Page 14 of A Whisper of Cinders

I can’t shake off the feeling that there’s something wrong with the memory I saw. I’m not seeing the whole picture, but right when I feel minutes away from figuring it out, my mind freezes. The headache returns instantly.

I dive into my book, disappear into the world in my hands. Time ticks away as I read and I lose myself into the words until a bead of sweat travels down my hairline.

I am not reading a spicy scene, yet I am burning. The room temperature is warm, but it shouldn’t be warm enough to sweat. I wipe my hand across my upper lip and dive back into my book.

As my eyes trail over the words, my vision starts to blur until the words become a black spot on the paper. I rub my eyes and the stain is gone, but so is the common room and the worn-out seat I was sitting in. I am back in the house that feels familiar, but doesn’t at the same time.

Flames are all around me as I stand in the middle of the same room. I turn around and a woman stands there, mouth moving, speaking words I cannot hear. She looks terrified, soot already tinting her cheeks with black. She’s screaming something, but the sound doesn’t reach me either.

Suddenly, she grabs my arms in an iron grip. I try to break free, but it’s like she’s glued to me.

I blink and everything goes dark for a moment and when it returns, the room has changed. Gone are the walls, completely burned down and all that is left is smouldering wood and ashes.

The woman lays in front of me, her body intact, but not breathing. I don’t have to check her pulse to know so, her heart has stopped beating, the expression edged on her face one full of desperation.

My heart pounds erratically as I take in what is played out in front of me. My arms are covered in sooth and if I take a closer look at my hands, I notice small sparks hovering around them.

Right when I’m about to take a step forward, the burned down house disappears and I’m in the seat in Anima. Yet the scent of smoke still stings my nose, making my throat dry and my eyes tear up.

A sound draws my attention to the window in front of me, glowing eyes watch me in the shadows and I quickly turn around, but nothing’s there.

What the actual fuck was that?

CHAPTER SIX

We are one united front, or at least, that’s what Anima wants to let them believe. The parents, family, friends or caregivers that decide that House of Anima is the best place for their children are fooling themselves.

Because look at all the nature and the modern looking building. Who wouldn’t want for their kids to be treated here?

It’s all a facade. They explain that the fences around the domain are to keep the wild animals away. It’s for our safety, what a joke.

The parents leave their child at the fences and wave their little ones goodbye.

Ami tugs on my pinky. “It’s time.”

The children - eight of them this time - look like scared little birds too afraid to take their first flight. “I hate this,” I sigh.

“I know you do, but you know there isn’t much you can do right now,” Ami whispers back.

One of the guards pushes a small blond haired boy a bit too hard in my opinion, making me take a step forward. A hand lands on my upper arm. “Don’t, Maily, you’ll get in trouble if you intervene.”

She is right about that, but I would risk it if only to comfort those poor souls. “They don’t have to be so hard on them, they’re just children.”

My teeth sink into the inside of my cheek, biting on the skin there. The blond boy falls to the ground and although I can’t make out the words the guard is saying, the tone is cruel and harsh. Heat courses through me. How dare they —

“Ah, damn it, Mai, that hurts.”

Shock washes over me and I immediately loosen the grip I had on her fingers. “Shit, sorry.”

“Since when did your hold become that strong?” She looks me up and down. Twice. “Have you been working out or something?”

I look at my hands, noticing they look a little red. I clench and unclench them, but the red hue remains.

Ami turns me around by my shoulders. “Hey, I’m kidding. I’m fine, really.”

An image flashes in front of my eyes.

A house burning down, flames spreading like wildfire. Someone’s screaming. It might be me.