NaNoWriMo 2013: Excerpt 10

Mirhalan dreamed of fire.

A roiling black wall of smoke and cinders choked him, and he coughed, trying to clear his throat of the burning pain. The wind whipped through his hair and his clothes as though trying to tear them from his body. The sound of ripping cloth echoed in his mind, and he struggled frantically to see through eyes that burned and watered mercilessly.

“Brynjar!” he called, but the wind stole the sound from his mouth. “Afrith!”

Unseen flames licked at him. Sweat poured from his forehead, dripping off the ends of his arms, but as he looked down at his fingers, it was no longer sweat but blood.

“Am I dying?” he asked silently in the wind. He turned, searching for the lantern which would lead him to the Eternal Light, like the Radiants always promised, but everything was just black smoke.