Page 43 of Fire Dancer
“Claire traveled far and wide, looking for the one thing she lacked. But she and Star faced some hardships too. A snowstorm…”
My father nudged Mike, who grumbled, “Finally,” and clasped Claire’s hands, moving them in tandem with his.
Something cold and damp hit my ear, then my nose.
Ingo chuckled, cupping his hands to catch the snowflakes that wafted by.
“Then a windstorm…”
Mike nodded at Erin, who held her palm up and puffed gently.
My hair blew from over my shoulder to my chest, and a tumbleweed rolled by.
Abby clapped in delight. Erin looked just as happy. She hadn’t been able to command magic until recently, when true love and a deadly threat had combined to bring her powers she never knew she had. Every time Mike visited, he taught her a few new tricks.
I held up my hands in silent applause. Erin blushed proudly.
Maybe too soon, because the dust blew harder, making the fire blaze.
“Whoa, there.” Mike made a catching motion, snuffing the storm out.
Oops,Erin’s expression lamented.
My father went on, barely noticing. “Claire and Star galloped from town to town, scaring away bad guys along the way…”
At a flick of his fingers, swords flashed and fiery arrows shot through the flames.
Ingo leaned forward like this was his favorite part. Hell, it probably was. He knew my father that well, and my father loved him like a son.
I sighed. If I ever succeeded in finding a man to share my life with, Ingo would still be a part of it. Talk about awkward.
Almost as awkward as the thought of sharing my life with anyone but Ingo.
But seeing him beside my father reminded me of all the reasons we couldn’t be together. All the nights I’d stayed up worrying… All the nightmares… All the interrupted holidays…
Heroes were…well, heroic, and I revered every one. But the idea of a nice, normal guy who worked a safe job and spent weekends on comparatively selfish hobbies had a lot of appeal.
Except it didn’t, because I still loved Ingo.
I hugged my knees and stared into the fire.
Meanwhile, my father continued his story.
“Claire banished an ogre and a nasty squirrel shifter and a rampaging boar…”
The fire morphed, taking the shape of each beast.
Habit had me subtly mimicking my father’s gestures. As a kid, I thought I could control fire. It wasn’t until later that I’d accepted the bitter truth. Anything other than the most elementary tricks were beyond my meager abilities. But it was still fun to play along with him.
“Then along came a griffin and a two-headed serpent…” My dad continued his parade of medieval monsters.
The only creatures he didn’t mention were dragons. No need to remind Claire of her conspicuously absent grandmother on thisone big happy familyoccasion.
“One day, Claire heard cries for help, and she raced to the local castle to see what was going on. There, she found a dastardly prince who was claiming the most beautiful horse in the land for himself. Claire tried to stop him, but the dastardly prince had dozens of troops, and before long, Claire was surrounded.”
“Uh-oh,” Mike said, hugging her tightly.
She patted his hands. “It’s okay, Grandpa. My magic friend will help me.” She looked at my father as if to cue him.