Phoenix Child

  * * *

  "Paul said you're stalking me and that I should come and see what's up," Gavin said, as he sat down next to me.

  Well, that sounded a bit extreme. Granted, I kept an eye on Gavin so I could talk to him alone, but I also helped clean up. I didn't think I’d acted that obvious. "I wanted to talk to you alone."

  "Okay?"

  I opened my mouth when Storm and Kayin walked by with fishing poles.

  "Come on, let's go for walk," Gavin suggested, pointing to a path leading away from camp.

  "Thanks."

  We walked in silence, until I felt sure no one was around.

  "Elijah has these scars and wounds on his chest. He says they're nothing, that he was, 'Helping out some friends.' But there is more to it than that. Do you know what they're from?" I blurted out. Normally, I didn't pry into other people's business, but I worried some creature that we were going to have to deal with made the scars.

  "I think so, at least I can make a guess," Gavin said. "One set on each side of the front of his chest?"

  "Yes." Aha, I knew it was something important.

  "It sounds like he danced a Sun Dance," Gavin said. "It's a spiritual ritual where people choose to sacrifice themselves for the good of the tribe. They suffer so the rest of the tribe doesn't have to."

  "Why wouldn't he tell me that? I wouldn't have been rude or disrespectful." Had I been rude? Elijah seemed okay with my questions earlier. I twisted the hem of my sweatshirt.

  "I know you wouldn't, Sapphire. The Sun Dance is a very personal choice. They see it as 'helping out,' no one is ever asked to dance, or pressured to do so," Gavin explained.

  "Oh." I've never heard of anyone sacrificing themselves like that before.

  "I've never attended a Sun Dance myself, but I have heard it is a powerfully spiritual event." Gavin stopped to look at a small flower growing on the side of the path. It looked like a tiny violet.

  "Do you think all of the Guardians have done a Sun Dance?"

  Gavin shook his head. "No, it's a Lakota ceremony. And the Guardians are made up of people from many different tribes. In fact Guardians are encouraged to marry other Guardians in order to pass their powers on, no matter what tribe they are from."

  "That's interesting." I thought that over for a moment. "Are all Children of Fire encouraged to marry other Children of Fire?"

  "Oh, I'm sure some are, but most of us are simply drawn to each other naturally so there isn't a lot of pressure. It's the magic in us." Gavin continued down the path.

  I hummed. It was rather interesting. It never occurred to me that anyone would care whom I married, let alone care about their ancestry.