Chapter 17: Screams, Act Two

At his words, the girls all flinched. They looked at him with pure horror on their faces, as they tried to back away slowly.

"No use to give up now. Since you picked up my supplies, if the teachers catch you now, we are all going to suffer. If you follow my plan, I will take the heat and you will be left off the hook." He lied. Of course, the teachers wouldn't lump them all together, they were some of the smartest individuals on the whole continent.

Ciaran was banking on the girls being too shocked to properly think about their situation. A safe bet it seemed as the next moment they stopped retreating and came back.

"Don't look so scared, I promise no damage shall befall the books, and no punishment shall be handed out to any of you."

They didn't look convinced so you continued with his explanation.

"Ok let me clear this up for you. We will not be making fire, not exactly. See, if there is no heat, there is no fire right? Wrong, well correct, but not always." The boy confused them, as he stumbled on his explanations. Whenever he got excited he tended to act his age.

He looked at them with confusion all over their faces, calmed down, and continued.

"Fire is defined as a chemical reaction that involves the combustion of fuel in the presence of oxygen, which produces heat and light. If the fuel is not being burned, then it is not really a fire. However, there are some special cases where it may appear as if a fire is burning without producing flames or heat." He tried his best to give them a scientific explanation.

"One example of this is a phenomenon called "cold fire" or "cold flame," which occurs when a chemical reaction produces light without producing heat. This is often seen in certain types of chemical reactions, such as the reaction between certain metals and ozone or the oxidation of phosphorus. These reactions produce a glow or light emission that looks like fire, but they do not produce heat and are not actually burning."

"Another example is a "blue flame," which is often seen in gas stoves or propane torches. Blue flames burn hotter and more efficiently than yellow or orange flames, but they may not produce as much visible light or heat."

"What we can see from this is- "He stopped his explanations when he felt a sudden pain in his leg. He looked at Clara glaring at him, and then at the other girls who looked no less confused than before.

He cough in embarrassment and said. "So, while it is possible to see flames without heat or light without flames, these are not really examples of fire as we traditionally understand it. In other words, we are gonna make flames that feel cold."

"We are making cold flames; you will act like you are burning alive. Sell it well enough and the teachers will come running." Clara said.

"Is it so hard to explain it without the technical stuff doofus? Seriously, you always get stuck on the dumbest things." She teased him.

"It is not dumb. Chemistry is the science closest to God. It teaches us about our very creation and-"

"Shut up Caz. I don't need to hear it. Especially from the brat, I taught this shit to" She said.

"Fine. Anyway, you will all spread out and set some explosions around the Library. We have a limited amount of stock and we need the teachers to spread out." He said as he started walking to the library.

"Fill your pockets with the ammunition, and let's go," Clara ordered. She knew that her girls were far more likely to listen to her than to her brother. Blackmail only got you so far, whereas most of them were already loyal to her.

"The first level is separated into six sub-levels. Each sub-level has nine sections - botany, math, chemistry, physics, biology, geography, history, linguistics, and finally etiquette. They are in that order, and it will serve as your plan of action."

"You girls will form teams of three. That makes eight teams consisting of three girls each, with the last team having me as a special guest of course." He laughed at his own joke, as no one else seemed to find it funny.

"Five teams are going to assault sub-levels one through five. One team is going to set fire at random. And our team will be at the end of level one."

"My team will of course be me, Clara, Mille, and one more, Clara's choice. I don't know you very well you see." He told them, smiling, showing his teeth. An innocent little boy, to an outside spectator, a dangerous predator to the initiated.

" As you may have guessed, we four will go to level two," Clara said matter of factly.

Ciaran nodded and added. "That just leaves team one, you will be our Aces."

" Your job will be to block the entrance and not let anyone out. The longer panic grips the Library the better." Ciaran said and looked at them sternly.

"I need volunteers. I would like this to be your own choice. It's the hardest task, and it will be rewarded, you have my word."

The girls looked at each other. It would be dangerous, but as he had put it, so would any other position. In this one at least they would have Ciaran Clades owe them one. As they kept walking and were almost upon the Library, the teams were made.

The most opportunistic of girls chose to be in team one. The girls in team Saboteurs, the team which was responsible for the overall chaos, didn't seem to mind their duty.

'Well aren't you soon-to-be pyromaniacs?' Ciaran mused.

As for his own team, Ciara had chosen one of the smallest girls. She was a girl who everyone called Sunny because she never smiled.

'Bitchy from a young age, all of them. Birthplace of the elite my smelly ass.' Ciaran clicked his tongue in distaste.

Rolls were assigned; supplies were distributed, and now everyone had to take their positions.

Ciaran told them that the team in the middle should start the performance, unless anything goes wrong that is. If they were a victim of unforeseen circumstances they were told to just play it by ear.

"So Clades, do we just wait as close to the door as possible or what?" Mille asked.

She had regained her confidence due to the fact that he had promised them safety if they complied. That and she was surrounded by shelves filled with his precious books. He would not endanger his hobby now, would he?

He deadpanned and then smiled. "Close, but not exactly."

He closed the book he was reading and placed it back on the shelf.

"Sunny, an interesting name for someone so introverted who never smiles. Who do you think came up with it Mille?" He asked.

The girl frowned. She did not know how he knew she was the 'mastermind' behind it, nor why it mattered at the moment.

"I did, it's a great way to get you bitches to call out her name, without actually having her talk to you." Ciaran said, and Mille froze.

She turned to the subject of their discourse and was shocked at what she saw. The gloomy girl was smiling at her. Not a small smile either, showing her all of her teeth.

"You know my friend had to endure quite a lot of bullying from you lot. And if I want to teach her one thing it would be one of life's greatest lessons- Payback is a bitch. And fuck what they say about revenge being best served cold. I like my bitches passionate, blazing hot even." He said and then dashed towards her.

He grabbed her mouth with one hand and took one of the bags of supplies out of her pockets.

"Eat up." He said in a gentle voice, before shoving it in her mouth. Then he kicked her as far away as he possibly could.

As she was flying away Mille was struggling to breathe, the boy had stolen all the air out of her lungs. Before she even landed she exploded into flames. At first, she felt only the pain from the kick, but then she felt got all over her body, inside and out.

What followed were screams. Horrible, miserable screams of a terrified girl in fain. Her tongue was swollen and she couldn't talk, but she screamed and ran away, in the opposite direction of the demon mascaraing as a small boy.

"Sunny, I still need a distraction on this sub-level, would you please do me the honors? " The boy asked.

The frail girl gave him a passionate nod as she set herself on fire as well and ran off screaming.

"Was the chili powder really necessary? They will hate you after this you know? "Clara asked.

"I don't believe for a second their act would fool a teacher Clara, and even if it did they would rat me out in minutes. If they lasted that long anyway." He said with a sneer.

"Sunny got a pure package though. She proved her acting talent while in your little group. Besides she also proved her loyalty to us, which I find more reassuring."

"To you, you mean." She retorted.

"Same thing, you party-pooper." He said as he rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I believe I promised you a dance." Ciaran said with a smile as he extended his hand gracefully toward her.