Sapphire Flame

EIGHTEEN

Sapphire Flame  -  Yasmeen J.

   With her knees tucked under her chin and her arms wrapped around her legs, Kaena sat next to a sleeping Griffin in his half-a-room-sized bed. She looked down at him, passing her hand through her pajama top and running her fingers over the small wound he'd left just below the middle of her breasts. 

   She looked away and bit down on her thumb thoughtfully. She had an idea but wasn't sure what she should do. The ghost of the touch of the entity's hand sent a chill down that side of her face and neck.

   She unfolded her legs and turned to toss them over the bed. She let out a soft breath, careful not to make too much noise to Griffin's sensitive ears. She stood up and looked back at him again before summoning the fire around her.

   She'd only had a tiny thought of her idea and her magic seeped from in between her fingers and covered the room in seconds. With each part of the room it covered, it replaced something, the dressers at the far end of the room became a stand with a tv hanging above it on the wall, the walls themselves transformed into a beige color with pictures hanging from them, the floor was replaced with a soft-looking burgundy carpet, familiar furniture appeared in familiar spots, even other rooms like the kitchen could be seen from where she stood.

   By the time it had finished, what was once Griffin's room was now the living room of her childhood home.

   She wanted to unlock a forgotten memory but all she could see and feel was the familiar warmth of her happy place.

   But then, like static on a tv screen, her vision glitched and contorted until it shifted to a horror scene. The couch and chairs were flipped over and the picture frames had fallen and shattered. Blood was everywhere. Splattered across the walls and pooling on the floor. 

    She heard an intense ringing in her ear that sounded more like screaming. She turned to face the stairs where most of the picture frames were placed above, there was a picture, her favorite one, of her, her dad, and her mom. They were smiling and she had a wide toothless grin, blood was smeared over the happy memory, over their smiles.

   The ringing got louder, she covered her ears and turned back to see her mother lying at the bottom of the stairs.

   "Mom? Mom?!" 

   She raced up to her and tried to touch her face, it looked like blood was running down from a gash in her head. 

   "Mommy?" Tears pooled in her eyes as her fingers went right through her, unable to feel anything. The slight tint of blue around her body reminded her she was nothing but a vision. "Mom..."

   She felt a sob building in her chest but then she felt a brush of wind on her shoulder. She turned achingly slow only to audibly gasp at the sight of a sneering wolf beside her. She crawled away quickly afraid it'd come after her. But it was still. Frozen in place. 

   It hovered over her mother, blood in a frozen droplet dripping from its mouth.

   Her chest tightened, she could barely keep a breath. Suddenly she heard a growl come from next to her.

   Her father was there, his eyes glowing with the roar of flames around to him appearing like defensive hinged snakes ready to strike. He was in a defense stance looking ready for anything to come at him.

   She approached him only stopping an inch from his face to study it, the vengeful expression still in time.

   "Daddy?"

   She barely recognized him. Not only his face but also this energy was so negative and the opposite of who she knew him to be. She went to touch his face when she felt another presence behind her.