Fire Within: Book Two of Fire and Stone (Stories of Fire and Stone 2) (24 page)

“Thank you.” Esset had never been more sincere in his life. Verett inclined his head.

*So,* Verett said, resuming their previous line of conversation. *The Ashiier have agreed as a whole to help you; all of you, actually, if each of you permit. Orvanis is with Tseka now, and Jonas is with Toman.*

“Jonas?” Esset asked, also surprised by how ordinary the name was.

*A very human name, yes,* Verett replied. The blue ferret briefly explained that they’d once all been mortals once, from different races.

“What were you before?” Esset was curious to know. Verett tilted his head to the side and seemed to think about that.

*Elth, I believe. It was so long ago I hardly remember. I had a violent life until I came to this place, I remember. Beyond that…* Verett shook his head. *Each person’s past is important, of course, since it shapes who we are, but to be honest, those years of my life would be like a single distant year in your own to you.*

“Fascinating,” Esset remarked. He could hardly imagine his life so far being reduced in him mind to a single distant year that he could hardly remember.

“Surely—” Esset began, but then he stopped himself. “It makes a lot of things seem very petty, doesn’t it?”

*Yes and no. The short-lived sometimes value small things too much, but conversely, when we live as long as we do, sometimes we value small things too little. As always, there must be balance.* Despite his more personable persona, Verett was a philosopher at heart as well.

*You know, you have an inquiring mind. You would fit well among the Ashiier. I think you will refuse any invitation to stay now, but should you ever change your mind… You would be welcome among us.*

Esset was surprised by the invitation, but he realized that Verett was right. He probably would fit in with the Ashiier—it was an extremely tempting offer—but on the other hand, he had duties and responsibilities. He’d always believed that he should use the abilities he had to do good in the world. And right now he definitely had a job to do.

“You’re right, it’s very tempting, but I can’t right now. Maybe someday…” Someday, if he outlived his usefulness in the world, maybe he’d return here and start a new life.

*We will be here if you decide to come,* Verett said. *Now, to the matter at hand. Ashiier magic works through the use of crystals.* His wry tone acknowledged the obviousness of the statement. *As such, a crystal is our fix, so to speak, to your problem.*

“Do I wear it?” Esset asked, not sure what the Ashiier meant.

*Not exactly.* There was that droll tone again.

“So…” Esset got the distinct impression that Verett was enjoying drawing this out.

*The gem will be embedded into you—a hand, a shoulder, back, chest, forehead—wherever you like. It will stabilize your bond with the phoenix, and allow you to use the magics she’s granted you, such as superior summons and the manipulation of fire,* Verett explained.

“Embedded.”

Verett nodded.

“Can we do something so it’s not…flashy?” He’d gotten over desiring something “exciting” like that, recognizing that drawing attention wasn’t always desirable. In fact, more and more, he felt that the less attention he got, the better.

*Yes, I believe I can do something like that,* Verett replied. *Are you ready to begin?*

“What do I do?” Esset asked. He was nervous, but the thought of being in control of his power again was exhilarating.

*Nothing. Just remain somewhat still,* Verett replied.

“Okay. I guess I’m ready then.”

Verett lifted a crystal foot and placed it against Esset’s chest. The crystal ferret began to glow with an inner luminescence, with the light focusing around the paw on Esset’s chest. At first Esset felt nothing, but then he felt something like energy running through him. After a moment, he realized he was glowing too—it was the soft yellow halo of the phoenix’s power. Esset expected pain, but none came, although the sense that energy was running through his body increased. The buzz was strongest underneath Verett’s paw on his chest; it even felt warm, like the glow of a campfire or cheerful sunshine on an upturned cheek. Remaining still wasn’t a problem; he wasn’t quite paralyzed, but he did feel frozen in a sense, as if nothing could have persuaded him to move just then.

Suddenly the sensation stopped, and Verett pulled his crystal paw away. Esset felt a bit sapped, but still exhilarated, as if he’d sprinted and then downed an ale so quickly it went straight to his head.

“Wow.” That was about all Esset could manage at the moment. He put his hand to his chest and felt where Verett had touched him. There was a lump there, as if something were beneath the skin, round and about an inch and a half in diameter. A gem, presumably, but beneath the skin so no one would know it was there without putting a hand on his chest.

*Well, there will likely still be luminescence from the gem when you use any ability related to it,* Verett informed him. *But is this satisfactory?*

“Uh, yes. Wow. Thanks,” Esset said, still a little stunned. A small corner of him was secretly pleased about this exciting new addition. Maybe he hadn’t grown up entirely.

*You’re welcome.* It was clear that Verett found Esset’s reaction rather amusing. *Why don’t you try it out? You should be able to call fire without trouble. Hold your hand out, palm up, and will a small flame to alight above it.*

Esset obeyed and the small fire lit with barely a thought for encouragement. Esset was mesmerized; when he closed his hand, the fire extinguished.

*Excellent, it worked exactly as we hoped. I don’t expect you’ll have further difficulties. Really, this is how your bond with the phoenix should have worked to begin with. I would guess that the phoenix had never attempted such a thing on a person with no inborn magical abilities before, except perhaps the first summoner, but that was very different from your case.*

Esset held his palm out and called fire again, and it appeared with as little effort. It likewise vanished.

*You should also be immune to your own fire, but I would be cautious in testing that,* Verett added wryly. Esset grinned at the giant blue ferret.

“You have no idea how amazing this is,” Esset said. Then he thought about that. “Well, maybe you do, if you can see inside my head, but still.” He summoned and banished a flame once more, for good measure, then lowered his head and decided to at least
try
to act like an adult again.

“I have
got
to show this to Toman,” Esset added.

*Steady,* Verett responded, not moving out of Esset’s path to the door. *Jonas is speaking with your adopted brother. It would be best if we waited until they are through conferring. In the meantime, I was hoping to learn more of your life—we all would like that. I was hoping you would oblige in sharing with us.*

Esset couldn’t help but feel odd about the request; on one hand, he wondered how his life could possibly be that interesting to them—although perhaps sharing would be a good way to find out. Further, he already felt like his privacy was being intruded upon by the phoenix, in watching through his eyes. On the other hand, he did feel that he owed them, no matter what Verett said. And really, what could it hurt?

*Please, don’t feel pressured to comply. Share nothing, or only what you are comfortable with. I merely suggest it out of curiosity and as a way to pass time until Toman and Tseka are free.*

“I’ll do it,” Esset said after a moment. He wasn’t sure what the reasons for his decision were, but he supposed it didn’t matter overmuch in the end.

*Thank you. You can simply speak to me, or, if you prefer, you could simply call up memories of your past. Others will witness through me.*

“Uh, okay,” Esset said. He sat down on the bed and shifted uncomfortably for a moment before considering where and how to start. In the end, he decided to speak.

“Well, when I was little, I always dreamed of adventure and stuff, but honestly, I was an introverted little bookworm. I probably never would have done any of it. That changed when I met Toman. The guards saw him wandering outside the city walls; a ragged little boy wearing gloves and an oversized, floppy-brimmed hat. He ran away when they approached, so they recruited me to go talk to him. Meeting Toman was the best thing that ever happened to me. He changed my outlook on everything. I’m a year older than him, but most of the time, he acted the older brother…” Esset told his story—his and Toman’s story, really—mostly using words, but also in calling up memories in his mind in hope that they would add color and understanding to his words.

He told of walking in on Toman practicing animating, of their crazy imagined adventures in the hills. He talked about when they left Sedina for the first time, to expand their abilities by fighting in the Baliyan war against necromancers in the north. He moved on to talk about their exploits working with Sergeant Warthog, and finally about the Nadra and all that had followed. It was hard to talk about the loss of Toman’s arm and Lady Ateala, and their attempted battle with Moloch. It was even harder to talk about what came after.

In the end, Esset found it surprisingly therapeutic to spill everything to the Ashiier. Toman had been distant since he’d been rescued. Esset didn’t blame him at all, but he still suffered for want of his brother’s company; sometimes, it felt like they’d only gotten Toman’s body back, and the rest of him was already dead and gone. He even confessed that to Verett; it was easy to forget that other Ashiier listened through him.

*Remarkable,* Verett said when he was done. He had said nothing throughout the narration.

Esset shrugged. He didn’t feel remarkable; he knew he’d done some good, but he felt that in the end, he’d failed where it most mattered.

*I mean that,* Verett added. *Ashiier don’t lie. And you haven’t failed, as you believe. I promise.*

Esset looked at the crystal ferret but was unable to detect anything but sincerity. Esset didn’t understand; something was just beyond his grasp. He reached for it for a moment, then let it slip away.

*I apologize. In bidding you to speak, I have left you drained in spirit. But I know something that will cheer you up. You are a scholar, a lover of knowledge as we are, and I know you have many questions. Would you care to exchange some information?* Verett suggested.

“Bright Hyrishal, I have so many questions,” Esset agreed with a grin. “But I’m not sure what I would have to offer in exchange.”

Verett shrugged. *You’ve already told us one story, and that offers us perspective. Even a story already known is a new story when told from a different perspective.*

“I guess that’s true. I still don’t know where to start.” Questions raced through Esset’s head, overwhelming his mind and leaving him shaking his head.

*How about something you wouldn’t be able to learn otherwise?* Verett suggested. Esset’s mind locked on one subject.

“Summoning,” Esset said. “I’m a summoner, and I have a Contract with the phoenix, but I really know so little about summoning and how it works…now more than ever.”

*Yes, that would be an elusive topic. How about we start with what you
do
know?* Verett suggested. *Or at least what you can tell us, because I know the Contract prohibits you from speaking of a few things. How did you come to be a summoner?*

“It was long enough ago that most of the details have been lost, but…” Esset gathered his bearings and decided to start at the beginning. “The first summoner in my line was a scholar by the name of Cormanth Esset. Like my father, he worked in the university for the Symrian King. He was born a few hundred years ago with no magical abilities to speak of.” Esset briefly wondered why the original summoner hadn’t had the same problem he’d had with the uncontrollable fire, but the circumstances
had
been different.

He continued. “The time he lived in was full of unrest and threats to the kingdom. One such threat was a barbarian horde from a nation that no longer exists. They’d laid waste to much of the kingdom and had Sedina, the capital, under siege. The king was desperate to save his city and his people, and he turned to his scholars to find an answer. They researched day and night until my ancestor came across a tome that spoke of summoning creatures of fire.”

Esset lifted up his summoner’s tome. “I don’t know how he could read it, since only summoners can, but read it he did, and he formed the first Contract and became the first summoner. The story goes that his summoning ability turned the tide of the battle. He unleashed creatures of fire on the barbarian horde and drove them back, saving the kingdom.” Esset smiled. The story had always inspired him: a scholar, the hero.

“Now,” Esset continued, “when a descendant of his line comes of age, he can form a Contract of his own and gain the same ability to summon the fire creatures, as I did.”

*A fair account. Now what would you like to know?* Verett asked.

“The phoenix: how do you know her? I only met her recently, after I summoned her, and no one here is even a summoner, as far as I know…” Although now Esset was wondering if one of the Ashiier were from his own line or one like it.

*No, no summoners here,* Verett said, answering the unasked question first. *But we do have ways of communing with those in worlds other than our own. We have too little time to discuss those other worlds, but suffice to say there are many, and most are drastically unlike our own, like the phoenix’s. Now, since she already has connections to this world, through summoning, her world is that much closer. Our interactions are rare, but we have learned much from one another.*