Picture of Dahlia McLean on the side.

Chapter 17

            When Dahlia came around, she thought she was in a completely different place. The forest was on fire. An all out forest fire. Gasping and coughing from the smoke, she rolled over and came up on all fours.

            She groped around with her hand but she didn’t find anybody. A wave of desperation swept over her and she dragged her right arm around the ground. Her fingers closed around Luna’s arm. She hauled Luna to her feet and shook hard.

            The six-year-old Magician of Air blinked her silver eyes. Then her eyelids slid closed again. Dahlia shook her again but Luna didn’t react other than to open her eyes briefly and then close them just as quickly.

            “Wake up!” Dahlia yelled. “We have to get out of here!”

            Dahlia accidentally let her magic in charming people seep out and Luna’s eyes snapped open. Her eyes sprang open. Troy jerked upright so fast he banged into Dahlia. Verne stumbled up too. Dahlia strained her ears and managed to catch the sounds of Cedric, Kayla and August jumping to their feet.

            “We have to get out of here!” Dahlia repeated.

            “I know the way out!” Luna yelled. “Let me lead!”

            She linked her fingers through Dahlia’s and made her way towards Cedric, Kayla and August. Dahlia grabbed Troy’s hand and pulled him along. Troy seized Verne’s wrist when Dahlia pulled him along.

            Dahlia heard the trampling of leaves as the three magicians joined them. They joined hands too and the six stumbled after Luna.

            Luna dropped down to the forest floor and began crawling, using her gift to tell the future to help her find her way through the flames. They avoided all the flames, trying to breathe through their mouths and not inhale the poisonous gases.

            Sparks flew everywhere and Dahlia tried to concentrate on everything except the flames that might eat her alive. She could hardly breathe. Coughing and choking, she forced herself not to gag on the smell.

            Luna risked her body aura to give them slightly fresher air. Dahlia inhaled deeply and then closed her mouth, holding her breath as long as possible.

            She winced as sparks and ash scorched her dress and leggings. Her body aura kept her flame-free but her clothes could still be set on fire. She hung on to Luna’s ankle and crawled hard, low against the ground, following the way Luna crept.

            “Help!” Cedric yelled. “My shirt’s on fire!”

            “Dahlia, do something!” August screamed.

            “I’ll reveal our position!” Dahlia shrieked back, her throat desperately sore and scratchy from the smoke.

            “Do you want him to be burnt alive?” Kayla demanded.

            “Dahlia, use your body aura,” Troy suggested from behind her. “Like how I did!”

            Dahlia immediately felt frightened. How was she supposed to reach Cedric without letting the others get burnt or harmed? She twisted around, pausing as she felt Troy’s hand on her ankle. An idea dawned in her mind and she reached down.

            Her fingers brushed against Troy’s hand and she clasped it. Then, she pulled him up. All the others moved up too and she placed Troy’s hand on Luna’s ankle to enable them to move in a chain like before.

            “Hold on, Troy and don’t let go!” she ordered.

            Then she rolled backwards and crawled down the line as fast as she could go. Her lungs were burning. She inhaled another long breath and began choking and coughing.

            A wave of fresh air washed over them and Dahlia felt a wave of relief. Then she gathered another breath and held it.

            “Dahlia, help!” Cedric screamed, panicking now.

            Dahlia threw herself forwards and lunged blindly with her fingers. Her hand connected with Kayla’s arm. Cedric was screaming somewhere behind Kayla.

            Dahlia leaped forward and her hands touched Cedric’s arm. She dragged her hand up his arm. Before she had time to think about how badly burned she might be she thrust her hands onto Cedric’s shirt.

            The flames sizzled out when they touched her icy aura. She breathed a sigh of relief. The others had told her it would work but she had had her doubts. After all, no human could touch flames like that and not get burned.

            But then, she thought, no regular human could control the elements either.

            Dahlia was pulled away from her thoughts when she heard Troy start coughing and gagging on the smoke.

            “Stand up!” Dahlia screamed. “Cedric, go with Verne. As a Magician of Fire, the flames won’t hurt him. August, you’re in charge of Kayla. Troy, you’re partnering Luna. I’ll go in front and stop the flames from hurting any of you guys, if I can.”

            They all obeyed, despite the smoke. They scrambled up and linked hands for protection. Dahlia made her way forward, following Luna’s instructions for she could see the best ways to avoid the flames even with the Magicians of Fire and Water.

            Flames danced along Dahlia’s palm but they were extinguished by her icy aura. She dodged around a burning poplar, screwing her eyes up against the smoke.

            “Go left!” Luna screamed, her voice hoarse.

            Dahlia threw herself out of the way of the flames and struggled to find her way around. She heard Cedric’s curse and Kayla’s shriek of terror and pain; she really didn’t want to find out. She dodged around a sheet of flames and then rain right through the fire. It didn’t really matter if that happened.

            She coughed; her eyes screwed up against the smoke and her throat sore. Her lungs felt like they were being blasted by sand or immense choke smoke.

            “Dahlia!” Troy shouted. “Where are you?

            She dove forward and grabbed Troy’s hand. He applied the same pressure back. Dahlia pulled him forward. Sweat clung to the back of her dress. Fortunately for her, her aura protected her clothes too for having her dress seared off would be pretty embarrassing.

            Dahlia swiped her arm across her forehead, feeling the sweat clinging to her arm. Troy yelped as flames danced up his arm but his fiery aura didn’t allow the flames to hurt him.

            Luna directed them through the raging inferno but Dahlia could tell that things weren’t going well. Several times she had to go back to quench the flames that threatened to hurt Cedric or Kayla. Even though the fire didn’t hurt them, the smoke might soon kill them. Luna didn’t have the energy to keep the smoke at bay because she needed her ability to tell the future to save them from the worst of the flames.

            “Luna, how much further?” Dahlia wheezed.

            “Not that far,” Luna promised but Dahlia could hear the panic in Luna’s voice.

            They dropped to the forest floor and started crawling again. Dahlia could hardly breathe. Every breath felt like torture to her lungs. She couldn’t bear it. Surely being dead wouldn’t be as painful as this.

            “Dahlia!” Troy shouted. “You can do this. Tell us. Help us.”

            Dahlia struggled for breath. Everything was fading. The world around her lost its colour. Her life span was dying... failing...

            “Dahlia!” Troy shouted again, desperation in his voice.

            He shook her hard, his fingers closing on her arms. He held her firmly, trying to shake her awake.

            “Stay with me,” he breathed. “Helen gave her life for you. Honour it. Please.”

            The words were like a bell ringing in her head. She struggled to her feet. Her heart was beating hard like a crazy drum.

            “WE’RE GOING TO BE OKAY!” she yelled. “The flames won’t harm us. We’re almost out. The smoke is going away.”

            Her voice sounded rich, insistent and powerful. “The flames are going out too. We can do this. We can. We’re going to live.”

            “Dahlia...” Troy’s voice faded off.

            The fire had burned out at her words. “The smoke was drifting away. The last of the flames smouldered into ash. Troy, Luna, Cedric and the others gazed, astonished at the extinguished flames. Dahlia stared too. Then her eyes rolled up inside her head and she passed out.