courtyard, converging on the terrified guard. He had time to let out a strangled scream before he was engulfed in a pillar of flame.
Marcus stared at the fire in shock, and it dispersed like a cloud in the wind. He looked down at his trembling hands, thrust toward the pile of ash that had been the traveler.
It’s like it responded to me. To my anger. I wonder…
The swirling cloud of fire was dying out, but he could still see the colors, even as they faded. He beckoned to them, and they strengthened, becoming more vibrant. A tongue of fire kindled to life in the air, growing as Marcus watched. He beckoned again, and the flames came rushing toward him, wreathing his hands in their glorious, shifting light. He took a startled step back, flinching away… but it wasn't hot. That was... it didn't make any...
He glanced back to the set of blackened footprints. That was her, some part of his mind whispered, One of the Elements. That was Fire. Fire was here, and she kissed you, and now you can control it. I'm seeing heat.
Marcus closed his eyes and shook his head, but when he dared to look again, the flames were still dancing merrily around his hands. What was he supposed to–
A high-pitched scream came from the town hall. He snapped his attention toward the building, anger welling up in his chest again. Lena. He slammed his fists against the wooden bars, and they burst into flame. Marcus smiled grimly, and bid the fire to burn him a hole. It obeyed. He stepped through the charred logs, gathering the flames that still flickered on their tips to him, and marched toward the hall.
With a gesture, the door exploded in a flash of fire and fury. Marcus stalked into the hall. The travelers at the far end of the room froze. He glanced them over, eyes assessing the auras that surrounded them. He found Lena, tied to a chair in the middle of their group, one of the oddly glowing canisters sitting in front of her. She looked up, eyes filled with a desperate hope.
“Garren!” Marcus roared, a tongue of flame leaping from his lips with the word.
“Now what’s this? Who let you out?” The traveler captain stepped forward, a look of worry flashing over his features. Marcus gathered the heat around him, giving it substance, form, and flames kindled to life, wreathing his arms. The other man stopped, eyes going wide. “How’re you doing that?”
“Let her go,” Marcus growled. “Now.”
“Men.” Garren scowled. “Kill the freak.”
The travelers opened fire. Marcus flinched, throwing an arm up to shield himself as the hall erupted with deafening noise and brief, intense bursts of light from the weapons. Bright colors flashed, auras of heat surrounding tiny projectiles.
They never even got close. A sheet of fire sprang to life as if on reflex, cutting the room in half and burning the little projectiles from the air. Drops of liquid metal pattered to the ground.
Marcus grinned, stepping forward, pushing the wall of flame before him. He heard panicked yells coming from the travelers, and the gunfire died out. I just need to make sure I don’t burn Lena, Marcus thought grimly. I’ll get her free, and then–
“Move and she dies!” Garren’s voice rang out from behind the wall of fire.
Marcus froze. Not Lena, he thought, images of his brother’s lifeless eyes crashing into him. No, not Lena too.
He focused for a moment, and the wall of flame burned out. Across the room, Garron stood with his gun pressed to Lena’s head. “The rest of it,” the traveler said, nodding to Marcus’s arms. “Put it out.”
Marcus met Lena’s eyes. She’s terrified. I can’t risk her… I just can’t. Gritting his teeth, he willed the flames out.
Garren nodded once. “How many more of you can do things like that?”
Marcus blinked. “What?”
“The fire, you were obviously controlling it. Who else can do that?”
“I… I don’t know.”
The captain’s eyes were calculating. He glanced back at the black containers, a slow smile spreading over his lips. “Right. I think we just found something more valuable than a couple of flowers. Men, take him.”
Marcus bowed his head, clenching his teeth. It's all right. If they’re focused on me, maybe they’ll just let everyone else go. Strong hands gripped his arms as something cool snapped around his wrists, binding them together. I promise, I haven’t forgotten about you, Anthony. I’ll bide my time, wait until we’re out of town, and then–
“Sir.” A new traveler’s voice sounded from the far side of the hall. “What if there are more like him, and he just doesn’t know about them?” Something pricked Marcus’s arm. He flinched, and then felt an odd numbness spreading through his body. “We couldn’t do much against him, Garren. If more of them come after us…”
“Good point. It’s possible that he’s some kind of mutation localized to this area,” Marcus heard Garren say.
He was having trouble focusing. The two travelers had dragged him to the black storage containers. One of them released his arm, fiddling with the box. They drugged me, he realized, struggling weakly, trying to muster up the resolve to fight off the effects. His vision began to dim. I need to stay alert… need to be able to… able to…
“He won’t be worth as much if just anyone could come out and pick up a new one,” the captain continued, his voice thoughtful. “Scarcity breeds value, after all. We have confirmation that the rest of them are in their homes?”
What are they talking about? Marcus stifled a yawn, his thoughts feeling sluggish. He felt his eyes drift closed. I don’t understand what–
“Good. Kill them all.”
Burning Bright
Marcus’s eyes snapped open. He felt the rage within him ignite, burning like a physical thing, radiating heat. No!
“Take some of the men out, quick and quiet.” Garren was speaking to another traveler, voice pitched low. “I want sleeping agents deployed around the city. Knock out any of them who aren’t already asleep. Take the ones we can carry for study, kill the rest. No explosives, no fire, not if we can help it. If he was able to generate that much heat out on in that snowstorm, I don’t want to think about what would happen if we gave them something to work with.”
They were going to slaughter everyone. The mayor, old Nan, everyone, all lifeless eyes staring blankly at the world. Marcus growled, focusing on the traveler captain. The man had stepped away from Lena, his weapon held to the side, no longer pointed at her. This is my chance.
“The hell?” the traveler to Marcus’s right cursed, turning from the black box. “When did it get so warm in here?”
Marcus glared at the little weapon in Garren’s hand. He needed the man to drop it, needed to make it hot…
“Founders’ blood,” the man on the other side of Marcus whispered. “Look at the cuffs… they’re glowing… bloody hell, that dose should have put him out cold! Hey! We need help here!”
Garren glanced over just as the gun burst into flames. Whatever was inside it that had caused the tiny flashes of heat exploded, sending chunks of molten metal flying. Lena screamed. Garren spat a curse, clutching his hand, and the room erupted into motion.
Marcus flexed his arms, and the bindings around his wrists snapped. Or maybe they just melted away. He saw the colors swirling around his own body, brighter and fiercer than anything else in the room. The man to his right yelled something, pulling out a gun. Marcus snarled, and a burst of flame consumed the traveler. The other man yelped in panic, turning to flee for the door.
He made it two steps. With a sweep of his arm, Marcus sent a wave of fire rolling over the retreating traveler. As well as the chairs around him. And the back half of the room. All that was left was ash.
Marcus turned back to the rest of the travelers. “I told you,” he said, voice low and hard, “that I would kill you.” I need to get Lena out of here. I’ve got their attention right now, but it’s only a matter of time before they threaten her again. His mind raced. Was there a storage room under the hall? He lifted a hand into the air, calling to the fires burning around the room, f
ocusing them into an orb above his palm. At the same time, he began heating the floor in a ring around Lena.
“Hold on now, kid.” Garren took a cautious step forward. “Let’s not do anything rash. Look, we’ve all made mistakes, all right?” He took another step, hands held to his sides. “No reason to get all worked up over it. So let’s just calm down, and–”
“You killed my brother!” The ball of fire swelled with Marcus’s anger, doubling in size. It was all he could do to keep the circle of heat around Lena from leaping to life. “You wanted to murder all of Blessing! You think I have anything to say to you?!”
Garren winced. “Now, calm down, son. You can’t just...” He stopped, frowning, and sniffed the air.
Smoke from the wood! Marcus intensified the heat, and the circle around Lena ignited. She screamed as the fire flared up, eating through the wooden floor in a heartbeat. Garren dove for her... too late. She dropped out of sight, leaving a burnt hole behind.
Marcus lifted the globe of fire high above his head. “Now you’ll pay for–”
But Garren was still rolling. He came to his feet and threw something, arm a blur. Marcus took a step back, shifting the orb of flame into the path of the object.
And the fire died. A waterfall of freezing white mist poured down around him, covering him from head to toe and flooding around his feet before dispersing. The shattered remains of the strange, glowing container fell to the ground,