Blazing Skies

Chapter 6

I honestly have no idea what happened. One moment I was set up to go to a very shady meeting, the next I was laying on my back in a grassy field. Let me rephrase. Laying on my back, in a grassy field, under a late noon sun, totally perfect, with a draconian muttering something about rifts and how I shouldn't be there standing above me.

"Using the rifts like this, do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You've got to be crazy, acting like that. Traveling is well and good, but take it down a notch."

"I didn't use any rifts or anything, I swear!"

"You've got a great deal of power, you could make them work for you."

"That would be cool, but all I got was spontaneous combustion."

"I see. That's not your total potential, or even the essence of your power."

"Then can you tell me what I am and what I can do?"

"Simple, you're a pyrokinetic with an affinity for healing, animation, and the general mental abilities."

"Great. So how do I stop the whole randomly bursting into flame thing?"

"You've just got to believe in yourself."

"Great. Who are you exactly and where am I, anyway?"

"Oh, welcome to my own personal pocket dimension. Yeah, you're the first interesting thing that's washed up in a while now, sorry if I'm being obsessive."

I got up.

"So you use the rifts to go anywhere you want?"

"Anywhere, any time."

He looked me over.

"Say, you look like someone up for adventure. I have one question for you. Would you, miss Astral, like to join me?"

"How did you know my name?"

"Your mind reading abilities work both ways, they make yours easier to access if you don't get them under control."

"Oh."

"So, about my request..."

"No."

"You could find your parents."

"No."

"You could see amazing things."

"No."

"Fine, what can I do to convince you?"

"Can I keep it from happening?"

"Keep what?"

"That day."

"Oh, yes. That one. Brief question. What do I look like to you?"

"A draconian, and could I go back and stop it?"

"Interesting. They're rare on your planet?"

"Only a few small colonies, stop changing the subject."

"Kind of odd, and highly coincidental. Given I'm the last one."

"The last of what?"

"Not important. No, you couldn't go back. Well, yes, you could, but you'd be dead and then you wouldn't be alive now to go back and stop it and... Well, you'd have a paradox, and you'd really just break the universe."

"How do you know this?"

"It's my job to keep people from doing just that."

"I take it I wouldn't exist if it weren't for you?"

"Nope."

He looked distant.

"Nothing would. Look up, Mira, what do you see?"

"Stars. Hundreds of millions of stars."

"And do you want to know what happens to those stars when I keep something that shouldn't happen from happening?"

"Go on."

"It winks out. That's the way it works here. To put things in perspective, when I first started, there were no distinguishable stars. Just a blinding light."

"What happens when you finally fix it all?"

"Well, I'll die. The universe won't need me anymore. Job done, end of story."

"But don't you have time to enjoy things along the way?"

"You think I'm at work all the time? Nah, I mostly travel, but the rifts have a way of guiding me into trouble."

"Almost like me. And my job."

"I know."

"In the end, we're not so different."

"Except you've got someone."

"I do?"

"Oh yeah, Marcus thinks you're cute. Love at first sight. I suppose he doesn't know."

"Yeah, that."

You're probably confused, but let me clarify. I don't feel romantic love. At all. Long story. Back to the important bits.

"So, are you sure you don't want to come?"

"Yep. I'm already a traveler. I've got a smaller bit of the universe to save, thank you for offering, though."

"Oh, and I assure you we will meet again. So, while you're here, care for a cup of tea, something to eat, I don't know."

"I'm actually slowly dying from a fairly stupid cause."

"Oh?"

"Beetle attack."

"Oh dear."

"Poisonous beetle attack."

"Wow. Well, you do have a healing gift, I could lend you a little of my power and hope to get it working for your purposes."

There was a buzzing in the air, and I'm pretty sure I passed out. I did end up on the ground, and I was getting a seriously concerned look from the draconian.

"Well, something definitely happened. Lets just hope it was the right thing. Well, off you go. And I hate to inform you, but if you die, your planet is toast."

"Lovely. I wasn't pla-"

I was gone. I don't know if he sent me or if a rift did something odd or whatever, but I found myself tied down to a floor- no, wait, strapped to a wall. There where whispers in the hall outside the room I was in.

"Just showed up-"

"Do hope she's okay."

"She won't be after he gets here."

"No idea what it is."

"I think it's intelligent."

"The chances of that are extremely low."

I rolled my eyes.

"I can hear you guys!"

The whispers stopped, replaced by a harsh laugh. The owner of said laugh walked in, he had a knife strapped to his belt and a small container in his hand. I stared dead into his eyes. A large mistake, on my part. He tossed a bit of whatever was in the container into my eyes, and I screamed in agony. When it finally stopped, I found myself to be completely blind.