More than Fashion

The gift of the Fire God was inside all of us. While drawing strength from Jasin, I willed it into Calla, praying for the Fire God to help us heal his chosen priestess. Our hands began to glow with the same unearthly orange light from the volcano, as if lava flowed underneath our skin, and the heat became so intense I nearly let go. But I held on, and a second later Calla gasped and opened her eyes. The four priests around us cried out and rushed to her side. “You healed her,” Blane said, while the others praised both me and the Fire God. “With Jasin’s help,” I said. “The Fire God has truly blessed us all,” Derel said. “Thank you,” another one said, whose name I had forgotten. “It seems the Fire God still has more work for you,” Jasin said to Calla. “Thank you both,” Calla said, as she sat up with a smile. She cupped my cheek and then did the same to Jasin. “I will cherish your gift and do whatever I can to help you.” “If everyone’s good now, we need to get out of here,” Reven said, with his lazy drawl. “The Crimson Dragon—the other one—is heading this way.” Fear gripped my throat, but Jasin wrapped an arm around me. “We can fight him,” he said. “I can face him as a Dragon now too.” “No, we can’t,” Auric said. “He’s immune to fire, just like you are. We don’t stand a chance until more of us can shift too.” “He’s right, we need to run,” Slade said. Calla got to her feet, with the help of two of her men. “You must hurry. Go out the back by the crater, then head down that side of the volcano. It leads to the ocean, to a dock where a ship is waiting for you. You can take that to the Air Realm and the next Temple.” She truly had prepared for our arrival, anticipating everything we might need. “Thank you,” I said, hugging her quickly. “I hope we meet again.” “We will.” “What about our horses?” Auric asked. “And everything with them?” “We’ll bring them here and take care of them for you,” the fourth priest said. “When it’s safe, we’ll make sure they are brought to you.” “Now go, quickly,” Calla said. “There’s no time.” 43 Kira W e grabbed our few belongings and rushed through the temple, past the bed where Jasin and I had made love, and out through the doors to the volcano’s summit. It still glowed from the lava deep in its pit, but the Fire God was nowhere to be seen this time. We rounded the large crater and battled through the heat that threatened to suffocate us, but I wasn’t afraid of it. Not anymore. That was, until I saw the lava flowing down the side of the mountain. It bubbled and churned and slowly slid toward the base of the volcano, where it met the ocean with a burst of smoke and slowly hardened into new land. A mix of all the elements, I thought, remembering what the Fire God had told us. “This is where Calla told us to go,” I said. “But how do we get down? “I might be able to fly us down,” Jasin said. “Although I don’t really know how yet.” “That sounds like a good way to get us all killed,” Reven said. Auric’s brows furrowed. “There must be a way down.” Slade ran a hand over his beard as he considered. “Maybe I can shift the rock…” “That’s it,” Jasin said. “The Fire God said we had to work together if we wanted to succeed. Slade and Reven will form a path for us, Kira and I will keep the fire and heat away, and Auric will protect us from the fumes.” All the men nodded and pride swelled inside me as they made a plan to work together. We moved to the edge of the lava, where Reven sprayed water in a stream, which Slade used to solidify a path of earth. Jasin kept the rest of the flames away and we rushed along the new stretch of land, sweat dripping down all of our faces, and began to descend. As Slade and Reven continued to create the path going down the mountain, Auric kept a bubble of clean, cool air around us. I did my best to keep the lava and flames back, but I wasn’t sure how to use my new powers yet, and I suspected Jasin was doing most of the work. The dock at the base of the volcano was made of the same obsidian as the Temple and somehow remained completely untouched by the lava, which flowed away from it. By the time we reached it we were all exhausted, sweating profusely, and covered in soot, even despite our best efforts. We stumbled forward toward the boat anchored at the end, its black sails already raised, like it had been waiting for us all this time. “Anyone know how to sail?” Jasin asked, as we stepped onto the wooden deck of the ship. “I know a little,” Reven said, glancing up at the sails. Auric looked up at the sales as he wiped sweat off his brow. “I’ve never been on a boat, but I think Reven and I can use our magic to steer it.” “Then let’s get out of here,” Slade said, as he cut through the ties holding the boat to the dock and used his magic to lift the anchor out of the water. Reven shifted the current around us and Auric filled the sails with wind, pointing us north. To the Air Realm.