Fire Scarred

Chapter Seven

     "In no way am I meeting your friends. I know enough about them the way it is."

     "And how is that?"

     Leo snorted. "It's like you don't think I take my job as your protector seriously. I've done background checks."

     "Not only are you spying on me, but my friends too?" My hands flew to my hips. "What about my family? And all my teachers? And everyone else here at Woodland Creek?"

     "Don't be ridiculous. Santa Clause deserves to be put in there somewhere."

     "Leo! Just tell me who all you're doing your background checks on."

     "Fine. Fine." He put his hands out in front of him. "You're parents, close relatives, teachers, classmates, and your friends."

     "That's everyone I said plus one! You have no right to be butting into everyone's personal lives!"

     "Come on, Cora. Haven't you ever wondered what Ms. Dobbs does when she isn't trying to sort out your mess of insanity?"

     "I'm not insane." Not yet anyway.

     "What about Noah? Don't you wonder what he does when you're not around?"

     I had wondered before, but I wasn't about to let Leo know. It didn't matter how intriguing the thought was, I had to remain strong. "No."

     "You lie."

     "Fine, I do. But I trust him. I don't have to know." So much for staying strong.

     He cocked an eyebrow, a skill I'd repeatedly failed to master. "Okay. Fine. You trust him. What about me?"

     "Ha ha. Funny. Do I trust you? Hmm. How do I say 'Heck no' nicely?"

     "I meant, do you wonder what I do when I'm not watching you?"

     "There's a time when you're not watching me? When? Please share."

     Leo began to look agitated. "Forget it. Forget I said anything." An edge had crept into his voice. I must've given him some kind of look because he said more calmly, "Ready to try it again?" This was our seventh training session where Leo would try to "remind" me how to do everything. It was much easier than I had been expecting. I could cause storms, and take the form of any element. I could control the water and the wind. I could make a rose from a pile of dead leaves. According to him, I was coming along great. There were just a few more things I needed to learn.

     "Yeah," I sighed.

     "You just have to concentrate on what you want to accomplish along with the element you use to accomplish it."

     "Wind and invisibility?"

     "Correct."

     "And how will you tell? You'll see me still since you won't tell me how to be invisible to everyone."

     It was his turn to sigh. "You can't be invisible to everyone. I can't, you can't, Ciris can't, no one can. You'll always be seen by other spirits. You can disguise yourself by taking the shape of a plant or body of water or whatever, but they can usually sense that. Well, unless they have the Crave."

     "Nice to know."

     "Concentrate."

     I closed my eyes and visualized. The wind blowing. It pushes through the trees. The leaves twirl in the wind. It moves. Storms. A force. Tornado. Fallen trees and homes. Fuel for flames. Breathing in. Air. You can't see air. It blows my hair, makes a whooshing sound in my ears. Me. Become one with the wind. Become one? Seriously. That's such a cliché. Okay. So, wind. Invisibility.