Page 37 of His Blazing Witch (The Silver City #3)

"Mara! Mara, stop!" I yell.

I know that bitch can hear me! I keep banging on the mirror, hoping one of them will notice, but both Liam and Nora look like they can't hear me. They barely glance at the mirror! My eyes meet the other Mara's. She's really... in my body. I see her wink, a glimpse of blue in her iris, and she bends down, grabbing the knife. Oh, Moon Goddess, no, no...

"Mara! Mara, fucking stop!" I yell, banging against the mirror, as loud as I can. "Stop! Stop, please! Don't hurt them! Leave them alone! Leave them and come back here, you damn ghost bitch!"

I start crying uncontrollably as she follows them inside.

I can't believe it. This is fucking nightmare! I keep crying, helpless, but nothing else happens, they're gone. They're gone and I'm fucking trapped in this mirror! What went wrong? Why, why did she suddenly turn like that? It can't be! The Mara Clarissa talked about in her diary was good. I know it. I didn't feel any evil from her until now, so what, what happened? I can't get out of my mind that spark of blue in her eyes at the last minute. ...Was that even really Mara?

More importantly, what the hell do I do now? How do I get out of here? Will they even realize there's something wrong before it's too late? She's not me, she just has my body. Won't they realize that? Even Liam, his bond is with me, not whoever is in that body!

...Or is that all there is? A physical relationship, some chemical reaction between us? Something damn... artificial. That can be changed with some damn body swapping witchery.

No, no, no, Mara, don't start being negative now. Your friends need you.

I look around, wondering if I can find something to help, but there's really nothing here. It's not even a room, it's just like a dark bubble, with no floor or walls. As if I was trapped in my own mind, which has got to be true somehow. What the hell can I do here? I glance down, realizing I'm still bleeding. The blood seems to fall into something like nowhere... Crap, this looks really bad...

"Spark! Spark!"

My last resort is to call out to my cat, but I have no idea if he can hear me. I wait and try calling him a few more times, but nothing happens. Moon Goddess, I hope he's more useful wherever he is, because I could seriously use a clue right now... I glance around me once more, at a loss on what to do.

That's when something happens. On my left, something suddenly appears, a large oval emitting some bright light. I frown and get closer, until the brightness disappears to show what's going on outside. What the hell?! That's me! I mean, the other Mara! What's going on?

" You really didn't manage to do anything? " asks Liam's voice.

Wait, Liam is there too? I get closer and realize the other Mara's washing her hands, probably facing another mirror! So that's how it works... She glances up to glare at me briefly. I know you see me, you damn bitch... I violently bang against the mirror, as strongly as I can, but nothing happens. Maybe she's ignoring me, but behind her, Liam is standing there with his arms crossed and doesn't seem to be noticing anything either.

"Liam! Liam, I'm right here!" I yell.

" I didn't. Why do you keep asking? "

" I don't know... Something feels different, " he says, stepping back.

Moon Goddess, he knows. He can sense something is wrong! I can tell in the way he's standing away from her. Liam wouldn't leave me alone to wash an injury, he would be right there next to me. We can barely bear to be apart, yet now he won't make a move toward her.

Damn, that's my man. If only I could tell him I'm right here...

" Are you alright? " he asks, frowning.

I glance closer, down at what's going on in the sink. The other Mara glares at me, but I want to know what's happening. ...The injury? She keeps flushing the cut under the water, but the blood won't stop. Why? I look down at my own cut, still bleeding too. I couldn't care less because of my current situation and I did mistreat my fingers while banging against that mirror, but... wait, is that why? I grab my finger, and pinch it, forcing more blood out.

" Ah! "

Holy crap, that's it. If I'm bleeding, the wound on my body still bleeds; the volume of blood in the sink increases just as I pinched my wound. That's still my body, I'm still connected to it, and she can't heal if I'm not healed. Interesting.

I slap myself, and the other Mara opens her eyes wide, glaring at me and suddenly holding her cheek. So she does feel the pain if I'm feeling it... Well, you deserved that one for sure, you damn bitch.

" Mara? " Liam calls her.

" I'm fine. Just... bring me a towel. "

" Okay... "

Liam goes out of sight, and she glares at me.

" You'd better stay still and behave, " she hisses.

"Trust me, there's no way I'm going to let you mess with them, you bitch," I growl.

She clicks her tongue, and that makes me curious. Does that mean I can really mess with her? So, she can't do anything she wants, because this is my body. She won't be able to avoid staring at a mirror or seeing her reflection all the time. There's got to be something I can do about this messed up situation, I'm sure.

Liam comes back, wrapping her hand in a towel with a frown.

" Liam... "

I don't like the way she calls out his name. What is she going to...?

" What? "

" Can you kiss me? " she asks.

Freaking Moon Goddess, that damn bitch. How fucking dare she?! She glances at me in the mirror with a slight smile, but facing her, Liam isn't smiling. He chuckles nervously.

" It's... a first that you're asking, " he mumbles.

" Please? " she insists.

Oh fuck, I don't want to see this. Don't touch him. Don't touch Liam, don't touch my man, you damn bitch! I bang against the mirror, as hard as I can. Don't. Fucking. Touch. Him!

Liam hesitates, but he leans in closer, glancing at her lips. Damn it, Liam, it's not me! Liam!

When their lips touch, I feel a horrible pain scorching from inside. Something in me growls and whines furiously, upset with that scene. Don't touch our mate! He's ours, ours! Damn it!

I grab my injury and bite my wound furiously.

" Ouch! " she suddenly whines, stepping back while holding her hand.

" Mara? Damn, your finger! "

" It's fine, just... just give me that damn towel! "

She grabs it from his hand and leaves, sending me a death glare. That's right, you damn ghost witch, I swear I’ll chop off all my fingers before I let you touch my mate!

Liam stays behind, and I can see him, standing alone in that bathroom with a baffled expression. He glances my way, but not at the mirror, in the sink full of blood. He frowns. Moon Goddess, did he get it? He has to know there's something wrong with that fake woman! He sighs and leaves, leaving my heart on a string. Damn it...

I step back and take a deep breath. I need to calm down. At least, it doesn't seem like she can attack them right away. I check my hand, but it's still full of blood; I bit it like a crazy dog. Well, I don't care about the pain if it can buy me some time. Still, I'm in trouble right now... What do I do?

"Spark! Spark, please..."

I sigh and keep calling him. I make sure to keep glancing all around me, in case the other Mara finds herself in front of another mirror. I can't believe I got myself in such a mess. Where did it go wrong? For once, I was so sure I was about to do something right, and I...

"Hi."

I jump and turn around, only to face a little girl.

...What the hell is happening now? I look around, but she's alone, sitting down and looking up at me with big curious eyes. Big... blue eyes. What the...

"Mara?"

"Hi, Mara," she answers with a big smile.

Now I'm so confused. If she is... Mara Blue, then who the heck is in my body? In Clarissa's body?

I keep staring, but that child looks very young, something like, I don't know, six or seven? Although it feels like she could be older or younger, her physique is like going back and forth. Her long brown curls keep getting shorter or longer, and her face is like a baby at times too, and like a child’s a few seconds later. However, her appearance stays the same, and I definitely see a resemblance to Nora. Her skin is a bit darker and her eyes are a different shade of blue, blue like the stormy ocean.

I sit down, confused.

"You're really Mara, aren't you?" I ask.

"Yes!" she exclaims, joyful.

"Wha-... I mean, what are you doing here?"

"Clarissa said I could stay, so I stayed. But now I'm very lonely..."

I'm trying to make sense of all of this. This is Mara, the real Mara Blue, Nephera's lost child. She's been here all this time! In... inside me. Her big blue eyes look at me with so much innocence, she's different from that reflection in the mirror, so... what happened?

"Mara, do you know who has our body? Clarissa's body?"

Mara suddenly looks scared and about to cry. She shakes her head, her dark brown locks flying all around.

"No, no, I can't say. She's going to be mad at me if I say..."

"Mara, that person is out there with my friends, and she could hurt them. You understand? She can really hurt my friends. Please, you have to tell me who it is."

Mara makes a pitiful face, as if she wanted to hide. She's pulling on... that blue tunic she's wearing, like a baby's shirt. What is that thing? I don't have time to analyze, though. She glances at the mirror.

"You won't tell her I told you?" she asks.

"I promise I won't tell her anything about you, Mara. I'll protect you if she gets mad."

"Please don't get mad at her... It's our fault... Mommy wasn't like this..."

Wait a second. Mommy?

My blood goes cold. Her mom? What the hell, is that... Nephera in there? Oh shit, shit...

"Mara, what happened?" I ask. "Why is Nephera here? Why is your mom still here?"

Mara starts sobbing pitifully, like a child caught doing something wrong.

"I'm sorry..." she sobs. "I didn't mean to... but I really missed Mom, and... and... Clarissa didn't want to, but I wanted to see Mommy just once..."

"Clarissa? What did Clarissa say?"

"Sh-she said mommy is too evil... but I didn't listen... I messed up..."

So Mara tried to call back her dead mother? The necromancy books Kelsi found flash into my mind. That's why!

"Mara, Clarissa wanted to see her mom too, right?"

"Yes, b-but... then... Clarissa said it's bad... and too dangerous... She said I couldn't use magic to bring Mommy back... That it would be too bad, but... but I didn't listen..."

That's why. They really were studying necromancy. Clarissa and Mara had a lot in common, but mostly, they had both lost their mothers when they were young. They found themselves longing for their mothers. However, Clarissa was almost a grown adult, she could see right from wrong. Mara couldn't.

"You lent your magic to Clarissa, didn't you?" I ask. "Clarissa didn't have magic, so you lent her yours?"

Mara nods.

"Clarissa is my best friend!" she says. "She found me when I was all alone... So I played with her, and we played with my magic. Clarissa is so smart, she taught me a lot of things! She taught me how to speak and use my magic! She really showed me a lot of things! But Clarissa was sick... I didn't want her to die... I didn't want her to die..."

She starts crying again, while I'm trying to untangle all this, with what I learned from Clarissa's journal.

So Clarissa somehow found Mara's... ghost, soul, or spirit whatever, while she was studying witches and magic. Somehow, Mara had the magic, but she was still an unborn child with no knowledge of the world. That's why Clarissa was in charge of everything, studying the magic, making decisions for them. However, Clarissa knew her own body was on the decline, and getting worse from using Mara's magic that was never meant for her. That's why she was saying Mara was dangerous. She was the one with the magic, but had no idea what she was doing!

Did Clarissa feel that Nephera could be involved too?

"Mara, we need to stop her. Are you sure it's Nephera... I mean, your mom?"

Mara grimaces.

"I... I don't know... Mommy is different now..."

"Different how?"

"She took... The Dark Magic..."

"What Dark Magic?" I ask, confused.

"The one that was in Clarissa's body... She... Mommy said she could bring Clarissa back if I gave it to her, but... but now I don't know... Mommy is very different..."

Damn it, something really went wrong here. What the heck really happened, and what Dark Magic was it? Inside Clarissa? Could it have been related to her disease somehow? I have so many questions, but for now, I need to be able to do something. I glance up at the two mirrors. It looks like they stay even if the other Mara isn't in sight anymore... So the more reflective surfaces she encounters, the more I'll be able to see.

" You know how I always trust my instincts, right? "

Selena! I run to the bathroom's mirror, only to see her walk in, frowning, and Nora closing the door behind them, still carrying Lily.

" I feel it, in my gut, " she continues. " There's something wrong. What the hell happened with that mirror thing she did? "

" I don't know, it lasted merely a few seconds... Liam said he feels odd about her too. Moreover, I don't understand why she wants to speak to Damian and Nate. Wasn't she scared of them? "

" Yeah, I thought so too... It's weird how she insisted on seeing them. Tell Liam to be careful about Mara, I have a bad feeling. I already had that weird feeling about her before, but now it's like ten times worse. "

" I understand. "

The two of them nod, and Selena leaves the bathroom, letting Nora rinse the bloodied sink. Lily is being all chatty in her arms, and I feel so bad. She's in danger, they all are. Thank Moon Goddess they already realized something was off! Did Selena always feel that part of... evil inside me? Not from me, but from Nephera?

The voices... Moon Goddess, that explains all the voices. I take a deep breath. At least, I may have a little bit of time before she wreaks havoc. She doesn't have magic, I do. She only has my body, and I can do whatever I want with it. I won't hesitate to break an arm or leg if it keeps her away from Liam and my friends... but I don't know enough yet.

I turn to the young Mara, who is watching me with her big blue eyes.

"Mara, do you want to help me?" I ask.

"I don't know... Help you do what?"

"To learn about magic, Mara. All of your magic. You said you taught Clarissa. I mean, Clarissa said it, right? You studied magic together. You're so good at it. Please, can you teach me more?"

Her eyes light up, and she stands up on her feet.

"Sure! I'm very good at magic, all the old ones taught me everything?"

"The old ones?"

"Yes! Mommy's mommy, the mommy of her mommy, all of them! They are so nice to me! Can't you see them?"

She points at something behind her, but to me, there's nothing. I shake my head.

"No, Mara, sorry. I think I... uh, I might not be good enough to see them yet."

...Or just not dead enough.

She chuckles.

"It's okay! Clarissa showed me how to talk to them, I didn't know before too! Now, what do you want to study? We can do magic glyphs, or cast fire spells! Or we can make magic circles!"

"How about you teach me how she took my body? Can I go back the same way?"

Mara glances at the mirror above us, frowning.

"Not from this side. Here, it's different... than on the other side."

Crap, I figured there might be some technicalities...

"Mara, look, look!" she says, pulling my arm.

She smiles, and extends her hands in front of her. A flame appears, and little Mara makes it dance on her fingers. I try to smile, and do the same, to show her. My flame appears, but I quickly realize it's just not as stable. Hers is extremely calm and controlled, while mine is just like any other wildfire... She chuckles, and to my surprise, her fire leaves her hand to come toward me! I step back, surprised, but her fire moves smoothly like a cat and comes to my fire, absorbing it and getting bigger. She stole my flame! It runs back to her, and I have no control over it.

"You're really bad," she chuckles.

I grimace. And here I thought I had mastered the thing...

"Your fire is a bit mean," she says.

"Mean? How mean?"

She points her fingers at my black scars.

"It burns you. Because it thinks you're not its master."

I stay speechless. Now that I think about it, she's controlling a lot of fire at once, but she doesn't have the slightest burn mark on her... How the hell does she do that? I take a deep breath.

"...Mara, you need to teach me that."

She smiles.

"Of course, I'll teach you everything! You'll see, it's so fun when you can play with fire!"

Oh right, I'll play with fire. And then, I'll burn that bad Mommy's damn ass out of our body.