Nightfire | The Whispering Wall #1

Nineteen: The Gift

"He's waking up."

Shadows moved in front of him as his eyes opened, gummy from sleep and terribly sore. As awareness returned to him, he realised it wasn't just his eyes, but his whole body that hurt. Every breath was a struggle. It felt as though his insides had been scorched.

Jordan dragged himself into consciousness, groaning at the pain. He was in bed, though he had made it onto a guest bed somehow, and he wasn't in his room. He didn't remember moving.

A figure in a black cloak with the hood pulled up sat on the end of the bed. A faint glint of luminous green glittered at him from the depths of the cowl, sparking a memory. Jordan frowned. He had never been able to see Yddris's eyes before.

He sat bolt upright.

"Calm down, boy," Yddris said immediately, "The demons are gone."

Jordan blinked. His throat ached when he spoke. "There was more than one?"

"Four."

Jordan turned and jumped. Nika was standing beside the bed.

"One chased you inside," the Unspoken continued, voice flat, "Another two came in afterwards that Yddris dealt with, but when the fourth came in I was forced to leave you. One cornered you before Hap or Koen could get to you."

"Didn't need to in the end," Yddris said. He sat very still, but the luminous gaze was still fixed on Jordan's face. "Do you remember what happened after that?"

"I..." Jordan trailed off. "No."

Yddris and Nika exchanged a glance. Jordan scowled, and winced as prickling heat danced over his skin. He was aware of the two men watching him as he reached up and rubbed his bare chest to try and disperse it, but his efforts only seemed to make it worse.

"That isn't going to work," Yddris said. "Put it out first, eh?"

"Put what out?"

He looked down, and for a long moment failed to process what he was looking at. His hand was enveloped in swirling green flame like a glove, spitting and crackling in the same way the air around the Unspoken always did, only this time it felt different.

This time it was coming from him.

"I..." Jordan said in a strangled voice. "How..."

"We don't know how it happens..." Nika began, but Jordan cut him off.

"How the fuck do I put it out?" he said, voice rising. "What is it doing?"

"Nothing." Yddris shrugged. "It's doing a fat lot of nothing right now, boy, as you can see. And if you continue to panic it's going to spread, not go away."

"My hand is on fire," Jordan said. "And it. Is. Green. Don't panic sounds a tad patronising. Just...just a tad."

He held his hand out to Yddris, half hoping the flames would vanish or his hand would fall off; anything to make it go away. The Unspoken sighed.

"I told you," Nika said quietly.

"And you were right," Yddris grunted, "As per dark-damned usual. Perhaps Koen would do a better job of this."

"I'll go and get him."

Nika left, moving without noise. Jordan stared at his flaming hand. Even when Yddris had admitted to him how probable it was that this would happen, he still found it impossible to comprehend. Magic; magic existed and he was producing it like it was air. He had fallen through a real portal into a real world on the other side of it; it was all real and he wasn't going to wake up back at home any moment.