Dreams of Fire

by Christian Cura

  Selene grew quiet and turned her gaze to the street below. She seemed to look at the buildings and look beyond them as a silence stretched between the couple. Kara fixed her eyes on Selene and wondered what was going on in her mind. A moment later, Selene turned back to her and said, “So, what have you been up to today?”

  Kara told her about the work she and Daniela had done that day and Selene listened with interest. They posted announcements online to all of Kara’s followers about the upcoming exhibition. The advertisement was a massive invitation to all of her fans to come and meet her at the gallery. She remembered the store she had mentioned a few minutes ago and showed Selene a photo of their window display. One of the mannequins wore a long black dress with a flowing skirt. “I think this would look good on you, right?”

  Selene chuckled. “We’ll see.”

  She kept her promise to Frank. Selene played nice. She waved at friendly acquaintances and made small talk with them. She wielded no magic. When the band started playing, Kara’s eyes lit up as she recognized the song they were playing. The soft piano riff played on her ears and the vocalist began to sing. She smiled at Selene and she pulled her to the dance floor. Selene hastily finished her whiskey and set her glass down before she allowed herself to be dragged away. They danced together slowly amidst other couples beneath the golden lights.

  Chapter Eight

  Kara Hartman District Wharf, District of Columbia, Present

  The next morning, as Kara awoke from a restful night of sleep her eyes fluttered open and saw a shimmering turquoise glow in her periphery. She rubbed her eyes and sat up a little under the covers. Floating before her bed was an orb of light whose glow sparkled like sunshine through water. Kara recognized her brother’s magical energy instantly and leaped out of bed. She gestured at the orb to unlock the message and a phantom portrait of John’s face appeared above her. His expression was grim and somber.

  “Kara, I have terrible news. There has been a massive jailbreak at the prison. 6,000 rogue mystics are at large once again, including Charlotte Grey. I fear she is coming for you. As you listen to this message, I am flying to your defense with my closest ally, Amelia. I am sorry to bear such grim tidings, but it is critical that you know. Please be careful.

  I love you.”

  The message ended and the light faded. Kara dropped on the foot of her bed as a cold weight sunk in her stomach. A jailbreak? 6,000 prisoners free? But how? Charlotte Grey was at large once again. Kara only barely stopped her two years ago, and this time Charlotte would be hellbent on taking her life. Embittered by her years of imprisonment, there was no question she would be the target of Charlotte Grey’s wrath. This news could not have come at a worse time. Now that she and Selene were close, now that her art career was taking off, Charlotte was coming to take it all away. Kara crumpled her fist in anger. Fine. If Charlotte wanted a fight, Kara would give her one. She took solace in her brother’s word. John was flying to her aid at that very moment. Surely their combined forces would be enough to defeat Charlotte…or would they?

  For the rest of the day, Kara was haunted by memories of the past and fears of the future. She thought about Charlotte and her last battle with her. She thought about the brother she lost and how Charlotte swore vengeance against her right before the door slammed shut. She envisioned the battle to come, the flames and the chaos that lay ahead.

  Suddenly, she jumped as Terry called her name. “Yo! Ground control to Kara! Do you read?”

  Kara, Terry and Daniela sat in the cafeteria at the studio with their lunches spread out before them. Her two friends looked at her. “Oh! Sorry.” Kara replied.

  “You looked a little zoned out there. Are you okay?” Terry asked.

  “I’m fine.” Kara lied. “I just have a lot on my plate today.” Terry looked at her skeptically. “You were saying about the exhibition?” she continued as she nervously changed the subject.

  “Yeah, I was just dying to know if you’ve decided what to wear yet! This is gonna be a high-class event.” Terry said with a smile.

  “Actually, yeah. Selene and I went shopping yesterday.” Kara said. “Don’t worry. We’ll be dressed to kill.”

  “Oh. So, it’s like that, huh? You’re gonna keep me in suspense?” Terry bantered.

  Kara laughed weakly.

  Later that night, as Kara and Selene ate dinner at their favorite lounge, Kara nibbled at her food while Selene told her about her demon-hunting adventure of the day. She listened quietly and responded with casual comments as she chewed and sipped at her wine. Selene stuffed her mouth with calamari as she regaled her with a story of a high-speed chase through Dupont Circle. She recounted how the beast was latched on top of her client’s vehicle and tore through the roof of the limo. Selene followed closely on her motorcycle and weaved around traffic as the limo swerved in an attempt to shake the demon off. She was telling Kara how she bombarded it with a barrage of fireballs when she noticed a distant look in her eyes.

  Selene paused in her storytelling. “Baby, are you okay?” she said as she reached for a bottle of beer. She tilted the bottle at her lips and set it back down on the table.

  Kara’s eyes were suddenly focused on Selene as if she had snapped out of a trance. “Honestly…no.” she replied.

  “What’s wrong?” Selene asked as she plunged another piece of calamari into her mouth.

  “You heard about the jailbreak, right?”

  Selene nodded. “Yeah, I heard it was a shit show. What about it?”

  Kara took a deep breath before proceeding. “I got a message from my brother this morning. He didn’t tell me all the details, all he really said was thousands of prisoners got out and Charlotte is one of those who escaped.” Kara said. “Now that she’s out… she’s on a mission to settle a score with me.” she finished with an inward chill.

  Selene’s expression suddenly turned grave. “How do you know that?”

  A shiver ran up Kara’s spine as she remembered her last encounter with Charlotte. “A year ago, I visited Charlotte in prison. I knew the meeting would be tense but I needed closure. Charlotte was angry…so, so angry. She threatened to destroy everything and everyone I love.” Kara said as her eyes misted with tears. “One of the last things she said to me was ‘I’ll make you pay.’”

  Selene looked at Kara with a deep, penetrating gaze. “Kara, I’m not here to judge you. But I need to know what happened between you and Charlotte. What did you do that would make her swear vengeance against you?”

  Kara locked eyes with Selene. The truth was too much. She couldn’t say it, she didn’t want to. But there was no escape now. Charlotte was in the wind and was very likely coming after her. Selene waited patiently for Kara’s answer as a flood of painful memories rushed to the forefront of her mind. She took a calming breath and told her story.

  “In the last year of my studies at the Academy, Charlotte had taken a strong interest in Necromancy. She became obsessed with it after the death of her mother. She wanted to use the Resurrection Spell to bring her back. All the Professors and I told her it was forbidden, that the Council had outlawed it, but she didn’t care. Somehow, she acquired a book of Necromancy and began practicing with her boyfriend, Drew. They started small: with insects and birds, with mixed results. Sometimes they succeeded, sometimes they failed. I remember walking in on them just as they resurrected a mouse. I know I should have told the Professors, but Charlotte was my friend and I didn’t want her to be punished. I knew if I stood in her way, she would never forgive me. So, I kept it to myself.” Kara paused and tilted a bottle of beer at her lips. “Then, one night, I heard Charlotte sneak out of our dorm. I awoke when I heard the door shut and saw her bed was empty. I looked under her bed where she kept the spell book and it was gone too. From our window, I saw Charlotte and Drew walking toward the woods together. So, I got dressed and followed them to a clearing in the forest. I watched from behind a bush as they stood over two deer; one dead, the other one alive. Charlotte began casting
her magic as Drew slit the throat of the living deer. It dropped to the ground and blood pooled around its head. Charlotte continued with the spell and I could feel the immense currents of energy that electrified the air. But it was too much. It was more power than I had ever felt her wield before. I knew it was getting dangerous…I should’ve stopped it. But…I was afraid the force of a backfired spell would hurt me. So, I just crouched behind that bush and watched.” Kara paused again, lost in her memories. Selene listened quietly and waited for her to continue. “When Charlotte finished the gestures, she lost control of the energy as she tried to focus it on the dead deer. The spell exploded in their faces and the shockwave knocked them both off their feet. Charlotte hit the ground and was mostly fine, but Drew wasn’t so lucky. I can still see the tree limb protruding from his blood-soaked shirt. Charlotte screamed when she saw him impaled on the tree. She ran to him with tears streaming down her face as she sobbed over his sagging corpse. I emerged from hiding and pulled her away from him. I held her while she cried.” Kara’s eyes misted with tears and her voice trembled. “‘I have to bring him back!’ she said to me. I told her no. The energy was too much for her to control. She was a fledgling Necromancer, a fledgling! I told her I wouldn’t let her risk her own life like that. I had just seen Drew die from her failed spell and now she wanted to try again! Charlotte shoved me away and said, ‘I won’t let you interfere! You can’t stop me from getting him back!’ I begged her not to try again, I didn’t want to lose her the way she lost Drew but she wouldn’t listen. She made a move for the spell book but I stood in front of her. ‘Move!’ she said. I told her no. A dark look fell over her face then and she levitated me up and flung me aside. I hit the ground and rolled. Charlotte retrieved the book just as I rose to my feet. She walked toward Drew’s body and started to pull him away from the tree. I blasted her with a shockwave and knocked her down to her feet. But then she sat up and Bound me. I was frozen in place and all I could do was watch as she extracted Drew from the tree limb and float his corpse beside her as she walked away. I don’t know how long I was frozen, I just know it was too long. When her spell wore off, I cast an Orator Spell and called my brother, Anthony. Luckily, he was up late studying for an exam. I told him what just happened and what Charlotte was trying to do. He said he saw her going toward the infirmary with Drew’s body. She needed another Sacrifice to try the spell again. The only one working in the infirmary that night was the Academy doctor. Anthony told me he was already headed there to stop Charlotte. I ran as fast as I could to meet him at the infirmary. When I found him in the hallway, he was working to undo a Ward Charlotte had cast on the room. I could feel the electricity in the air again. Charlotte had already begun casting. When Anthony finally broke through the Ward, he and I burst into the room to find Charlotte standing over the doctor and Drew. She had the dagger raised over the doctor’s throat. She gazed at the unconscious Sacrifice eagerly with her hand poised, ready to thrust the blade into him. Then she looked up with astonishment as my brother and I entered. I blasted her with a shockwave and knocked her into the wall, then Anthony pinned her there from across the room. But Charlotte severed his spell and hurled a fireball at him. He ducked and rolled away toward the far window. In the crossfire of our battle, Charlotte deflected one of my spells and it hit Anthony instead! He was hurled out the window and I tried to stop his fall but Charlotte stunned me. I fell to the floor as I heard my brother hit the ground outside. I staggered back up to my feet and ran to the shattered window. I looked down and saw my baby brother on the ground surrounded by bloody shards of glass!” Kara’s story was interrupted by the soft sound of her weeping. Selene reached across the table and took hold of her hand. She wiped a tear from her face and continued. “As I reeled from his sudden death, she plunged the dagger into the doctor’s throat. The blood trickled onto the floor as she continued to cast. The energy was reaching critical levels again, so I did what I had to. I summoned a whip and lashed her hands together to hamper the hand gestures. Then I yanked her forward and kicked her in the head. She fell to the floor unconscious and the spell dissolved. Later that night, my older brother, John, and his officers arrived to apprehend Charlotte. She was charged and convicted for murder and the forbidden practice of Necromancy. Charlotte was locked away for her crimes…until yesterday.” Kara breathed as she concluded her grim tale.

  “And that’s why you don’t want to cast magic anymore. Because every time you cast, you see your brother die again.” Selene replied. Kara nodded as she wiped another tear from her face. “Kara, what happened to your brother was terrible. But you can’t let that tragedy define who you are. You are so much more than what happened to Anthony. Don’t hide your magic from the world.”

  “You’re right, Selene. But it still hurts so much to talk about it.” said Kara.

  “It’s okay. Everyone has their own time to grieve. And I’m here for you.” Selene replied.

  “Thank you.” Kara said quietly.

  “So now that Charlotte is out, you think she’s coming after you?” Selene replied.

  “Yes. I know she is.” said Kara. “Last time I faced Charlotte I thought there was still some good left in her. Now I’m not so sure. If she was ruthless enough to kill all those guards…” Kara trailed off into silence.

  “Well, maybe there is. But maybe it’s too deeply buried for you to bring it out.” Selene replied. Kara dropped her eyes to the table and sat there in silence for a long moment. “Do you think I’ll have to kill her?”

  “No. I don’t want you to cross that line. You’re innocent and beautiful and I want you to stay that way. Which is why if it comes down to it…if it’s absolutely necessary…I will do it.” Selene said with a steady gaze.

  “I really hope it doesn’t come to that.” Kara said.

  “Me too. But I fight for the ones I love.”

  Professor Chang Academy of Mystic Arts, Washington State, Present

  Earlier that morning before classes began, Professor Chang walked down the sunlit corridor in the bright stillness of dawn. Thick bars of light fell through the windows and the professor’s shadow stretched up the wall. Slung over her shoulder was a bag full of books and journals and cradled in her arm was a thin notebook. The slender woman walked past the doors to several professors’ offices before she reached her own. The glass pane on the door displayed her name in golden letters that sparkled in the sunlight. She pushed the door open and instantly froze at the threshold.

  Seated at her desk was a young woman in an elegant, black dress. Her wavy brown hair spilled over one side as she sat reclined in the chair. Her pale face was beautiful but cold, her gaze filled with danger. The woman’s elbows were propped on the armrests and her fingertips touched. She stared out the window as if she were deep in thought. Behind her stood a short, Middle Eastern woman dressed fully in white with a round face and long, tapering eyelashes. The seated woman turned her dangerous eyes on her.

  “Charlotte!” Professor Chang exclaimed. “How did you escape prison?”

  Charlotte smiled. “I had help.” she said simply.

  Chang frowned at the brevity of her answer. She wondered if that woman in white was the one who helped her escape. “Why are you here, Charlotte? What do you want?” The professor’s eyes flickered uneasily between Charlotte and the woman in white.

  The young woman laughed quietly. “Always quick and to the point.” Charlotte replied. She rose from the chair and walked slowly around the desk. Professor Chang regarded her with a cold stare. “All right. If you want to skip the small talk, we can do that,” Charlotte stood directly in front of Professor Chang. “Where is Kara?”

  “Why do you think I would tell you that?” Chang responded incredulously. “I know the role Kara played in stopping you last time and you’re dreaming if you think I would help you take vengeance on her!”

  Charlotte nodded with acknowledgement then turned again to the far window. She leisurely walked to the glass pane and looked out into the courtya
rd. Outside, were young mystics emerging from the dorms and wandering toward the dining hall for breakfast. “How young are those children down there? Eleven? Thirteen? Wouldn’t it be so tragic if their magical careers and their lives ended so abruptly?” Charlotte asked. She held up her hand and conjured a blue flame that illumined her face with an ominous glow.

  “You will not harm those children, Charlotte,” Professor Chang exclaimed.

  “And I would prefer not to,” she replied. Charlotte extinguished the flame in her hand and walked up to Professor Chang once more. “So, one more time, professor. Where…is…Kara?”

  “I absolutely will not tell you,” the professor replied.

  Charlotte raised her hand and Professor Chang was hurled backward. She was slammed into the wall and pinned firmly above the floor. A loud thud filled the room and Chang’s framed diplomas rattled and tilted. She groaned in pain even as she struggled to sever the spell.

  “If you don’t tell me where she is, I will end you now,” Charlotte said coldly.

  “I will not betray her,” Chang insisted. Charlotte frowned.

  “Fine,” the young woman straightened her right index and middle finger and held them together. Saba recognized the lethal gesture and instantly reacted.

  “Wait,” she interjected. She walked around the desk and stood at Charlotte’s side. She held two fingers to her head as she gestured with her right hand.

  “What are you doing?” Charlotte asked impatiently.

  Saba finished the sequence and touched Chang’s forehead with the fingertips of her free hand. The link was established. Saba closed her eyes and delved into the Professor’s mind. She saw images of students in classrooms, exams and papers. She saw sparring matches in Chang’s combat class and diagrams of demons in her textbooks. Saba focused her thoughts on Kara and saw a city with white monuments and congested streets. She saw a river with multiple piers that stretched across its depths and a multitude of boats moored before a bustling waterfront.