Dreams of Fire

by Christian Cura

  He approached the door with a tray of food in one hand as he flashed a gesture with the other. It unlocked of its own accord and John pushed the door open. A cold wind howled from within as he stepped through the threshold. The sparsely furnished cell was lit only by the crimson glow of the Tower. A single shaft of red light cut through the chamber otherwise filled with shadow. The light fell upon a single prisoner seated on the cold floor with her knees drawn toward her chest. Her dark, wavy hair fell down one side of her face as her simmering eyes stared down at the floor. Chains hung from her shackled wrists as she shivered.

  John placed the tray at her feet. “Your dinner,” he said.

  Charlotte glanced at the meager rations and chuckled quietly. “How sweet of you.”

  “Just eat. There’s no need for talking, prisoner,” John replied sternly. He turned to leave the cell when she spoke again.

  “How is your sister, John?” Charlotte asked with a sinister smile.

  John glared at her over his shoulder. “That is none of your business.”

  “Awww. We can’t catch up? I hardly see you anymore!” Charlotte replied with an ostentatious pout.

  “There is nothing left to say between us.” John said as he looked down at her from his full height.

  “Oh, but there is so much we could talk about!” Charlotte shot back. “Like how, when I escape —”

  “Charlotte. We’ve been over this. You will never get out. Your life is over. You lost,” John said impatiently.

  Charlotte smiled again. “I wouldn’t be so confident about that if I were you,” she said. “When I get out, I will make Kara pay for what she did and—” she began to say, when, suddenly her voice was muted. Her lips continued to move for a moment before she realized her vocal cords had been silenced. John held his Mute Spell firmly as he trembled with anger.

  “Eat your damn food!” he repeated. Then John left the cell and slammed the door shut behind him. A dull clanging echoed in the chamber as the door locked.

  Saba Qureshi, Prison, Canadian Wilderness, Present

  The recruits huffed and puffed beneath a dark, pre-dawn sky. They stood bent with hands planted on knees before the training arena. While they struggled to catch their breath, a lone straggler joined them. The diminutive figure emerged from the distant shadows with her short, woven braid bobbing behind her head. Sweat trickled down the sides of Saba’s face as she slipped into the exhausted crowd. She stopped running and breathed with burning lungs. Saba cast her gaze among her peers and saw their heads and shoulders outlined in the crimson glow of the Tower. No one looked up at her. No one gave her a second glance. She stood up straight and dragged the back of her hand across her moistened brow.

  Officer Marcus Jones strode among them with a glowing, purple whip coiled in his fist. He unfurled it and cracked it on the ground. Several recruits flinched. “Assemble for combat training!” he shouted.

  Saba and the others scurried to the arena and formed several staggered lines. They stood at attention while the cold wind blew over their heads. Officer Jones marched to the front and fixed his sharp gaze on them. “Today we spar.” he said. “Break off into pairs, then rotate on command!”

  The recruits sprang into a flurry of activity as they all paired off and spread out across the arena. When everyone had selected a partner, Marcus shouted for them to begin. His order was punctuated with another crack of the whip.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Saba could see her peers immediately begin to circle one another with fists raised. She saw their sloppy kicks and punches, their slowed reflexes. She did her best to mimic their fatigue. Saba patiently endured the abuse that her peers doled out on her. She delayed her reflexes and took many hits that she knew she could have countered. But Saba rose to her feet every time and continued. For what felt like hours, they dueled beneath the slowly brightening sky. Saba’s back thudded against the ground when she allowed her partner’s kick to connect with her stomach. She rolled to her side and pushed herself up to her elbows and knees. Saba bowed her head and panted heavily as the sun peeked over the horizon. Thankfully, Officer Jones halted their sparring session right there. He gathered them all back together to demonstrate technique. After he showed them several wrist locks, he ordered them to pair off once again to practice.

  Marcus Jones, Prison, Canadian Wilderness, Present

  The sun rose on another morning as Marcus scrutinized the training recruits. They winced with pain while their partners bent and wrenched their wrists at unnatural angles. Some performed their techniques with mastery, others with halting awkwardness. He sternly corrected one of the recruits then turned and noticed something strange. On the far end of the arena, was a cluster of young men and women gathered together. They stood in a loose circle around Saba while she whipped her partner from side to side with ease. She explained the mechanics of the wrist lock he had just showed as her partner grimaced. He stumbled this way and that while Saba kept her fingers clamped around his hand. Then she released him and the young man cradled his arm. The small crowd of onlookers nodded with understanding and thanked Saba for her advice. Marcus took note and resumed his duties.

  Kara Hartman District Wharf, District of Columbia, Present

  The next morning, Daniela arrived at her apartment to help carry some supplies to the studio. At the sound of her gentle rapping, Kara opened the door and greeted her warmly. Daniela entered with a smile as Kara closed the door behind her. She followed Kara into the bright living room and marveled at the finished decorations. The white couches were set near the window with vibrant accent pillows nestled against the cushions. In front of the television was a narrow glass coffee table with stainless steel legs and decorative candles placed on top To Daniela’s right was a shelf filled with books and vinyl records. Then with surprise, she saw the glass vase that she thought she had broken, standing whole and gleaming in the sunlight.

  “Your apartment looks beautiful, boss.”

  “Thanks, Dani!” Kara called from the next room.

  “I’m glad you found a replacement for the vase.”

  “What?” Kara asked as she poked her head out of the studio.

  “The vase.” said Daniela as she pointed at it.

  “Oh! Uhh…yeah. Bought another just like it.” she replied nervously. “The supplies are in here, Dani.” They gathered the supplies in cardboard boxes and headed out the door.

  When they arrived at the studio with the new supplies, Kara immediately delved into her work. Her vision was flooded with vibrant colors as she poured her soul into every brushstroke. The scenery she painted was recognizable to anyone but revitalized in a way only Kara could see it. The skies churned with clouds that only her mind’s eye witnessed and reflections gleamed with an intensity that her heart felt rather than showed. Her canvas enveloped her thoughts so much; she was scarcely aware of anything else.

  Daniela looked up from her typing and admired Kara’s work. As she watched her meticulously paint, Daniela was struck with inspiration. She picked up the camera from the desk and turned it on. Then she snapped a photo of Kara while she leaned forward at her canvas and painted. She uploaded the image to Kara’s feed with the caption “Hard at work for the upcoming exhibition. See you all there!”

  Later that afternoon, Kara quickly rinsed her brushes at the sink as she anxiously eyed the clock on the wall. It was almost 4:30 and Selene was on her way to pick her up. They were going to have a movie night at her place so she needed to be ready by the time she arrived. Paint gushed out of the bristles beneath the running water and swirled down the drain. She finished one brush then dropped it in the cup and grabbed another.

  Presently, Selene walked into the studio and greeted Kara with a smile. “Hey, beautiful,” she said with a wave.

  “Hey,” Kara replied over the sound of the running water. She continued to work out the acrylic paint with her fingers as she spoke. “I just need to rinse a few more brushes and then we can go.”

  “Cool,” Selene r
eplied. She looked around the studio and saw Kara’s works on display. Her urban landscapes hung on the wall above tables filled with tubes of paint, brushes and pencils. The paint was organized by columns of color, the tubes all standing vertically on their caps and the brushes grouped by thickness in small steel cups. On one side of the desk was a collection of manila folders and a box of pencils right next to it. Intrigued by the vibrant colors of Kara’s work, Selene explored the studio.

  She approached Kara’s easel and saw a half-complete view of the Potomac. The buildings of the waterfront stretched into the distance as the glow of a sunset illuminated their façade s. Selene saw the outline of boats moored at the pier and the tiny silhouettes of people who walked along the quay. Selene walked over to Daniela’s side of the studio and saw some of Kara’s most recent works leaned against the wall. She perused the canvases and saw abstract skies, whimsical flowers and landscapes of surreal architecture. She turned and saw an easel with a street view of Georgetown behind Daniela, who typed rapidly on a laptop. She leaned closer to examine her brush strokes when Daniela suddenly spoke. “So, you’re the favorite lady I’ve heard so much about.”

  Selene smiled. “I am indeed.”

  “I’m Daniela, Kara’s assistant.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Selene extended her hand and Daniela shook it. “I was just looking through these paintings here.”

  “Yes, the boss is very talented,” Daniela said with a nod.

  Kara finished rinsing the brushes and began to dry her hands on a towel. “Ready!” she called. Then as she turned to grab her coat from the hook, she bumped into a small table and knocked over a cup of gray water. It spilled all over the tabletop and dripped onto the floor. Kara sighed in irritation and went to retrieve a paper towel.

  “Let me get that for you.” Selene walked over to the spill. She began to gesture with her hands to coax the water back into the cup when Kara suddenly leaped and shielded her hands from Daniela’s view.

  “No, no, no. That’s fine.” Kara said. Then she mopped up the water with a paper towel.

  Selene was puzzled by her reaction but said nothing. Kara tossed the wet paper towel in a waste bin and said “Okay. Let’s go.” She put on her coat and picked up her bag while Selene followed her out.

  “Have fun, you two!” Daniela called after them.

  “Thanks, Dani. Bye!”

  When they arrived at Selene’s apartment, Kara turned on the television while Selene prepared the snacks. She looked through her DVD collection, picked a movie and slid the disk into the player. When Selene brought out the food, they sat closely on the couch as the movie played.

  Kara’s head was still resting against Selene when the movie finished. The credits began to roll when Selene suddenly spoke.

  “Daniela doesn’t know that we’re mystics, does she?” she said.

  Kara looked up at her. There was no use in lying. “No. She doesn’t.”

  “Why are you hiding your magic from her?” Selene asked.

  Kara sat up and dropped her eyes to the floor. She took a deep breath before she answered. “Because I think Daniela has magic, too.”

  Selene crinkled her brow in confusion. “But I don’t get it. Shouldn’t that make it easier to talk about with her?”

  “It should. But not in this case.”

  “How do you mean?”

  Kara looked at Selene. “I don’t think the magic inside Daniela is really her own. I mean, it’s there but it feels dormant and somehow… alien. Like it wasn’t there when she was born but maybe… implanted? And I’m afraid if I cast magic around her, my residual energies will agitate the magic inside Dani. I don’t know who implanted that magic in her or why but I fear those secrets might be things that Daniela doesn’t want to discover.”

  “And what leads you to believe that?” Selene asked.

  Kara tipped a bottle of beer at her lips. “The energy inside Daniela is a finite storehouse of magic, designed to activate in a moment of crisis. Whoever placed it there must have had a good reason. I have no idea who it was since Dani has told me that her whole family is non-magical. What if her current family is not her real family? Do I really have the right to foist that revelation on her? What if something terrible happened to her real family? How would Dani cope with that knowledge? I couldn’t bear to hurt her like that.”

  Selene nodded. “It seems to me that that magic is part of Daniela’s heritage somehow whether it’s native to her or not. It’s part of who she is, her origins, her history. Don’t you think she has a right to know?”

  “You’re right,” Kara admitted. “I just don’t know how she’ll take it.”

  “People can bounce back from some crazy shit,” Selene replied. “I’m living proof of that,” she added with a smile. “And whatever tragedies or secrets Daniela might uncover about her family may wound her, but she’ll come out stronger because of it. I think you should most definitely tell her. But I’ll leave it up to you to decide when.”

  Kara smiled. “Thank you for listening.”

  “No problem.”

  “But there’s another reason why I’m hiding my magic from her.” Kara said. “It’s because…magic reminds me of someone I lost.”

  “Kara, what happened?” Selene asked, her dark eyes full of concern.

  Kara shook her head. “It’s too painful. I can’t…I just can’t talk about it right now.”

  Selene looked into Kara’s eyes and recognized the pain instantly. She saw the same suffering in her own eyes after she had also lost someone very dear to her. “Do you have any other plans tonight?” Selene asked.

  “No, why?”

  “C’mon.” Selene said as she stood up from the couch.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  The couple donned their coats and hopped on Selene’s motorcycle. Kara clung lightly to Selene’s waist as they zipped through traffic. Dusk approached and the lights of the city winked on. Once they were a few blocks away from Selene’s apartment, she slowed down and pulled up to the sidewalk. Selene stomped down on the kickstand and they dismounted. Kara looked up at the sign on the building before her. It read: Adams Morgan Community Center. She followed Selene through a pair of glass doors and into a brightly lit lobby.

  A round marble information desk stood at the center of a spotless tiled floor. Young children and teenagers walked in clusters as they talked and laughed together. “This way.” Selene said as she jerked her head to the right. She followed her into a wide corridor with walls that were dotted with bulletin boards and posters. Selene pushed open the first door to their left and they entered a room full of children. They shrieked playfully as they chased one another across the floor. At a table to their left, Kara could see a little boy levitating several wooden blocks in the air while a small cluster of children looked up in awe. The blocks tumbled slowly in midair suspended by a cloud of shimmering purple light. Across the room, she saw a girl who made a stream of water dance above her head as her friends leaped away and ducked beneath it. They laughed and tried not to get splashed by the swirling water.

  “See how these kids play with each other?” said Selene as she gestured toward the room. “No matter what happened in your past that made you want to forget magic, I want to remind you that magic can be beautiful and innocent. Not just dark and dangerous.”

  Selene looked to her right and saw two girls playing with toy horses on the floor. “Hey. Wanna see something cool?” Without waiting for an answer, she cast a spell on one of the horses and made it come to life. It trotted around and neighed like a real horse and the two girls laughed with delight.

  “Can you do that to all of them?” one of the girls said.

  “I sure can.” Selene smiled. She cycled through a sequence of gestures and all seven toy horses began to prance on their hooves. The two children gasped in astonishment as they marveled at Selene’s Animation Spell.

  “Thank you for showing this to me,” Kara said. />
  “You’re welcome,” Selene replied.

  They left the community center shortly after and the two of them zipped through the night on Selene’s motorcycle. As the cold air rushed by, Kara held herself a little closer to Selene than was necessary. She laughed quietly to herself when she thought about what had just transpired. Selene, the tough demon-hunter badass delighting children with magic. When they arrived at the District Wharf, Selene parked on the street and they got off.

  Kara and Selene strolled along the waterfront as the sun sank over the lazy tides of the river. Its fiery orange glow shone upon the sails of the boats moored by the piers and set the dark horizon ablaze. As the sun waned, the lights of the restaurants and shops winked on. People streamed in and out of the buildings and chatted casually as they passed by.

  Kara’s hand lightly brushed against Selene’s while they walked together.

  “Selene, I have an odd question.” Kara said plainly.

  “Shoot.”

  Kara threw Selene a sideways glance and grinned. “Would you mind modeling for me?”

  Selene’s eyebrows went up. “You want me to model for you?” she chuckled. “I have no experience.”

  “That’s fine. I can direct you.”

  “Why would you want me as your model?” Selene asked.

  “Because…you intrigue me.” she said with a shrug. “Your whole gestalt is fascinating.”

  Selene laughed loudly. “Gestalt! You nerd!”

  Kara shoved her playfully. “So, will you do it?”

  “Sure. Why the hell not?” she replied with another chuckle.

  “Great.” Kara replied. “Meet me here tomorrow. Does 9:30 work?” They stopped at the staircase that led up to her apartment.

  “Yeah. That works,”

  “Okay. Good night,”

  “Good night,” Selene replied while they hugged. Kara went up the stairs and watched as Selene walked away.