Quenten smiled over her shoulder in the direction of Merri's voice. "I'll try," she promised. The thought that Merri believed her spell could go right gave her the courage to try again.
She used the bucket she kept next to the fireplace to put out the fire and replaced the log. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she imagined herself in front of the fireplace, holding out her hands and saying the words to the spell. The fire would ignite the wood, nothing would explode. She would feel the fire's gentle warmth and hear the gentle crackling. It would be controlled. No one would get hurt.
Her eyes still closed, the image still fixed in her mind, Quen whispered the words to the spell.
There was no explosion; no loud pop of fire in the fireplace. She held out her hands and felt the unmistakeable warmth of fire. She heard the crackling of flames on dry wood.
Thoroughly bemused, she turned toward Merri again. "Wh-what happened?" she whispered, not daring to believe it.