Visions of the Curse

ZAYDA

I stared at the countless vials, all in various colors. It was as if a leprechaun had showed up in the middle of the night and dumped the colors of the rainbow into each sample.

Only it wasn’t a child. These vials were collected by a mad scientist who wished to see every dragon wiped from this world.

Every test tube held a concoction with a different purpose. Some were for healing, while others were for sedation. Or worse, I imagined.

A select few were colored in hues of black and brown.

Were these potions made for killing?

I touched a few of the vials and felt their strange warmth. It was as if the liquids inside were actually alive.

I sat down in a chair at my station and rested my forehead on the desk. It had been a long day.

Hell, who was I kidding? Since Xythor’s death, each passing day felt like it had dragged on into eternity.

And after my latest fight with Maddie, it seemed as though we’d never repair our friendship. It felt like the weight of the universe was sitting squarely on my shoulders.

Moments like these were when I would’ve gone home to Xythor’s waiting arms. He always knew how to comfort me, no matter the problem.

His warm smile and dazzling eyes were all I needed to see.

I wiped the tears forming in the corner of my eyes and cleared my throat.

That was all in the past now. No matter my perception, time moved quickly, and I had to learn to move with it.

I turned on the small desk fan and let its breeze blow over my face. Earlier I’d given more blood to Xander. He’d promised me it would be all he’d need for a while. It was a relief to hear.

Giving so much blood had taken an unbelievable toll on my body. If there was anything I needed more than Xythor, it was a fucking vacation.

Somewhere tropical. With cold water, soft sand, and enough alcohol to keep me on cloud nine for a week…

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine being on a remote island. I could almost feel the tropical breeze blow across the beach, rustling palm tree fronds.

Frothing waves crashed on the shore. Each time a new wave rolled in, a different sound echoed in my ears…

***

~A baby’s crying rode the fresh evening air. The sound was piercing and unpleasant, but this was my baby. I needed to soothe his pain.~

~It was a beautiful little boy, with a crop of curly, black hair. He was beautiful; he looked just like me.~

~I tried to rock the child back and forth, but it did no good. His mouth never seemed to close shut. It was an ever-gaping hole bellowing horrific wails that refused to stop.~

~With a free hand, I exposed my breast and lifted the baby’s mouth to my nipple. My little boy turned away, unsatisfied with my attempts to appease him.~

~“Please, there must be something to make you relax,” I whispered to him.~

~His eyes looked into mine, and once again filled with tears that cascaded down his chubby cheeks.~

~I had to do something.~

~A melody began to sound in my head, distant and unrecognizable. As I continued to rock the baby, I tried to hum the broken tune.~

~At first, it was a disaster. My voice was uneven and cracked as it regurgitated the song. But as I continued to warble through the notes, everything fell into place.~

“Oh, Dark is the wind

“When it blows through the cave

“And the wolf gets the poor shepherd’s flock.

“Loud is the blood

“As it lands in the mud

“When it spills from the red, cursed rock…”

~I’d never heard those lyrics in my life. But they came to me as if I’d written them myself.~

~It was bizarre—and yet wonderfully familiar all the same. Every breath I took brought a new set of words that sailed the short distance between my baby and me.~

~Part of me wanted to stop.~

~But I couldn’t stop. It felt so…right.~

~As I continued to sing, the little boy in my arms quieted down and stared at me intently, as if he understood the gravity of my words.~

~His eyelids began to flutter until they could no longer stay open.~

~By the end of my song, I was astonished to be looking at a sleeping baby. Not only that, but I somehow felt rejuvenated from the effort.~

~The words had given me a jolt of life. I had the sudden desire to stand up and fly into the sky.~

~“Thank you!” I whispered to the clouds above. “Thank you for hearing my prayers.”~

***

I woke up to my desk fan blowing directly into my face.

~What in the hell did that mean?~

I stood up from my desk and stretched my aching muscles. It was hard to wrap my head around what had just taken place. Of course, it was just a dream.

But to have a dream of that magnitude…it was as if I had actually been holding a child in my arms. That was more than any reverie or fantasy I’d ever had before.

It must have been some kind of premonition.

~And that song.~

My body shivered just from the thought of it. It made me feel so…~powerful~. The words were so frighteningly clear in my mind. But why?

The ghostly melody still pulsed in my ears, haunting my waking thoughts.

“When it spills from the red, cursed rock…” I sang quietly.

Hearing the words out loud gave them an even more powerful meaning. And what the hell was a cursed rock?

My eyes widened as I realized the answer…and it could be found on this very campus.

~Freesia’s Curse!~

Once again, my world was turned upside down.

Not only had I dreamt about giving birth to a dragon baby, now I’d been given the words to Freesia’s powerful song.

No wonder Maddie had reacted so harshly to hearing about my visions. If there were ever signs about the second coming of Freesia, these would definitely qualify.

I shook my head, hoping these new realizations wouldn’t cause my brain to explode.

~Maybe working overtime has started to take its toll. That beach vacation couldn’t come soon enough.~

I decided it was best to gather my things and head home. If I stayed any longer, I might end up making a mistake I couldn’t fix.

My footsteps echoed off the tile floors. No one else was in the lab at such a late hour.

The sensors caught my movement and turned on one light after another. It was an eerie feeling of being watched when no one was actually there.

I pulled my backpack tighter around my arms and tried to pick up my pace.

Then I heard something…

It was the song from my dream. But it wasn’t playing in my head. It seemed to be coming from a room down an adjacent corridor.

My brain told me to head to the elevator and get the hell out of this spooky lab, but my gut told me to check out the source of that wistful song.

I took a deep breath and, against my better judgment, headed down the adjacent hall.

The rooms I passed were dark, and I could see my reflection in the windows—tired and a bit unsettled.

~Just needed to confirm that I’m not hearing things. Then it’s off to bed, and I won’t wake up until I’m good and rested.~

I stopped at a room at the end of the hall. There was nowhere else to go. As I reached toward the handle, the music had all but stopped.

~This is stupid. Turn around and go!~

I grabbed the knob, and to my surprise, it was actually unlocked.

~So much for security clearance…~

The door opened with a hiss. I listened for the song but could no longer hear any trace.

I stepped inside the darkened room and was expecting to see a closet filled with janitorial supplies.

Sensors caught my presence, and the light flickered on.

It was a relatively empty room, save for a table that looked to be littered with papers.

As I drew closer, I saw that the papers appeared to be blueprints.

Maybe they contained a new wing for the laboratory, or perhaps a health center for students to work out?

Who was I kidding? Xander was too fucked-up to plan something so useful for his students.

I picked up the nearest set of papers.

~What the fuck?~

It was several sketches of dragons. And from the look of it—these were no ordinary dragons…

They were robots!

I wanted to believe that some student had left some crazy art project behind while killing time between classes. But the heading at the top of the paper told me otherwise.

^Xander Laboratories^

^Prototype for a Robotic Dragon^

The measurements of these robots looked to be huge… At least fifteen feet tall with a wingspan doubling it…

I looked at the other blueprints and found more of the same. They were all slightly different but had similar intentions.

~Holy shitballs!~

Was Xander planning some type of robot dragon army?!