Heat and Soul: A Soul Eater Love Story (xKid)

~Prologue~

Burning… Everything is burning. Everything except me… I watch the light go out of my parents’ eyes as the light from the fire grows brighter. Why? Why do I always have to ruin the things I love? I hear a fireman burst through the front door, calling for me. I recognize his voice; he must be one of my father’s friends. He charges into the room and instantly stills.

“You… You aren’t… You can survive the flames…? Then, you must be…!”

I look up at him with tears that evaporate as soon as they escape my eyes. He hesitates a moment, then speaks again, louder.

“You have to run! I’ll tell the others that you weren’t in here; just go! If anyone finds out what you really are… GO! NOW!”

I flinch as he raises his voice and suddenly I can move again. I stumble through the flames to the back door and dart outside. I keep running in a random direction, looking back only once at my home going up in flames… again.

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I’m not sure how long or how far I ran. All I know is that now I’m gasping for breath between sobs and I don’t know where I am. I drag my feet off of the main road, into an unknown alleyway. I slump against the wall of a stone building and slide down into the fetal position with my head buried in my arms. The crying has stopped. Even though I feel like crying some more, it’s like I can’t, like I’ve run out of tears. I fondle my pendant with one hand. The pendant depicts a grandly dressed figure holding up a torch in a triumphant and optimistic pose. Some days the torch is lit, and some days it stays out. It’s like a good luck charm. When the torch is lit, it’s a good day. Well that figures… The torch is out today. I feel numb from all the crying and the running. I’m so tired, but my head is racing with the image of what I did to my parents and my home. A tiny drop of water hits my head; it’s starting to rain. I play with the pendant some more as I sulk in my thoughts. I don’t even hear someone approaching until she speaks to me.

“Hello there. Are you lost?”

Her voice is unexpected and rather close, making me jump. I bury my head deeper into my arms and don’t reply. A rustle of clothing tells me the woman is squatting down to my level.

“It’s starting to rain… Do you need a place to stay the night?”

I pretend she isn’t there and wait for her to give up. Instead, she surprises me.

“You have strange powers, right? And you destroyed some very important things, didn’t you?”

I stiffen. How could she know that?

“Let me guess… You burned down your house?”

I snap my head up to stare at her with wide, frightened eyes.

She laughs gently, “Don’t worry, I can’t read your mind, and I haven’t been watching you. I can see your soul, which betrays your powers, and you smell like soot. I just made some educated guesses, is all.”

My soul betrays my powers…? I have no clue what she means by that, but she sounds honest and kind.

“Would you like to stay with me? Just for a day or two? It looks like you need some new clothes and you’re probably getting hungry. There’s no one in my house right now but little ol’ me. I’d really appreciate some company.”

I mull it over for a second. Do I really have a choice? Where else would I go? I don’t have any friends now, and my family members are all dead. Besides, even if I did have a place to stay, I’ve gotten myself completely lost. I slowly nod my head and take her proffered hand.

As we stand up together, I give her a once-over. Her face is quite beautiful and she seems to be no older than my parents were. Her hair is straight, short, and light brown. She’s wearing all pale blue and tan. Her garments look flowing and comfortable, with plenty of extra room to move around. She has a straw hat with tan and blue feathers weaved into it to complete the look. It looks kind of strange, but beggars can’t be choosers, I guess… I follow her back to her house.

As we walk, she introduces herself as Iodama and tells me that she can use wind magic. I manage to choke out my name in response, but she asks no more of me, perhaps in deference to the croaky sound of my voice due to the smoke and the running and the crying... She chats at me for the rest of the rather short walk, and I find her voice to be soothing. By the time we arrive, the rain is starting for real. We dart into the shelter of the house and I get my first look around.

The house is decorated almost entirely in pastels and creams. I take a breath of the cool, clean-scented air and feel instantly welcome. Iodama closes the door behind us and offers me food, drink, clothing, a bath, anything I want. As tired as I am, I feel it would be rude to go to sleep in someone else’s house without first washing the soot off. As Iodama goes to the kitchen to get me some ice water, I wander until I find the bathroom. The bathtub looks so inviting. I rummage around for soap and towels. Iodama returns with the ice water and I down it all in one go. I can finally talk again! As the bath water is running, I explain what happened. When I reach the end of my tale, I trail off. Iodama turns to me with that kind smile again.

“Don’t you worry, dearie. The same thing won’t happen here. I use wind magic, remember? I could stoke your flames or snuff them out in a second. And besides, I’ve had many more years of practice than you. My house is in no danger from your fire.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. Iodama leaves, promising to find clean clothes by the time I am done. I slowly sink into the bathtub. The hot water feels amazing. It cleans off the soot and sweat and simultaneously relaxes all the tension from my muscles. For the first time in several hours, I can relax. I almost fall asleep in the bath.

A short while later, I lie down in a comfortable bed in Iodama’s spare room, wearing some of her flowing, comfortable clothes, and feeling comforted by the knowledge of Iodama’s wind powers. She bids me goodnight and turns off the light before leaving the room. In the ensuing silence, I almost laugh at the irony. I’m sure my parents didn’t realize what I would become when they picked out a name for me. Iodama’s soft voice echoes through my head, repeating her goodnight.

“Sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow… Ember.”