Free Simmer by Kaitlyn Davis

again, trying to control herself and
release the fire in small increments. They had done this drill many
times before, but Kira still found it annoyingly difficult to focus
her energy on the little target Luke's palm created. Even more
difficult was reigning in the river of fire that roared inside of
her, the one that surged forward and tried to force its way
out.
    After a while, Luke motioned to stop and Kira
noticed the fine layer of sweat on his brow. She reached her hand
to her own face and felt liquid drops. Odd, Kira thought. She
usually never sweats during their practices.
    "Let's practice your off-switch." Luke yelled
across the field. As they practiced, he continued to step back to
make the target increasingly smaller and harder for her to focus
on. But, this next drill wasn't about control, not quite.
    "Go!" Luke shouted over and Kira let herself
release. With her hands out, the flames burst forth and even
slightly stung her palms with their intensity. Letting it drain
always felt like a delicious release. But, before Kira let herself
have the satisfaction of letting everything go and giving into the
power, she thought 'off.' Sometimes that was all it took and her
fire would instantly cut off. This time, Kira felt the internal
struggle and she willed her finger closed, shutting the light
inside her hand and giving it nowhere to go.
    The moment when Kira found herself on the
verge of losing herself in her own flames was the moment she knew
to cut it off. Luke and her once tried to see how long she would
last. Kira drained herself and tried to release it all, but she had
gone into a semi-conscious state where she lost not only her
control, but also her mind. Luke had needed to forcibly hit her
over the head and knock her unconscious to get her to stop. They
stopped trying to test her power after that.
    Most conduits reached a point when they felt
hollow inside, as if there was almost no fire left to fly, and that
was their stopping point. For Kira, it was more of a breaking
point, a moment when letting it all go could mean losing herself in
the process.
    Kira lowered her arms and looked at her
teacher, wondering if he wanted to try it again. She could usually
stop herself quicker than she just had. Instead, he waved her over
towards him and tossed a water bottle in her direction when she got
closer.
    "What did I tell you?" Luke shrugged, a happy
smile on his face. Kira followed his eyes and looked around to see
a ring of conduits encasing the park. None of them ventured closer,
but people stopped where they were and stared over at her and Luke.
A woman with a stroller and a man walking his dog had forgotten
their errands to focus on Kira. A few children who had gathered to
play also stood at a slight distance.
    "Why won't they come any closer?" She
questioned and then gulped down her ice-cold water.
    "I don't think they're afraid, per se. I
think they're all just waiting for someone else to make the first
move. And, you are sort of scary when you go all zombie-conduit
like that."
    Kira shoved him with her free hand.
    "So, what's next teacher?"
    "Let's do some mental exercises for a while,"
Luke replied and tossed his water back on the ground. "Come on,
let's practice on the platform so we have even ground."
    Kira groaned inwardly. Mental exercises were
her least favorite. Sure, calling her fire was tiring and exerted a
lot of energy, but those drills were easy for the most part. She
had almost no mental control, which was of course why Luke always
made her practice this. And, she had no desire to be even more
visible to the town by doing this on a raised wooden structure.
    Lining up next to each other, Luke and Kira
stood with their feet together and arms by their sides. Then, on
Luke's count, they moved into yoga-like poses, concentrating on
their breathing and trying to find a Zen-like place of peace. Luke
always seemed revived by these exercises, while Kira tried her best
to keep her eyes closed in