"Remember, right behind me."

The small boy nodded at Ruri. WIth a deep breath, Ruri prayed one more time that this plan would work. The one-armed ghoul had managed to spit out the rock and was no longer sticking its head under the bed, letting its last arm do the searching. The sickening sounds of the feeding ghoul hadn't stopped yet. Now was the chance.

Ruri slid out at the foot of the bed and ran for the door. The lower ghoul looked up at the sound, quickly giving chase. Ruri beat it to the door and cornered sharply, pressing herself into the far side of the frame as the ghoul's leap sent it crashing into the floor where she had been a heartbeat earlier. She whipped back into the room and slammed the door shut on the stupid monster.

The small boy had come out from under the bed and was running to Ruri. She caught him in one arm and threw a ball of fire at the bed with the other. The dry wood and sheets went up quickly, consuming the body and ghoul atop it. Ruri managed half a smile through her panting--the plan had worked. They weren't in immediate danger.

The flames from the bed moved to the furniture, the walls, and the ceiling. The house was dry wood, all too ready to burn. Ruri's eyes opened wide in panic as she realized she may have put them in an even worse situation than before. She couldn't control flames that large, not even if she had all her energy still. With a ghoul in the hallway behind them, the only way out was the window opposite the bed.

"Come on!" Ruri yelled, pulling the boy toward the window. It was the second story, but maybe there would be something.

Indeed there was something. There was a dragon in the street. If she hadn't been afraid for her life and the life of the little child with her, Ruri would have squealed in delight. As it was, she desperately called out at the top of her lungs in a language that she sincerely hoped would get the dragon's attention.

"[i](Sir Dragon! Please help us escape!)[/i]" The Elven words flowed from her tongue, her fluency apparent. Ruri turned back to the small boy beside her. "Don't worry," she said reassuringly, switching back to the common tongue. "The dragon can help us." At least, Ruri hoped so. The fires were drawing closer, and Ruri didn't have the strength to keep them back.