Page 45 of Burn Bright
I could barely hear Evaron’sscreams.
My ears were throbbing, pounding with the force of the blood through myveins.
My skin felt like it was going to peel open from within, blistered and burning. Unnoticed by everyone else, I slumped against an oak as another spark hit my skin. One by one they were swirling over me, a rain of hot coals that vanished the second they met my flesh, as if… as if I was absorbing theheat.
Vashta save me. I shoved away from the oak, leaving little more than a charred handprint on thebark.
With every spark I absorbed, the pyre in the center of the clearing died down a little more. I needed cold. Water. The snow melted as soon as I scooped it up, and in the light of the flames, I fancied there was a red tinge to my brownskin.
Galina suddenly stood on the edge of the clearing. Hazy and insubstantial, she beckoned me towardher.
Toward thepool.
When they kill the firebird, you must come here. Promiseme....
"You're not real." I reeled away, staggering blindly through the trees. Everything hurt.Water. Water,please….
"What you mean is, I'm not alive. Only you can hear me now. Only you can seeme."
"What’s happening tome?"
"I’m so sorry, child. This will hurt. You proved your heart is true. The forestmusthave a guardian. And I have served my time. The duty is yoursnow."
Duty? I stumbled into a fir tree, and the sharp bristles of the leaves began to smolder. Sweet Vashta. What had she done to me? Another spark sizzled as it hit my face. They were following me like little glowing fireflies that hissed and sizzled as they met my skin, in a way that was reminiscent of hot coals landing inwater.
"This way,"Galina whispered, appearing ahead ofme.
Fainter now. Like a wisp of mist undermoonlight.
"Drink the waters, Neva. Or you'll die here. It's yourchoice."
What sort of choice wasthat?
I could feel the flame within me now, my mouth raw and dry. I hit the edge of a small ravine and fell to my knees as a spasm of pain racked me. The fall threw me forward, and then the world was spinning recklessly around me, my body tumbling end over end, and slamming onto the stone cobbles that surrounded the Well of Tears. The layer of moss lied. It barely broke my fall, and was no kinder than thestone.
And it too began to smolder andsmoke.
"Come,Neva."
Galina sat on the rim of the pool, stirring her hand through the waters. Not a single ripplestirred.
"Are you real?" I whisperedhoarsely.
"I am burning within you,"Galina said."Do I not feelreal?"
"What have you done to me?" The truth was starting to penetrate. I crawled for the water, fearing this was only thebeginning.
Galina's smile was sad."Sacrifice and rebirth, Neva. Rebirth does not always mean the same body, the same soul. You are my heir. The firebird will live on. The Old Blood that flows through your veins sustains the spark of my magic. It's not enough to counter it, however. If you don't drink from the pool, then you will die. And it will beagonizing."
I sobbed, dragging myself onto the stone lip of the pool. Everything was on fire. I’d never been so relieved to see water in mylife.
"The waters will help you accept the change, and heal your body as the flame takes over. I cannot leave the woods unprotected. If I die without a replacement, then the Darkness shall be free to destroy the worldagain."
"What aboutHussar?"
"He is not yet dead, and the Darkness within him burned to a mere wisp. It will regain its strength, if you don’t stop it,"Galina said, stirring her hand through the waters."The firebird's tears can heal anything. Mixed with the unicorn's blood, the waters from this pool could restore a man with one foot in the grave to exuberant life—but there is a cost. Only the pure of heart can taste it. A final test for those who seek immortality. We could not have these petty kings and their princes seeking forever on their gilded thrones, could we? Only a man or woman with the purest intentions can drink from this pool."Galina's smile sharpened."Are you pure of heart,Neva?"
I didn't know. I couldn't think. The hot coal inside me was throbbing as though someone slowly drove a red-hot poker inside mychest.
