Magic? It's really real.

Diane’s eyes snap open, but everything is quiet once more. First light is starting to creep over the horizon and the pre-dawn air is chill. Turning around, she finds that Aster’s nowhere to be seen. There’s not a trace of him or his things. Frowning, she sits up. Her hand lands on something cold and hard. Aster’s knife, still in its sheath, lies close to her bag. Had he left it there? Why?

Branches snap loudly somewhere to her left, and she spins around, clutching the knife in both hands. What was it Aster said? ‘Don’t leave the fire. Stay in the light.’

The fire! It’s barely more than glowing embers now, so she hastily adds more leaves and grass, relieved to see flames rise again. She carefully places a few sturdy logs on top, holding her breath until the fire catches on and springs back to life, covering her in light and heat. Thank God.

A flock of birds rises close by and takes flight, spooked by something moving through the bushes. Something big. Moving closer. Heart beating like a drum, Diane gets on her feet and unsheaths the knife, holding it in front of her, her back against the fire. Aster, where are you?

Then she hears it, and she almost drops the knife as her blood freezes. The growl. The one she heard in that alley. There’s no mistaking it. It wasn’t just a nightmare.

The beast is here.

It’s close.

Mouth dry and heart pounding loud enough that the creature probably can hear it, Diane nervously looks around. The wide opening in the wall of bushes is still clear, and for a moment, she considers making a run for it. But she’s seen firsthand how fast that thing is, she’d have no chance of outrunning it. Also, Aster’s warning comes back to her. ‘Don’t leave the fire.’ Fire. Animals fear fire, right?

She reaches for one of the longer branches, holding it like a torch in one hand, the knife ready in the other. Facing the opening, her eyes strain to see in the dim light. Loud rustling, followed by snarls and a crunching sound that makes her chest tighten, comes from behind her, and she spins around.

Nothing. Just the bushes.

A few more snarls, and… munching, reach her while she stands close to the fire, eyes darting between the direction of the sound and the opening where she expects the beast to appear any moment.

Any moment.

One moment, however, turns to many, and there’s only stillness. Faint buzzing and birdsong indicate that daybreak is near. Finally, when her nerves are wound tight enough to burst, a shape breaks free of the shadows.

She lowers her flaming branch to see better. It’s human. Not the snarling monster she was expecting.

“Aster? That you?”

“Were you expecting anyone else?”

“The monster. It’s here. I heard it.” She returns her improvised torch to the fire and drops the knife as if it had suddenly turned red hot. “Didn’t you see it?”

“I saw no monster, no.” He tilts his head and gives her a peculiar look. “Nights here can be strange when you’re not used to them. But you’re perfectly safe with me.” He steps closer and holds two handfuls of dark purple berries toward her. “Here. I brought you breakfast.”

He beams, and feeling way out of her depth, Diane holds out her own hands, letting him pour the berries into them.

“But…” She can’t shake that feeling of unease. “But I’m sure it was the same one.” She pops a berry in her mouth and absentmindedly bites into it. “At least this time it didn’t speak.”

“Speak? This ‘monster’ you speak of, it talked to you?”

“Yes. Or, I’m not sure. It might have just been a trick of my mind, but I can swear I heard it saying ‘I found you!’, as if it knew who I was. Though it makes no sense.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Interesting? Scary is more like it.”

“Did it hurt you?”

“Not really, no. But it ripped a bunch of other people to shreds. Not good people though,” she adds thoughtfully, “I guess… it saved me from those thugs.” Then dragged me here. Abduction counts as hurting, right?

“And it brought you here,” Aster echoes as if he read her mind. “It takes some very serious and advanced magic to teleport between worlds, so you can be sure there’s a very good reason someone went through the trouble.”

“How comforting.” She rolls her eyes. “So you’re saying this isn’t just some weird dream?” It must be; there must be some other explanation. A very logical explanation as to why she’s here. She just needs to figure it out.

“Yes. And speaking of magic. It’s time for you to stop postponing.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“Not at all. Eat up.” He points to the berries, still almost untouched in her hands. “We have a long walk ahead of us, and practicing magic one’s not used to can drain anybody’s energy.”

That stubborn, confused, concussed man. There’s simply no reasoning with him. To gain some time before the inevitable argument, Diane offers him a handful of berries. Then, remembering his allergies, pulls her hand back.

“Sorry, I forgot. I guess we can catch some more fish for you?”

“Thanks, but I already ate.”

“Oh, good. Thank you for these.” Briefly wondering what other food he’d come across, Diane pops a couple of berries into her mouth. They’re not quite as sweet as the peach-like fruits she had yesterday, but they’re still delicious. “Also, I believed that you promised to show me your magic today. After sleep and food. Right?”

“You’re right. I did.” He takes a seat next to her on the log and holds his hand out, palm up. “I’m not putting on a big show though. Just basic stuff.”

Diane is just preparing a little speech meant to comfort him after his 'magic' fails, when flames erupt around his hand. He smiles that smug little smile again as the flames gather into a ball, hovering just over his open palm. Diane stares at it. It must be a trick, but for the life of her, she can’t figure it out.

Then there’s the fact that something inside her is responding to it. The fire. The magic. Whatever. There’s a tension in her chest as something dormant, something long forgotten, is stirring, stretching, trying to escape. Her palms are itching, burning, stinging as if she’s touched nettles.

“I showed you mine, so now you show me yours,” Aster says, idly tossing his ball of fire between his hands.

“But, I don’t know how…”

“Just relax and focus. Let it seep out of your hands.”

Relax? Diane has never been less relaxed in her life. Her body feels as if it’s about to explode. Wait. Is she seriously trying to do magic? That’s ridiculous. There’s no such thing as… Blue flames engulf both her hands, and she stares in disbelief. For a fraction of a second, she’s dumbstruck. In awe. Then her brain catches up.

She’s on fire.

On fire.

Fire!

Diane leaps up, frantically waving her arms to make the flames go out. They don’t. Instead, the fire spreads up to her elbows, and she screams, desperately slapping at them. The last functioning part of her brain takes note of Astor watching her. Mouth open, eyes wide, just sitting there. Not helping. Shaking his head as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing. Stifling a bloody laugh..

Ignoring the jerk for now, Diane makes a run for the lake, panicked feet tripping and sending her face-first into the sand. She quickly stumbles back onto her feet and sprints the last bit, falling to her knees at the edge of the water and plunging her hands and arms into it.

Ah, thank god.

The water starts glowing. The fire is burning as strongly as ever, even submerged. It’s impossible.

Please let me wake up now. Please.

She doesn’t wake up. Thrusting her arms deeper into the water, along with her face, does nothing. The water is pleasant, a little on the cold side. Slowly, the panic sinks away and her brain starts working again. Analysing. She’s cold. Her arms may be on fire, but they’re cold. There’s no pain. Impossible. She feels that she’s been using that word a bit too much lately.

Regaining some of her composure, Diane raises her arms, watching the blueish flames run along her skin and sleeves. Carefully, she gets back on her feet and turns back to Aster, arms held out stiffly.

“Told you so.” He looks every bit as smug as she expected, but she resists giving him a snarky answer.

“Er, what do I do now?” The flames might not hurt, but she’s still eyeing them warily even as a triumphant feeling makes her chest swell.

She can do magic. It’s real.