“What is magic, but a word to calm our  fears of the unknown.”  Victor responded, as much to himself as to Sarah.  He was playing the student, along with his role of teacher. His eyes narrowed in hawklike observance, taking in every flicker of the fire as it danced nearer to Sarah’s fingers.<br/><br/>Victor’s  head inclined towards Sarah‘s, and his lips were just a hairsbreath from her ear as he spoke to her in a whispered tone, “It’s yours, Sarah. Take it.”<br/><br/>Victor had led the fire calling, as he named it, with others before; most of them were just ashes in the dust now.   Many bore the mark of fire in scarred skin, while a precious few still spoke with the flames. Regardless of the outcome, Victor learned something with every instance. Even now he sucked in the knowledge of the experiment and awaited the final dance.