Page 120 of Fire Dancer
Everyone laughed, though I couldn’t help wondering about Abby’s father. Was he “just” a human or something else?
Not human, I decided, judging by her mother’s penchant for powerful supernaturals. But what kind? A warlock? Dragon shifter? And what about Claire’s father?
I blinked into the fire, reminding myself it was none of my business. Not until the day a teenage Claire startled us all by turning into a dragon or burning down a barn by accident.
But, heck. As long as it wasn’t the barn Pippa and I were converting…
“Is it story time yet?” Claire asked after a few more marshmallows.
Mike had been the lucky recipient of her second one, then Abby, then Erin and Pippa, and finally Nash and me.
We’re way, way down the pecking order here,I joked, shooting the thought into his mind.
Nash grinned, keeping his arm looped around Erin’s shoulders.Just happy to be part of the club, man.
I raised my beer bottle in a silent toast, seconding the sentiment.
“I thought we’d try something different tonight,” Greg said. “Like make-a-wish night.”
Pippa rubbed her hands. “Oh, I love this.”
“Just tell me what you wish you could be or have or do, and I’ll do my best to show it to you,” Greg explained. He pointed to Mike. “Get us started, big guy.”
Mike closed his eyes, thinking. It was easy to imagine his wish, and I fully expected an even bigger, louder motorcycle to appear in the flames of the bonfire.
Mike opened his eyes and looked at Greg in silent communication. Greg nodded, then raised his hands toward the fire.
“Aw…” Erin clasped her hands to her heart as a scene slowly formed in the blaze.
It was a bonfire within the bonfire, with each of us sketched in flames around it. Even Nash was there.
“That’s my wish,” Mike murmured, rumbly as thunder — a weathermonger’s version of emotional. “This. Exactly this. My family safe, sound, and happy.”
Erin beamed. Abby wiped a tear from her eye. Claire patted his thick arms.
And Nash… I caught his throat rippling in an emotional gulp. Nice to see he was gradually being accepted.
Erin was next. Seconds after she’d whispered her wish to Greg, a hot air balloon formed in the flames and wafted skyward, circled by a dragon.
“Mine is kind of like Dad’s,” she explained shyly. “Going flying with everyone I love. See? You’re all in the balloon, and that’s Nash beside it.”
The figures in the basket started out a little hazy, then developed more detail when Pippa raised her hands and moved her fingers like a conductor.
“Thanks, sweetie.” Greg beamed.
Pippa too.
Mike chipped in next, stirring up a breeze to mimic the sensation of flying. It toyed with Pippa’s long hair and the hood of my jacket.
Slowly, the image faded, and Greg turned to Nash.
“Your turn. Anything you wish you could be or have or do.”
Nash cleared his throat and waved a hand. “I think the first two have me covered.”
Erin tipped her head against his shoulder and rubbed his arm. Then she straightened abruptly.
“Oh! Can I take his turn?”