Dark Dawn

by J. J. Medina

  “Come on, gross! You peed on me?”

  I drop everything, including him, and head into the bathroom. I throw the sweater in the laundry bin and grab another. I hear a faint hum. Stop. It’s my mom’s song.

  “No matter how far I stray or rough the waves, through darkness….”

  Humming it, I follow the sound. Random, sweet memories flood my mind. Mother is singing as we bake a Jon fruit cake. She’s reading me bedtime stories, making me feel safe and snug under my bedsheets. She’s showing me dance moves, helping me practice for the annual recital. Mother’s doing my nails as we drink hot chocolate. We’re constantly laughing at the mustaches that appear after each sip. Then I picture us lying by the lake the day she was killed. For a split second, I’m transported to a time where I’m not worrying about Crothinia depending on me, stressing me, always trying to change me. Life was way easier when I was a kid. Why was I in such a damn hurry to grow up?

  I enter the kitchen and duck to avoid a fruit-filled bowl shooting past me, heading for the table.

  “I’m sorry,” Selene says. “I’m ruining Thanksgiving.”

  I look around. Magic is everywhere. Knives are chopping vegetables, whisks are beating eggs, dishes are being washed. All as Selene stands over a spilled salad.

  Who did I hear? This doesn’t make sense. “Were you singing, Selene?”

  “Singing? I’m killing myself trying to make a last-minute dish. Bad idea. Your friends will be here soon. Help me out. Use the levitation spell we’ve been working on and set the table?”

  This is why I need the Kimchi—to master real spells so I can defeat Dagon. I learned more the first few days with the book than the last three months with Selene.

  I half-heartedly chant a telekinetic spell. Cabinets and drawers swing open. The spilled salad shoots into the garbage. Dinnerware, utensils, and napkins float onto the dining room table. Perfectly boring!

  “Very elegant, Aria.”

  “When are we gonna try more challenging spells?”

  “You have to re-master the basics. They’re your building blocks.”

  “But there are faster ways for me to regain my powers.”

  “If you take the easy way out, you can hurt yourself. Or someone else.”

  “You’re holding me back?”

  “You’ll eventually understand. I know what’s best for you.”

  She’s just as stubborn as Father. No one’s been in contact with Crothinia in months. I can’t shake the feeling that he’s in trouble. “Only I know what’s best for me.”

  Selene stares me down. I’m not backing down.

  The doorbell rings.

  “We’ll talk later, Aria.” She heads for the door.

  “Why? You’re not gonna listen to me anyway.”

  There’s no way I can rely on her. I’m just gonna have to stick with the Kimchi.

  Miranda walks into the living room with her mother, Janice, and Enrique—her mom’s much younger boy toy.

  Barking, Aspen rushes down from the second floor and jumps all over Janice.

  “I’m so sorry.” Selene pulls him off.

  “It’s okay. I love animals,” Janice says.

  “That’s why she’s dating me,” Enrique says. “Right, babe?”

  “Ah, come on.” Miranda rolls her eyes.

  Her mom chuckles and hugs her.

  I’m a little jealous whenever I see them together. It’s obvious they love being around each other. Even with Janice studying to become a nurse and working wacky hours, she makes it a priority to spend time with Miranda. Just like Mother used to do.

  “Thank you for inviting us over, Selene,” Janice says. She introduces Enrique. “As you can see, I can’t bring him anywhere.”

  “I’m glad you could make it,” Selene says. “The kids spend so much time together. I figured it was time for us to get to know each other better.”

  The doorbell rings. It should be JP and his dad. Selene convinced him to extend the invite. I’m glad she did. I want to meet the guy who’s ruining their relationship. Maybe understand why he’s pushing JP away. I jog to the door and open it. JP’s by himself.

  “Hi. Where’s your dad, JP?”

  “He decided to spend Thanksgiving with Jack Daniels.” JP brings his hand to his mouth, chugging an imaginary bottle.

  “He could’ve brought his friend along,” I say. “We wouldn’t have minded.”

  He gives me an are you crazy? look.

  Selene walks up behind me. “It’s a brand of whiskey.”

  “Oh.” Don’t I feel stupid.

  “I’m sorry about your father, JP,” Selene says. “But your adopted family’s here. Come in and relax while I go check on dinner.”

  “Hi, JP,” Janice says. She gives him a hug.

  There’s a huge smile on his face as he hugs back. She’s become a second mom to him. Miranda and Janice got him through some dark times after his mother died. I couldn’t believe it when Miranda told me JP ran away two years ago. Crying, JP called Miranda after missing for a week. He said he had no one else to turn to. That he never forgot how she helped him relax and nail a scene in drama class. Miranda barley knew him at the time, but she felt the call was a cry for help. Miranda and her mother found JP at a YMCA. Their bond has been tight ever since. Miranda feels that if JP would have called someone else that night, he might not be here today. I hate to think what she means by that. After Mother died, I was depressed for a while, too. I didn’t care about anything. All I wanted to do was sleep all day, hoping the pain would go away. If it wasn’t for Leung’s encouragement and high energy, who knows what would have happened to me. I know he’s hurt that his dad didn’t come. He hides it well.

  “Selene, let me help you,” Janice says. Walking past me, she whispers, “Isn’t JP looking handsome tonight, Aria?”

  Janice winks at me as she guides Enrique into the kitchen. Okay, super obvious. She’s always trying to get me to give him a chance. I’m not the one that’s scared to act—he is. Most guys would’ve taken the kiss at the dance as a sign and made some kind of move. Instead, he’s acting like it never happened. I guess it’s for the better. Even though I have feelings for him, I don’t know how strong they are. Besides, I have too many things to worry about. I don’t need any guy messing with my head.

  “You look really nice, Aria,” JP says.

  “Thanks, you too. Sorry about your dad.”

  “Don’t be,” JP says. “I’m the idiot for believing he would show up.”

  “Forget that bum.” Miranda wraps her arm around his shoulders. “You got us.”

  JP smiles.

  We head to my room. I grab the clothes off the floor and toss them into a corner. “Just ignore that area over there.”

  “I never pegged you as a slob,” Miranda says. “Pigs wouldn’t even want to hang in here.”

  “I’ve been busy studying the Kimchi. Let me get it.”

  JP grabs a bra off my bed, looks at it, and then at my chest. Realizing I see him, he flips it away. It lands on Miranda’s head. She takes it off and hands it to me.

  “Are you done day dreaming, JP?” Miranda asks.

  “What are you talking about?” JP blushes.

  I smile at his blatant innocence as I put the bra into a drawer.

  “Guess what? I learned a glow in the dark spell.” JP grabs an umbrella resting by my door and holds it up. “Illumination-tomashin.” It lights up like a roman candle. He swings it around. “It looks like a lightsaber.”

  “What a geek,” Miranda says. “I learned a spell that can animate objects.”

  She places a pair of my shoes on my desk and mutters a spell. The shoes tap in a rhythmic pattern.

  I smile and JP applauds.

  Miranda bows and the shoes flip to the floor.

  “That’s fun and all, but let’s get serious,” I say. “Have either of you tried one of the bigger spells? Like the astral projection spell?”

  “I didn’t think I was ready. Have you?
” JP asks.

  “Of course. You have to push it if you want to be powerful. Believe in yourself. The trick to the spell is picturing your destination. Let’s try it. Aim for outside the house.”

  We hold hands and chant the spell in unison. Link. There’s a shift. Our bodies fade.

  I close my eyes and open them. I’m so not outside. Where am I? A wave of nausea hits me. I can’t stop the rising vomit. I clean my chin with the sleeve of my sweater when I hear voices. Something scurries by my feet. There’s a Proober by my leg. How’s that possible? It sticks its tongue out, then runs away. I know this place. Volcanoes, rocky tunnels, lava pools. I’m in the Dark Realm. How? I follow the voices through a cavernous tunnel, stopping behind a large rock at the sight before me. My father’s bloody, bruised body is tied to a stalagmite by energy chains. Around him are four beings—Dagon’s henchmen.

  A bright, red light engulfs the chamber. When it dissipates, Dagon’s holographic image is left behind. Smiling, he walks up to my father.

  “I know Aria’s with Selene,” Dagon says. “I’ve seen them. How convenient for me. I can’t wait to collect Selene and the debt she owes me. Now tell me, where are they?”

  “You’re a fool,” Father spits back.

  Dagon laughs. “I admire your stubbornness. Sooner or later, you’ll talk.”

  “I’ll die before I tell you anything.”

  “That can be arranged.” Dagon turns to his lackeys. “Break him.”

  Two females and two males surround Father, blasting him with fistfuls of electrical currents.

  “Leave him!” I yell, stepping out from behind the rock.

  Triumph lights up Dagon’s face.

  “Aria,” Father whispers.

  “Well, well,” Dagon says. “You’ve made this a lot easier. How’d you come through this portal and pass through my shields? I’m not even strong enough to come here in my physical form.”

  “I’m cool like that.” Great, now I sound like one of Miranda’s favorite hip-hop artists. “You’re nothing but a sorry piece of garbage. Let my father go if you know what’s good for you.”

  “Yes! I love it! You’re brash, cocky, and raw. You’re ready to be molded. Lucky for you, many consider me a great sculptor. My masterpiece will be freeing Crothinia from the despair it’s in.”

  “You’re a freakin’ psychopath. You’re the reason Crothinia is in such bad shape.”

  “Actually, you are. Put aside your preconceived notions of me. Together we can change things for the better. Think of it. We are all-powerful. We can end hunger, poverty—bring peace to all Crothinians.”

  “You’re not going to be able to manipulate me. I’m here for my father. Let him go.”

  “I’ll gladly release him. All you have to do is join me.”

  “You must be super high if you think I’ll ever side with you.”

  One of Dagon’s underlings chuckles.

  “It’s amusing how you think you have a choice. Together we’re going to rule Crothinia. Our fate’s already sealed.”

  “The only thing that’s sealed is your defeat at my hands.”

  “Have it your way,” Dagon says. “Get her.”

  His peons head for me with grins on their nasty mugs.

  Time to light their asses up. I throw my hands up. An energy stream shoots out. Yes! No…it dissipates before hitting them. Come on.

  A large shadow engulfs me. I turn. You’ve got to be kidding me. A Sethian? Weren’t these soul-sucking giants killed off when Dagon was banished? Its large black eyes have me in a trance. The tentacles that riddle its body reach for me. Its mouth opens. A red light shoots out, slams into me. My soul’s literally being ripped from my chest. Pain unlike anything I’ve felt cripples me.

  “I’ll tell you what you want to know!” Father shouts.

  I wordlessly scream for him not to.

  A white light engulfs me. I close my eyes.

  Suddenly, I’m stumbling into a garbage can in front of Selene’s house. I’m beyond nauseous but the feeling fades fast. JP and Miranda stand over me.

  “Why’d you bring me back?”

  “What do you mean?” JP helps me up. “We appeared but you didn’t. I chanted the spell again and here you are. Did something happen?”

  “You good?” Miranda asks.

  No. I was going to save my father. End Dagon. Save my people. Who am I kidding? He was going to enslave me. I’m not even close to being ready. I need to push myself harder. Longer. JP and Miranda can see the distress on my face. I can’t even begin to explain what just happened. I plaster a fake smile. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  Miranda rubs her arms. “Hace frío. I’m outta here.” She bolts up the stairs and rings the doorbell.

  Enrique opens the door. “What are you three doing out here?”

  “JP farted and we needed fresh air.”

  Enrique gives JP one of those I’m staying away from you looks. He walks inside.

  Miranda playfully elbows JP and enters the house.

  JP notices me staying behind. “You sure you’re alright?”

  I nod. “I just need some ‘me’ time.”

  He leans in and kisses me on the cheek. “I’m here for you when you want to talk.”

  “I know.”

  He leaves. I’m drained, definitely not ready to face what just happened.

  “Aria?”

  I jump. “Selene. You scared me.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “No, not even close. I just came back from the Dark Realm.”

  Twelve

  · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

  PRETENDING TO CARE ABOUT THANKSGIVING wasn’t easy. I mean, what do I have to be thankful for? Dagon torturing my father and wanting to enslave me? And what’s up with the constant chatter about ‘Black Friday’ deals? I started to get a headache listening to everyone talking about shopping. Who cares? There are more important things in the world than buying crap you don’t need.

  I slouch into the couch, glad everyone’s gone. Cleaning up wore me out. Aspen starts barking. I turn to see him humping a pillow on the couch.

  “You little perv. Get out of here.” I whisper a spell that sends him floating toward the kitchen.

  Selene enters and catches him. “Now, now, don’t use your magic on Aspen.”

  She’s lucky I didn’t neuter the mutt.

  “I’m proud of you, Aria.” She settles on the couch beside me. “You kept it together even though I know it couldn’t have been easy. I have no idea how you wound up in the Dark Realm. Something’s not right. I just can’t put my finger on what. Maybe it’s time for you to do more, to push your magic, regain your powers.”

  It’s about time. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

  “Just be careful. Power isn’t everything. Dark magic can seduce you without you realizing it.”

  “I’m not stupid. I’m stronger than that.”

  Selene smiles. It’s whimsical, sad. “I thought I was too, which is why I helped Dagon escape the Dark Realm. That’s why I was banished here.”

  “What?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Okay, stay calm. Father sent you here, to her. He wouldn’t put me in harm’s way. “Why would you help him?”

  “He had the ability to give me something I’ve always wanted. He seemed so weak. I thought I could control him. But it was all part of his grand plan.”

  “What could’ve been so important? He destroyed so many lives, reigned terror.”

  “A baby.”

  “Oh, wow.”

  “I contracted a strain of the Lyric Plague. It left me unable to carry a child to term. There were rumors about Dagon’s blood containing healing properties. I didn’t know his blood is fused with his dark magic…a magic that would grow within my child.”

  “What happened to your child?”

  “That’s a story for another day. I’m trusting you’ll make the right decision when the time comes.” Sh
e turns away and rubs her eyes. “Sorry, I need a second.”

  She’s hurting and sounds like Mother on the day she told me that her pregnancy wasn’t easy. That she almost died while giving birth to me, but that she wouldn’t change a thing because I was all she ever wanted. To love unconditionally like that, that’s a whole different level right there. When things are going wrong, I need to think more about how much she sacrificed. How I would not be here without her.

  Selene places Aspen down. She pulls flowers out of a painted bowl filled with water and places it on the coffee table. With the flick of her hand, a pair of scissors comes shooting out of a drawer. She catches them. Pulling her hair up, she cuts a few strands from the back and places them into the bowl. Whispering something, she nicks her finger and squeezes a few drops of blood in the water.

  “Uh, I thought we’re not supposed to practice blood magic?”

  “It’s the only way to accelerate your powers. If you’re uncomfortable, we can stop.”

  “What? No. I’m ready.”

  The hair glows. Smoke swirls, engulfs the bowl, then dissipates, leaving behind a clumpy red liquid.

  “Drink up,” Selene says.

  The mixture’s thick. I take a tentative sip and regurgitate. I take a deep breath and gulp down the metallic, foul-tasting liquid. The impact is immediate. Energy floods through me, pulsating in waves.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Different. But good, like I have all sorts of energy.”

  “Good.” Selene snaps her fingers. We teleport and reappear in a park. It’s dimly-lit and looks bare.

  “What are we doing here?”

  “We need the space and it saves me from cleaning.”

  Almost immediately, she transports herself a short distance away and flings an energy stream at me.

  I instinctively throw my hands out. An energy shield flies up, blocking it. “Whoa,” I say, smiling. “That was awesome.”

  “Don’t let your guard down.”

  Selene fires two balls of electrical energy at me.

  I fire a string of energy at one. It explodes. I duck under the other, but it grazes my shoulder. “Ow!”