Flame Caller Read Online Free Page A

a
chance and we won’t let you down. It’s what he would have wanted,
out of you and out of us.”
    Xander looked over at his grandfather
before turning back to Alicia. He wrapped his arms around the
elderly woman and pulled her into a tight embrace.
    “ Thank you,” he
whispered.
    “ My pleasure, dear,” she
replied as he released her.
    Xander looked back at his grandfather
once again, taking in the sorrowful image of the wounded man. He
hated to see the older Wind Warrior that way and just wished there
was something he could do to make him better.
    “ Promise me you’ll let me
know as soon as he wakes up,” he told his aunt.
    Alicia nodded. “On my
honor.”
    Xander nodded and walked back out
through the draped tarp. He had to squint momentarily as he was
assaulted by the glaring sunlight. As his eyes cleared, he saw
Sammy watching him intently from beside the doorway.
    “ How did it go?” she asked
pensively.
    Xander managed a faint smile. “It went
well.”
    “ So where do we go from
here?”
    “ I’m going to fight back,”
he said sternly, finding a strength in his voice he hadn’t heard in
a while. “I’m going to train and I’m going to convince the other
aunts and uncles to help me.”
    Sammy stepped up beside him, a beaming
smile on her face. “I’m so glad to hear it. There’s something I
didn’t tell you before but I think you need to hear it now. You’re
something special—”
    “ Don’t you start with
that, too,” he interrupted.
    Sammy shook her head. “I’m serious.
You told me before that you didn’t see the point in fighting since
one Fire Warrior did so much damage. But that Fire Warrior was one
of the strongest and deadliest I’d ever seen. And you’re fighting
at a disadvantage since your caste was created only to bolster our
abilities. But when you and General Abraxas faced off, he threw
some of the most powerful fire attacks I’d ever seen and you stood
your ground. You were able to tap some reserve of power, even
without any real training.”
    Xander felt a hollowness inside of him
that wasn’t related to his depression. He remembered the fight with
Abraxas and the power that flowed through him, how it seemed to
pull from his very soul as it poured from his body. Could Sammy be
right about him? Could they all be right?
    “ Great,” he said, “now I
just need to convince all the others.”
    Sammy cringed as she looked over his
shoulder. “Looks like you’re about to have your chance.”
    Xander looked over his shoulder and
sighed heavily. Of all the people to approach, Thea was probably
his last choice. The stern Wind Warrior looked set to walk past him
when he stepped into her path.
    Thea arched an eyebrow, expressing her
displeasure. “Yes?”
    Xander took a deep breath. “I want you
to train me.”
    “ We tried that already,”
she replied curtly. “You’re not very good. And frankly, I don’t
have the time right now.”
    She pushed her way past him, glowering
at Sammy as she went.
    “ Please,” Xander called
after her.
    Thea stopped. She turned sharply on
her heel and stared at the young man. “Why should I?”
    He swallowed the hard lump in his
throat. He looked at Sammy from the corner of his eye but she was
staring off into the distance, either oblivious to the conversation
or not eager to get involved.
    “ Because I want to make a
difference.”
    “ Like you did with Bart?”
she retorted.
    Her words stung far worse than if she
had struck him. He took a step back but kept his gaze locked on
Thea.
    “ No, not like Bart,” he
replied softly. “But because of him. And because of my grandfather.
And… and because of my parents. And because of the billions of
other people on this planet who are all in danger right now.
Because if I don’t do something—if we don’t do
something—they’re all going to die. The Fire Warriors are going to
cleanse the world so it can start again. And I don’t know about
you, but I’m not ready to lie down and