Paranora

Chapter #5 PARANORA

She Froze.

Her eyes glowed a neon magenta, and so did the stone. Cloe backed away as the air started popping. The black orb that rested inside the altar caught on fire. The flames blazed away, heating the orb into a red hot ball; before turning the same color as her eyes.

"Nora!" Cloe yelled

Nora stepped forward as if being driven by an external force. Once the magic stone touched the glowing orb, the entire room burst into flames. Turning the twinkling, dark violet crystals into a fiery red magenta, then the flames extinguished. The crystals lighted the entire place.

Cloe got up unharmed and walked around, and an overwhelmed expression was fixed on Nora's face as she remain paralyzed. Cloe walked around her, and the magenta was flowing through her veins.

"Nora?"

Cloe reached out. When her fingers made contact, there was a spark, then fire leaped on to her hand. The magenta flowed up her arm to her heart then spread throughout the rest of her body.

My body is burning up. Nora, help!

Cloe's grabbing at her chest and falls, as she hits the ground, her mind raced out of her body. She raced through the floor; while her body laid several meters away. When Cloe looked up, Nora's face had relaxed. Cloe's heart glowed and pulsed, suddenly the color changed. The wavy magenta glow became a more fiery red and it reached out, dragging her back into her body.

"Cloe!" Nora rushed to her aide, helping her off the ground. "What happened to you?"

"Me!? What happened to you?!" Cloe said, getting up.

"I don't know, but I feel energized. I feel good!"

Nora's eyes glowed, while Cloe's were a fiery furnace. Nora stared into the flames; their intensity was scary. The fire died down and her eyes returned to normal, so did Nora's.

"Your eye-"

The elder lady reappeared, "Come with me."

She walked off, Nora and Cloe fell over each other, trying to catch up. She led them out of the shrine and through several alleys before taking a left. The ground got sandy and on the other side of the hill, there was a vault door. The elder lady opened the door; it was her house. It was the perfect mixture of a cozy home and a military bunker, equipped with extra security. Another part of the house was a hippie and another part was combat-ready.

"Please sit down." They sat, then she walked off and brought back a book. "A gift from your grandma."

"What is it?"

"Your training."

"Her training? Who are you?"

"Kleio, I'm a friend of her grandmother's."

"How did you know about the magic stones?"

"I'll tell you this, like her grandmother, Nora just unlocked her magic. You'll notice the difference. Follow me."

Cloe put the book in her knapsack, and they followed.

Kleio led them outside and around the side of the hill. As they turned the corner, she was gone, and the vault front door slammed shut, sealing it off once again.

The girls just stood there looking around... Nora laughed out loud.

"People are so dramatic, I swear."

"I guess I'll finish showing you the village," Cloe said

"Let's do something else, where do you stay?"