by Ariel Hunter
As she set down the little teacups and kettle, along with a little leather pouch, Cassandra continued to ask me questions about the dream.
“So, you weren’t able to see the Collector’s face?”
“No, not at all,” I said, taking a sip of my tea.
“And you had the sensation of doom, that you were going to end in some way, but he never actually threatened to kill you?”
I thought back on the dream. That was technically true. Though the Collector hadn’t been warm and fuzzy, that wasn’t what he actually said. He had just said he was going to harness me. The pain had come from the cage. He hadn’t ever threatened my life. Had I read too much in it? Was I possibly afraid of dying for some other reason and my anxiety had made it into my dream?
When I gave the affirmative and drank some more of the tea, Cassandra nodded to Callan and then brushed the fur down Maely’s back. The tiger’s eyes rolled back in her head, content with her deep rub, and her paws flexed in and out.
“I’m going to test you, okay, Marnie? Just close your eyes.”
That seemed a little odd, but maybe there would be some more questions while my eyes were closed? Cassandra had set me at ease throughout her questioning and I had a sense of trust in her, as much as I could at least. Plus, I knew I needed to be tested, whatever the method was. Though it was cryptic, it seemed like Callan wouldn’t have brought me anywhere that wasn’t safe or insecure.
I took another drink, set the tea down, then settled myself in the chair, leaned back, and closed my eyes with a deep breath.
The next thing I knew, I was in a burning building.
A deep, symphonic melody in minor key was playing intense crescendos in time with falling pillars and fiery leaps of flame.
Shadows leapt and danced across walls as sparks flew against billows of smoke, trails of fire snaking up the walls and slithering to the ceiling.
The whole place was ablaze and to make matters worse, as I turned, I saw that Anya was there, tucked into a corner, trying to shield herself from the fierce heat, coughing from the smoke.
How do I keep managing to endanger my best friend?
Chapter 6
I fought against the flickering flames as smoke clouds roared up from the sides. It was as if my skin would sear off, the heat was so intense on my face.
“Anya,” I screamed. How the hell did I get here? They must have teleported me. What kind of fucked up test is this?
Anya looked up at me, reaching for me through the flames. A rafter shattered to the ground near her, embers cascading down her back and into her hair. She shook and spun around, freeing herself from the burning chunks of wood. She yelped and crouched away, trying to find any place that wasn’t threatening to burn her to death.
“Anya,” I called, coughing against the smoke. Another rafter fell in between us. I glared up at the burning roof as a whole monster flow of flame ravaged the area above and between us. A door opened on the far side, creaking. It seemed to be free of flame so far. I tried to point toward it, trying to get Anya’s attention, but her head was buried in her arms, hiding her face from the falling sparks and heat. “Go that way!” Did she hear me? Did she even know I was still here for her?
I doubted I could get across the fallen beam and join her, but maybe she could get out, maybe she could be free.
I choked on the smoke as it swelled in my lungs. My eyes were leaking from the smoke stinging as I peered through the haze. I had lost sight of Anya. Was that her? Collapsed on the ground? Or was that another beam?
Flames were springing up all around me. My chest heaved. The heat was getting to me. I wanted to rip my clothes off. I wanted to run outside and into the ocean, but I didn’t even know if I was still near the ocean.
Where the fuck was I?
“Anya!” I had to save her. I had to save her again. I couldn’t lose her. I would do anything. Despair was mounting and it wasn’t just the smoke jerking moisture from my eyes. Tears were starting to prick at them, and it was a painful sensation.
I faced the beam in front of me. I could jump it. The flames were taller than me and would probably light my clothes on fire, but I had to get to Anya.
Or I had to drench the flames.
But I was running out of time.
“Marnie . . .”
I spun around. Where was that voice coming from? It was a haunting voice. Like in my dream. A shadow I couldn’t see. One that circled all around me. Was he coming for me? Even here? Was I going to die? Was this facing my doom?
I dropped to my knees, choking on the smoke. My vision was swimming. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t stay awake. I fell to the ground. But Anya . . .
“Marnie . . . wake up . . .”
My eyes flew open as I realized the voice was Cassandra. I was gripping the chair arms of my seat so fiercely my knuckles were white.
And I was soaked.
I lifted my arms, staring at my drenched clothing, swiping ocean water from my face, licking salt from my lips.
I looked out at the ocean. It was choppy and raging and much closer than it had been when I was drinking the tea and retelling my dream. The current was falling back in a huge swell, as if a tidal wave had swept across the beach.
I looked at Callan and Cassandra. They were soaked too, their clothes sticking to their bodies, their hair stringy and dripping.
Callan was standing up, chest heaving, looking incredibly pissed. Maely was wet too, glaring at me, licking at her fur.
I stared at Cassandra, waiting for an explanation. I looked around for Anya, but we were on the Seer’s patio and Anya was nowhere in sight. There were no flames.
Water was slowly draining off the balcony, taking some of the teacups with it.
“What the fuck was that, Cassandra?” Callan demanded. His fists clenched and unclenched. He pulled at his clothes, trying to unstick his incredibly well-chiseled chest from the otherwise loose shirt.
Cassandra held up her hands as a way of apology. I was still catching my breath. I reached up and touched my face again, still feeling the sensation of the fire’s heat, but only feeling the slick, cool ocean water.
“The fire?” I asked. “Where was the fire? I don’t understand. Where is Anya? Is she okay?” As I spoke, I felt like I needed to cough out the smoke. It had been so real.
“The tea that you, and only you, were drinking was a sleeping tonic. Once you were asleep, I cast a spell that would reveal the true nature of your magic. It revealed you are indeed a Seer. It induced a vision of the future. That vision was the fire that you saw with Anya. I have no way of knowing when, or if, that will ever happen. In your panic, you also caused a small tsunami which is why we are all wet. Callan moved to stop the water from drowning us all. Maely likes a good bath, but I’m afraid she’s not usually keen on the ocean water. She might not like you very much now,” she said with a small smile. I understood that she was trying for some levity, but I was still in too much shock. “Callan barely had time to throw a spell before the tidal wave entered my home, actually. He reacted very quickly, before it was able to drag us all into the ocean. It was quite the feat.”
Callan rolled his eyes as she spoke. He was pacing now, still angry at not having understood the extent of my test from the beginning. He had been deferring to Cassandra on the Seer methods, but it was interesting to see when that crossed a line.
“You also dragged me into your vision. That’s how you heard my voice within the fire. I apologize if that scared you.”
I shook myself, rubbing my forehead.
“Anya is perfectly okay, Marnie, and the fact that you so often fear you cause her danger shows how much you care for her well-being. You would do anything to protect her.”
I already have done anything to protect her, I wanted to say. But I knew that my necromancy was a well-guarded secret for a reason.
“In short, I believe you are a very powerful Seer, Marnie. But your magic is wild. Unruly. As is your pink magic, I understand. You are con
stantly trying to battle for its control, between the white and red. It is similar with your Seer gift. You will need a familiar to anchor you as a Seer, or you run the risk of being lost to the visions.”
It took a moment for her words to hit me. Then I looked sharply from her to Callan.
“A familiar? Will the Council let me have one?”
Cassandra shook her head from side to side, a slight sly smirk on her lips. “Well, you see, that’s where Seers and the Council come in conflict. We operate a bit differently than they would like. They can’t always control us. We prefer it that way.” Cassandra beckoned Maely to her side and pet the wet tiger. She whispered a chant under her breath and a wisp of wind wrapped around the tiger, poofing up Maely’s fur, drying her rapidly, inciting a thankful purr. It was comical to see the ball of fluff and Maely excused herself with a tail flick, as if to go lick herself and smooth it out once more.
I tried to wrap my head around all that had happened while she attended to her familiar. She was saying I was a Seer. I literally had a gift that would enable me to see the future. I didn’t know much about it, but I did know there were times when the gift would come unbidden, like the visions in my dreams, but there were times when a Seer could call upon the skill. A familiar was an anchor point animal, through whom a witch or warlock could funnel some of their powers in order to be more focused, channel some of their emotions if their magic was particularly unruly.
What would Anya say if she knew I could see the future? I wondered how skillful I would be at being a Seer. How would I be able to use it? Some witches were only able to See for things related to certain subjects or peoples, or time periods. The magic was a fickle condition. That’s why there were always efforts to manipulate it outside the bounds of the way the Council thought appropriate. I imagined that was one reason Seers and the Council were in conflict. Why should the Council govern skills that they just wanted to take advantage of and police when they were not the ones who had those gifts themselves?
“There is a coven of Seers that specifically inducts new witches and warlocks that are gifted with seeing the future. We help them summon their familiars. They also take on apprentices to teach them how to control this part of their magic. If you are willing, I would be happy to match with you in this way. Though I am only a red level witch and not a gold, like Callan. But I feel a kinship with you. I would be honored to help you learn how to guide and bond with your familiar once you’ve matched with him or her.”
I looked at her evenly, a little surprised. I admittedly felt a connection of some sort to her too. She really was quite lovely and more than a little eccentric. Plus, she also didn’t care for the Council and would be less likely to turn me in when shit hit the fan on occasion. As it did on almost every occasion I was involved in. I just wondered if her mind would change if she knew I was in an arranged marriage with her ex. She certainly didn’t seem like the type of person who that kind of thing would matter to.
“I would really like that, Cassandra. That’s twice now that I’ve seen my death. Or at least something very close to my death. It frightens me. I don’t sleep well, being afraid that more visions like these will come. I’ll be honest; being a Seer is something that I know nothing about, but Callan says that until those powers are also addressed, I can’t reliably control my pink magic. It may be contributing to my lack of control.”
“That’s true. And I understand how the visions can be disconcerting.” Cassandra dug into the pouch that she had brought out with the tea. “Take a tablespoon of this every night to keep the visions away until we have the induction ceremony with the Seers. I have to warn you, it tastes terrible. Absolutely wretched, really. Take it with some tea or you might not be able to stomach it. The next meeting of the Seers is in a week. I will pick you up then.”
Callan signaled for me to stand up. He seemed to have calmed. I wondered what it was that had made him have such an intense reaction. I stood and Cassandra extended the potion. It was a smooth, slender vial with a bright blue liquid inside, held safety with a secure cap. I slipped it into my pocket.
“Thank you, Cassandra. This is really helpful,” Callan said. “We will see you in a week.”
“You’re welcome, Callan. Anything for you. And of course, anything for a good witch.” Cassandra smiled at me and demurely shook my hand. I really did like her.
Callan and I held rather soggy hands as we teleported out. When we got back to his place, he held my hand for a moment.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I’m sorry for exploding. After the tidal wave, I mean. I know it wasn’t your fault. I wasn’t mad at you. You were in something you weren’t even aware was going to happen. It was just a reaction your magic had. A defense.”
I let him keep holding my hand, interested to know where he wanted this conversation to lead. “But why did you get so mad if you knew I didn’t mean to do it? Cassandra is she’s someone you said you, uh . . . trusted.”
“I know. I do. I do like her, and I do trust her. I didn’t know what the Seer testing would involve, but I didn’t expect that. I had to protect you by throwing a spell for the tidal wave that you created, and then I saw you, sitting there inside your vision, still fighting against something. It’s an unusual feeling, and hard to describe. It wasn’t anger directed at anyone. Just that—just that I wasn’t enough to save you in that moment. I couldn’t protect you.”
Callan held my hand a moment more, eyes troubled, and he breathed out a deep sigh. My heartbeat was picking up the longer he held my hand in the silence, and I couldn’t think of any appropriate response to break it. He opened his mouth to say something else, but decided against it, shaking his head sharply. He released my hand.
Before I could say anything back to him, before I even knew how I might want to respond, he had walked away, heading down the hallway. He disappeared into his room, closing his door.
“Well, fuck.” I walked to my room, stripping out of my wet clothes, and wondering about him. In my vision of the fire, all I had been thinking about was protecting Anya. When, in reality, I had been sweeping a tidal wave across reality that had almost taken out Callan and Cassandra.
Something deep inside me felt even more fear. I didn’t want to hurt him, or anyone else. In all the discussions of danger, it was always me that needed to be protected. I hadn’t considered that he needed protection from me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
Chapter 7
I kicked at my desk leg as Callan named my partner. I groaned internally. Not her. My water bottle teetered on the edge of the desk and tumbled to the floor before I could catch it, striking the old stone floor and rattling as it rolled across it, the metal flask making a tinny racket.
I gave zero fucks if the rest of the class thought the scowl on my face was about the fallen water bottle or if they could tell it was truthfully because I had been paired up with Julia.
Slowly, I slunk from my chair and picked up the water bottle as the students and Mystics paired up in their assignments. Julia and Mystic Tamsin made their way toward me. How could Julia be looking at me with such a smug look of disdain? Didn’t she remember being hit in the fucking forehead by my pebble and getting knocked unconscious? Shouldn’t she be a little more wary about coming up against me again?
Mystic Tamsin leaned against one of the desks and tapped her fingers on her crossed arms.
“We are relying on your control and ability to obey the rules of the assignment, Ms. McTavish.” Her tone was sharp. Already accusatory. She wasn’t even hiding her fear of my pink magic, nor was she a good Mystic for chastising my slow rate of learning.
“Wow. That was a great pep talk. Rules are the best part about any learning experience. They just widen my joy in the pursuit of knowledge. Really broadens my horizons.” It was a snippy, far too sarcastic reply. The Mystic’s eyes darkened, her tapping fingers turning to still, gripping fingers against her deep green cloaked arms, but then she sighed, breath ragged and asthmatic, a
nd turned to her pupil.
“Let’s get started with the duel, shall we, Julia?”
Julia was wearing green today, as usual, but it was a striped set of robes with ostentatious flower swirls at the bottom of the sweeping skirt. Few of the pupils even wore robes to the classes. She seemed to do it as a way to proclaim that she was from aristocracy. She was somehow related to Hiram TallTalker, the Paragon Warlock of the Council of Witches. It was well-known that that family didn’t think there was much sense to hiding within the human world. Whereas I felt like that’s the only place I wanted to exist. Basing your own worth off your family’s bloodline just seemed like the wrong path of glory to me.
Besides, Julia’s consistent hand-raising at Callan’s every question, even when she had the wrong answer, was fucking annoying. She loved watching me fail, and she made no attempts at hiding it. There were just so many reasons that her pinched, haughty, little red face made my blood boil. I knew I should be the better person and not let it get to me. But I wasn’t.
I yawned and stretched, trying to delay the duel. I had not been sleeping well the last few days, even though the potion Cassandra had given me did keep the visions at bay. It seemed like I slept straight through the night, and even woke up a little sore, as if I were sleeping in only one position, but it wasn’t restful. And she was right: the stuff tasted disgusting. Smelled like old socks and gym locker rooms.
It was the day before I was supposed to go to the Seer induction ceremony and find out which animal was my familiar. I was incredibly nervous about it, and Anya and I had been doing as much reading as possible about what that might involve. I had begged Callan to let me visit my mom to raid her library for books, but we hadn’t had a chance to do that in the busy week of endless training.
Instead, I just found myself on a Friday night at Dimlight classes, completely unable to focus.