Fireheart

Chapter 10

Six Weeks Later

"Come on, Fireheart." Phoenix said, gently. My head was pounding, and the blasted sheep didn't get up.
"This is ridiculous." I said through gritted teeth.
"Maybe I'm like Garnet." I said. Garnet had no power over the dead. She couldn't Raise anything worth a shit.
"No, Fireheart." he said, sounding annoyed. "You're a muerto, I know it. Just focus on its head. If you can dig into the brain, you can raise it."
Oh, I can dig into its brain alright Wolf said. I didn't shush her. There had been an issue with the Village's sheep dying lately.
It may or may not have been my fault. Or Wolf's fault to be more specific.
"Okay. You can give up."
I sighed a breath of release and sat on my butt. Phoenix had me on all fours trying to raise the sheep.
"How have the Yong'in Garnet's class treating you?"
I shrugged.
"Miranda is really nice. But Steven. He gets mad when I beat him with the bows. But my shields have never been better."
Steven and Miranda were two of the hundred Yong'in that had come back from the northern border for fire festival. They were kind and passionate about being back. It made me happy, and Wolf saw them as a pack.
"That's good." Phoenix said, sitting down next to me. "Bruce being any nicer?"
I rolled my eyes.
"He ambushes me every day when I come home from Garnet's. Every day for five weeks. Luckily Miranda or Steve are always with me. He sees them and yells Leader's Pet then runs off."
I could understand him, or anyone, thinking I was the Clan Leader's pet. Phoenix and I spent a lot of time together. He was my mentor, and could often be found either in my room or in his palace with me. It was nice and made Wolf think someone other than he was a protector. It blurred the lines, however, and sometimes I felt like taking Phoenix to bed. Other times I didn't want him around at all.
I guess I was lost as I thought, because a little ball of orange fire burst on my arm, leaving a red circle.
"Hey." I laughed. I threw a little ball of purple flames back, and he stuck his tongue out at me as he deflected it.
"You're so good with fire that it makes me forget you can't raise a freshly killed sheep." he said.
"Hey, you said it would come easy." I laughed. He stood, and I offered him my hand to help me stand. He held it a little longer before letting go.
"You excited to set up Fire Festival tonight?" he asked. I groaned.
"Jerrik thought it would be a good idea to place me in a group with Bruce. At least Connor has to suffer with me."
He laughed as we made our way out of his palace. Summer had come into full swing by now, and the heat felt wonderful. Wolf bristled at the sunlight. The water will be warm enough to swim in she said. Not tonight, I shot back.
"As long as you keep your cool." Phoenix said.
He had broken up a fight between me and Bruce last week. I left fighting early, and he had cornered me against the house. I lit my flames before he could, and ended up burning his face. I was melting into Wolf as Garnet and Phoenix came around the corner. It hurt to pull her back, but we were tired of Bruce. The way he looked at us.
"Fireheart, what are we going to do with you?" he asked. He smiled to himself to, as if he already had an answer.
"Just come by tonight, and maybe bring Garnet."
I had come to really love Garnet. Until a few days ago, it was only me and her in fighting class. We often contemplated life together, and she helped me as another woman in this sausage fest called a Clan. It was this friendship that helped me learn her and Jerrik were sleeping together. How cute.
"Can do." he said as he dropped me off in front of the village. He wrapped me up in a tight hug, and I returned it the best I could. Today was one of those days where I didn't want to leave his side. It happened more often than not this week, and he almost always ended up sharing my bed with me at night. How we hadn't had sex yet was beyond me. Wolf could tell he was interested in me.
I walked to the blacksmith's hut, where Jerrik expected my group to meet. Connor was already there, as was Bruce. He watched me through the side of his eyes.
"Hey, Fyre." Connor said happily. He was another really good friend of mine, and actually, become quite fit. In the last month here, he'd packed on some muscle. Fighting classes with other people did that I learned.
"Excited, Connor?" I asked. He nodded his head.
"Garnet said I can raise one of the sheep tomorrow night."
A smile lit up my face.
"That's awesome, Connor!"
Unlike me, Connor had gotten really good at Raising. His corpse had to be fresh, though. His fire magic wasn't far behind mine either.
Some more people I didn't recognize had begun to crowd into the blacksmith hut. Yong'in from the north, I guess. About thirty of them. I wondered what our job was.
I took a deep smell. Over the last couple days, Yong'in had moved back into the Village, which had grown busy again. Imports exploded, to feed all the returning members. Strangely, I liked it. I liked seeing the Village the hustling center it should've been.
"Okay, I have your jobs." yelled Jerrik, following them into the little hut. He smelled VERY much like Garnet. I smiled to myself.
"We're gathering wood for the fire. Phoenix wants you guys to use your magic to safely cut down some trees. And," he seemed a little excited at this part. "We're gonna make a competition out of it. The one who cuts down the most trees gets to sit on the throne next to Phoenix tomorrow night!"
Everyone started to buzz at that. In the month as Clan Leader, Phoenix hadn't taken a wife, who would normally take the smaller throne next to him. That fact made me both very happy and a bit sad. I hoped I wasn't the reason he hadn't chosen a wife.
"Work in the lower east quadrant. We need a ton of trees for another group to make logs from. The one with the most wins. And....... Go!"
I and Connor stayed seated as everyone rushed out. To sit on the Throne would be amazing. But not amazing enough to be trampled over. When everyone had filed out, I turned to Connor.
"Wanna get this in the bag?"
He smiled, showing all his teeth. Wolf howled at it. Our pup was growing up.
"You got the speed, I got the magic." he said.
"Right. I hold a tree and you take it down."
We got up, and ran outside to where everyone else was creating thick rods of flames, and using them to slice the trees. I held my hand out in front of me and grasped my own rod. Deep purple, and hot. Phoenix was teaching me well.
Connor had his own gray rod. We kept going, and eventually found a tree in the front that was untouched.
I swiped my rod at it, as if it was a longsword, and felt it go right through the tree, sizzling as it burned the wood. Connor yelled timber as the wood fell. The other Yong'in looked at us. They had to work a little to get their flames to go through the tree. I returned a challenge in my glare and gave the same wolfish smile Connor gave me.
"Fyre, go!" Yelled Connor. I laughed as I took off into the woods, the smell of ash and burnt wood filling my lungs. We ended up switching positions, with Connor grabbing a tree and me slicing it. We had already taken lead and were in front of the rest of the group.
We were on our sixth tree when I felt a burning on the back of my arm. I looked around and sniffed.
"Who did that?" I yelled. The other Yong'in looked at me, but no one took credit for it. No issues.
We kept going and lost count. We were so far ahead that there was no other Yong'in around us. Then, a bigger burn mark hit my arm. I looked around and saw only Connor. The wind carried no smells.
I turned back towards the tree when a large hand gripped my throat.
"Hello, mutt." said Bruce into my ear.
I smelled Connor to my left. Behind a tree. He was just standing there, watching. Either Bruce didn't want him or didn't see him.
"Phoenix." I managed to choke out. Connor took off back towards the group.
Bruce lifted me up off my feet and pinned me against the tree. I struggled and kicked at him, and tried to use my fire to burn him.
"No use in fighting." he said. "They're really going to know what you are today." He released some pressure on my throat, and I took in a ragged breath.
"Phoenix is gonna come, and bury his sword in your side."
He used his free hand to punch my side. I stifled a groan.
"I'm surprised he hasn't taken you as a wife. You whore around for him enough."
I growled. My eyes must've begun turning amber because Bruce just laughed.
"There's the mutt." he said. "Let her out, Fyre. Let everyone here see who you are."
"Fyre!" Yelled Connor from in the forest. I could hear many sets of footsteps crunch the grass and leaves on the floor.
"I'm coming, Fireheart!" yelled another voice. Phoenix. My chest swelled.
"Aww, ain't that sweet." Bruce said. He removed his hand, and let me drop. Before I could run, he grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back.
"Shift." he growled. "In the name of Thanom, you better Shift."
Let me out Wolf growled. He twisted harder. The pain drew her out. I felt my face melting into a snout.
Some Yong'in had stopped about five feet from us.
"Let her go." one female yelled. His response was to twist my arm harder. My hands started shifting into claws.
"Bruce, if you let her go, you won't get in trouble." said Phoenix. I took a breath. He was the closest member of the Clan.
Bruce pressed harder. Something in me clicked, and I began melting. I tried, but I couldn't pull Wolf back. He let go and took a step back, which let me pull my shirt off. Wolf would have to deal with pants...

She wiggles out of the human garments and shakes out her fur. She's standing in the forest with the large male, her packmates, and her Alpha. She looks around to see them all staring at her. She growls her challenge.
"Holy shit." someone whispers.
"A Shifter." someone else says.
"See the demon she is!" The large male yells. "I will eradicate her kind in the name of Thanom!"
He reaches for her. She prepares to meet his lunge when Alpha tackles him. The large male's head hits a tree with a satisfying crack.
"You ever touch her again." Alpha growls. "And I will kill you. Do you understand." The large male nods.
"Get him out of here." Alpha yells to no one in particular. A couple members come to grab him and drag him out of the forest.
"The rest of you leave." Alpha yells. All except her packmate listen. She whines at him, urging him to listen. He walks to her and sits beside her.
"You could've told me you're a Shifter." he says, running his false paws on her back. She licks his chin. Sorry, she says.
"You should go, Connor." Alpha says.
"She'll be okay with you?" he asks.
Alpha nods his head.
Her packmate stands, and she yips at him. He smiles, and walks away, showing his back to her. He trusts me, she thinks.
"And you," Alpha says. "Could've told me at Specialization that you were a Shifter."
She whines and crawls to him on her belly. He laughs, and sits on the ground with her.
She lays against him. She wishes to hunt, but she can't leave the Alpha. So she sleeps instead, understanding when the other half says she wasn't supposed to come out. She's a good girl, after all.

I woke up in my own bed, far from the burning forest. I take a breath. Phoenix is here, but not in the bed. I get up to go to the bathroom.
"Hold on!" Phoenix yells from the kitchen. I crouch in the doorway and snarl at him.
"You're a Shifter." he asked calmly.
I simply nodded my head. I expected him to be mad that I never told him.
"That's amazing." he said instead. "I've never had a Shifter Yong'in. Fyre, you're a first for everything!"
At this point, I was very conscious of being naked and crouched, looking up at him. Now, I just wished I'd be the first of the Recruits to die.
"What are we gonna do, Fireheart?" he asked.
"I'm assuming the witch hunt hasn't started yet." I said, standing.
H

e shook his head.
"You'll still go to Fire Festival. They finished everything while you were sleeping."
I nodded myself.
"Sounds like a plan."
"You're a complicated woman." he said, walking out of my room. I wish he'd stay.
Instead of hiding, I wash up. My head hurts. I think I didn't sleep enough to make Wolf remove herself from my brain.
When I'm clean, I pull on a uniform. I make something to eat, then sit on my bed and read as I wait on Phoenix to come back to my room.
I finish the book, and he still hasn't come back.
Wolf slumps. I go back to sleep.