Dirtyhands' sister

Chapter 4

Kaz' POV

Kaz had almost killed Jesper three times in the last half and hour alone.

Relentless questions had followed Kaz around since Ayra had left to do who knows what. Jesper did not know when to close his mouth.

Why didn't you tell me you had a sister? Why do you have different hair? When did you last see her? How old is she? Do you have any other siblings?

The last question had stopped Kaz dead in his tracks. He remembered the time that he had called Jesper, Jordie.

It had taken a lot to get through that particular lie, especially to Jesper.

Now Kaz had learnt to tune Jesper out, he was left to his thoughts.

When Ayra had left, it had been early on a Tuesday and she hadn't said anything. She must of only have been thirteen or so and she had just vanished for months.

Taking nothing with her.

At first, Kaz and Jordie thought that she must have been kidnapped of worse, but with age they had accepted the knowledge that they would never see Ayra again.

Until now.

Kaz guessed, by the way she had looked at Jesper when they first met, that she had been reminded of Jordie as well.

Near the door of the Crow Club at this point, Kaz froze.

He held a hand up for Jesper to be quiet and he got the message. Kaz thought he could see something in the distance and with a jolt he realised what it was.

Fire.

There was a loud boom from a few streets away.

An explosion, Kaz thought, confused. Why would anything be blowing up at nearly midnight? And without him.

A small earthquake knocked Kaz and Jesper off their feet, out of surprise mostly. Then there was another explosion, except now it sounded right in front of them.

Kaz and Jesper had landed a couple of feet away from each other and yet, the bricks only landed on Jesper.

He cried out and Kaz stumbled drunkenly towards him. Jesper's right foot had been crushed.

With much groaning, Kaz pulled him up and further away from the now blossoming fire that had been threatening to take Jesper and his bricks into it's hot clutches.

Kaz propped Jesper up against a wall that he could use for support. Jesper knew how to get through pain to save himself and now was no different to a job gone wrong.

Except Kaz had no idea what the job was.

Coughing and spluttering in the heavy smoke, the pair hobbled further away from the fire. That was until Jesper fell over.

Kaz tried to push them away but the inferno was blazing with heat, making him groggy.

Then something very strange happened.

The smoke changed to a blood-like colour and a dark figure appeared.

Dark red hair blowing out of her face, Ayra stood in the centre of the heat.

And she was controlling the fire.

Ayra's POV

Ayra could feel a warm tear fall down her cheek as she looked at the old photo of her, Kaz and Jordie.

She wiped it away and put the photo back in her draw.

Then she fell to her knees in pain.

Everything around Ayra had suddenly turned blazing hot and that familiar, yet aching sensation returned to the pit of her stomach.

Then she wasn't it her old room anymore. Ayra was standing at the centre of a stifling fire.

She felt even weaker as the stolen memories of all the times she had used her power came rushing back.

Ayra stood shaken but in control. She didn't know if there were people caught in the blaze and she didn't want to risk it.

She closed and opened her eyes slowly, filling herself up with that strange yet comforting strength that only came when she used her gifts.

While inhaling deeply, Ayra drew all the surrounding smoke in the proximity toward her and when she exhaled, it evaporated as if it had never been there in the first place.

Then there was the slight problem of the fire that consumed everything in it's path.

Ayra had spent years at the Little Palace and she had learnt a lot there. Life had been dull and lonely until she befriended a boy of her age. Nikolai. The best friend who had turned out to be a prince.

Together they had found out that, because Ayra was so powerful, nature had to find it's balance. So, whenever she used her abilities (as Nikolai called them), she would never remember what she had or could do.

Nature's balance.

She smiled at the thought of her old friend being here. Ayra knew Nikolai would hate it in the dirty streets of  Ketterdam and yet, she wanted him or Sturmhond to have met her little brother.

The fire answered to her call. As it had done so many times in her lessons with Bagrah, the inferno compacted into an invisible box, before dissolving into itself completely.

Being extremely overdramatic, Ayra lifted all of the remaining bricks, charred wood and such into the air and compacted them so tightly, it became a ball, no bigger then a gem on Nikolai's crown. Ayra pulled it out of the air with ease and threw it to the side.

Then the usual overwhelming feeling of exhaustion swooped over her. Ayra fell to her knees, yet again. Before she could fully pass out, her brother caught her. She knew how pale she must look when Kaz said her name, almost politely.

"Ayra?" he whispered, a worried undertone in his voice.

At this point, she didn't know what was real and what wasn't.

Like, Ayra assumes the teddy bear Nik brought her wasn't dancing behind Kaz but she wasn't sure.

"Nikolai.." Ayra said, barely  loud enough for the teddy bear to hear and she drifted into unconsciousness, knowing she would remember any of this when she woke up.

Which happened to be three days later.