"What do my parents have to do with this?"

I started pacing. It was all just too much. First I could use magic, then I was going crazy and still able to use magic, then my parents had some part in what was going on.

"Magic like yours doesn't just happen, Curly. It's inherited."

I choked out a laugh. "Oh, so crazy ice magic that'll kill me doesn't just 'happen.' Good to know."

"It's not just ice magic, Clair," Nutcracker said. "You can do more once you learn. And it won't kill you."

"What if I don't want to learn? What if I don't want anything to do with this?" The fear I originally felt morphed into aggravation. I hadn't asked for this. I didn't want it. I just wanted my life to go back to normal.

A new thought dawned on me. "If I have this--this miralis, then what about Raoul? Does he--"

"We don't know," Nutcracker interrupted. "We assume not, but the only way we'll know for sure is when he wakes up."

Great. Now they don't even know if Raoul will come back right.

I breathed out slowly. I spun on my heel and started to walk away as fast as I could. I needed to go, to get away before I exploded.

Which could be taken literally.

"Wait, where are you going?" Nutcracker called after me. "You have to stay here!"

I faced him and Elora again and raised my eyebrows. "I'm exploring. Apparently, we're inside a castle that's got some type of magic to it and is run by snow fairies." I nodded in Elora's direction. "No offense."

She held up her hands. "None was taken. 'Snow fairy' is actually right, in this case."

"But you can't leave the castle!" Nutcracker sputtered. He waved his hands frantically in the air and hopped from one foot to the next.

As if that'll stop me.

"Which is why I'm staying indoors. Goodbye." I turned and ran before either person could say anything. I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to be around them, to hear them, to see them.

I just wanted to be alone.

Which, one would think, would be a difficult task to do when you're in a castle filled with people.

Obviously not.

I ran down the hall and grabbed a railing to stairs. I held onto it to brace myself as I turned onto the slick, crystal blue steps and almost headfirst into a Fiannu woman. The lady let out a small screech and pressed herself again the handrail.

Words of apology started to come out of my mouth, but I didn't finish them. I was already too far up the stairs for the woman to hear.

When I reached the top, it dawned on me that I had no idea where I was going. Getting lost didn't bother me, but losing my way back did. As much as I wanted away from everyone, I would want to have someone near me in the next hour or three.

Because I'd have to eat, but still.

I looked to my right and left. The hallway stretched out endlessly in both directions, the left side looking the same way my room downstairs did, and the right side not as... bright.

I turned to the right. The darker a place, fewer people, right?

As it turns out, I picked the creepy hallway. It was like the Fiannu had just completely forgotten to redo it, except for the blue orbs that floated near the ceiling, giving off light.

I walked down the hall, staring at the walls. They were dark gray and stone, like the one downstairs. Every now and then, there would be a closed door that led to what I guessed would be a room.

I paused. Five deep scratches marred the stone wall to my left. I reached up and placed my hand against it, spreading out my fingers to match the mark.

My hand was minuscule in comparison. It was even bigger than my father's.

What could be scary enough to scratch a stone wall this deeply?

A chirp sounded from the room next to me. There was no door to it, just open space.

And sunlight.

I took one last look at the claw marks and walked into the room. It was bare. Less faded pieces of the wall with nails partly shoved into it showed where pictures used to hang. The source of light was a cracked window covered in cobwebs that was almost directly in front of me. In the corner, there was a large instrument that I had only seen once or twice before--a piano, I think.

The first thing I did was go to the piano. The keys that were supposed to be white were a light tan, aged from however many years it had been in the room.

I touched it gently and pushed on one of the notes. A noise somewhere between beautiful and haunting sounded from it and echoed in the room.

As much as my parents liked music, I'd never learned to play an instrument. Every time one of them would try, I'd be in my room reading.

My parents.

My chest tightened. I pushed myself away from the instrument, suddenly disgusted with it. I left Nutcracker and Elora to get away, and yet I found this thing that reminded me of my family.

How sad.

I groaned and leaned against the wall. The voice was back. A soft pounding started up in my temple, hitting like a drumbeat.

I clenched my teeth. "Get out of my head," I hissed. "I don't want you in there."

Tough. I'm here to stay unless you do something about it.

"Like what?"

Figure it out yourself. I like it here.

Rage boiled up in my chest. "Get out!" I screamed. I clapped my hands over my ears. "Get out, get out, get out!"

My voice caught. I sank to the ground, still holding my head in my hands. Gasps tore their way from my chest and broke the newly-shattered silence.

Under it all, I could hear her laughter.

I kept my head in my hands until I could breathe normally again. I wiped at my cheeks where wet had fallen down them.

"I'm going crazy," I whispered. "I've started down the rabbit hole and my grip is slipping. Soon I'll let go completely."

"Well, that's depressing."

I scrambled to my feet, searching for the one who spoke. I didn't have to look long. Standing in front of me was an older man with thin, gray hair. He smiled gently at me, his dark eyes twinkling.

I thought for a second. The way the man had pronounced his words, I heard a slight accent. "Zelgwyn tadu tuär," I said.

*You're from Zelgwyn. (Yay for figuring out how to do the translations!)

The man reeling back like I'd slapped him. I found myself praying silently that I hadn't insulted him. He narrowed his eyes and came closer to me.

"Agch andu bhärfil..." He paused and searched my face. " ...en measnainh."

I found myself smiling. "Yes, I'm a mix. My mother is Arian and my father's from Zelgwyn."

He nodded. "Do you speak both languages?"

"Malpo ankeh."

He gave me a blank look.

"A little. I prefer to use the five kingdom language, though."

The man nodded again. I squirmed under his gaze, uncomfortable at how hard he stared at me.

"So, how'd you know I'm half and half?" I asked. "Normally, people assume I'm from Zelgwyn, since I look like Dad. My brother is immediately grouped into the Arian category because he's like mom."

The man smiled. He sat down on the top of the piano. Some part of me wanted to tell him to get off, but another part thought it was amusing.

"Your eyes," he answered. "They're a bit too narrow to be all Zelgwyn. They're also not the right color. Zelgwynians have darker eyes--like brown or hazel. Yours are the brightest blue I've ever seen."

My blood froze. My eyes... they had never been blue in my life, always light brown like Dad's. My hand brushed against the wall lightly.

Mystery man sucked in his breath. I stared at him, trying to figure out the problem was. It was only when I followed his gaze that I saw the reason for his surprise.

I'd frozen the wall.

Again.

What a surprise.

"Ah," the old man whispered sadly. "Your eyes aren't blue, are they?"

I shook my head, trying to hold in my tears. I'd never been so afraid of frozen water before. "I--I've got this--this thing called--

"Miralis," he finished. I stared at him in surprise. "I knew someone that had it," he answered.

"Oh." So I was the equivalent of a bad memory. "Do you know what happened to them?"

With his eyes downcast, the man shook his head. "I have my hope." He looked at me again. "How did it even get you? I didn't think that children your age were able to have it."

Before I knew it, I was telling the man about how I got to the piano room. I told him about my parents, the muraes, Nutcracker, Raoul, everyone and everything. When I finished, he gaped at me.

"Wow."

I couldn't help but laugh. "That's the understatement of the century!"

Mystery man laughed along with me. Once we calmed down, he said gently, "I'll bet your parents are proud of what you've done."

Wrong thing to say.

I gulped and looked away. "I haven't seen them. They're either dead or captured by the Muraes."

The bitterness that crept into my voice couldn't have been hidden by a castle.

"I can change that."

I raised an eyebrow. If he was joking, it wasn't funny. "How so?"

He got off the piano and stood a few feet away. For an old guy, he sure was healthy. "I can't explain it easily. Yes or no, would you like to see them?"

Accept an offer from a random man who found me screaming in a corner in the creepy part of a castle to see my possibly-dead parents, or don't.

I nodded quickly. "Yes."

He smiled. It reached his eyes and sent a wave of happiness through me. "Close your eyes," he commanded.

I didn't let myself think about what on earth I was doing. I just did.

"Vagaindo."

****

Clang.

My eyes snapped open. I stared at the single swinging lantern above my head. It squeaked with each movement it made.

Where am I?

I sat up. The hallway was dark, only lit by the swinging lantern. A small line of water dripped down the mold-covered wall.

I looked at my side. There was an empty cell with spiked bars.

I was in a dungeon.

I stood. If the place was a dungeon, then that meant that I was in the murae's home, and that meant that I couldn't afford to be seen my them.

I pinched my arm. Pain traveled through it.

So, I'm not transparent.

Which meant I could be hurt.

I looked around. The old man had put me at the end of the cell block. Faded letters and numbers were etched into the dank stone. I squinted, trying to make it out.

"DET. B. AA-23," I mumbled. "Detention block AA-23?"

Sounds like something from one of my books about space.

I turned around. If I was left in the dungeon, then it meant my parents were down there. Considering that the hallway was straight, the only thing I'd have to do to find them would be to walk.

Easy as pie.

I walked down the hall, looking into each cell as I came to it. About halfway down, a rat scurried past my foot.

I bit back a shriek. Rats. Even the word sent a shiver crawling up my spine. Mice I could handle, rats--just no.

I froze. How dense could I be? Muraes were mice, what's to say they weren't rats too? If they were also rats, then that'd mean I was dead meat.

The rat stopped in the middle of the hall to eat something it found. Slowly, I tiptoed up behind it and raised my foot.

If it's a murae, then it can't leave here.

I closed my eyes. This is going to be disgusting.

My foot hit the ground quietly, without a noise. I cracked my eyelid. Nothing went smush under my foot.

Sure enough, the rat still nibbled on its food. I picked up my foot again and brought it down harder.

It hit the rat but didn't phase it at all. It just kept eating.

You're kidding me. It doesn't even know I'm here.

I stomped once more. Ratzilla lived on.

"I don't think that's working."

I choked down the yeep that almost came out of my mouth and looked to see who spoke.

"Dad?"

My father smiled at me from inside the cell. There was a new cut that went from above his eye to his chin and he held his right shoulder higher than the other the teensiest bit, but other than that, he looked unharmed.

I charged at him, ignoring the cell bars that blocked me. If I could not squish a rat, then I could run through metal.

Once I got to my father, I wrapped my arms around him and tightly as I could. My fingertips brushed one another, but I couldn't feel Dad. It was like he wasn't even there.

Like I was hugging air.

I didn't pull away, just buried my head into his chest. "Why can't I feel you?" I whispered. "You're here, aren't you?"

He rubbed my head and sighed. "I'm here, Clair, but you aren't. It's a projection of you."

A projection.

Dad held me out at arm's length. "Are you okay? You're brother, did he make it out of the..."

Dad trailed off. He stared at my face--at my eyes. His half-smile went to a look of terror. His hands dropped from my shoulders and he back up, shaking his head.

"No, no, no, no," he mumbled. "Not this. Not you."

My eyes are still blue.

"Dad, I'm okay," I whispered. "I'm fine."

He didn't seem to hear. My father slid down the stone wall and to the floor. "No, you're not," he whispered.  "You're--you're--"

"Dad." I fell beside him. "I am alive right now, and that's what matters." I took his hand and squeezed, pretending that he could feel me and I could feel him.

He took a long breath. "Is your brother like this, too?"

I didn't tell him about Raoul being poisoned. He didn't need to know more than he already did. I forced a grin onto my face. "Raoul's fine." I thought for a second, then made up my mind. "You know about miralis?"

Obviously, he knew about it. I mean, duh. But how did he know about it? How was he so sure of why my eyes magically (no pun intended) changed colors?

My father nodded. He squared his shoulders and looked me in the eye. "You have to control yourself, do you hear me? Don't let yourself get too emotional, it lets the other have more free reign."

"Dad, how do you know about this?"

He shook his head. Long story that I'd never heard. "Is there someone with you who knows magic?"

With the only person who I could think of being Nutcracker, my options were limited.

And just ugh. Nutcracker.

I'm sure I made a slight face. "Yes, but--"

"Clair." He smiled at me and tapped my head. "You're too much like me. Quick to anger, slow to forgive, and too determined you don't need help."

"I don't need his help," I muttered. "He's the reason I'm stuck in this mess."

"Forgive him."

"Haha, what?" I stared at my father like he lost his mind. I wasn't close to even wanting to think about forgiving Nutcracker.

Dad laughed. "At least swallow your pride. Let him teach you, and if he won't, make him teach you. Letting go of the magic stored in you slows it down."

I folded my arms over my chest. For some reason, the world was starting to fuzz. "How do you know so much about this?"

His hand went to the back of his neck. I raised my eyebrow. He would give me the truth, but not the complete truth.

He moved his lips, but only a muffled buzz came out. White started to fill in the edges of my vision.

Panic clawed at my throat. I wasn't done. I couldn't leave.

Dad gave me a sad look. "Your sister," he called. "It's what killed Eris."

_______________________________________

New developments in the crazy storyline of a crazy kid, by a crazy kid.