Fire-eater
by Amy Crook
This was written after I read the end of Inkspell.
I do not own the Inkheart trilogy or its characters, nor do I make a profit from this.
Fire is a perilous beast
But we are raptured by its flames.
Yet it is dancing, joyfully submissive.
Who could accomplish this?
Fire-eater! Fire-eater!
With magic upon his tongue!
By the honey of the fire elves
He speaks the language of the flames.
Tongues of fire play with him
Bend to his whim to please him.
He masters them with fingers light as dust
His ginger crown shining in their aura.
The flames kiss the scars upon his face
Although they did not inflict them.
Fire-eater! Fire-eater!
Lover of the flames!
His heart is torn
At the sight of his apprentice
Cold and stiff he lies
But the flames can never warm him.
He coaxes his fire to emerge from hiding
And paint the name of the bearer of his heart upon stone.
Ladies garbed in white emerge from the nether places
And wrench out his soul with clawing fingers
So he may entertain them with his tricks.
He saves one friend and keeps the other.
And thusly was the Fire-eater
Held captive by his flames.