This Little Piggy

**

He stubbornly placed one foot in front of the other as his muscles howled, leaning back against the rutted path's steep descent. Ahead stood a stonework wall, the gate that had once blocked the arched entryway lying broken at the side. Old Victorian-era buildings, crammed close together, peered past the wall, waiting to greet their newest resident. Beyond them sat a swath of highrises, their dust-coated windows barely reflecting the light of the afternoon sun. On the other side, white-capped blue-brown water was lined by wooden shacks and docks. Distantly, he knew none of it fit together in a rational world.

He licked his cracked lips, filling his mouth with the taste of blood, sweat, and ashes. His fingers tightened on his bow's grip as the other hand mechanically checked his quiver while maintaining its grasp on his bow-kit. The kit-burdened hand rose in another attempt to loosen his tie, clocking him in the nose to remind him that it wouldn't work. As the path leveled out, he stared down past the stained white shirt and navy slacks to the scuffed black shoes plodding on an increasing number of cobbles.

Once through the gate, his steps faltered, lacking a goal. Motion drew his eyes to a youth leaning on a building to the side of the gate. Medium-brown hair shone, reflecting the light in a halo, and the oversized-tunic and pants were clean and mended. Bright hazel eyes met his, and he blinked slowly as the youth gaped open-mouthed before calling a greeting.

"H'llo! Are ya new?"

"I … don't know? Maybe?" he answered. 'Have I been here before? It seems familiar, somehow.'

"You sure? Do you have a name? How old are you?" the youth asked, stepping closer.

"I'm Akicita," he answered, stumbling backward. "I … think I'm 16?" He paused as his brain struggled to engage. 'What's normal to say next?' "What about you?"

"Me? I'm … I'm Tobias. I turned 14 a couple weeks ago. I'm part of McDougal's crew." The youth's chin popped up with the force of a beaming smile.

"You sure?" Akicita echoed. 'Does this kid not know his own name?'

**We're not doing any better. You don't remember what we're supposed to be doing.**

Akicita glanced at his traveling companion, frowning at his pristine leather vest and pants. "Maybe you should write it down." He looked back at Tobias. "Who's McDougal?"

"He's one of the leaders in this district - the bricky one. I bet he'd let you join his crew."

**Oh, great plan. Still, he might be a step up from the last protector who — **

Akicita spoke over the snarky comment. "I don't know." His fingers ached on his bow grip and a dull roar filled his ears. A hand grabbed his elbow, and he jerked away. "Don't touch —"

A mocking chuckle cut him off, and Akicita's heart took off like it had heard a starting pistol.

'No. No, he's not here. He can't be here. Not after what I did.' Unadulterated terror paralyzed Akicita until a sudden pain on his skull ended his awareness.

**

Cobalt flames arched toward wide, golden eyes.

'No!' Cita shouted, trapped in his head. Desperately, he shoved at the blue haze.

The youth popped free, tumbling across the floor. He sprawled, breathless and flickering.

As the blue fireball turned red, Cita forced it to dissipate in a swirl of sparks.

**What'd you have to do that for?** the youth groused.

Golden eyes watched as Bilal sucked air, panting.

Cita ran.

The kitchen door flew open, releasing Cita into the pouring rain. His ankle collapsed as he hit the stairs, sending him tumbling down them into the mud.

Scraped and freshly-bruised, Cita panted and shook. 'What did I just do?'

BANG.

Cita flinched and looked up at the door that slammed open on the building across the courtyard.

A dark-haired teen ran out, a swirl of sparks dancing around his fingertips. He stopped dead when he saw Cita, watching with a deep crease between his eyes.

Another teen ran around the corner. Wet strands of red hair were plastered across his face. He shoved them back as he slammed to a halt next to the first teen.

"Ko — Cetan," the redhead ground out. "Did you feel that?"

"Yes, Blue Jay," Cetan answered, enunciating carefully while rolling his eyes. "Grauntie Sophia probably felt that. I've never seen someone spiral out so fast and then just … lock it down. Oww!" He rubbed the arm that Blue Jay swatted. "What?"

"You know what!" Blue Jay accused. "No —"

"What do you want?" Cita cut him off with a scowl.

Angry shouts could be heard coming from the kitchen, but Cita couldn't make any of them out. 'I don't want to understand what they're on about. I don't need to hear it to know they're talking about me.' A black pit of despair welled in his stomach.

"Look," he ground out. "Just tell me where my bow is, and I'm outta here. You'll never see me again."

The teens looked at the half-open kitchen door and exchanged glances.

"That was you, calling the fire, right?" Cetan ventured. His hair looked black in the rain.

Cita punched the ground and shoved himself to his feet, listing to the right to keep his weight off his left ankle. "So what if it was? Give me my stuff and I'm a historical footnote. It's not your problem."

A cold shadow swirled around him. He shivered.

The teens exchanged another look.

"If you don't keep control — that's how a flame sorcerer becomes a flame summoner," Cetan said.

Cita sighed and scrubbed at his scalp, heedless of the mud he smeared in the process.

"I don't see the difference," Cita admitted. His teeth began to chatter. "Why won't you let me —"

"A flame summoner has killed," Blue Jay cut in. He shook his head. "But it's too late for that."

Cita took a step backward.

"What do you mean? You think I killed somebody?" A twinge of guilt pierced his chest, and his hands reverberated with the remembered shock of striking Nocturne's leg. "I haven't —"

"Haven't you though?" Blue Jay pressed.

**

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we have an old favorite." The shadowy figure waved languidly at Akicita, still clad in his school uniform and bound to the pommel horse. Evening light filtered through the hazy windows high in the walls.

Akicita's eyes burned as the figure bent over to whisper in his ear.

"Be a good boy, now. Just your luck I didn't have another bottle of your cocktail after this sneak took the first. But if you behave with only the salvia, I'll slip you something extra special before I send you home." He pushed away from Akicita with a chuckle.

"And a new toy," the figure announced as he stroked James's hair. James's head lolled against the archery butt that supported him. "This one was so eager to join us, he invited himself. Who would like to break him in? Let's start the bidding at —"

"Hey!" a man interrupted. "Let's do a twofer on them!"

Disembodied white teeth glinted in the flickering fluorescent lights, and Akicita panted as if racing down the rabbit hole.

"What? No!" a woman shouted. Her words spiraled up to the black-painted support beams to dance a quick jig before falling to earth. "You promised me a shot at your boy this week, Smith. You can't change the deal now."

The walls pressed in, heaving like the flanks of an enormous beast. 'Are we in its belly?' Akicita wondered. 'Why would he call the weekly meeting there?'

"Calmness, people. It is an auction, after all, and we've all brought our best playthings to the table. There's plenty to go around if we're patient. But as usual, if you want two, you'll have to bid for two."

Disappointed groans filled the beast-building, and it rumbled like it was still hungry after eating them all.

Akicita tugged against the rope that kept him from floating up to the beast's ribs high above and took advantage of the excited bidding to whisper to James.

"Hey! James! Are you okay?" He frowned when James didn't respond. "James!"

**Guess we should have stayed home,** a snarky voice said.

Akicita blinked at the strangely familiar figure standing next to him. "Who — ?"

Then the hands arrived like they always did. But this time, they floated toward James, fingering his hair and unbuttoning his shirt. Akicita growled, twisting the increasingly slick rope, and a tiny blue flame danced over his wrist.

"James!"

**