Matilda, Child of Fire

TSoT/HMV: The Invisible Lady

24 TSoT/HMV: The Invisible Lady

"You haunt my dreams/There's nothing to do but believe/Just believe.../Just breathe/Lying in my bed/Another day, staring at the ceiling..." -Télépopmusik, song "Breathe"

6:45 am, Saturday, One Weekend Later, Bedroom, Madalena Village, Azores, Epicenter Pico No. 23

The spiral of flames reared its way upward in a heightened vortex, as a man plus four beings—male or were they female? jumped out and faced her in what she knew to be Vera Manor's living room. Their faces obscured, they attempted to hurl flame-shaped swords in her direction as she screamed and ducked, trying in vain to use her telekinesis to deflect the onslaught of flickering arsenal. Why weren't her powers working? Perhaps telekinesis was possible for molecularly solid objects, but not for mutable substances, she surmised to herself as she quickly ducked behind the plush velveteen couch, which became reduced to smithereens with the next beam of coursing light. The man turned around, his face a shellacked lapis lazuli blue and she gasped aloud. Parker. "We meet again, Charmed One," he snarled, his mouth widening to form a nefarious grin that sent shivers throughout her body—

Macy sprang up in bed, flushed and sweating profusely. Breathing hard, she tried to calm herself, visualizing happy thoughts—her children, the safe haven of Vera Manor, her sisters. It was only a dream. And yet, it felt so real. She looked over at the empty space next to her. Where was Harry?

"Love—" Macy gave a sudden start, "if we don't hurry up, we'll be late—" Harry stopped and peered into her eyes. "You've seen something. What is it?"

Macy shook her head. "It's probably just menopause—I looked up the symptoms earlier—sweating and hot flashes—the dream I had...it was probably nothing..." she trailed off uncertainly.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Remember what I said eons ago about learning to trust your own voice?" Macy knew what he was implying.

"Ok, so, I had this dream there were four fiery people-beings that came through a fire hurricane and descended on Vera Manor, led by Parker. Except," Macy thought for a moment. "It wasn't him. He transformed, or...reinvented himself, or...something."

Harry's expression darkened. "Macy, we need to tell your sisters—"

"It's probably just menopause! Or...or the vegan cookie dough ice cream I had last night, or..." Macy looked up at her husband. "Maybe evil Parker's paying a visit," she whispered.

"And the flames—who do we know has an unremitting affinity for fire?" asked Harry.

"Matilda."

7 am, Morgana's Kitchen, Madalena Village, Azores, Epicenter Pico Neighborhood

"Love," asked Harry again once Morgana was out of earshot, "are you absolutely sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine!" snapped Macy, sipping her cup of coffee, provided by Morgana before the start of the Zoom interview sessions. Together, the three had narrowed down the magical obstetrical candidates to three people.

"Here's a snapshot of the folks," Morgana returned to the kitchen with a set of notebooks, pens, and interview material, as she read off the first sheet, copies of which she distributed simultaneously. "The first candidate is Medusa—"

"Wait, the Medusa?" Macy was jolted out of her sleep-deprived haze. "As in, see her and you turn into stone?"

Morgana nodded. "Well, a grand-niece or something, so I've heard."

"How would the birthing process work if you can't see your own doctor?" Harry posited quizzically. "Isn't one of the key tenets doctor-patient interactions?"