she could not explain what had happened , but she had felt the ground crumble beneath her and her grip on the mossy wood fail , and all she could see before her was the bright flash of ruby , growing larger and more brilliant before her eyes , until she felt that she was watching a burning fire , tongues of blood red flame licking the woolly swirls of mist around her until it swelled to bonfire size , and it seemed that she was in the middle of it .