Siena (Forestfolk, Book 1)

Chapter 16b

Sember was able to create bonfires with little effort now. I sat with her next to a crackling flame by the lake, thinking about the day she'd burned the cabin. The day I'd revealed myself as Gifted. It had been traumatic for both of us, and I wondered if she was ready to talk about it yet.

"Hey, Sember?"

"Yeah?" She looked content as she poked the fire with a stick.

"Do you . . . remember the big fire?"

Her hand froze, stick in mid-air, and her face darkened. When she turned her little face to me, her lip quivered.

I immediately felt horrible. Of course she remembered. What a stupid thing to ask. "I'm sorry. I was thinking about what your brother had said, about taking the fire back. You made the fire disappear."

She turned back to the bonfire and resumed poking it with the stick.

"Are you still able to do that? Make fire go away?"

She shrugged and avoided looking at me.

"Would you like to try it?"

She nudged a burning twig and watched sparks float up.

"Sember, I think it might be an important part of your training."

She threw her stick down and glared at me. "I don't like thinking about that day. I was bad that day. Very bad. I don't want to be her again."

I was taken aback by her glare. "You're not going to be her again," I said gently. "You're better than she was. In control now. A brand-new you. Right?"

She was listening, but didn't seem convinced.

"If you can practice taking fire back, then you'll have even greater control. Even if another accident happened, you could fix it just like that. Wouldn't you like that?"

Sember's stormy expression disappeared. "Yes."

I smiled. "Good. Now see if you can make this bonfire disappear."

She scrunched her face and held her palms against the bonfire's edge. Her lips pressed together in concentration, and she stared into the heart of the blaze. After a few moments, the crackling stopped and the flames seemed to shift toward her, as if being sucked away by her hands. When all that was left were blackened pieces of wood, she looked back at me with a peculiar smile.

"Siena, this feels different. It's like . . ." Her eyes shifted about as she searched for the words. "It's like I'm putting the bees back in the hive."'

"You feel your energy returning?" I asked, curious about this revelation.

She nodded. "Can you do it too?"

It had never occurred to me, and the thought troubled me. "You mean, take life instead of giving it?"

Sember's face clouded. "It sounds kind of bad when you say it like that. Like that bad tribe chief."

I nodded in agreement, but an uneasy feeling settled into the pit of my stomach.

"How about . . ." She paused, trying to complete her thought. "Can you borrow from, like, trees or something? To help people? Maybe then you could last longer before you faint?"

"I don't know." I looked down at my hands. Was that even possible? Taking life was not in my nature, but if I could borrow a little from several sources, then maybe it could be a way for me to extend my energy.

"You should try it," she said and sat down next to me. "Here, borrow from me!" She held out her hand.

I pushed her hand away. "No, I won't take life from people. I'll try on plants."

I brushed my hand over some nearby grass and hovered it above the patch, not really knowing what I was doing. I'd never tried anything like this before. I held it there for about a minute, but nothing seemed to be happening.

Sember waited patiently, watching my face.

"I don't think I have that ability," I said, frowning.

She pursed her lips in thought, then said, "Goben told me to do what I did backwards. So now I think about catching the bees and putting them away."

I regarded her, a little discomforted by the irony that she was now giving me advice. But it made sense, and it worked for her. Maybe I had it in me and just didn't know it.

I tried again, quieting my mind this time, and grasped a handful of grass. Closing my eyes, I felt its energy, a faint vibration trembling against my own. Then, they began to mingle. Rather than opening my floodgates as I usually did, I focused on turning the tide in my direction. I focused on absorbing rather than radiating.

Then I felt something. A tingle, similar to what I usually felt when I healed my own wounds. It was so unexpected that I let go of the grass.

"Did it work?" Sember asked.

I didn't answer her and grabbed another handful of grass. I felt its familiar energy more quickly this time and concentrated harder on absorbing it. The tingle was stronger this time, making me shiver and lose my breath. I was momentarily stunned. My hand still gripped the grass, which was now brown and dead.

I jerked my hand away, eyes wide with horror.

Death. I just caused death.

"You did it," Sember whispered, not wanting to startle me.

"I did," I murmured, still dazed. "I didn't know I could do that."

"It's neat, right?"

I looked at her expectant face, not wanting to tell her that this new development scared me. "Yes. Thank you, Sember." I pulled her into a hug so she wouldn't see my troubled eyes.

She hugged me back and said, "I still don't want you to go away, but I feel better about it now."

"You're doing so well, Sember. Better than I could have. You're amazing."

She beamed at me. "Can I call you my sister?"

"I'd like that."

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