Fire The steel blade dug deep into the traitors flesh.

Thick crimson spilt from the newly created wound, painting the cold, damp cobblestones. Tavarius gave one more slice to the quivering body before removing his sword. Maybe, His low voice was menacing, yet the wounded man could barely hear it over the buzzing in his ears and the white blinding pain before his eyes. Just Maybe, Faris, this will teach you not to betray me. Your love for her cost you your life. Saving your wife, and your children, caused your death. And theirs as well. It was all for nothing. No! Faris gasped. Please! Please spare my wife, Rachana. Spare my daughter Rose, andand my newborn Raul. I beg you! Kill me now, but spare them! Tavariuss full lips spread into a cruel smile, Oh, do not fret, Faris. You are as good as dead. Your family should be already. You will pay for the damage you have caused me, and you will pay plenty. With that, Tavarius plunged the bloody sword into Fariss flesh once more. The blade journeyed directly to his heart and Faris was killed instantly. Fire. Fire danced before my eyes. Its deadly flames licked at any scrap of fabric we owned, consuming it to ash. Deep within the fiery ring, a baby screamed. My baby. Rose! I vaguely heard myself shriek, though everything was a blur. Get out! We must leave your brother to save ourselves! I saw the slender silhouette of my fifteen-year-old daughter rise from a corner. A rafter plummeted from above and her body was gone; being eaten away by the flames. Her screams were clear and piercing through my foggy mind and tears, even hotter than the flames trying to incinerate me, came to my eyes. My daughter has been killed, the thought was so clear, the pain almost unbearable. I must save Raul. I flung myself through the searing flames to my innocent baby boys cradle where he lay sobbing hysterically. I lifted the infant into my protective arms, cooing softly in a weak attempt to calm him. A deafening crack sounded from above and everything became black. Excruciating pain filled every inch of my body. The crying had ceased, yet I did not release the small corpse of my child. I could feel the flames licking at my flesh, eating me away into nothingness A glowing light above. My husbands handsome face. His lips are moving yet he utters no sound. Speaking my name, perhaps? Calling out to me? Or maybe he is apologizing for being the cause of my death. I do not know for sure, but I do know that I will always love him. Then everything is gone. My life, my husband, my daughter, my son. Gone. Tavariuss lips curled into a brutal smile. He no longer had to worry about Faris or his meddling family. Fire was on his side. Flames were at his aid, content to destroy.