Legend of the White Witch {#Wattys2016}

Chapter 29

Chaos ensues when I don't burn.

I catch fire, yes, but the flames don't harm me. The pain in my feet subsides in an instant, when the brush beneath me is set alight. When Alec's voice raises above the ones who call for me to die and says my name just once. I locate him quickly, wishing to see him again before I die. That is all it takes.

Flames rush through me, but their source is not the fire. I am their source. And when the other fire envelopes me, I feel nothing but a pleasant tingle. My clothing burns to ashes and flakes off around my feet, but my skin shows no sign of the bite of fire. The ropes holding me above the pyre burn away as well and I collapse into the pile of brush.

Half of the village begins throwing curses and praying to numerous gods to keep them safe from me.

"She isn't burning—gods help us!"

"Devil's bitch! He's protecting his whore. She can't be killed!"

I find myself praying too.

Over the roar of the fire and the fear of the village, I hear a third sound. Low growling that quickly grows into yelling and then terrified screams from the villagers. Through the flames I witness a horrible scene unfold. Previously human bystanders watching my execution have torn their skin off with elongated claws and transformed into fatoris, some with wings and others without, and began to attack anything that moves. The monsters tear through the humans like paper dolls until I realize that they're coming for me.

Alec is nowhere to be seen.

A single fatoris breaks through and hurtles toward me, a jagged blade held in its claws.

I close my eyes.

This will hurt.

But the expected pain never comes. I open my eyes when I hear another yell to my side and a startled gasp stumbles past my lips. Alec has reappeared between the fatoris and I, his sword already drawn. He reaches the monster in several quick steps and swings his weapon like an axe. The head of the fatoris topples onto the ground.

Before the body falls beside its head, Alec has sheathed his sword and come to stand in front of the fire. He wastes no time in reaching through the flames to me.

"Don't—!" I exclaim, but my warning comes to late. He ignores the threat of the flames and takes me in his arms, suffering from the consequences of a scorched face and arms immediately. The only sign of pain he shows is a grimace as he holds me close against him, shielding me from the massacre around us. His eyes jump from person to person, monster to monster, to locate an escape route—but there are none.

An unfamiliar man appears at Alec's shoulder, a dagger made of some type of white stone in his hand. One fatoris falls dead at his side. "Get out of here! That way!" he orders, pointing Alec toward a narrow gap in the fighting. The man glances down at me for half a second and reaches up to rip the hood off of his head and tosses it over me. "I will find you when this is done. Now go!" He shoves Alec along and then turns to take on several more monsters. Alec takes off running, focused only on getting us far away from here, but I watch the man disappear into the distance. I wonder about his silvery hair and the hair of several other men fighting back against the fatoris.

The sounds of death and pursuit fade quickly, and a moment later Alec stops running. He carries me a bit further before spotting a wide tunnel underneath a house. Probably for sewage, but thankfully dry. Within the tunnel, Alec leans against one curved wall and wraps me in the unknown man's cloak. Once I'm covered, he pulls me to him and holds me against his chest in silence. His body is shaking.