I screamed.

Spinning through the air, I prayed my heart would stop before I reached the bottom. The surrounding mountainsides were blurs of colors subdued by the whistling of the rushing wind.

“Isn’t it exhilarating?” Zoran appeared at my side. His face emerged from a black cloud. “Better spread your wings, little sparrow. The bottom is approaching.”

The cloud vanished, and I was alone in my final moments. I could see the floor, the jagged rocks, and lava streams. I closed my eyes and hoped death would come quickly.

My chest ached with a heated pain and fire engulfed my body.

I felt the pressure of impact, but instead of death, I was lost in a rage of flames. My limbs were nonexistent. My body erupted. As I went to draw breath, I reformed, and the fire returned to the source deep inside me.

Rolling to my stomach, I clawed at the soot beneath me.

“Well, at least your landing was soft.” Zoran was leaning against a rock with his coat draped over his arm. “I do apologize, though. I forgot you’re too young to fly. That’ll take time to develop.” He kicked off the boulder and wandered over to where I was laying. He stooped down. “So how was it? Exhilarating?”

“You pushed me off a cliff,” I breathed. I attempted to sit up, but my arms crumbled under the weight.

“I will do far worse.” He patted my head, causing my face to sink into the ash. “I promise.”

“You pushed me off a cliff!” I glared at him with my jaw clenched. Some strength had returned, and I managed to sit up.

“I know.” He shrugged. “We’ve already covered that.”

“You!” I grabbed a rock and threw it at him. It landed a foot from where I sat and rolled through the ash.

“Yes.” He pressed his finger to his lip and placed his foot on top of the stone. “You’ll need a lot of training before you’re of any use to me.”

“Don’t come near me. God or not, you are insane.” I slowly stood and wobbled over to a lava rock. I sat down and breathed deeply.

Zoran folded his arms and took his watch out. “Like I said, I have things to do. So come.” He motioned for me to follow.

“No.” I leaned over my knees, feeling sick. “There isn’t anything for you to throw me off this time. I have no reason to go with you.”

He rubbed his forehead. “My brothers’ pets were never this difficult,” he muttered. “Fine. I’ll be back for you later. We’ll see how well you fare on your own.” A jet of flames erupted from the ground. The smoke cleared and the god was gone.

I rubbed my face and sighed. The man was mad if he thought I would willingly go with him after he sent me flying off a cliff. I looked down at my hands to see they were black. My whole body was filthy and naked.

“He couldn’t leave the coat?” I muttered. I really wanted to set that man on fire. Nothing would come of it, but it would have made me feel better.

After resting for some time and letting my strength return, I tried standing. My legs somehow held. I stumbled along in the opposite direction he had been dragging me. There had to be another way out of here other than the southern trail. And when I returned to Gail, if the governor wouldn’t let me stay, I’d take my chance in the forest. Anything would be better than this.

I found a beaten trail and followed it as it twisted among the lava rocks. A thin cut in the earth held red-hot magma, running along like a river. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t stop looking at it. If I could survive falling off a cliff, then lava shouldn’t be that dangerous. I was a creature of fire.

Kneeling down at the edge, I tentatively stuck my hand over it. The heat warmed my fingers and traveled down my arm. I closed my eyes. “Yes.”

My hand dropped closer to the surface, and the feeling of pleasure grew. I dipped my fingers into the molten river, causing fire to lick its way up my arm. My head fell back. This was what I had been searching for all these years. The lava slipped through my fingertips and ate way the black soot. I sucked in my lips. The ultimate warmth. I wanted it.

I dipped my foot into the flow. I wanted to jump in, but I wasn’t quite sure how deep a lava river could be, or if it was even possible to swim in it. The warmth that traveled up my leg was making me forget any hesitations. Leaning forward, I let myself fall in. My feet hit something solid, with the river running around my upper chest. It was perfect. I was finally surrounded by scorching heat.

I laid my head back and closed my eyes. Maybe I’d live in the here rather than the mountains. A river that supplied endless warmth was something from my dreams, far better than a frigid, damp forest.

“Finally,” I breathed. “No more cold.” Laying on my back, I floated along. This was the river I wanted, one of lava.

Something brushed against my back. I sat up and looked around. Nothing was near me. I felt around with my hands but didn’t find anything hidden underneath the surface. This was ridiculous. I was swimming through magma. No creature could survive this heat.

Something touched my leg.

I jumped and frantically parted the river. I couldn’t see anything. My mind was messing with my senses.

The feeling ran across my skin again.

My imagination or not, I was done. It was nice to be warm, but not when things were moving beneath me that I couldn’t even see. I pushed through the lava to the side when something curled around my ankle. I yanked my foot free.  

Whatever was swimming below kept touching me. I spun in a circle, trying to get a glimpse of it. The creature rammed me and I dove for the edge. It coiled around me before I could escape, and I was dragged under. Wriggling free, I burst from the molten rock and twisted around.  

The lava started to arc up in front of me. A fire ignited with fags jolting out of it.

“Oh, my god.” I backed away as a serpent with glowing eyes lifted its head.

Its tongue flicked out.

“Zoran,” I called quietly. “Zoran!”

The snake opened its mouth wide and let out a shrill.

“Zoran!” I covered my head.

The serpent lunged forward. The burst of fire came from my chest.

I didn’t move. My body was shaking, waiting for the creature’s strike. But it never happened. Looking up, I saw the serpent’s head was gone. Its long body sat petrified above me. The skin where its head had once been was sizzling and black.

Struggling to breathe, I clambered to the side of the river and dragged myself out. I scooted away from the river until my back hit a boulder.

Snakes that swam in lava. My mind couldn’t grasp the possibility.

“What kind of hell is this?” I glanced around at the jagged rocks and charred surroundings.

My eyes started to burn. I wanted to go home. I laid my head on my knees and took in calming breaths. I couldn’t stay here. I’d rather spend my life fighting off the cold than try to survive this devil’s playground.