6. Chapter Six
6
CHAPTER SIX
ELODIE
I found myself in the circular clearing — the wildflowers, the willow tree, the still pond — all frustratingly familiar. The sky above was calm, clear, and as blue as Nanna’s eyes.
The buzz of magik in my hands matched the rhythm of the bees' wings as they dipped in and out of the flowers that now grew to waist height, so similar to the ones that grew outside my home. My fingers flexed with the energy that ran through them.
The breeze that tousled my unbound hair was soft, white strands swaying in time with the long branches of the willow tree before me. Lazily they swept through the water, not a single ripple dimpled its surface.
Memories of the last time I had been here began to fill my mind and my heart was racing as though it had never settled. I knew what came next as my eyes darted around, searching for that first spark that would set the clearing ablaze.
I waited.
Anticipation hung thick in the air as that unfamiliar tug on my heart started up again, drawing me forward a few steps closer to the pool.
A shift in the energy around me had the world descending into a silence so complete that I could barely hear my own heartbeat. The wind stilled, the heavy air pressing uncomfortably against my skin.
Was this when the fire would start?
I waited.
How long would it take?
The memory of burning flesh had my ears ringing as another sharp tug at my heart made me lurching forward. Rubbing at the ache that had followed me into my dreams, I turned in a slow circle searching for a sign of what was to come, willing myself to wake before the flames erupted, consuming me for a second time.
The thickness of the air made each breath difficult, and I could barely control the panic rising through me.
Wake up!
I tried to scream but no noise escaped my lips. My breath caught as another yank on my heart had magik rushing through my veins in a way I had never felt before. It spread up my arms, stronger than ever, and sparks leapt over my fingertips. The only sound that breached the silence surrounding me.
Oh, fuck no.
I watched, wide-eyed and helpless, as a spark left my fingertip, falling towards the ground. It bounced along the dirt, jumping through the surrounding flowers as it traced a path straight into the trees tightly ringing the meadow. With its first touch, the trunk caught fire with unnatural speed, leaping from tree to tree until every one was ablaze. The flames roared in an angry exhale, their orange tongues licking outwards in search of their next target, spreading in both directions as they raced towards the willow tree as smoke billowed into the once-clear sky.
Elodie.
The whisper echoed across the clearing, somehow carrying above the howl of the flames. With my heart stuttering once more I whirled around, desperate to see who had called my name. The incessant blaze forgotten for a moment.
The clearing was… empty. Just me, the fire, and the bees.
Surely I would know if someone else was in my own dream?
Heat seared the air, the smoke invaded my lungs, my attention turned to the willow tree that was now seconds away from catching on fire.
If someone else was here, they could look after themselves. I had enough to deal with right now — like not burning to death in a dream. The flames tangled together, embracing one another like old friends within the branches of the willow tree. As though knowing exactly where I stood, a path of flames carved itself through the flowers.
I tried to run but my feet wouldn’t move an inch. I was stuck. Doomed to watch as they tore their way towards me. More insistent came that tug on my heart, as though it was trying to tell me something, to force me to move.
I couldn’t.
Dark smoke curled around me, making every breath I took burn. My chest heaved with the effort of dragging in enough oxygen, eyes streaming, and lips blistering as beads of sweat dripped from my skin.
You couldn’t die in real life if you died in your dreams, right?
But this felt too real. I could feel the skin of my lips burning, taste the smoke coating my tongue.
No, I was going to wake up any second, preferably before I burnt alive.
The sky high above changed; beyond the smoke that obscured the endless blue, a darkness crept over the clearing. A viscous, black stain on the sky. Undulating as it sucked at the smoke that rose from the flames. Stealing the very air around me as my lungs compressed at the sudden lack of oxygen, each breath more desperate than the one before. It rolled lazily through the sky, heading straight for me like the fire had. As though I had been its target all along, and terror like I had never felt speared through me in a brutal punch.
Whatever this was, I would take being burned alive any day of the week.
It twisted and turned, writhing its smoke-filled body until it was directly in front of me. Pain exploded through my head, magik fading from my hands in response to its closeness as I stayed trapped in place.
Wake up!
Pulsing before me, thin tendrils of smoke shot out trailing over my body, and I screamed at the white-hot agony that followed its touch. Every fibre of my being desperate to move away. A ripple that looked sickeningly like excitement ran through the inky stain floating above me as it retreated from its explorations. As fast as it had arrived, it began to fold in on itself, disappearing into a black hole of its own creation.
In its absence the crash of the fire was almost deafening, reminding me I was still about to be burnt alive. Piercing pain shot through my skull making thought almost impossible. There was no way out of this, no way I could make myself wake up.
If I could, I would have woken already.
Instead, I could only watch as the flames consumed the last few inches and clawed up my shins. My agony was a silent scream, no sound leaving my lips as the fire burned into me. The crackle of flames was the only thing I had to distract me from the charred mess of my legs as I silently begged myself to wake up. The pain more than I could handle ?—