Flame Caller by Jon Messenger Page B

inhale.
    He crawled along the floor, his
fingers digging into the cracks between the marble tiles. The
closer he grew, the more he could see that the bed was completely
swallowed by swirling flames. The light from the fire was intense,
to the point of being blinding. Whatever had started the fire on
the bed had been insanely intense.
    Xander’s eyes watered, not just from
the smoke. Sammy had gone home to go to bed. With the bed so fully
consumed, he feared the worst. He wondered again if it had been
some plot by the Fire Warriors, as retribution for her
betrayal.
    He stared as long as he could at the
swirling inferno on the four-poster bed before finally looking
away. Blue dots danced in his vision, after effects of staring into
the intense light. He blinked furiously to wash away the artifacts
floating in front of his eyes. As the blue lights began to clear,
he saw her smooth, exposed legs sprawled beside the bed.
    A coughing fit overcame Xander as he
crawled toward her prone form. His body felt heavier than it had
when he first entered the room. Dragging himself while staying low
to the floor was growing increasingly more difficult.
    As he rounded the clawed foot of the
formal bed, he saw Sammy collapsed on the floor. Her breathing came
in labored gasps and her eyes fluttered in her
unconsciousness.
    Her alabaster skin practically glowed
from an inner light. She didn’t seem harmed aside from the scorched
nightgown that clung feebly to her body.
    He reached out for her leg and wrapped
his fingers around her soft flesh. Smoke curled from between his
fingers and he heard the searing of his palm. He screamed in pain
and quickly withdrew his hand, cradling the injured hand to his
chest.
    Her skin was burning from within, like
her skin had been transformed to a living ember. He glanced down at
his hand and saw blisters forming from his brief
contact.
    The ceiling above them creaked loudly
as the flames weakened the wooden supports. Plaster poured from the
ceiling in shards as the roof began to crack from the heat. Xander
cringed at the sound but was just as quickly overcome by another
coughing fit.
    Another massive crack split through
the room. One of the wooden beams collapsed, crashing into the bed.
The canopy crumbled on the four-poster bed. The beam striking the
smoldering mattress sent a wave of sparks into the air. They stung
Xander’s skin as they settled over him.
    He knew that there wasn’t any time
left to dawdle. Despite knowing the anguish he was about to be in,
Xander pushed to his feet and rushed to Sammy’s side. When he was a
foot away from her unconscious form, his skin began itching from
the heat. His tunic steamed as it threatened to catch
fire.
    His hands paused just before her body.
With a shallow breath, he slipped his hands beneath her and lifted
her off the ground.
    Pain lanced up the length of his arms
as he cradled her close to him. Tears welled in his eyes as he
staggered under his burden. He knew immediately that he should have
just carried her within a bubble, rather than lift her himself. He
hadn’t wanted to risk his wind powers further weakening the support
beams.
    Xander ran forward as quickly as his
burning lungs would allow. Without breaking stride, he leapt
through the open window and plummeted toward the ground.
    Sammy slipped from his grasp as they
fell. His hands were numb and unresponsive as he tried to reach out
for her. Reaching through the pain, he concentrated enough to
create a pillow of pressurized air beneath them both.
    They struck the bubble with incredible
force, shattering his concentration. The wind had slowed their
decent but hadn’t come close to stopping their fall. They both
slammed into the cobblestone street and rolled away from the
burning building.
    The aunts and uncles converged on the
pair. Alicia threw a bucket of water over Sammy. A cloud of steam
erupted from her skin as the cool water connected with her body.
They all stepped away in surprise.
    Xander tried