Guardian

Chapter 17

Lilith dragged a large bale of hay out to the center of the field and Holden had a fire extinguisher on the ground next to him. Her house sat on a vast property, giving me plenty of space to practice without threat to anyone.

"We already know what you can do when you're pissed or scared. This is about having your emotions under control and still being able to use it," Lilith said. "Each enchantress has access to one element. For you, that's fire. I've only seen fire one other time in an enchantress. She was a lot like you. A lot of things happened to her before she awakened. That might be what triggers it, but we can't know for sure. Anyway, fire is also the most dangerous element to control. Air, water, and earth will just sit there without your influence. Fire will spread whether you want it to or not." She walked to the other side of me, opposite of Holden. "Focus on what you want to set." I stared to the hay bale. "Picture what you want it to do."

I stared at the large bale of hay and then closed my eyes. I pictured it warming from the inside, warming until sparks ignited the dry straw. I saw one piece of straw pass it to the next, and the next. On and on until the flames spread all the way up. I felt the warmth from it.

"Ronnie, stop." Holden's voice pulled my eyes open. The hay sat in front of me completely intact. I pulled my eyes from it to where Holden was behind me with the extinguisher, ready to press down on the plunger. The flames grew with my shock. I took a deep breath to calm myself and they lessened back down to nothing. The grass was scorched where the flames once raged.

"At least you can put it out," Lilith acknowledged.

We practiced with fire for a while. I never managed to light the correct thing but was always able to put it out. I could make an already burning flame larger, which could come in handy in a pinch, but never set it where I wanted to. Eventually, I got frustrated enough and they decided it would be better to revisit fire when my emotions were calmer. Holden suggested I try and make something appear. Lilith waved that off saying that it was too advanced and we would work on that once I mastered a few other things. She decided moving an object that was in front of me would be easier.

A pinecone served as the object. It rested on a tree stump on the opposite side of the field from where we worked with fire. There was another stump a few feet from it. The goal was to move it from one to the other. "You might be able to pick it up and move it or it might just disappear here and reappear there. That part is specific to each enchantress," Lilith had said.

That was hours ago at this point. All I had managed to do was make it fall off the stump. I was getting frustrated with it and half expected Lilith to change to something else or give up for the day.

I stared at the pinecone, willed it to lift up and float over for what felt like the millionth time today. Again, I failed, but an idea occurred to me.

"Holden, come here," I said. He listened without speaking and faced me. "Turn around," I said. His face contorted with confusion but he obeyed anyway. I slipped my hand under his shirt. His skin heated under my touch. I slid it up until I found his wings and the energy ignited in my veins.

"Are you using me as a heating pad?" Holden laughed.

"Shush," I commanded. Lilith sat on the grass to my left, looking at us quizzically. I focused on the pinecone. Again, nothing.

I pulled my hand from Holden's wings and grunted in frustration. My hand and arm was still warm from where it had been touching him.

"Oh shit!" Holden yelled, jumping away from me. My eyes followed to where his were focused on my hand. It was engulfed in yellow and orange flames.

The fire warmed me in a way I hadn't felt in days. I had been cold since my awakening, the heat from Holden or the sun only helped in the slightest and dulled the cold numb feeling in my bones. This excited me, heated all over my body, not just were the flame hit. I felt strong.