History of Fire by Alexia Purdy

In fact, I was in desperate need of a charge. It’d been sitting dead in my pack for a long while now, but it didn’t matter to me much. I was an off the grid kind of guy.
    The place was crowded, and I found myself getting bumped all the time on all sides if we stood still too long. Bunches of tourists and locals muttered their curses at us as they picked their way around our little group. It was nightmarishly suffocating for anyone not used to sharing their personal space.
    “Where’s the Golden Nugget?” Sary paused at another kiosk selling Las Vegas souvenirs to ask. The shopkeeper pointed down the street and added his own spiel to the directions, hoping to reel her in to buy a trinket. Sary was already breaking away, without even acknowledging the guy, and kept on moving forward. He gave her a deep scowl when he realized it wouldn’t do any good to try and sell us his wares. We shoved ahead to keep up with her.
    Faery etiquette was lacking in the real world. If I thought humans were rude, faeries topped that. I wondered if the iron in the city was bothering them. Braelynn didn’t seem to notice, but Sary might have been more vulnerable to its effects. I didn’t dare ask her, though.
    “Hey.” I tapped Braelynn, and she grabbed my elbow to draw me closer before another person cut between us.
    “What is it, Benton?” Wow, she was suddenly all formal. I hoped that didn’t mean she was going to try and be the adult of the group now. I couldn’t stand authority. I’d been on my own for a while and didn’t need that around me anymore.
    “Um … what’s wrong with Sary?”
    Braelynn sighed as we weaved through the thick crowd, barely keeping Sary within our sights. “You’re wondering about the iron sickness and if it messes with our moods, aren’t you?”
    I nodded. So Braelynn had some wonky intuition, too. It felt like she was violating my thoughts. Maybe her holding my arm wasn’t a good idea since it obviously amplified her power, but I didn’t want to let her go and get lost in the crowd.
    “Well, you’re assumptions are right. It makes us feel quite moody, messes up our equilibrium. It’s thick here with all the metal and concrete structures. I don’t feel it as much as Sary does, but I can already feel it burning my bones.”
    “Ouch. Sounds painful.”
    “It takes getting used to, but it’s tolerable with the right glamour. Stay out here long enough, though, and it’s impossible to shield oneself from all the effects of it.”
    “Like the banished?”
    She nodded. “Exactly. They begin to deteriorate rapidly and need to either stay away from the cities or acquire magic another way.”
    Someone slammed into my shoulder, sending me toppling over and almost on my rear. Finding my balance, I popped back up to find Braelynn staring back at someone with familiar fury in her eyes. I followed her line of vision and watched as a large man with bright blue eyes with deathly pale skin and black-as-night hair smirked at us before turning to run into the crowd. I lost him before I could even give chase, like he’d made the press of people swallow him up whole.
    “What the hell?” I rubbed my shoulder and winced. It hurt like a bad sunburn. I peered over to see if Braelynn was okay and took her arm again. “You all right?” She nodded. “Do you know him?”
    “Unfortunately, I used to.”
    I gave her horrified stare. “You do? Who is he? What’s up with the friendly bump?” I rolled my shoulder. Was it getting worse by the second? I was sweating and feeling more and more breathless.
    “No one to be concerned about.” She turned and proceeded toward the entrance of the Golden Nugget, where Sary was waiting and impatiently tapping her foot.
    “Come on! You guys are as swift as slugs!”
    I rolled my shoulder one more time. The spot seared even more, making me suck in a breath. “Sorry. We were sort of attacked.”
    Sary widened her eyes and scanned the throngs of people flowing by like a