(A/N)Thanks to my lovely beta Esme's Favorite Daughter.

Chapter 1

The walls of the prison were cold and damp, the bricks actually slimy to the touch. Sintara imagined that they were crawling with bacteria. And fungus, there had to be a huge amount in the freezing hell she was trapped in; it just wasn't warm enough to kill any creepy crawlies.

And she hated being cold.

Through the small peep hole in the steel door of her cell she was able to see the guard station, a small room that was flooded with light. And most likely heat. The four guards on duty certainly didn't look cold.

She paced the small room, more in an effort to keep warm than out of boredom. Her feet were bare, they allowed her to have big woolly socks, but no shoes, she guessed that the floor wasn't much cleaner than the walls.

She'd been allowed to keep her her long black coat, it helped to keep her a little warmer. Although they could have allowed her to change into pants, her skirt was not nearly warm enough for this hell. But it sure showed off her legs.

One of the guards shifted in the big cozy desk chairs. His round paunch rubbed against the desk making a squeaking sound as the cheap material of his uniform rubbed against the wood.

Fools. They were all fools. Maybe they had her now, but she would get out. She always did. Jails were nasty, vile places, and she never stayed long.

The problem was the new king. He was not at all tolerant of her people. The Fire Masters had been around long before the kingdom he now ruled had been invented. Her great, great grandmother had been one of the original rulers of the Desert Region.

And look at her family now.

Reduced to common criminals, hiding and stealing to survive. It was little wonder that so few were left. She was the last elder of her people, and at 28 that was a real accomplishment.

All thanks to the Order of the Ice.

She had never personally done anything to anyone in the Order. She had only met one, a young girl, about six years ago, but the meeting had been ultra brief. The girl had been whisked away before the nasty Fire Master could eat her.

Sintara snorted. Her people had never started the war. They were just bad at public relations.

The Ice Lord was a different people person. Tall and blond, he had women swooning at his feet. His smile, however, never reached his eyes. Sintara was not fooled. He was just another snake with pretty words and nice teeth.

The heavy guard shifted again, and stuffed a hunk of something that looked sweet and full of calories in his mouth.

She shook her head in disgust. She didn't have the luxury of cakes and cookies. She fought for every thing she and her siblings ate. She had given up farming, the land was too dry and without the co-operation of the Order nothing would ever grow there again.

She hadn't wanted to become a thief, it had never been the plan. She had grown up wanting only to marry a nice man and have a nice clean house. Now she was leaning to control the powers that had condemned her to this life to begin with.

Powers that were being blocked by the slimy walls of her jail.

All she needed was one spark. And she would be in business.

She eyed the sagging cot on the far wall. She was not sleeping on that. The covers were moving, on their own.

With a little shudder, she peered out the little hole in the cell door again.

One of the guards, a rather nice looking man with huge shoulders, left the guard station and strode down the hall. His back was as nice as his front.

She started to move away from the cold steel door when the heavy guard reached into his pocket. And pulled out a slim cigar.

Every thing in her stilled. Light it, she prayed. Light the damn thing!

He did.

The power of the flames flooded her entire being. From her frozen feet to her blue finger tips. She was warm, and she was pissed.

The door exploded with a huge scream of rending metal. The twisted corpse of the door landed two feet from the guard.

She was very pleased to see that his lap was damp.

Moving as fast as her slippery socks would allow, she headed for the outer wall of the jail. She was getting out. Going home. And then, she was leaving the damn planet. The Ice Lord could go to hell, and she really hoped to be the one to send him there.