Davilo grabbed Casio’s shirt and pulled him close, “If you have even half the wits you pretend you do you will release my power.”

  Davilo tried to grab his attention but Casios could only look down at his hands. They were glowing faintly. Pulsing with shades of orange and red under the skin.

  “Gods,” Casios said, “Gods, I feel revitalized. Gods, I feel good.”

  “Fool.” Davilo said, “Release it!”

  “What’s going to happen to him?” Baela asked.

  “Surprised you can even talk with my rapier stuck in your chest.” Casios said, “But now that I’ve gotten even a fraction of that power… well… I’ll show you ‘too weak.’”

  Davilo looked down. He grabbed the rapier and pulled it out of his chest. He dropped the metal on the ground. Useless and now warped from staying inside Davilo’s chest for too long..

  Casios laughed. His wicked laugh bounced off the night streets as he held his belly. The power that surged within him covered every one of his cells. He felt the fire all around him.

  Casios stuck his hand in the air and shot fire from his palm. A large spray of inferno emerged, at least as tall as the flaming clocktower.

  “You fool.” Davilo turned to Raka and the dwarf, “Tell him to stop.”

  “They couldn’t stop me if they tried.” Casios said as he stuck up his other arm and shot up another spire. This one lasted longer than before and still sprayed hotly before dwindling. Casios stared at it, unexpected.

  “Only you can stop me now. Baela! “ He called out, “Baela, the two of us should have enough to take him down now.

  Baela poured out of the fountain. She approached with caution, a look of horror on her face. “Casios. Cas, you can’t feel it?”

  “What’s wrong, Baela? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Cas,” The dwarf said, “You’re entirely on fire.”

  Casios looked at his hands. There were little pulses of fire that started from his hands. He looked at his torso. Fire there too. It had burned off his clothes. He could not even see the flesh of his own body. His inner body merely existed as a black sillouhette and the source of the flame.

  Davilo looked at Baela, “Spray him now.”

  Baela’s head bounced between Davilo and Casios, “I’ve only got one more ice spell and it might kill him.”

  “He’s already dead.”

  Baela pointed her staff at Casios. Casios shook his head, “You can’t stop me now. I won’t let you.”

  Baela shot out water as Casios stuck out his hands and shot out fire. They met in the middle, a big pillar of steam coming off where the two forces met. Cas’ burning heat holding firm against Baela’s water.

  “Okay!” Baela said, as she lowered her stream, “Okay, Cas I’m stopping the spell! Please turn your fire off! Ahh!” Raka jumped in and tackled Baela out of the way of the ensuing fire, “Casios, stop!”

  Casios wanted to. He didn’t know how to turn it off. He pointed it back up at the sky. He held his hand there but the fire continued, “I… Can't stop it.”

  Out of nowhere, the fire had spread from the other arm, the spray his a building and he pointed his other hand up as well.

  “I can’t stop any of this.”

  “TURN. IT. OFF!” Davilo cried.

  “I ca- can’t tu. I’m trying!” Casios said, “I can’t release it!”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “It’s too late,” Davilo said with a weary head, “It would be best if we cleared the town.”

  “Don’t tell me,” Raka walked forward. Casios was spraying so much fire from his feet that he began to lift upward. He hovered in the sky as inferno erupted from all extremities. “He’s just going to… die?”

  “You all don’t have to. I’ll do my best to contain the flame.”

  All the animals that had ridden toward the center of town stopped, they watch Casios be consumed by flames. Sal stepped forward, “I’ll help you, Dav.”

  Davilo nodded his head. He approached. Davilo caused a wall of fire around Casios. He pushed the flame in the clockwise direction, creating a fire tornado that was entirely. This caused Casios’ flames to melt in with the flames of the tornado, forcing any potential damage up.

  “We’ll all help,” Storm said.

  “Help the humans?” Said the infurtle, “No chance.”

  “The humans, yes. And the rats and mice and cats and dogs that can’t speak. We must protect the innocents. If we do that, I shall take you all to a place where you are all free!”

  All the enchanteds and sapiens stared in shock. A brave Water Bunny stepped forward, each step wetter than the last, “Where do you need us?” She asked.

  Sal and Davilo stood next to each other, Sal placing his body in the path of such high heat. The wind whipped at their faces as they both saw Cas inside of the tornado. Fire came out of every orifice of his body. Beams of light came from his eyes. His mouth could not closed as too much magma poured out. He was screaming in agony.

  “Go, son!” Davilo said, “This might be too hot for you!”

  “I’m not leaving you, Lord!” Sal screamed back at him.

  Meanwhile, behind them, Stormbristle told all the water creatures, “I need you all to hit me with everything you’ve got.

  They all jumped into the fountain and shot the water right at him. The water sunk into his cloudy exterior, and with it, he began to grow in size. He pushed up, floating into the air.

  “Keep shooting me with water! As much as you can!”

  Just then he felt a burst of water from a different source, as he bobbed around, he saw Baela shooting water from her staff.

  “But Storm!” Cried Sal, “You won’t be able to get close enough! The heat will wither you!”

  “I have something that will help.” Storm took out the little blue vial that Patella had given him and drank from it. He suddenly felt bolstered as he continued to grow in size, “Wind creatures! Blow me as far up as you can!”

  As the water creatures continued to shoot Storm with water, the wind creatures lifted and flew and commanded the wind to breeze onto Storm directly. The updraft took him where he needed to go. As he got bigger and more full of water, his clouds got darker. They began to blacken and there would be shocks of lightning all inside of his body. Davilo and Sal did their best to control the flame. The other fire creatures stepped in to help manage it. The fire tornado swirled above. Storm was getting slower to the top of the inferno spire.

  The water creatures could no longer get their water that high. Baela and could not longer shoot water that far. Instead, she pointed her staff at the heart of the tornado. Directly as Casios.

  “Porsoon.” The pork said in a weighted voice. He began to forcefully expel the water inside of him to the person directly below.

  “Everyone! All the firefolk! Drop the fire!” Sal yelled. They did. They dropped the fire tornado and backed up, giving Storm the opportunity.

  Buckets of water rained down on the concentrated spot. They poured onto Casios like a powerful waterfall. The fire erupting from Cas was steaming some of it off but the water was too strong. It rushed down and enveloped the fiery human in water. The audience could see the glowing orange inside of the waterfall but as it continued, the glowing orange died down and was completely covered by the pork’s rain magic.

  Stormbristle drifted downward the more water he ejected from his body. He kept pouring as he got closer and closer but he soon returned to his original size and floated downard. All the animals, the Ducervi and the devil crowded around Casios’ limp body. He he was blackened by soot. His eyes were closed. He was splayed against the ground. Baela pointed his staff directly at him.

  “Cas,” Raka nudged him, “Cas, are you alive?”

  Casios was silent.

  Davilo had his hands up, ready to capture the flame again. When there was prolonged moment of nothingness, he merely gestured to Sal and Storm that it was time to leave. Storm and Sal gestured to all the animals that it was time to go. There was a big celebration of their combined powers, as they all galloped off into the sunrise toward the Dark Kingdom. Davilo was the last to go. When Baela was finally done staring at Casios’ carcass, she saw that Davilo was looking at her. She did not instantly feel rage. In that moment, she felt nothing. Davilo said to Baela, “What happened here was that two people were so enraged by their own weakness, that they almost burned down everything. And for that, I can not fault either of you. Until next time, Baela the Ice Wizard.”

  Baela watched him go. She had her strongest spell. The elf even pointed her staff at Davilo and thought about using it. Her staff shivered as her anger began to refill inside of her. But the dwarf pushed her staff down.

  “No bad fights, Baela. We’ll get him though,” he said with a wink.

  Just then, Baela heard coughing. She looked and saw Casios hacking up a solid chunk of coal. He opened his eyes and looked up at his comrades, “Where am I? Are we the winners?”

  Raka took a deep breath. She bent down and rested on her knees and placed her hand on Casios’ shoulder.

  “We are… and I can’t stress this enough… absolutely fuc-”