by M. Stratton
“Is there no room for me in your fantasy?”
I opened my eyes and turned to look at him, lying on the ground next to me.
“What? How?” I sat up and looked around. This wasn’t the same place we had been when I closed my eyes. “Where am I?”
“Relax, lie back down, and enjoy yourself. I’ll tell you as long as you make sure to always keep my warmth around you. I had a hard time finding you since you didn’t take it with you.”
I frowned at him, trying to comprehend what he was telling me, trying not to l give in to the panic making my stomach clench. “I don’t understand.”
“Shh…” His voice soothed me. “You have to calm down. Everything is okay. You are safe here.”
Thunder rolled in the distance, and I could smell the rain on the wind.
“Do you want to stay here, or do you want me to take you to my home?”
“I don’t know.” My mind, so serene earlier, whirled now like the wind beginning to whip through the meadow. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know this land. I didn’t know this person in front of me. What if I died here?
“Raina,” his sharp voice pulled me into focus. “You have to get control of yourself. You’re going to end up causing harm if you continue.”
Lightning struck the field with a sharp hiss, and the smell of sulfur filled the air.
“Screw this,” his deep voice shook with something I couldn’t decipher.
In an instant, I was gathered up in his arms. In a flash, the scene changed as if I had flipped a television channel. Instead of the violence of the storm, we were in a dark, windowless room, the flames from a fireplace illuminating the sparsely furnished room with its warmth.
I tried to act like it was perfectly natural that a strong, powerful man would lift me up into his arms, and I’d still be there while transported from one location to another. This typically wasn’t an everyday occurrence, not for me at least, but I guess in this world it was normal. I could feel myself grow warm from the embarrassment of being pressed up against him. Or maybe it was his heat seeping into me. Glancing up at him through my eyelashes, I saw him looking down at me, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.
“Why are you smiling,” I asked.
“Let me ask you a question.”
“Okay.”
“Before today, did you ever believe in fate?”
I frowned and thought. No one had ever asked me that question before. Sure, I read about fate all the time. It was woven into story after story, but did I ever really believe in it? Was something out there waiting for the right time to suddenly happen, and as if by magic everything would be all right in the world? I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I wondered if it was something made up to make people feel like there was a purpose to what they were going through. Like if they just would hang on, something better was coming… when fate said it was time, and not before.”
“What about now? Do you believe in it now?”
Without fully realizing what I was doing, I started to play with one of the buttons on his shirt while I tried to think of what to say. I had the key in my pocket, so I could go home whenever I wanted. Why shouldn’t I live this little adventure to the upmost? Sure, my other life wasn’t anything to write home about, it was pretty boring. But it was safe and predictable. Maybe while I was here, I should throw caution to the wind and live in the moment without planning everything out like I typically did.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve dreamt of you my whole life. When I opened the Fire Element book in my uncle’s house, some of the information I already knew. Like this.” I traced my finger along the scar that ran from his jaw down the side of his neck. “When I was younger, I dreamt of a great betrayal. Where once there were four who stood together, now there was only distrust and anger. You fought with your brother because he wanted her, but she only wanted you. And you wanted nothing to do with her. You knew she wasn’t the one for you, and it made her burn deep inside with anger. But Erion, he was broken because she loved you and not him. And death, so much death. So many powerful people were killed.”
Because I was watching this time, I saw it, and I knew I hadn’t imagined it earlier. His eyes flashed red before changing back to black. Just as I had seen in my dreams all these years.
“No,” I told him. “Don’t hide from me. Don’t you understand what I’m saying? I’ve seen you before. For years, in my dreams. I’ve read of your clan and the others. I know everything; the good and the bad.”
“Then you know about me, how I burn for this, but in the end, I’ll only end up with ashes.”
The air around us sparked as the tension he couldn’t control was brought to life.
“Hallet, you are the one who asked me about fate. You have my answer, but what about you? Because if you do believe in it, you wouldn’t be hiding your true self from me.” I forced myself to pull away from him, my feet on the ground. I never broke eye contact with him. I was scared, without a doubt. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure exactly what he was, or would become, but I held onto my dreams. In them, he could be fiercely protective, a warrior. But I had also witnessed him breaking down when his parents were killed. Or when he lashed out with his fire in anger and hurt an innocent. I knew that was his biggest fear, that somehow, some way, he’d hurt me.
Slowly he allowed his fire to surface. The pupils of his eyes were an electric blue. I’d been used to the coal black, but that color pulled back, and in its place, red and orange swirled together. He didn’t change much physically. He wasn’t one who tried to hide his scars. Yet there was something else. It was almost as if he became taller, bigger, more imposing, or maybe it was just his power radiating from him. He raised one hand and showed me his palm. I watched in awe as he formed a small sphere of white hot fire that danced to music I couldn’t hear.
“Most people would look at this and all they know is that it is too hot to touch. That if they did, it would hurt. If it were to consume them, there would be no survival. It would burn them alive. What else is there?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off of his fire. Something deep inside of me knew that he pulled this from the depths of himself. This was his soul. “There’s life. There’s warmth. There’s light… and there’s love.”
I brought my hand up, cupping his from underneath. Instinctively, I knew what I had to do. How I was going to it, I had no idea, but this moment felt like it was one of the most important of my life. Digging deep, I pictured what my soul would look like. What was deep inside of me? This world or mine, it didn’t matter; inside I was the same.
I saw colors swirling around each other. Each of them distinct, yet working together. Reaching out mentally, I entwined mine with his. Picturing the two of them entwining together. My body came alive as their magic pulsated around me. Lights moved behind my closed eyes, and I swayed from side to side. My eyes flew open when I heard him gasp, and I froze.
One of the most beautiful things I had ever seen was there in the palm of his hand. As I watched, our souls dance together. His white hot, and mine, multi-colored. They were so beautiful together, I couldn’t explain my feelings. For someone who’d spent hours reading stories and the emotions that were written in words in each of those novels, I was speechless. It was more than coming home, finding your other half, having fireworks go off, or any other cliché. It was such a deep sense of rightness – there was no arguing. I simply knew fate said we would be together. We were meant to be together. There was absolutely nothing I could do except love him. What more could be done when two souls danced together?
His other hand reached out and pulled me in to him. I welcomed the heat of his body and kiss into me like a moth to a flame, knowing we’d both survive. As his lips slid over mine, it felt both new and familiar. I knew him, I had always known him. He was my hero in every single book I’d ever read. He was the one I always pictured. Him and no one else.
Hallet
“Come on, that’s it. Hold it right there. Pe
rfect, Raina!” I watched from the shadows as she stood in the middle of the meadow and created a cloud out of nothing, and then made it rain. This was completely different than the uncontrollable storm from the other day. While this was all new to her, she picked up on everything like she’d been doing it for a millennia.
Since we had shared so much of each other, part of me feared she’d sneak off and go back through the Skeleton Door to leave me here alone again. Like some cruel joke the fates would play on me after all I’d done over the years, lashing out in anger. That I’d finally found happiness, to have it ripped away from me, as I had ripped it away from others.
Another part of me worried about what Dayna was up to. She’d been quiet, but I knew the others were watching. I’d seen Erion’s hawk flying overhead. I knew he’d be reporting back to them. I knew both Dayna and Naida didn’t miss anything either, they just were better at hiding than Erion. While there were other creatures Naida could use, and she did, Blue was her whale, her special. Since we weren’t working near the ocean, I knew Naida had to be using something to watch what our visitor was up to. I wasn’t worried about her. She wanted to know what was going on, and wasn’t spying on us to figure out our weaknesses. She would do what was best for everyone, even if it meant giving up her crown.
As I watched Raina move from one element to another, I was in awe of her ability and the beauty she so easily created. As flowers bloomed, their fragrance filled the air as a rainbow surrounded her. Her pure joy filled my dark soul, and I remembered what it was like as a child when I was first learning to harness my power and there was no threat of war.
Raina was like no other woman I had ever known. Yes, she was from a different world, and a god in this one, but there was so much more to it than simply that. I had seen my parents’ love for each other. Not to mention, we had our own tales of love, and the stories Charlie, the Librarian, brought from his world to ours. She fit into this world like she had been born for it. This was her home, I was her home. I would do everything in my power to keep her safe here, to make this a place she’d want to stay forever.
Ronin had found out Naida’s fringe weren’t the only ones who’d gone missing. So far, we had been able to confirm Fire, Water, and Air people were nowhere to be found. Getting any information about Earth had always been hard, but now Dayna had quarantined her people from everyone else. We had no way of knowing if any of her people were missing.
Until we could confirm what was happening, we had to assume Dayna was losing people, too. Her Kingdom meant everything to her, and she’d do whatever it took to keep her people safe. She was our world’s fiercest warrior, and she was almost unstoppable when threatened. Unfortunately, right now she thought we were the enemy.
Dayna
“Someone’s playing in my garden.” Carefully I focused my energy on searching out the trespasser while hiding my energy trail. I knew who it was, but I needed to find her, discover her, be able to seek her out at any time I wanted and identify her. I needed to make sure she couldn’t ever hide from me. Her playing in my garden was the best way to do it. I knew she’d been practicing, Erion had kept me updated. Hallet wasn’t stupid, he made sure she knew the other magics before she tried her feeble hand at mine.
The man under me squirmed as he tried to get free so he could breathe. His savage bucking was finally too much to ignore. Allowing my attention to stray, I enjoyed his last moment of life as I took his essence into me. Sighing, I climbed off and flicked my wrist to have one of my guards take him away.
What the others didn’t know – were too stupid to know – was while in essence, we were dominated by the light, but it didn’t mean we couldn’t go deep into the dark, that we couldn’t embrace it, lay down with it and grow stronger. I closed my eyes and felt the Water magic merging with my Earth magic. It wasn’t as strong as mine, it would never be, but I knew if I took enough, I would be the unstoppable force they would bow down to. I could be a god. We didn’t need her. The stronger the magic of the person I took, the longer and stronger their magic would last in me.
I knew if I took another Queen or King, I could survive for hundreds of years on their magic alone. When I took hers, I’d be God, and she’d be dead.
Raina
“Again,” Hallet demanded.
“No.” I was mentally and physically exhausted, and still, he wanted more.
“Again.”
“No.”
“Listen, little girl, you have no idea what is coming. You’re not strong enough. You need to prepare.”
“Little girl?” Anger flowed through me, giving me energy I didn’t know I had.
“Yes, little girl. You’re but a mere babe compared to the rest of us who have had centuries to practice our magic. Anyone with power is going to be able to bring you down, let alone a King or Queen. Trust me, Dayna will not back down. She will kill you.” He paused for a moment, and folded his arms across his chest. “Again.”
I hated that word.
For the first time since I stepped through that door, I wanted to turn around and leave this place. This was too much. I wasn’t strong enough. I should go back to where I knew what every day would bring. Where the weight of bringing this world together wasn’t on my shoulders. Where I could simply go back to reading about someone else going through this and not living with the actual pain.
“Again.”
Closing my eyes, I tipped my head back and begged for strength and guidance. In my world, I was an office worker who spent my free time with books and not people. Here, I’m a freaking god who was supposed to unite everyone, bring peace to this world. How was I supposed to do that when I’d never had this kind of responsibility? What if I made the wrong decision? What if people get hurt? How can I make everyone happy when I have no idea how to lead?
“Again.”
“No!” I screamed at him. “Enough. I’m not going to do it again.” I spun from him and stalked across the meadow, to where I didn’t know, but I had to get away from him. As soon as I was in the shadows of the trees, he appeared in front of me, blocking my way.
“Again.”
My anger boiled over, and with all my strength, I shoved him back. What I hadn’t been expecting was how much stronger I was in this world, and when my magic was added to it, I could do some serious damage. I watched in horror as he flew backwards splintering trees and knocking them to the ground. The animals of the forest cried out in surprise as their calm was destroyed. The sickening sound of his bones breaking as he slammed into a rock wall echoed louder than the noise created from my anger. His body slid to the ground, motionless.
“No, no, no!” I screamed as I ran after him. What had I done? The exact thing he’d been warning me about since I created that storm when I first arrived. I had to keep my emotions under control. If I didn’t, people would get hurt.
Falling to the ground next to him, my hand trembled as I reached out for him. “Hallet? I’m so sorry, please tell me you’re okay.”
He moaned, but hardly moved. God, what was I going to do if I had killed him? I couldn’t stop myself, a hysterical laugh whispered out of me. Here, I was the god.
Trying to calm myself, I closed my eyes and focused inwardly. I pushed aside all the self-doubt and worry and pulled all my magic into one sphere. The colors of the different magics swirling around each other. Taking what I needed from each element, relying heavily on Fire – his base, I laid my hands on his body. I could feel how weak and hurt he was. For a second, my magic wavered, responding to his white hot pain before I pushed it aside. Focusing my energy, I pushed my healing into him. I saw in my mind how it seeped through his body, repairing the damage I had done in my fit of anger.
When I was done and drew myself out of him, I was surprised at how weak I felt. Sinking back against the rock, I tried to keep my eyes open, watching him. I needed to make sure what I had done had helped. As the hawk’s cry echoed around me, I looked up and saw what Hallet called Erion’s spy circling above us. I knew I had
to show strength even in my absolute weakness, but I couldn’t move. I wanted to close my eyes and sleep for days.
The wind picked up, and a man flew down from above, gracefully landing next to Hallet, looking at me. His long, dark, grey hair whipped around him as he bent down. “What have you done?”
“Let my anger get ahold of me, which you know something of, I’m sure.” I wished my voice was stronger, but it came out as a whisper.
“Foolish girl.” He came over and sat down in front of me, elegantly relaxed, as if we were having a casual conversation during an afternoon picnic. But I knew he was on guard and ready to fight. “You need to gain more control.”
“Like you?”
His lips twitched. “Yes, like me. I’m willing to admit in my younger days I would fly off the handle at the littlest things, but you see, to me, they weren’t little. That’s what you need to remember. Everyone perceives things differently.”
My strength wasn’t coming back fast enough, I had put too much into Hallet trying to heal him. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t up and cursing me for being so reckless.
“No, I completely get that. So, you’ve forgiven Hallet.” I said it as a statement, not a question. Erion had been in love with Dayna his whole life; he felt it was a love stories were written of. But it wasn’t. At least not the type of story he wanted. He knew Hallet didn’t do anything to encourage her, yet somehow, she had still fallen in love with him. It broke Erion’s heart.
