Page 35 of Wings of Lies
“Are you completely insane?” I screamed, waving my hands around. “What the hell were you doing behind that tree? I almost burned you alive!”
He nodded down to my breasts. “You know you’re naked, right?” he said, unfazed.
I whipped my arms up to cover myself, feeling heat spread from my neck to my forehead. “There—” I glanced to my sides. “There was this thing!”
Where did it go?It blipped out of existence and hadn’t come back.
Oliver’s mouth pressed down into a frown. “About that…” He ran his hand through his hair, laughing nervously. “So… that monster thing. With the drippy mud skin and creepy limbs… yeah, that might’ve been me.”
“You?”
“Yeah, well…” He laughed again. “After I hunted for our food, I thought about how I would teach you, and my first thought was to see how you’d fare against an attacker. To get a baseline of your powers.”
I nodded, biting my cheeks. Hard
“Didn’t know you’d do that…” he trailed off, sheepish.
I nodded again. That was all I could do was nod. My cheeks were raw with how hard I bit into them. Oliver admitting to scaring the living flame out of me to test me was smart but incredibly asinine! That pile of dark ash beside us could’ve been him.
“Lucy, are you okay?”
My skin would’ve been itching if I didn’t feel like I was about to fall over or asleep.
Guilt tugged at the creeping smile on his face, and I lost it again.
“You are insane!”
I couldn’t believe him. I didn’t know what I could do, which may be another reason to test my powers. But not on him! Not on anyone. My powers were too dangerous.
“I’m not trying to make you scream at me for a fourth time, but do you think we can have this fight after you put on a shirt? It’s hard to take you seriously when your boobs are out.”
Gritting my teeth, I stomped away from him.
I put on my jacket, realizing the back had a large hole.Damn it.It was my last piece of clothing, so I had no other options. At least it covered my chest and had a soft inside. Although, a bra would’ve been nice. Too bad I incinerated it because of Oliver’sthoughtfulness.
I stomped back to Oliver and the fire he made. His head tilted up from whatever he was working on in his lap.
“I’m sorry, Lucy, for almost killing myself in a crazy plan. I deserve the glare you’re giving me.” It was hard to tell if his apology was sincere with the half smile that twitched on his face. He picked up a skinned, impaled rabbit, balanced it on two sticks over the fire, and then patted the ground beside him. “I think I figured a couple of things out.”
“Tell me and explain the monster thing you did.” I crossed my legs, the loose material rustling as I moved. My numb, shaking hands hovered near the fire, warming. Moments ago, the chilly air didn’t affect me. Now I was freezing.
“What’s the main emotion you feel before your white flames pop out on your skin?” he asked.
“Fear.”
“And what about your purple flames?”
“Anger.”
“Good. Those are your baselines. They are the emotions that control you and your power, which is normal for a beginner. As kids, Nephilim get a feel for their powers using their baselines. Then they learn real fast that they can’t rely on their emotions forever, or they’ll hurt themselves or someone else. With the amount of power you just threw at me, you will have to learn fast. Use anger and fear to coax your flames to the surface for now, then as you dive into your well of power, study what happens and break the emotional connection.”
Easier said than done.
Oliver noticed my expression. “We’ll practice in a second. But first, I think I know what your white flames are.”
“What?” I asked, excited.
“I think they’re your Glory. An Archangel’s Glory, in fact. I’ve experienced it before. Funny story?—”
