Fire's Last Descendant

Chapter 16

                 ••• Chapter 16 •••        

        "Hey, Gabby? Gabby? C'mon, wake up!" The voice I hear is faint. I know hands are shaking me, but I don't necessarily seem to be part of my own body.

        Blackness surrounds me. It's been surrounding me now for who-knows-how-long. I know I am unconscious, and I hate that I can't just wake up. Hands shake my body again, and I feel slightly rattled.

       Then a voice speaks. It's a mans, but it doesn't seem evil, like the voice I heard in the burning safe house. It sounds calm, reassuring. It says, "Gabby."

       My name. That's all. I speak back to it aloud. When I do, my voice sounds all echo-y. Am I talking while unconscious? "Who are you? Who's there?"

       Then a light slowly materializes in front of me. Once it is fully there, I see it is a flame, identical to the ones that sit atop a scented candle. 

       "I'm sorry I had to control you there for a second. Even I hate doing it, being able to do anything with a human's body. Make them talk, make them dance, just using them as puppets. I hate it," the voice tells me.

        I am so very confused. Then I remember screaming, the ball of fire made from flames that sprung off of my body, and speaking in a voice that wasn't my own. "You did that to me? Don't you know how much it hurt?"

        "Yes," the voice says. It amazes me how calm the voice sounds as he tells me he caused me excruciating pain.

        "Why would you do that to me? I could have died!"

       "Which is exactly what would have happened if I hadn't. And the world would be torn apart by Death. I didn't know I'd hurt you bad enough to kill you," it apologizes.

      I fold my arms. I'n nose to… flame tip with the candle fire. "Yeah, I get that. Now who are you?"

       There is silence before the voice speaks again. "I am what is left of the Keeper of Fire's soul."

       Silence. Then it is my turn to speak. "I thought you were dead."

       "Death devoured me, but not all of me. I am still able to control whichever body holds the Fire."

       "And… that's me?" I ask, my voice barely a squeak. The fire bobs up and down once, then dims a little bit. "Why me? Why can't it be someone brave?"

       I'm not sure why I even bothered asking the question. I already know the answer: because I'm part of the woman's bloodline that received the Fire. Oh, crap.

       "You already know the answer," the voice says. Is the Keeper of Fire some sort of mind reader? "And because I know that you know that you are in the hands of good humans. They'll help you and train you. They'll be your friends."

      The word "friends" gets my attention. I gotta say it: the only time I've had more than one friend is when Christie Wright invited me to her birthday party when she was seven. We were friends until third grade, when she became popular and started ignoring me. Since then, Kelsey's been my only friend. Up until they rescued me, I've had no clue what to call Sam, Callan, and Chase.

      "Oh," is all I can say. The fire burns brighter as the voice speaks again. "I'm going to let you wake up now. By the way, love your hair."

       I know I should feel flattered, but suddenly I'm unsure. The blackness becomes grey, and the fire begins to dim quickly. "What? What's wrong with my hair? Tell me! What's going on with it?"