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Chapter 9

He couldn't answer the question. Asher didn't know the answer but it scared him. The dream, as vivid and real as it seemed, was enough to keep him awake for the rest of the night. Add to that he's got blue flames coming out of his mouth, Asher isn't sure he'll be sleeping well again any time soon.

He did get some insight into the darkness against them. It can be defeated. He wasn't sure how yet, but from what Solara said, it can be defeated. That's at least something to work with.

The Darkness is an actual entity. Pyremius is its name.  Still unsure whether to qualify it as a person, Asher believes it isn't human. It's a force, an evil one. And one they have to figure out how to fight, how to beat back, and how to win.

Knowing he has to talk it through, Asher told his friends everything from the dream. He left nothing out and tried to make sure he gave them everything he could remember, including minute details. All of it is important. He is certain of that.

They stayed quiet and listened to the fantasy-like dream. At moments a little more dream-like than real. The descriptions of the darkness and the light were vividly reminiscent of Lexi's visions. Despite the questions they had, neither spoke until Asher finished talking.

Cosmo rose from his seat and paced, much like the caged cat that he held inside. He is worried and nervous about Asher's uncertain power, so he remains on the other side of the room. Asher has fire in him, that alone makes Cosmo nervous. He isn't taking any chances and won't get too close for fear of the blue flames.

"So you're saying this chick was floating above the water telling you this stuff?" Cosmo asked, keeping his distance, just in case Asher decides to blow flames again.

Asher is scared of himself. The flames were blue but not hot at all. In fact, when they rushed into the room, the flames were cold. So cold flames were coming out of him. It doesn't explain his power. Although there are a few creatures who have that ability, real and imaginary.

How many fantasy-like creatures are real now? And what powers do others possess? There's still too many questions and few answers. They need someone who is more familiar with this stuff.

Asher does have one clue to go on.

"Yeah, and she called me Frostwing." Asher paused, remembering that part. "I think she knows what I am but she won't tell me."

"Because you're meant to find your own spark. It won't be handed to you." Lexi finally joined the conversation.

Curled up in the chair, her legs folded into her chest, she sat quietly listening to the story of his dream and felt the same fear that Asher was. He made contact with the darkness, Pyremius, and the woman who might be his guide to the light, Solara. Lexi thought about the two newcomers and continued to put the puzzling dream together.

"I think he found his spark! He was spewing it out of his mouth!" Cosmo argued.

"I think she did that to push him. I had a vision that showed me my path. You got scared when the darkness came, and the panther emerged to protect you. Both happened because of our emotional response to what was happening." Lexi begins to put it together.

"So what? He has to get pissed off? That's not a good idea being confined in this cabin." Cosmo is right. It's not safe for Asher to discover what he can do here. But there's plenty of woods around here that he can use.

"I think it's more than that. She called you Frostwing. She knows the name for your, I guess, alter ego." Lexi pointed out. "That's significant."

Lexi is right. Frostwing means something. Obviously frost applies to the blue fire. But wing? Asher began to wonder if this meant he could fly? Now that would be a cool power.

"Ash also came face to face with the baddie himself. I don't care if it was a dream, he revealed himself to you. Why? He has the edge staying in the shadows and just watching us. Why show himself now? Why Asher?" Cosmo agrees with his sister. There's more to this dream than just a few highlights.

"He's key." Lexi whispers to herself.

"He tried to get me to go to the dark side. He made it sound seductive. Like there's something in it for me if I go dark." Asher admitted it sounded tempting but he knew better.

"Duh! The dark side is always seductive. Look at Star Wars. Vader tried to make Luke go dark." Cosmo understood that well.

"Something tells me you have a big part to play in this. Something that can help us win or lose against the darkness." Lexi says just as her eyes change.

Seeing her head fall back, Asher reaches out to steady her so she won't fall over. As the vision hits her, fast and furious, Lexi begins to shake. Cosmo rushes over to his sister to help.

"Within the dream, the truth does come.
Know your place, before day is done.
The dark and light will want your power.
For Asher Fields cannot cower.
In light of day or dark of night, Pyremius comes to steal your light.
Heed the guide's wisdom in words, as he waits for the Firebird."

Her body went limp as the two broke her fall, lowering her gently to lay on the couch. With a soft groan, Lexi rubs her forehead, the pain throbbing instantly in her temples.

Laying still, her eyes closed, Lexi drifts off for a moment. The vision sucked a lot more energy out of her than last time. She's so tired and drained. Lexi thought it would get easier as she got used to this power but that hasn't been the case.

Covering her with the blanket, Asher gives up his bed and lets Lexi rest. She's going to need to recover faster if they get in trouble. Asher worried that could be a problem sooner than later. They can only hide in this cabin for so long and with this dream, he is figuring time is about up.

"These visions are getting harder on her." Asher whispers as he walks with Cosmo to the kitchen.

"She can't stop them. She has no control over them." Cosmo knows this is a problem. How can she control them when they literally take her over?

"What happens if we're attacked and she has one? We can't protect her and ourselves." Reminding him that they have big problems isn't necessary. Asher knows Cosmo sees it too.

Reavers aren't the only ones coming their way. Pyremius has found a way to get to them. Asher worries that he's already located them thanks to the dream.

"She said you would find out what you are before the day is done. At least then you know what your power is."  That isn't exactly good news. This power could draw Pyremius to them.

Lexi also mentioned a Firebird. Another name for a Firebird is a Phoenix. Asher knows a little bit about the mythical creature just because it's always been his favorite creature. And there are different versions of the creature including one that is called a Frostwing.

"I think I already know. In fact, it rings true." Muttering to Cosmo, Asher pulls his shirt up and turns around.

On the back of his shoulder blade is the tattoo of the mythical creature. Its wings extended, long pointed claws ready to slash, and a fierce blue flame is shooting from its mouth. He got the tattoo a year ago. It never occurred to him why. Now it makes sense.

"Is this you? You're a freaking dragon?" Cosmo hooted checking out the artwork.

A dragon might be easier to handle. This is no dragon. This creature has other abilities, other weaknesses than a dragon. Asher needs to get to a library and do some research before he tries to figure out what he can do. This has the potential to be seriously dangerous.

"A dragon is cool!" Cosmo continues to examine the tattoo.

Asher corrects him. He has to tell him everything. "Not a dragon. A Firebird. A Phoenix. Frostwing."

He couldn't get the dream out of his head. It wasn't just a dream, some part of it was real. As crazy as some of the things have been the last couple days, Asher knew it was more than a dream. 

While Cosmo and Lexi slept, he worked on remembering everything he knows about a Phoenix - a Frostwing specifically. Cosmo is right. He needs to learn how to use what he was given.

Not sure of what all he can do, it would be smart to read up on this. But where? There is no internet connection to use. There's no internet at all. That means Asher has to do this the old fashioned way. He needs a library.

The sun hasn't quite risen and Asher is beat. Refusing to stop now, he begins making notes about what he does know. He had some serious strength when they had to fight those guys at the school. Fire, strength, are good weapons. What else? What are his weaknesses?

He has some serious power, but doesn't know how to access it. Getting frustrated with himself and his inability to find the answers, Asher decides to take a break. Maybe he should just stop and come back to it later. Getting up he goes out to get more wood for the dying fire.

Bringing in an armful of wood, Asher dumps the logs in the bin and tosses a couple fresh logs into the fireplace. Looking around the mantle, the side table, even the kitchen counter he can't find the matches. They were here earlier.

Where did Cosmo put them?

Betting Cosmo stuck them in his pocket, Asher wasn't going to wake him up.

"Can't anything go right?" He cursed, tired and frustrated with himself.

Narrowing his eyes on the embers in the fireplace, Asher glared at the cold wood.  If he could just will the stupid wood to light it would help. Could he? No! He has insane strength to toss a bat across the room, frostfire, but no heat to light a fire.

His anger and frustration began to boil out of him faster than his thoughts. His skin slickened. As if he is overheating, the sweat beaded on his forehead. The image of the fire he wants sticks in his mind as he feels his soul lift. It felt like he was rising off the floor, hovering there with the fire in his head. Just as what feels like a wall crumbling away, every weight he carries on his shoulders is knocked him.

A ball of blue flames erupts in the palm of his hand. Shocked and alarmed at what he conjured. He threw the ball of flames into the fireplace. The logs burst into bright white flames licking at the flue. Asher literally jumped back a foot and stared at the flames.

"Holy Shit!" Asher laughed out loud, watching what he created. Moving over, he sat in front of the fire and rubbed his hands together. "Now we're talking. Let's see how this works."

It took time to figure it out.  Emotions seem to control his power. At least that's what is working so far. His anger and frustration seem to help ignite his power but that can become dangerous if he isn't careful.

He tried all of his emotions; happiness, anger, frustration. Anger is the strongest emotional button to ignite the fire. That was the dark in his nature coming out. A strong emotion that he can lose control over.

That's what Pyremius wants. He wants that emotion to take over. Asher won't let that happen.

He could play with the fire. His thoughts had to stay focused but the flames rose and fell with his thoughts. Asher had to keep his thoughts in the light. Not just any light, but the light only life can bring. A light, a flame.

Once he was able to produce it with a thought , he could work on control. Asher doesn't want to hurt anyone, or burn the cabin down. So practicing this skill safely is key. Sitting in front of the fireplace, he helped the flames dance.

A clear white flame that was more light than heat jumped from one log to another. He discovered he could warm it to keep the room warm, or cool it to chill the room. He could control the height of the flames but it took a lot more focus and energy. Just like with Lexi, the power drained him.

His mind stayed open, relaxed and quiet. Something that is harder than it sounds. Remembering Solara's instructions he had to figure this out. It's not easy to block out negative thoughts. But he has experience with it, in a roundabout way. Ash knows how to block out the crowd noise when he's at bat. He knows how to focus on the game. This is harder to control, harder to push out but not impossible.

The flickering flames are the only light in the room. Lifting his hand, he raised the flames to a roaring blaze then lowered my hand, to dim the flame to a simmer.  Controlling the flame is easier than starting it. He gutted out the whole fire a few times before figuring out how to throttle it back to just a single flame. But he was getting the hang of it. Just barely budging the flames to move.

"You didn't wake me up for the next shift!" Cosmo growled, coming out of the bedroom and heading straight for the small kitchen where the water and food were.

"I got sidetracked. I figured out some of my power." Asher shared as Cosmo walked back in, roughly biting off a piece of jerky.

"Yeah, you became Mr. Freeze? It's cold in here, light that damn thing already." He ordered, tossing the matches to Ash and plopping down in the chair.

Deciding to show off what he can do, Asher grins and tosses the matches back to Cosmo. "You mean, like this?" 

With a thought, the fire roared back to life and made Cosmo jump out of the chair. 

"What the fuck!?" His big green eyes bulged as they darted at the fire then back to gawk at Asher. 

Looking over his shoulder, Asher grinned. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah! Handy when we run out of matches, cause that's gonna happen. What else can you do?"

Shrugging, Asher made the flames jump from log to log. "I'm still figuring it out."

Cosmo watched as he played with the flames a little more. "How long have you been playing with this?"

"Not long enough. I don't have control. Not completely. That is going to be a problem."

As Lexi slept the two worked on Asher's abilities. They compared notes on what they know and what they believe is possible. The two agreed on one thing: The dream was real in some way and the two who joined him. Neither of them are thrilled to think that they could be taken off somewhere in a dream and separated out.

They would be helpless without knowing how to control their power and a power to control the dreams. Until they master that they have to stick close together. It's possible the other two could pull the dreamer out but in doing so could be only part of the problem.

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