Shards of Flame

Chapter 4: Angus

The thick stream of smoke from the camp fire rises high, so high I can see wisps over the top of the large mountain we had camped beneath. When she caught sight of the smoke, Ess chortles beside me, her arm jumping where it rests around my waist.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"You can't light a fire that big in the Plains." She says, her voice lilting melodically in the accent of the Glass people.

"Why not?" I ask, "No-one ever said that we couldn't. They said that it was completely safe to do so."

"Well, whoever told you that lied." She said, her tone rock hard, "Fire is what draws living things to you. Wolves, terati, even dusks. They're all drawn to fire."

My head spins with that new information. All drawn to fire. Dangerous beasts, creatures made from twisted nightmares and broken hearts. Dusks, beings made of shadows, so dim they coax the life right out of your soul and leave you broken and dead. Terati, animals that cause hallucinations so powerful even the strongest warrior would go mad with the slightest push from their mind-prodding fingers. Wolves, well the wolves are fierce, and never back down from anyone. Apart from Esmerella apparently.

"Don't worry ember," Ess says, "they all tend to stay away from large groups, and go after stragglers instead." She gives me a pointed look and I feel my cheeks heating under her ocean coloured gaze. We walk in an uncomfortable silence, so quiet I can almost hear when each snowflake lands. The awkward silence is unbearable, and so I say,

"My name is Angus."

Her teal covered head turns up to look at me, eyes assessing.

"Hi." She says, her tone dripping with heavy sarcasm.

"Ok..." I say, wondering what I did to deserve that icy treatment.

A small laugh wanders out of her and she claps a hand over her mouth as if to trap the traitorous sound. I suck on my teeth as I stop us and turn to look at her, a smile tugging at my lips. Ess looks up at me, a mischievous glint in her sky blue eyes.

"You're laughing at my name are you?" I say, deliberately flaring the sparks in my eyes.

A look of shock and nervousness flickers in her eyes, and she tenses slightly under my arm. A natural flight or flight instinct I realise. Reining the flames back in, I flash her a charming smile and make a note of the pale blue blush that coats her cheeks. I start us moving again, and I'm relieved to feel her relax under my touch again.

The stars above us drip white light onto the paper white snow, like miniature spotlights on a stage. Even breaths and steady footsteps are still the only noises in the world. However, instead of awkwardness permeating the air around us, a companionable quiet fills the space between us. The cool of Ess' skin under mine matches the cold nature encompassing my vision. The land really does shape a person. Ess is as sharp and unforgiving as a wintry day, and as cold to the touch as freshly lain snow. Loose strands of her hair brush against my hand, causing shivers to cascade down my spine. The freezing air doesn't seem to bother her, but I suppose it wouldn't. She has grown up here, surrounded by ice and snow.

"What?" I hear her say, and I realise I've been staring at her.

"Nothing." I say, "We're almost there." Gods this is awkward

"I know." She says, her tone icy cold, "The warmth is detectable, even from here." I'm stunned. How can she feel the heat from here? I'm an Ember, a master of fire, and I can't even feel it.

"I've grown up in the cold so long, any slight change in temperature is noticeable." She explains, her tone slightly smug.

"I didn't know that." I admit, letting a slight amount of admiration seep into my tone.