high for hearing penetrated my mind, like a hot poker, or …
Or a ray of sunlight.
I had felt this before. The power was painful, but the feeling of vulnerability was even worse, my every thought laid bare. Yet something inside me reached for this invader, like a vine creeping toward the sky. I swallowed, and then stopped resisting.
The pain vanished as quickly as it came. Clear as a copper bell, a voice sounded in my mind: Help me.
“Dayo,” I croaked.
Tar. The answering voice sounded frantic. Did the Ray work? Can you hear me?
I’m coming, I thought fiercely. Where are you?
In the window, came the weak reply. I was sleeping … Then everything was hot … Smoke … Tried to get out … Man stood in front of the door; couldn’t see his face …
You have to jump, I told him. Remember your mask. Remember what the priests said. You won’t die, Dayo.
It … it’s so far. I can’t do it, Tar. I don’t believe the priests. I don’t believe my mask, I don’t believe in my Ray. I can’t do it.
“I’m coming,” I repeated aloud, using the voice in my head as a compass. Soot covered the looming murals of past council members, sullying their benevolent smiles. As Dayo’s voice grew stronger, so too did the roar of flames. I turned a corner and squinted. Before me rose a viciously bright wall of fire.
The bedroom doors.
They crackled and spat, heat searing me from several paces away. My heart beat wildly. Suddenly my heroism seemed ludicrous. I was only a girl. What in Am’s name was I doing?
A beam tumbled from the doorway, landing in a spray of sparks, and I yelped as embers assaulted my face. I turned, spun on my heel, and ran back down the corridor. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t save Dayo, and I didn’t need to; he had the Ray. He would jump.
Wouldn’t he?
My sandals slapped in retreat across the stone and charred carpet … and then a voice sounded in my head again. It wasn’t the invading spirit, not this time. It was a memory from the day Dayo and I had first met.
You’re going to be another one, aren’t you? A person I like.
My steps faltered, knees weakening as sweat and grit poured down my back. I stopped, exhaled sharply … and then my feet were racing back toward the flaming doors. My arms whistled as they pumped.
“I won’t burn, I won’t burn, I won’t burn,” I chanted. “I—won’t—burn.”
But I didn’t believe it. I had emerged from the firepit at Bhekina House unscathed, yes, but that didn’t mean I was special. Bhekina House had been enchanted for my protection, and the shield had probably dissipated the moment I had left. Yet still I was running, hurtling toward those flames.
Scorching, unbearable pain—and then I was through. My clothes were alight with fire. I cried out and dropped to the bedroom floor, rolling on the tiles. Once extinguished, I didn’t stop to check for burns, but crept along the ground where the smoke was thinnest.
“Tarisai?” The voice was hoarse. Dayo stood backlit by the moon in the window alcove. The curtain had been torn down, snickering beneath him in flames.
“I’m here.” I scrambled over and reached for him. He coughed, his eyes glassy and listless. “Come on,” I rasped. “You have to jump.”
“I can’t,” he mumbled. His face and neck were blistered from the heat. “I’m scared. And … you’ll be alone. I won’t leave you, Tar.”
For a long moment, I considered pushing him. But I couldn’t bring my arms to do it, even knowing he wouldn’t die. Even knowing it was for his own good … the action too closely resembled murder. What if pushing Dayo awoke that something inside me? The part of me I hated and feared?
So I helped him down instead. He swooned, legs buckling. “Sorry,” he breathed. “It’s just … the smoke—”
“I’ll carry you.”
“You can’t. The door’s burning.”
“I can walk through fire.” I swallowed hard, trying to believe it. “I’m not normal, Dayo. I’m not natural, or safe, or good. But I can protect you.” I held out my hand, shaking. I can choose. I can write my own story. “All you have to do is trust me.”
Dayo swallowed, nodded, and leaned against me. I pulled him up and onto my back, hiding my face in what was left of my tunic. Then I charged the doors.
Dayo screamed, but my body took the brunt of the heat, shielding him from