Soul Fire

3.5

Death would be a mercy, Bloom decided.

God, this pain. This burning. It would consume her. It would eat her up until there was nothing left, not even bones to bury. Bloom let out a sob as she curled forward on her knees. The skin between her shoulder blades sizzled and a particularly sharp and excruciating burn found its way there. Darcy was ready to strike as Bloom let out a piercing scream in response to that debilitating pain.

The scream pierced the air and Darcy cursed as an explosion of flame followed immediately after.

Icy barely shielded herself and Darcy in time to avoid what surely would have been a fatal blow. She gritted her teeth and dug her heels into the ground, drawing up all of her power to protect against the endless barrage of fire. Darcy's wide eyes met Icy's, utter shock masking her features. "Quit gaping and fucking help me!" Icy barked.

Darcy willed her shock down and shook her head, appearing next to her friend and grabbing her hand. Darcy began to summon her power as well, using the dark shadows to fortify Icy's existing shield. "How long can the witchling do this for?" Darcy yelled over the deafening flames. "Where does this power come from? There's no way anyone should be able to do this."

"She'll burn out soon." Icy said breathlessly, continuing to summon power to rebuild her shields. "She's new. It will kill her."

Darcy grimaced. "I hope it does."

...

Relief. Bloom would have thought she must have been dead, were it not for the stunning clarity that Bloom beheld. Bloom wasn't burning. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure what was happening to her as she crouched on the ground, covering her ears with her hands and resting her forehead on the hot earth. She knew that the heat was coming from her, an almost endless supply of scorching, living flame that seemed to stretch forever.

Bloom was aware of every smell around her. She could smell the moss in the forest outside the gate, the grass and dirt and mushrooms with such clarity, she'd thought she imagined it. Her skin tingled with each lick of flame, her awareness of her body and the things around her overwhelming her. She knew precisely where the witches stood, shielding themselves- from her- without even having to peel herself off the earth. Slowly, she removed her hands from beside her ears, the sound of the flame overwhelming her senses. That thread- that warm glimmering thread that she pulled remained there like a tether. She didn't dare lose sight of it in fear that if she lost it she would never find it again.

Bloom peeled her forehead off the grass, squinting her eyes from the light that was surrounding her. She watched, her eyes miraculously able to follow each thread of flame and its movement, her sight adjusting easily around her. It was as if she had been blind her entire life, and now she could see.

Her mind registered that she wasn't naked anymore. Her clothes had been replaced with what from a distance, looked like shimmering clothing, but was in reality a fabric of pure energy, molded around Bloom's body. She didn't give herself time to inspect the shimmering blue skirt and halter top that adorned her body. Her forearms were covered in gloves that stretched from her elbow to her wrist, and she absentmindedly reached back to touch the delicate wings protruding from her back. They were soft and buttery, like what she would imagine a butterfly's wings to feel like. And she had a heightened awareness of them, of the muscles in her back that controlled those strange shimmering wings.

Bloom placed her hands on either side of her, the feeling of warm grass tingling her exposed palms, and heaved herself up to her knees, and then to her feet.

Her arm.. It had healed itself. She brought her hand before her face and flexed her fingers, relieved to find no pain scorching up her arm as she did so.