He carefully lit another one, this time studying the colored rods on the floor. He picked up a yellow one and held it and the match close to the tower to check if he was on the yellow side. The flame miraculously jumped off of the match and onto a support rod in the tower. He stood there puzzled at how this little sprite could jump on its own. The flame raced up the yellow rod, blistering, then blackening its paint before jumping over the unfinished connecting wheel on its way to the next highest rod. Young Bobby stood there hypnotized by the metamorphosis happening in front of him. In minutes the entire skeleton was aflame as well as the edge of the curtains behind it. The polyester in the curtains dripped burning globs of plastic onto the carpet, igniting it. By the time the flames on the tower had died down and Bobby noticed what was going on, it had spread to the wood paneling on the walls and ceiling surrounding the window.

The monster always acts the same whenever it is summoned. It had already moved out across the floor to the front wall and was on its way to the corners. I retreated back from the point of origin toward the strip of unprimed floor that connected the back window of the far wall with the top of the stairs. The flames had engulfed the center and forward posts and were halfway up the rear one. By the time I retreated onto my safety strip, the yellow flames were three feet tall on the floor. The foot thick rolling flames on the ceiling were blood red and much cooler than the ones on the floor due to lack of oxygen in the upper air. Soon the color of the bottom ones would get darker, orange, then red, and then just before it gets drowsy and bored I would free it.

The flames quickly advanced to the forward side of the unmopped path then slowed to a crawl. I stepped farther back from the wall of flames and toward the window. The heat was becoming intense. My leather jacket helped to shield some of its attack. It crackled and popped as it took hold on the wood itself. Not much time left. The flames at the point of origin leaped higher than the surrounding ones and formed a symmetrical volcano-shaped mountain that reached almost to the quiet flames of the ceiling. As the cone rose, it changed from yellow to orange to red at the top. Almost time.