Fire Burning

The realization sets into my body, making my head feel woozy. Abe is not here with me and I am not in the forest anymore.

A piece of dark fabric covers my eyes, and my wrists are bound behind my back. I open my mouth to scream but a hand snakes over my mouth before any sound comes out.

"Hush, child."

They undo the fabric tied around my eyes, and I blink, taking in the surroundings. I'm on a bamboo chair, with two people holding spears obscuring my view. A woman stands in front of me, her long gray hair twisted into braids, some kind of thorny crown on her head and deep tattooed red marks on her otherwise orangey tan skin. She wears a bright pink thin covering of fabric over her body, but her breasts are visible, silver piercings on her nipples. Behind her stand tens and tens of similarly tattooed people, both men and women. Beside each group prowls one of those tiger-like hogs.

With a jolt, I recognize some of these people. I'm about to speak when a rough male voice calls out from somewhere in the crowd.

"It is our honor to welcome the fire wielder to our home!"

The woman nods her head, and the crowd watching us parts in the middle. A tall man, with even more exquisite piercings and red tattoos strides to where I'm bound. His shoulders are adorned with a spiky black padding of some sorts, matching his spiky light blond hair. It makes me think of Abe's contrasting soft dark locks.

If Abe is here, I have to get to him. Who knows what they could try to do to us. He says this is a welcome yet I am bound like an animal, they are trying to protect themselves from me.

"And where is this home?" I ask.

"This is our territory. The firelands, or perhaps you may know this to be the wildlands. I am Nimm Or' of the fire tribe," The man says.

"Where is my husband?" I ask, as tendrils of fire spark on my palms, my emotions getting the best of me. I try my best to keep my facial expressions bland, so they don't know what I'm thinking. They may have me bound, but if they have done anything to Abe, they will burn for their crimes.

"Your husband has been dealt with appropriately," Nimm Or' has a devilish look in his eyes.

"You lie!"

"You are in fire tribe territory, and you are speaking to the chieftain's son. You'd do best to be respectful," The woman snarls.

I break free from my restraints, the rope burning away as fire licks at my feet. The crowd scatters, some crying out in fear, some watching in awe. Some raise their arms to hurl their spears at me, but Nimm Or' stops them with a hand in the air and a trilling noise.

"We will not harm the fire wielder!" He declares.

"You'd do best to know who you are addressing before you speak, else you might find your tongue burnt off your mouth some day," I say to the woman who threatened me. She backs away with rapid steps as my fire threatens to destroy everything.

As I stand, I have a better view. There are straw huts everywhere, with some cloth tents. A woman holding a baby to her breast tries to shush her wailing baby. Kids hide behind their parents who cower behind the warhogs. The warhogs are unaffected, but they look wary. The ground beneath me is dry, perfect for my fire. I rein my powers in, the fire curling towards my center as I stare down at the tribe.

"If you do not tell me what you did to my husband, I will burn this whole tribal 'territory' to ashes." I advance towards Nimm Or' who gulps, but does not show any emotion either.

Nimm Or' says, "We simply gave him a sleeping potion and bound him to a tree."

"Why? Why have you taken me here?" I demand answers.

"I will tell you if you stop using your fire against my people." Nimm replies.

"I think not," I say, as a ball of fire dances across my shoulders.

"We need your fire," Nimm shrugs.

"Why?" My eyes narrow as I survey the tribe nodding at Nimm's words.

"We need fire, to make our healing potions, to heat our water, cook our food, for light in the evenings. But our land has been put under some kind of spell since a few days ago. We cannot conjure fire like we used to. We cannot even do it with sticks. Fire will not come for us, and the only protection we have is our warhogs."

"So when we saw you with the hunters, and what you did to save that woman, using the fire against us. We were amazed, me and my father. We want to offer you help in exchange for your help."

"Why would I need your help?" I ask.

"Our soothsayer," he nods to the woman who is a lot further from me now than she was when she took off my blindfold.

"She can tell you about the past and the future, if you so desire to know anything. You may test her first if you would like to."

"We know you can make fire with magic powers. We have obtained the spell to preserve fire so it doesn't die out. But we need your fire first so that we can perform the preservation ritual." Nimm explains.

"And you would let me leave after this ritual?" I ask.

"We will let you leave as you wish to find your husband, if you help us. The preservation ritual will be tomorrow night. Our soothsayer Matya has forecasted rain tonight."

I look up and indeed see a band of rain clouds covering the darkening sky. Beyond the horizon, I can almost sense the rain rolling into the territory. The air is damp, and dragonflies fly low around the tribe.

My fire dissipates as I say, "Let me speak with the soothsayer first. Then I will decide whether to help you or not."

I don't want to kill all these people, most of them are innocent, save for those who took me from Abe and perhaps if they hurt him, then I would want to treat them just as badly. But they don't deserve to die just because I was angry at being separated from Abe. In the wake of my emotions being more under control, I look at myself and see I am not glamored at the moment. The glamor must have worn off.

Nimm Or' nods and Matya beckons me to her tent.

"Everyone, as you were." Nimm Or' orders the rest of the groups and they return to chatting, hunting and hanging out together.

Matya opens the flap to her tent, and she says, "My apologies, we got off on the wrong foot. May I know your name?"

"Penelope." I say, and I step inside her tent.

Her tent smells earthy, with a hint of damp tea leaves and smoke. It is a cramped space, but Matya has filled it with enough colors to make the background pop. Bright pink seems to be her color. A makeshift wooden block with a pink cloth laid over it is in the center of the tent, with two magenta cushion-shaped dyed hay objects on either side of the block. She ambles over to one of the cushions and sits down.

"Come," She motions for me to sit as well and I follow suit.

She gets a candle from behind the block, and asks me to light it. I place my fingers around the candle and a flame bursts into life. Matya reaches over the block and takes my hand. I flinch, and at first I try to pull away.

"I need to be touching you to be able to answer your questions. My abilities cannot tell you any names, but I can give the surrounding details." she says.

I nod, and let her touch my hands.

As she touches my hands for the second time, I feel goosebumps rising over my arms. It feels like a wind rushing through the room, and she speaks with more power in her incantation tone.

"What would you like to know about the past or future of your life?" She asks.

"How did I fall asleep for so long?" I ask the one question that has been plaguing me and Abe.

Matya looks confused, her eyebrows knit closer but she nods anyway. Her eyes fog over to show a bluish gray tint over her brown pupils. She begins to speak and holds my hand tighter.

"You have been cursed by a great evil. Your memories can only be fully unlocked if you or the great evil perishes. Find the sorcerer, before he finds you again."

She echoes the bird that spoke, that Vish bird as she lets go of my hand, with a deep breath and her eyes return to their normal color. The flame in the candle extinguishes leaving a trail of smoke in its place.

I open my mouth to ask more questions but Matya shakes her head, her breasts jiggling as she gets up.

"I am sorry, my ability only allows me to perform a vision answer per day. I have tried to but I black out when it happens. I will be able to answer another question tomorrow." Matya says.

"Thank you." I find my words and I mull the great evil sorcerer over. Could it be Uriah? I can't remember whether Uriah was a magic wielder or not. I have to get to Abe.

But the only way I can get to Abe is if I help the tribe first.

So when Matya guides me back to Nimm Or' the first thing I do is tell him, "Alright. We have a deal. I will help you tomorrow night, and you will let me go to my husband."

Nimm Or' smiles in response, as if he has won a child's game.