Chapter 1
Haiden
Fire encased the walls of the workshop. All of the works of art made of metal slowly melted in the heat. The smoke filled my lungs. It took everything I had to keep from getting myself out of there and abandoning my mission. But, I couldn't. I had a job to do. I needed to find the person who was working in here before the fire mysteriously started. I was given a gift that allowed me to encourage death. No. Not this time. This time I was going to stop it.
I ran around the area, frantically searching for the woman. I opened every cabinet, dug through every corner. I prayed to the gods that I could find her. They must have been in a crappy mood because the smoke only grew thicker, making it even harder than it already was to see. Finally, crawling through the haze, I saw her.
She was trying to escape the flames that surrounded her and lapped at her clothing. She coughed violently as the dense smoke entered her lungs. It was suffocating her. The pain I felt for her increased. If she died, she would leave her eight-year-old son behind in a world that didn't care for him. There was no way in Hell that I would ever let that happen.
I gingerly stepped into her view, carefully avoiding fire and metal scraps. Her eyes widened as I came into her view. For a second, I wondered how I looked to her. My shoulder length black hair was in knots, and my dress was covered in soot and was ripped. My feet were also covered in dirt and machine grease. My eyes were the only things that allowed the woman to tell who I was. What color were they? How was I supposed to know? I didn't have a mirror. Besides, they changed color and I had no idea what the colors meant. Figuring it out meant hours in front of a mirror and I was not looking forward to that.
I stretched out my small hand toward her. "C'mon," I said. "nobody deserves to die this way." She slowly reached for me, then paused.
"What about Leo? Mijo..." She turned the best she could toward the door that was stuck fast, and I heard a quiet tapping. The boy was tapping out something on the door.
I shook the tears out of my eyes. "We don't have time! If you ever want to see him again you'll come with me now, before we both die! I'm telling you Esperanza, I do NOT wana die yet!" She grabbed my hand and I spirited us out of the flaming workshop. Before we disappeared, I caught a glimpse of Leo, a short Latino boy with brown, curly hair. Tears streamed down his face as he continued to tap out the same message on the door over and over.