44. Taming Fire

{Naya}

Life as a djinni was about as unfair as it could be.

Let me explain.

The last thing on my mind was following Zayn's advice to take up supernatural sparring lessons. I could care less about how to wield my fire against a potential opponent. Now that my mom was gone, all I wanted to do was take Uri, disappear into one of the mansion's chambers, and have my way with him. But with my fire growing stronger, that was impossible.

The frustration of not being able to touch Uri how I wanted to or for as long as I wanted to was really starting to make me miserable. I don't know how he kept such a cool head about it. All I kept thinking about was the night before and had it not been for my inner fire burning the crap out of me every time we touched, we just might have gone all the way.

A heavy breath escaped me.

When we arrived back at the mansion, Zayn instructed Uri and me to change into some more comfortable clothes and meet him out by the training grounds. Ritsu wouldn't beat it, so I did my best to ignore his presence when I told Uri, "I think I'm going to go crazy if I can't get a hold of this fire."

Uri chuckled in empathy as he casually swatted Ritsu off my shoulder.

"Trust me, I understand your frustration. Today Zayn and I are going to teach you how to call upon your fire in battle. As soon as you give your fire direction and purpose, it won't attach itself to your emotions and excitement as much. Right now it's trying to find an occupation to fulfill."

I crossed my arms and turned my back to him. "The worst part about this is that you don't even seem to mind that we're stuck in this intimacy limbo."

"Naomi."

A heated grip took hold of my arm.

I gasped as my back slammed against the wall and something forced my chin upwards. Before I knew it, I was staring into a pair of hooded, grenadine eyes. Heat spread through my core with the combination of Uri's touch and my own inner flame.

Uri leaned in close and his lips formed the words, You're wrong. A thin wisp of smoke escaped.

Ritsu angrily cleared his throat from below. Uri ignored him.

"I do mind," he insisted. The retort caught in my throat as Uri rocked his pelvis against mine. I closed my eyes in an attempt to focus on holding down my fire, but it only intensified the rest of my senses. I began to imagine ways that I could remove the barrier of fabric between us.

"Why do you think I'm so eager to train you? As soon as we accomplish what we need to, then the two of us can pick up where we left off."

It was becoming increasingly difficult to listen to Uri while ignoring his proximity. I tried to nod to show him that I got the message. When he didn't back off, I peeked one eye to see him observing me with less intensity than before. He gently tugged on the coily tendrils that crowded my forehead.

"You are so –" Uri paused. His face quickly contorted in agony.

I gasped, "Are you okay?"

"Damn this monkey!"

Uri backed off and seized Ritsu by the tail. He spent the next few seconds trying to pry the demon's teeth from one of his ass cheeks.

I should have done something to help my boyfriend, but the sight was too damn hilarious to put an end to. I leaned against the wall for support, but laughed so hard that I slid down the floor.

Finally, Uri managed to detach Ritsu and threatened to incinerate him from the inside out. The monkey nipped Uri's finger, gave a simian shriek, and scurried down the corridor that led to the garden.

I made an unconvincing apology as Uri helped me to my feet. After I got my giggling under control, I asked, "What did he do that for?"

Uri used magic to transform his jeans into sweatpants. He paired it with a sleeveless cotton shirt.

"Isn't it obvious?" He said as he re-tied his long hair into a high bun. "The damn monkey is jealous."

Uri didn't join me when I started laughing again. I quickly sobered. "You're serious?"

Uri rolled his eyes. "Nevermind Ritsu. Don't forget to change your clothes."

I looked down at the sundress I wore to the museum with Mom. "Oh yeah. One sec."

I had to concentrate on morphing my clothes into something a little more sporty. Unsurprisingly, my subconscious idea of athletic attire involved a sports bra, a cropped tee, and yoga pants.

An audible sigh came from Uri. "That's better."

We walked through the estate's garden until we reached a sparring plaza nestled between four hedges that stretched about ten feet in height. The area was shady and had a designated place to sit and refresh oneself in between training sessions. Ritsu was already there, perched on one of the tables, flicking his tail from side to side.

Soon Zayn joined us. It was the first time I saw him dressed in something other than business casual. Like Uri, he kept his hair out of his eyes by tying it back. His training attire consisted of a white cotton tee and gray athletic sweats.

"Uriel," Zayn said, beckoning Uri towards him. Once Uri came close enough, Zayn gently placed his hands on his shoulders and turned him about-face. Then he asked him to bend his head forward.

I watched as Zayn took out a permanent marker and drew something on the back of Uri's neck, meanwhile muttering some unintelligible incantation. Uri kept his eyes shut tight in discomfort as Zayn passed his hands over the drawn pentagram. Painful-looking sparks popped and flashed around the area. A shamanic darkness took over the magus's expression until he completed the ritual.

When Zayn had finished and Uri could stand up straight, I asked, "What was all that about?"

Zayn slipped the marker back into his pocket. "The pentagram will allow Uriel to call on his suit of fire without the risk of his human vessel dissolving. Now, for you –"

I protectively clasped my hand around the back of my neck. "Don't tell me that I'm next."

Zayn chuckled, "Of course not. I simply wanted to ask you the number of times you have called upon your fire."

I let my hand drop. "Umm. I don't know the exact count. Most of the time I couldn't even control it."

Zayn shook his head. "What I mean is, how many times have you called upon your fire to the point where you were able to summon it into flame?"

Uri added, "Like the time when I made a fireball to hold off Janus and Sabur."

"Oh, right."

I thought back to that unpleasant feeling when Ritsu took over my body and forced me to drink that sour liquor. After that, he called upon my fire to light the alcohol and burn the ifrit. I told Zayn about our entire fight with Sabur, being careful to not leave anything out. When I had recovered all the events, I added, "I honestly don't think I would have been able to make fire like that if Ritsu hadn't taken over my body. And whatever he did left me hella exhausted."

Uri crossed his arms. "There was one other time that Naya brought forth fire." He turned to me. "This time it was on your own. Do you remember when you tried to hit me? You had fire burning under the surface of your fingernails."

I looked at Zayn. "That time I couldn't control it either."

Zayn took in all of the information and digested it. He massaged his beard with the pads of his thumbs as he mulled over what it could mean.

"I see . . . . Miss Naya, you are familiar with the two types of djinn, correct?"

I nodded. "Djinn-made and djinn-born."

"In other words," Zayn went on, "purebloods like Janus's ifrit and changelings like Uriel. Both have the same fire-based genetic complex. There is, however, a fundamental difference in how born djinn use their powers versus made djinn. You should have noticed during your duel with the ifrit that the surface of his skin was not like skin at all."

"It was black and cracked like hardened lava," I said.

"Yes. The ifrit is capable of summoning his own fire without worrying about causing harm to his exterior. Changelings, on the other hand, maintain their suit of fire internally. They have to make a pathway for the fire without causing harm to their body. You recalled that you experienced a painful burning sensation after fighting the ifrit. Not to mention that you required several days to heal from the encounter."

I swallowed at the memory of my throat being in that much pain for some many days.

"Is it going to be like that every time I use my fire? Because if that's the case, I will never try that shit again."

Uri placed a hand on my shoulder. "No. We changelings have to build a tolerance for our fires. The way we do that is with careful practice."

"But first," Zayn interrupted, "you need to establish a suitable pathway. Uriel is able to shoot flammable ash from his nose and regurgitate molten rock."

I shrugged Uri's hand from my shoulder. "Hold on a second. Can't I just push fire out from my palms? Like in the movies?"

Zayn, Uri, and even Ritsu collectively crossed their arms and shook their heads.

Ritsu said, "Sorry Mistress. It doesn't work like that. The only way your fire can move from here –" he pointed to his lower abdomen " – to the outside is if it travels through one of your orifices."

I groaned. "Do you realize how perverted that sounds coming from you?"

"The demon is right, Miss Naya," said Zayn. "The easiest pathways are through the mouth, nose, ears, and er . . ."

I held up my hand. "Please do not tell me that there are djinn out there that shit on their enemies!"

Uri chuckled. "Not many, but there are some. I've even been pissed on by an adversary. Boiling urine can be quite fatal."

"Gross!"

Despite my disgust, the guys just kept smiling and giggling at the idea of the less popular pathways. I glared at the three of them. When they didn't show any signs of quitting, I looked down at my fingernails and tried to imagine back to when they made fire. According to Ritsu's theory, all I needed to do was draw up the fire from my stomach and channel it through the tiny openings that created keratin for my fingernails.

I decided to concentrate on one spot. Holding my index finger before my eyes, I felt for the source of my inner flame and tugged on it as hard as I could. Remembering that raw emotion had helped me conjure fire in the past, I made sure to focus on my annoyance at Zayn and Uri's teasing.

A few times my fire tried to go in the wrong direction. I steered it safely away from building up in my esophagus, patiently guiding it towards the pathway I wanted it to take.

"Got it!"

A needle of turquoise fire came forth from my index finger. The men immediately stopped laughing. I flaunted my victory in their faces. "See! I'll be damned if I have to sneeze, barf, crap, or piss any fire from now on."

"Mistress, no!" Ritsu cried. Zayn and Uri wore matching expressions of horror. It only took a second for me to realize why.

"AAAAAGGHHHH!"

That one stream of fire was burning my finger into a crisp. And I had no idea how to get it to retreat.

"Help! It won't go down!" I cried.

Uri came to my aid. "Naya, your emotions are too exaggerated right now. Your suit of fire thinks you are in trouble. It won't retreat until you calm down."

I collapsed to my knees. The pain was searing and unrelenting. "But the fire is what's causing me to freak out! How the hell can I calm down when my finger is literally melting off my hand!"

Uri knelt down beside me. "It will heal! You're a djinni, remember? You haven't built up the tolerance in your fingers yet, but you will. So calm down!"

He took my other hand and squeezed it tight. Zayn joined us and began to chant while tracing invisible lines on my temples and my chest. At first I thought he was drawing another one of those scorching diagrams, but then I smelled the relaxing scent of sage and myrrh.

The scent combined with Zayn's chanting lulled me into an unwanted slumber. My fire was still burning the hell out of my finger, but I was losing the energy to respond. I knew what would come next. My last thoughts were: Not again!