Firebird's Arc

Chapter 4 of 4

Firebird flew into the forest alone. A fiery glow wrapped his body as he wove between the trees. Lancer and Shield waited at the tree line. This part he had to do himself. The file named a witch out here, someone who might teach Lancer magic before Raze's ritual killed thousands. Firebird reached out with his mind. He felt for a mind that burned different than the rest, old and bright. He found it. He followed the pull. The pull led him to a small cottage. Violet flowers spilled from the window boxes. One back window was broken and patched. A man stood in the doorway, waiting, as if he had felt Firebird coming too. He wore an open robe over black leather pants. His chest was bare. Blue eyes tracked Firebird down to the grass. "You found me with your mind," the witch said. He did not sound surprised. "I'm Dorian. Say what you want and say it plain." Firebird landed. The glow faded from his suit. "I need you to teach someone magic. A woman named Lancer. She can move energy, but she can't shape the mystical kind. She has days, not years." Dorian's face closed. "No." He turned toward the door. "My magic protects the people I care for. I'm still learning to hold it myself. I don't train strangers for a war I don't know." "Then you'll let them die." Firebird stepped forward. "There's a man called Raze. His group plans a ritual. They'll force magic into ordinary people. Rip them open to make them something new. Most won't survive it. Hundreds. Maybe more." He kept his voice level. "I've seen inside Raze's head. It's real. If Lancer can't fight his magic, no one stops it." Dorian went still in the doorway. He looked back. The hard line in his face broke. He knew what it meant to carry power you never chose. He knew what people did to those who were different. "How many," Dorian said. Not a question. "Enough to empty a city block. Children too." Dorian stood quiet a long moment. Then he went inside and returned with a large book. Pink and yellow leather, marked with three crescent moons inside a circle. A faint glow rose off its cover. He held it against his chest. "I'll teach her," Dorian said. "And I won't stop there. If this ritual is as dark as you say, you'll need a spell to break it. I'll help you build one." Firebird let out a breath he'd held since the tree line. "Thank you." "Don't thank me yet." Dorian stepped past him onto the grass. "Magic fails when you least want it to. Mine has. Hers will too." He looked toward the forest edge where the others waited. "Bring me to her." They walked out of the trees together. Firebird had come for a teacher. He left with an ally, a book of spells, and a promise to end Raze's plan.