27 TSoT/MMW: Pomegranate Valspar & A Prophecy
"Now I see fire, inside the mountain/I see fire, burning the trees/And I see fire, hollowing souls/And I see fire, blood in the breeze/And I hope that you'll remember me..." -Jasmine Ying Thompson (cover), Ed Sheeran, song "I See Fire"
10 am Azores/6 am EST, Two Weeks Later, January 2046, Matilda's Bedroom, Madalena Village, Azores, Epicenter Pico No. 23
The sheets spread across her, the feathery pages aflutter in a torrential, lashing hurricane as she attempted in vain to take a single piece of parchment and decipher the puzzling calligraphy. A gargantuan Dal segno notation emerged from the hurricane's eye and flew toward her head, knocking her out instantaneously in one unceremonious swoop.
And darkness fell.
She awoke in an amphitheater hall, completely empty and made entirely of marble, her assignment being to match music theory notations to various shades of the color orange. The recitation began. Marigold Vesper. Marigold Sheen. Tangerine. Lion. Peach sorbet. Pomegranate Valspar. Pumpkin. Wort Rose.
The next set of swatches appeared as the earlier was set aside in a shuffled pile across from her.
Mandarin Pittsburgh. Marmalade. Hortensia Rose. Morning dusk. Jasmine. Medallion. Alstroemeria. Wandflower. Mustard. Honey. She hurriedly recited the nomenclature from memory. Only ten minutes, then five, then two, then one minute until the end. An evil force crept up behind her—she knew it to be so—as the man roared and uttered a lethal curse. She felt a warm shielding sensation; the reverberating force of the curse knocking her down. Rather than panic, she slackened her weight and remained prostrate on the hard flooring, as she was under orders—telepathic orders—to pretend to have fainted.
Matilda groggily sat up in bed; on a whim, she reached for her phone and typed in all the color swatches off the top of her memory. Perhaps they'd come in useful today.
11 am Azores/7 am EST, Epicenter Pico No. 23 to Purgatory Corporation
Landing in a darkened corridor of the Gateway Subway Station, Matilda dusted herself off and proceeded to the exit, as she noticed a lapis lazuli figure approach once more from the lingering shadows. "I require your service," Parker the Portender's voice began. Sheesh, not again—
However, Matilda was not alone this time; Wyatt accompanied her from a distance. "Have you reconsidered my offer?" the blue man drew closer as she hastened up the stairs and onto the adjoining sidewalk. She whirled around. "What part of no don't you understand?" she loosened an earring and sent a spurt of flame shooting squarely onto Parker's left shoulder as he bellowed in agony.
"You'll pay for this, witch!" He snarled, as he beat the flame out and vanished.
11:05 am Azores/7:05 am EST, Epicenter Pico No. 23 to Purgatory Corporation
Wyatt caught up with Matilda. "Are you ok?" he panted, stooping over to catch his breath. Matilda nodded. After the past weekend with Leo, Wyatt, and her parents, Wyatt had agreed to accompany Matilda to work for her own safety, until the Portender threat was gone. Matilda thought she could handle it on her own, but acquiesced for her father Harry's sake.
"Yes," she managed. "This isn't over though."
They silently walked past Gateway Park, cutting across Stanwix, and orbed directly from a hidden alley to the 88th floor alcove.
9:09 am, Wyatt's Office, 88th Floor, Purgatory Corporation (PC), One PC Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
He heard a knock at the door and opened it. Seeing no one, he was about to close the door again when he felt something touch his feet.
YOU ARE READING
Matilda, Child of Fire
RomancePart III to On Lorenz Theory & Love, twenty-one-year-old Matilda Valensi, youngest daughter of Macy and Harry, loses her temper at her Tessera Nightclub job, accidentally setting fire to the place. For community service, she's a junior counselor at...
