Fiercer Than Fire

Tainted Time

Lizadorah grinned before she folded herself besides me. "Done with your duties for today?'' I asked her and she nodded. "Forgive me for sounding rude,'' she began to say as she kicked off her shoes and rolled her pants back, so she could dip her feet in the lava as well, "But...when will you be assuming your duties, Era?''

The dragon besides me stretched on its hind legs before it skipped into the lava and began to dive, catching strange fish like creatures and tearing them apart. I considered her question for a second before I answered it, "I don't...I have no idea how to do any of it. I mean, just a couple of months ago my biggest worry was getting through high school with good grades and now...now I'm sitting in a entire different freaking realm, with my legs in lava and staring at a dragon that I feel like I couldn't exist without. I don't understand anything. I don't know anything. I'm really confused.'' I curled my hands into fists as I pulled my knees into my chest.

When had I started to feel so...so...unsure?

"I understand,'' Lizadorah said as she smiled gently at me, "But remember, Eres Nyle will always be there to guide you. And I'm quite sur-''

"Eres Nyle?'' I echoed, "Who's th-?'' It took me a little more than a second to remember who my mate was and I chuckled. "Oh my gosh, I just forgot who Nyle was,'' I laughed, "I must be seriously confused.'' 

Lizadorah nodded but she studied me worriedly. "This...isn't the first time that has happened,'' she reminded me, ''Are you sure you're alright?''

"Yeah, I'm just mighty anxious and confused,'' I confessed one more, "You could do one of those cool brain analysis things you do if you still aren't sure.''

Her eyes almost popped out of her skull. 

"NO!'' she gasped, "I would never do such a thing to you, Era! Eres Nyle would be greatly angered and-''

I might have sounded like I was kidding before, but I hadn't been. My mind filled up with a fog that seemed to have settled in it sometime in the past two weeks. Initially, I had figured that I wasn't ready for the responsibilities, and that it was probably just my anxiety manifesting itself in my mind. But then, after I had noticed how silent Valentina had become and how I couldn't feel her in my mind anymore, I had grown worried. Further on, I had begun to do things, act a certain way, forgetting things that were important to me and saying things that I would never do. It was almost like I was changing into someone else, and it was scaring me. The thing that terrified me the most was that Nyle's touch seemed to make me feel ill. I had lied to him, told him that I wasn't comfortable sleeping in the same bed as him because I was shy (which wasn't a complete lie), when it was actually because he had begun to repulse me. I felt disgusted when he was around me and sometimes...sometimes I wanted to attack him, and I didn't know why!

''Lizadorah,'' I turned around to her and gave her only my most sincere expression, "This is a request. Nyle told me that you can analyze someone's mind and find irregularities, or the causes behind changes. ''

My words seem to have an affect on the fire woman, who diverted her gaze from me and swallowed loudly. ''But I would be disobeying Eres and I-"

"I was very close to hurting Nyle yesterday,'' I confided in her and almost broke eye contact when I was met with her bewildered and horrified expression, ''I know that's not normal and I don't know what's going on and I can't hear Val-...my mind does not feel normal anymore. I-I...I need your help. I ask this to you as a friend, not a fire goddess or whatever you all seem to think I am. I really, really need your help.''

"Era...I-I..."

"Please, Liza. Please.''

I had recently begun to comprehend the extent of my abilities, and so I used them to tap into her mind, restraining myself from doing it too deeply, she deserved her privacy after all; reading minds was addictive, it required restraint and control, something Nyle had taught me the very first week I was here.