76 Tempest

The wind howled by his ears, it was incessant and dangerous, it spoke of death, of the incoming storm. He looked up at the sky and took a deep breath in, leaves and snow fluttered past him at an incredibly speed as the winds continued their rattling. He ignored it all: the whispers, the scent of fear, he was brought here for a reason and as always he found himself desperate to prove his worth before her.

A scream from about five miles away caught his attention, he swiveled his head to the East, so the gate must be in that direction? Another scream, this one louder, cut off almost as soon as is started. Dead?

The streets erupted into panicked yells and he watched as heads appeared in windows, body's taunt with either curiosity or fear and concern.

"What the fuck is going on over there? If this is another prank by those childish frat kids I'm going to kick all of their asses"

A burley man -made to look almost brusque by the many layers- stormed out of his house followed by three lackeys rifles slung over shoulders.

He felt another spasm of heat, cooled his thinking with another deep breath and began moving slowly down the stairs. He was in Alaska, or at least he gathered by the tiny town, vast frozen wonderland, and the howling of dogs. He continued his descent from the roof, taking in the names of stores and streets, yes, Alaska indeed, Fairbanks.

He grunted his disapproval, as if a town of such a small population could handle the destruction a gate could cause. Then again, he thought as he arrived at the lowest step that let out into the frigid streets, that's why he had been dispatched. To handle this as quickly as possible without losing control.

Another grunt, they were approaching winter in the town of Fairbanks and the early storm meant that they were several degrees below zero.

He drew gazes of astonishment as he walked easily across the landscape, for one, they weren't used to seeing someone with such regality and grace walk so effortlessly in their mercilessly Arctic. Secondly, and in all reality the real reason they were so bewildered was in the fact that in twelve degrees below zero that handsome young man was walking around in a t-shirt and jeans.

Someone ran toward him, he shifted to watch them approach, no hostility detected. The woman, held out a thick coat with a slight blush on her face. "Honey, you can't walk out here like that," She seemed breathless, "you'll die, are you lost?"

"No." He paused, "I don't need it, thank you."

He rounded a corner following the men who had promised the frat kids a good beating keeping a rotating eye on the shocked woman who was still standing there with the coat.

The sudden crack of a rifle came from down the street and he very subtly quickened his pace. Another shout, the rest of the street sprung into action, something was definitely going on.

The woman caught up to him, followed by six or seven other townsfolk. He felt a surge of annoyance, "Don't follow, you'll only die."

"What would an outsider like you know?" A man showed him another gun, "we take care of each other out here." The woman reached out to tap his shoulder, he dodged as his flame reared is head is distaste.

"Don't."

Deciding that he had walked enough he moved quickly shocking the people who saw a shadow flit away as the young man disappeared.

Fairbanks was one of the rare places where people with abilities and those without them coexisted. Those with abilities refrained from using them unless they found themselves in life threatening situations, so running into someone who used their ability so openly was rare.

He arrived quickly in front of the dorm building, two stories, white and decently new. There was a gash four feet long by the front door and a trail of blood. The crack of a rifle from inside and a faint whisper of power being used. He opened the door and was immediately covered in the scent of something dark. He took in a deep breath examining the area, highly unusual even for a gate.

The willed his flame forward, to remain calm, to only purify and stepped inside. There were pieces of wall, debris, body chunks… he surveyed them with distaste. He strolled down the corridor and corrected himself when he reached the stairs, a three story building. There was a downstairs and by the vile order wafting and now constant screams that's there the gate was.

He moved down the stairs with a bit more urgency as several light bulbs above and around him exploded. He dissolved the pieces that approached him without so much as lifting a finger and proceeded toward two swings doors at the end of the corridor. The sign read 'Pool' that would be interesting.

He swung the doors open and was surprised slightly at the sight before him, the gate was inside the pool, he could surmise as much by the never ending sigils and runes dancing on the water. The other dead giveaway was the mixed bear - dinosaur corpse emerging from the water.

In the far left corner huddled and cowering behind a table and a very weak wind shield were at least twenty civilians. Some of the wounded and cowering over two dead bodies.

They began screaming at him, urging him to get out or get help. There were several other ice carcass bears Dino mixtures roaring and attempting to approach the humans. One rounded in from his left, he took a pristine fighting stance, stretched his chest, turned his body as his blood began to boil and punched the beast as cleanly as he could.

Flames erupted from the impact of his knuckles, turning his hand a pure red. The animal didn't even have a chance to roar as the force of the punch disintegrated it as it was blasted through the wall and out onto the snowy street.

Kieren relaxed his stance and walked forward noting that his steps were melting the floor beneath him. He thought of Violet and loosed his fists. "I am in control." A breathless whisper meant only for his own ears.

He looked to the flabbergasted humans and raised his voice while pointing to the hole he had created, "get out."

They acquiesced in a hurry eyeing him apprehensively with the exception of the wind user who bowed slowly, "sir, I've kept my wind up because the water itself has turned poisonous. I do not think you should keep inhaling it."

"I'm aware, go."

The other curious mixtures, led by one with raptor like claws converged on him in seconds. He dodged the incoming assault and retailed with well timed kicks, punches, elbows.

There would be more coming from the water, so truly stepping into it was the obvious decision. She had said that gates accepted all with power, they were only looking for more fuel after all.

He began wading into the water attempting to deter his flame from vaporizing all of the water. It wasn't working as well as he'd like and in a moment of frustration a loud explosion rebounded in the area as a forty foot cloud of vapor shattered the entire buildings windows thus escaping into the frigid outside air.

Kieren took deep breath as he entered the gate, "control… control." He disappeared into the gate.

The town of Fairbanks was in disarray, emergency vehicles now surrounded the entire dorm/university building as the witnesses spoke in jumbled screams, warning others of the horrors within.

From the throng slinked out a raven haired beauty. She was hidden behind a dark hoodie and glasses and had been secretly monitoring his movements. She had let out a soft chuckle when the explosion of steam had caused everyone else to fall back.

Using the cover of the now more persistent screams Violet snuck into the building and down to the pools' floor. Her chuckle turned into a full laughter as she observed the sight.

He had dissolved half of the pools water, simply by walking into it.

Shaking her head she observed the carcasses interested by the long dead animal remains. "Dino's, how peculiar. There must be many remains nearby."

She sat down on the pools edge and listened closely to the sounds coming from within.

In the three months since she had unsealed Kieren he had grown tremendously, he no longer exploded upon slight provocations and could now control more and more of his flame.

He truly was an exception: focused, relentless, and indomitable. Violet looked down toward her very slightly protruding belly. When he wasn't training he was smothering her in kisses. She sighed, the call came sharper in her head. The call of the gates had been more and more present in the quickly moving time.

It would be soon.

A sudden hair tingling release of energy from within then gate caught her attention. She frowned, he was losing control again. Weird, he was getting better at that.

Deciding that he had trained long enough she entered the gate, she was the only one who could close it after all, this was merely his training ground.

A most peculiar scene met her arrival. The entire area was on fire. Kieren stood at the center facing a mirror, frozen, face taunt in despair as everything around them erupted into flames.

Creatures lay screaming on the floor, on the walls, alight and noticeable only by the reflection of Kieren's flame.

Violet understood and then leapt into action upset, she had sent him in unprepared, into the worst kind of gate.

Mirror gates did not suddenly appear, and unlike those which appeared for no other reason than to cause havoc, these were truly alive. Part of the original pact of life, created to be maintained, never destroyed.

These gates, the original gates were created as the universe was and they were the full origin of abilities. Power spun out from thirty gates located all around the world, sinking into the the grass, touching the earth, and its inhabitants. They were never to be taken lightly.

Violet touched Kieren's shoulder as she spun him around, breaking his eye contact with the gate.

His eyes widened in panic and leapt forward to caress her. Violet covered his eyes with her hand, "I am sorry, do not look. It is a spell gate, as way of protecting themselves from intruders they ensnare the mind projecting one's greatest fears while absorbing their power."

"Control your flame, I am not dead," she took one of his hands and placed in on her stomach, "and our child is just fine"

Kieran's hand trembled as he listened to her instructions, he nodded softly not trusting the use of his words.

"Move ten feet back, all the creatures are dead and I must converse with the gate, it has awoken on it own, which means it has a message for me. Whatever you do, stay away and do not make eye contact with the words on the mirror."

The ringing in his ears subsided as he stepped back while keeping his eyes shut. Once he approached the the required distance he opened his eyes looking towards his feet. His heart was palpitating, causing a feeling of utter panic. He had seen the death of them, of Violet, of his unborn child.

He swallowed the mounting grief and reined in his fire, he would never allow it.

A sudden change in the taste of the air gained his attention, the violent emotions of the gate were changing, becoming comforting whispers, of light, of hope.

Something whispered his name, "True child of flame, of order. Protector of the one we call mother. Your child will be light." It was the gate… no…gates, all of them.

Kieren looked at Violet's back, refusing the mirrors call. She was sitting in the floor, legs crossed, hands on the mirror. Runes flowed between them, a conversation older than time.

He sunk to his knees carefully as the gates continued the chant to the air, "True child of flame, of order. Protector of the one we call mother. Your child will be light."

Thirty minutes Violet sat quietly, the crown of runes on her head, the peace and chant growing stronger and stronger and stronger.

Then as suddenly as it had begun it stopped, the carcasses disappeared, the blood, the pain, all of it. The gate stopped speaking and Violet rose from the floor.

"It is now safe to look. The gate has shared its voice." Kieren looked toward the rippling mirror, "what did it want."

Violet looked in his direction as she approached, holding out her hand. "To warn me. My time has come, a true gate has been opened, a demon of old is coming to the Earth. Senrio has made his move, now we make ours."