Born With Magic (Book 1 Of The Last Fantasy Duology)

Chapter 28: The Magical Artist of Questionable Origin, Relm

"That little boy that had been hanging around the house before..." Locke murmured to himself as he watched the mansion smoke and burn before his very eyes. "It must of been his Fire spell..."

"THIS is the place?" Locke heard Terra cry as he rushed up to her and Strago.

"Yes!" Strago whimpered. "Relm's inside that house!" Suddenly, a large portion of the roof collapsed in a burst of new flames, causing Strago to cry out again and reach out towards the house.

"RELM!!!!!!"

He shook his head and pressed his hands together, closing his eyes as he began to murmur underneath his breath. Terra widened her eyes, and Locke bit his lip. He sort of knew what was coming.

"What... are you... doing...?" He trailed off, and with that, Strago spread his arms wide and tilted his head back, opening his eyes.

"Flames BE GONE! Aqua Rake!"

Suddenly a blue aura began to glow around Strago's hands, and a colorful, sparkling spray of bubbles began to appear from thin air, crashing into the house and struggling to drown the flames. However, it did not have much of an impact, and therefore, Strago returned to casting stance to try again. Locke and Terra turned to each other, eyes wide and mouths gaping open. At that moment, an elderly man in deep red robes ran over to Strago and the Returners, shaking his fist at Strago threateningly.

"You fool! You know that using MAGIC is forbidden!"

"Magic...?!" Terra cried, and looked over at Strago. Despite it being a spell she had never heard of or seen before, there was no doubt about it that it was truly some form of magic! She was terribly confused as to why Strago, the young mother, and the little boy in the village all wielded the same powers that she herself had been born with, but she knew now was not the time to ask questions. A young girl's life was at stake...

"I don't care!" Strago cried. "Relm is inside! I have got to save her!" He turned away from him at that moment, and cast another spell.

"Flames BE GONE!"

"Mayor!" Another citizen cried, and the Returners whirled around, seeing that it was the woman who was about the cure her injured son from earlier in the day. "Please! What good is this wretched power if we cannot even use it to save an innocent life?"

"Wretched power..." Locke trailed off.

The mayor sighed and nodded, lowering his head a bit.

"You're right... we really have no choice!" He looked to Locke and Terra. "Stand back!" The two did as they were instructed, and the mayor raised his hands, crying out:

"Flames BE GONE!"

"Flames BE GONE!" Strago followed, and even the young woman helped out.

"Flames BE GONE!"

More citizens from the town came scrambling over, all chanting out various spells, desperate to help as well. Sparkling bubbles and soft blue light struck the flames of the house, however...

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

The whole town let out an uproar as a large portion of the house suddenly collapsed in on itself, causing even more flames to leap up from the smoldering mess and lick at the black sky above them. Strago let out a defeated moan, and clutched his rod so tightly, his gnarled knuckles turned white.

"It's no use! The fire is far too strong!" He said, and the mayor nodded.

"I think it's because that family kept so many fire rods in there..."

"What are we going to do!?" Terra cried, and Strago sighed, pushing his cape back over his shoulder.

"I'm going in!"