I'm... cursed?" Shock covered Vero's face.
"Yes." The Headmaster replied. "But it isn't as bad as it sounds." The man opened the door leading out of his office. "Walk with me." Vero doused the blue flame in his palm, following the Headmaster down the stairs from his quarters. "In this world, Vero, powers reincarnate. Once their owner passes, the power goes on to a new host."
"Like a symbiote?" Vero wondered.
"In a way, yes." The Headmaster nodded as he continued down the stairs. "But there are some powers that do not reincarnate. They are the Curses. There used to be hundreds of them; nearly thousands. Alas, now there are only twelve."
"And I have one of these last Curses?" Vero remarked.
"Yes; you carry the Blue Fire Curse." The Headmaster answered.
One of the hottest fires. Vero remembered when Khana had riled him up. He remembered feeling the kitchen get hotter. He remembered watching the frying pan melt. That was me. He thought to himself. He continued following the Headmaster, walking behind him until the two reached a library.
The library was massive in Vero's eyes. Shelves nearly stretched to the ceiling, which was many stories high. Books floated around the library, placing themselves in the shelves.
"Many books here cover the Curses and their history, but one book in particular gives insight into the Blue Fire Curse." The Headmaster remarked. The man held out his hand, a book drawing down to him like a moth to a flame. The book fit into his hand perfectly. "Reading it would benefit you." The Headmaster looked back at Vero, giving the book to him.
The Curse of Heaven's Phoenix, read the title.
"How would it-" Vero looked up, but the Headmaster had disappeared. The boy looked around, but he saw nothing but floating books.
♤
Vero opened the book, sitting down at the desk. He skimmed through the introductory pages labeled with Roman numerals, entering the first chapter of the book. Existence. Vero's eyes were immediately drawn to a cluster of short lines in the book.
Lost from home, flames bursting,
Tales creeping and forest weeping,
Shadow lurking behind the mind,
Heaven's Phoenix shall finally rise.
Vero felt a twinge of something in his chest. He couldn't decide what it is, though. He just knew that he felt some strange feeling in his chest. Then he felt a shiver run up his spine. Vero looked around, his eyes darting across every part of the library he could see. Then he saw it.
A shadow. Stretched across the wall behind him. But there was nobody else there with him. Additionally, Vero's shadow was facing the book. Not the wall behind him. Something in Vero's mind told him that it wasn't normal, even for this new place. It slinked away, to some untouched corner of the library, leaving Vero to wonder if he truly saw it at all.
YOU ARE READING
The Kiros Chronicles: Into Shadow
FantasyVero was always a troubled child. That was partially the reason he was sent to his older cousin's farmhouse. He wasn't deserving of the Kiros name, just like his older, slightly incestuous cousin. But what if he could become something better? Taken...
