I sat on my bed preparing to take a trip into the past. Kalli was already tucked into bed back on Scrap but wasn’t sleeping. All her attention was focused on me and more importantly, the dark candle in my hand.

Are you sure you want to do this? I don’t know where it’s going to take me.

She huffed. It’s my past you're delving into. I think I have a right to be there.

Okay, but be ready for it. Turning into smoke can be a little disorienting.

I wondered if a physical manifestation of Kalli would also be present when I went back in time. The moment I lit the candle, I evaporated into black smoke which was sucked into the void. Before I knew it, the world rematerialized around me into a forest filled with tall trees and mossy green stones. In the distance, a young girl stood proudly holding a wisp of light. She was waiting for someone. I felt Kalli’s bubbly presence inside me. Oh, Melvin! I know what happens today. Will you let me do it?

Um, sure.

While I wasn’t sure how Kalli was going to react to seeing herself, I sure wasn’t expecting her to want to participate. I applied my usual illusion and relinquished control. Kalli smiled and strode from the forest with purpose. “Greetings, young Kalliphae. I see you’ve made progress. Today, I am going to teach you a spell that is one of my personal favorites. I think you will come to enjoy it as well.”

“Will I be able to shoot a fireball?” Young Kalli asked with an eager look on her face.

“In due time,” I heard my voice reply. “You must understand the importance of your training. Trying to bypass steps will only make your magic weaker. By the time I am done with you, you will wield fire like it’s a part of your body.”

To demonstrate what she was talking about, Kalli went full flame angel mode. It was an odd sensation being completely coated in fire. It flickered around me, covering every inch of my body. No, it was a part of my body, attached to my core through a million outlets in my mana channels. Kalli wielded it like an extension of her body. At that moment, she taught me something. I learned that just being able to wield all sorts of mana didn’t mean I was a master of it. Not on the level Kalli was. I resigned myself to just how much I still had to learn.

Kalli grinned inwardly. You should see my fireball now.

The demonstration had the desired effect on young Kalli. The kid bounced up and down eagerly as Kalli walked her through the basics of the “Pvruzth” spell. It took young Kalli half a day to see any results. When it happened, it was so fast, I might have missed it if not for Kalli whispering in my ear. Watch her left hand. She’s about to make her first spark.

Pride swelled within me as I watched the child swoon over her success. “Master! Did you see? Did you see? I did it. I made fire. Real fire. I felt the heat!”

“Well done,” Kalli praised her. “Practice that until you can do it on demand. Once you can sustain the flame for more than a minute, I will teach you how to control the heat and smoke. Both are useful in the right circumstances but a true Pyromancer exercises exact control over every aspect of her flame.”

Even though there was only one body, I felt like I spent hours that night sitting next to Kalli while she instructed herself on the proper use of magic. Little Kalli, as I was calling her, didn’t make much progress. Kalli assured me it was all part of the process. Us mortals don’t just wake up one morning knowing exactly how to summon young maidens from other worlds. Some of us have to work at it.

I’m pretty sure I screwed that spell up.

She giggled, which meant I giggled. Little Kalli looked up in confusion and Kalli had to explain. “Sorry, I was just thinking about something funny.”

“What was it, Master?” Little Kalli asked. “I want to know something funny.”

“It was about a boy,” Kalli admitted before catching herself and realizing she was me. “Err, I mean, one of the boys I taught in the past who did something funny.”

It was my turn to laugh. Fortunately, I wasn’t in control of my body at the moment. Kalli chose that moment to reply to me. Are you saying you screwed up and meant to summon a different girl?

I mock gasped, pretending to be appalled.

I would never!

It didn’t matter. She knew I wouldn’t change a thing just as I knew she was happy I messed up the spell. We sat in silence for a while and watched Little Kalli progress through her second spell. The little spark soon became a flame. Once she managed that, she squeezed her eyes shut and focused on making it stay. No matter how she tried, the flame always died after a few short seconds. She looked up imploringly. “This is hard. Can I try it inside where there’s no wind?”

Kalli looked around. While there was a gentle breeze, it wasn’t strong enough to even snuff out a match. “Sure, you can practice inside the cabin, but I forbid you to use your fire indoors outside of my direct supervision until you learn to control it.”

“Oka-ay,” Little Kalli chanted as she bounced to her feet.

We followed her in and sat in the lone chair that sat next to a cot. Little Kalli cast her spell and the magic died once again. Then she tried cupping her hand with the other one. That also failed. Her next test involved holding her breath. That ended theatrically when the fire winked out and she started coughing violently.

Kalli was patient with her. “You are making a fundamental mistake. You’ve done well to generate the mana needed to generate fire. That isn’t enough though. Magic fire cannot survive on its own the same way regular fire can. You have to feed it constantly or it will die. When you speak the words, concentrate on the flow of your mana and will yourself to keep feeding it. I think we should go back outside. I’d hate to have to rebuild this cabin if you burn it down.”

“I don’t think I’m strong enough for that,” Little Kalli muttered as she followed us outside.

It happened about an hour later. A great plume of fire erupted from the hapless girl as she expended all of her mana in the spell. Kalli caught her and eased her to the ground. Little Kalli was unconscious. Kalli smiled at me as we carried her into the cabin. I knew she was going to do that because I did it. Her next lesson is going to be learning to limit the flow but that will have to wait for another day. It would be so much easier if you awakened her mana channels to give her full control but I know why you can’t. That’s something special she needs to share with her you.

Her me?

Kalli stuck out her tongue, my tongue. She has her own you. She doesn’t get my you. You’re mine!

I’m confused!

We both laughed as a voice invaded the moment. “Marcy! He’s doing it again. I think Melvin’s on drugs!”

My eyes flashed open. The candle had gone out again and Ulli was trying to pry it out of my hands. I quickly tugged it away and stashed it in my fanny pack just as Marcelle marched into the room. “What do you mean drugs?”

“He was sniffing black smoke from that candle,” she announced. “I saw it come out of his nose.”

“It’s not a drug,” I muttered. It took me a moment to realize that not only had Kalli relinquished my body but she was also back on Scrap, stretching luxuriously in her bed.

She smiled when she felt my focus on her. Good Morning. I slept good for the first time in a long time.

My heart caught in my throat when I realized we’d stayed in the candle all night and I wasn’t going to be able to share a dream with her. Kalli laughed and sat up in bed. Relax, we can dream together tomorrow. There’s plenty of time. I’m not going anywhere anymore. Not even your father can stop us.

With that thought in mind, I hopped out of bed, startling Ulli. Marcelle touched the back of her hand to my forehead. “He doesn’t feel sick.”

“He’s not sick,” Ulli complained. “He’s high.”

“I am not!” I groaned. “What I am is hungry. Let’s go grab breakfast.”

“See!” Ulli exclaimed triumphantly. “Now he has the munchies.”

“It’s breakfast,” I grumbled. “Am I not allowed to be hungry first thing in the morning?”

After grabbing a quick shower and freshening up, we made our way to the dining hall. Kalli let me stay in control as she had breakfast to make for the children in her house. As usual, their parents had gone off to work before she woke up.

Do you ever see them? It seems like their kids never see them either.

It reminded me of my mom. She had always worked three jobs and the only reason I knew she’d come home on some nights was that the couch was slept on. Kalli sent feelings of warmth and affection to cheer me up. Don’t worry, Mel. We’ll find your mother, and the kids do see their parents. They’re around all the time on the weekends. Some of them work on the other side of the planet and don’t return till late. Some of the other older kids in the neighborhood pitch in to look out for them.

I stuffed myself during breakfast. Not because I wanted to, but because Kalli wanted to try everything in one sitting. We started with a fruit smoothy with blue fruit that looked like strawberries but tasted more like bananas. Then Kalli had to try the orange one, and the green one. I was already not hungry when she saw the green omelets. After that, she wanted to try waffles with several different toppings. It was only when I threatened to puke that she finally relented but only after making me promise to come back for lunch.

Dealing with the stomach ache turned into another form of training. I sat in the garden by myself and focused on the food in my stomach. While I had a basic understanding of how digestion worked, I’d never tried to help the process. I pushed mana into my stomach to see what would happen. There wasn’t much room in there with all the food Kalli made me eat, so I immediately felt like I was going to be sick. I needed to introduce a little bit at a time and let it do its job. The problem was finding the right kind. An element like fire was out of the question unless I wanted to belch smoke and vomit ash. Just thinking about it made Kalli gag. Ew, Mel. Stop thinking about gross things while I’m cooking.

Sorry.

I focused on mana that would devour the food. Was that even an option? The answer was an emotion rather than an element. I made the mana hungry and let it trickle into my stomach and attack the food. The result was interesting. The food changed the mana, infusing it with a sort of life-sustaining energy that I didn’t usually generate. Once the mana fed, it returned to my mana stream to be replaced by more hungry mana. Before I knew it, the contents of my stomach were gone and I was hungry again. While my mana was supercharged by the food, my physical body was not happy that I’d stolen all of its sustenance.

I decided to try filling my stomach with the newly satisfied mana to see what happened. The hunger in my stomach was replaced by a warm satisfied feeling as my body went to work absorbing it. There wasn’t even a need to digest it. I watched in awe as it made its way into my body through my intestines. Bits of mana found its way to my organs and muscles more naturally than when I force-infused it. I also felt the effect on my brain, getting a lucid feeling that I normally associated with being in the zone.

Kalli noticed as well. You’re going to have to teach me that.

I smiled.

Sure, but first you need to teach me something.

Kalli blinked in confusion. Teach you what?

I held out my hand and altered my mana to fire.

“Pvruzth”