Let Me Fly Free by Mary Fan Page A

swirling columns of flames at it. I feel the
strain within me; I’ve never used this much force at once before.
But my anger overwhelms all other senses as I unleash my magic
without mercy.
    I will burn the thlakeen until nothing is
left, and I will dance on its ashes.
    I’m scarcely aware of my surroundings
anymore. There’s only me and the enemy. Me and the fight. Me and
the power.
    The tentacle shrivels under my fire, and the
thlakeen’s agonized cries cause the air to quake. For a brief,
euphoric moment, I taste victory.
    The feeling soon splinters as a wave of heat
blasts toward me, engulfing me in yellow and red. The blaze is so
powerful, even I feel its sting upon my skin, like a million tiny
needles pressing into me. Were I not fire as well, I would surely
have been reduced to a crisp. I glance up to the thlakeen’s rows
and rows of teeth, and realize the flames are coming from its
mouth.
    I turn my hands toward this new threat and
thrust the columns of fire at the blaze shooting from the
thlakeen’s maw. I’m able to push the monster’s flames off of me,
and their absence makes the air suddenly feel cool. But the
creature doesn’t draw back, and I soon find myself locked in a
contest of strength, with each of us hoping to overpower the other.
Magic pulses through my veins as I press on, but I feel my energy
diminishing. Though I manage to keep the fire strong, my arms begin
to shake from the strain.
    Seconds stretch and stretch, each one longer
than the last. My very breath trembles from the effort, and yet the
monster remains as powerful as ever. I feel as if I’m pushing
against a solid rock face, hoping to break it, but am only
fracturing my own bones.
    Where are the unicorns? Why do they not help
me fight this creature, and why didn’t they interfere when it
attacked Kiri?
    Suddenly, my arms give out. I don’t even
have a chance to stop them; they fly back, overwhelmed by the
thlakeen’s strength, and a great force strikes my chest, sending me
to the ground. The impact ripples through my back, and the next
thing I know, I’m lying spread-eagle on the grass, staring up at a
pair of menacing red eyes.
    Yet the flames have vanished. For some
reason, though the thlakeen won our contest, it chose not to try
incinerating me. Perhaps it realized that it could not. Whatever
the case, I’m not about to wait and see what it will do.
    My breath comes in ragged gasps as I
scramble to get up, but before I can stand, an enormous hand clasps
my middle, thick and rough with scales. An involuntary yelp escapes
me as I find myself once again in the thlakeen’s grip. The rank
smell of salt and rot rises from the monster’s slimy flesh, and I
gag. Panic seizes me as I struggle to escape, but none of my
flailing does any good.
    The thlakeen lifts me toward its revolting
face and opens its mouth, which is as wide as a cave. The stench of
its breath is so putrid, my eyes tear up. An ominous red light
glows at the back of its black throat, behind the unforgiving
teeth.
    It suddenly hits me that I’m being an idiot;
why the blazes am I still in my solid form when I can transform
into flames?
    I change at once, feeling my body dissolve
into heat and light. Free of physical confines, I pass right
through the monster’s fist, scorching it as I flee, and zoom
through the air, thinking only to get away from the thing that
wants to crush me in its jaws and swallow my life.
    “ Cyim! ” I call, wondering why neither he nor Amdyth has
interfered.
    Then, to my shock, solid claws close around
my body once again, nearly squeezing the breath out of me.
Wondering how this is possible when I’m still in my ethereal form,
I fight to escape. I flame and flame in every direction, trying to
burn my way to freedom. But the thlakeen’s powers are somehow able
to grip me even in this state, and whatever vulnerability I
exploited when I incinerated its tentacle seems to have
vanished.
    What monstrous horror is this? What mighty
power can