Part 1

Smoothing my hair, I glance in the mirror. Stray golden strands stick out from my ponytail. It’s a mess, but after the day I had in class, it will have to do. I shove on the thick white fabric the local elders call a dress, and button it up. “To protect us from the poison,” they say. It’s not like I’ll be close enough to see anything, let alone be exposed to the radiation from the surface.

Am I jealous of the clothing the fire wielders have today? Yes!

​

It shouldn’t matter what I wear to this thing, anyway. But if I don’t follow ceremony protocol, they’ll probably deny my application to study the glowing crystals.

​

I grab my things and pause when my father’s glowing necklace catches my eye. The light pulses in time with my heart, making feel that whatever forces are hidden inside, it knows me. Maybe it does?

​

Though I inherited his jewel from him upon his death, I’m not supposed to wear it; something about humans not being able to handle its power. I pick it up, staring at the oblong gem. If my dad was of the flame, and my mother a human, what does that make me? Where do I belong?

​

“Sparky,” he used to call me. “This will be yours one day.”

​

It’s been two years since he was lost to the shadows, and the stabbing pain in my heart still hurts. He should have been here for this.

​

Thwarting the rules, I drape the chain around my neck. The glowing crystal pulses for a second, before going back to its semi-dormant state. It makes me feel close to him, like maybe a part of him didn’t die.

​

Melodic chimes echo through the caves, drawing my attention, and tuck the gem inside my dress, then bolt out of my room. I grab a roll on the way out, taking a big bite while I run to the upper tunnels.

​

When I arrive at the main tunnel, everyone stares into the darkness, waiting for the ceremony to begin. I understand the significance of taking pieces of the past to the surface, but I just don’t see the point of all the hoopla.

​

“Molly, there you are. Where have you been?”

​

My very best friend in the world, Teresa, pulls be toward her, forcing the tall guys in front of me to move out of the way. They watch me shove past them, lingering a little longer than I’d like, so I stick my tongue out at them, and take my place in the front.

“How did you get this spot?” I whisper. We have the same classes; she should have been just as late as me.

“You, dear Molly, never pay attention to anything but your books.” She bumps my shoulder. “I was here since early this morning.”

​

“You weren’t in class?” My mind runs through the day: my breakfast, my classes, and my lunch. Somehow, I can’t remember her being there. How could I not know?

​

She covers her mouth to hide her laugh. “Seriously, Molly. There are more things to life than school and work. Come up for air occasionally.”

​

I could say the same thing about her and that boy she’s seeing, but I won’t, not this time, because she’s right. Ever since my dad died, I have been preoccupied with school. It’s probably another thing I get from my mother. I glance around the cave tunnel, searching for her, but she’s nowhere to be found. It’s possible she’s part of the ceremony today, as the wife of a fire wielder, she holds honor in their eyes, seeing her as an elder now. Having that kind of position amongst us cave dwellers should make me feel proud and happy for her. But all it does is make me feel like I lost both my parents.

Flickering light cascades across the narrow tunnel, hushing the crowd and drawing my attention. In the depths of the mountain, four colors of flame, no bigger than a river stone, move toward us. Despite my indifference to this ceremony, I hold my breath in some sort of reverence for our fire-wielding cousins.

​

I wonder if the boy-prince will be among them this year.

​

Pierce isn’t really a prince, but the way everyone acts around him, he might as well be. As a descendant of the house of Lari, he was assigned respect and responsibility from birth. The elders teach him our ways, the fire wielders encourage him to explore the surface. And every girl under the mountain swoons. Sure, he’s good looking, but leadership shouldn’t be assigned just because someone’s flame is the hottest.

​

I shake off my thoughts as the flames approach. There are at least a dozen people surrounding a sparkling golden sapling. It reflects the flames perfectly, making it look like it’s pulsing like a heart.

​

Beside the six people holding the carryall, there are eight flame wielders lighting the way, two of each color: red, yellow, white, and rarest blue. My breath hitches when my gaze meets Pierce’s, his blue eyes alight from using his powers. Usually I can look away, but not today. Teresa told me there’s more to life than books, and at this moment I wonder if there is. I almost want to laugh, because out of anyone one here, Pierce is the last person I’d want to be with. But there is something about him the draws me to him, I just can’t explain it.

​

As he passes by, a chill sweeps through the tunnel, as the shadows suddenly grow long. My mind races to understand when the crowd screams, and I’m pushed forward, crashing into the ground. Pain explodes in my shoulder, and I cry out.

Between the stampede of people scrambling to get away, I don’t think anyone can hear me. I cover my head, the best I can, as people walk over me. It’s all I can do to keep breathing, as I’m kicked and stepped on.

​

I wish my dad was here, he would save me.

​

Just when I think I can’t take it anymore, powerful arms wrap around me, and I’m hoisted from the ground. Heat courses through me, calming the pain. By the time I peel open my eyes, I’m in an antechamber. An iridescent dome surrounds the area with fire wielders, lending their flames to support it. The golden sapling stands in the middle of the cavern. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I never thought I’d be so close to it.

​

It’s just then that Pierce comes into focus, his blue flames pouring between us. He didn’t have to risk his life to save me, but he did.

​

“I don’t know why you bothered to heal her, she’s just a Glyzul,” some girl says.

​

My healer doesn’t glance at the person, instead focuses on healing me. “Get that filthy slang word out of your mouth, Nora,” he says.

​

If I wasn’t feeling sick from nearly dying, I’d probably be screaming at her. I don’t know who came up with the term, Glyzul, for humans who can’t wield fire, but they clearly hated us. Were they disgruntled about having to care for us? Or did they just have a superiority complex? The fact they associated us with cave dwelling snakes says a lot about their mental state—whoever they were.

​

“You left the sapling unprotected from the shadows to save her,” Nora replies. “They could have taken it, or worse.”

He ignores her and instead helps me sit. “You okay?”

​

Rubbing my shoulder, I nod, still feeling a little woozy from the entire ordeal.

​

The irate young woman snaps her fingers in his face. “Where are your priorities?”

​

 “Will you just stop it?” In my frustration, my necklace, somehow dangling on the outside of my dress, glows brightly, amplifying the cave in beautiful white light.

​

She stumbles backward, clearly not aware that I carried one of their sacred. Pierce helps me up eyeing my necklace, steading me when the world spins.

​

“You’ll be fine in a few hours,” he whispers.

​

“How did you get a Sky Crystal?” the girl asks, almost snarling at me like a one of the feral cave creatures.

​

“Back off, Nora,” I chide, not wanting to be subjected to an integration.

​

She opens her mouth to say something but is cut off when the shadows grow longer despite the light bouncing around the rocky walls.

​

“Brace yourselves,” someone says, as the fire wielder flames intensify. Despite the heat, the creatures keep coming, banging on our force field with all their might.

​

Pierce pulls me toward the sapling, and the other fire wielders form a circle around us.

​

“We protect the sapling at all costs,” Pierce bellows, with blue flames engulfing him. My hands shake, and he grabs one of mine.

​

From the heat surrounding me, I should be a pile of ash, but it’s just a pleasant tingling feeling coursing through my skin. For the first time in my life, I realize my father gave me something—the ability to withstand the flames. As I glance at the other fire wielders, I realize no human could stand here and live.

​

The shadows roar with fury, changing into their inky, humanoid forms, giving them more leverage to take down our shield. My heart throbs in my ears, and I can’t help but wonder if this is how my dad felt before he died by their hand.

“I’ll keep you safe,” Pierce says. He is the Blue Flame after all, a once in a generation flame. If there was anyone to protect us, he would be it.

​

Glancing at the shadows, I take a deep breath. I don’t know what I can do to stop them from taking the tree, but I might die trying.

 

To Be Continued . . .