Love & Magic

Chapter One - Return to Reality

I sat in the middle of a quiet yellow meadow, bright with the afternoon sun, hugging my knees tight to my chest as I tilted my head to the vast, warm sky above. This was nice, peaceful. I loved it here and couldn't for the life of me figure out why I didn't come more often. It was so much better than the dark and empty hole I'd become accustomed to. From a distance, I could hear my friends calling my name. I opened my eyes and squinted through the blinding rays of sunshine. Moya ran through the tall yellow grass of the meadow to my left, waving to me; her beautiful pink hair flowing behind her. I waved back and stood to meet her.

Then, to my right appeared a figure – a tall, handsome man with jet black hair and lovely blue eyes. I knew him...I loved him. But he was different than I remembered. His pale complexion had warmed to a soft peach, and his cerulean eyes now appeared a mundane shade of blue. He looked warm, and he looked happy. I reached out to lay my palm on his chest, wanting to feel the warmth I knew now radiated from him, and I was startled to feel the pulse of a strong heartbeat beneath my fingers.

I gasped. "Jack."

How could this be? And then another question formed in my mind. How could he be in the sunlight? He just smiled and placed his hand over mine, pressing it tightly to his chest. The heat of his skin began to rise in temperature so quickly it started to burn my fingers. I tried to pull away, but his grip was too tight. I fought against his hold, flailing my body back and forth while he just stood as still as a statue, never wavering in his gaze on my face.

Suddenly, a flame erupted from his chest. And then another from his shoulder, as if a fire was bursting from within. I panicked as I watched Jack's body erupt in a brilliant blaze, reducing it to nothing but a pile of ashes in front of me. I stared down at my charred hand, stunned, as the light breeze softly blew the rest of my beloved from my fingers. My eyes closed tightly as tears began to flood them.

I lost him, again.

Moya finally reached me and said my name, but I couldn't respond, I was filled with despair. She grabbed my shoulder and shook it hard, forcing me to turn to her and open my eyes.

Abruptly, I was sucked back into reality as if yanked from beneath cold, surging water, sounds blaring in my ears. I gasped like I'd been drowning; a sensation I was no stranger to. My beautiful meadow was gone and replaced with a dark and odorous prison cell. The stench of blood and dirt and rotting corpses stung my nose and made my stomach churn. I stumbled to an old rusty bucket in the corner of the ancient prison and heaved until my stomach was empty.

"Avery!" Moya shrieked. "We must hurry; make a decision!"

I shook my head. "No, you do it." I couldn't even look at the man who lie chained to the floor. I wasn't even sure if it was the stench of death that made me weak and nauseous or the thousand or so guilty images running through my head causing my sickness.

Jack, the man – well, vampire – I loved, had been killed on that battlefield. There was no way he could be alive and here, imprisoned in a cell beneath the city by Therians. All this time, all the things I'd done. Oden. God, to think I'd been indulging myself in a doomed relationship with the King of the Dark Court while Jack lay here underground, suffering. I hated myself in that moment, I felt like the worst person alive. I had just accepted it when I was told that Jack's body had never been found. I didn't second guess it, deny it, or go looking for him. I just assumed it was probably hard to identify any bodies in that bloody graveyard of mythical creatures.

I heard Moya sigh after a few silent moments, followed by the distinct sounds of the heavy chains rattling as she worked her way through, trying to find a means of unlocking them.