The bandages melted. The hospital gown dissolved. The smell of heat-liquefied plastic was tart in the air.
He squeezed his eyes closed, illogically afraid of the heat twisting his vision. But it didn't matter. The heat twisted everything, blackened everything. He was sizzling, he was liquefying.
This was burning to death.
But no! His flesh, though hot, remained untouched. The air was scarce but still breathable. The deafening crackling of incineration gave way to a sound Andrew recognized.
A song!
The singer struggled to breathe. The song came from a scratched and parched throat.
Andrew's own throat!
Without realizing it, Andrew had begun to sing. Even as the mouth of Fornax closed him into this fiery hell, he had begun to call out the melody of the song of burning souls.
And his wasn't the only voice. Many others had joined in, creating a chorus.
He opened his eyes.
The white heat almost blinded him. Ashes coughed through the air.
He lay on a bed of cinders. They crackled and glowed under his hands.
The song grew louder. He looked up. The flames were faces. Dozens of faces. Young boys and young girls, eyes sad and frightened, mouths open in song. They crawled and writhed, studying Andrew with curiosity and fear.
He had found the fire children.
"Take me to Lithe," he whispered.
YOU ARE READING
The Song of Burning Souls (COMPLETE)
ParanormalThe song haunted Andrew's dreams. Then he found the singer: Lithe-a girl made of flame who lives in the vents of his apartment building. Slowly, she shows him the fire world, a brilliant place where there are no lonely winters. But these glimpses ar...
