Chapter Eight – Fire and WafflesThe dream started with him walking across the water toward the shack on the isnd. It was so far away, and what was worse, the closer he got, the harder it was to take even a single step. But he was focused on finally getting to the shack.

  He was also frustrated. If he’d been able to channel his mana into his meridians, this wouldn’t be happening. He would be able to fill his leg muscles with enough power to overcome whatever force that was slowing him down.

  There, in the distance, he saw the door open. Someone was coming out of the shack. Who was it?

  This was new…completely new.

  “Hello little dreamer,” Oma’s familiar voice purred. “You’ve been very busy with your bonded, with your training, and with your studies. It pleases me to know you’re learning the history of Midmere.”

  Gray pushed forward, taking one step, then the other. “Yes, but I’d rather be learning how to channel my mana better. I have so much now, but I can’t do much with it.”

  “Is that really what you want?” she asked.

  He had to ugh at himself. “No. What I really want is mastery over myself. Are you saying that it’s going to be impossible for me? Well, if that’s the case, I suppose I might as well start accepting that and move on.”

  “I didn’t say that at all,” the voice said.

  A man appeared between him and the shack. It was a familiar figure, a man in a tunic and sandals—it was Zaccai of the Fire, and the pose was from any number of paintings and sculptures. It was the Marinatus. A second ter, fire sparked over the heart of the figure. His ankles also burst into fme.

  Gray’s back itched. He couldn’t feel his first mark at all, but his second mark drove him crazy. It was the sign that he was moving from being a neophyte to an acolyte, so he tried to enjoy the itch.

  Gray was about to ask about Zaccai when Oma ughed a little. “I wanted to know if what you wanted has changed. Do you still want self-mastery above all else?”

  “Maybe not,” he said. It was odd. Normally, Zaccai had fire in his hands and around his head. Why were the fmes over his heart and around his ankles?

  “What do you want more?” Oma asked.

  “For my friends to be happy.” Did that include Captain Sevanya? No, she wasn’t a friend. She was something else. But Rynn, Ames, and the rest? Yes, he wanted their happiness.

  He kept moving, but now, he had to strain to even lift his leg. When his foot came down, it sank a few inches into the water. Pulling back out took so much effort. He had to grunt.

  Oma sighed. “Oh, Gray, your friends will either be happy or they won’t. You can’t control that. You must let them have their own journey. The only suffering you can control is your own.”

  He took another two steps, but it was almost impossible now.

  The fire on Zaccai continued to burn.

  “What I want is my friends to be happy. Maybe I can’t control that, but that is the desire. Outside of that, then yes, you’re right. I want self-mastery.”

  “More than learning to channel your mana?”

  It hurt to admit it, but he nodded. “That’s right.”

  “What about this next part of the Testing? What about Soulshred Week.”

  “We need to find out what Crewel’s pns are for Soulshred Week. Then we can prepare better. I have to get working on that.” Gray couldn’t take another step. He had to rest. But the minute he stopped, the fmes began to fade on Zaccai to fade. Without the light, he couldn’t see who was outside the shack. By her shape, it was definitely a woman.

  “I think Sindara knows,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a simir to Sixblood, but I don’t know for sure.”

  “All will be revealed in time, my little dreamer. Even the avatars had to live their lives one day at a time.”

  “Why were they called avatars?” He managed to take another step, but it nearly killed him.

  “The three avatars were the divine made flesh, a physical manifestation of universal powers. When the world needed them, they were there, and while their paths weren’t easy, they were important. I’m sure you know that.”

  “And the Troublemaker?”

  “Malchutt was born when the god of pride cheated on his wife Humility with the goddess of wrath. Malchutt was born of this sin, but it wasn’t the sin of lust but the sins of anger and pride. He was a manifestation of both.”

  Finally, Gray colpsed. He couldn’t even stand, but he wasn’t going to allow himself to be dragged down into the water. He managed to go down on one knee. He winced because there was so much power in the air.

  Since he couldn’t move, the fire on Zaccai’s heart and ankles faded away.

  Gray could feel he was about to wake up.

  At first, he thought there was ughter from the shack, but no, it wasn’t ughter, it was the wound of women crying. “Who is that woman outside the house on the isnd?”

  Zaccai’s fire was dimming.

  But a second ter, the woman on the isnd burst into fmes, and everything was made clear. For the first time, he could see the house, the pine trees, the well behind the house.

  In front of him was the statue of Zaccai, but it didn’t have the face of the First Avatar. It had Grayson Fade’s face.

  And in the distance, outside, he could see Ames, wreathed in fmes, crying and crying.

  Until she was consumed.

  Gray yanked himself off the bed and then backed away from the wall. His legs ached as if he really had been trying to walk across the ocean against one of Settie’s strongest wards. He ended up at the window, but the cramping wouldn’t go away. He knew any number of stretches, and so he got on the floor and began to work on his muscles.

  Rynn woke up and lit a manafied candle—something they brought in to make their lives easier. Mana had been channeled into the wax, and all one needed was to channel energy into it. Not that Gray could do such a thing, but it was a nice idea in theory.

  “Are you alright?” she asked from the bed.

  “I suppose so,” he said. “My dream was…very active.”

  “Oh, really? Was it Ames or Sindara?”

  He was gd she said that with a smile. “Only you. And a disembodied voice. Oh, and Zaccai was there. Ame was there too, but she was on fire.”

  “On fire?” Rynn got up and got on the floor with him. “Like actual fmes?”

  He briefly told her the dream.

  Rynn only smiled. “Who else was in that shack with Ames? And why were they crying?”

  “Usually it’s a party.” He winced at the pain in his legs. “I don’t suppose this is a good sign. Are cramps a part of channeling mana?”

  “Not usually.” She paused. “Mr. No, I refuse to be anything other than blissfully happy. We are together, bonded, and I love you. You’re like no one I have ever met before.”

  “And I love you. I’m gd we agree on that.”

  She nodded but didn’t ugh. “We won Culling Day without you being able to use mana other than to supply our cores with the needed energy. I have every faith that you will figure this out. As for Ames, she’s been better. Less talk of ice and fire. We’ll see what she says about the fire today.”

  “Yes,” he said softly. “We’ll see. But I think I should talk with the Widow Stone. It’s been two weeks. I’m not making any progress with Settie.”

  “I can’t believe you call her that. I think that’s a mistake.”

  “Maybe.” Gray wanted to change subjects. “And Sindara? You asked about Ames and Sindara.”

  She closed her eyes. “That’s more difficult. I trust Ames. She’s odd, yes, and she has a darkness to her, but I trust her. Sindara? She betrayed us once. You know what Aunt Florence would say?”

  “A shark is going to bite you twice?” he offered.

  “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. But I like yours better.”

  They heard a knock.

  Was the whole house awake?

  Rynn leapt to her feet and opened the door. There stood Midj, in a white night gown, very bright compared to her green skin. “Uh, hey, I heard you talking. And I couldn’t sleep. And I wanted to see if you wanted a big breakfast. I bought stuff for goblin waffles. Used every shekel from our stipend.”

  One of the joys of his life was picking up his stipend at the pay office which was also Dame Hek’s office. To be given money—fifty shekels a week—for just doing his life was a great joy. Even better, he didn’t have rent, and his food was provided. Breakfast at the canteen was good, lunch was iffy, and dinner was a nightmare. But you could eat like a king in the market for fifty shekels a week. And they didn’t even need to do that since Midj was such a good cook.

  “What’s a goblin waffle?” Gray asked.

  “And what time is it?” Rynn said.

  Midj sat down next Gray. Both leaned against the wall. She immediately took his hand. “We have about an hour before dawn. We have a minute. I got the batter ready st night. It has bacon grease and orange juice in it. Let me tell you, these waffles melt in your mouth. A little butter and syrup, and yes, we’ll all be moving to Cracker Rock, back with my family. My parents would love you guys. I have an uncle who might be a problem, but Rynn, you’d just give him a punch in the nose and that would fix him. His wife died. We tolerate him. His kids need a lot of help.”

  The goblin girl grinned. “Well, listen to me. And I thought my homesickness was getting better. I have family that will be coming in for Soulshred Week. Don’t know how I’m going to tell them I’m living in Old Town. Sometimes, what I hear outside, what I see, well, makes sleeping a problem.”

  “I trust Captain Sevanya’s wards,” Rynn said softly. “But it can be a little troubling.”

  Gray didn’t have any issues. “I love Ruin Manor. Not only do we have Yellow, who would warn us if there were any problems, don’t forget. I have my stick.”

  Midj squeezed his hand. “You and that stick.”

  “It gets worse, Midj.” Rynn sighed. “He is frustrated that Captain Sevanya isn’t having us train in Old Town. He even wants to take a trip to the Weeping Well to see it with his own eyes.”

  “The gateway to hell?” Gray nodded. “Why wouldn’t I want to see the doorway to ultimate evil? Sign me up!”

  They talked more and eventually did go down and made everyone breakfast. No one had slept at Third Barracks the night before, so they had a full table.

  Gray had the fire going when Midj unveiled her metal device, which you heated up on both sides before you folded it over to contain the batter. Midj was an expert on knowing when the to turn the waffle device over, so everything was cooked uniformly.

  The waffles were delicious, sweet and rich form the butter and syrup.

  They’d had bacon in Cradleport, but it had been very expensive. In the Belly, he could have it every day if he wanted.

  Ames acted retively normal. She’d been studying more about the Cambrosia League and how they’d helped the third Avatar, Akazel the Bound build the towers. If there was a lull in the conversation, which was rare, she’d chatter about history without stopping.

  If Ames knew about his dream that night, she didn’t say anything.

  Tomi was awake for once, which was a testament to Midj’s cooking skills.

  Captain Sevanya came down and saw them all gathered around the kitchen table. She frowned. “Why are we not eating at the canteen?”

  “Want a waffle?”

  The dragon dy shook her head. “No. I want Gray eating ironbites. We don’t have ironbites. He won’t improve without help.”

  Gray was going to get help. He was going to go to the Widow Stone. The captain might not like it, but she didn’t need to know.

  Also, he was going to find out a way to get information on Soulshred Week.

  They needed to know what to prepare for.

  That night, he made an excuse to go into the market alone. On his way to the Widow Stone, however, h was surprised when Sindara approached him.

  At first, he didn’t recognize her—the wood of her coat was covering her face. For a second, he swore she looked exactly like Ames, and he recalled his dream from the night before.

  But no, this was a different person.

  Sindara approached him. “Grayson Fade. I’d like to talk with you.”

  She was a shark. And he wasn’t going to let her bite him twice. Or kiss him twice…as was the case with her.

  She saw his wariness.

  “I’m in trouble. I need…I need help.”

  He was completely honest with her. “I don’t care. I have someone to see.”

  He took two steps, but she grabbed his arm.

  He turned, water dripping from his own hood.

  “We know what the Soulshred Week is going to be. Well, I know what it is. If you help me, I’ll help you.”

  That was the only thing that might’ve made him pause.

  He wasn’t going to talk to her to help her. No, he was going to do it to help himself and his squad.

  “Fine,” he said. “But you’re buying the charbrew.”