//------------------------------//
// 1 - Fools and Fire 
// Story: Born of Fire 
// by nimaru 
//------------------------------//

"Tear them down!" insisted the constable, raising his voice as to be heard over the homeowners' protests.

The Lord Mayor's eyes darted nervously from the agitated group to the burning bakery behind them. The people looked to him expectantly; their faces lit by the dancing firelight one moment and bright moonlight the next. Though the Mayor knew it was only a trick of the light, it had the disturbing effect of making them look alternately devilish and ghostly.

All he wanted to do was turn on his heel and crawl back to bed, but he knew this decision – and the political consequences that went with it – rested squarely on his shoulders. The constable might be right and the neighboring buildings had to be demolished to contain the fire, but the owners were influential and their wrath considerable. Then again, if he denied the order and the fire spread, he'd be blamed for failing to act. He gulped nervously and wiped his brow.

Meanwhile, the fire expanded; unconcerned with human inventions such as pride or politics or expectations for how fires should burn. All it knew was a hunger for exploration—and someone had left a broom carelessly propped against the ovens. From the basket of stale breads on the floor, to the work bench and tools, to the cupboards overflowing with supplies and ingredients; the fire ate and grew and ate again. Before long, it had grown too large to fit in the bakery and started spilling from the windows and poking through the roof.

As the men argued in the street below, the fire, insatiable, reached lazily for the eaves of the building next door.