solid rock. Sophie abruptly realized that she was looking at the earth,
perhaps far, far in the future. She gasped in shock and her breath blew the
smoke away, taking the image with it.
The Magic of Fire is strongest in sunlight. Saint-Germain moved his right
hand and traced a symbol with his index finger. It hung glowing in the air, a
circle with spikes radiating from it like a sunburst. The count blew on it
and it dissolved into sparkles. Without fire, we are nothing.
Saint-Germain s left hand was now completely wrapped in flame, but he still
clutched Sophie s wrist. Red-white ribbons of fire curled around the girl s
fingers and puddled in the palm of her hand. Each finger burned like a
miniature candle red, yellow, green, blue and white yet she felt no pain and
no fear.
Fire can heal; it can seal a wound, can cut out disease, Saint-Germain
continued earnestly. Golden cinders of fire burned in his pale blue eyes. It
is unlike any other magic, because it is the only one directly linked to the
purity and strength of your aura. Almost anyone can learn the basics of
Earth, Air or Water magic. Spells and incantations can be memorized and
written down in books, but the power to ignite fire comes from within. The
purer the aura, the stronger the fire, and that means, Sophie, that you must
be very careful, because your aura is so pure. When you unleash the Magic of
Fire, it will be incredibly potent. Has Flamel warned you not to overuse your
powers, lest you burst into flame?
Scatty told me what might happen, Sophie said.
Saint-Germain nodded. Never create fire when you are tired or weakened. If
you lose control of this element, it will snap back on you and burn you to a
crisp in a heartbeat.
A solid ball of flame now burned steadily in Sophie s right hand. She became
aware that her left hand was tingling and quickly lifted it off the bench. It
left the smoking, blackened impression of a hand burned into the wood. With a
dull pop, a puddle of blue flame appeared in her left hand and each finger
sparked alight.
Why can t I feel it? Sophie wondered aloud.
You are protected by your aura, Saint-Germain explained. You can shape the
fire, in the same way that Joan showed you how to shape your aura into silver
objects. You can create globes and spears of fire. He snapped his fingers
and a scattering of thick round sparks bounced across the roof. He then
pointed his index finger and a little jagged spearlike flame darted toward
the nearest spark, striking it with deadly accuracy. When you are in full
control of your powers, you will be able to draw upon the Magic of Fire at
will, but until then you will need a trigger.
A trigger?
Normally it would take hours of meditation to focus your aura to the point
at which you could bring it alight. But sometime in the very distant past,
someone discovered how to create a trigger. A shortcut. you've seen my
butterflies?
Sophie nodded, remembering the dozens of tiny tattooed butterflies that
wrapped around the count s wrists and coiled up his arm.
They are my trigger. Saint-Germain lifted the girl s hands. And now you
have yours.
Sophie looked down at her hands. The fire had gone out, leaving black sooty
streaks on her flesh and around her wrists. She brushed her hands together,
but succeeded only in smearing the dust.
Allow me. Saint-Germain lifted a watering can and shook it. Liquid sloshed
inside. Hold out your hands. He poured water over her palms it sizzled as
it touched her flesh washing away the black streaks. The count pulled a
spotless white handkerchief from his back pocket, dipped it into the watering
can and carefully wiped off the remainder of the soot. But around her right
wrist, where Saint-Germain had held it, the soot refused to wash away. A
thick black band encircled her wrist like a bracelet.
Saint-Germain snapped his fingers and his index and little finger lit up. He
brought the light close to Sophie s hand.
She looked down to discover that a tattoo was burned into her skin.
Silently lifting her arm, she twisted her wrist to examine the ornate band
twisted around it. Two strands, gold and silver, entwined and curled around
one another to form an intricate, almost Celtic-looking pattern. On the
underside of her wrist, where Saint-Germain had pressed his thumb, was a
perfect gold circle with a red dot in the center.
When you wish to trigger the Magic of Fire, press your thumb against the
circle and focus your aura, Saint-Germain explained. That will bring the
fire alive instantly.
And that s it? Sophie asked, sounding surprised. That s all?
Saint-Germain nodded. That s it. Why, what were you expecting?
Sophie shook her head. I don't know, but when the Witch of Endor taught me
Air magic, she wrapped me in bandages like a mummy.
Saint-Germain smiled shyly. Well, I m not the Witch of Endor, of course.
Joan tells me the Witch imbued you with all of her memories and knowledge.
I've no idea why she did that; it certainly wasn't necessary. But no doubt
she had her reasons. Besides, I don't know how to do that and I m not sure
I'd want you knowing all my thoughts and memories, he added with a grin.
Some of them are not very nice.
Sophie smiled. I m relieved another batch of memories wouldn't be that great
to deal with. Holding up her hand, she pressed the circle on her wrist and
her little finger smoked; then the nail glowed dull orange for a moment
before it popped alight with a slender, wavering flame. How did you know
what to do?
Well, I was first and foremost an alchemist. I suppose you d call me a
scientist today. When Nicholas asked me to train you in the Magic of Fire,
I'd no idea how to do it, so I just approached this like any other
experiment.
An experiment? Sophie blinked. Could it have gone wrong?
The real danger was that it simply would not have worked.
Thank you, she said finally, and then she grinned. I was expecting the
process to be a lot more dramatic. I m really glad it was so she paused,
looking for the right word ordinary.
Well, maybe not that ordinary. It s not every day you learn how to master
fire. How about extraordinary? Saint-Germain suggested.
Well, that too.
That s all. Oh, there are tricks I can and will teach you. Tomorrow, I ll
show you how to create globes, donuts and rings of fire. But once you have
