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Chapter 21: Fight Fire with Fire

A hushed silence fell over the Council members. It was no doubt a surprised for everyone present to hear Keahi so assertive and sure of himself. And though it was daunting to be the centre of attention, Keahi stayed firm. He couldn’t afford to back down. He won’t back down.

He kept his attention focused on Flamenca, ignoring the looks of disbelief and shock from the Fire Elders. He could just feel Elder Fudo’s gaze upon him and he could sense Bharath’s concern for him only grow.

Slowly, Flamenca pushed herself to her feet, her piecing glare never wavering in the slightest. He had seen that look of hatred more times than he cared to remember and it was usually a warning sign that her patience was not to be tried for it would immediately result in severe punishment. And usually, he would have backed off or allow someone to speak up for him.

But not this time. He won’t allow himself to be the burden of anyone else.

“You actually have the audacity to question my judgement? Not only that but to get your fellow Fire Priest to arrange this impromptu meeting?” Flamenca’s glare moved from him to Bharath (who Keahi noticed from the corner of his eye did not flinch) for a moment before immediately turning back to him, a sneer twisted upon her lips. “You are pathetic, cousin. What could you possibly know about anything?”

“I am more in tuned with the people of this island than you are,” Keahi replied easily, speaking the truth. “I know what they are feeling.”

“Oh please,” Flamenca said around an undignified snort and moved to fold her arms under her bust. “You are simply a Priest who is to one day set to die by the hands of the Volcano God himself, what you say has little to no regard in this matter.”

Of course she had to remain him of that fact. A day didn’t go by that she wouldn’t.

“It is true that one day I will have to hand myself over to the Fire God,” Keahi said as he placed his hand over his heart in a sign of sincerity and a show that he accepted that as fact. “But until that day comes, I will fight you for the sake of my people.”

“Your people?” Flamenca said, her tone growing higher in pitch. “Just who is in charge here, Priest? If you don’t recall, I am the Fire Princess.”

As she kept reminding everyone.

“Then start treating your people with the respect they deserve,” Keahi retorted.

“They should be grateful for whatever we give them!” Flamenca stated loudly. Clearly, she was having difficulty keeping her temper in check. “They are to respect me; I am to hold no such thing for them. They are simply peasants and followers.”

Keahi frowned, his hands curling up into tight fists by his sides as he recalled the words that Masou said to him. “The Fire Kingdom is like a boat and the people the sea. They can either help you sail on or bring you down. They shouldn’t be underestimated.”

That was right. They shouldn’t be treated as peasants. A true leader would know that.

“You are not the only one who resides on this island. Should you treat the people poorly will only reflect back unto you. Our Volcano God isn’t blind, Flamenca. He can very well see what it is that you are doing.”

“He will see a fair and just ruler, Keahi.” She hadn’t called him by name in such a long time. She truly was enraged with his defiance. “If you do not agree with me, then we’ll see who has the Fire God’s favour.”

Keahi felt his eyes narrow as the air within the Council Chamber suddenly became heated. “It seems that when things aren’t going your way, you propose a battle.”

A smirk spread across Flamenca’s lips as she held out her arm to her side, ready to battle. “Afraid that you’ll lose?”

Not anymore.

“Very well then,” Keahi said as he took a couple more steps to be further within the room, allowing the Fire Elders to evacuate their seats to find a place where they will not be drawn into battle.

“Let’s see what you can do, useless,” Flamenca said as she continued to smirk. She then pulled out a long red sash, wrapping it around her perfectly curved figure as she did an elaborate dance move, reminding Keahi that she was also a Fire Dancer. “Dance of the Flame - Fire Song!”

As she bowed lowly, a circle of flames erupted around her. She then stood tall, the sash hanging loosely around her shoulders as she cocked her hip to the side, resting her hand there. And that smirk was still present as she waited for him to cast his Spell Binding Circle.

Keahi took a deep breath and sent a silent prayer to his Fire God to grant him the courage and luck to win this battle. “Candles in the Night - Celtic Fire!”

Immediately, flames strong and true flared up around him in a protective and warm barrier. The heated flames felt reassuring as the curled around his ankles and he allowed himself a small smile as he trailed his hand through the dancing flames.

“Since when have you been able to call upon Celtic Fire?” Flamenca asked him, trying not to appear as though his Fire Magic had caught her off guard.

Keahi allowed his smile to turn into a small smirk for a moment. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is our first battle, isn’t it?”

“Hardly impressive,” Flamenca immediately insulted, her jaw set in annoyance. “Let’s see how well you fare against this. I call upon the Nightly Black Flame - Fire Snake, Adar Askook!”

From the flames that encircled her unfurled a serpent shaped creature. It curled around her a couple of times before raising its head high above the ground, looking down upon everyone in a display of dominance and power.

A Fire Snake. It wasn’t all that surprising that her Fire Beast was a snake.

Keahi took another deep breath. Please…

“I call upon the Windswept Flame - Purifying Fire Hawk, Nootau Chatan!”

A familiar warmth flowed over Keahi as a pair of large, fiery wings enveloped him. His smile turned gentle again when he heard the cry of a hawk echoing effortlessly within the chamber. He tilted his head back to look up at his Fire Beast, Nootau Chatan looking down at him with his head tilted to the side.

“Thank you for coming, Nootau Chatan,” Keahi whispered.

Nootau Chatan then spread his wings widely, their span easily touching both sides of the room. He was truly an impressive sight to behold and Keahi felt so lucky, felt so proud to have such a magnificent creature as his Fire Beast.

Now, he was ready for battle. This was for his people, for their lives. It was all for them.

Love is the energy from which all people and things are made, Nootau Chatan said to him, his voice as wise and soothing as before, his words echoing through his thoughts. You are connected to everything in this world through love.

Keahi smiled and closed his eyes. “Yes, I understand now.”

“Fire Hawk?” The shock and disbelief in Flamenca’s voice was palpable; Keahi couldn’t help but allow a small smile to grace his lips.

“I may be mistaken,” he said as he opened his eyes and stared her down. “But isn’t a snake’s greatest enemy a hawk?”

“Bastard!” Flamenca immediately snarled at him, her tone just oozing with intense anger. She then threw out an arm in his direction, indicating for her Fire Beast to go forth. “Adar Askook, attack!”

Keahi mirrored her movement, his eyes shimmering like embers. “Show her the true freedom of fire, Nootau Chatan!”

The two mighty Fire Beasts charged at each other without hesitation and soon, the entire room was consumed in a swirling column of flame. Keahi could hear Bharath and a few other Council Members call upon their own Spell Binding Circles in order to protect themselves and others from the clashing flames. They were standing behind him, so even though he could feel Flamenca’s Beast push strongly again Nootau Chatan, he refused to feel pressured. She was so reckless, she didn’t care who she hurt.

He wasn’t like that. He could never be like that.

“Just a little bit more, Nootau Chatan,” Keahi encouraged as he supported his arm with his other hand, holding back Flamenca’s dangerous fires. “This is for the people of this island, for my fellow Priests, for people like Bharath, Brendis and Masou. And for our Fire God, Obsidian. But, most importantly, for us!”

Yes!

The flames around Keahi grew in intensity, unlike he, or anyone else for that matter, had ever seen before. And the pressuring force that Keahi was pushing back suddenly disappeared and he could feel the control of his own brightly lit flames engulf the area. He could no longer sense or feel Flamenca’s presence. He had pushed her back.

Keahi lowered his arms, drawing the flames back. And they quickly subsided. As they did, they revealed Flamenca lying face down upon the floor, her Spell Binding Circle fading slowly, her snake Fire Beast no longer seen.

He had won. Keahi had actually won against Flamenca! He felt like cheering.

There is tremendous value when you are able to deliberately cause even the slightest improvement in the way you feel, for even in that small emotional improvement, you may have regained a measure of control. You no longer feel powerless. And so, your trek through life is not only possible, but it is relatively easy.

Keahi smiled. He understood those words. He could feel his own power growing and he felt so in control right now. It was an amazing feeling.

“Thank you for your help, Nootau Chatan,” he whispered sincerely as he lifted his hand to gently run his fingers over the fiery feathers. “I appreciate it very much.”

My pleasure, Nootau Chatan replied within his mind before dissipating in a shower of sparks, returning to his inner spiritual consciousness.

There was a moment of silence before…

“Master Keahi!” Bharath suddenly appeared before him and threw his arms around him in a brief hug before remembering his position and pulling back to a more respectable distance. “You battled wonderfully,” he complimented.

“Yes,” Fire Elder Fudo agreed as he made his way to him, a sense of pride mixed with surprise upon his face. “We had no idea that you were such a skilled warrior.”

“Ah, well,” Keahi blushed lightly at all the attention, and from the adrenaline that was still flowing. “I guess I didn’t know either. I’m not normally the one to fight, but with a matter as important as the wellbeing of my people, I had to do something.”

“Ah,” Elder Fudo said with a twinkle in his eye. “You feel that strongly about it?”

Keahi placed his hand upon his heart once again. “Yes, I do.”

“Very well,” Elder Fudo said as he turned to indicated to the other Fire Elders that he wished to speak and for them to listen. “Since you defeated Princess Flamenca in battle, our Fire God seems to agree with you.”

“Yes,” Another Fire Elder agreed, an elderly woman with long grey hair tied into two braids on either side of her kind face. “The newest proposal brought forth by Princess Flamenca has been declined.”

There were a murmur of agreement from the other council members and Keahi felt an immediately sense of relief. He shared that look with Bharath, who also looked pleased with the outcome.

“That’s good to hear,” he said as he allowed his eyes to drift close, throwing up a mental ‘Thank you’ to Masou. Had it not been for him, there was no way he could have done any of what just happened.

“You bastard.”

Keahi snapped his eyes open at the venomous words. “What?”

Elder Fudo looked over to where the voice came from. “Lady Flamenca?”

Keahi turned to look at his cousin, watching as she struggled to her feet, harshly pushing away those who tried to help her to stand. Her hair was a mess and some of the little clothing she wore was singed from their battle. But the look of sheer madness in her eyes really made Keahi recoil in shock.

He had never seen her so enrage or insane before.

“Bastard, I won’t be beaten so easily,” she snarled dangerously. She then suddenly straightened her slumped posture and pointed in his direction, making the dying flames around her suddenly flare up with her madness.

“Nightly Black Flame - Fire Snake, Adar Askook!” she yelled. “Attack him directly!”

The Fire Elders immediately began to panic. “Lady Flamenca, stop!”

“You’ll scar us all!”

“Heh,” Flamenca gave a low chuckle. “I don’t care! I’ll burn this whole building to the ground if I have too!”

…She had gone completely insane!

Keahi suddenly found himself pushed to the side as someone moved to stand in front of him. “Master Keahi, look out!”

“No, Bharath!”

“Greater Incantation of Flame - Divine Fire!”

…T-that voice…

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