As the gregarious man neared the threesome, the supernatural dam broke. The dottle in his pipe glowed brightly, then flared, then flames shot several feet high out of the bowl of his pipe, igniting his beard in the process. The man cried out in terror and dropped his pipe. The other bystanders screamed and fled in a panic.
Flames spilled out of the abandoned pipe, pooling in the street. The fire of the hapless man’s burning beard also grew in size and intensity as it spread across his head and ignited his clothes.
Praxle, Teron, and Jeffers closed ranks in the face of this unexpected development. Flotsam cowered behind their ankles and hissed.
The flames from the pipe coalesced into a whirling column. The vortex pulled the ashes of tobacco up into the air, and the spinning motes provided the embers from which a fire elemental spawned. A thread of fire rose from each of the bits of burning tobacco, and as the summoned beast moved the whirling created a look of several insectile legs writhing in the air.
The flames from the burning man formed themselves into a second creature, spiraling around the screaming man until he collapsed and the fats rendered from his body spilled forth and ran in the street. The second flame elemental rode the rivulets of fat toward the trio, gliding along the ground like a curtain of fire.
“With all due respect, master,” said Jeffers, “I do not believe my expertise will avail us much in this situation.”
“Distract them, Jeffers,” Praxle yelled, panic seasoning his voice. “Keep them away from me!”
Teron looked at the two magical creations. For a moment he wondered whether the mages behind this assault expected to get two fire elementals, or whether the dead man had provided a convenient bonus. He checked the two creatures again and chose his first target. “Watch that one!” he ordered Jeffers, shoving him toward the oily fire.
He closed on the soaring elemental, then quickly hopped forward and slung his leg around in a roundhouse kick, aiming for the motes that fed the flames. He felt his foot pass through the fire; there was a moment of resistance, like the flame itself was thick as Brelish pudding. He felt the searing heat, but his foot swept right through the collection of tiny coals that kept the thing alive. The kick snapped half of them away from the flames, tearing them from feeding the fire. For a moment, the elemental had but three fiery legs twirling beneath it, but as Teron recovered his balance, he saw the vortex draw the other motes back into itself, and the flame leapt to them once more.
“Right,” murmured Teron, and braced himself for what must be done.
He stepped back, ignoring the cries and curses from his companions; they were far enough away that Teron felt no threat from the fire they faced. He focused his spirit, turning his will inward and forcing his viscera to comply. He pulled energy from deep within himself, an agonizing draw that sent bile into his throat, but he steeled his face to a calm mask.
The fire elemental drew closer, dancing in the air on its six fluttering embers. It closed, then veered away, pursuing Flotsam. Somewhere behind him, Teron heard a sound akin to slowly shattering glass as Praxle unleashed a spell.
Teron forced his energy out to his fists, feeling the energy burning as it descended down his ligaments and veins. A scarlet glow emanated from his palms. It started to break free, but Teron clenched his fingers like a dragonhawk’s talons, forming them into cages. The energy struggled to explode outward, but his will kept it in check, straining at once to force it out of his palms but keep it within his grip. It felt like trying to hold onto a fistful of acidic baby eels.
As the fire elemental passed in front of him, Teron unleashed himself, lunging forward and striking the fire elemental with a double thrust. He opened his fists at the last second to attack with open palms, and the energy erupted.
The fire elemental reeled. Teron pulled back and saw that three of its embers had been disintegrated by his attack, and the other three fluttered in the wake of the concussion; the flaming creation struggled to maintain its shape, dancing on a tenuous trio of flickering legs.
The elemental’s attention shifted away from Flotsam to Teron, clearly it considered him a greater threat than the skittish feline. It whirled toward him, the embers that anchored its magical existence braiding a complicated trail that defied prediction.
Teron staggered back, his stomach twisting and preparing to heave from the torment of evoking such energy in a controlled manner. He leaned forward as he backpedaled, an acrid belch forcing its way out of his stomach. Behind him, he heard exclamations from Praxle and Jeffers, but he had no time to sort the sounds into something sensible as the fire elemental closed.
With an agonizing effort, he summoned more energy from deep within him. A luminescent streak of magical energy erupted from his hand, but he grabbed the tail end and spun his hand to wrap it around his fist. It strained to be free, to fly and destroy, and he had to concentrate to pull its tail back within himself and contain its head. He gave an involuntary moan of feverish discomfort and his head swayed slightly as a wave of dizziness swept over him.
At that moment, the fire leapt toward him. He brought his hands together in a violent clap, spattering the magical force at the flying coals at the creature’s base, and then it was on him. His instincts screamed at him to run, but his training pushed him forward through the flames, and he tumbled across the ground, rolling to put out any parts that might have ignited.
He looked back at the elemental. It moved away, as if it had expected him to flee its fiery wrath. It reversed it course, and he noted that two embers remained to fuel it. He summoned some more of his rapidly depleting energy to his hands as it closed. He tried to contain the fury of the power, but it slipped his fingers and flew at the fire elemental, passing through the main body of the flames. The energy punched a brief hole in the fire, but the fire burned as brightly after it passed through. The elemental closed on Teron, and he crawled backward, the torsion in his bowels slowing him considerably.
I never thought I’d burn to death, he thought, and steeled his will to avoid screaming as he died.
Of a sudden he saw something leap through the air at the flaming conjuration, twinkling against the night sky, and with a splash and a hiss, the fire elemental vanished. Teron blinked in surprise. There, just behind where the flaming beast had danced, stood Kelcie, the barmaid, holding an empty bucket in her trembling hands. The two locked eyes for a long second, each equally startled.
Teron heard Jeffers cry out, and it stirred him from his brief reverie. With an agonized roar he stood, knees rather wobbly. He saw Jeffers rolling along the ground, his clothes aflame. The other fire elemental slithered near him like a flaming viper.
Teron spared just an instant to look Kelcie in the eye once more, and he gripped her shoulder with a brief, strong gesture of thanks. Then he sprinted down the street for Jeffers.
Praxle was nowhere to be seen.
18
Matters of Heart and Soul
Having extinguished the flames that were consuming his cloches, Jeffers stumbled to his feet. The half-orc ripped the still-smoking jacket from his back, panting out a series of grunts in what appeared to be impending panic. Unseen behind him, the fire elemental turned, writhing its way in for the kill. Teron dived for Jeffers, tackling him shoulder to midriff, and the two of them crashed to the hard, cobbled street as the flaming snake shot past, singeing their ankles.
Teron rolled off Jeffers and saw the thing coming around again. With a cry he pushed his energy, willing it down from his center. He knew he could not restrain the power any longer once it started to seek escape, so he timed his effort to coincide with an arcing swing of his foot. His stamping blow hit the leading edge of the fire elemental as it drew near, releasing his spiritual power and spattering shards of ice across the cobbles. The burning beast recoiled momentarily, then gathered itself for another attack.