Have you read Neon Fae Part Three - Glow?
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“Luna! Wait!” Ki shouted, running after her.
She weaved through the crowd easily. Actually, now that he thought about it, it made sense that she was an Ultraviolet Fae. They could see through objects. She could the gaps through the crowd. She pulled farther and farther ahead until she disappeared into the darkness.
The crunch of stones beneath his feet faded as he slowed and came to a stop. He stared after her for a while, trying to figure out what to do. Shit, what about Ember? He turned and ran the other way, back to the others who were still at the water’s edge. As they came back into view, the sight of Ember, who’d stifled her fire, brought his blood to a rapid boil of irrational anger.
“What the fuck Ember!” he shouted storming up to her.
Ember bared her teeth at him, a low growl in the back of her throat.
“Wo, wo, wo, com’on guys, let’s take a breath,” Forrest said, trying to push them apart.
Ki pushed him away. “I’m not going anywhere until she tells me what the fuck her problem is.”
Ember’s eyes flared. “I’m not telling you shit.”
“Guys, please, let’s go back to the house and figure this out,” Laurel said.
“Why are you hanging out with that bitch?” Ember snarled, poking a finger into his chest.
Ki felt the last of his self-control slip. “You’re the bitch,” he shouted in her face.
Ember’s fire flared again, blue flashing across his vision. He felt heat burst where her finger was. Startled he looked down as Ember snatched her hand back. His shirt had caught fire, the fabric quickly burning away. The fire licked his exposed chest, the skin quickly turning red and blistering.
“Fuck,” he shouted, desperately slapping the growing fire on his chest. He barely managed to supress the urge to summon his magic.
“Ki!” Suddenly his chest was covered with a huge florescent green globule, stifling the fire. He looked up to see Laurel focusing her magic on him. She stepped back, letting the globule drop to the ground with a splash. She looked at him with huge eyes.
As he stared back at her, the pain hit him. He clamped his teeth together, his training forcing himself to supress the reaction. He inhaled deeply, immediately regretting it as the expansion of his chest ripped more pain through his chest.
Everyone stared at him in shock. His eyes went to Ember who stared at him for a second longer, a horrified expression on her face, before turning and running off into the crowd. A second later Forrest was in motion. “Ember!” he shouted, dashing after her.
“What the hell was that?” Ki said through clenched teeth, looking between Laurel, Kiran, and Blaze.
“I- I don’t know,” Laurel finally stuttered, fiddling with her sleeve. Kiran and Blaze glanced at each other.
Ki stared into the crowd where Forrest had disappeared but couldn’t see anything more than a few startled fae staring back at him.
“Are you ok?” Laurel asked, looking at his chest.
He glanced down. Red, blistered skin peaked through his shirt surrounding by the black edges of material. He was surprised at how bad the burn was, he’d underestimated how powerful Ember was. “I’ll be fine,” he muttered.
“Fuck that, she used Sulphur Fire. We need to get you to the healer now,” Blaze said.
Ki froze. Sulphur fire? That was a gift even rarer than the lightning of the Fulgur Fae. It was so rare he’d never seen it before. Until now he supposed.
“What about Ember?” Laurel asked.
“I’ll take Ki to the healers. Kiran, you and Laurel find Ember in case she becomes engulfed,” Blaze said, running a hand through his hair in an uncharacteristic display of anxiety. “I’ve got no idea how much control she has over her Sulphur Fire, and we have to keep this contained.”
Guilt and anger churned in Ki. He didn’t realise how much danger Ember could be in, but she’d also been an absolute bitch to Luna.
Kiran glanced at Ki before turning to Blaze. “I’ll handle it. We’ll meet you guys back at the house,” he said. Readjusting his hat he grabbed Laurel’s hand and they disappearing into the crowd.
“Alright, you’re coming with me,” Blaze said, heading off along the lake edge.
With one final glance after Kiran and Laurel, he followed Blaze. They wound their way along the river, fireflies bobbing around them. He sucked in a breath as the warm night air stung his blistered skin. Halfway along the river toward the Waterfall Stage they crossed a small stone bridge. Large white tents stood in a neat row along the riverbank, a huge red cross above them, the symbol for the Infrared Fae healers of the Scarlett Kingdom. Ki hurried to follow Blaze as he disappeared into the closest tent.
The sound of vomit hitting the bottom of a bucket met his ears as the tent door flapped shut behind them. Beds and curtains lined either side of the huge tent. Fae in white coats hurried between beds with trolleys of supplies. Half the beds were occupied, white curtains drawn around them.
“You,” Blaze called to an older male in a white coat who was peering at a plasm ball, taking notes. “Is Sirona or Damien here?”
“Dr Sirona is,” the male said. He looked from Blaze to Ki’s burnt chest. “But I can tend to you. Take that bed there.” He gestured to a bed at the far end of the tent.
“No, I need Sirona,” Blaze said.
Ki frowned. “I’m sure…” he peered at the male’s name tag, “Nurse Raphael can do it.”
Blaze turned to him with a murderous look. Ki tensed. He’d never seen Blaze look so angry before.
“Get Sirona now,” Blaze growled, not looking away from Ki.
The male glanced between the two of them, paling at the look on Blaze’s face. “I’ll tell her it’s urgent,” he said and hurried from the tent.
Blaze turned away from Ki, leading him to the bed. He pulled the curtain closed around them.
“Sit,” Blaze commanded.
Ki didn’t move. He stared at Blaze. What was going on? He’d never seen Blaze so… serious.
“What?” Blaze asked.
“Nothing. It’s just… what’s happening? Why are you acting so weird?”
Blaze let out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “Sorry man, tonight’s been a shit show. I can’t fucking believe Ember. Did you know she could use Sulphur Fire?”
Ki shook his head as he sat next to Blaze. “No. It’s a rare gift but it’s not a big deal, is it?”
“The gift is amazing. Her public display is a huge problem though. Do you know why Sulphur Fire is so rare?”
Ki opened his mouth just as the curtain slide back, revealing a curvy bronze skinned fae with black hair and brown eyes framed with thick lashes. She wore a white coat with four red stripes on her shoulders. Ki’s eyes widened. What was an Infrared Surgeon General doing at a Forbidden Festival? His eyes flicked back to her face, but he didn’t recognise her from his visits to the Scarlett Kingdom.
“Sirona, thank fuck you’re here.” Blaze said, standing to greet her.
She smiled at him, shaking his hand. “I haven’t seen you in months Agent-“
“No need for formalities,” Blaze hurried. “But yeah, it has been a while.”
Sirona’s brows raised slightly. “I hope you’re keeping well. You look a hell of a lot better than when I last saw you.”
Blaze smiled. “Thanks to your expert healing. I don’t have any scarring,” he said.
“Of course you don’t. I know how to care for my patients,” Sirona replied with a flick of her hair, a twinkle in her eye.
“You’re not wrong,” Blaze laughed, but turned serious as he glanced over his shoulder at Ki. “I need your expertise again. And your discretion.”
Sirona’s smile dropped as she saw the serious expression on Blaze’s face. She stepped around him, looking at Ki, her eyes immediately going to his chest. “That’s a nasty burn you’ve got,” she said, coming over to the bed.
Ki held still, allowing Sirona to examine him.
“It’s not any burn, it’s from Sulphur Fire,” Blaze said from behind her.
Sirona paused. She turned to Blaze. “You’re sure?”
He nodded once.
The atmosphere became heavy as she turned back to Ki, gesturing for him to lie on the bed. “I’ll treat you for sulphur dioxide inhalation and we’ll heal this burn. How’s your throat feel?” Sirona asked.
“Uh, fine I think,” Ki said as he lay down, automatically swallowing.
She put her hands to his throat. Gently she prodded around his neck and under his chin. Satisfied that everything was where it should be, she lay one hand across his throat. He felt warmth radiate through his neck, soothing a slight tickle he hadn’t been aware of until it was gone.
When she took her hand away, the air was cool against his warmed skin. She moved down to his chest. Grabbing the burned edges of his shirt, she tore it to the base, leaving his torso bare. She inspected the burn again before hovering her hands over it. Red light glowed from her palms. She moved them over his burn, the blistered skin rapidly healing before his eyes.
“I haven’t seen Sulphur Fire burns since the war,” she said, glancing up at Blaze as she worked.
“I know,” he said, running his hand over his face. “To be honest, I thought all the Sulphites had been wiped out.”
“So did I. Didn’t the Ultraviolet Majors slaughter them all in the Battle of the Blue Volcano?”
“It seems they missed at least one,” Blaze said, pacing next to the bed.
“I trust you have the situation under control?” Sirona said, eyeing Blaze.
He paused, nodding once, before continuing his pacing.
A heavy silence sat between them as Sirona continued her work. Ki’s mind was reeling. He had no idea that Sulphur Fire was rare because the Sulphites had been slaughtered during the war. And how the fuck did Blaze know so much about it? And who the hell was Sirona? And how did they know each other so well? The questions raced around his mind until a sharp rippled of pain across his chest caused his breath to catch.
“You’re awfully quite for the amount of pain you must be in,” Sirona said.
“Showing pain is a weakness,” he replied automatically, his mother’s words pushing to the forefront of his mind.
Sirona pressed her lips together, saying nothing.
“So how do you know each other?” Ki asked, trying to take his mind of the pain and relieve some of his swirling thoughts.
Blaze stopped pacing, exchanging a look with Sirona that Ki couldn’t read. “We’ve… worked together a few times in the past,” Blaze hedged.
Sirona snorted. “A few times? Blaze is my most frequent patient when I’m stationed in the Amber Kingdom. And Damien’s when I’m not.”
Ki smiled. “I can believe that. Actually, I’m surprised this is our first trip to the medic’s tents. You’re usually here in the first few hours,” Ki said, eyeing Blaze.
“Yeah, well I’m trying not to overwhelm Sirona,” Blaze said with a tight smile.
Sirona laughed but Ki’s brows came together. Something was definitely off with Blaze. Ki hadn’t really noticed, but now he thought about it, Blaze had dialled it back for this festival. He was still wild, but it was much more… controlled this time.
“Alright, all done,” Sirona said, standing back. Ki peered down at his chest. The burn was completely gone, the new skin slightly pink. “Your skin will return to its normal colour in a few days.”
“Thanks,” Ki said, sitting up and shrugging off his torn shirt.
“Here give me that,” she said, putting her hand out. Ki passed it to her. There was a flash of red light, and she handed it back good as new.
“Cool, I didn’t realise Infrared Fae could do that,” Ki said, examining the shirt before pulling it over his head.
“I can do a lot more than just heal,” she said with a wink, making her way to the edge of the curtain.
Blaze followed her. “Thanks Sirona, I owe you one,” he said, holding the curtain open for her.
She turned her dark eyes on him. “I’ll add it to my list of IOUs,” she winked. “I’ll be back in the Amber Kingdom in ten weeks. I’ll expect an update.”
Blaze nodded. She smiled at Ki one last time and ducked out through the curtain. Blaze let the curtain fall back into place.
“What the fuck dude. What was that about?” Ki asked, as Blaze turned back to him.
Blaze held Ki’s gaze. His normally twinkling eyes were dull. “Not now man,” he sighed, shaking his head. “I need to find Shroomy.”
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Read Neon Fae Part Five - Dim out now!