The Rose of Flames: Rising Tides

Chapter 7

August 10th, 2047

11:10 A.M.

Switzerland

There was a soft thud as Catherine closed the door behind her. She'd just returned to the apartment she'd rented after going out to get some food. Carrying a bag of groceries in one hand and a cup of brand coffee in another, she slipped in further and placed the grocery bag down on the counter of the small kitchen her temporary home had. Taking a sip of her drink, Catherine turned and looked out the window with a sigh.

This could be worse, I guess, she thought to herself as she leaned against the windowsill, feet crossed beneath her as her hidden eyes darted back and forth beneath her hood. It felt nice to relax for a change; she was safe here, right?

Gritting her teeth, she reminded herself that she'd never been truly safe as she gazed down at her fingers. Tiny scars, innumerable to count for any normal human, littered each slender finger. Knowing it was better to not look beneath the torn gloves, she took another sip of the brown elixir in her hand. Better stay energized, just in case.

Catherine finally turned away from the window after a bit of soothing silence. She set the coffee cup down on the desk that came with the apartment and sat in the accompanying chair, rooting around in a drawer. Pulling out a large, rather old sketchbook and some drawing utensils, she set the pad down and flipped it open. Drawing after drawing, some better than others, flew past her vision, though she slowed on some drawings in particular.

She stopped entirely once she reached a picture of two cats, one much younger than the other. The older cat was a furious-looking tomcat, sporting thick black fur, and piercing green eyes. The older tom was facing the younger cat in front of him, a little she-cat with gray tabby fur, spots, and stripes of various shades of gray, black, and white littering her body. Her white paws gleamed in the light of the clearing the two were in. Catherine's eyes darkened as she focused on the older tomcat. His front paw was raised, claws unsheathed, and scarlet blood dripped down to the ground. The little she-cat was crouching, gazing up at the tom with horror in her brilliant blue eyes as blood dripped from a long wound running down from next to her left eye and to the bottom of her jaw.

Wincing at how well she'd drawn the scene, she shook her head and flipped past it, to another drawing, though this time it was a bit less violent and graphic. The names of the characters rang out in her mind: Kestrel for the tom and Boulder for the wounded kitten. The next drawing was of a large dragon swimming through the sea, large wings, midnight-blue on the top and navy blue underneath, flapping. Catherine could almost see the events happening in front of her eyes. Blinking, she gazed down at a shape around the dragon's neck: a necklace, with an amulet hanging from it.

Suddenly conscious again of her own, Catherine reached to her neck and slipped her necklace out from beneath her clothes. Holding the amulet in her palm, her hidden eyes traveled over it. Its gems were fused, one part of it a watery sapphire, another a blazing red ruby, and two other parts were an icy diamond and an electric amber. Finally, nestled in the center of the four gems, was a round onyx, dark as shadows and almost acting like the beating heart of her necklace. Sighing, she let go of it and allowed the gemstones to fall to her chest. They thumped against it, and Catherine flipped to the next page, where many jewels were lined up as if in a list. The same five gems were listed there, though there were element names above them and gem names below them.

The gems were lined up in two rows, one with five and the other six. It was listed in alphabetical order by gemstone name, starting with amber. Large sparks were crackling behind the drawing, and a single word was written above it: "Electricity." Next to it was a citrine, with the word "Sand" above it. A dune rose around the citrine gem. The pattern continued: the diamond had "Ice," a danburite with "Light," and emerald with "Nature." There was always some sort of representation of the gemstone's respective element behind or around it.