KAUSI

“Blue flame has the highest temperature. It is very difficult to control this flame. You are lucky. Never forget it.”

The teacher spoke in a soothing whisper that was difficult to make out. While Kausi loved the sound of her teacher’s voice, she also liked to be able to hear it. But it was dangerous tonight. The basement of the bakery was dimly lit, and if anyone asked the owner of the bakery, the lights were on to keep the bats away. It was hard to notice the small window in the back, but he could never be too careful.

In reality, there was a desk in the basement. The teacher stood behind it, speaking in her hushed whisper to students sitting cross-legged on the floor. There were five of them, and they all wanted for themselves the job that the baker had; bake the most delicious pastries with the tap of a finger. But these kinds of schools were banned. The rich had put the laws in place just before Kausi had been born, stating that education specifically for Talents would cease to exist. It was under the label of integration and equality. In reality, it simply locked their abilities away. Many Talents were unable to control themselves; they ended up locked away in prison, or worse, Kisin. Kisin was a notorious mental hospital created to “help” Talents. In reality, not a single soul made it out of there once they went in. Talks of Kisin were enough to get her blood boiling. Literally.

“Kausi,” the teacher warned.

She looked down. Blue sparks flew out of her hand. She bowed her head, wishing her body temperature to be lower. The sparks stopped. Everything was okay.

“Sorry,” she muttered. The Azu were the most uncontrollable talents. They were born with boiling blood and red eyes. The eyes faded to a rust color for some Azu, like Kausi. Other Azu had to put films over their eyes to change the color.

The teacher moved on. How to create the perfect pumpernickel bread, the perfect cherry and honey pie, the perfect flaky blueberry pastry.

Kausi’s pumpernickel bread had come out okay, but the cherry pie had burnt edges and tasted like ashes and the blueberry pastry was a pile of blackened mush. When the teacher moved to where she was sitting, she sighed, shaking her head.

“Control it,” was all she said. If only it were that easy. Kausi was here for her parents and their small tourist shop located by the Chiri river. Her father had mentioned selling baked goods for the store and her mother had immediately grinned, mentioning her old tutor.

“When I go sailing,” she said, “I can drop Kausi off.”

A perfect plan. The only problem was that Kausi had no interest in frying dough for the rest of her life. She was always restless, always wanting to be more. But that was impossible. The Roh were regular fire tricksters. They could suck fire down their throats and blow out smoke and receive applause and grins from tourists. If an Azu were to do that, the entire building would be on fire. Tourists wouldn’t clap for that. She still remembered that friend she had in elementary school. Whenever Kausi started to get antsy or excited, she asked to go to the bathroom and ran into a stall to avert a crisis. Blue flames would crackle from her fingertips as the door would close. Her parents would be proud though; she had done exactly what she was told. But one day, all the stalls were taken. She was left to spread blue sparks out in the open, stamping them out just as quickly as they fell.

Until the stall door opened. Her friend was there, Amber. She had soft wavy brown hair that Kausi had always liked. Her mouth was agape, looking at the small match-sized blue flame on Kausi’s finger. Kausi didn’t know enough to be scared, after all, it got tiring hiding her secret. And Amber was her friend. Amber began to shriek.

“Fire!”

Kausi’s parents had to pay Amber’s 1,000 bir to stay silent. Her dad had shaken his head and her mom looked at her with pity. Her mom was just as jumpy as she was, and Kausi had caught her batting her sparks out when she spoke to her father for too long. Her father was much more cool and collected. He had to be when he ran the convenience store. While they had their fair share of regulars and tourists alike, they couldn’t afford to lose any. Talks of an Azu behind the counter would be damning to their reputation. They’d go to Kisin.

Class was finally over and Kausi dragged her feet upstairs, disappointed with herself and frustrated with everyone else. If only there was a place where she didn’t have to hide her powers. But Chiri was the safest place for talents. The surrounding districts were brutal.

Her mother was leaned against a streetlight, looking like a queen with her head tilted upwards and her long braids falling behind her. Her sailor outfit was pristine as always. She saw Kausi and her face broke into a grin. Kausi felt slightly embarrassed, but mostly pleased. She was too old to be walked home by her mother, but she insisted on it. It wasn’t too far from the docks anyway. Rain began to pour and her mother opened up an umbrella for them, keeping them dry. She always came prepared.

“How was class?’

“I lost control again.”

“Pfft. Ari goes too rough on you. Should I talk to her?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Make anything good?”

Kausi held up her small loaf of pumpernickel bread. Her mother plucked off a piece and chewed. If it tasted terrible, she didn’t show it.

“How does it taste?” she asked in a small voice.

“Always room for improvement.”

They both laughed and walked on to the convenience store. But before they even got to the storefront, Kausi could sense that something was wrong. A crowd of people were dispersing from the store windows. Her father’s shop had been smashed and the lights were off. Anger and fear flooded Kausi’s heart.

“Hey!” she shouted at the dispersing crowd. “HEY!”

They didn’t stop. Her mother held her back. Kausi never hated the rain more. She called on her power, but the rain prevented it.

As they moved towards the store, someone stopped them.

“Are you related to that dude?” he asked. He had a large bald head and a bristled mustache with crumbs in it.

“Who?” her mother asked quietly.

“Haui. Haui Leku. The freak Azu.”

Kausi’s heart stopped. She hadn’t wanted to believe that they had actually gone after her father. That they were just another angry mob mobilizing over unfair taxes by the district council. She closed her eyes briefly. Yes. With all my heart and soul, yes. I am related to my father.

“No, why do you ask?”

The man took in her dark skin and dark brown eyes.

“Just thought I saw you around him.”

“We’re neighbors if you must know,” her mother said. Calmly. Kausi could barely keep her anger contained.

“Well how do you feel that he’s Azu? That a freak with all those powers lives right next to you? That he could’ve gone after your pretty daughter there?”

“He didn’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get home, unless you smashed the windows of my house too?” Her mother’s authoritative tone came out, the same one she used when talking to the crew on her sailboat.

“Sorry miss,” he said, glancing around and then walking down the street at a fast gait. They waited until he was long from their sight before her mother opened the door to the store, her hands shaking. Once inside and out from the rain, sparks began to fly from Kausi’s hands. She fought it down, swallowing hard. A notice was taped to the counter of the store. A Kisin notice. She recognized the stamp on the paper, the same one that was blocked from her view by her mother when they stopped by her old friend’s house. She had seen that stamp in her nightmares, when she was being dragged by two guards of the Kisin.

“You’re going back home,” they had said. She had screamed.