The Land Set Aflame

Chapter 38: The Gust of Wind

Kithana's face was there in front of him for just a moment, blending in with the searing heat and freezing cold of the shadowflame that had touched him. At least, he thought it was her face that he saw there. But one blink was enough to erase it, leaving him staring at a wall of dancing flames.

Brilliant, orange flames.

The shadowflame was gone. And the weird agony of its touch was gone.

Leofric shook himself and sat up, scooting backwards on his hind end, because, for reasons that were unclear to him, backwards seemed like the safer direction to go.

A few moments later, his eyes finally managed to resolve the scene in front of him, in spite of the strange blobs of bright color that were still swimming across his vision; and he could confirm that backwards was, in fact, the safer direction to go.

The dryad Myndrith had dropped from the trees, and her arms were slowly growing into gnarled, blackened branches, tipped with oversized, wicked claws. But her back was towards Leofric. Abdus was still standing by that table-like stone, mouth agape as he absently waved his hands at something behind him. Both of them were staring at the little bonfire that quivered on the ground between them.

The fire! Kithana!

Leofric's ears picked up the faintest whisper of sound, and he saw Abdus's lips moving with some arcane words. The shadows behind the old wizard began to grow, to twist and bend, to dance, transforming into sheets of yellow-tinged shadowflame that spread around the area behind him, swiftly engulfing the entire grove and its blackened trees. From the flames jumped several shapes, things that resembled beasts, but were made of shadowstuff.

Suddenly, the little orange fire in the middle of it all exploded, slashing in a smooth arc that cut across several of the little shadow beasts. Each creature yelped in turn and fell back, a scar of orange flame burnt across its body, and each slowly dissipated into a harmless mist.

The orange flame resolved into the familiar, twirling gown and flowing hair of Kithana, and she spun and danced like Leofric had never seen before. She wielded tongues of flame like slashing blades that grew from her arms and legs, handily dispatching the shadow-spawned beasts as quickly as Abdus could summon them forth.

The dryad stepped into the fray, her huge claws raking across Kithana's back and leaving blackened trails behind that swam through the flames of her body. Kithana gasped in pain and stumbled. But then her form briefly dispersed and reappeared, this time facing Myndrith. She burst forwards, her blade-like flames slashing at the dryad, who shrieked in pain as parts of her wooden body began to smolder and smoke.

Myndrith quickly decided to abandon the fight, retreating in a squealing panic towards the trunk of that massive, black tree. Her claws grabbed frantically at that tree, and as they touched, they seemed to merge into the tree and pull Myndrith's entire body into it, until she vanished from sight entirely.

"Kithana, let's go!" Leofric shouted.

Master Garrafey abandoned the shadow-summoning strategy and instead dug into his pockets for some spell ingredients. He produced a fistful of something and held it up to his mouth, whispering words of power to it. Leofric's heart froze when he recognized the words and began to follow along.

"Master, don't do it!" he shouted, digging hastily into his satchel for ingredients of his own.

A light, purple glow began to emanate from between Master Garrafey's fingers, and glittering motes trickled out like sand as swirls of magic began to form.

"Kithana, get away!" Leofric shouted.

Kithana was still dealing with the last few shadow beasts, and hadn't yet seen what her creator was doing. At Leofric's warning, she glanced up to see Abdus raising his fist to hurl the glowing dust. Leofric pulled out a packet of ingredients and hastily began shouting his own string of arcane words, desperately hoping that he could get them right and get them out fast enough.

The glowing dust sprayed through the air from Master Garrafey's fingers, filling the air with a wave of glittering motes that wafted directly towards Kithana. Two of the shadow beasts were caught in the spray, and purplish magic began to swirl and flare, surrounding the area with ribbons of magic.

Leofric finished his own spell and opened his palm, blowing sharply against the crushed-up bits of herbs in his hand. They fluttered on the air momentarily, and time seemed to slow. Leofric watched his spell ingredients dance and spin on the breeze until they each captured motes of mana and dissolved into oblivion. The captured mana infused his breath, and transformed it into a powerful gust of wind.

Purple tendrils were ensnaring Kithana and two shadow beasts, wrapping around them and growing more powerful. But Leofric's gust tore through the area quickly, shredding the purple ribbons and carrying their tattered remnants away. Kithana's body bent and flapped like flames in the wind, and Leofric reached out to seize her hand and pull her to safety.

Her hand was warm to the touch.

The summoned wind blew both of the shadow creatures off their feet, and one of them hurtled away through the air, purple swirls of magic still gripping and surrounding it and gradually stripping away its physical being, shifting it into the Spirit World. The second beast was spared that fate, but cowered beneath the wind that threatened to blow it away.

Leofric felt a mild burning sensation in his hand as he caught Kithana's hand, but he endured it. "We've got to go!" he shouted to her as he pulled her towards him.

A few remnants of purple tendrils continued to orbit her and swim across the surface of her flames, but she seemed to shake herself out of a daze and recognize what he was saying. "Yes, come on!" she said, somehow scooping him up in her arms and blazing away rapidly.

Leofric briefly caught sight of his old master trying to cast another spell, but before the spell could appear, he felt shadows extending from the ground to envelope him and his love, and they were suddenly, sickeningly, transported across the forest again, back to the kallaw and Svenden Moon.

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As it turns out, a fire elemental is a pretty useful ally in a fight! I wonder where she learned how to fight like that?

Leofric came to rescue his lady love, but it took both of them working together to complete the rescue.

Thanks for continuing to read "The Land Set Aflame"! I've loved sharing it so far.