Beware the Violet Page 8

  A woman’s outline maneuvered in the dark, but even though I tried, I couldn’t make out her figure. I dared not to reveal myself. I was not an expert in auras, but hers spoke of evil and destruction. “He has done well. Now, we’ll send the soldiers to play them while we wait. The path to greatness isn’t far,” the woman’s honey voice said.

  “And the Believer?” the rusty voice said, and I stood still. They were talking about me!

  “She can be turned and when she joins us, I’ll not hesitate to take what’s mine!” The woman snapped her fingers and through an opening of the wall, a man entered.

  “Your Evilship, you called?”

  “You’ll have the honor to meet the Believer,” the woman’s voice said, and the man grinned, revealing his pointy teeth.

  I wanted to leave, but the dream kept me pinned into place. I tried not to miss anything they said about me as this information could probably save my life.

  “After all, you’re the only one who can charm your way out of any situation.”

  “My pleasure Your Evilship.” The man bowed and turned to leave, but the woman’s charming voice called, “She’s not to be touched or I’ll burn you to tiny pieces and feed them to my dogs. Understood?”

  The man turned and bobbed his head, but I noticed a slight discomfort in his features. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Your Evilship.”

  Sweating, I woke with a start and it took me a while to realize I was seeing the blue walls of my room. What on earth was that?

  PART II

  Chapter 1: Your Evilship

  “Violet, Violet! Come on, we’re going to be late for school! Why are you taking so long?” Diane yelled from downstairs.

  I sighed and took a last look in the mirror and set to go. The nights following the incidents of Halloween had become a constant nightmare. Literally. Every night, my mind would witness the conversations between a woman I couldn’t see and a person I couldn’t place the gender. This day, I decided to take a walk to the Blessed Realm and ask the witch about these dreams. After all, these evil persons were talking about me and possibly about the Blessed Realm. I haven’t attempted to go to the Blessed Realm yet because of what happened with Jacques.

  Kristy told me he had not made an appearance in the Blessed Realm yet, so I hoped it stayed that way. I couldn’t face him now, but these dreams were becoming more frequent and every time, I learned more alarming things.

  “Decided to climb down from cloud nine?” Diane said when I joined her in the kitchen where breakfast was laid out. I grabbed a bite, and we hurried off to school.

  “I wasn’t on cloud nine, I was getting ready,” I said, concentrating on running. I was taking more time to get ready because of the lack of sleep. To cover it up, I applied huge amounts of makeup for my face to appear somewhat normal. However, I could not shake off my body’s tiredness. Diane thought I was daydreaming, which was funny since she was the daydreamer, and my parents thought it was stress. I didn’t correct them—I could hardly explain that there were supernatural creatures walking among us without causing widespread panic.

  “You’re late,” Ellen said when she met us at the gate.

  “Miss Daydreamer couldn’t go faster,” Diane said as we all ran to our classes and managed to make it to our classroom with two minutes left to spare before the bell rang.

  “You made it,” a cheery voice said, I looked up to see Kristy, my fairy friend. She had somehow weaseled her way into our school and everyone took her arrival naturally like she had always been part of our community. Kristy had a unique style and didn’t care to fit in since magic took care of it so she showed up with flowery leggings and shirts that screamed nature signs. Her wings stayed hidden but I thought nobody would be surprised if they appeared.

  “Barely,” Diane said and walked to her adjoining classroom, shaking her head.

  “Are you all right?” Concerned, Kristy inspected me and I shook my head.

  “I need to see the witch,” I said in a low voice and Kristy raised her eyebrows. I hadn’t shared anything about my recent dreams with her other than the one time because I didn’t want her to worry. The arrival of our teacher saved me from having to answer Kristy’s questions.

  “Good morning, class,” the teacher called and when she looked in my direction, something even stranger than the dreams happened. Her beautiful appearance melted, and a shadow took her place. “I shall have everything that I desire,” the teacher said with a sugary-sweet voice I recognized all too well. “And you will join me or your friends will die!” Then, she erupted in a raucous peal of laughter while I shivered in fear. This can’t be happening.

  I felt a sharp pain on my back and looked around to find the beautiful face of our teacher looking at me. “You seem a little distracted today, Violet. I know these days are stressful but you’ll get over them.” She walked to the board and wrote some complicated equations while I looked at her trembling. The screech of chalk on the chalkboard reminded me of the rusty voice in my dream. What just happened?

  “What happened?” Kristy asked me at break time and I shrugged.

  “I don’t know.” I tapped my head, trying to erase the dream from my memory. “I think the dream invaded my reality.”

  Kristy observed me for a moment and then said, “You need to see the witch as soon as possible.”

  I was surprised she didn’t ask any more questions, but I was also relieved. The memory of the dream was enough to keep me on my toes for the rest of the morning. When the final bell rang, I told Diane I was going shopping with Kristy and we walked as quickly as we could without raising anyone’s suspicions to the Blessed Realm’s gate.

  As soon as we arrived at the gate, the door opened and we were sucked inside. To save time, Kristy flew us to the silver building I had learned was the witch’s residence. Knocking, we waited and before long, the door creaked itself open, allowing us entrance.

  “It looks…different,” I said, observing the change in the house’s decorations and furniture.

  “Yes. It changes according to her mood. I always find it very interesting.” Kristy smiled and led me to the living room.

  Soft footsteps made me look up and the witch’s figure appeared dressed in a deep blue dress that suited her. “Violet, I’ve been waiting for you,” she said and then turned to Kristy. “Thank you for bringing her here. I’m sure you have other things to do.” Kristy accepting the dismissal, nodded.

  “I’ll wait at my house, Violet,” Kristy said and squeezed my hand.

  I wished she could stay with me, but Kristy smiled and left, shutting the door. Snapping her fingers, the witch summoned a tea service and motioned for me to sit. Sipping our tea in silence, I wondered how she knew I would come.

  “I wanted to speak with you,” the witch said, placing her cup on the table. “But it seems you have some news for me.”

  “My aura?” I said, having a sudden thought.

  “Indeed.” Seeing my annoyed expression, she said, “An aura for supernatural beings is like the expression of a human face. In time, I’ll teach you how to manipulate it. Now, what do you want to tell me?”

  I sighed and told her about the dreams I’ve been having as well as the latest disturbing experience with every detail I could remember. Throughout my story, the witch didn’t interrupt and her face remained neutral and only, at the very end, did she betray her worry. She rose and paced in the room. “So, it has started,” she muttered.

  After waiting for a while, I decided to speak up. “I’m sorry, what has started? What are these dreams? Am I having the same dreams my grandmother had?” What the witch said had me worried and I tried to keep myself from freaking out.

  The witch turned to me, and her eyes held knowledge that I was afraid to ask. “You have not inherited Hope’s powers. She could witness events of the past, present, and future, but it is said that the Believer can witness only certain events and warn the good folk about them.” She walked to her seat and continued, “There are so many th
ings you don’t understand and there is such a little time to get you brought up to speed. The Blessed Realm has always given sanctuary and a home to the ones who sought it. Over the years, we didn’t pay much attention to who entered, and that’s why the Dark Master could get in so easily.

  There was a time where all realms were united, but as it happens, a war we didn’t expect came upon us. Creatures were killed as were humans who had the sight. When the war ended, we gathered our pieces and to prevent another catastrophe such as this, we split the realms into five distinct lands. In time, the realms split into more pieces and by the end of the century, we had lost count of how many lands there were, but also we had alienated ourselves from one another. The creature you heard was in the opposing side, wanting to have the Blessed Realm for herself because there is abundant power within this land.” She made a gesture with her hand. “It was the first land ever created in the supernatural world so it carries the magic and the memories of the old time.”

  I listened fascinated to the story, trying to imagine how it was like before the realms split. At the same time, I was terrified of this new being because now that the witch told me the story, it became clear that the hooded creature wanted to reclaim the Blessed Realm and possibly kickstart another war. “Who is she? What is she? I couldn’t see her clearly.”

  “And you won’t. Or rather you must never lay your eyes on her or you’ll die in the most horrific way. She’s a creature made out of nightmares and each time someone casts a glance at her, she collects his nightmares. She has collected so many over the centuries that she lost her appearance along the way and the only thing you’ll see is your worst nightmare coming alive and devouring you until there is nothing left of you.”

  I shrunk in my seat and wondered where on earth I have landed. Inhaling deep from my nose, I asked even though I knew the answer couldn’t be much better, “And the others?”

  The witch’s face took on a thoughtful expression. “I have only heard of the creature with no gender, but I have no knowledge beyond that. Being a servant of the Evilship, I would be careful. The vampire must be special to her if she has given him the task of…you.” She hesitated, but then she set her jaw. “We must train you as soon as possible starting from today.”

  “Today? But—”

  “Kristy will take care of your human family. Do not worry about them, but you’re defenseless now and I do not wish this situation to remain as such. There is too much at stake.” She got up and snapped her fingers. Where there was once a cozy living room, we now stood in an empty space with the witch levitating on air.

  “What is this?” I said, passing my hand through space, but I couldn’t get a read on where we were.

  “This is an empty space, and it’s best if you trained here before you dwell with other elements. If you master space, the others are just layers.” She levitated to the center, and I followed her, casting curious glances around me. In comparison to earth, I didn’t feel my weight or rather I felt as heavy as a feather and rejoiced at the feeling.

  Standing on the opposite side of me, she tutored me on the basics of magic and in theory, it seemed simple but in practice…not so much. Since the Believer was thought to be a story no one knew what kind of powers I possessed, besides the ones I had already manifested.

  “How did you do it, Violet? Think of how you did it and you’ll unlock the rest,” the witch commanded and I scowled.

  Easy for her to say. She had normal powers and had been training since she was a toddler. “I don’t know how,” I said, heaving a sigh. “I just believed I could defeat the evil creature and a kaleidoscope of memories flowed. Love, friendship and some other memories of fairy children I saw when I was young.”

  The witch’s piercing look made me uncomfortable. “You remember that? The fairy children?”

  “Yes. Kristy thinks someone might have altered my memory, but I can’t understand why.”

  Shaking her head, she said, “We’ll deal with that another time. Violet, focus!”

  I scowled and tried to contain my temper, but I was angry, tired, and confused. Waves of violet energy spilled from my hands and surrounded the witch, throwing her several feet away. My eyes widened and ran to make sure she was all right. “Are you all right? I’m so sorry.” Ashamed, I held my hand out and bitterness about my powers spilled forth. Why couldn’t I have normal powers like everyone else? Or better yet, no powers at all?

  The witch laughed and my eyebrows shot up at her reaction. “Sorry?” She laughed again, and I was starting to think she hit her head too hard. “That was a great start, Violet. You’re figuring out how to unlock your power. You only need to know how to do it again.”

  “Again?” I said, surprised. “I hit you.”

  She waved her hand dismissively. “That was nothing. You can only hurt a fly with that kind of power. You need to focus and strengthen your strike if you want to actually hurt someone.” She took her position and commanded, “Again.”

  I nodded and focused on my memories and I did better, but the witch wasn’t satisfied so I had to repeat the action over and over but each time, I noticed subtle differences. Some memories resulted in more powerful blows than others so I tried to find more powerful memories. Bit by bit, I unlocked my powers and along the way, I remembered things I had forgotten. Fairy children, banshees, djinns…I had seen a lot of creatures while growing up, but these memories were gone and only now that I specifically looked for them, I recalled their existence. The nagging question that no one could answer was why couldn’t I remember? Were they erased? And if so, why and by who?

  “That’s enough for today,” the witch said and I was relieved.

  It was interesting and exciting this magical education but I was physically and mentally exhausted and I still had to study for tomorrow. “What time is it?”

  “In your world it is early afternoon. Time flows differently in the Blessed Realm than the human world,” the witch said and even though I had seen it happen, I still couldn’t fathom it. It looked like the Blessed Realm was a country across the ocean while the entrance was mere feet away from the town’s center.

  The witch snapped her fingers and the empty space disappeared, transforming back to the cozy living room once again. Sunlight streamed in from the windows, making the furniture glow. “What is your name?” I asked her when she escorted me to the door.

  “Madelena. Although most people simply call me the witch.”

  “Thank you, Madelena. Goodbye.” I waved, and she smiled.

  “Tomorrow you will train with Kristy.”

  Trying to maintain a neutral expression failed since I thought if lessons of magic were so difficult, I couldn’t imagine how fairy lessons would be.

  “Don’t worry. Fairy magic is lighter as they mostly deal with the healing arts.” I sighed because another turn like this one and I could train for the Olympics. “Violet, I would like to keep the information I shared between you and me for now. When the time comes, I will alert them, but it’s best if they have their peace. We came out of a dark era and they deserve some modicum of happiness.”

  I nodded and took the road straight ahead and fortunately, Kristy met me before I got lost.

  “So, how was your first lesson?” she said, flying around and I wished I could borrow her energy. Just putting one foot in front of the other felt exhausting and I couldn’t wait for the day to be over.

  “My aura?”

  “No, you look tired and the witch is not a talkative person so the only conclusion is that she trained you,” Kristy summarized and I raised my eyebrows.

  “Interesting.” I told her only about what happened during the lesson, omitting my conversation with the witch. I felt bad, but Madelena was right. They just came from a war, they didn’t need to know another one was on the horizon so soon. By the time I finished the narration, we were back and when I looked up, I was surprised to discover we were already at my street.

  “What did you do?”

  “No
thing much. I tended the flowers, made rounds, visited neighbors…” She shrugged and then lowered her voice, “By the way, no one has seen him.” Seeing my puzzled look, she added, “Jacques.”

  At the sound of his name, my face flushed, and I tried to cover my feelings by turning away. “I didn’t ask you to tell everyone,” I said, gritting my teeth.

  “I didn’t. We’re a small community so word gets out fast and the banshees are great gossipers since they are in and out of two worlds.”

  I stared at her and she winked. “What?” Trying to wrap my head around the information was giving me a headache. “You mean…” She nodded, and I shook my head. This world was way too complicated for me.

  “Anyway, no one has seen him since the day he…” she twirled her hand in the air and I scowled.

  He vanished. Without a word.

  “You’re angry, you’re very angry,” Kristy said, waving her hand around and I wondered what color my aura was. Red, perhaps?

  “He left without an explanation, leaving me with a mountain of unresolved questions, issues and…”

  “Feelings?” Kristy smiled widely, and I turned away. “Maybe you like him.”

  Red-faced, I yelled, “I do not like him! How can you say that?”

  “Well, he was romantic even though he messed up in the process.” Her dreamy expression came back to haunt me, but I decided to cut her hopes before it was too late.

  “I do not like him and if you ever repeat that…”

  “Okay, fine. Let’s go,” Kristy said, and I followed her grumbling. “By the way, the witch asked me to interfere in your family’s memories but there’s no need to. Apparently, they seem to think you are still with me. Have you been out of the house that late before?”

  “No, but I’ve always shown maturity and I’ll be going off to school before too long. They know I’m responsible and would never do anything against their wishes,” I said and Kristy snapped her fingers. Some shopping bags appeared, and I looked at her in confusion.