Suddenly, Mirar stiffened.

"We're in trouble," she whispered.

At that instant, Tah 'ra smelled smoke. Jumping out of her chair, she looked around to see where it came from, only to find that the door was on fire. It was spreading along the wall very quickly.

"Mirar!" Tah 'ra shouted, scared.

"Quick! Follow me!" The lady shouted above the now audible shouts of an audience. 

Coughing, Tah 'ra followed the hazy form of Mirar to the back of the room. She ducked as more flames appeared at her side. Shying away from then, she ran after her friend.

"What is going on?" The girl coughed.

"They are trying to burn us," Mirar hissed through her teeth as she grabbed something. "Follow me and hurry!"

Covering her mouth and nose with her hand, Tah 'ra stayed as close to Mirar as she could, fearing that she would be lost and burned to her death. Behind her, she heard cracking and groaning, and then a loud crash as the roof caved in. Hearing the screams of joy from whoever was outside, Tah 'ra quickly ran after Mirar, not wanting to be caught beneath a pile of rubble.

Mirar gritted her teeth and held tightly to the vile in her hand. 'Of all the times to be burned...' she thought as she weaved her way through burning furniture.

"Careful! Those chairs are on fire!" She called behind her.

Tah 'ra coughed in reply. Hearing her footsteps, Mirar forged onward. She had to get the girl out of the house. Something cracked above her. The next instant, a flaming beam fell down in front of the magician's feet, blocking their way. Grumbling, Mirar kicked it, making the fire disappear, at least temporarily.

Stepping over the beam, she told Tah 'ra to hurry, explaining that her power over fire wasn't permanent. A crash. Something else fell down. Mirar ignored all these things and continued on, coughing from the smoke.

Despite her fading sight from the smoke, Tah 'ra still followed the woman. Dodging another blast of flames, Tah 'ra coughed. The heat was beginning to get to her. Coughing some more, Tah 'ra jumped over a pile of burning rubble. She wondered how all this did not affect Mirar.

The crackling of fire surrounded the two magicians as they made their way to the very end, the back of the house.  The air became hot and thick, making it hard to breath. Gasping for fresh air, Tah 'ra waved her free hand in front of her, a feeble attempt to bat away the smoke. 

The sweat from the heat got into her eyes, blurring her vision even more. The searing flamed licked her clothing as she passed them by, following Mirar. Twice she had to put out a fire that had latched onto her skirt.

Peering through the thick smoke, she saw that Mirar had stopped. Getting nearer, Tah 'ra saw that she seemed to be drawing something on the floor with whatever she had taken with her. Tah 'ra jumped as the flames around her grew larger. The heat was becoming unbearable, and the smoke was clogging her lungs.

"Stand right there!" Mirar shouted over the cackling flames and pointed to a spot. 

Tah 'ra obliged and stood still as Mirar seemed to be chanting something inaudible over the loudness of the fire. Choking from the smoke, Tah 'ra saw that the room seemed to be getting blurry.  She looked up as a loud crack sounded above her and saw the roof caving in. She blinked.

The heat was gone, so was the smoke and fire. She was in the wood, but not anywhere near the hut. There was shouting of triumph from far off. Her eyes widened. Mirar wasn't with her. The roof had caved in just as she disappeared. Mirar was dead.

Tah 'ra ran for the town, tears flowing down her cheeks. She witnessed an act of hatred first hand, and was determined not to let it go unknown. Her entire body burned with anger. They killed a fellow magician. She wasn't going to let the town get away with it.

Bursting through the wood, she saw that the king was standing near his carriage at the town square, a satisfied smile on his face. The sight of him flared her anger. He started the entire mess. Without thinking she ran for the king, determined to let him know.

Pushing past the townspeople she caught a glimpse of her parents and Ja 'har. It didn't matter. She only saw the king. Her head burned with the sight of the king. She could feel the flames licking at her skin, just as she did moments ago. He had to pay. He will pay.

The king stared at the 12-year-old girl that stood in front of him. She looked like she had been through a fire. Her clothes were singed, her hair clung to her head, wet from the sweat of the heat, but that wasn't what made the king stare. It was the anger in her eyes. 

"You," she growled, chest heaving from her run. 

Ja 'har stared at his friend. He never saw her that angry in his whole life. 

"How dare you murder innocent people!" Tah 'ra said with an icy cold voice that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

Without knowing what she was doing, Tah 'ra grabbed onto the king's arm. The king didn't fight. The iron grip she had just added more to her intimidation. Staring into his eyes, she ran through her memories of her visit to Mirar, not leaving one detail out. She put special emphasis on the story of the prince and of the fire.

With a jolt, the king began to see what Tah 'ra was remembering. He felt what she felt. He listened to the truth of the story about his son, he coughed in the smoke of the fire, and he found himself being bitten by flames every which way.

When Tah 'ra let go, her anger lessened. She didn't even realize what she had done until she saw the king on his knees, sobbing.  Blinking in amazement, stepped back. 

"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I'm a murderer. I killed the magicians. I'm not a king. I'm a murderer. Forgive me."

Tah 'ra stared at the crying king.

"You killed my parents."

"I was wrong, they didn't kill my son. Forgive! Forgive!"

Tah 'ra walked away, leaving the townspeople to hear the story from the king himself.