"What do you mean she''s gone?" Nix took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. After making sure that Tai''Qui was doing well, he decided to visit the Temple of me to ask Deidra about fire seeds.


    Pon watched the interaction between Nix and Deidra, fairly certain that it was going to end with the Inferno Leader activating his Dread Form. "Before either of us could say anything, Shae cast her mes into the cylinder and disappeared. It''s no one''s fault, Nix."


    Nix scowled at the cylinder in question. Shae hadn''t mentioned that she was going to refine her mes, but then it may have been a spur-of-the-moment decision. He decided to let the matter drop. "Do you need anything from me?"


    The Temple of me was nearly identical to Tai''Qui''s Earth Temple. The statue of a dragon marked the underground entrance; almost nothing else was visible from the surface.


    Unlike Tai, Deidrea has changed into her natural form. The dragon stared at Nix for a handful of moments. "Nothing else, Nix. Since this is a private seed world, I will forego the customary Acolytes and Temple champion. I have no use for either of those."


    Nix turned his attention back toward the cylinder. "Do you n on refining your mes also?"


    "Yes. However, I will wait until Shae returns; besides you, she is the only one I trust to guard my nursery during my absence."


    Unlike Tai''s central chamber, this one was made of white marble with gold veins that glittered in the torchlight.


    Deidrea changed forms suddenly; herrge dragon body morphed into the coldly pale beauty that Nix was used to. She walked past Nix and took a seat on what could only be called a throne.


    Nix nced around the room; although both Dragon Temples were cut from the same mold, the me Temple seemed to be a bit more shy. "Why are there two thrones?" Remembering the Earth Temple, Tai''Qui also had two thrones.


    Deidra shrugged as if unsure. "Did you want something, Nix? It isn''t like you to linger."


    "Yes. I need Fireseeds. Perhaps as many as fifty, strong enough to function for the next few months."


    Deidre smiled slightly, her pale feature showing amusement. "I can make those;e back tomorrow."


    Nix nced at Pon, who seemed like he wanted to be anywhere else but there. "Fine, I''ll do that. Notify me at once if Shae returns."


    ****************


    0400 hours, Haven Ranch


    Nestledfortably between two warm bodies, Nix was sleeping peacefully with no intention of getting up any time soon.


    "Nix..." Shae''s voice whispered from the doorway. As soon as she opened the Master Bedroom door, both Fajii and Hyai looked up.


    The Inferno Leader mumbled a protest when he was gently nudged from two different directions simultaneously; his eyes blinked open when they repeated the process. He immediately spotted the ringleader at the door; his sleepy frown faded into a smile. "Back safe and sound?"


    Shae nodded. "Back safe and sound," she agreed. "Your Fireseeds are on the kitchen ind, ready to go."


    Nix took a few moments to extricate himself from the warmfort of hispanions and sleepily got dressed next to the door. A tired Shae shamelessly assumed his spot in bed, smiling at him when he exited.


    /Inferno: Nix: Life is unfair...


    /Inferno: Darsi: Did you get Fireseeds?


    Nix temporarily ignored the question as he opened a small box on the kitchen ind. He recognized the work as one of Sinfaya''s temporal boxes.


    /Inferno: Nix: Yep. Do you have something to house them in?


    /Inferno: Darsi: Check this out.


    Thermocule (Pronounced Ther-Mock-U-Lee)


    Elemental Container: Fire


    Description: Fire seeds ced inside of the


    Thermocule are amplified by fifty percent.


    /Inferno: Nix: I''ll meet you at Ravine''s House.


    /Inferno: Darsi: See ya there, Trip-7.


    When Nix arrived at Madam''s Ravine''s House of Pleasure a few minutester, Darsi was waiting patiently inside. The Inferno Sniper looked like she''d stayed up all night crafting. She handed him one of her creations.


    Nix turned the Thermocule over in his hands. It was made from ceramic, with one end having a baseball-sized sphere and the other ending in a sharp spike. It was nearly a meter in length and weighed just over a few pounds. When he touched the sphere, it opened up. "Fire seed goes in here?"


    Darsi nodded. "Push the stake into the ground and ce the seed in the sphere. When you activate the Thermocule, the sphere will close and start pushing out the heat."


    Nix didn''t have to pretend to be impressed. "You made fifty of these in one night?"


    "Yep." Darsi grabbed the Thermocule from him and stowed it away. "It will be easier to stake them in the ground if you warm things up first."


    When they exited the House of Pleasure through the back door a few minutester, Nix instantly morphed into his Phoenix form. He took to the air and started making loops around the house. They nned to heat Market street and the area around Madam Ravine''s House.


    After Nix''s 4thp, Darsi started staking the Thermocules into the ground. They had to be ced at least five meters away from anything that might burn. Although they wouldn''t contain an open me when activated, the glowing device would be unapproachable by anyone who wasn''t an advanced fire user.


    /Inferno: Darsi: I''ve got Ravine''s staked out. Time for those Fireseeds.


    /Inferno: Pon: Hey! Did you guys start without me?


    /Inferno: Nix: Yes...


    Nix changed back into human form and ced one of the Fireseeds inside the ceramic sphere. When it closed a momentter, he received a message asking if he wanted to activate the Thermocule. "Yes."


    The device glowed bright red and started radiating heat in all directions; the amount of coverage was fairly impressive. The frosted windows on the rear of the House of Pleasure immediately started to melt.


    Over the next few minutes, the trio ce four more warming devices around the business. It seemed like a bit of overkill to Nix, but at least the girls wouldn''t have to worry about the cold anymore.


    Nix turned the remaining Fireseeds over to Pon before returning to his Phoenix duties. He would heat the Market street while Pon and Darsi ced the remaining devices. In all likelihood, they would finish before any of the shops started opening.


    cing the rest of the seeds took less than an hour; most of that was due to the windswept streets beingpletely frozen. However, after a half dozen fly-bys, the streets started to soften enough for the stakes to be pushed in. The street Thermocules were ced in the center of the road and pounded down until it looked like a glowing ball sitting on the ground.


    /Inferno: Pon: All finished with the House of Ravine and Market street. However, we have two left.


    /Inferno: Nix: ce them around the front gate, near the guardpost. Those guys have been freezing long enough.


    Vic quickly left his home and hurried toward Market street. On most days, the cold morning air was enough to take his breath away; however, today, something had taken the edge off of the brutal cold.


    When he was half a block away, he started to feel the warmth. Was the Phoenix already making his flights? The Store Keeper stopped a few meters away from the corner where his business was located. All of Market street was lit up with orange light. The boardwalk was already free of Ice, and none of the shop entrances were frozen over. He sped up his pace and headed toward his store. Many of the shop owners had brooms out and were sweeping puddled water into the street. He unbuttoned his heavy coat, smiling widely. Market street was warm.


    By mid-morning, Nix was sitting across from his dad, Madam Ravine and Vooni, while sampling the afternoon''s first batch of AF soup.


    "What''s the n here, Nicky? This ce is a brothel, after all."


    Nix nodded and slurped loudly, immediately echoed by Vooni, who was clearly trying to make a louder noise them him. The two grinned at each other and continued theirpetition. "I know. First, let''s get peopleing back into the doors. The entertainment part of this business can wait until we are all long gone. For now, this will be a ce to sit and enjoy a drink in rtivefort."


    Rico nced around the room. Most of the girls were heading out to serve lunch in the streets. A few stayed behind on cooking and cleaning detail. "You really think people wille here?"


    Madam Ravine gestured toward thefortable couches where four men and two women were already seated. "That''s half the city council."


    Nix considered her words for a moment. "Sorry... What is your first name?"


    "Maybe it''s Madam." Madam Ravine smiled slightly. "It''s Lana... I know, Lana from the City of Lana."


    Nix shrugged as if finding nothing wrong with the statement. "Go talk to those people. This is your ce; make sure they know that. Inferno is here to build your reputation, not ours."


    Lana looked unsure of herself but stood up anyway. "I guess you are right."


    Vooni slurped the rest of her bowl before pushing her chair back. "I''ll back you up. Just say the word, and I''ll toss them into the street."


    [Whisper: Nix to Vooni] Make sure they mind their manners. It''s okay if you have to p a few of them around.


    Vooni smiled at the Inferno Leader and followed Lana toward the group.