Kissed by Fire by Shéa MacLeod

loved.”
    “In other words, she was about to go
critical?”
    “Yes, indeed.”
    Great. That was all I needed. As if the
Darkness weren’t hard enough to deal with, I was now channeling a
power that might make me blow up and take a city with it. Just
dandy.
    “But what about this Moon guy? That’s not an
element.”
    “Oh, yes, that’s an interesting one.” Eddie
had his lecturer voice on. “The Moon is often associated with
nature worship. Artemis was both moon goddess and nature goddess,
goddess of the hunt. This Iah was most likely able to channel
Earth.”
    “That would make sense. So, he was an Earth
Mage and she was a Fire Mage who fed herself to a dragon. And
that’s another thing. She seemed to be friends with the dragon,
despite the fact it killed her. Not exactly the same picture of
dragons Alister painted.”
    “Hmm, interesting, let’s see.” More page
flipping. “Ah, yes. It appears that Elemental Mages often had
affinity with supernatural creatures of their element. Dragons are
of Fire, therefore it would make sense for a Fire Mage to befriend
a dragon. Odd choice for friendship, but there you go.”
    “So the dragon burned her out of
friendship?”
    “Yes, of course.” He seemed surprised I would
doubt it. “The water most likely would not have destroyed her power
permanently. Dampened it maybe, but not destroyed it. You’ve heard
the saying ‘fight fire with fire.’”
    Fantastic. I was going to wind up eaten by a
dragon. Then a thought occurred.
    “Eddie, I have an affinity with vampires.
They’re not my friends, but ... ” I couldn’t finish the
thought.
    “You’re wondering if that affinity has
something to do with the Darkness?”
    “Yes.” My voice was small. I didn’t like how
weak and helpless all this Elemental stuff made me feel.
    “It’s possible of course, but not necessarily
so. After all, you are a Hunter. Hunters often have affinity of
some nature with their prey. That’s what makes them good at their
jobs.” His voice was hearty and cheering. It made me smile. Eddie
always tried to make me feel better, no matter how bad the news. He
was like a wonderful, crazy uncle with bad fashion sense. I decided
then and there I was going to bring him back something
breathtakingly tacky to wear. Like Union Jack boxer shorts. He’d
love them.
    “I really think you ought to talk to Jack, my
dear,” Eddie’s voice grew quieter. “If anyone would know how to
help you, it would be him. He hasn’t seen nine hundred years for
nothing.”
    By “help” I knew he really meant “save.” I
must be in a hell of a lot more trouble than I realized. Freaking
fantastic.
    “Thanks Eddie. I knew I could count on
you.”
    “Always my dear.” I heard the sadness in his
voice under the false bravado. Right then I felt more scared and
alone than I’d ever been. Even on the night I died.
     
    ***
     
    I didn’t sleep much the rest of the night.
The idea of having another nightmare combined with the very real
possibility this stupid Fire thing could kill me was enough to keep
anyone awake. Naturally Kabita noticed.
    “You look like crap,” she said over the rim
of her coffee mug.
    “Gee, thanks. If you don’t stop with the
flattery I might get a big head.” I slapped some butter on a
croissant and took a bite.
    “Too late.”
    I flipped her off and took another bite of
croissant. My stomach wasn’t feeling pleased this morning. I knew
I’d be hungry in an hour, but bread was the only thing that didn’t
make me feel like hurling.
    “Didn’t sleep well?” Her voice held a bit
more sympathy.
    “Not so much, no. I had another dream.” I’d
told Kabita about the dreams. She didn’t take them quite as
seriously as I did, but then she wasn’t the one having them. Nor
was she the one channeling weird mystical energies. Or whatever.
Which was something I hadn’t told her.
    “You talked to Eddie?”
    “Yeah, of course. He was quite helpful.” I
paused. “He wants me to