Feudlings In Smoke (Fate On Fire Short Story) (6 page)

He grinned at her.

“Stop that! I almost lost you!” she bellowed.

He tried to rearrange his face, but he wasn't fast enough. Sparks lit at her fingers, which was saying something since she only had so much magic and should have just used quite a bit of it fighting. “Ari, I had to do something. They could have killed you—”

“I can't be killed, Will! The Carules Prodigy wasn't there! He doesn't fight!”

“What if the prophesy is wrong, Ari?”

She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “It isn't. How did you know to come, anyway?”

“Dani's mother told us.”

Ari paled, so much so that her dark eyes looked like orbs in her face. She paced, which was apparently a family trait. “Do you realize how much danger that put them in? If the Council finds out, Will, they'll use that against her. They'll use her family—”

“I know. They'll use her family to get to me, to get to you. I told her that. She didn't believe me.”

It was then that Will finally caught sight of the burns on her arm, traveling up her shoulder. The gear on her side was badly damaged, too. “You're hurt.”

She threw her hands up. “Of course I'm hurt. I'm always hurt! Stop changing the subject.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And don't you try to feed me any of that yucky tea again.”

He laughed. He couldn't help it. “I'll ask Ward to come heal you. He had to heal Dani today so he's all warmed up.”

The sparks died instantly. “Dani got hurt?”

Oh. He probably shouldn't have mentioned that. “Yeah, she came with me…”

“And. You. Let. Her?” she yelled.

“She went first, actually. I was lucky to just get a shroud on her so her own people didn't turn against her, as well.”

She glared at him for several more seconds before the vehemence seemed to die and the rigid set of her shoulders relaxed. “No one says 'as well', Will,” she snapped mildly.

He snickered as he jogged out the door.

When he returned with Ward, he made Ari give him a rundown of the battle. Dani was still sleeping in his bed, despite all Ari's yelling, and he was inclined to let her rest, lest she get a lecture from the angry Edren Prodigy
as well
.

“When we landed, the battle was already in full-swing. I didn't even have to kill anyone. Once they realized I was there and their numbers were too evenly matched, they ran.” She watched with interest as Ward's blue flames swirled with her red ones just below the surface of her skin. She wouldn't heal, not completely. Ari never healed completely. But it would be good enough. “Some of them stuck around, trying to be brave.”

“That's how you got this?” Will asked, motioning toward her burned entire right side.

She nodded. “Yup.”

“They set a trap for you, Ari,” Will said. Ward looked up sharply, his ever-present smile vanishing.

“I know.” The knowledge had scared her several days ago, when, if memory served him correctly, he had specifically warned her
not
to go into battle, but now she seemed fine with it.

“Our Carules sources said the information came from someone in the Edren family. That they were playing both sides.”

Ari frowned, finally looking up at him. “You think Franklin?”

Will nodded.

“Well. That sucks quite a bit.”

Ward sat back. “That's all I can do, Ari-girl. You gotta do the rest yourself.”

She smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Ward. Burns like that would be awful hard to explain at school.”

“Not a problem, missy. One of these days you need to learn to let the flames heal you all the way though.”

“I know. I'm working on it.”

Will showed Ward out, thanking him again before he shut the door. Ari came out of her room, already changed out of battle gear and into black sweats. Her cloak, the one she'd inherited from Ada Aleshire, lay over the back of the couch in the living room, but she ignored it. “I have this very handsome coat rack for a reason, you know,” he muttered, picking up the ancient cloak and tossing it on one of the hooks. The thing was bloodstained and burned, but Ari still carried it with her into every battle.

His sister was weird.

“Can I talk to you about something?” she asked. She slid over the back of the couch and landed in a heap on the cushions. Because it was hard to walk all the way around and sit like a normal person.

To set an example, Will made a point of walking slowly around the couch to sit in the chair across from her. “Yep.”

“It's not… fighting related. Or family related. It's… teenager related.”

Will froze. This definitely sounded more terrifying than he could handle right now. “Are you sure it isn't fighting related? Maybe new spells we need to learn or something?

She ignored him. “It's about Shane and Hunter and Charity.”

Oh no.
He'd been afraid this was coming. With Ari's secrets, she couldn't let anyone get close. Her friends, any that she'd allowed herself to make over the years, always got tired of being shoved away and left her. But maybe this time was different. Maybe that wasn't the case now. He crossed all his fingers hopefully. “What's up?”

“We were totally fine. Hanging out, having all kinds of fun. We even went zip lining, Will. You don't go zip lining with just anyone.”

Will wanted to point out that yes, you could in fact go zip lining with just anyone, but he kept his mouth shut.

“Then all the sudden, they want nothing to do with me.”

He'd been right. Why did he always have to be right?

“But it's not just me. They don't want anything to do with anyone. They come to class, and then they're gone. They aren't even playing football anymore. And football without Shane and Hunter is like playing tag with a snail.”

Will frowned. “As… interesting… as that analogy is, I'm not quite sure how to respond to it.”

Ari rolled her eyes, sighing at him. “If they're doing it to everyone, then it isn't just me, is it?”

“You pretty much just answered that question yourself.”

“Will!” she wailed. “Help me!”

He chuckled, dodging the throw pillow she hucked at his head. “Okay, okay. Are these guys related? I know you said Shane and Charity are cousins, but Hunter? Could they be having some family drama?”

Ari sat back, her lips quirking to the side in thought. “Hm. I hadn't thought of that.”

“That's because I'm beyond brilliant at all things relationship. So, see? It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. Give them some space and it will work itself out.” Will felt immeasurably wise.

She eyed him skeptically. “
You
are brilliant at all things relationship? How are things with Dani again?” He opened his mouth to answer that things with Dani were very well, thank you, but she continued before he got the chance. “Anyway, there's a dance in a couple of weeks and I'm supposed to go with them.” She got up off the couch and retrieved the pillow. Will watched her suspiciously in case she wanted to throw it at him again. When she dropped it on the couch to shove behind her back, he finally felt safe to speak.

“I'm sorry, what? Don't you usually go with one boy? I know your relationship with Hunter and Shane is weird, but going with both of them
and
Charity?”

She slumped, tipping her head back to glare at the ceiling. She looked so much like a normal, annoyed teenager and nothing like a mighty warrior that for a second, just one second, he could pretend that she was. “We're going as a group, Will.”

“Right. Of course you are.”

“On that note, I should probably get back to school.” She pointed a finger at him, “And don't think I've forgotten that little stunt you pulled today. I'm debating over an adequate punishment.” She shoved herself to her feet, crossing the room and touching a finger to the spark of the doorway she'd left burning. The portal bloomed to life, and he could see the airway hanger, and the sport utility vehicle she'd affectionately named Beep, waiting for her. She stepped through, but paused just on the other side. “Will?”

“Yeah, baby sister?” he asked with a smile. She was going to tell him that he needed to lighten up, or that he wasn't allowed to lecture boys, or that she forgot his pizza, which she
had,
and now that he thought about it he was mildly annoyed, but she surprised him.

“You always say that you aren't there to protect me like you're supposed to. I think you don't realize something.” She tipped her head sideways, considering him while his mouth hung open. “You trained me, Will. Without that, I would die a thousand times before the Prodigy ever found me. And today, you stopped that e-mail. You don't have to be fighting by my side to protect me.” She cracked the barest hint of a sarcastic smile. “Anyway, I'm an
uber
-powerful warrior. I don't need a babysitter.” Her sarcastic smile turned sad. “I need a brother who reminds me that I'm not a monster. Who loves me and always has my back. Who reminds me that I still have hope. If not for you, I would be lost. Remember that, Will.”

****

“So did we, in all that excitement yesterday, ever find out who is betraying Ari?” Dani yawned, leaning against the door frame, and then blew on her hot chocolate while she watched him work.

He shook his head. “No. It's not my mother. It isn't—” He almost said
you
, but caught himself just in time, “someone in the colony. My only suspect left is Franklin.”

“Or Richard.”

“Richard wants me dead. He has nothing to gain by killing Ari.”

Dani didn't look at him, instead focusing on her hot chocolate. “Maybe he has something to gain by playing both sides of the war.”

Will frowned, turning it over in his mind. “I don't see how he could possibly do that. The Council would kill him.”

Dani sipped her hot chocolate, choking a bit as it burned her mouth. “Ouch!” she squeaked. Will watched her, amused, as she fanned her face. “That's still very hot,” she informed him.

“I can see that.”

She wandered away, which meant, apparently, that their spy conversation was over. Will liked mysteries — in books. On TV. Not in real life. Trying to figure out who had betrayed his sister wasn't entertaining in the least. And he was exhausted. He'd been going constantly for… he didn't even know how long.

Will didn't know what else to do. He could sit and stare at maps and spreadsheets and data and e-mails, but they weren't answering his questions. There was a horrible feeling in his gut that the one betraying Ari really was an Edren. An Edren close enough to know her every move. It wasn't a thought he wanted to have.

Yes, the Family had turned against him. Yes, they hunted him. Yes, they had a price on his head. But he had abandoned them. There was a reason for their hatred. But Ari, Ari gave up everything to be what they needed — a hero, a reason to fight, a soul for the Edren cause. And if one of them was betraying her…

The thought made him sick.

Shoving angrily away from his computer, he stalked into the living room. Dani had been so quiet he thought she'd left, but she was curled on the couch, the remote in her hand. She looked guiltily up at him, brown eyes wide. “I wanted to watch TV.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “We can watch TV.” He settled on the sofa next to her, and she rearranged herself until she fit perfectly into his side.

“You seemed angry.”

“I am. But not at you.” He chuckled at the thought. “And definitely not that you wanted to watch TV.”

It felt right, having Dani there, so close. He slid his arm around her and she leaned her head against his shoulder. He had no idea what they watched — his mind whirled too fast trying to figure out how to save Ari, but the girl next to him brought much needed sparks of peace in the darkness he was lost in.

Chapter Six

Will called Ari the next day after school. The girl needed to get something straight in her head. “You aren't fighting again. Not until I know who's behind this.”

She sighed. He could hear people in the background, and not just girls. He grinned evilly. Maybe now was a good time to threaten some boys? “You aren't busy, are you, baby sister?”

“I was doing homework. So… no. Not at all.” He could hear the smile in her voice.

“Are those boys I hear in the background?”

She choked. “Weren't we just talking about life and death situations? You can't just go changing the subject to something trivial, like,” she dropped her voice to a whisper, “boys, Will.”

“I can, too.” He leaned back in his office chair and put his hands behind his head. He liked being a big brother.

“Fine. Yes, Will, those are boys you hear in the background. I'm at school. I go to school with boys.”

He sat forward with a thump. “They're not in your dorm, are they?”

“Nope. We're in the library. Does that appease you?”

He relaxed, sitting back into his chair. Nothing good ever happened when boys were in the dorm room. At least, that's the way it was on TV. “No one says
appease
anymore, Ari.”

She snorted. “Appease is a fine word.”

His sister had always been amazingly good at throwing his words back at him. So he went in for the kill. “Do I need to have a talk with these boys?”

“Yes, Will.” He could picture her throwing her hands up in amused frustration. “You need to have a talk with them about how it's very inappropriate to do homework
in the library
.”

“
Touche
. Okay, back to why I called…”

“Because you love to hear yourself talk and when you can't hear yourself, you settle for the next best thing. Me.”

“I do have a smooth, somewhat sexy voice. Maybe I should give up my day job and be a radio announcer.”

“Or a sports announcer. I could teach you all about football!”

He'd taught her to throw and catch a football when she was still tiny, never dreaming it would become such an obsession for her. He was glad she'd finally found boys who let her play. “Yeah… If I'm not mistaken, I believe I taught
you
everything you know about football.”

“
Touche
.” Now she was outright laughing. It was so good to hear her laugh he almost didn't want to lecture her.