Feral Magic

to cause alarm.
She had just started tugging at her magic when a resounding boom echoed across the area and rattled her core. Vixin’s hands shot to her ears, sure her drums had ruptured from the vibrations alone. Another boom cracked the silence and Zak tugged on her arm as people shot from house after house, weapons drawn.
He pushed her forward and Vixin all but growled at him. She didn’t need to be told to move, but Zak ignored her and peeked around the opposite corner. Her ears rang with the aftershock and another boom echoed that had Vixin clenching her teeth so hard she was sure they’d break. Great, as if she needed hearing loss during a time like this.
Zak’s comrades leapt from their hiding place and Vixin followed Zak toward the storehouse. She should run. Everyone had been alerted and her hearing was definitely off, but when no one opposed them, Vixin couldn’t bring herself to abandon the goal.
Zak lifted the wooden bar from the doors and kicked them open. Boxes, weapons, and clothes were scattered inside, stacked messily as if someone had been in a hurry to move them.
Each individual grabbed something and headed out like scampering mice. She pocketed a few things and picked out a handful of weapons before shouldering a pack. Within seconds they were darting back toward the trees.
Someone on her left shouted and Vixin twisted around in time to see the young man engulfed in flames. His screams ran straight down to her core, but before she could react, water drenched the surrounding area. Zak skidded to a halt at his side and dropped his load to wrap an arm around his companion.
In another flash of blinding light, fire shot from the shadows again and spun toward her like a missile. Vixin rolled to the right, her heart hammering as she scanned the area for their attacker. More flames lit up the night, spiraling around a body stalking toward them. Magic or no, how was she supposed to fight against fire?
“Let’s go,” Zak yelled.
Vixin shifted on her heel, but the fire user attacked, sending several spears of light their way. She couldn’t dodge them all but could her magic—water collided with the flames in midair, and steam rose from the colliding forces. He attacked again, this time in a wave, and Zak dropped his companion to defend.
The two forces fought, a wave pushing against living flame. She could hardly see the other, but Zak gritted his teeth in concentration then fell to one knee. Chaos ensued around them and Zak wasn’t the only one in a heated conflict. They needed to get out of here. Now.
Vixin shoved her magic through the earth and pulled at the dormant seeds beneath their feet. She knew what needed to be done, even if Zak wouldn’t like it. He’d thank her later.
Plants burst from the earth like a violent monster. The leaves unfurled and thorns raced for their assailant. It spiraled, then slammed into him, carving a deadly path through his flesh. The man screamed, wrapping himself in fire as he tried to fight off her magic. She could almost feel the blood rolling down the stems. Vixin took one step toward him, but Zak’s call had her whipping around.
“Let’s go!”
Reluctantly, Vixin turned from the still screaming man. He was fading and she wished she could take the time to make the rest of his companions do the same.
Vixin bounded through the trees after Zak and took his pack so he could focus on carrying his injured companion. Burns ran up and down the young man’s arms and she cringed at the thought of the pain.
Once again, the enemy didn’t pursue them and Vixin wondered why. If someone were to attack her camp, she’d give chase until every last one of them paid.
When his breathing turned haggard, Zak set his companion on the ground, the young man hissing through his teeth from the pain. Vixin glanced at the bubbles forming along his arms and turned away. They were worse than she’d first thought and trailed up his neck. He needed a hospital, but if what Zak had said was true, then hospitals didn’t exist in this world.
Sam emerged from the trees a moment later and his eyes locked on Zak and then to the boy on the ground. Family. Is that why they had such anguished looks on their faces. Sure, she felt for the boy, but the pain Zak and Sam felt seemed...different. Deeper.
Sam placed both hands over one arm and a faint glow emitted from his palms. Vixin stilled and everything went silent. She couldn’t tear her gaze away this time as the bubbles receded. The skin patched itself together, the redness giving way to new skin as if he were being burned in reverse.
Vixin’s mouth gaped as she watched Sam shift to his other arm, focusing on the worst parts first. She almost couldn’t believe it. Zak had mentioned the elements, but she never imagined the magic of this world would include healing. Had Zak not wanted to freak her out again, as he’d so eloquently put it, or had it simply slipped his mind? How far did healing go? Could it repair internal wounds? Bring someone back from the brink of death?
The young man winced a time or two but once healed, Zak placed a pack under his head and stood. He instructed the others to head back to their camp. Only Sam stayed behind.
Vixin still couldn’t tear her gaze away from the young man lying on the ground. He would have died. There was no doubt now. Not from the wounds themselves, but from the aftermath of them. After watching his skin knit itself back together, she could envision the weeks of changed bandages and the smell of rotting skin. But now—
“What the hell was that?”
Vixin raised a