Elemental: Heat Rising

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The Burning Tower

“Oak!” Holly shrieked as she worked to climb the side of the castle faster.

The flames surrounding the castle from the inside and out were intensifying and burning up anything in their path.

Holly desperately grabbed at any windowsills or stone bricks sticking out she could find, trying to get to the open window she’d sighted.

More and more sounds of metal on metal and screams and yells of the soldiers erupted as they began to move all over the castle grounds.

Holly could see some moving closer and closer behind the castle.

“Hey!” a South soldier yelled, “Look! Up there!”

Holly could feel her blood go cold as she realized who the man was yelling about, the person disguised as the enemy climbing to an open window.

Her.

She flipped her head around to see a soldier holding a large bow pointed towards her, an arrow placed on the bow’s string.

He pulled it all the way back, his sights still set on Holly, and released.

The arrow hit the side of the castle wall, a few yards below Holly, and fell to the ground.

Holly sighed with relief as her body loosened. She continued climbing further up the castle wall.

Another arrow dove past Holly’s face. She shrieked just before finally reaching the open window and hauling herself in.

She was in a small bathroom, with only a latrine and sink enclosed in the narrow room.

“Thank goodness,” Holly said, swiftly taking off the armor she’d stolen from the North soldier. The sudden loss of weight on her shoulders made her almost feel lightheaded.

She pulled open the door to a hallway of smoke, right below the great hall, which was filled with flames and falling pieces of ceiling.

“Great,” she spoke, sarcastically “My room’s probably torched by now.”

Without further hesitation, Holly sprinted up the left hall, relying only on her memory to navigate through the smoke which she blocked away from herself with various gusts of air.

The loud sound of wood breaking emitted from beneath the floor Holly stood on and she knew instantly what was going to happen.

Grunting with effort, she sped down the rest of the hall and leaped onto the spiral staircase that led to the main tower just as the floor she stood on seconds before clasped into a mess of rubble, smoke and ash.

Holly sighed, still trying to clear the smoke away from her face.

She coughed as she continued to ascend the spiral staircase she’d climbed hundreds of times that now looked so unfamiliar under the disguise of smoke and fire.

Ducking under burning chunks of falling ceiling, Holly tried to open the door handle of the lesson room.

“Locked,” she said, “Why is it locked?!” she yelled, frustrated and scared.

Through the door window she could see the lesson room was filled with smoke and flames.

Holly couldn’t even tell whether or not Oak was still in the room or if he’d somehow escaped, but she was determined to find out.

She tried again to open the door. It didn’t budge.

“Ugh!” she growled, punching at it.

She kicked and bashed, sending a strong gust of air at the door.

It didn’t move.

“Come on!” she exclaimed, twisting her hands above her head again to blast the door with a movement of wind.

She still couldn’t move the door with any of her air currents.

    “I’m wasting time,” she thought, as she turned to slam the door again, still unable to move it.

    “Here,” a woman’s voice said, it was cold sounding to Holly, “let me get that for you.”

    Holly turned to see the woman fire a large rush of water at the door, bursting it open.

    Holly suddenly recognized the voice behind the wall of water. She turned to see the smiling figure of Abril Fatface.

    “Well?” the woman continued, “Aren’t you going to say thank you?”

    “You’re an Elemental?” Holly asked.

    “Now girl,” Abril went, “Let’s not be stupid. You just watched me bust down this door with a large wave of water.”

    “Ask questionslater!” Holly thought, turning back to the room, quickly firing gusts of air and trying to clear the smoke.

    The unconscious or potentially lifeless body of Oak laid in the room. Abril’s attack on the door had set out all the fire, but more smoke continued in through the hall.

“We need to get him out of here,” Abril commanded.

“How?” Holly exclaimed, “I can’t lift him, can you?”

“No,” Abril admitted, “But there must be a way.”

Holly turned back to Oak in time to see a blow of ice smash through the side of the tower, throwing him into the wall.

“What?” Holly yelled, overwhelmed.

Abril pushed past Holly, taking a stronger stance, arms up in defense.

“Stand back!” she told Holly.

A cloaked figure followed the ice with a leap, before throwing off the cloak revealing the figure of a woman, her long red hair rolled down her shoulders like waves of fire.

“Hello,” she said. Her voice sounded malicious to Holly.

Her clothing was badged with the symbol of the North.

“Violet,” Abril said. Her voice sounded angry.

“Is he dead or do I need to finish the job?” Violet said nastily, looking towards Oak.

Before Holly could see or hear anything else happen Abril was already firing a pulse of water at Violet.