Page 6 of The Flame

“Well,” Bullfrog spoke up. “I hope I don’t actually turn green and hop around saying Ribbit!”

The men all snickered.

Rissa looked around at them as she attempted to explain it, “Every human being has inner traits. They use them maybe one percent of the time and even then, they have no idea they did use them. They are hidden in the subconscious. In the soul really. Each of yours will develop from within. And I must caution you.”

“Oh, great,” Diesel spoke up. “Now, we get a caution?” He smirked.

Rissa raised a brow at him. “You do know that you are stronger than you realize, correct? That you do not have to bluster and joke as a defense?”

He furrowed his brows at her as his smirk faded. He did not answer her.

“The caution I wish to impart is that when the powers reveal themselves, you must not try... wild and overly ambitious acts with them at first.”

The men all raised brows at the term she used... wild and overly ambitious acts.

She slowly shook her head. “It is like a boy who gets a new horse or bicycle and then believes he can jump a mountain... Only to land hard and fast. Therefore, breaking all the bones in his body.”

“You mean we need to take baby steps, right?” Swag spoke up.

Looking over at him, she nodded. “You are a technical thinker. You think about all the things that you encounter.”

The IT of the MC stared at her. “Yes, that sort of describes me.”

She stepped closer to him and gazed into his eyes. “An imagination is a powerful thing. Too powerful in the hands of some. In some beings what they can imagine will come true.”

He stared at her, “Holy shit, really?”

The men all again shook their heads as some of them chuckled.

An almost smile formed on Rissa’s lips as she said, “This all will be very interesting when it unfurls.”

“Unfurls?” Steel asked. “Can I ask what that means? Like are we gonna wake up tomorrow and have these so called powers?”

Her gaze swung over to him. She studied him closely. “To bend steel you must have a mind to wield steel.”

He blinked at her in confusion. “Are you making fun of my name or something?”

She shook her head. “Is that your name?’

He nodded. “They call me Steel, yes.”

“We shall see,” she murmured, then looked over at her daughter and said, “Come child, we must call the People. Then we will deal with Milo and the wolves.”

Winsome nodded.

“How will you call the People together?” Luther asked.

“We will send out a signal from within the mountain,” Rissa replied. “The other Shamans of the People will hear this signal and tell the leaders of the tribes it's time to come home.”

“And the wolves won’t hear this signal?” Diesel asked.

Rissa snorted. “I doubt those wolves can hear anything beyond their own moans and groans. But no, they won’t hear the signal. Their souls are shut off from nature, despite having a wolf in them. So they can’t hear anything but their own greed.” Shaking her head she added, “So many people today have lost their way and they no longer listen to Mother Earth. She’s crying out because the people she serves are killing her with their ignorance.”

Winsome shook her head. “Mother, you can’t change people, they have always ignored Mother Earth.”

“I know, just as I know people. You cannot change them as a whole. All we can do is change ourselves.” She shook her head and said, “Come my children, let’s send out the call and see who shows up, then we will challenge the wolves.” She turned and walked toward the door as she led the group to another chamber where there was an opening in the ceiling.

The men all lined themselves up against the walls, both Rissa’s council, and Amira’s.

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