Free The Blaze Ignites by Nichelle Rae Page A

could still scream bloody murder.
At least the rain had stopped, and at the moment he had quieted
down to a heavy crying. His head rested limply on my shoulder as I
paced and gently bounced him up and down in my arms. I rubbed his
back with my other hand and whispered softly to him. His crying was
right in my ear, but it was a small price to pay for the fact that
he’d just lost his mother.
    Finally, I started walking towards the creek.
Water always calmed me down; maybe it would calm him too. When I
got there I started pacing along the bank. Even if it didn’t calm
him, at least I’d be able to think more clearly. I was baffled
about why Nekinda had killed herself. I had some ideas about why,
but didn’t know anything for certain. I thought about her last
words, trying to make sense of them, but I was failing miserably.
Rabryn was so much better at this than I was.
    It was officially the second worst day of my
life. The first had been when I lost Azrel to the Ambuel River.
Today nothing had gone well: the Legan’dirs chase, the bastard that
beat Azrel so badly that she… I had to take a deep breath and keep
my mind off that mess. Thank the Light Gods that Addredoc was so
powerful. Then, of course, there had been my “I love you” at
probably the most inappropriate time we might encounter along this
journey. That hadn’t been how I pictured telling her. Not at all.
She didn’t seem to have heard me anyway, but still, I wished I’d
kept my mouth shut.
    The only small comfort I had in this was the
memory of her kiss in Narcatertus. I didn’t know what I was
thinking when I kissed her this second time—how stupid! But
Narcatertus—though it may not have been her intention to kiss me
there, it had still been her lips against mine. Nothing I would
ever experience again in this world could compare to that blissful
moment when she’d kissed me. It was branded on my memory and would
be there if I lived to be 1,000 years old.
    I froze when I realized Cairikson had gone
quiet. I shifted my eyes to my shoulder, trying to see if he was
asleep without waking him. His eyes were open and he was looking at
the side of my face with those big, unique-colored eyes.
    I smiled and rubbed his back. “Did your voice
finally run out?”
    The corners of his mouth went up a little in
a weak smile. “I was just listening to your thoughts.”
    I suddenly felt self-conscious. “Well, that’s
not very nice. I didn’t give you permission to hear my private
thoughts.”
    “I’m sorry. You just looked so sad and then
so happy. I was confused and wanted to see what you were thinking
about.”
    “It’s okay. Just ask next time.”
    He nodded against my shoulder. I smiled and
continued to pace and rub his back. “Do you love her very much?”
Cairikson asked.
    I gave him a gentle smile. “Yes, very
much.”
    He nodded again. “I thought so.”
    I grinned, then looked at him. “Say, how old
are you? You talk very well for a human of three years.”
    “I’m seventy-five. I’ll be seventy-six in two
weeks. That makes me about nine or ten in human years and maturity,
though I look younger because I’m a Salynn.”
    I had only asked as a joke, but now I found
it odd that Rabryn, who was also half human, had a human life span
while Cairikson had a Salynn life span. I guessed the mother’s race
decided how long her child lived.
    I smiled again at him. “You’re older then I
am and that’s pretty old. Shall I call you ‘geezer’?” Cairikson
giggled. It was very weak and airy, but it was nice to hear. I
laughed with him and rubbed his back a little more vigorously.
    “You’ll make a good father someday,” Azrel’s
voice said from the shadows. Both Cairikson and I looked up to see
her approaching with a gentle smile. She looked dreadfully
exhausted, as if it was only her pride keeping her on her feet
right now. It had been, after all, a really long few days.
    I smiled. “I don’t know about that.”
    “I do,” she said and