Fire Within: Book Two of Fire and Stone (Stories of Fire and Stone 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

spot where one tiny flame had caught on a blanket. A tiny scorched hole in the bedspread was all that remained a moment later.
    “And that keeps happening, and I don’t know why,” Esset finished, burying his face in his hands. There was too much for him to deal with right then: the loss of his brother, their failure against Moloch, the missing two years of his life, his current condition, and now this. The summon for the phoenix flashed before Esset’s eyes again.
    “Rest, son. I’ll go to the library and research how to undo a geas. Your mother will make you something to eat in the meantime—”
    “No, Dad,” Esset said, shaking his head and looking over at him. “I think I’m almost out of time. I need to go.” He could feel heat inside him, like a vibration.
    “No!” his mother objected, taking his arm in her hands. “Please, stay.”
    “Sorry, Mom, I can’t. I love you.” He kissed her on the forehead. He got to his feet and glanced at his summoner’s tome, then decided to leave it there. “I love you both.”
    Mr. Esset stood and stepped into his path.
    “Jonathan, I’ll keep looking for an answer, and when I find it, I’ll do what I can,” he promised.
    “Just not at a cost to you,” Esset said. “Take care of yourselves first. Contact Sergeant Warthog, and maybe she can do something, but don’t put yourselves at risk. We knew what we were getting into, Toman and I. We didn’t want it to end like this, but we knew it could. Promise me you’ll try to stay safe.” He locked eyes with his father, ignoring the burning symbols of the phoenix’s summon as it flashed across his vision again. His father stood against him for a moment, then bowed his head.
    “I promise. But I won’t give up, either. I’ll look for an answer.”
    “I know.” Esset embraced his father. “Who knows, maybe I’m not gonna die. Maybe I’ll be able to help. But now I have to leave the city.” He didn’t want to endanger anyone if something went wrong.
    “Good luck,” his father said. His mother sat helplessly on the bed; she seemed to have lost the will to move as tears streamed down her face once more. The sight raised Esset’s protective spirit again.
    “Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll fight,” he promised. Unable to stay a moment longer, he turned and left. The burning summon flashed across his vision again, and by the time he summoned a fiery flying mount in the back yard, he’d seen it yet again. He saw it twice more on his flight outside the city walls, into the empty rolling hills away from the trade roads. He landed the bird and banished it, then bowed his head to seek a moment of inner peace.
    What he found instead was fire.
    The symbols of the summon for the phoenix burned across his vision and remained, not to be denied. Esset could feel the heat surrounding him, and he knew that flames were dancing in the air around him. He could smell them, as if fire itself had a scent, and not just the things it burned. Esset dismissed his fear and his sorrow, his anger and frustration, and stood with the will to fight instead. Then he summoned the phoenix.
    As liquid syllables fell from his lips, Esset felt a rushing sensation within him, and a building heat. Then the heat seemed to culminate and flow out of him. His vision cleared and he saw the fire around him, great sheets of red and orange flames that flickered and flared in the air. The bits of vegetation around him twisted and blackened from the heat, but they didn’t catch fire.
    Most of the fire seemed to be coming from his chest, emerging in one long stream. That was the brightest fire, the flames yellow-white instead of pale orange and red. Then the fire flared, and two great wings unfolded from the fiery stream. The phoenix took shape in the space of a few moments. Unlike his other summons, the phoenix had no body like cracked coals; it was far more ethereal, consisting entirely of shifting, flickering flames. In fact, Esset felt awe at its beauty.