In the midst of a deep darkness, Olivia felt as if she were drifting like a feather being swept away in the midst of an air current. The emptiness enveloped her and all she could hear was her breathing and the slow beating of her heart reverberating inside her head. She wanted to move, to stretch her sleeping muscles, but her limbs did not respond. It was as if she had become a puppet whose owner had left it hanging by its strings.

  She wanted to open her eyes but they felt like two heavy, rusty hinges. At first she could only see blurry shapes, glimmers floating in the vastness. For a moment she thought it was night again, but the more her vision cleared, the more she realized that those lights were not stars. They were more like strands of light spreading out in all directions like the branches of a tree or a river, pulsing with a vibrant rhythm. Gradually more colors unfolded. A vault of deep blue melted between waves of iridescent purple and clouds of shimmering ochre dusts swirled in erratic patterns, splashed with frantic brushstrokes of crimson, as if someone had splashed paint across the sky.

  Olivia had the feeling she was staring at chaos. Terrifying, beautiful chaos.

  And for some reason, it felt familiar, though it was unlike any place she had ever been before.

  She tried to remember but her mind was leading her back to what had happened in the last few hours. The last thing she recalled clearly was the news of Penn's arrest and the discussion with Dhabeos Myrkhan in the secret room. Then her mind was invaded by a wave of images that seemed to fall upon her like knives that caused lacerating twinges.

  The storm, the lightning, the view of the harbor from the sky, the passage through the dense clouds, then a stone floor that seemed to come down on her, screams, explosions, the sensation of something metallic in her hands, an acid smell, mixed with smoke and blood, a swarm of red robes circling around her and...

  Silas!

  Something hit her in the back and an intense blast of pain shot through her entire body, restoring sensation to her sleeping limbs. The air escaped her lungs and, as she tried to recover from the shock, her hands touched a smooth, cold surface. She rolled over to sit up and her eyes met a transparent, yet firm ground, as if she were lying on a frozen lake that mirrored the lines and color patterns floating above her. When she raised her eyes she could not distinguish anything resembling a horizon. Up and down merged together, creating the impression that she was inside a magical sphere.

  As she turned her head to try to get an idea of where she might be, she met Silas' golden eyes that were staring at her in confusion. Like her, he was lying on the ground. He was wearing the same clothes Milo had gotten him.

  “Silas! Are you all right?” Olivia crawled over to him, breathing hard. Silas lifted his chest off the ground and helping each other they managed to get to their feet, wobbling at first but gaining steadiness as their legs responded. Olivia examined him carefully, looking for signs of injury.

  “Olivia...” Silas' eyes narrowed as if he, too, was having difficulty seeing. “Where are we?”

  “I don't know... But I think... I think I've been here before. I don't know why it's strange and familiar at the same time.”

  “I have the same feeling.”

  “You do?”

  “I don't know how to describe it...” Silas shook his head. “It's like... when I'm about to change form,” he murmured, rubbing his arms. “A feeling that starts in my skin and sinks to my bones... Like I'm searching for something inside me... deep inside... buried... that briefly resurfaces when I use my power.”

  Olivia stared at him in wonder. It was the first time he had ever explained to her what it felt like to transform.

  Suddenly, Silas' eyes widened, he grabbed her shoulders and looked at her intensely as if searching deep inside her.

  “Is it really you?”

  “What...?” Olivia looked at him in confusion but then realized what he meant. “Yes, it's me...” she sighed. “Who was it this time?”

  “There are now four of them. His name is River.”

  “Four? River?”

  “He...”

  “He?”

  “He wanted to help us... He wanted to...” Silas' body began to tremble and he put his hands to his head.

  Olivia's heart stopped.

  “What's wrong?”

  Silas fell to his knees as he let out a shriek. Olivia tried to break his fall but in violent spasms he slipped through her arms and in the end she had no choice but to let him lie on the floor as he writhed in pain.

  “What do you feel? What can I do?” The girl tried not to panic, but they were alone and she was unable to administer healing magic. She wished with all her might that this was nothing more than a nightmare from which she would wake up at any moment. All around them, the golden strands continued to emanate flashes of light as they crossed the sublime firmament. She could think of nothing else to do but to cry out, “Is anyone there? Help! Silas, please hold on...” Her voice was on the verge of bursting into tears. Silas gritted his teeth while his chest arched as if he tried to break his body in half.

  “It is his punishment,” echoed a low, booming voice that resonated throughout the mystical vault.

  Olivia turned with a jolt but could see no one. Like that strange place, there was something about that voice that make her feel that it hadn't been long since the last time she had heard it.

  “Who are you?” she shouted, looking up as if those fluctuating lights could answer her. “What do you mean by punishment?”

  There was nothing she could do to alleviate his pain, only hold his head to prevent it from hitting the ground.

  “He has violated the Seal,” said another voice behind her, this time female.

  When the girl turned around she found four figures wearing what appeared to be some sort of light, silvery armor that clung to each other's forms. One of them had stepped forward. It was a woman, a head taller than Olivia, with freckled skin and long red hair. She strode forward with her back straight and her head held high, bearing the authority of a high-ranking officer. That attitude and the gravity of her gaze contrasted with the friendly version she had shown Olivia that first time they had seen each other face to face through the mirror, just after she and Silas had been rescued from the gulf waters.

  “Dawn.”

  The witch nodded and faced with that confirmation Olivia couldn't contain her anger.

  “Stop this already! Why are you punishing him? What has he done to you?”

  “It's not us,” Dawn answered. The other witches approached and stood behind her.

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  “Though it was actually... our fault,” said one who, by her dark face and curly hair, was none other than Clover. There were two other figures that Olivia did not recognize. A boy with blue hair and a slim build who didn't look much older than her. Next to him was another blonde girl with tanned skin who was the shortest of the group and her head barely reached the boy's waist.

  “We have gotten quite impatient and we have made mistakes,” Dawn admitted turning her head towards the two of them.

  “It's River's fault,” said the blonde witch with the defiant eyes, who could not be any other than the same Spark who had the attacked the lake. That said she pointed her finger at the boy.

  “As if you haven't already caused a lot of trouble!” he complained, throwing his arms up in the air.

  “You said you'd do better than me and it ended up being worse!” Spark raised her chin and glared at him.

  “I don't care who did it!” Olivia exclaimed, turning her gaze to Silas whose screams had intensified and she couldn't even think anymore. “Stop it now! Can't you see he's suffering?”

  “It's not us,” Dawn repeated.

  “Then who?”

  “Him!” this time Spark pointed upwards.

  Olivia followed the direction of his index finger and a shiver ran down her spine. Even though Silas continued to writhe in pain, she drew him to her out of pure instinct.

  Between the strands of light a slash of absolute darkness opened up, as if a knife had torn the canvas of a painting. Slowly two huge red eyes emerged like burning embers. The pupils, elongated like those of a snake, vibrated with a hungry intensity.

  “Who... what...?”

  “He's our jailer!”

  “Spark...” Dawn glared at her as if the other was talking too much.

  The creature watching them from above began to speak in a voice that vibrated throughout the vault.

  “You witches have been very loud these days.”

  “You should let us go then!” Spark raised a fist to the red eyes.

  The creature did not deign to answer and focused his attention on Olivia who had become hypnotized under the influence of those two gigantic rubies. Only Silas' pained howls managed to bring her out of her trance but before she could say anything that booming voice spoke again:

  “Your friend is paying for both the price of your deeds.”

  Olivia's throat felt dry. She gulped before speaking.

  “What does it mean?”

  “You attacked the lake. You hurt both humans and sirenians. Then the village and now the wizards through forbidden magic. What he is feeling just now is the pain of every wound you have inflicted on others.”

  “We did not choose that!”

  “But you allowed it. In spite of the destruction you witnessed... how many times did you think of resorting to the witches' help?”

  “We didn't...!” Olivia wanted to say that they did not know what they could provoke, but guilt prevented her from continuing. In reality she did know but she had decided to ignore it in order to reach her goal, hoping for a different outcome.

  The voice spoke again.

  “This is a lesson. If you don't want another loved one to suffer for your decisions, you must choose wisely next time.”

  “Why only Silas? Why don't you punish me too? I'm responsible, not him!”

  Clover stepped forward with a sneer.

  “Because he can't.”

  Olivia looked at her in confusion.

  “What do you mean he can't? What's stopping him?”

  “Clover, say no more. She's not ready,” Dawn warned her.

  Olivia clenched her fists and directed all her anger at them.

  “I'm so sick of you! You keep saying I'm not ready, but I have no idea what you expect from me! I trusted you and now Silas is suffering for it!”

  Dawn leaned over and grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look her straight in the eyes.

  “We need you to become stronger! Only then will you be able to free us!”

  “But you are more powerful than me!”

  “In this realm our magic is sealed! We can only use it through you!”

  A tremor shook the crystalline surface causing them both to slip.

  “You cannot stop us now!” Spark shouted, turning defiantly towards the creature. “We have the key!”

  “Spark!” Clover and River reacted at the same time, grabbing her arms and covering her mouth.Spark struggled, throwing elbows and kicks in an attempt to break free. Beneath their feet, the ground kept shuddering, and the clouds descended in ever-tightening spirals, swirling around them with a suffocating density.

  “I can't take it anymore! I don't want to go back to sleep!” she cried, his voice ripping through the air. “Three thousand years of confinement! It's not fair! I'm not afraid of him! He's as trapped as we are!”

  The words melted into the mist, drowned out by the blanket of clouds that closed over the three witches, engulfing them completely.

  From the heights, the creature's red eyes glowed with a searing intensity, as if they contained an ocean of lava about to overflow.

  “I can give you a warning,” his voice boomed with an ominous echo. “Olivia of Shadowrock, forsake your bond with the witches. You have not yet even grasped the magnitude of what you have done.”

  Olivia sat up on shaky legs. The ground beneath her still vibrated, as if something immense was breathing just below the surface.

  She looked straight at the creature and clenched her fists, trying not to let her fear show.

  “Why do you say we violated the Seal?”

  “The Dragon Seal. You let a chimera take its original form. Because of this, all magical races will be affected.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Dawn interceded.

  “He's trying to manipulate you, don't listen to him.”

  The creature let out a harsh, guttural murmur, like a sinister laugh.

  “She will find out soon, witch.”

  “Olivia,” Dawn placed herself between the girl and the creature. “We can't tell you the whole truth now, but later you'll be capable of understanding it on your own.”

  “I... I don't know who to trust... all I know is that you have used both me and Silas. How do I know that you haven't planned all this together with Daephennya?”

  “I know my words cannot convince you now, but as your power continues to awaken you will begin to understand.”

  “What if I don't want to awaken my power? What if I decide to continue as an ordinary human?”

  A shadow came into Dawn's intense green eyes.

  “We can no longer stop what we have started. The mechanism has been activated. It will be worse for you if you try to block it.”

  “That sounds like a threat to me,” Olivia gave her a cold stare. “You say you're trapped here. Why? What punishment are you paying? What is this place? Why do I have to be the one to set you free?”

  Dawn lowered her head.

  “It's too soon, if I tell you now, we risk corrupting your body. Just remember this,” she stood upright again as the clouds descended toward her. “You are destined to save us, and we will be here waiting for you, sister.”

  A new tremor shook the crystalline surface. Lightning flashed through the colossal clouds of dust and seemed to want to break the vault. Like the others, Dawn's body was absorved by the dense fog.

  Olivia turned to Silas who in all that time had not stopped screaming. She brushed away the damp locks that had stuck to his sweaty face.

  Suddenly she felt her legs lift off the ground and clinging to Silas' body they both began to ascend towards the red eyes. Silas' cries subsided but he kept a blank stare and didn't seem to notice what was going on around him, while Olivia fell into a panic thinking they were both about to be devoured by those two bonfires of pure fire.

  But the creature merely continued speaking:

  “It is your choice, Olivia of Shadowrock. Break your bond with the witches and you can live a quiet life, even go beyond the seas away from those who wanted to use you. Otherwise, you risk unleashing a storm of destruction that will wipe out everything you have ever known. The lives of thousands of innocents are in your hands,” as he said this, a whirlwind of colored clouds wrapped around them and hid the creature from their view. “As for you, chimera, be thankful that your punishment has not been worse and remember the pain the next time you think to take revenge against humans.”

  By this time the intensity of the whirlwind increased and Olivia lost any sense of direction as she was surrounded by explosions of dust and golden lightning that threatened to dig into her like claws. She couldn't help but let go of Silas. She tried to call out to him but her voice was silenced by the dust and she felt she could no longer breathe. She was drowning. She couldn't think, she couldn't even react. She just spun, faster and faster, until the darkness sank over her again.

  A thud against the floor woke her from her trance. A shudder ran through her body, and when she opened her eyes, she was no longer floating, no longer swirling, but the dizziness lingered in her body, as if she were still spinning in her mind. Her fingers touched the cold surface of the stone and thanks to the glow of some incandescent stones nearby she recognized the shape of the bars that separated her from the rest of the dungeon. Her breathing quickened, and slowly, she began to realize where she was.

  She tried to move but immediately felt several chains holding her to the wall. She looked around for Silas. No sign of him.

  “Silas!”

  To her relief, he did not take long to answer.

  “I'm here...” His voice sounded tired but at least he was not complaining of pain. “Though I don't know where... Where are we?”

  “In the City Hall dungeon,” answered the voice of Rovenna Astra, whose dark silhouette appeared from the other side of the bars, startling Olivia. “I've been waiting for two whole days for you to wake up,” she said, clearly displeased. “The last time we met, we didn’t have time to talk, but after what happened, I think we owe each other a long conversation, Olivia of Shadowrock, or whatever the bloody hell you are.”

  Thank you for reading!

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