10 Miracle

There was only one way to reach the Amazon camp without crossing Desert Danagan, and that was by going through Forest Kastlam. Brightise would have taken that route even if Paula hadn't told her about the ominous history of the desert. She wasn't going to put Clober through days of excruciating sunlight and thirst.

The water they had taken from Paula's house would run out in a couple of days, and their only hope was getting to a small town or finding a stream in the forest before it did.

"Brightise? I'm getting tired..." Clober told her.

She had been nodding off on the horse for the past few minutes. Gren had told them that he hadn't named the horse so Morral could do it, and Brightise had suggested that Clober try to think of a name to pass her time while they were traveling. She hadn't made a new suggestion in a while.

"We will be stopping soon," Brightise said.

They were a short distance from Regas, the last town they would encounter before entering Forest Kastlam, but they weren't close enough to get there before it got dark. That would have to wait for the next day.

A few minutes later, Brightise pulled the horse to a stop and helped Clober down. They had stopped next to a big tree that would be able to shelter them from the wind. Brightise wasn't stupid though. At the first sign of rain, she would take her sister and their nameless horse and head to the closest valley. She wasn't going to get struck by lightning before she even reached Slorigan turf.

"I'm cold," Clober said, her teeth visibly chattering as she kept moving her feet in an effort to warm up. "Can we make a campfire?"

Brightise was surprised that she wanted to. Clober had seen their house and her school burn after all. Brightise and the rest of the villagers might have eventually put the fires out, but that did not make the experience any less traumatizing. Brightise herself was now afraid of fire. Even though she knew that she was supposed to have the same powers as Morral, she could not help it. She had even had a nightmare about it the previous night.

"What if someone sees us?" she pointed out, trying to downplay her irrational fear.

She was heading right into the Land of Fire after all. What was a small campfire in comparison to that?

"Please?" Clober pressed on, wearing down her defenses.

"Okay."

"Yes!"

Brightise almost told her to keep quiet, but she caught herself before she did. Clober was five years old. She had just seen her house in ruins, her oldest sister had been missing for two days, and she was on her way to a strange land. She had been admirably well-behaved considering their situation, and Brightise was grateful for that. Traveling with a child was hard enough without said child throwing a tantrum.

Brightise made a campfire. They were still in Selgonfield after all. How dangerous could it be?

The two of them laid down a blanket and sat down on it. Clober cuddled up to Brightise, but no matter how close she got, she didn't seem to get warm enough.

Suddenly, she stood up and approached the fire.

"Careful," Brightise warned her.

Clober didn't seem to listen to her. She walked closer to the flames, relieved to feel their warmth. Brightise saw her stretch her hands out towards the fire.

"Clober!"

Now she really understood why Morral had never let her help with the cooking.

Clober's right hand was only centimeters away from the campfire.

"Clober!"

Clober touched the flame with her bare hand.

"What are you doing?" Brightise yelled before she jumped up and pulled her sister back.

Clober protested. "It didn't hurt!"

She showed Brightise the palm of her hand. There was no sign of a burn on it. To prove her point, Clober reached out and touched the flames again. This time, she left her hand longer.

"See?" she asked Brightise with a smile.

Her hand was still intact.