Pentacle

Smoky Veils of Home

Smoky Veils of Home

Petunia Everthorne stood within a dense, white fog, her breath hitching as the image of the terrified girl faded away. The haunted mist illustration clung to her olive complexion, sending shivers down her spine. She swept her long, ebony hair behind her ear and surveyed her new surroundings: an endless wooden path flanked by an abyss on either side. Her violet eyes narrowed as she glanced behind, only to find the same never-ending trail, leaving her with little choice of where to go.

Suddenly, the air rippled a few feet in front of her, causing her to groan in protest. A moment later, an elderly woman with long silvery hair and lilac eyes materialized from the once lively atmosphere. Petunia's heart skipped a beat as she recognized the woman. She was as mesmerizing as Petunia, with a twinkle in her gaze and a warm smile.

"I told you to stop doing this, Aggie," Petunia scowled, crossing her arms, unfazed by the woman's unusual arrival.

"You never listened to me when you were growing up, so I think I've earned the right to ignore you now," Aggie replied, the creases around her eyes deepening as the edge of her lips curled upward. She approached Petunia, closing the gap between them. "So, no hello for your great aunt, huh?"

"What do you want?" Petunia asked, her tone sharp.

"It's time to come home," Aggie answered.

"Not happening," Petunia snapped, determined to keep moving down the path despite not knowing where it led.

"You've always been so stubborn," Aggie grumbled as she followed her. "But you don't have a choice, Nia."

"Orders like that is exactly why I'm not going back," Petunia retorted, quickening her pace, hoping to lose her great aunt in the darkness.

"Petunia, you can't keep running away from your responsibilities. You saw what's happening, I know it," Aggie's voice reverberated through Petunia's mind as she materialized in front of her. She grabbed Petunia's arm with a vice-like grip, her countenance solemn. "We don't have much time left."

"I said no, Aggie! Let go of me—and stay out of my dreams," Petunia snapped, jerking her arm from Aggie's grasp. Her momentum betrayed her, sending her tumbling over the edge to plummet into the dark void's depths.

                                                                                    ***

Petunia bolted upright in bed, heart pounding, lungs gasping for air, and eyes still clenched shut. Even though she knew it was only a dream, the sensation of falling to her doom was never an easy one. A piercing scream wrenched her from the lingering traces of her daze.

"Mommy!" cried a shrill, desperate voice, every syllable laced with urgency. "Mommy!"

"Zinny?" Petunia tried to respond, but her words were garbled by a bout of coughing. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by a thick plume of black smoke that stung them. She instantly realized flames were devouring the room, the fire hungrily inching down the hallway. "Zinnia!"

"Zinny, it's okay, Mommy's here," Petunia shouted, her voice cutting through the curtain of fire.

"Mommy!" The tiny voice broke through a fit of coughs.

Extending her hand towards the burning wall, Petunia quickly withdrew it, feeling her skin blister from the searing heat.

"You can do this. You have to do this," she whispered fiercely to herself, pacing before the doorway, but what exactly was she going to do? Zinnia's anguished scream spurred her into action. Petunia's eyes flashed a silvery blue, and a matching crackling light swathed her like a suit of armor. She rushed into the room, coughing and wheezing, as she sprinted to Zinnia, who was huddled in the corner of her once pink bedroom. The young girl whimpered, cradling her scorched leg.