Raven Black's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Raven Black stepped into the crowded square and felt the storm wake under her skin. She had come here to test herself, to push the forbidden magic one inch closer to her control. Sparks crawled along her fingers. People nearby flinched and shuffled back, the way they always did. She breathed slow and watched them watch her, cataloguing each frightened face, hunting for the lock inside her power that still refused to open. The charge slipped. A white bolt tore from her hand and struck the great pastel tree at the square's center. Pink and blue leaves burst into the air. The dark blue trunk split open in a long black scorch, purple vines smoking at the edges. Screams rose. Boots pounded the stones as the crowd ran. Raven stood in the sudden empty space, breathing hard. One person had not moved. A stranger crouched near her feet, lifting a small leaf the lightning had fused into curled glass. Around the stranger's boots glowed a cluster of pink alien flowers, petals pulsing faintly in answer to the storm still humming in her hands. The stranger straightened and met her eyes. No fear. Only a slow, knowing smile. "I wondered when you'd show yourself," they said, and tucked the glass leaf into their pocket. Raven's pulse went cold. She was not hidden anymore.