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Haldor stepped up to my left. His amber curls were plastered to his head, ivory skin illuminated as the fire raged before us. His narrowed gaze did not tear free from the fire as he sized it up.
“Can you hold it from spreading?” I asked, voice muffled by the powerful storm.
Determination fortified his expression. Droplets of rain fell from the tip of his nose as he nodded, shouting his reply, “I shall do what I can.”
Frila slipped to my other side. Winds ripped around us, howling so viciously it sounded like a chorus of souls crying in pain. Whereas Haldor watched the fire as though it was his greatest enemy, she watched me.
“The winds are feeding the fire,” I said. “Deflect the flow away and starve the fire. It will help Haldor attempt to put it out completely.”
I did not wait to see if she listened to my command as I threw myself into the chaos.
Ana was aiding people from the scorched doorway. They came stumbling from it as dark, thick smoke billowed around them. Choking, spluttering. Some hardly kept their eyes open as others helped them run free.
Haldor stood before the burning building; arms held before him in worship. He leashed the flames with his power. Immediately, their frantic movements seemed to calm, dwindling slightly, but not completely.
Glass exploded from one of the higher floors. An outward burst of orange and ruby tongues reached out into the night. Not even the heavy rain could aid in putting the fire out.
I was helpless as I watched.
“This is terrible,” Frila’s small voice whispered beside me. “So much death. None of them deserved such a fate.”
I turned to look down at her. Still, she did not aid Haldor. Frila kept her hands at her sides as she marvelled at the destruction.
“You are wasting precious time, Frila!”
Thunder rumbled in the skies above. Not a moment later, a burst of white-hot lightning forked across the sky. It illuminated the darkness, long enough for me to recognise the humour in Frila’s wide, grey eyes.
“How are you to protect our world when you cannot even look after your own home? Death follows you no matter where you step. It always has and it always will.”
Haldor roared into the night; my name mixed with his cry of desperate pleading.
I wished to turn and help him, but something stopped me; a whisper of my shadows forewarning that something was wrong.
Seared into Frila’s cloud-silver gaze was my reflection. Tired, horrified eyes looked back at me. Frila cackled, and the storm echoed in response.
I reached for my shadows a moment too late. Frila was prepared.She threw her hands skyward, and a fork of lightning reached down as though to touch her. Winds billowed as Frila’s power fed the storm.
Herstorm.
I gathered my shadows in time, for the burst of bright light crashed towards me. The energy crackled across my arms. Inhaling, I smelt singed hair. I threw the cloak of shadows across me as her power slammed into mine. The ground fell away from me, and I spun wildly through the night. A sudden cry tore out of my throat, silenced only as my body slapped back into the muddied ground.
I clutched at my chest, unable to gather a breath. The pain stabbed through me, slicing up my back as though knives slashed out at me.
“What have you done?” Haldor shouted.
I blinked away the rain and looked up at his tired face. Dark smudging of ash had brushed across his cheek.“It is her…”
Haldor turned back, flames spreading across his hands. They hissed as the storm fell upon them, but still they burned bright. He was haloed by the flames that were still devouring the serving quarters as he faced off the deranged figure whose storm whipped around her.
“Dear Haldor, please do not stand inourway,” Frila groaned.
I pushed myself from the ground, each small movement boiling agony, but my anger soon dulled the pain as it growled throughout me. Darkness swelled around Haldor and me, preparing to shield us if Frila attacked.
“It did not have to end like this, you know…” Frila called out, long-white hair twisting around her as a vortex of power formed into a cyclone. She stood before us, possessed with her element, eyes glowing with the crackling of lightning that she commanded.
“Never did I expect that you had the capacity to arrange such chaos,” I replied, breathless from my fury. “Perhaps I should admit I am impressed, but that will not matter with how this will end.”
Bolts of white light crackled across Frila’s forehead. Even from a distance, I recognised what it was. A crown.
