Chapter 8 || "Typical Kai, mucking things up."

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- Ice's POV -

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He collapsed. Right there on the desk, with everyone watching. I'd almost hit myself in the face. Apparently no one really knew what to do, because the class remained silent for three seconds until Mr Hayes rushed forwards to check if he was breathing.

Now we were in the first aid room, Kai unconscious on the bed, Nya on her way to pick him up. No one had protested when I'd followed him, not even the nurse. Xav, Scott, Eve, Zoe and Flora had come by during break or their free periods to check up on him. He'd been knocked out for three hours now, with no sign of snapping out of it.

When the nurse left the room, I touched his forehead with my hand, hoping for a temperature. Notch, Kai, you're burning up, I reflected, startled. He was way over normal, a fever so strong it made my fingers tingle when I pulled away. I tried to push away uncanny feelings of suspicion - eyes of fire, a burning fever - and put it all down to coincidence. Typical Kai, mucking things up.

There was a knock on the door, and when I flicked my head around to glance at who it was, with no intention to answer, I realised it was one of the new kids, the blond one, the one who'd smiled at Kai. I turned away. He knocked again.

With a huff, I got up and opened the door, fixing the boy with a glare. "Is your injury fatal?"

He looked pleasantly surprised at my arrival, and I had to hide my brief bout of confusion. Rarely was anyone pleasantly surprised to see me. "Hey," he greeted cheerily. "Iris, right?"

How does he know my name? "Ice," I corrected cooly. "Ice McKinnon."

He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Ice," he said, offering a hand. I shook it, returning his strong grip. An odd kid, I thought, but I kinda like him. He reminds me a bit of Kai. What I didn't like, however, was that he called me Iris. No one called me Iris except Nya, Zach and Tali. Kai had stuck with Rainbow.

When he let go, he looked over my shoulder. "Is he any better?"

"Yes," I lied. "He'll wake up soon. Best to leave him alone." Before I could shut the door, the boy - Phoenix, I remembered - spoke up again.

"Can I see him?" he asked, eyes clear and hopeful. And purple, like an Enderman's. I hated the reminder.

I gave him a blank look. "No. Sorry."

He cocked his head to the side. "C'mon, please?"

I wasn't used to being asked twice; usually my words were set in as hard as stone. My resolve crumbled pretty quickly when I realised that there wasn't much harm in letting him inside. What was the worst he could do, use a few too many bandages to wrap up Kai's face? That'd be funny more than anything. Maybe I needed to take the protectiveness down a notch.

So I opened the door wider and let him through. He strode over to where Kai lay, his face betraying slight pain even though he was oblivious to the world. To my horror, he was now shivering. His fever had gotten worse in minutes.

Phoenix reached down and pressed a hand to Kai's forehead, as I did beforehand. He cast a glance at me. "He doesn't look any better," he commented. I stood silently at the door.

Phoenix didn't remove his hand in a hurry, and my nails dug into my palms. I hated it, but it got on my nerves when people touched Kai, especially this boy who had smiled at him only a few hours ago. I'd noticed Kai's blush. Notch, everyone did. Even Zoe, who hadn't been in the class, knew about it. I betcha Kai's gonna crush on him next, she'd bet, leaning back on her seat while Flora fussed over Kai's condition. Zoe had always been the biggest gossiper of the group. I'd scowled.

I scowled now, too, watching Phoenix pull out a seat to settle beside Kai's bed. I stubbornly didn't move from the door, but then Phoenix grinned at me. "You aren't gonna sit?" he questioned, gesturing to the empty one next to his. Stiffening, I walked over and sat where he'd directed, reaching over to rest my hand over Kai's. Even his hand was burning.

I could feel Phoenix watching me. "You seem pretty cold," he commented, and I internally bristled. "Is that why they call you Ice?"

"How do you know my name?" I shot back instead of answering. His eyes unnerved me, their bright violet forcing back memories I relived too often.

He gave me a look that was meant to make me feel as though I'd broken a rule. "It's your name. Wouldn't everyone know it?"

I stared at him coldly. "No," I said, voice low. "My name here is Ice, and it always has been."

His eyes flashed, as if he were caught; but then he covered it up with an amused grin. "That must be tiring, trying to hide your own name. There'd be a lot of effort and work involved."

"There is," I replied. And yet you knew it anyway.

"Nice hair, by the way," he said, nodding towards the blue locks spilling over my shoulders.

"Thanks." It's natural, see? My dad has the colour too. "Yours is pretty cool as well."

He laughed. It was happy and light, ringing like a bell. "Thank you. I had it dyed on my last nameday."

I smirked a little. Nameday? Dargon must be really north. "You're pretty cool in general," I managed to say, trying to make it sound like a lazy compliment. It wasn't a lie.

He smiled softly. "You too."

Suddenly, my hand flared up in searing pain, and when I drew it back with a severed cry, I saw that it was blistering. The skin was red and swollen.

My eyes grew wide. "Kai," I breathed. My hand had been on his when it had burned. When I went to check his temperature with my other hand, I couldn't even get it near his skin before it started to sting with heat so intense it was inhuman. He was still shivering.

I whipped around to face Phoenix, who had done nothing but stare in shock. "What are you waiting for?" I spat. "Go get the nurse!"

Phoenix hurried off, and I sat back down beside my best friend, wound forgotten. Eyes of fire, a burning - literally burning - fever; oh, Kai, what's happening now? What have you messed up this time? Notch, please let him be okay, please.

When the nurse came back, she'd rushed me under the sink to rinse the burn under cold water. Only then did the sting return. She fussed around Kai for the next half hour, pressing dampened towels to his face, only to grow more and more frustrated when they dried up in a few minutes and started smoking. Even the bed sheets had started to smoulder.

Finally, Nya had arrived, stepping into the nurse's office only to witness frantic towel-soaking as the nurse ran to cool down the sheets. Nya froze, still wearing her potions apron, but then acted swiftly, reaching for her son. She pressed her hand to his forehead, but didn't flinch away when it should have hurt her badly.

She turned to me. "Get Jungle," she instructed. "I'll get Kai on his back."

"Won't he just burn him?" Jungle was a strong horse, but not fire-proof. I swallowed back the small amount of panic that was beginning to rise in my throat. I had to keep cool. I'm Ice, I'm nothing but cool, so calm down.

Nya looked like she could've cursed a dozen times. "I'll have to carry him home," she said, but I just stared blankly. Won't he just burn you, then?

When she reached to pick him up, his eyes blazed open, and they were alight with fever and something else, a heat, a light so intense I was left frozen. His hand shot forwards so quickly I didn't even see it move; he gripped Nya's wrist desperately, but she didn't pull away, nor did her skin blister. Her eyes were clear of pain, and my heart raced with fear and confusion.

She gently pried Kai's fingers away and picked him up, putting one arm of his across her shoulders. He was taller than she was, but she didn't ask for anyone's help. I watched lamely, unsure what to do or make out what just happened. Kai was burning, I thought numbly. He was burning.

Nya gave me a questioning look. "Iris, don't you have class?"

Crap. "Free period," I lied quickly.

She contemplated and then spoke up. "Then I'll want you back at home, if you don't mind missing the last few hours of school."

I nodded. "I'll come."

Nya thanked the nurse and walked outside the Kai on her shoulder, her stance hardly weakened at all despite the weight. I wondered what kind of muscle work outs she was into. Nya wasn't old, but she wasn't young, either. It was amazing that she could do what she was doing without breaking half a sweat.

Too amazing.

But I kept silent about it. "Do you know what's happening to him?" I opted for instead. His skin was steaming as thick clouds began to cover the sky.

"Yes," she sighed. "Unfortunately."

Crap. She sounds grave. "Is it ... is it really bad?" What I'd meant to ask was, will he die?

She smiled down at me. "Not as bad as you might think," she said. Her eyes betrayed no lie.

I bit my lip but didn't reply.

Once we'd reached Nya's house, Kai had started to cool down. The sheets no longer sizzled and blackened when he was lain down onto them, and after an hour, I could hold his hand again.

Nya was pacing around the house, debating what to do and, I guessed, what to tell me. Eventually, she settled down in a seat across from mine, beside Kai's bed.

"Iris," she said softly, "did you hear something that night? Something odd? Something that could mean that the attack was more than a coincidence?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

No. "Yes."

She pushed back into her chair. "I've noticed a few things out of place since that night." Her voice was low and secretive. "I'm being followed. Every night, I see the shadows move. Sometimes I can see their eyes." I glanced up at her eyes; they were dark and concerned. "The Endermen are watching me, Iris, and I don't know why. I'm worried for Kai and Tali - I can't assume that anything is coincidence, and if it isn't, then they could be in danger. I'm just - I'm just hoping that maybe you saw something, heard any little detail that could give me some reason to not worry. Or to worry more."

"The Ender Dragon's Child," I whispered.

Nya gave me a look that was dubious, but not yet disbelieving. "The Ender Dragon doesn't exist, Iris."

"That's what they all say. It's still what I heard. It was a girl, a young girl, a little bit older than me. She could speak to the Endermen."

Silence.

"She was the one ordering them."

Gritting her teeth, Nya gazed at her son in his fever. "Then nothing is coincidence," she concluded. I didn't disagree.

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- Kai's POV -

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It wasn't just fire anymore; it was people on fire.

First it was Dad. I'd screamed at him to run, to find water, to stop-drop-and-roll, but he'd ignored me, and I watched helpless, unable to move, as his had flesh slowly disintegrated.

Next it had been Mum, but she didn't burn; only looked at me, sadly. I found my voice too late, because in the next second the flames had swallowed her up and she disappeared into an orange haze.

When Tali was burning, I forced my legs to move, but I wasn't going anywhere. "Kai, help!" She was screaming. "I'm your sister! Don't do this, please!"

Only when hot tears started to sting my eyes did the image change. It was Iris now, alight, her hair no longer blue but black as the flames slowly started melting her skin. She reached out a hand to me, her face twisted into unimaginable pain, eyes dulled by the dark smoke that swirled around her, choking me, choking everything. But the fire only burned, harder and faster and brighter and stronger until all I could taste was the bitter sting of flames and all I could hear were screams.

And then I'd woken up.

But the fire hadn't gone.

It was all around.

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- Gemma's POV -

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"Hold it, Sam, I've got a message."

The Post Donkey and his rider had come past almost silently, only the trot of the old ass giving anything away. The old man himself had been as quiet and gruff as one of those granddads who preferred threatening to beat strangers with their canes instead of actually using the damn sticks for their intended use.

Sam made a mock expression of surprise. "A letter? For you?" he gasped.

"Oh, shush," I said, hooking the bow back onto my belt. Jayligh was a rough town, bordering the edges of the most recently discovered taiga biome, cold snow not seasonal but a permanent, thick carpet. Someone would have to be really desperate for my attention to send a letter all the way out here.

When I picked it up from the Post Tin, I realised that it had in fact travelled a long way. All the way from Cart, to be precise.

I opened it with haste, the piece of paper tied with a coloured blue piece of string. It's contents were written with handwriting I knew well.

Hey, Gem, it said. I could really use your help.

Kai's finally got his powers in touch. In fact, yesterday, he burnt the house down.

We all got out safely, thank Notch, and we're staying in the potions store, but there's something even bigger going on.

Let's just put it this way - have you heard of the Ender Dragon?

"Sam?" I called over my shoulder. "Saddle the horses."

"Why?" He replied, and I turned around to smile at him.

"Because we're heading off to the city."

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Short chapter, but I hoped you enjoyed it anyway!

Kai is most certainly walking his mother's footsteps, it seems ;)

QOTC: Favourite food?

(aofc: lasagnaaaaaaaaaa)

And please, for the love of all the ice-cream related in this world, stop continuously begging for an update, those of you who know who you are and that I'm referring to you. It'll come when it comes. And if it doesn't come, then that probably means either a), there has been an apocalypse, b) that I'm crying over fictional characters or c), I'm dead. Let's all hope for option d), a swift and snazzy update, shall we?

Love you all! Don't forget to vote!! ^u^

- Jazz

Bonus: It's so hard to not bring Clare back. I want it with all my heart, but uuugh, stupid sensible plot line that has already been developed