Page 17 of Fallacies

The pain is so overwhelming that spots dance in my vision. The sudden dizziness triggers a wave of nausea, but I swallow it down as I fumble to get at least one hand free.

That’s all I need.

Pulling with all my might, I yank my right arm out of its grasp, twisting until my palm is facing its massive body, and then I unleash a violent enough burst of magic that my shoulder jerks back into the wall.

The snake goes flying down the hall, knocked back at least ten feet. Burning scales hit the stone with a sickening thud. I draw in a much-needed breath, gritting against the sensation of flesh knitting back together.

That breath is all I’m able to get down before the Scarlet Serpent rights itself and starts slithering back towards me with vengeance. As if burning me alive is its only instinct.

I throw up a thin ward, one Selene taught me a few weeks ago, but it’s weak, and it won’t hold for long. As soon as the snake is close enough, it strikes the ward without hesitation. Fiery scales scald the thin barrier between us, a deep red glow illuminating the dark stone walls. Sparks catch on the weak ward, fraying the edges bit by bit.

It slithers back and strikes again. I jump, steadying myself with a hand on either side of the wall. More of the ward catches fire.

All I can think to do is ready another ward. This one will fall, and I need more time to think. But how the hell am I supposed to get past a three-headed snake made entirely out of⁠—

That’s when it dawns on me.

It’s made of fire.

The ward falls and the snake lunges, three sets of deep red fangs flashing before my eyes.

I barely get the new ward up in time. It absorbs the impact of the strike, and the shrill hiss of the snake’s disappointment vibrates the ground beneath my boots.

I press myself back against the wall, chest heaving.

Theoretically, I should be able to steal its flames like I steal light from lanterns. I could take its fire and make it mine to wield.

Theoretically.

The snake strikes again, the ward trembles, and seeing as I don’t have much time to talk myself through the pros and cons list, I force down as many deep breaths as I can and drop the ward.

It roars as it pounces, and I rush to make myself entirely permeable—just like Pax taught me. Fire hits my skin, and I yank hard on its flames, throat closing at the merciless burn as I will my body to absorb it.

My knees quake under the pressure of it, more and more heat funneling into my veins. Up until now, I’ve only manipulated low levels of energy, but this amount of light is equivalent to the Selumira bonfire. If not more.

My skin sizzles and blisters as the snake coils around my body. I grit down until my teeth ache, pulling harder, refusing to break my concentration even as fire burns through flesh. I’m sure if I look down, I’d find that even the mender pill is struggling to keep up with these wounds. They’re too deep—even for magic.

My vision blurs, a distant scream echoing in my ears that I fear might be mine, then all of a sudden, something breaks.

Like the snap of a log thrown onto a fire. Or the burst of an ember thrown up to the sky.

At the snap in the tension, relief washes through me. I blink, my vision distorted, but I can see it—the fiery light pooling in my palms. The orange glow against my skin.

My focus sharpens, and the flames in the Serpent's scales dim. It’s so subtle I almost miss it.

I pull harder.

Crackling heat pours into every crevice of my body. Fire. Hot and unforgiving. But it’s under my skin. Mine to control. Mine to wield.

With one final tug, the Serpent bursts into a plume of sparks, and an angry red firework explodes in the stone corridor. I cover my eyes, scrambling backwards as the flames ricochet off the walls.

Only when the hall grows quiet do I move my arms away.

Flames circle my limbs, dancing through my fingers, and none of it burns. Wild tendrils of orange, red, and white—crackling and hissing as it moves.

The pressure of it is so great, I can hardly fill my lungs with oxygen. There isn’t enough room in my chest for them to inflate.

I’ve never housed this much energy, but I know it’s too much. Way too much.