"What are you thinking about that's making you frown?"
"Not telling you. Good night."
I close my eyes, a bit stubborn, and curl up on the mattress. I hear him chuckle and turn off the lights before coming back to hug me. Hm... Time for some sleep, dreams, and magic.
I didn’t think I was that tired, but Liam's warmth behind me quickly soothes me. I breathe slowly, waiting for the darkness to come... and some answers.
Strangely, I'm aware I'm dreaming from the start. It is an odd sensation, like I'm in a place I'm not supposed to be. I look down, but I can barely control myself. I'm... floating, but my body feels too heavy to move. I manage to lift my hand. As expected, the spell is still there... It looks more like some key, though, and parts of it are now strangely glowing on my skin. Or, my dream representation of my skin. I need to keep in mind this isn't real...
Am I supposed to do something? I look around once again and finally, the landscape changes. I'm back in Nora's garden, a few steps away from Sylviana's tree. Except that the tree looks very different. It's full of leaves, its bark is as good as new, and there's no trace left of that tree's decay I saw today. However, those leaves are strangely white and glowing. I approach, a bit at a loss. What is this...?
Suddenly, something moves from behind the tree. I step back, wary of it.
A snake. I frown. A large, thick snake with green skin slithers along the tree's roots, hissing and coming my way. Oh, no, no, no, how am I supposed to flee that thing? It looks about as tall as me! I try to light my fire, but in a dream, I have no idea how to, nothing responds the same. Moreover, I soon stop trying; what if I set Liam's bed on fire without knowing? No, I can't be careless with magic, not again. But then, how do I deal with that thing?
Perhaps it's not that dangerous? I try to step forward, but it suddenly hisses and shows two pointy fangs. Okay, nevermind. We are not going to be friends, not today. Then what?
To my surprise, something suddenly jumps in front of me. It's so large I'm scared at first, until I recognize the large tiger on fire.
"...Spark?"
He growls loudly at the snake in a defensive stance. Moon Goddess, is my cat defending me? I didn't expect magic cats to be sidekicks even in dreams... although this is a magic dream.
Spark keeps growling furiously at the snake, standing between it and me like a wall of fire. I quickly understand he's defending me, making sure that snake can't get near me. I carefully stay behind him, unsure what to do. The snake tries to get past Spark to attack me, but every time, he's met with a violent bite, or a swipe of Spark's gigantic paw. It lasts only a few seconds, but after a while, my cat seems to have had enough of this. He growls furiously once again and jumps on the snake, claws out.
Something happens.
The snake vanishes in some dark smoke, and by instinct, I grab Spark to pull him back. I don't like this... The smoke keeps growing, darker and thicker. My tiger cat growls, curling up his giant body around me, and I don't like this either. This thick, dark cloud keeps spinning and surrounding us, like the eye of a hurricane. I'm... getting cold. Like, very cold, which makes no sense when a fire tiger is literally standing next to me. Yet, it's real. I'm shaking, and my breathing goes crazy. What do I do?!
I look at my hand, and more of those symbols are glowing. If it is some sort of key, it should be helping me, not sending me to some trap! Or is this some sort of security? I step forward, despite Spark's growling. I have a feeling we won't get a second chance if I don't solve this now.
Putting my marked hand forward, I literally dive it into the wall of black smoke.
Moon Goddess, it's ice cold... Still, I keep going, I know there's got to be something about that spell on my hand. The ice crawls on my hand like hundreds of small little needles. Damn, that hurts... I keep going, despite Spark and my inner wolf both growling to warn me. I know I can do this. ...Just a little more...
Suddenly, the dark smoke vanishes.
I stumble a couple of steps back, exhausted. My hand hurts, but when I look, the spell is glowing again... almost all of it this time. Good... So I was right. What was that black smoke, some sort of security check? Damn it, witches do know how to keep their secrets. My hand is going to be numb for hours...
Spark comes up to me, gently rubbing his large face against my arm. I think I like his big cat form, he's even bigger than I am... We both finally look up as the dark fog disappears. We are back, or still at the tree, but the snake is gone. Instead, a large blue butterfly is there. It’s on the tree, immobile against the bark. With that kind of size, it has to be another manifestation of magic... It suddenly flies up to me and, unsure, I extend my arm to it. The butterfly gently comes to me and as soon as it lands on the spell, the scene changes again.
I'm in a small house that feels... familiar. It's not Sylviana or Nora's house, it's... Clarissa's. I keep looking around but I'm pretty sure. I recognize some details that she had put in that particular sketch. Everything is exactly how she remembered it... The little windows with their blue curtains. The empty vases, and the piles of books on a table. I observe a bit more, intrigued. There's a strange necklace with a large, blue bead with what looks like an eye in the middle.... It takes me a few seconds to find the answer in my witch knowledge. It's an evil eye, the Turkish Nazar. A protection against evil charms, envy, and jealousy...
Suddenly, a little girl comes running in. It's a bit strange because I can only focus on a few things at once, as if my field of vision was narrow, with everything else blurry or disappearing as I move. Still, I focus on the little girl and immediately, I recognize her. It'sus. Clarissa, the young little girl. She's wearing a bracelet with the same beads as the large one hung on the wall and a white dress. She smiles and runs toward a fireplace.
"Mommy, Mommy!"
The young woman sitting by the fire turns to her. I didn't realize how young her mother was... She has white skin, and long, curly black hair. She's very pretty with her blue eyes, but she looks... tired. Very tired. There are marks on her arms too, like witch marks. Like a witch that has exhausted a lot of her magic.
I glance at the butterfly flying around me, and it gently goes toward them. This is obviously a memory, but to my surprise, the woman smiles, and welcomes the butterfly on her finger.
"Mommy, it's so pretty!"
"Yes, Clarissa, but it is sacred. You shall not keep it."
The little girl nods, and puts her hands behind her back, well-behaved. The butterfly gently lands in that woman's hair, and for a second, she looks up, and I think our eyes meet.
It only lasts a very brief moment, but I'm... almost sure she actuallysawme. I try to control my breathing and hold Spark a bit closer to me. Is it even possible? This scene is a memory, she shouldn't be able to... see me. Or is it something else?
