Victor leans in and kisses Leo on the cheek, barely touching the corner of Leo’s mouth. “I think it suits you. So, where are we heading?”
As the words leave Victor’s mouth, a black 1979 Lincoln Continental town car pulls up as if on cue. And surprise, surprise—it’s the same driver from New York and Kyoto.
“How much longer is she going to be our driver?” Victor queries.
“I think for a few more weeks,” Leo mentions as he opens the door for Victor.
A 20-minute ride later, they pull into an empty field, half of which is covered with dry lava. In the distance, Kilauea, an active volcano, is visible, with a light plume emanating from it. After Victor and Leo walk a few feet from the town car, the driver takes off, only to park under a tree.
“What? She’s not going to leave us behind this time?” Victor asks sarcastically.
“Nope, because she has nowhere to be. Also, she has all our food and drinks, so she can’t go anywhere.” Leo walks forward onto the dry lava. “Welcome to your Fire Magic training, young empath. And just because I’ll be your instructor for this doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you.”
“Do I get a passing grade for sleeping with the teacher?” Victor jokes with a devilish grin.
Leo shakes his head and laughs. “What am I to do with you?” Leo twirls his wrist around, making a makeshift coat rack out of the lava rocks. He slips off his jacket and tosses it onto the rack. Leo moves further into the field while flicking his wrist and conjuring a blue fireball in his hand. “If you haven’t already noticed, I have conjured fire in colors other than your typical reds or oranges. That’s because the color depends on the intensity.”
“So, kind of like how hot a star is based on its color. Red stars aren’t as hot as blue or white stars,” Victor suggests.
Leo nods as he processes Victor’s response. “I think that’s one of the best analogies that has been said. In this case, it’s the opposite; red is more intense, and blue is less intense.” Leo flings the fireball at Victor.
Victor blocks it with little effort. “Seriously, Leo?”
Leo ignores Victor’s response as he continues. “The most commonly used are red, orange, and blue. You will sometimes see yellows or greens. But you’ll only see that for those with more Fire Magic experience because they use more magic. Let’s say ifI want to burn down Derek’s house, I would simply use a red fireball. But if I need to break through three feet of steel, I would need to use a yellow flame thrower.”
Leo shoots his palm above his head, and a yellow flame blasts up at least ten feet. Victor has to cover his eyes from its brightness. The heat from the flame causes him to sweat instantly. “Fireballs and Flame Throws use different forms of energy and intensity. You need to be careful when using either.” Leo cuts off the flame and dusts off his hands.
Victor takes off his jacket and places it on the coat rack next to Leo’s. “Why are you telling me about this first?”
“Because just like actual fire and its intensity, if you cannot keep it contained, it can grow out of control,” Leo explains. “I’ve seen some ‘know-it-all’ witches that claim they are experts in Fire Magic. They ended up with severe burns on their hands. Some can’t grow their eyebrows any more like a Kardashian.”
Leo conjures two small fireballs in one hand. They slowly circle each other like two stars caught in each other’s orbits. “When learning Fire, you should always master other specialties first, even if your first specialty is Fire. If you can control the other specialties, you will understand how to control Fire. It’s also beneficial if Air is one of your other specialties. It helps fire breathe, and it helps snuff it out.”
Leoballs up his hand, snuffing out the two fireballs as he walks a few feet backward. “Take off your sword and come stand over here.”
Victor removes his harness and hangs it with their jackets. He walks over and stands a couple of feet from Leo. The uneven ground makes it appear as though Leo is taller than Victor.
“Now, hold out your hands with your palms raised. Almost like you’re praising a god.” Leo motions his hands as mentioned.
“Like Pele?” Victor grins slyly.
Leo giggles and loses focus. “Yes, like you’re praising Pele.” He clears his throat and straightens his stance. “Now, I want you to feel the heat beneath your feet. Feel the flow of the magma under you. Focus on the fire burning the ground. When you feel that, take hold of it and bring it up and into your hands.”
Victor raises his palms and closes his eyes, focusing on his breathing to open his mind. He turns his attention to the energy below him. He could feel the heat rising. A warm sensation beginscrawling up his legs. It warms his torso and continues up to his shoulders. The sensation extends down his arms and into his hands.
Victor suddenly hears clapping.
As he slowly opens his eyes, a tiny orange flame dances around in each hand. It’s not quite a fireball, but the fire spins in the ocean breeze. They cover his entire palms and are about six inches tall.
“Wow,” Leo exclaims proudly. “Many who start learning can’t do this for at least a week.”
“Maybe it’s because of the connection from the charm I got you,” Victor winks.
Leo snickers as he rolls his eyes. “Now, drop that energy back into the ground.” Victor closes his eyes and starts to feel the warmth in his body fade away.
“Good,” Leo remarks. “That’s really good. I’m impressed. Now, bring back that energy. Only this time, I want you to focus on how much of that energy you want. Try to make the flames blue.” Leo holds out his hand and conjures a blue flame in his palm.
Victor nods and returns to focusing on the fire below. After a moment, he stops, opens his eyes, and starts shifting them around as he wonders what to do.
