The fire queen regarded Taggerty, who was now struggling to open the door, but it was latched tight. After a moment she gazed down at Andrew, who had to squint to keep his eyes from evaporating.
"Take me to the fire world," he croaked. "I know about it, I saw it."
The fire queen held up a hand and the children melded together until they formed a rippling cape behind her body. The heat dissipated somewhat and Andrew was able to open his eyes again.
They were alone in the ash-strewn furnace. The air was a little cooler, breathable.
"The fire inside you is not the same as our fire," she said.
"I don't care," said Andrew. "You took those other children, take me!"
Taggerty pulled at the latch with shaking fingers, shouting after his wife. With one hand, the fire queen heated the door until the metal was red-hot. Taggerty screamed and drew a burned hand away from the latch.
"I did not take those other children, I am saving them." She indicated the long, flaming cape, inside which Andrew could see many faces.
"But what about Lithe? You couldn't save her, I couldn't save her . . ." Andrew felt a tear escape his eye, sizzle in the heat and then disappear.
The fire queen reached out to touch the dissolved tear, but it was gone.
"There is more than one kind of flame, Andrew, but both destroy equally. There is the orange flame, which burns the flesh, and the flames of love, which burn the soul. Your flame is that of the second kind, as is his." She pointed toward Taggerty, who was pounding on the door latch with a monkey wrench.
"When he opens that door, oxygen will rush in. I will no longer be able to control my size. I will grow very large and engulf you and you will not go to the fire world, you will die. So we must do this quickly."
"Do what?" Andrew whispered.
"Destroy the second flame inside you."
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...
