FAUSTINE (Bonfire Chronicles Book One)

by Rose, Imogen

  Alexandra shook her head and sighed. “So, now what? Do we still attempt to rescue her? Or shall we track her first to find out if she needs rescuing?”

  “I guess it would be less complicated to do them separately. The problem I foresee is that I will have no way of stopping the tracking from turning into something else,” Edith said.

  Like what had happened with Luke, I thought to myself. He had been sent in to track only, but something went awry. “Let’s stick with the plan,” I suggested. “Taylor and I will both go in. She will track Kismet and lead me to her. I will do the rescuing, if needed.”

  Taylor nodded. “Yeah. I’m not doing this on my own.”

  “Okay,” Edith and Alexandra agreed.

  “Once I bring Faustine to Kismet, can I leave her behind to deal with whatever and come back by myself?” Taylor asked.

  Edith shook her head. “The only way I can do this is to send you into the vision together as a single entity. I can’t run separate spells for each of you; I don’t even think that’s possible. You’ll have to wait for Faustine and come back together.”

  “How will you know when to break the spell and bring us back?” I asked.

  “You will signal me,” Edith replied. “Chanel will be the password.”

  Good. I’d have no trouble remembering that, and I was unlikely to inadvertently use that word during a struggle, which I sincerely hoped there wouldn’t be. Taylor would freak.

  There was a knock on the door, and Edith rose from her red cushion to answer it. She returned with two ladies and a man. She introduced me first. I was presented as the Demon Queen of London. Queen. Wow, that sounded a bit too grown-up for me to carry off. Being a demon princess hadn’t in any way prepared me for this. I needed a quick stint in some sort of prep school for demon queens. Interestingly, Taylor was introduced as a witch. Neave was introduced, as an afterthought, as Taylor’s and my friend from school.

  The first to be introduced to us was Petunia. Petunia was, despite her name, far from flowery. She wore her dark hair tied back in a sleek bun. The harshness of the bun matched her dark pantsuit, which would have been oh-so-boring without the pink flash of her satin blouse from underneath the fastened jacket.

  The second witch, Cormel, was dressed just like Petunia. They must have been yanked off their stockbroker or banker day-jobs in the city for this. They both smiled at us as they were introduced, stepped out of their Manolos, and made themselves comfortable on the floor cushions.

  The last to be introduced was the only male in the room. Morten–a wizard. I sure wouldn’t have guessed that looking at him, though. There really was no look for paranormals. Morten, despite his name, was a redneck. Thankfully, his trucker cap hid most of his blond mullet. He was dressed in light blue Wrangler jeans and a white tank top with the words Coors Light across it. I wished I had asked Tessa and Neave about wizards. I knew next to nothing about them. All I really knew about them was that they were the male counterparts to witches–as were warlocks, but they were the dark forces. I found it strange that the males were called different names depending on whether they were good or bad, but the females were witches, no matter what.

  Morten took off his high-tops–phew, those socks must have been worn several days–and sat down on a cushion as well.

  I peeked out the window to catch the glimpse of a gorgeous red sky as the sun was setting while Edith walked around the room lighting the dozens of candles scattered all over the place. The room soon filled with the calming scent of lavender combined with a hint of ginger. We took our positions. Edith, Petunia, Cormel and Morten moved to the center of the room and joined hands to form a circle around Taylor and me. Edith placed Kismet’s white scale between us. Alexandra and Neave were asked to leave, so they quietly left to wait it out in the kitchen. Taylor and I joined hands and closed our eyes tight.

  It was time.

  I could feel Taylor’s heartbeat quickening as Edith began to chant. I gripped her hand tighter. I wasn’t letting go of it no matter what, not until she led me to Luke.

  The same heavy, sleepy feeling I had experienced during Dad’s tracking came over me. I fought it, anticipating the intense, red glow from the last time. Taylor had clearly fallen asleep, gentle snoring sounds were coming from her. Her head had fallen onto my shoulder. I put my free arm around her and made myself comfortable. This was going to be a long night.

  As time went by, the only sounds I heard were the soft pops from the flickering candles and the murmurs coming from Edith. I wished the red glow would start and we’d see some action; the wait was excruciating. The sounds from the candles and Edith finally started to fade, and I readied myself. I felt a warm breeze envelope me, and I could detect the distinct smell of the ocean. When I put my hand to the floor, it felt grainy, like sand. The sounds in the room had been replaced by the sounds of water and chirping birds. I opened my eyes.

  Facing the bright blue of the sea as I looked out toward the horizon, I was instantly filled with calm. The waves rocked gently against a wooden pier in front of us. I couldn’t wait to dip my toes in the water.

  “Taylor!” I said loudly or tried to; no sound left my lips. I tried again. This time, I shouted her name, but it was like someone had pushed my mute button. How was I going to communicate with her now? I nudged her gently and she woke with a start and gazed out at the water. Then she looked over at me, her eyes dancing with excitement. She opened her mouth to speak and tried to form some words, but they never left her mouth. She’d been put on mute, as well. She stared at me in confusion and tried again. Finally, she shrugged and pointed at the birds, which we could clearly hear.

  No biggie, we could still enjoy the water! I took her hand, pulled her up and ran with her toward the water. We dipped our toes in, carefully at first, to feel the temperature. It was nice and warm, so we stepped into it, each footstep disappearing in the warm sand under the water. This was heaven. I hadn’t been to the beach very many times in my life. Feeling brave, I tried walking further in; I was totally soaked anyway, so why not have a swim? But Taylor held me back. She pointed toward the beach and motioned for me to follow her.

  When we reached the sand, she turned to me and pointed to her forehead. I had no idea what she was trying to convey, so I shrugged. Appearing exasperated, she picked up a stick and started writing in the wet sand.

  Read me.

  She must have removed her shield to be able to communicate with me. I couldn’t do the same. I had way too many secrets and not enough control of my thoughts to make them only partially visible. I could still read hers. She raised her eyebrows and nudged me.

  Can you read me?

  I nodded.

  I could see the delight in her eyes. Then, she frowned again and pointed to my forehead.

  Time to play the dumb-demon card. Most witches think demons are stupid. I shrugged.

  I can’t read you! she thought.

  I picked up her stick and started writing as she looked on impatiently. I’m wide open. I don’t know why you can’t read me.

  I laughed on the inside as I heard her drop the F-bomb.

  So, what now? she asked.

  Bit of a pain. It would have been so much easier to communicate via thought. I sighed silently as I picked up the stick again. You use your mind, and I’ll use the stick, I wrote.

  She looked decidedly displeased, but nodded. Now what? Nice beach and all, but we’re not on vacation, she thought.

  How was I supposed to know? She was the one who was supposed to take care of phase one and lead me to Kismet. Who, I will add, would be in some serious trouble if I found her laying bikini clad on the beach soaking in the rays with Luke. If this was a beach vacation for them, they should have let someone know! I wrote in the sand again, keeping it short. Track.

  How?

  I shrugged. I had no idea. Taylor wasn’t a bloodhound; she couldn’t just pick up on Kismet’s scent and follow it. She plunked back down onto the sand and stared out into the horizon. I sat
down next to her, silently–as I couldn’t blab anyway–and watched the waves with her. She soon forgot that her shield was down and her previously blanked mind started swirling with random thoughts–flashes of images from her closet, shopping, of me coupled with the thought silly demon, of Edith, of her brother.

  I would need to ask her about Fitch. Alexandra hadn’t mentioned a son. Were they half siblings? They looked so alike that it was hard to imagine that they didn’t share both parents. But it must be the case, or surely Alexandra would have mentioned him. If Fitch wasn’t Alexandra’s, whose son was he? Was he a hybrid or a true wizard or warlock? Taylor and Fitch seemed close. I wondered what their father was like. Alexandra hadn’t painted a favorable picture, and besides, he was a warlock, not a wizard.

  Taylor fell asleep beside me on the sand. Her mind went blank. I was tempted to lie down for a nap as well, and was just about to put my head down when Taylor sat bolt upright. She stood up, eyelids still firmly closed and breathing heavily as if she was still asleep. She started walking. A sleepwalker? Sheesh. I followed her to make sure that she didn’t walk into the water and drown herself.

  As it was, she didn’t even walk toward the water. She turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. The contrast in the scenery was overwhelming. The bright blue of the sea was now behind us. We faced–not that Taylor could see this through her closed eyes–a forest of green, overlaid by dark, ominous-looking red-black clouds. It looked like it might thunder. I turned around momentarily to cast a last glance at the peaceful beach we were leaving behind.

  It was hard walking through the forest in bare feet. For a demon, I do have delicate feet, and at the moment, they were looking hideous with the pedicure unable to withstand the assault from various branches and other scrappy bits on the ground. At least we didn’t come across any nasty creepy crawlies; that would be the end of our little expedition as far as I was concerned.

  I kept following Taylor. Her mind was totally blank, so I had no idea why we were taking this unpleasant route. The walk didn’t seem to bother her feet as she expertly maneuvered her way between trees and bushes. I had a hard time keeping up, but I persisted. The sky was looking more and more ominous; I hoped Taylor would take us to our destination soon. And, I hoped she would stay in snoozeland, or she might freak. The clouds were starting to shape into forms that resembled giant beings at times, but reverted and then broke up into smaller versions of the same dark human-like forms. They hovered above us as we sped around the trees, which were now permeated by the red of the sky. I wondered if I should stop Taylor and bring her attention to this phenomenon?

  I contemplated the consequences as she picked up the pace and broke into a run. I was following her as fast as I could when the first sharp stab to my back penetrated my skin. I fell forward, but steadied myself with my hands and took off in a quick sprint from whatever it was. I glanced behind me as I ran; a sea of these black, cloudy forms, with their arms now formed into spears, was following us.

  This is just a vision. It’s not real, Faustine. I kept repeating this to myself again and again, willing the images to disappear. But they kept coming, and not just from behind. They were now floating down from above and piercing my skin with their pointy spears. The cuts hurt like nothing I had ever experienced before, and I cried out in silent screams. I was covered in cuts, but there was no blood.

  I saw that up ahead, Taylor was being subjected to the same assault. I could only assume that she was in an alternate mindset and wasn’t noticing it. Maybe we were having different visions? I kept running, but I was starting to lose it.

  I followed Taylor into a clearing where she finally stopped. Then, she opened her eyes. She looked around and grabbed my arms. What the heck? Where are we? Where did the sea go?

  Surely, I wasn’t going to have to explain this to her via twig? As it was, I didn’t get a chance to answer using any method.

  A dense, dark red cloud appeared over the clearing and started to descend. Major F-bombs went off in Taylor’s mind. I could feel my skin tearing where her blue-tipped fingernails ripped into it in terror. This time, I did bleed. I decided that making a run for it back into the trees would be our best bet. But my feet were stuck to the ground, as were Taylor’s, apparently. So we stood there, terrified, as the red cloud completely surrounded us. It was thick and cold. I had expected it to be hot. I could barely see Taylor through it even though we were standing right next to each other.

  Then I heard him. Luke. His thoughts were flowing to me.

  Who the heck is that? Taylor inquired.

  This was a problem. If I opened my mind to Luke, Taylor would be able to read me, too.

  I formed Luke’s letters with my finger on her palm.

  Really? Luke? From school?

  I nodded.

  What the heck is he doing in our vision?

  I shrugged. I guess Alexandra hadn’t told her the whole story.

  Luke, this is Taylor, Faustine’s friend. Can you hear me?

  Yes, came the answer. I hoped that he would be discrete and not give me away.

  Luke, Faustine is unable to communicate like this, so I’m going to communicate for her. Okay?

  There was a silence at the other end. Luke had clearly blanked his mind while he was weighing up his options.

  Luke, how did you know Faustine was here? Taylor asked.

  I can feel her.

  Are you a demon?

  Yes.

  We are looking for a girl. Kismet. Have you seen her? I tracked her to this place.

  Are you under a witch’s tracking spell? Luke inquired.

  Yes. We are here to track and bring Kismet back home. Have you seen her?

  Who sent you, Taylor? It’s me. The question arrived from a different soul. I could only presume it was Kismet.

  Kismet! You could have said something sooner! Taylor admonished. Make yourselves visible to us. Are you in this red cloud somewhere?

  Red cloud? No. We’re hiding. You should go. It’s dangerous here, Kismet said.

  All right, we better go, Taylor said to me.

  I shook my head. Nope. We were here to bring them back. Now, how was I supposed to do that when I couldn’t even see him? Them? I tried moving my feet again. They felt heavy, but I could move them, so I shuffled forward a bit, only to be hit hard in the stomach by what looked like a baseball bat. I fell down and writhed around in pain, while Taylor looked at me in horror.

  Faustine, Luke said it was dangerous! So don’t be a silly demon and do something stupid.

  Demon? That’s right, and not just any demon. It was time to let my powers take over. I had spent so much time reining them in that it was almost difficult to relax enough to let them spew out. Poor Taylor. She watched in horror as I transformed. I should have warned her, but I had no idea that it would come to this.

  To be clear, my full transformation was in no way as radical or desperately unattractive as that of Dorian’s. In addition to my fingers merging and my hand glowing crimson, my whole body turned red–not as in too much sun red, but a more deep red with a glow emanating from it. Thankfully, my skin remained smooth. Dorian’s boils had really freaked me out. I couldn’t see my face, obviously, but I could tell by the look on Taylor’s face that I was different. I felt my face for lumps, but it felt as smooth as before. The tips of my ears felt a bit pointy, though.

  As I was checking myself out, someone rudely interrupted me, shoving a sharp object into my belly. I buckled over in pain and heard a gut-wrenching scream. The scream had come from my throat and now echoed all around me. I was audible! My belly was throbbing, I was already furious, and this was the last straw. My inner demon took over.

  I extended my arms in opposite directions and started twirling about like I was doing a pirouette. I got faster and faster until I must have looked like a mini fireball tornado. I started moving in a straight line as I kept twirling, covering as much area as I could. My extended forks made dust of anyone, or anything, in m
y way. I was unable to see the results of my work, but I could feel it. And, I heard them as they went down in agony. The black, cloudy forms were no match for me. I kept yelling as I moved around in the red cloud, hoping that Taylor would stay out of my way. If not, she’d be toast, and that would suck. I kept going until I knew I had cleared the cloud. I hadn’t hit anything solid, so I knew that Taylor was safe. Good on her for avoiding me! I slowed down, then came to a complete stop. It is a good thing that demons aren’t prone to motion sickness, or I would have been totally hurling.

  I looked around. All that remained of the thick red cloud was a thin, orangey mist. I spotted Taylor lying on the ground in the very outskirts of the mist with her hands over her head and went over to her.

  “Taylor, it’s okay. They’re all gone. You can get up.”

  “Do you still look like a freak?”