Across the field, she sank onto her haunches beside a brazier, and to my shock, dipped her hand straight inside. She brought her curled fist out of the flames as if they were no more threatening than a bucket of water and laid a fist-sized ball of fire on the ground. She repeated the action and each time her hand came out scorched and smoking, but her healing powers repaired the damage faster than she was burning. Soon she had a dozen flaming balls spread about her.
She wiggled her fingers in a shooing motion, and they began scurrying forward like demonic rats.
The horrific yet mesmerizing display was promptly forgotten when Sarla came dashing out of my periphery. The fire raging inside me howled its joyous challenge, drowning out the fearfullittle voice in the recesses of my mind that begged me to reconsider.
You have no training.
You’ve never even thrown a punch.
You have no control.
My flames exploded to life along my arms, sheathing them in blazing gauntlets with wickedly sharp talons.
Sarla’s hands flew out as she ran toward me, her fiery fists rocketing ahead of her.
Moving purely on reflex, I flung out my hands and struggled to block strike after strike. Though I felt no burn from the flames, the unrelenting force of her blasts drove my feet skidding through the sand.
Then the glowing hellrats ran underfoot. The craftings swelled and exploded like a half dozen grenades, sending Sarla and me tumbling through the air.
Before either of us even hit the ground, another swarm of hellrats bounded past on their way toward the male combatants.
I cried out a warning to Kinyx as the hellrats closed in, not even caring if Sin’s illusion could mask my feminine voice. The young male snapped his head toward me, registered the incoming balls of fire, then slammed his flame whips to the ground, jettisoning himself backward twenty paces.
Diref was slower to react, though, and the hellrats swept him up in a wave of explosions. He crashed to the ground, struggling to regain his breath.
Sarla screamed and the unholy sound chilled me to the bone. I didn’t know if it was fear for her father, or pain from her scorched limbs as she gathered herself to strike back.
Before either Gold caster could move, Jacksyn swooped down to scoop up a fresh hellrat and slammed it into Direff’s open mouth.
I couldn't look away, and for an agonizing moment it felt like time stood still and every sound faded away save for that one tiny explosion.
When time resumed, bile surged into my throat and blood flecks spattered against my face. Locked in place by the horror before me, I could do nothing but stare at the remains of Sarla’s father.
I blinked at Direff, pleading for things to make sense. One minute he was alive and fighting. The next there was only a wide smear of blood and gore where his head should have been.
I succumbed to the nausea and lost my lunch all over the sands, praying Sin’s illusion would hide it.
A few yards away, Jacksyn allowed Sarla no time to grieve as he closed the distance between them and began raining fire balls the size of pumpkins down on her.
Sarla’s pain didn’t trap her as I expected it to, though.
It fueled her.
Her flaming limbs reformed, blocking and deflecting the incoming missiles. Throwing out a fiery whip that wrapped around Jacksyn's ankle, she pulled him off his feet so her flaming hands could pin his arms to the ground.
A smile tugged at my lips when Jacksyn screamed, his flesh sizzling, but my attention was quickly pulled away to face down an incoming Harlix.
Direff's death fed my rage to the point I could no longer hold back, and flames ripped from my fingertips. I charged her, forcing her to bend fully backward to dodge my claws swiping at her face.
Straightening back up, she flung a fistful of sand into my face, and I shrieked as the dirt blinded me. Stumbling backward, I hit the ground hard.
Watery sweat swirled from my brow to run across my eyes, rinsing the sand out and leaving only a slight sting.
I glanced over to Sin as he dropped his hand and mouthed, “End it.”
I wanted to, but I couldn’t. My anger only flared brighter at the dirty trick Harlix had pulled.
She was no longer interested in me, though. Instead, she raced toward her injured lover.
