{ELEMENTISTS OF WILLOW FOREST BOOK I} The Path of Fire

Fire Girl

13:  Fire Girl

There was no point in Sasha relocating to the House of Fire now it was ten o'clock at night.  She was to spend the night at Death as planned, before moving in the morning.

Oh, sure.  She'd won Player of the Battle.  But now she was alone again.  More alone than she'd ever been in her life.

This was the girl who had been orphaned aged six.

This was the girl who had been to France and back four times.

This was the girl who had snuck onto huge ferries.

This was the girl who had escaped from care homes nine times.

This was the girl who had possibly only ever had ten friends before today.  Ten friends which were as good as dead.

And she was more alone than ever.  

*

Olivia had called an emergency Councillor meeting.  Technically, Sasha was now a Councillor, but she wasn't invited.  For fairly obvious reasons.

 Olivia opened the meeting with her speech, as usual.  "Okay.  So, you've probably all noticed this already, but Sasha is Felix's brother.  Which is why she's Fire."

"You knew all along."  Luke accused.

"Yes," Olivia admitted.  "I suspected it.  It looked like she was Felix's little sister from the first day we discovered her.  So, it looked like she was a Fire."

"Then why didn't you put her straight into Fire?"  Rock asked.

"Because I wasn't one hundred per cent sure."

"Yeah," Josie laughed.  "You were only ninety-nine point nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine recurring per cent sure."

Olivia pursed her lips.  "I didn't want to worry people or make them ask questions.  And I wanted to give her a chance."

"Hey," Rachael defended.  "Just because she's Fire, it doesn't mean she's evil."

"Precisely why I've called this meeting.  Felix is probably going to make a comeback in a few months.  He's getting stronger.  Sasha's going to be a powerful piece in this war.  But where to put her on the board?"

"Liv, is everything just one big chess game to you?"  Pebble queried.

Olivia ignored her.  "I think we should send her to Echo Valley.  Let Felix himself tell her.  Sasha will have to come back to Willow Forest.  She should stay loyal to us."

"What makes you think that?"  Ethan said.

"I've got reasons.  Seventy-two of them, actually.  Do you really want to hear all of them?"

"I few will be sufficient."  Rock replied coolly.

"Sasha will have had a hard life.  We know that Felix has been keeping tabs on her for years.  Sasha won't be thrilled that all her life he hasn't thought to help her.

"There's no doubt that Felix killed hundreds of people for himself.  For many more sub-reasons, this could make her hate him.

"Then there's the Death Wolves.

"Also, Sasha trusts people here.  She may not trust me after she meets Felix, but she certainly trusts Ash and Eve.  Maybe Ethan and Rachael as well.

"Anyway, if Sasha comes back to us, she could be really useful."

"And if she doesn't come back?"  Ethan spoke the dreaded.

"The Queen has been captured and taken off the board."

"So life is one big game of chess to you!"  Pebble retorted in triumph.

Olivia glared at Pebble.  Then her gaze softened, and she smiled.  "Meeting disbanded."