Page 44 of Phoenix Chosen 3

Jackson exhales. “I’m telling you, Ineverintended for that to happen. I just wanted to scare them off the cart. Same thing I’d done every other time.”

Airos’s face is serious. “Tell me how you did it. It wasn’t magic that you used, so what?”

“Ah,” Jackson says, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Well, maybe it’s not magic in a place whererealmagic is a goddamn certifiable fact. But it was what we Earthlings call a magic trick.”

“Go on.”

Jackson holds up his index finger, asking for a pause. “Let me take this cloak off. You guys aren’t gonna wreck me if I do, right? I’m unarmed.”

He pulls the thick cloak over his head and takes it off. Beneath it, he’s wearing a dirty tank top and shorts. The pregnant swell in his belly is clear and prominent. He shakes the cloak, and something drops onto the ground. It’s slender, with a red cap. Next to it, falls a plastic Bic lighter. I pick both up.

“What are these items?” Airos asks.

It’s an aerosol can of butane lighter fluid, and tied to it is a twig whittled into a perfect arm to spear a beeswax candlestick. It’s a pretty damn clever and resourceful little flamethrower.

“Earth magic,” I say, then pop the cap off and light the candle. “Take a step back.”

Airos, Kalisratos and Gral just about drop flat onto their faces when I press the button and spray a giant ball of fire into the air—immediately catching a branch on fire.

I obviously did not think this through.

“Uhhh, guys, a little help?”

A plume of dirt bursts up from the ground and falls over the burning branches like water from a firehose.

“Thank you, Airos,” I say.

Airos looks stunned. “That was not me.”

We all look at Jackson, sitting on the ground with dirt and sand piled on his head and shoulders like fallen snow.

“Yeah, that one wasn’t a trick,” he says.

“No, it wasn’t,” I say quietly. I can feel my heart pounding. “How did you do that?”

By some miracle, I was able to keep my cool. I badly wanted to grab Jackson by the shirt and shout my question into his face.

“I thoughtyouwere gonna tell me that,” he says. “I’ve got a lot of fucking questions, but what I really want to know is, what the hell is going on here?” He points to his belly.

Airos grabs Jackson’s arm and pulls him up to his feet, then unties the rope around his ankles.

“You certain you want to do that?” Kalistratos asks.

“I don’t know,” Airos says. “Will we need to put you down again, Jack-son?” He pronounces his name like it’s two separate words.

“Obviously I’m sticking with you guys.”

“This matter isnotyet settled,” Gral complains. “He will come with me to Aelonos.”

“No, he’s not,” says Airos. “It was an accident. You saw how unwieldy his fire weapon was.”

“I did, and you cannot have me believe that he did not intend to harm us.”

“Is there anything else that can be done?” I say.

“Guys,” says Jackson, “look, I thought I could make things right with the medicine, but I didn’t. I fucked up, and I’m not going to run away from doing the right thing. If that means going with Tigger here, then I guess that’s what I’ve gotta do.”

“Uh, you stole a ton of shit from a village full of elderly people,” I remind him. “That’s hardly what I would call doing the right thing. You probably would’ve kept doing it if we hadn’t shown up.”

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