Pure Magic (Ballad of the Seer, Book One)

Chapter 16 - Sebastian

The school hallways were deserted. Lily wondered why she would be here when no one else was. She heard a thumping in the distance and ran down the hall to find the source, but every classroom was dark and silent.

"Lily!"

She turned to see Duncan. The sound she'd heard was his feet hitting the floor at a rapid pace. He looked so afraid. Probably because a shadowy figure was chasing him.

Duncan grabbed her hand as he ran past and dragged her through the hallway, keeping such a firm grip that it hurt her hand. Every time she looked back the figure was still there, just behind them, about to catch up.

They came to a dead end. There was a wall where Lily knew a door should be. Lily turned to see that the figure blocked their path.

Duncan pulled Lily close to him and held her tight. She heard a strange voice say something just as the figure lunged for them.

Suddenly, the whole world went black.

Lily opened her eyes and stared up at the darkness that surrounded her. She ran her hands over the soft bed beneath her. Her breathing slowed as she realized it was just another one of those dreams she'd been having for weeks now.

But something about this one was different than all the others. Everything was so tangible. She could still feel the buzzing electricity of Duncan's touch on her skin. It was also the first time that the darkness that haunted her dreams had taken on human form. And that gravelly whisper from the faceless creature, saying, "He is coming." Her skin broke out with goose bumps just thinking about it.

Lily wondered who he was and what it all meant. Was it really just a bad dream or something worse—a premonition of what was to come? She hoped it was the former. Dreams of future events weren't new to her, however, in the past, they were benign visions of people coming to visit or a couple breaking up. She'd never had one so horrible before.

It took a while, but Lily finally drifted back to sleep. Someone shook her a few minutes later. "Lily, wake up." she heard a voice say.

Lily mumbled something incoherent.

The person kept shaking her. When Lily heard, "He's here," her eyes popped open and she jolted up in her bed. "What?" she asked frantically.

Her mother stood by the bedside. The room was lit up with warm yellow light. She could've sworn she'd only just fallen back to sleep. And, yet, it was morning. She finally looked back at her mother. "Who's here?" Lily asked.

"Dianna," her mother said, as if that should be obvious. "She's here to take you to school. You overslept. Now, hurry up and get dressed."

"I could've sworn you said 'he's here.'" Lily told her mother.

"He, who?" her mother asked. She sighed and left the room.

Lily pursed her lips. "That's a very good question." she whispered to herself.

-

Lily was still on edge as Dianna parked at school. She jumped when someone slammed their car door too hard. She flinched when someone dropped a stack of books as they were passing. She yelped in surprise when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She relaxed only marginally upon realizing that it was Hilary and Eric. "Are you okay?" Hilary asked.

Lily nodded. "I just had this weird dream; it kinda stuck with me." She watched the corner of the football stadium, waiting for Duncan to appear.

It had been three weeks since the day Duncan told her she was a witch. They'd been practically inseparable since. He came to her house almost every afternoon to practice magic in the seldom-used ballroom, which gave them plenty of room, without worry of breaking any furniture. She'd grown to hate sunsets, which meant they had to go their separate ways, but mornings were now her favorite time of day.