When Jack awoke, he instantly knew that the screams were not in his head. He grabbed his staff and flung himself into the air, not knowing where he was going, only that he needed to be there now. He caught the wind and hurled towards a glowing dot in a clearing of the forest. As he approached, he could feel the heat on his skin and dread began to twist inside his core. His fear confirmed, he landed lightly on a nearby rooftop and narrowingly escaped a shaft of flame.
He was stunned. The entire end of a town shuttered from the blaze swallowing up rows of houses along the road. An electrical transformer sparked furiously, hissing angrily. Families tore through the streets and a cacophony of screeches swelled in the air. A mother cradled a charred baby in her arms, shrieking out for help, trying not to stumble in the darkness. Fire trucks screamed through the town, firemen scrambled to contain the fire, but Jack could see the flames licking down the pavement and spreading rapidly to other houses.
His eyes filled with horror. A young girl wailed helplessly as she tried to drag her unconscious father from the blaze.
He threw himself at them.
When he touched the burning concrete Jack cringed and shrunk back in pain. Tears filled the corners of his eyes, but he tossed his staff to the ground and grabbed the man under the arms. He heaved with all his might and the man moved a reluctant foot. Jack braced himself again and flung his body backwards, still barely budging the man's dead weight. Jack could feel the girl panicking, but he ignored it and groaned as he gave a third pull. He filled his lungs with air and blew out hard. He, the man, and the girl clinging to her father's arm shot into the air and came crashing down. Before the girl could react he layered her father in frost and went running towards a nearby house, trailing a gust of icy wind.
A teenage boy struggled to climb through a shattered window. His torso was torn up and he had a look of wild frenzy in his eyes. The roar of the fire shook Jack as he breathed cold air down the boy's body to ease the heat. Staff in hand, he tapped the glass. Freezing it, and with a finger, he traced a circle around the boy, knocking the window inward. The boy hit the ground running.
All around him red and orange engulfed buildings, toppled power lines, and swirled skyward. Black smoke devoured the night. Jack could feel the scalding warmth of fire on every inch of his skin. He clutched his chest and doubled over. He heard his own wretched gasps above the rumble. Lifting his staff, he brought it down to the ground and a explosion of ice flew in all directions. The air chilled for a moment before resuming its squelching heat. His ice disappeared in mist. Terror started to set in him. He desperately launched another wave of ice and snow and again it vanished. The fire crept in on him, dancing towards him, lunging forward. He tried to fly away but his cold air refused to lift him off the ground.
Suddenly a thread of flame stroked his arm and he buckled in agony, his body thumping to the searing pavement. A black thread like a lash branded his pale skin where the fire touched him. Jack cried out, falling unconscious as the heat pressed inwards. The violent crackle filling the air faded and darkness took him.
Jack's eyes flickered open. He gasped and inhaled a lungful of ash, crawling to his hands and knees and coughing out black. Several minutes passed before he was able to sit back on his haunches. As soon as his did, a grip of sadness froze his heart. All that was left of the town was a pile of smoking rubble. Gray spun lazily to the sky. A gentle fizzle from hot cinders that once were homes peppered the silence. The streets were empty. A cautious breeze stirred the dust that hung in the air.
"No," Jack breathed, lunging to his feet. "No!" His voice echoed and died. "This can't happen. I was here, I was going to protect you!" The quiet thundered in his ears. He spun around and everywhere was destruction. Everything was black and burned. "No..." He grabbed the sides of his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "This isn't happening." After a moment Jack stooped to pick up his staff, defeated, and saw the black line across his arm.
A fury like he had never felt before crawled up from the pit of his stomach and rose in him poisonously. He flooded with rage, every surface of his body tingling with anger. An incomprehensible growl swelled in his throat. Around him the concrete froze and an icy wind began to swirl the air. The temperature dropped instantly, shards of ice plummeted from the sky. Jack felt himself loosing control of his emotions, but for once he didn't care. He should have saved them, he should have stopped the fire, he should have been faster. He should have been better.
And just as quickly as his rage appeared, it shifted towards the fire. He was going to make Drysin pay for every life she destroyed. He was going to make her pay- and she was going to suffer.