Ignatia

"Can I eat one of these trees?" Ignatia asked. "They're so lovely and dry, no life in them to scream out. A perfect guilt free meal!"

Frida glared at the fire elemental. "No," she said. "If a single one of these trees catches, the forest will burn around us and I'll die. Would that be a good way to repay me for saving you from that flash flood?"

For something just held together by primeval energy, Ignatia sure seemed to think a lot. This question made the creature shrink down to a red sputtering flame. "Lousy life debt," she sulked. "Typical human, always thinking of its own needs. If I weren't held to my kind's moral code, I'd devour this flesh creature and all the trees here. It couldn't stop me."

Pretending she hadn't heard this disturbing rant, Frida fished a couple lumps of coal from the bucket in her hand. She tossed them to Ignatia. "Don't worry," Frida said. "I won't let you starve. I need you to help me navigate the Shrouded Forest."

Within half a minute, the coal was incinerated. "You fleshy ones usually avoid this place," Ignatia said. "Why come somewhere there's so many wraiths?"

Tears stung, Frida tensed her facial muscles as if that would somehow hold the emotions in. "My dad's sick," Frida says. "He has Rotting Disease. The village healer said if I don't defeat a wraith and bring back its essence by the next full moon, dad's arms and legs will swell and dad'll rot from the inside!"

Ignatia turned golden and the pinpricks of light that seemed to be her eyes flickered. "That makes me glad I'm made of fire," she said. "At least I can't have something like that happen to me."

A shrill scream rang out through the dead forest. The way it echoed through the wood sent shivers down Frida's spine. She pulled her bow from her back and knocked an arrow from her quiver. "There's a wraith nearby," she said quietly.

Ignatia flickered in anticipation, scanning their surroundings for any hint of their prey.

A ghastly figure glided towards them. It was hard to distinguish its skeletal body from the ethereal wisps of the wraith's death shroud. It saw the two entities that had entered its territory and rushed towards them.

Though she was a skilled archer, Frida didn't have a chance to fire her bow. The wraith was on her and feasting on her life essence within moments.

Ignatia, who had been watching this was torn. Part of her wanted to glide off and abandon Frida. What was one more flesh husk in these woods? Ignatia did owe a life debt to this human. Wishing that elementals didn't have a moral code, she began hurling flames at the wraith.

It shrieked as it began to burn. The wraith, being a creature of instinct, tried to escape the fire by running through the desiccated forest. It exploded within a matter of seconds, sending burning chunks of wraith in all directions. All the dry tender ignited, soon this corpse of a woodland would burn with Frida in it!

The girl was still climbing to her feet. Ignatia glided over to her. "We need to get out now!" Ignatia ordered.

"What about the wraith essence for my father?"
"There's no way to retrieve it; now let's run."

By some miracle they made it out of the woods. Once they had crossed the bridge over the canyon separating the cursed woods from the normal world, Frida looked back. All she could see was pillars of black smoke and flames devouring long dead trees.

"The essence was my father's only hope," Frida yelled. "Look what you've done you stupid elemental!"

Ignatia folded her fiery arms. "So are you saying I should've just let that wraith kill you?"

The heat burned in Frida's cheeks. "You know what?" she said. "I wish I'd never rescued you from the flash flood in that ravine! Now because of you I'll never rescue my dad. He'll just rot and die." The young girl stomped off in the direction of the village.

Ignatia didn't know what to do. She'd never had any friends. Elementals weren't very social creatures as a rule. They existed on a different wavelength than flesh creatures. Elementals only met up once a year to exchange essences, that was the only reason their code of conduct existed. They didn't live or die, they just sprung from the natural powers of an area.

Why had she tried to help Frida? Ignatia didn't know; was there some strange magic corrupting her energy? Whatever the cause, Ignatia continued following the girl.

When the pair came to the village, it looked like a wasteland. The crops had withered, people and animals lay dead in the street. A grey dust hung in the air and coated every surface.

Frida gaped at the destruction. "What happened here?" she asked.

Almost like an answer, a familiar yet eerie scream emanated from the once beautiful settlement. "The Wraiths beat us here," Ignatia observed.

The girl collapsed to her knees. Everyone and everything she'd loved was gone. The pain was unbearable. "Ignatia," she said. "Can you help me?"

There was only one thing Ignatia could control. Best to do it quickly. She heated herself up to white hot and devoured the little girl bones and all. If there had been anyone left alive, they wouldn't have heard Frida's screams above the wraiths' perpetual shrieks.

Once it was done, Ignatia rose from the girl's cremains. She watched them blow away in the wind. A strange burning feeling was rising in Ignatia. It wasn't something she was used to, she was made out of flames, she didn't notice things like this. Maybe a part of Frida's consciousness had been transferred? This must be anger, Ignatia thought. I need to get it out. This is all those wraiths' fault!

As the sun set, what had once been a hamlet was rendered into smoke and ashes by Ignatia. It turns out passion is the most dangerous thing of all.

Word count: 1,017
Prompt: Fire