Blood and Fire
Chapter 8
The Dark Mirror.

A late spring storm howled across the open plain. With nothing but a few hills between it and the pole itself the weather there could be unbelievably harsh. Not that much snow fell, but the wind whipped what snow there was into a blinding blizzard that might well continue for days.

Inside Flame Song's underground home a different sort of storm was howling. Firedart was lying on the floor, flailing and screaming. The six year old boy was very often more of a handful than both of their other children put together. Flame, who had been trying to talk the child out of this latest tantrum gave Aidan a glance that said "help," so he got up from where he'd been sitting and helping Littlespark draw, and want over to the screaming boy. He didn't bother with talking, he just picked him up by the waist and held him at arm's length. Dart continued to scream and flail.

"Dart. If you don't stop screaming right now I am going to lock you in your room." Pheonixflare, who was already in said room, lying on his bed, flattened his ears at that. He didn't want his screaming twin locked in with him, and he didn't want to have to sleep somewhere else either. But Firedart's howling cut off. He glared at his father and then deliberately hit his arm, as hard as he could. Aidan glared right back. "You do not hit people! I am going to lock you in now, and you can't come out until you apologize."

Aidan gave Phoenixflare an apologetic look as he carried his brother into his room. With a sigh Flare got to his feet and padded on all fours out the door. Aidan deposited his more humanoid brother on on his bed and went out and shut the door. Only just in time, because Firedart tried to get to it first and get out. He puled on the door and started screaming again. Aidan held onto the latch, keeping it closed. The door didn't actually lock, so he was stuck there until Dart calmed down.

"Sorry Flare. You can sleep in our bed tonight if you like, or out by the fire."

"I'll sleep in your bed," he said. "It's okay. I just wish he'd figure out that screaming doesn't help already." His ears were still back.

Flame Song gave her youngest son a hug, and went with him into her and Aidan's bedroom, where she tucked him into their large bed. Aidan continued to hold on to the latch. Firedart was still tugging at it, and it sounded like he'd gotten one foot braced on the door frame. Aidan had the sudden thought to let go and let him fly backwards, but he didn't seriously entertain it. He didn't want to be cruel to the boy, but he wasn't going to let his son get away with tantrums and hitting either. So he just kept holding the door shut. He was stronger and had more endurance than trained warriors twice his size, so he wasn't going to be worn out by a small child, however loud. It went on for quite a while all the same, but eventually the screaming and the pulling stopped.

"Are you ready to apologize?" said Aidan through the door.

"M'sorry," came the mumbled reply. Aidan opened the door. Firedart was sitting on the floor, his face still a little red and his cheeks tear-stained. Aidan picked him up again, but to hug him this time. "That's better." The boy sniffled and leaned against Aidan's chest. Aidan held him for a little longer, then set him down on his bed. "Now it's bedtime." Protesting against going to bed was what had started the whole mess, but Firedart was too worn out to put up any further protests, and soon Aidan had him tucked in. The house was blissfully silent. Phoenixflare, of course, was sound asleep by now, and Littlespark had gone to bed not long after. So when Aidan left the boys' bedroom and eased the door shut, he found Flame sitting alone by the fire. She smiled up at him. "At least he does it less often now. Maybe by the time he's twelve he'll have grown out of it entirely."

Aidan chuckled. "I can hope he grows out of it a little sooner than that. I sometimes think that if we'd had him first, we'd just have the one. I love him, but he is quite a handful."

Flame leaned against her husband's side and nodded. "Yes he is. Though I suppose Flare makes up for it. He's..." she trailed off.

"Hmm?"

Flame sat up and shook her head softly. "It seems odd to say it, but he unnerves me a bit sometimes. I sometimes feel that he knows more than I do. He's so adult, and yet he's still so young..."

"Have you known any other Phoenix Children?" he asked.

"Only as adults, and then not very well. I've met a couple, is all. They were like that too, but they were hundreds of years old. Thousands even. You expect it from someone like that. From your own child..." she shrugged. "But I love him all the same."

"I know what you mean. And I love him too. And he loves us, and that's really all that matters."

Flame smiled over at him. "Yes. I love you too, you know."

"I know."

Flame laughed. "Aidan!"

He grinned impishly at her. "I love you too."

She shook her head. "You're hopeless."

"No, I'm hopeful."

"Oh? And what are you hoping for?"

"Well for starters, I was hoping I might get a kiss."

"Just a kiss?" There was a twinkle in Flame Song's eyes as she said it.

"I said for starters," replied Aidan, with a matching twinkle in his own eyes.

"And what then?"

"Oh, I'm sure I can think of something..."

Flame smiled and put her arms around him. He slid his arms around her as well and kissed her deeply. When Flame came up for air Aidan lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly, first on the back and then on the palm. Then he kissed her wrist slowly and gently, lingering over the spot where her blood rushed close to the skin. Her breathing quickened and her heart began to race as he worked his way upward, taking his time, drawing the moment out.

At first they were both far to distracted to hear the faint hum that was building in the room, but gradually it became too loud to miss. Aidan reluctantly broke off what he was doing. “Do you hear that?”

“Yes,” said Flame Song. “And look.” She pointed to the corner of the room where a soft glow was building in accompaniment to the hum.

"A portal," said Aidan as the glow turned into a rainbow shimmer that hung in the air just off the ground. He got nimbly to his feet, and his hands went to the pair of daggers he always wore at his belt. Maybe whoever was making the portal was friendly, and maybe not. Flame too had risen to her feet, and Aidan could tell by the faintest possible blurring that hovered around her that she was prepared to shift back into her firecat form if needed.

The portal stopped growing, and an instant later a man stepped through.