PYROKINESIS

CHASE

Evening had settled quietly over Pyra’s house. The sky outside glowed orange as the sun disappeared behind the trees. Inside the living room, however, the mood was anything but peaceful.

Louise stood near the window, clearly worried. She kept glancing at Pyra as if trying to gather the courage to say something important.

Ken sat on the couch, arms folded, watching both of them carefully.

Pyra dropped her backpack on the floor and stretched.

“What’s going on?” she asked casually. “You two look like someone died.”

Louise turned around suddenly.

“Pyra… we need to talk.”

Pyra sighed and leaned against the couch.

“About what?”

Louise hesitated, then said the words quickly.

“About your powers.”

Pyra blinked.

Then she scoffed.

“Oh please.”

She waved her hand dismissively.

“Is it now you’re telling me?”

Ken’s eyes widened.

“You… already know?” he asked.

Pyra stared at both of them like they were the slow ones.

“If I waited for you to explain it,” she said dryly, “I would’ve blown up the entire school by now.”

Louise’s mouth slowly fell open.

Ken sat up straight.

“You’re serious?”

Pyra shrugged.

“I figured it out a while ago.”

Louise slowly sat down.

Then she asked carefully,

“So… do you know where your powers came from?”

Pyra crossed her arms.

For a moment she looked thoughtful.

Then she shook her head.

“No.”

Louise leaned forward.

“Then listen carefully.”

The room suddenly felt heavier.

“Your grandmother,” Louise began, “had telekinesis. She could move objects with her mind.”

Pyra’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Your mother,” Louise continued, “has telepathy. She can read thoughts… and sometimes communicate through the mind.”

Pyra nodded slowly.

“So I have those two, I suppose.”

Louise nodded.

“Yes.”

Then she hesitated.

“But the fire…”

Pyra tilted her head.

“What about the fire?”

Louise looked directly into her eyes.

“You have pyrokinesis.”

Ken shifted in his seat.

Louise continued quietly.

“That means you can create fire with your mind.”

Pyra looked down at her hands for a moment.

Then she smirked slightly.

“Yeah… I figured that part.”

Louise shook her head slowly.

“No, Pyra. You don’t understand.”

She stood up again.

“That power did not come from your mother.”

Pyra frowned.

“Then where did it come from?”

Louise’s voice lowered.

“It came from the woman who started the Ember Kingdom.”

Pyra froze.

Ken looked serious now.

Louise continued,

“Since the beginning of the Ember Kingdom… through every queen, every princess, every generation…”

She shook her head.

“No one had the fire power.”

Pyra’s eyes widened slightly.

“It isn’t hereditary,” Louise said. “Your mother didn’t have it. Her mother didn’t have it. None of them did.”

She stepped closer to Pyra.

“Only you.”

Silence filled the room.

Pyra looked up slowly.

“So… I’m different?”

Louise smiled gently.

“Yes.”

She placed her hand on Pyra’s shoulder.

“You’re special.”

Pyra exhaled softly.

Then Louise added one last sentence.

“And Lord Fedrah knows it.”

Pyra looked up sharply.

Louise’s face turned serious again.

“This hasn’t happened in decades.”

Pyra leaned back in the chair and sighed.

“Well… thanks for the information, Louise.”

Louise gave a small smile.

Ken chuckled quietly.

“You took that better than expected.”

Pyra grabbed her bag.

“I’ve got homework.”

She walked upstairs as if nothing had happened.

But upstairs…

her eyes flickered red for a second.

---

The Next Day – School Hallway

Students filled the hallways, lockers slamming and conversations buzzing everywhere.

Pyra, Lena, and Aria walked side by side through the crowd.

They were laughing about something Lena had said earlier.

As they passed the lockers, Madeline and her group of friends stood nearby.

Madeline leaned against her locker, watching them approach with a smug look.

The moment they passed, she snorted loudly.

“Well look at that.”

She tilted her head toward Aria.

“Aria… are you really following those two dummies now?”

Her friends smirked.

One of them whispered something nasty and they giggled.

Lena sighed.

“Just ignore her.”

Aria didn’t even turn around.

“Already doing it.”

They kept walking.

But something changed.

Pyra’s eyes flickered slightly.

Her lens turned red.

She didn’t lift a finger.

She didn’t even slow down.

Behind them—

Madeline’s locker suddenly CLICKED open.

Then—

SLAM!

Books exploded out of the locker.

Papers flew everywhere across the floor.

Madeline jumped back.

“What the—?!”

Her friends stared in shock.

One of them almost laughed but quickly stopped when Madeline shot her a deadly glare.

Ahead in the hallway—

Lena and Aria turned around.

They saw the mess.

Then looked at Pyra.

Pyra kept walking like nothing happened.

Aria burst out laughing.

“That was cool!”

Pyra smiled slightly and nodded sideways.

Lena shook her head.

“No hands… just eyes and mind.”

They continued down the hallway.

No one suspected a thing.

---

Later – The Library

The library was quiet as usual.

Pyra, Lena, and Aria sat around a table talking about classes, boys, and Madeline’s locker disaster.

Aria was mid-story when Lena suddenly froze.

Her eyes locked on something across the room.

On a nearby table…

sat a familiar magazine.

Lena stood up slowly and walked over.

She picked it up.

Then turned to Aria, raising it.

“Really, Aria?”

Aria blinked.

“What?”

Lena held the magazine up.

“Why didn’t you put this in your bag? We don’t want exposure.”

Aria frowned.

“That’s not the one.”

She opened her bag and pulled something out.

“The one I put in my bag is right here.”

Pyra stood up.

“So… there are two now?”

Lena looked confused.

“Impossible.”

Then Aria pointed at the floor.

“Uh… guys?”

There was another one.

Lying on the ground.

“Maybe there are three.”

Pyra and Lena shouted together.

“WHAT?!”

They walked toward it.

But when they turned the corner between the shelves—

They froze.

Three entire bookshelves were filled with the same magazine.

Every single one.

Aria whispered,

“Woah…”

Lena grabbed one.

The cover read:

PRINCESS PYRA – THE LOST PRINCESS

Aria looked around nervously.

“Someone’s planning you.”

Lena immediately turned to Pyra.

“Pyra… burn it.”

Pyra looked at the shelves.

“That would require excess fuel.”

“We don’t have a match.”

Lena slowly turned her head toward her.

“Pyra.”

She pointed at the shelves.

“When I say burn it…”

“…I mean use your power.”

Pyra blinked.

“Oh.”

She focused.

Her eyes turned bright red.

Smoke began curling from the shelves.

Then—

WHOOSH

The entire shelves burst into flames.

Books crackled and burned within seconds.

Ash floated through the air.

Within moments—

Everything was gone.

Pyra dusted her hands.

“Problem solved.”

But then Aria looked past her.

“…Guys?”

They turned.

On the other side of the library…

Three more shelves stood there.

Completely filled with the same magazines.

One large poster showed a clear photo of Pyra.

“Princess Pyra – Lost Princess.”

Pyra groaned.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Aria rushed forward.

“Quick! Scatter them before anyone comes!”

They began pulling books down rapidly.

But then—

Lena froze.

“…Pyra.”

Standing near the shelves…

was the old man.

The same one from the street.

The one who called Pyra the Fire Warrior.

Their eyes met.

Silence.

Then Pyra pointed at him.

“YOU!”

“You’re the one putting all these books!”

The old man grinned.

Then suddenly—

He ran.

Fast.

Ridiculously fast.

“STOP HIM!” Pyra shouted.

The three girls took off after him.

The chase exploded through the hallway.

The old man ran like an athlete.

He stepped onto the wall—

Flipped—

Landed—

Then sprinted again.

Aria yelled while running,

“WHY IS HE SO FAST?!”

Pyra shouted,

“You want to ruin my life?! NOT ON MY WATCH!”

Students jumped out of the way as the chase flew through the corridor.

Finally—

The old man burst into the principal’s office.

He dropped a magazine on the desk.

The girls rushed in seconds later.

The old man leaned against the desk laughing.

“That was a hot chase!”

He looked at Pyra mischievously.

“Guess what the principal would say if he knew you were a princess.”

“Come on… don’t you like royalty?”

Pyra stepped forward threateningly.

“The only royalty I like…”

“…is kicking your butt.”

The old man raised a finger.

“Relax.”

“You’re in the principal’s office.”

He pointed toward the hallway.

“And I think he’s coming.”

Footsteps approached.

The old man smiled.

“You never saw me.”

Then—

He vanished.

Just like that.

Pyra stared.

“…Did he just—”

Lena nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

Aria rubbed her face.

“More fantasy in my real life…”

Lena whispered urgently,

“The principal’s coming!”

Aria panicked.

“What do we do?!”

Pyra pointed.

“Grab the book.”

Too late.

The door opened.

The principal stepped in.

He looked shocked.

“What are you girls doing in my office?”

They quickly made up a story about looking for a misplaced assignment.

Surprisingly…

the principal believed it.

He sighed.

“Alright. Out.”

“And next time don’t enter this office without permission.”

“That will be detention.”

They smiled nervously.

“Sorry sir.”

As they turned to leave—

Pyra’s eyes flashed red.

The magazine quietly slid under a pile of files on the desk.

The principal didn’t notice.

Neither did Lena or Aria.

They stepped outside.

The principal sat down and crossed his legs.

“Well?”

“What are you still waiting for?”

Lena stammered.

“O-oh—nothing sir.”

They quickly left.

In the hallway—

Aria grabbed her head.

“We are toasted.”

Lena corrected.

“Bursted.”

“We need to go back and get that book!”

Pyra stayed calm.

“Relax.”

Lena stopped walking.

“Is it only me that understands how serious this is?!”

“Pyra… there’s a book in the principal’s office with your name written in bold.”

“PRINCESS PYRA.”

“And the old man took pictures of you!”

Aria squeezed her face.

“Oh that is bad.”

Pyra nodded calmly.

“That’s why I hid it inside the principal’s files.”

“Before he finds it, he’d have to be searching for something important.”

Lena’s eyes widened.

“That’s brilliant.”

“I taught my girl.”

Pyra smirked.

“Tomorrow.”

“When the principal leaves his office…”

“We go back and get the book.”

Aria grinned.

“That sounds like a plan.”

“I’m in.”

Lena laughed.

“Of course you’re in.”

“After all the secrets you know now.”

They laughed and walked down the hallway together.

But somewhere in the school…

someone was watching.

And the game around Princess Pyra had only just begun.