, screaming with pain. An easy target.

"Meet me in the stables."

Guthrie's cat-like eyes widened, and she turned and ran off.

Mishal ran the other way. Please... Hold on... I'm coming... Don't let it be too late.