Make Me Burn: Fireborne, Book 2 (25 page)

“That she can show you what you need, if you know how to ask.” He picked up a faded blue journal, mumbling to himself as his finger traced the words on the page. “Yes, this bit. The Mayet’s powers reveal themselves when there is a need for justice. The cleansing fire, Mayet’s Veil and Witness…you know about those. But Mayet’s Truth can help you the most. I’m sure you’ve used that more than once and you know what it is. Your own personal, portable lie detector.”

“Yes.” She’d used all of them more than she was willing to admit, for reasons that were less than worthy.

“Does she respond to your questions? Sometimes when you don’t even know you’ve asked them?”

Aziza nodded. More than ever now. And she wasn’t just responding to questions—Aziza thought about her night with Ram—she was also making the occasional demand.

Dern raised his eyebrows. “This journal says the one born of the fire can find their own truths as well as those they must judge. All those powers increase based on the amount of the keeper’s sand you have inside you. You’ve had two, so I would think you’d be noticing a marked difference, though no one knows—”

“How the sand will shape the Fireborne, I know that bit,” she mumbled.

He chuckled again. “By the time you collect the set, you could probably dial her up on your cell.”

She took a breath, smiling at the sound of his laughter. It was a relief to talk to someone about all of this. Someone who knew so much and didn’t hesitate to share it. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

“Are you kidding?” Dern sat down in his chair and his broad grin was contagious. “Didn’t I say, Aziza? I’ve been waiting to meet you since I was born. Forever, it seems. Waiting for the girl in flux. The one who was destined to arrive, but whose future is yet to be realized. Your choices will determine our path.”

“Gee, no pressure there.”

He wiped his eyes and pulled out his shirt to clean his glasses, his expression sobering. “No. Too much pressure, actually. Which is the reason I decided we should meet. From what I’ve read, your line’s creation wasn’t exactly well thought out. One person should never have that much power foisted on them, and no one should be asked to make such a sacrifice, especially when they don’t know—when
you
don’t know what it’s really about. What you are supposed to be.” He shrugged. “Then again, I have a feeling there weren’t a lot of options available at the time.”

“What are you talking about? What sacrifice?”

He handed her a journal then began to push other books out of the way and unfold old, yellowed letters, muttering under his breath all the while. “There they are.”

Dern set a piece of parchment down in front of her and smacked his hand victoriously on the table. “That is an invocation used by the first Zhaman to speak to the Mayet directly. If you rework the wording and use Mayet’s Truth, that should give you the most clarity for your vision. And West has the ingredients you need for the incense you’ll have to use.”

He handed her a spiral notebook covered in coffee stains and doodles. “
That
is everything I could copy and translate from an old book protected by a particularly private Bedouin tribe, supposedly a firsthand account of the battle that birthed the Mayet.” He shook his head. “Do you know that in one way or another, the memory of the Mayet’s justice and the great battle, of the Fireborne, is in nearly every religion and culture across the globe? Look closely at Zoroastrianism and their worship of truth and their fire temples, ancient Hinduism and the
yajna
fire ceremony where the fire acts as a mediator. The name Mayet itself is another word for Ma’at, the ancient Egyptian goddess of truth and justice. Even early Christia—”

“Wait.” Aziza raised her hand to her temple. “I can only take in so much at one sitting. This is an account of the battle that a Bedouin tribe had?”

Dern’s expression was apologetic. “I told you it’s nice having someone to talk to. I spend a lot of time alone and I tend to get carried away. Yes, the book. The tribe
refused to part with it, and after I was shown a demonstration of their fire test, the
bisha
, I decided I liked my tongue too much get on their bad side. Luckily, one of the elder women found my red hair fascinating and let me inside the tent where it was kept for a look.”

Fire test? Aziza held up the first journal he’d given her. “And this?”

“Written on those pages are some of the first notes taken about the coming Fireborne. Interesting reading.”

Overwhelmed, Aziza set down the journal and pushed her hair back behind her ears. “Dern, I don’t know how to start thanking you. I have—I mean, my friend Greg shared some kind of mind meld with my Niyr and he wrote several journals full of notes. Most of it was gibberish though. But this? I feel like a kid at Christmas.”

“Those are just a loan. I can’t break up my collection. And you don’t have to thank me. You just have to let me write down your story. It’s time I filled my own journals for the next generation.” He nodded, as if he’d just made the decision. “My sister’s child is pregnant. I’m thinking the baby will want to carry on the family tradition.”
 

He looked down at his shoes for a moment and sighed. It was such a sad sound Aziza wanted to hug him, but she wasn’t sure he’d appreciate it. She supposed he didn’t spend much time with his family. Not with all his research. Not when he was always hiding.

He looked at her again. “West mentioned you had a traveling companion, but I didn’t know he was touched by an angel.” He chuckled at his own reference. “Notebooks, you say? Do you think you could bring them to me so I can copy them?”

She caressed the journal and nodded. “It’s the least I can do. You have no idea how hard it’s been to get the information I need. They kept telling me the answers would come, that my blood would tell me, but my blood has been irritatingly vague. Sometimes I do get answers, but most of the time…? Most of the time they only lead to more questions and leave me thinking they picked the wrong member of my family to be Fireborne.”

Dern shushed her. “You’ll know they didn’t when you read the keeper’s visions of you. Not that I believe anything is entirely predestined. West told you I’m not a fan of Fate. We all make choices. Even the Fireborne chooses whether to accept the power with a blood sacrifice. Has to invite the Mayet inside. But you can choose, every day, what kind of Fireborne you want to be. How you react to what you learn, and whether you’ll embrace or fight what you are. So yes, she saw you as Fireborne, but not even the Zhaman was certain of the outcome. Like I told you, only your choices can determine that.”

She placed her hand over her heart, feeling it pound with anxiety. Was this too good to be true? Why was he spending his life collecting this information, traveling in shadows and hanging out at construction sites? Who was he, really?

His large hand covered hers, the gift from the Zhaman twinkling on his pinky finger. “Your Veil has faded, but your Mayet’s Witness remains. I can see that you have doubts. I don’t blame you. Dealing with the Jinn and Niyr—not to mention the Enforcers—on a regular basis would make anyone skittish. None of them are the straightest of shooters. Ask for the truth here. Look inside and call to it now.”

She closed her eyes and focused on finding her own truth. The Mayet’s truth. Her forehead burned. Did the Zhaman really give all this information to Dern’s family?

Yes,
the voice whispered.
The keepers of the sand are given visions of the future so they may anticipate the Fireborne’s needs and find ways to aid her in maintaining peace. The Fireborne needed knowledge, so a path was created for her to gain access if she could not release her fears enough to find it on her own.

Will the incantation allow me to look into the past of the Mayet? To see what happened when the treaty was formed?

The Fireborne can look to the past as well as the future. The keeper’s child can guide you.

West would guide her. The past or future? Did that mean she could use it to find Joseph? Find Razia before he killed again?

Joseph is alive, but hidden from all until his time comes. Hidden to protect the Fireborne. Razia understands the sand well. The Mayet. He has been careful, hidden, but his impatient ambition to break the treaty and retrieve what was lost will force him to make alliances that could undo his work.

She took in the information about Razia, but all she could think about was her brother. Joseph was hidden to protect her? How did that do anything but distract her? She needed him here, beside her.

In the end, he will be at the Fireborne’s side.

The whispered response brought tears to her eyes. She would see him again. But in the end of what? Aziza was amazed at how clear the responses were now. Maybe the release she’d achieved at Underbridge had helped. If the incantation
increased
that clarity, she would finally have access to all her answers…and even Dern seemed to imply that if she had Adam’s vial, her ability could only improve. Where was it?

The answer is developing. You will be shown what you need.

Developing…Adam’s roll of film. Had he taken a picture of where he’d put the sand? Greg was supposed to pick the pictures up today. She had to get a look at them. She needed to get to that vial before anyone else did. She needed this to be all over. She wanted her baby brother back.

The Fireborne’s family is man. All worlds. The Mayet’s vessel must be protected or it could be taken away.

The Mayet’s vessel. She’d been right. She thought about her excessive passions, the thoughts in her head that weren’t her own. If she took in too much sand, too much power, would she stop being herself? Would the Mayet take over? Possess her the way Ram had possessed Greg and Penn when he’d introduced himself?

The Mayet seeks justice, craves knowledge and desires experience. You are
more
with the Mayet. You
will
be more. But there are those who wish to replace you with another.

Replace her? By killing her and making Joseph the Fireborne, or ending the line completely? It didn’t matter. The Jiniyr wouldn’t succeed as long as she found out where they would strike next.

Tonight they seek one you are meant to protect.

Tonight. West had been right. She had to go back to Underbridge.

Aziza opened her eyes, feeling reborn. “Thank you, Dern,” she said from the bottom of her heart. “I could kiss you.”

He stared unblinking in her direction.

“Dern?”

“Wha— Oh, I apologize.” He slapped his cheeks. “Think I fell asleep there for a minute. Did you get some answers? Trust me now?”

“Yes, and, better than that, I found a
way
to get answers, thanks to you and your collection. I’ve used Mayet’s Truth before, I just never…well, I don’t think I ever looked at it that way.”

“What way?”

“Like I have my own personal Magic 8 Ball in my head.”

He snorted. “See? Funny. When you fully contact her with the incantation, I hope you’ll remember to make notes.”

“I’ll do my best.”

He nodded “And now that you know I’m around, you can come and look through these books anytime you want. West will know how to find me. In fact, I insist, since I’ll be looking forward to your friend’s notebooks. I’ve got some ancient tablets full of ramblings from similar experiences, but there hasn’t been a Niyr-human exchange in centuries.”

She came around the table and gave him a spontaneous hug. “Dern, you’re my hero.”

Was he blushing? “Hush. You’re the Fireborne. The hero of this fairy tale. I’m just an old book collector. And your new biographer.”

Aziza smiled. “Welcome to my crazy life. And thank you again.”

“I’m up for some crazy.” He slipped on his bent glasses, eyes twinkling. “Take notes.”

She would. And she would thank her lucky stars that the Zhaman had sent West and Dern her way. Finally, she thought as she walked toward the pub door. Finally she would have answers, and all the ammunition she needed to fight Razia.

Chapter Ten

“I’m sorry, Chiye, what did you say?” Aziza asked. Between the loud music, her preoccupation with what she’d learned from Dern and Ram’s continued absence, she was having a hard time focusing this evening.

Chiye leaned over their table and repeated patiently, “Let’s have it.”

Aziza wrinkled her brow. “Have what?”

Her head tilted almost playfully, the long, ropy locks of her hair sliding over her shoulders. “The interrogation. You’re Greg’s best mate, yeah? While he and West are standing in line at the bar, you’ll want to know my intentions. Get more references. The works.” She paused, her eyes darkening. “You’ll want to know that I’m already over the moon for your Mr. Prophet.”

Oh. That. When she’d called Greg on her way home to tell him they had to go to Underbridge tonight, he hadn’t been chained to his computer at Penn’s flat. He’d been at West and Chiye’s. In fact, she and Greg hadn’t been out of each other’s company for more than a couple of hours in the last few days. Chiye had even come over to meet Penn and Hillary. Aziza had so much on her plate she’d hardly had the chance to tease Greg about his whirlwind romance. To get all the juicy details. To find out if Chiye was in fact a dominatrix.

She had a few details to share with him too. And Ram. Why wasn’t he here yet?