Never Fire [ONC2020]

Sienna Diaz has lived the life of a nameless face, a retreater from threats, and a thief of lives. Every time she lights a match, she is transported to another world. Surviving as a woman with many pasts and identities, she can hardly call herself her own. Despite her desire for control, however, the fire -- her matches -- remain her only escape. But as a pawn to the universe and to the flames themselves, Sienna finds that escape is only a delay of the inevitable: a life of wandering and loneliness.

After an accident, another burnt match Sienna lands in a new world where Fire is an entity, a deity to its citizens. The opportunity is clear: overpower Fire and rewrite her identity. This time, starting afresh would be real and permanent. Settled. But this Fire is unpredictable and temperamental, worshipped by his priests and guarded in his own temple like a treasure.

When Sienna Diaz was younger and still lived in a place she remembered as Nevada, her parents told her to never play with fire. She agreed -- no, she would never play with it.

She would kill it.

*Open Novella Contest 2020 Entry*
*Awesome cover by @CelticWarriorQueen17*