That was exactly when everything went wrong.
The candles around Eloise's circle suddenly flared up-all of them at once. The small flames jumped from two inches high to two feet high in a single instant, like someone turned up a gas burner.
Everyone froze.
"What the hell-" one of Elder Isaiah's men said.
Then, the shelf full of dusty books by the wall burst into flames.
Not gradually-One second, the books were just doing fine on the shelf. Next, they were on fire, flames racing up the ceiling like it had been soaked in gasoline. The fire spread impossibly fast, jumping from the curtains to the wooden shelves.
Elder Isaiah's eyes opened wide, and he was staggering looking for any corner the fire had not gone to. "What is this?" He said frantically.
"Fire!" someone from
