"You!"

The fire in my hand was an inch away from the monster's nose. I would burn him. I would burn him and laugh as the creature went up in flames. He deserved it.

He recoiled, eyes wide, the orange and red flames reflecting against the surface of black.

Good. He needed to be scared of me. He needed to be terrified.

I brought my face down so it was less than an inch away from his nose. Red tinged the edges of my vision, but it wasn't from the fire.  "This is your fault," I snarled. "You're the one who started this. You gave my father the stone."

He opened his mouth, but I didn't stop and wait.  I raised my hand and brought it down, aiming for the man's head.

My blow never reached the target. Something hard closed around my wrist.

"Clair, stop!"

Half of me wanted to turn around and smack William with what was going to be the creature's blow. The other half just seriously considered it.

"What?" I growled. He was wood. He would be easy to burn too. My chest tightened; my muscles tensed. William stopped me. No one could stop me.

Not in the middle of rage.

The air around my head turned frigid, like I'd gone past the point of anger and into a new emotion entirely. I didn't spare William a glance. My eyes only focused on the man bowed before me.

He would pay.

A white cloud spread out from my lips. A tingle erupted in the tips of my hands. Frost prickled against my skin, slowly hardening it.

William reeled back. He stuck his arm out to guard the man on the ground.

Like that could stop me. Such a pitiful movement. I could freeze them with a thought. A whisper.

I could make them burn. Make the fire flick against them, pull them into its embrace, drag their ashes down to the pits of Hell. I could do it.

If William didn't move, he'd be in for the ride.

The cold air circling my body felt oddly relieving. I flicked my wrist, holding back the fire and ice that wanted to come bursting from my palm. "Out of the way."

He was as still as stone.

The coldness spread through my face. "Move, now."

William shook his head. "You need to listen to me," he huffed. It sounded as if he was out of breath. "Calm down. Please."

"You're protecting him?" My lips curled into a snarl. "Let the monster go. He needs no protection." Swirling, white snow cut in at the edges of my vision.

But there was no snow.

"Clair, he has a cavalier! Do you honestly think he'd come to kill us while he has one?"

I lowered my hand. "Yes. I do. Because he's the one who gave my father the stone that made his eyes go black."

Cold started to seep through my chest. My heart raced, but whether it was from anger or fear I've yet to decide. The realization of William's point slowly crept up on me.

A rumble of thunder came from outside. I hadn't realized it was going to storm.

I pulled my attention back to William. He still stood in front of the man with the cavalier, guarding him, protecting him from me. He was pleading. Never had I seen William beg, and yet I was the one who caused him to do it. His eyes, which should've been blank, were screaming at me, asking me, questioning me--

I need to stop.

Dad was right. Acting without knowing was a habit of mine. I hurt people because I didn't think. Before the Fiannu, William was the one who was hurt. Then, I could've hurt Raul.

My hands shook with the effort of keeping them down. Echoes of frost traced my arms, a mark of where the magic had been.

A dagger of pain shot through my skull. What are you waiting for? You have the power. Prove you aren't a little girl.

"I've never wanted to prove I'm not a child. I am one."

Rosinka laughed, but the strangled sound wasn't in my head. It came bursting out of my mouth.

William's eyes widened. Fear poured over me. Rosinka shouldn't have been able to do that. When the magic could talk through someone was when miralis had completely taken hold. I'd been using magic. It should have held her off!

I clapped a hand over my lips, but it was too late.

"I've been wondering how long it would take for you to lose your hold on me."

Although her voice came from my mouth, it wasn't my voice. It was deeper, darker, more... more slithery. It reminded me of a snake about to strike.

Will's mouth dropped open. Even the creepy-possibly-vampyre man looked surprised.

"Stop it," I choked. "Stop using me as a voice."

"Or what? You'll punch me? Tickle me to death?"

A crash came from outside. Dark shapes flowed over a hill a few hundred feet away and raced toward us.

My heart jumped. That's what was wrong. There was no rain or snow. The thunder was an army.

I opened my mouth to shout, but couldn't speak.  My feet wouldn't budge from their spot.

You can't beat me at my own game, child. You can only say what I wish for you to say.

No one but me saw the shapes. If William didn't see them, we'd die.

I tried to choke out "Turn around," but it came out as a garbled mess. Will stepped toward me, only to be shoved back by a force of magic that shot from my hand.

"Are we in Dulcia?" I blurted. A weight pressed in on my stomach. It hurt to breathe. Just the four words were hard to say.

Will barely opened his mouth, then replied, "Uh, yes? Why?"

Enough air couldn't find my lungs. "Do m-mur--" The words died on my tongue. Rosinka just laughed.

She wanted us dead.

The shapes were too close. A minute more and they would be on top of us.

I couldn't hold her for a minute more.

Heat seared behind my eyes. The world turned a shade of pink, then red. My lungs ached for air. Something came trickling from my nose and ran down to my chin, dropping to the floor.

Blood.

"You're mine any moment now!" Rosinka cackled. I was--no, she--she was too happy. Overjoyed that she took over.

I was on the floor. Why? I didn't remember falling. The boy--William--held my shoulder, shouting something. I don't know what. The buzzing was the only thing I could hear.

Why is the boy touching me? No one touches me.

No. It is William.

He needs to die.

No!

One of the black shapes entered the cave. It slowly made its way behind the man who held the cavalier.

Don't tell them. Let the muraes have their fun.

Turn around.

Oh, hush. What do two males matter to you?

Turn. Around.

Fire flickered around my left hand. It barely brushed against William's wooden knee.

"Turn around!"

Will's head snapped back. He yelled something, and the oily man came scrambling to him, just before a blade hit where he'd been. He grabbed Will's shoulder just as he shouted something.

Rosinka pushed the two away.

They disappeared.

The few shadows of muraes paused for a moment, staring at the space the two were. Even Rosinka was silent for a split second, then she came back full-force, giving me a barrage of pulsing throbs to my body.

WHAT DID THEY DO?

Somehow, I managed to laugh. "'S'just you and me now. They're gone. Cavalier and all."

I wasn't mad about William leaving. He did what he needed to. The muraes couldn't get the cavalier.

Another shadow murae came closer. It reached out to me but was pushed away.

Apparently, neither Rosinka nor I were ready to die.

My choice on the matter was fading.

It hurt to do anything. Breathing was like a dagger being plunged into my chest. When my eyes were open, everything was hot, closed, and everything was cold.

I closed my eyes. I'd never liked the heat anyway, and besides, watching muraes circle me like vultures wasn't what I wanted to see before I died.

A hand grabbed my shoulder. My eyes flew open, only to stare into a pair of dark brown ones. Wood scraped against the back of my neck as William held up my head.

"This will hurt." He raised an arm. A bead of perspiration ran down his cheek. He grimaced. "Sorry."

Right before his hand hit my head, he shouted.

I don't know about what happened after.

*****

"Kid, wake up."

No. It hurt to move. To think.

"Come on, kid. I don't know how you even got here, and now there's a possibility of you being dead. I can't really bury you either. Your friends are going to have to do that."

I lifted my arm into the air.

The man sighed. "Good. Get up."

"No," I muttered. It sounded like I had gravel in my mouth. "The ground has accepted me as one of its own and if I leave now, I'll lose its trust."

A warm hand clamped down on mine. "Tough for the ground, then," he chuckled, pulling me up.

I opened my eyes, bracing myself for the pain and heat that came with sight moments before. There was none.

I smiled. "Hey, cool. I can see now." Something tickled my top lip. I brought my fingers to it, then pulled away. Dark red stained them.

"Yuck," I mumbled. I wiped some of the blood away, then scraped my fingers against the bottom of my dress. It was ruined anyway.

"Nosebleed?"

I jumped, although I don't know why. I hadn't forgotten about the man who yanked me off my back.

"Not anymore. Had one, though." I glanced to the side, then looked up.

Like, way up.

"Oh my gosh, you're tall."

He moved forward slightly, in which I tossed both my hands into the air.

"Please don't step on me."

The guy just laughed, then sat down beside me. A lock of straw-yellow hair fell into his face. "I'm not that big."

"You are to me! How tall are you, seven feet?"

"Around six and a half. I used to be taller." He crossed his arms and looked me over. "And how old are you, seventeen? You should know you don't go asking people how tall they are."

Seventeen, huh?

My eyes followed one of the many lines he had across the bottom of his face. It looked like he lost a fight with an angry cat or fifty.

"And you're, what, six years older than me? Twenty-three? What makes you think you can tell me what to do?"

The man laughed. "Kid, I looked like I was around seventy/eighty when I died. Twenty-three no longer."

"And I'm fourteen, not seventeen."

"Really? You act older."

It was my turn to cross my arms. "And you act younger than seventy/eighty. Prove it."

He rolled his eyes. They were brown, like my father's. "I'm not going to 'prove it.' I don't want to 'prove it.' Now, are we just going to discuss our ages and heights, or are you going to ask what you need to ask?"

My grin faded. "You're a fragment of magic," I said softly. "So I'm... not really here. Again."

Argh.

I shook my head, then held out my hand. "I'm Clair."

He took it. "Brennen."

"Brennen?" I froze mid-handshake. "Brennen Aindreas?"

He grinned. "In the magic flesh."

I held back the urge to shout. "Thank goodness! You have no idea how long I've been looking for you! I've got questions."

One of his eyebrows raised. "I didn't realize I was that important. What do you need?"

"I need to ask about miralis."

His smile faded. He looked away, not meeting my eyes.

"Do you have it?" he asked.

I nodded. "So does my father, although this is his second time having it."

Brennen turned back to me. "I'm sorry. Is it natural or forced?"

"Mine's natural, Dad's is forced."

He nodded. "Is the forced one willing or unwilling?"

"What?" I tilted my head to the side. "What difference does it make?"

"Well, you know the difference between it occurring naturally and having it forced on you, right?"

"The natural one is supposed to be easier to control, isn't it?"

If it was, I'd hate to see it when it was forced on someone.

"In a way. Naturally, the magic just takes on a form of your personality. It's easier to reason with because it's you. With forced miralis, it's another being inside your head. If the person does it willingly, it can be a little easier to control. Unwillingly, and it's nearly impossible."

I squirmed. "You had forced, right?"

Brennen nodded. "Yes. For many, many years."

"How'd you get rid of it?"

He grinned slightly. "I can't answer that. This place won't let me."

"Well, that's dumb."

He shrugged. "It makes sense, I guess. I can help, but only to an extent."

I sighed. So, I'd almost died by being taken over, had muraes attack me, was transported out of the cave by William, brought to a place made up of magic, but yet couldn't get the answer I needed.

Where was I, anyway? There was no exact scenery around me. Either everything was white, or it looked like a forest, then shifted into an ocean.

"Can I tell you a story?" the man asked suddenly. I just stared at him. A story would do me no good.

Whatever. It was entertainment.

I gestured for him to start, which received a smile. He took a deep breath.

"Not long ago, there was a girl. This girl had been through more than any girl in her village. She considered herself an outsider with very few friends. One of her friends, he worked for the king. One day, he brought her to the king's castle.

"You see, in the time she lived, there was a war. The girl's brother was a soldier who had supposedly gone missing. In reality, he was not lost, he was just where only the king knew about him.

"The king, who was clever, had made a deal with a creature to the east. If the creature stopped the war, the king would do whatever he wished.

"Well, the creature wished for a girl."

I nodded, seeing where the story was going.

Brennen continued. "The king took the girl's brother and threatened to kill her family. The girl told the king she would go where he wanted her to. So, she did.

"At the castle, the girl greatly disliked the creature. It wasn't until they'd earned the other's respect that they began speaking. Over time, the two became friends. The girl, who was free to leave whenever she wished, learned of the creature' past, and he learned of hers.

"Eventually, the girl got word that the king had died, and her friend who worked for the king was now the ruler of the land. She missed her family, so she left.

"Now, the creature was sick. Dying. He was being taken over by another being in his mind. When the girl left, he loosed his hold on the creature, which was a grave mistake.

"Back at the palace, the girl's friend had betrayed her. He went insane with power and tried to kill her. He wanted the creature dead, and now that he had the girl, he had leverage.

"The crazy king went to the creature's palace and tried to kill him. He received many blows, but landed just as many. The new king was defeated, but not before almost killing the creature.

"Now, the girl had shown up earlier and witnessed most of the fight. She was even the one who dealt the final blow to the crazy king. The creature, after the king had been killed, was attacked. He was attacked by the thing in his mind.

"So, the creature fought it off. The thing in his mind, the Beast, wanted to take control, but the creature wouldn't let him. The Beast, surprisingly, wasn't ready to control the creature. If he got in control he would kill the girl, and he didn't want the girl to die. Neither did."

Brennen fell silent. He folded his hands in his lap and stared at them.

"What happened?" I asked.

He swallowed. "The Beast died. The creature lived. I can't tell you any more."

I bit my lip. "What was the point of that?"

"Can't say."

"What happened to the creature?"

Brennen smiled. His dark eyes twinkled. "He was no longer a creature. He learned to see himself as a human. He saw the countries. After many years, he got married and had a family."

I let out a breath. "Happy ending?"

He shrugged. "Sort of. Life happens."

"What happened to you? You have any kids?"

He nodded his head slowly. "I did. Three of 'em. Two boys, one girl." He scratched the back of his head. "My youngest left years ago though. Didn't see him again. Last I heard, he was living in Zelgwyn with a family of his own. He's probably had grandchildren by now."

"I'm sorry." Without thinking, I put my hand on his shoulder. "I know what family means."

A small smile flickered at his lips. "It's alright. It made him happy. Hey," He patted my head, then stood. "I had great-grandchildren on the earth before I died. It's good to know what can grow from one thing."

I got up too. "It is."

Now, how was I supposed to leave this place? Was I just supposed to wake up?

Brennen touched my shoulder lightly. "Are you ready to go?"

I nodded. "You read my mind."

He bent down so his head was equal to mine. Our eyes locked. He reminded me of Dad. The color of his hair, the shape and color of his eyes--it was like a slightly different version staring back at me.

"Oh!" I jumped slightly. "There was a man I met a few days ago. He's in a castle, a fragment of magic like you. His name is Raul. He said to tell you 'Hi.'"

His mouth dropped open, then surprise morphed into a wide smile.

"Goodbye, Clair."

______________________________________

Keep that story in mind! It comes in later on. Believe it or not, it's actually important.