Page 57 of A Rising Hope

I, too, was lost amid the scraping claws, deafened by the sound of flapping wings and horrible screeching.

But in the middle of the calamity, a certain quietness settled in my mind, focused only on one thing.

Left, right, duck. Again. Knives, arrows, daggers. Aim for the eye, carve their hearts, rip their wings. This one down, move to the next.

I threw heaps of fire, shields, waves, everything I had. My daggers reached whatever creature fire didn’t burn.

And yet it was not enough.

Again and again. Jump, duck, slide, turn, twist. Slice, stab. Faster.

Not enough.

Swarms of them passed above us.

My fire ran rampant.

“That’s for ruining my leathers!” Priya’s ragged voice shouted near me. The only sign of her growing exhaustion.

We couldn’t last like this, not for much longer.

I closed my eyes, summoning whatever power I had left within me to the surface. Feelings and

thoughts numbed. Only power, only control, only precision.

A familiar chain rustled in me like the creature within was aware of the creature around us, anxious and eager to get out. So, without thinking, I let go of the fear, of the control. My skin was covered in goosebumps and a shot of pain ran down my spine.

But when my eyes opened, raw fire blazed from them.

So much of it that I couldn’t see it. I couldn’t control it even if I tried.

I breathed fire. I felt fire. I was fire.

My consciousness bled white hot. A flash.

Priya gawked, her mouth turned downward with a nervous frown at a cloud of fire that now shaped into a giant dragon. Shaped out of red and white flames, large flaming scales sparkled between the black leathery wings of the demon creatures. The fiery jaws of the dragon, made of Justice Fire, swallowed them whole, turning the creatures to dust each time it touched them. Like a moth to a light, they swarmed towards it.

A small reprieve and victory almost at our fingertips.

“Fucking heaven and hell,” Priya gasped as the biggest creature we had ever seen appeared from the waters below. Its body was tall enough to reach the top of the cliff without using its wings once.

“Mother fucker,” Priya snarled near me. The giant creature, the mother of them all, shrieked, leaving us nearly deaf. My fiery dragon disappeared in the storms of creatures, devouring them one by one, but even he was no match for the creature that now swung its wings wide, shaking the earth beneath our feet.

I let out a jagged rasp, feeling drained. My feet stumbled a step back, tumbling into Priya, as we both steadied our daggers. Both of us quite aware that blades were absolutely useless against the swarms of monsters drowning the sky.

I felt the ocean of powers within me depleting drop by drop. But even if I had endless fire, there was an endless flow of creatures. Eventually my body would burnout from the constant toll on it.

And I would die.

“Oh, get over yourself.” Priya gave me a glare. She didn’t need to read my thoughts. My hopeless glance at her spoke louder than any words could. She angrily wiped off a drip of blood on her cheek where a curved claw had nicked her. Her body was covered in tar-like blood from head to toe. Only her bright copper eyes shining in the darkness. “I am not fucking dying today. And neither are you.” She turned to me, assessing. “Try to keep me alive, Freckles.” But before I could say another word, she closed her eyes.

My feet dug deeper into the sticky dirt. I sent the strongest shield I could summon to protect us as it dawned on me what she was attempting to do. I sent more daggers flying at any creature, daring to break it.

The world paused for a moment.

And Priya opened her eyes. She moved, taking a few steps towards the mother of all creatures.

“I really, really,reallyfucking hate pests.” She walked, and the creatures fell all around her. Dead in her wake. I jumped over the falling bodies, racing after her.

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