The Stone Of Fire

Chapter 4 - Iliana

Before I knew what was happening, I was falling through the air. I felt my stomach plummet. One time, when I was smaller, Mary had taken Fallon, Victoria and me to a nearby amusement park. While we were there, one of Fallon's friends taunted Vicky and me to ride the scariest roller coaster there. He called us 'babies' and 'chickens' in order to get us to go on the ride. Let's just say that after I came off the coaster, Fallon's friend never spoke to me again, after he disowned his puke-stained shirt. The same plummeting feeling on the roller coaster continued to torment my stomach now.

I felt the heat before I plunged into it. I shouldn't have been, but I was absolutely surprised when the fire to me was like a large swimming pool is to regular people.

It felt cool to the touch. The actual fire was a lot thicker than water. Red, orange, and a little bit of black consumed my vision as I held my breath. Was it possible to drown in fire?

Not able to hold my breath any longer, I exhaled. Inhaled, exhaled. I was breathing under... fire! But I still couldn't swim. I flapped my arms and looked around. The fire was like a thick sludge around me.

Unexpectedly, I felt something bend around my ankle. Looking down, I kicked out my foot as I tried to get away from the serpent that was now twisting its slimy tail around me. The harder I kicked, though, the tighter it got. It went all the way around me, like a python wrapping itself around a baby goat, preparing to swallow it whole.

The serpent curled its way until it reached just below my neck. I saw it almost clearly now. The beast's body was red, with black interweaved in stripes around it. At the back of its head it had a fleshy diamond, like a cobra. Its fangs were long, long with dripping venom, and its golden beady eyes held no mercy.

The strangely beautiful monster reared back its head like it knew exactly what it was going to do. I think I knew as well. It lunged toward me and bit my neck. I screamed as I felt its fangs grow deeper into my veins. At first, the venom was like acid– burning me from the inside out. I thrashed, trying to get the serpent to release its grip on me, but to no avail. Maybe that's why it had wrapped its thick body around me, to hold me in place.

After what felt like hours, the venom became oddly nice. It filled me like a cool stream of lemonade on a hot day. My senses became more alert, and the Lake of Fire suddenly became less sludge-like. In fact, it seemed to be clinging to me like it was waiting for me to do something. I loved it.

I stared at the snake which was now uncoiling itself from around me. My body sagged in relief, but I felt weird without the snake close to me.

"Wait!" I felt silly, calling out to a snake. But I was thrown into flames, wasn't I? And that fire happened to be the home of a monster. A beast that somehow made it possible to live, even though it shouldn't have been likely.

Um, science? Are you back from your grave yet? You have explaining to do!

No, not even science could explain something as freaky as this.

The snake's eyes found mine, and suddenly, I was the snake. I felt its years, its wisdom; I heard its thoughts, saw through its eyes.

"Young princess. You are not who you think you are. You are not ready. You will never be ready. Nothing will ever be the same as it was after this. You will always have some inside of you. Remember me."

"Wait! Who are you? What am I not ready for? I don't understand!"

But the snake was already gone. Desperately, I swam after it and in its place appeared a cave. By now, the inferno was as crystal clear as water, only orange.

I could vaguely hear humming coming from deeper inside the cave, so I swam toward it.

The humming grew louder as I descended into the large cave. When I looked up, there was a landing above me, so I ascended toward it. I could feel myself getting stronger– my arms became longer and toned, and my legs knew exactly what they needed to do. In seconds, I had reached the top of the cave, and I hoisted myself onto the landing floor. I felt some energy leave me, but I was still strong. I wasn't wet– or burned. It was like swimming through thick air. I walked further into the cave. It was nothing like the witch's lair.