The doors from the Ash Order interrogation room opened and Lydia was jaded, confused, and suspicious. She didn’t know where she was, where to go, and who to turn to.

Clearly Doctor Cale wasn’t much of option. He told her himself that he couldn’t answer her questions—and she wondered if he would be angry at her for coming to him.

But someone was already standing outside, leaning against the wall opposite from her, and for a moment Lydia assumed he had been waiting for somebody else. But there was no one in the eerie cold room except for herself, and the guards didn’t exactly look like the talkative type.

“I’m here to pick you up,” Destery said, kicking off of the wall to stand before Lydia.

“Why?”

“Because,” he shrugged, “it’s big here and we don’t want you getting lost. I was also worried you would be passed out in the room.”

“That happens?” Lydia asked as they strolled down the hall.

“All the time. Did they search your mind?”

Lydia nodded.

“Most human phoenixes can’t handle it and pass out. Kasey doesn’t wake up unless someone hurts him,” Destery informed her. “Usually me.”

“Wow…So you’ve been interrogated before. Did they tell you…” Lydia hesitated as the phoenix leader’s voice rang through her head.

“Number One, not many know this information. Most of the ones that do have been around almost as long as we have. You are to keep all that you have learned to yourself. Should you tell, we will know, and the consequences will not be light.”

Consequences. 

If she told someone like Destery, would he be hurt? Killed with his ashes scattered around the world, prevented from ever being reborn?

He knew nothing but thought he knew everything.

On the first day Lydia realized she was an Ignis Ales, some of the biggest secrets were dumped right onto her. She would have to carry them with her forever, alone.

How was that fair?

“Never mind.” Lydia shook her head.

“Look,” Destery began carefully, “don’t worry about what they say. They like to boss us around, hold us under their thumb and scare us. Just realize that you own your future. If you really want to leave, you can.”

Lydia looked at him like he was a fool.

“If that was true, why haven’t you left?”

“Because I like it here.”

She laughed.

“No, really. I like the people, I like hunting for missing memories and fighting the enemy. And I can’t see myself without Kasey. He’s my brother. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“What if he agreed to leave with you?” she asked.

Destery shook his head. “We’re both set on finding all of our memories.”

Lydia hesitated. “Why?”

The boy looked reluctant to answer and searched around for any sign of witness’s.

"Look.” Destery unhooked his Illuminos off his thin silver chain around his hip and held it to Lydia. “See how there’s a cloud in it? That means I’m near something that has a memory of mine.”

“You said you found me when you used it,” she said slowly. “How does that work if it searches for a memory of yours?”

Destery unwillingly admitted: “We met in your other life, and my Illuminos remembers it. And since you were nearby, it reacted. Kasey and I told you this already, didn’t we?”

“Yeah…,” Lydiana trailed, "What happened between us? I mean, were we friends or something in the past lives? We were both phoenixes.”

Destery looked away. “It wasn’t like that.”

Lydiana, feeling like she said something offensive, made up for it by saying: “The Ash Order told me that I don’t have an Illuminos. Is it possible that a human phoenix can live without one? Or maybe get a replacement?”

“I don’t know about that,” Destery answered. “But it’s really useful to have an Illuminos. If you don’t have it, you have to rely on only yourself. And since you’re pretty young…Well, it doesn’t matter. You’ll be hiding here anyway.”

Lydia straightened proudly. “That’s not true. The Ash Order wants me to be an Ignis Bellator.”

Destery looked surprised at her confession. 

"What?" she asked.

“You’re...a little unprepared. And you obviously haven’t met Ludivine.”

“Who’s that?” Lydia questioned curiously.

Destery hooked his Illuminos back onto his belt and instructed: “Lift up your right palm. Face up. Like this.”

Lydia mimicked his hand.

“Have you ever used your phoenix power?” he asked. “To fly in the air or shoot fire?”

She frowned. “I can’t do any of that stuff.”

“You've just never tried to.”

Lydiana frowned. 

“I’m not going to teach you how to shoot flames or anything,” Destery told her. “Since you don’t have an Illuminos and won’t know how to track people, I’m going to give you something else. Close your eyes and think of fire. Think of you holding it in your right hand.”

Lydia did as told and waited for something that never happened.

She heard a whoosh and felt light burn against her eyes but didn’t dare open them.

“Open your eyes.”

Lydia did as told and saw a fat flame floating above Destery’s right palm, while hers remained void of any light.

Staring directly at Lydia with his hypnotizing green eyes, Destery ordered, “Emblaze, Lydia.”

Instantly, a small fire sprouted from Lydiana’s hand and she jumped back in surprise.

“It’s a form of communication,” Destery explained, his voice echoing through the fire on her palm. “Just pull a flame from your hand, say, “Emblaze, Destery” or the name of someone you want to talk to. It’s a Phoenix version of a cellphone.”

“How do you know they will answer?” Lydia asked.

“If I’m calling but you don’t notice or are busy, your hand will start pulsating a golden glow.”

Lydia frowned at her hand, uncertain it would work when alone.

"It’s extremely easy,” Destery promised. “And when you want to end the call, you just blow out the fire.”

“That simple?” Lydia’s smile quirked.

“That simple.” Destery started to walk backwards. “Would you mind seeing Kasey? He would've come see you if his foot was fine."

“Sure.” Lydia followed. “I don’t suppose these flames come with texting.”

Destery laughed. “Not yet, but I hear that the Ash Order is working on that.”  

...

 White light drenched the room, sliding over the corpses of three young adults lazily sprawled where they once were alive.

A young man squinted underneath the warmth and gazed around the room with his caramel eyes. He sat on the flat wood floor, his body leaning against a mahogany dresser, it's knobs digging into his back.

The sound of aggressive knocking pounded against the bedroom door, so loud and fast it seemed as if someone was trying to escape a killer.

“Number 686, Number 691. Are you harboring Number One?” a repugnant voice howled from the other side.

Destery scowled and climbed to his feet, passing his partner, still unconscious with one hand lingering in a bucketful of moderately warm ash-filled water.

“We aren’t harboring anybody,” Destery sighed, unlocking the door. “May I ask what this is about?”

In burst a masculine, cross woman huffing like she had been holding her breath. “Number One was not in her room this morning.”

“That’s because she fell asleep. There.” Destery nodded to the dark haired girl sleeping peacefully on a chair, her head resting against the side of Kasey’s bed.

“Number 686,” the middle aged woman sneered, “you do know the rules here.”

Destery took in the appearance of the ruffled aged Ignis Ales.

Wiry copper hair roughly pulled into a ponytail, sunken-in brown hawk eyes with sickly pale freckled skin made the boy wonder when was the last time she had a good night’s rest herself.

“Men and Women sleeping in the same room is not allowed,” he recited. “But she was new and alone. We didn’t know where her room was anyway.”

“You should have contacted a supervisor,” the woman scolded. “I will overlook it this one time.”

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

The woman, dressed in a black jogging suit, swiftly came to Lydia’s side and snapped her fingers so a small flame was created.

Nearing to Lydia’s right ear, the flame began to sputter, crackle then explode into dozens of sparks like a miniature firework.

Destery watched as Lydia startled awake, gripping onto her chair as it lost balance.

She clasped her free hand over one ear and said, staring into the eyes of the strange woman, “Ah.”

“My name is Ludivine,” the ginger explained briskly. “I am your Spark Instructor.”

Lydia blinked. “My spark what?”

“Hurry. We have a lot to do.” Ludivine snatched Lydia’s arm and yanked her to her feet, dragging her out of Kasey’s room before she was fully awoke.

Destery nodded a somber farewell at Lydia. “Good luck.”

Spark Instructors were brutal and unforgiving. He hoped Lydiana was strong enough to handle the training. If she wanted to leave the institute, she would have to.

Once the door closed behind Ludivine, Destery turned to Kasey, still sound asleep.

Kasey was always going through the days effortlessly, with little worry. Yes, he had the determination to fight; to fill in the pieces of his blank mind with lost memories. But Kasey wasn’t restless about it-he didn’t question everything or hesitate when facing danger.

Kasey simply didn’t care. If Destery had the power within him to act the same, he would. He would drop all this useless stress and relax.

Destery dunked Kasey’s head into the water in the bucket, waking him instantly.

“Fwah!” his partner gasped as he pulled his wet face out. “What-what the hell? Why’d you do that?”

“I tried to wake you up,” Destery lied. “That’s the only thing that worked.”