Chapter 10: Fire Pack

I sat still and forced myself to breath evenly. The skin on my neck prickled, Basta's knife not even an inch away. His warm, minty breath filled my nostrils, making me want to gag. Jareth had been right when he said something bad was going to happen. He seemed to be trying to hold his fear in, but Darin's eyes were wide with terror, his breath coming in short gasps. I made myself stay calm, although my mind screamed with the need to panic. "So," Basta's rough voice cut through the night. "You've been busy, Dirtyfingers. Mourning, dying, coming back to life…"

"Yes, very busy. You should try dying sometime, Basta, it's quite the thrill," I replied, using that calm tone that Basta hated.

"Oh don't you wish I would," he crooned.

I was silent for a moment. We both knew that I did. We also knew that he felt the same about me. We were like fire and ice; enemies stuck in a never ending struggle. "Unfortunately," Basta continued. "For you that is, I seem to have the upper hand. You make one wrong move and you're dead. And don't even think about fire. I love these moments." He chuckled darkly.

"You also love the sound of your own voice," I added. "The rest of us don't though. So I think we would all appreciate it if you would kindly shut up."

I sounded so much more at ease then I felt. Darin's eyes widened even more when I said that. Apparently he knew all about Basta and his knife. Basta growled at my comment, and said to the other men, "Bring those two, they can come with us." Then said a surprisingly short, "Up." To me.

I stood reluctantly. Where were we going anyways? Was Basta still in league with the Adderhead? What would the king want with me though? Basta would get much more joy out of killing me then taking me on a hike. "Someone's going to be very glad to see you Dirtyfingers," Basta said.

He moved his knife to the small of my back and said, "Start walking."

"And who would that be?" I asked.

"An…old friend, you could say," Basta said with a rough chuckle.

I felt impatience and anger rise up inside me. Why didn't he just go die a slow, painful death? "Which old friend?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," Basta replied.

I knew he was enjoying this way too much already. I had to be careful not to give him any more satisfaction. His knife was always a little too close, urging me on. The woods around us were black, filled with the sounds of life. More than a couple of times there were rustles in the undergrowth near us, and glowing eyes peeked at us occasionally.

Basta kept us moving at a merciless pace. I was stronger, but moving at this time, at this pace had me feeling sore and exhausted. I stumbled often, only to be urged on by Basta's blade. Fatigue made my limbs feel like they were made of lead. I snuck a look over at Darin and Jareth, only to punched in the face by Basta. Lights exploded in front of my eyes and I fell to my hands and knees. "Get up," Basta growled, and I felt him kick me hard in the ribs.

I involuntarily rolled over on my back. The kick was painful and would leave a bruise, but nothing was broken. I stayed there, the breath seemingly sucked out of my lungs. I felt the sharp toe of Basta's boot in my side again. "I said, get up," he said, his voice low and menacing.

I took a shuddering breath, and started to get up, but that apparently wasn't fast enough for Basta. He kicked me again, and I went rolling through the dead leaves on the forest floor. Pain exploded in my side, and I groaned accidentally. I heard a dry chuckle from Basta, and I knew he had heard it. I rolled over, and started to get on my hands and knees, but Basta was having too much fun, and I ended up with a foot in the gut.

This was all too much. There are some things that you can handle without giving in, or fighting back, but eventually instinct will take over. I felt rage blaze inside me, like fire taking over a forest. I was not a dog to be kicked around without fighting back. Dogs bite. Fire is not a thing to be controlled by ignorant hands. Fire burns. Fury rose up in me, and before I knew what I was doing I had called fire.

That's when everything got really strange. I realized that I was standing, but I didn't remember getting up. I had an intense mixture of feelings and emotions, almost like the confusion when Tialmae read my future. I whispered harshly to the flame in it's crackling tongue, and it grew. I let my rage fuel it, and I smiled smugly at the look of terror on Basta's face. With a few last fire words I sent it flying through the air towards Basta and his men.

Darin and Jareth looked at me as though I was mad. If the flame consumed our captors, it would consume my companions also. I knew it, and I had it completely under control. About halfway toward them the fire seemed to pause in midair; changing and morphing. With a flick of the hand, I finished the transformation, and my creations leapt to the ground.

Basta and his men stared in amazed terror at the six bright figures. Each was the image of a wolf made of pure fire. The fire pack stalked forward, bearing fiery teeth. Basta only hesitated a moment before fleeing, and his men followed suit. I spoke to the pack and they immediately followed the men. As soon as they were out of sight I fell back to the ground. Darin and Jareth ran to me quickly, looking around nervously as eerie howls rose into the night.

"What…How…?" Darin sputtered.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "Why didn't you do that earlier? It would have spared us energy and trouble," Jareth said.

"I…I don't know what happened," I said finally.

"What do you mean?" Darin asked.

"I know more fire tricks than you can imagine, but that…that was different," I said.

"How so?" Jareth asked.

"There was a difference to them. They were made of fire, they obeyed me like fire. But they were different. It seemed like…it was almost like they were…" I stopped talking as I thought about it, and looked at my hands.

"Almost like what?" Jareth asked cautiously.

I looked up at him and said, "Like they were alive."

"But how is that possible?" Darin asked.

"I don't know, but I could feel it. I can feel them now. They should have just faded away after they went out of sight, but they aren't gone. We can even hear them," I said, and paused listening to the cries of the wolves.

"Tialmae said…" Darin started.

I nodded, "I was thinking that too. She said that I had been given power, I only had to reach out and take it," I stopped talking, and gave a bitter laugh. "I suppose I can thank Basta for that. How ironic."

"Tialmae?" Jareth asked.

"The witch that sent us back. She said many things that didn't quite make sense. Things about me…" I answered.

"What are we going to do now?" Darin asked.

"I'm exhausted. Those creatures came with a price," I admitted.

"We should rest then," Jareth said, "If we need you to do that again then we need your strength up. I'll keep first watch."

I nodded, to tired to say anything. I laid down slowly and closed my eyes. I could still feel the wolves, their presence in my mind. I felt and saw them run gracefully, almost as though I were with them. Their movements were effortless, they were power incarnated. I'm not exactly sure how I did, but I told them to end their hunt for now. Even though they were miles away, I fell asleep listening to the crackle of fire, and the soft noises of running paws.