Young Flame

“Everyone!” I call out over the banging of the machine. “It’s time for you all to leave.”

These people can’t stay here if I want to freely use my flames. They especially can’t stay considering I plan to burn it to the ground. As irritated as I am that these workers don’t protect those being beaten right in front of them, they aren’t the ones I want dead.

None of them so much as stop their work at my demands. I can tell they are listening. The glances out of the corner of their eyes are proof enough. But they ignore my words and continue as if I’m not here.

“If you don’t leave, you’ll be trapped in my inferno as it annihilates the building.” I give my warning, and yet they don’t move.

Why is this so frustrating? I’d give them a display to prove I’m not joking if only I wasn’t so worried that the air might explode in the presence of a flicker.

Well, so be it. My priorities are my friends first. I’ll get them out and come back to give the owner and his overlookers what they deserve.

I grab the chain linking Leslie to the wall and, with barely a thought, melt right through the metal. My arm reaches under her shoulder and I try to help her to her feet.

It’s not until I’ve taken a few steps with her toward the exit do I realise what I’ve just done. My eyes widen as I turn to the remnants of the chain lying on the floor behind me.

I burnt through iron.

The major adulthood milestone of my tribe.

A sad smile graces my lips as I move toward the stairs with Leslie. Not like it means much now.

I bang on the door to the shabby kids’ sleeping quarters before pulling it open. Now that I’m not stuck in that dusty mill, I freely let out my flames. I need to be taken seriously. I refuse to be disregarded by those I’m trying to help. So, if that means a bit of intimidation, then so be it.

With my frame now outlined by fire, I raise my voice to be heard by all. “Everyone out! We are leaving.” I probably should explain in more clarity, but the anger and frustration of everything I’ve seen leaves me impatient.

My friends are quick to follow me. Ash and Kerry encourage the younger children to follow.

I approach the gate with far less following than I hoped. It seems the fear beaten into them far exceeds what a bit of intimidation can do.

The gate guards scamper to block our path as we near.

“What do you lot think you’re doing? No leaving without the master’s permission.” One of them says.

“Move aside,” I growl, not bothering to restrict the raging inferno from bubbling to the surface any longer.

The man hardly hesitates to step forward with his baton raised. It’s all I need to wrap chains of scorching embers around his ankles, muscle melting off bone in a moment.

His shrieks send the other guards stumbling back, but my chains follow and disable each of them like the first. I’m not giving a reprieve to their lives until I know they’ve atoned.

I turn to the kids following me. Most have an awed expression of shock as they look over the downed men that no longer block their escape.

“Well? Hurry up!” I don’t have time to deal with all these kids, so I turn to Ash. “Lead them out. Once I’m done here, I’ll catch up.”

Now, I have to figure how to get all those workers out of the building so I can bring it down.

“Oi! Stop them!” a shout comes from the now missing door to the mill.

Oh? I guess I don’t need to go looking for the owner. A man in a suit lacking the wear and tear of the other men storms out of the mill, four others following close behind. This must be the Mr. Marshall and his overlookers.

They chase after the children who ran the moment the owner’s voice reached them.

The first one gets within a few metres of me before I act. It looks like he was intending to ignore me, which is simply foolish. My flame wraps up his leg, burning through flesh and sending him tumbling amongst the pile of guards still screaming in pain.

I leave my eyes on the owner even as the overlooker collapses behind me.

“What do you think you are doing?” he shouts, but halts his run together with his last three overlookers. His eyes flicker between me and the escaping children with frustration.

“Sir, this is the girl.” I recognise the overlooker at the owner’s side as the one who swung at me earlier.

“Mr. Marshall, correct?” I stare down the aging man. “I hope you are ready to pay for what you’ve done.”

“What I’ve done? And what have I done, little missy? Everything here is perfectly in line with Joiak Kingdom law.” He looks down at the men I’ve crippled before addressing the overlookers at his side. “Back off, boys. Let her go. I’ll have the merc corps chase her and those children down.”

Let me go? I almost laugh. “I think you are confused, Mr Marshall. I’m not going anywhere.” Fire bursts out from me and I let my form completely shift to enhance the point. “And neither will you.”

The overlookers don’t react quick enough. All three of them scream as my flaming tempest engulfs their bodies. The fear that rises in the owner’s eyes is the exact thing I was waiting for. A grin crawls across my face as I relish in this scum’s terror before I give back the same pain he inflicted upon my friends.

“The mercenary order won’t let you go if you do this,” he says as he stumbles away from the writhing overlookers. “You’ll regret it if you kill me!”

Does this man think spouting nonsense will help him? Even if this mercenary order has the strength to come after me, it would have been worth it to end this monster.

“She might, depending on whose pockets you’ve layered.” An unfamiliar voice says over the whimpering of crippled men.

I turn my head to see one of those strange six-limbed creatures standing just outside the gate of the mill. Large expressive eyes are visible through the membrane of his orb-like torso. He lacks any of the other physical characteristics I would normally associate with a face; ears, nose, not even a mouth. Even without all those features, his eyes express a distinctly amused nonchalance.

“So? Who is it? Which official will seek vengeance for you?”

“You! You’re a merc, are you not? Deal with this brat. I’ve paid Mr. William a fortune for his services.”

“Mr. William. Mr. William… I’m unfamiliar with that name. Are you sure you weren’t scammed?” The odd being’s cheery voice questions. “Oh! He told you he was above third class, correct? I’d hate to call one of the lower officials a scammer, but that would explain why I don’t know his name. Either case, this Mr. William doesn’t have jurisdiction over me.”

The owner seems flustered by his words, but they are nothing other than a distraction to me. I step over the body of an overlooker, the man shivering despite the body-wide burns. With each step I take, I gather my flames around me. The owner’s brows furrow and a scowl wrinkles his face as I stand right before him. I hold my flames back from touching him, I want to try something different.

Almost predictably, the man doesn’t just stand there. He reaches a hand into his pants pocket and pulls out some short metal thing. The owner flicks his wrist, exposing the blade, before plunging it right into my chest.

I hear that odd man at the gate behind me shout but ignore him. I pull my hands up and grasp at the hand holding the blade. The skin sizzles under my touch, but I push his hand deeper, showing just how futile his last attempt was. And ever is it worth it. The scowl morphs. His eyes widen in horror as he jerks his arms away. They slip out of my grasp with ease, but I still have more for him.

The flames I’ve had burning close explode around us, creating a dome trapping the owner with me. Again, I’m careful to keep my fire from touching him directly.

He deserves worse.

I grasp the blade and pull it out of my chest. I inspect the piece as I slide the blade back inside its housing. Ornate patterns are carved into the steel that make it look like a fashion accessory rather than a weapon. I pocket it, he won’t be needing it soon.

The owner has finally realised there is no escape without pushing through flames hot enough to melt skin.

“Fine. Take the children, take all of them, just let me go.”

I ignore him and slowly begin rising the temperature in this enclosed space.

“Do you want money? Is that it? I’ll give you a million gid if you let me go.” He is sweating now, the drops stream down his face. The sweltering heat not yet reaching the temperatures of a furnace, but it will be soon.

“What do you want?” he pleads as he tears off his suit and shirt, desperate to escape the intensifying heat.

“Nothing. Not from you.”

Strangely enough, the sweating on the man’s body stops. His skin flakes and dries. He gasps with each breath like he can’t get any air and his eyes shrivel in his head. His body isn’t burning and other than the drying skin and eyes, there is no clear sign it will end any time soon.

At least, until he collapses. With a clutch at his chest, the owner stills on the ground.

I really expected him to last longer if it was just heat.

No sense wasting energy now. I pull down the dome surrounding us and head toward the mill again. As I’m pulling my fire under control, the six-limbed man from before — still standing just outside the gate — calls out.

“Yo kid, you probably shouldn’t burn down the mill. The country won’t care about some replaceable manager, but they’ll care a lot if you destroy one of their biggest manufacturing plants.”

I glance back for a moment, considering his words. But only for a moment, because I realise I don’t care. Any place like this should be burnt to the ground, regardless of how many people want it operating.

I turn and head inside.

The workers have obviously been watching the events outside through the windows and yet so many of them still refuse to leave the post of their work. The machine never stops. A long leather belt connects the machine to a spinning wheel sticking out the side of the wall. I place my hand over it and snap the belt moving the contraption, all the while careful to stop myself igniting the very air.

The spinning threats and rolling wheels come to a stop. With no more work, these people shouldn’t have any more reason to stay.

“It’s time for everyone to leave if they don’t want to be roasted like Mr. Marshall.” I don’t spare them another glance as I walk up the stairs and do the same for the next three floors.

Leslie wasn’t the only one locked in their working position. Many children on the upper floors seem to live in their workstations if the filth along the floor was any sign. It takes some time to get through each of their chains.

I wait on the top floor until I feel everyone should have escaped. Any deciding to stay after has nobody but themselves to blame.

As I light a flame before me, my concern for the dust in the air was far more than validated. At the touch of even a short flame, the air explodes around me. The sound of glass shattering overwhelms the roar of the inferno for only a brief second. My flames spread to each corner of the room in a moment, engulfing everything in its way.

I walk down the stairs, prepared to ignite each room individually, but there is no need. The fire spreads without a need to help. Really, how had this place not burnt down before I showed up?

I’m glad to see they took my warning seriously and none of the workers remain.

I leave the mill before it can start collapsing on top of me. The crowd of workers stares with open mouths as I walk through the fire engulfing the building. They move aside for me as I approach the gate. Strands of flames branch out and end the lives of the overlookers and guards still prone on the ground. Some of them crawled some distance away and some find themselves as the punching-bags to many of the children once locked up. Even a few of the female workers join in.

The large eyes of the tentacle-limbed man follow me as I walk toward my friends. A small rodent not dissimilar to a jerboa now sits upon his head… body… whatever. The tiny creature wears a strangely formfitting bit of clothing. Is that his pet or something? It’s strange to dress up an animal, isn’t it?

As I walk down the street where I can see my friends congregating with the other freed kids, I notice the six-limbed man following me.

I spin on my heel. “What do you want?” I don’t want to deal with any more people. I just want to talk with my friends again.

“Oh, you know, just curious to know what an áed’s doing so far away from the wasteland. You’re quite strong for your age, y’know,” His chipper voice chimes.

The rodent sitting on his head scoffs. “A bit more than that; she took a cane right through her head. Acted like she didn’t even feel it.”

Ah, so the rodent isn’t a pet. Some other sentient species? I feel a little bad for making the assumption.

“Ah yes, that is a bit hard to believe. I don’t recall any other áed being able to do that. Donk ‘em hard enough and they fall like anything else.”

I narrow my eyes at that statement, preparing to fight if I need to.

“Chill girl, chill. I’m not here for conflict, even if I would have rather you not burnt the mill. I’m not gonna stop hearing complaints by the brass if they find out I was in the area. No, I want to make an offer.”

Somehow, I can tell he’s grinning even without a visible mouth.