Page 3 of Envious Of Fire
Tristan felt as if he was holding Kyle in his arms right now. Kyle and his happiness. Kyle and his freedom. Kyle and all the years they would soon enjoy together.
I did not anticipate this, said Tristan one last time.
The fire laughed at his plight as the roof above the front door fell, collapsing inward with a shattering screech that rang out into the night like a witch’s cackle.
Wendy’s mouth was by his ear. “Say a word, it is done.”
Tristan slowly parted his lips.
The words he uttered, however, surprised them both.
“Why do you insist on this?” asked Wendy an hour later. “Why the effort? It seems such a wasteful risk, even for you.”
They were in the distant woods, far from the fiery scene. The stars glinted over them through the crisscrossing arms and long, spindly fingers of trees. The boy slept before Tristan, still reeking of smoke. But at least he breathed, even if faintly.He must be kept in a safe place until I know what to do with him…far away from anything, from anyone.
“Far away from you and his own brother, too?”
Tristan could not peel his eyes from the boy’s sleeping face as it slowly drew in one feeble breath at a time. So vulnerable. So easy to end. Like all mortal things.Find this safe place for him,he said. For all his authority, his commands were singed with a sad sort of desperation.Keep him there.Do not let him be found.
“This boy you just rescued … he is a prisoner now?”
Better a prisoner of ours than a prisoner of Death’s.Find a place, Wendy, a safe place.I must return to Kyle before he catches a disease from the two-star-motel bed sheets.It is more possible than you think.
“It is done,” said Wendy. “The place I know may not be so optimal for a mortal, but it will be safe from all eyes.”
Not the House of Vegasyn, Tristan said at once,nor the depths of Hell, or Hades, or wherever it is you say you once served.Find a peaceful place, a human place…somewhere by a pretty lake, perhaps.
“You add more constraints. You complicate my task.”
Only until I know what to do with him.
Wendy moved to the boy so slowly, she seemed to float. As she gazed down at him, the void that was her face slowly began to form eyes that seemed kind and gentle. Tristan realized that was a strategic and intentional choice. Should the boy wake, he ought to be comforted by the sight of her, not traumatized.
I will be forever in your debt, Tristan insisted, stepping back.
Wendy stared at the boy’s face with her unnaturally gentle eyes, as if practicing her humanity. “It is I who am currently still in yours,” returned Wendy evenly, “and, thus, you owe me not a thing for this infringement upon the dire laws of your Makers. After all, our contract is still intact. We are but partners in fire.”
Tristan smiled.You’re so cute with your wordings.I wonder if you would someday write my biography.It would be fairly boring in parts, so you should warn the reader to stick itout until the end.
“I will signal in our usual way once sanctuary for the mortal is secured. I will signal in our unusual way should trouble arise.”
I hope never to hear from you, then.
Wendy met his eyes. With their artificial kindness, it was an unsettling sight. “You are an enigma, Tristan. I hate that.”
Everyone does.
In a flash, Wendy and the boy were gone. After he spent a moment to collect himself in the tranquility of the dark woods, Tristan left to return to Kyle at the two-star motel miles away. He prayed he would not hear from her for a long while yet.
But it would be merely three nights later that he felt the burning at the nape of his neck. The bad kind.
“It could not be avoided,” said Wendy. Tristan met her by the train tracks that cut through a nearby forest. “It is done.”
Please tell me you are practicing the human emotion of humor.
“I am not capable of humor. The boy did not trust me. The effect of the human eyes I projected backfired. He attempted to escape five times. He was certain I meant to end his life, an odd belief to hold when it was my only given charge to protect it. On the fifth escape, he made it the farthest … and was then seen.”
Seen?
