The Dark Ice Chronicles - The Magi

Chapter 13 - You Can Twist Perceptions, Reality Won't Budge

“Well, good,” I say. “‘Cause the last thing we’d want is you gettin’ a midlife crisis ‘cause you didn’t ‘piss around’” - I add air quotes to these words, along with a British accent - “enough as a kid.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about that,” Dad says. “I’m a little too tied down to you guys for that sort of thing.”

“Aww, you really do care,” I say. “Be still, my beating heart.”

Dad shakes his head. “Well, there’s one thing that makes us different - I was never this snarky to my own father.”

“If that’s your way of tellin’ me to be less sarcastic,” I say with a short laugh, “it’s not gonna work. Just lettin’ you know.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Dad says, laying his bowl on the table. “Now, what have we got on the DVR for us?”

“Erm...The Flash?”

“Oh God, no,” Dad says, shuddering melodramatically. He’s a lifelong Marvel fanboy, and with the exception of Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, he refuses to have anything to do with DC.

“But he’s awesome! He’s the fastest man alive! Lightning gave him abs!”

“Don’t get any ideas, Jason,” Dad laughs, lightly poking the handle of his fork into my stomach.

I sigh deeply as I take my dinner out of the microwave. “Well, I suppose you wouldn’t mind Person of Interest.”

“You read my mind,” Dad says, grinning as I start the recording from last night.

After dinner, Person of Interest, and The Flash (for which I bring Jeremy into my room), I go to bed, my brain still bouncing around ideas and theories for what’s going to happen this weekend. It takes me forever to fall asleep because of all this humming in my head.

At some point I do end up falling asleep, though, because the next thing I know, I’m dreaming about walking along a snow-covered, Christmas-lit, hedge-lined path with Evan all over again. We don’t talk. We just appreciate the Ice-powered beauty around us. Both of us can see our breath, and we have fun making the vapor trails mingle. And then I lean down, tilt her head up, and kiss her.

I could lose myself in that embrace forever.

But then we break apart as we hear a loud snapping noise nearby, like someone stepping on a twig.

I look in the direction of the sound and see a shockingly familiar face. Familiar, but horribly twisted and screwed-up. Red hair, green eyes, tall...and very definitely rotten, like some kind of zombie.

It’s Dani Cabrera. And she doesn’t look happy, if her screeching banshee wail and outstretched, sharp-taloned fingers are anything to go by.

With barely a thought passing through my head, I blast Dani with the twin-power spiral Harris showed me - Dark and Ice all at once. Because it’s a dream, I can do it perfectly, and Dani is sent sprawling through the hedge, not to be seen again.

I turn around to make a neat little quip to Evan - only to see her clutching my hand tightly, her face dangerously pale and sunken-looking, like she’s being sucked dry.

“Evan? EVAN?!” I cry out. “What’s happening?”

“You...you…” Evan can hardly even speak. “You did this to me.” She waves her free hand, and a tiny wisp of Ice power comes out.

At this point, whatever system is in place to end nightmares as quickly as possible (though not quite fast enough) kicks in, and I wake up shivering, trembling with fear. There’s Ice all over my walls, and tiny snowflakes drifting through the air all around me.

The first thought in my head is, Wow. Who knew my Ice powers were that strong?

This is then followed by, Shit. Fuckin’ shit. What does that dream even mean?

I curl up in a ball, trying to get a handle on my fast-flying brain once again. I still haven’t told Evan about my Ice powers. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind seeing them - especially not if Jeremy and Harris were so impressed.

But then I keep thinking about the fact that she still hasn’t told me if she really likes me. She knows the way I feel, of course. But if I take too long to tell her, will she think I’m holding back on her? That I don’t trust her to know things like that about me?

I decide to move on from the weirdness that was that dream. It was just a weird, random fluke, and I think I know how to make sure it doesn’t repeat itself on me.

The first step is to eliminate the Ice from my room. I simply curl up one fist and it all comes off the walls, wrapping itself around my hand like a misty bandage. Then I toss it out the window, using my night vision so I can target the lawn with precision, just in case Dad happens to cross the concrete path again. I doubt he will, but better safe than sorry.

The second step...well, it’s a little too early in the morning to take care of that. So that’s going to have to wait till later.