Light streaked past Ruth's vision.

a flame, stretching--growing.

It pulsed through the headlights and into the car and into her mind. 

she reached out to touch it, just once, just briefly. 

Her eyes felt blurry and warm; her skin tingled. Ruth lashed out and grabbed the handle on the door to steady herself, her other hand gripping the edge of her seat and the edge of her dress.

as soon as her finger collided with the twisting flame, it leapt to her body, feeding off her skin and desires. 

She could hear the crackling now, the hissing and popping. Hands--her hands-- reached up to cover Ruth's ears. 

the flames licked and sizzled around her form. she was the fire now. burning, stretching--growing. the trees beckoned her closer, deeper. they creaked and groaned, wanting to be touched. she took a shaky step toward the branches, leaving scorch tracks along the forest floor.  fire leapt from her fingertip to the edge of a leaf. it curled around itself, dying from the heat. she watched as leaf after leaf ignited and died. ignited and died. ignited until the whole forest blazed around her--her creation.

her fault.

"Ruth? Are you okay?"

Noah's touch brought her back to the present. His hand remained on her knee as she lowered her arms and opened her eyes. She was in a car, Noah's car. One deep breath and the fire fell away. The warmest sensation on her body now was from the heat in his fingertips seeping through her thin tights; she reluctantly brushed them away.

"I'm alright. I had a weird dream last night. Something about the streetlights reminded me of it."

Noah glanced her way, his face concerned. "What was the dream about?"

"Fire. So much fire." Ruth pulled her chapstick out of her lizard-shaped bag. "I think it may have been in a forest, there were trees at least"

Noah pursed his lips, eyes still on the road. "Do you have dreams like that often?"

"I mean, yeah." Ruth swiped the vanilla chapstick across her lips. "But they're just dreams."

"Right, just dreams." Noah cleared his throat. "Are you excited for tonight?"

"You know what, I think I actually am." 

The road stretched on, trees heavily lining either side. Ruth's eyes traced the tree line as it rushed past, searching for movement or anything besides endless leaves. Noah slowed the car and flipped on the blinker, turning at a barely perceptible dent in the woods. This road was even more narrow and winding; it led to a large clearing with a house nestled in the center.

Ruth clutched her purse as Noah parked the car. He twisted the keys out and pushed the lights knob in.

"Everyone is probably around back, we can just follow the path over there." When Ruth didn't move, he softened. "Hey, don't worry," he unclicked her seatbelt and opened his door, "they're gonna love you." 

Ruth smiled and followed him past a few bushes and down the path. On the other side was a sprawling porch decorated in flickering lights and crawling with young adults. 

A large man with a t-shirt reading "I'm a grandma, what's your superpower?" ran up to Noah and clobbered him with a handshake. It involved some snapping, a hip bump, and a lot of vague, manly gestures. Ritual finished, he turned his attentions to Ruth.

"You must be the new girl Noah's been telling us about." He held out his hand, "I'm Toby."

"Ruth," and she stuck out her hand to meet his. When they collided, Toby shook hers like a proper business man before wiggling his hand away like a dying bird. Ruth did her best to follow suit.

"C'mon," Toby hooked an arm around her shoulder, "I'll introduce you to the rest of the gang."

Noah followed, smile wide, as Toby brought Ruth over to a trio in the corner lounging on patio furniture. Ellie was first. She was so pretty, almost prettier than Noah. Her blonde hair was thick, ethereal, and chopped short around her chin. Ruth noticed her nose ring and soft eyes as Ellie kissed her on the hand in greeting. 

Kalista was next. Her defining feature was a dark and twisting, waist-long braid that complimented her sharp cheeks and firm glance. On her left sat a slight boy, long nose in a book.

His face was pointed, chin high, eyes narrowed. The book in his hands was black-bound, when he lowered it to look at her, Ruth noticed ink scribbles and scratches and verses jumbled together like a madman's diary. He didn't smile.

"So this is the famous Ruth Radley. The city girl with the pretty eyes. And a body to match."

Ruth glanced to Noah but he wouldn't look at her. The others wore sympathetic faces.

The boy ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair as his gaze travelled up and down her form, slowly. "Noah was right, you don't look like you'll ever amount to much, much less like a lawyer-to-be."

Now Noah really wouldn't look at her.

"And who are you?" Ruth's hand snapped out and snatched his book. Tension flooded the air. "Ah, an aspiring poet. Cute. Or maybe just a run-of-the-mill snob and a half? A little less cute." Her hands paused in their page-rifling. "Here we go, 'his eyes follow her flower-form/leaving empty the meadow where his eyes used to dwell/leaving empty my meadow where he used to dwell.'" Ruth shut the book with an aggressive flourish. "I wonder if you're threatened by me because I'm new or if you're threatened by me because I'm a competent woman. Let's assume it's the first one because I really don't have it in me to have the whole why-we-need-to-stop-putting-down-competent-women conversation tonight."

Ellie and Toby were smirking now.

"From the nonverbals simply oozing from your friends, I would say it's safe to assume your group dynamic is well-established and tight-knit. You like the way things are. It's easy, it's comfortable, your role is secure and you don't have to worry about being hung out to dry. What does my arrival threaten to steal from you? I can assure you, I'm not here to take your place. And if it's because you view me as some kind of outsider--some city girl encroaching on your small-town-vibes, answer me this: how long have you been in Birchfield?"

"Six years," the boy murmured.

"Six years. Cute. I was was born here. This is no less my home than it is yours."

Ellie threw out a "preach!"

The boy paled as Ruth bent to look him in the eyes, sliding the book back into his open hands. "Looks can be deceiving, my friend. Let's start over."

Ruth did a full 360 and then smiled, holding out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Ruth Radley, granddaughter and future lawyer."

The boy took her hand. "Hello there, I'm Marv of the Hansen clan, aspiring poet and occasional snob and a half who can't stop putting his foot in his mouth."

"It's very nice to meet you Marv." Ruth let Noah snake an arm around her waist and sit them down on a bench nearby. "Recite a poem to me, Marv, to atone for your transgressions."

Marv stood and the rest settled in. He paced for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before beginning. His eyes never left Noah's form and his lips danced around a smile as he spoke:

"I thank you, kind and best beloved friend,
With the same thanks one murmurs to a sister,
When, for some gentle favor, he hath kissed her,
Less for the gifts than for the love you send,
Less for the flowers, than what the flowers convey;
If I, indeed, divine their meaning truly,
And not unto myself ascribe, unduly,
Things which you neither meant nor wished to say,
Oh! tell me, is the hope then all misplaced?
And am I flattered by my own affection?
But in your beauteous gift, methought I traced
Something above a short-lived predilection,
And which, for that I know no dearer name,
I designate as love, without love's flame."

Everyone applauded as Marv bowed and sat back down next to Kalista.

She elbowed him playfully. "Your poems are sounding a lot more sophisticated than I remember."

"That would be because Henry Timrod was likely a lot more sophisticated than me."

Ellie threw out another "preach!"

Ruth was so focused on not looking at Noah's hand as it inched closer to hers that she missed Marv's question.

When met with her blank face, he said, "I said, 'Ruth, do you have any poetry floating around in that little lawyer head of yours to regale us with?'"

Noah leaned over and whispered, "You don't have to if you don't want to." His lips almost brushed against her ear.

She squeezed his arm and stood, not really sure what she was going to say. Before she could think of a poem, she felt an odd sensation wash over her body. Like she was floating.

Or falling.

"Red as the deer's heart
Dark as the crow's eyes
Deep as the cave's lake
Bright as the sun's rise
Hard as the north wind
Stolen for ten nights
Lady of the red wood
Return to your birthright"

Ruth lightly touched a hand to her temple. The porch was hazy. She shook her head. Figures still swam before her eyes. She tried to take a step forward, but stumbled back instead. Noah, of course, caught her and made some quippy comment about this being the second time he'd caught her in two weeks. 

His smile fell when she still wavered, staring at the only clear thing in her field of vision: a pair of yellow eyes locked into hers.

---

Ruth was staring at him. Ruth was impossibly staring at him. 

He couldn't hear her from across the yard, but her could read her lips. And he could feel the flux when she spoke. It washed over him in waves, causing his soul to sink and his eyes to flash wide. This proved it. Ruth was the one, she had to be.

And Abaddon was running out of time.