The broom beneath Dila suddenly jolted... a sharp, violent shudder that ran up her legs to her chest. Her eyes widened in confusion as the handle began to vibrate uncontrollably, humming with an unstable pitch that pierced through the howling wind.
Then...
BOOM!
A blinding flash burst behind her, the sound splitting the sky. The explosion swallowed the air, a wave of scorching heat slamming against her body. Dila screamed as the broom erupted into fragments, flames scattering in all directions like sparks from a dying star. The blast threw her violently forward, her body flung high into the open air.
The world turned upside down.
For a second, everything slowed—the sky above shimmered white, clouds spinning like whirlpools around her. Her vision flickered... and then, as instinct or fate willed it, a soft light enveloped her body.
