Teamwork

Her tongue slipped as she tried to pronounce the old Ivratian words, panic making her mind slow and her tongue unwieldy. Sweat stung her eyes as the heat in the room grew, as that shuddering fire inside her fought against the trappings holding it back. Her wings flared, the feathers tipped in flames, as she fought a war on two fronts- one to control her panic and fire, one to read the spell successfully.

And still the Wights scratched and clawed at the flimsy shack, their talons screeching along wood and stone, their roars shaking Natalya’s soul to the very depths. 

Stomping out an errant ember of straw on the floor, caught by her flaming wings, Natalya let out a scream of panic and fear- she couldn’t read the damn spell, couldn’t master her own anxiety and fear at the Wights’ attempts to break in and kill her! If only she could-

Let me

Natalya froze, the panic fading away into calm, into sheer shock. Even the sounds of the Wights faded away, and that heat finally, finally receded.  “What?” she murmured, the words merely a gasp. Did her magic speak to her? Was it actually communicating to help her, instead of harm?

Let me read the spell. I know those words.

Her jaw dropped. “How?” she asked, her face losing color. 

A scoff, a snort. Does it really matter?  I am ancient, the magic of the first Firebirds, from long before you gained a title. She felt it pushing at her mind, asking to take control for a little while. 

She pushed back. “No,” she cried, “you’ll take over and ruin everything! You always do!”

It sighed, pulling back, and Natalya heard the Wights again, saw the gnarled talons of one break through an old window, the shards of glass flying. She screamed, pulling her wings to her sides. “Okay! Fine!” she screamed, barely holding the book aloft. “Do it! Read the spell! But you have to stop once you’ve read it!”

She felt it smile, saw the multiple rows of shining teeth in her mind’s eye. My pleasure.

She felt herself pushed back, away from the forefront of her consciousness, as the beast took over, glancing down at the words and reading them perfectly, before fading into the recesses of her mind once more.

And there was silence. Beautiful, blessed silence, as the beasts stopped clawing to get in. She saw their faces change from frightening, glistening maws, to smiling visages, their faces like masks depicting woodland animals in a bright, happy style. It brought joy to her face- to see these once fearsome beasts morphed into kind beings. She watched, in awe, as they slowly wandered back into the woods, disappearing amongst the leaves and wood and brush. 

When the final wooden beast had fled into the forest, she gave a soft smile, slowly leaving the little shack, the book still in her teke. She turned her attention inwards, to that presence locked away behind stone and steel. 

“Thank you,” she told the beast inside her. Maybe- maybe it wasn’t all bad, if it was willing to help her.

There was no response.