Break of Dawne: Chapter 1 (Revised)
Magic flows through my veins as I produce bolts of fire from my fingertips, hitting makeshift targets around the cellar. I extend my hand with the gestures illustrated in my kata scrolls, moving my arms in the patterns described in the text. Crude sketches teach the required position for each finger. Each kata comes with instructions for when and how to use it.
As I practice the fire-form katas, the magic has an effect on my body. Lines of soft red light form arcane runes on my arms and hands, illuminating my dark gray skin. My long, curly, black hair recoils from the force produced by the fire bolts. My eyes and horns shed a bright red light that swells and dims with each bolt.
I often come down to the cellar to practice since one wrong move could burn our house down. My father set up this practice space when I started manifesting magical powers ten years ago. My eight-year-old self was so excited. I remember the first time I set Dad’s pants on fire. Good times.
A low, thunderous bellow echoes through the cellar. Then a faint scream. I bound up the cellar stairs into the main hallway that cuts through the house.
The scream was so faint that it must have come from the front of the house, likely from my baby sister, Hope. At eight years old, I guess she’s not really a baby anymore, especially since she developed her own magical powers last year. But on stormy nights like this, she still sleeps in my room, which I pass by on the way to the den. Looks like she left her finger paint supplies out again. Ugh. If she spills paint on my floor again, I’m going to practice those fire katas on her next time!
As I enter the den at the front of the house, I scan the yard through a haze of thick rain. I see my mother carrying Hope toward the house. When did this storm roll in? The sky was clear when I went to the cellar an hour ago.
“Joye! Take Hope to the cellar. Your father still hasn’t found Sorrowe. I’m going to see if I can help.” Mom sets Hope down next to me then rushes back into the torrential downpour. Lightning strikes the ground not thirty feet from her as thunder follows with a boom that shakes our patchwork roof, which is barely hanging on as gusts of wind rip pieces off like a snarlbeast hunting bunnylugs.
I pull Hope next to me. “It’s gonna be alright, sis. Why don’t we get you dried off and warmed up?” She crosses her arms, chatters her teeth, and gives a faint nod.
After a few steps, she stumbles into me, then looks up and grabs my arms. “S- Sorrowe’s still out there. Dad and I c- couldn’t find her. Is she g- gonna be alright?” Even with all the rainwater dripping from her short, curly, black hair, I see tears on her cheeks. Despite how mean Sorrowe is to her, Hope still cares so deeply for her. Then again, so do I.
I cup her face with my hands. “With Mom and Dad both out there looking for her, I’m sure she’ll be fine. Let’s get to the cellar and —”
Crack!
I turn around just in time to see the central beam of our roof snap.
I swivel Hope behind me, taking the brunt of the force from the falling debris.
Crack!
This time it’s not the roof that snapped.
“Arrgh! Hope! I’m hurt! I know you’re scared, but I need your help. My ribs! I —” I can’t finish my sentence because a sharp pain shoots through my stomach, causing me to wince. Freezing rain pours through the new hole in the roof. The instant cold takes my breath away. I claw myself away from the downpour towards Hope, breathing heavily trying to catch up on air.
“Don’t worry, I’m on it!” Hope scrambles to her feet, eyes and hands glowing with a bright, white light. “I’ll get you patched up, sis.” The next few moments are a blur as she performs her restoration kata. Her dark gray skin lights up with soft white runes as her hands and horns shine with bright white light. She runs her glowing, open palms slowly over my torso. The shooting pain dulls and eventually ceases.
My breathing slows as I lie on my back and rest my head on the floor. Unfortunately, this is no time to take a break. We have to get to the cellar. I let out a frustrated sigh as I notice that the debris from the fallen support beam blocks the hallway to the back of the house.
I stand slowly as Hope’s restoration magic takes full effect. Usually, she only has to fix small things like cuts and bruises or broken tools. I wonder if she’ll be alright after repairing multiple broken ribs. She’s under so much stress as it is. She needs to conserve her energy. No, this isn’t her fault. I need to be more careful. I could have avoided getting hurt if I had been paying better attention.
“Joye!” Hope tugs on my sleeve. “Do you think you can do some of your blasty magic to make a path? The beam is ruined anyway. Can you just, I don’t know, blow it out of the way?”
For someone who specializes in fixing things, it’s funny to hear her suggest we break something. I can’t help but smile.
“That’s a great idea! Let’s see if I can manage to break something other than my ribs.”
Her petite smile and soft giggle give me a jolt of courage. I step toward the mountain of debris and take a deep breath.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Next Post in this series: Break of Dawne: Chapter 2
Send Me Your Thoughts!
I’d love to hear from you. You can start a conversation with me at ethan@faithdragon.com
If you want to be notified whenever I release a new excerpt, chapter, or update, sign up for my email list below.