Chromatic Mage

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Pauline was careful not to touch her more than necessary, and when she’d finished, she shook her head. “A little high, but I don’t think you need the hospital. I’ll just get that phone, then.”

As soon as Pauline left the room, the glow around the plant intensified, and then a tiny, ghostly image of, well, Pauline, popped into existence in front of it and peered at Malasi. 

Malasi scowled at the image, only now recognizing the similarities between the ghost and Pauline. Pauline must be the double the ghost had referred to. “You’re lucky you’re already dead,” she said to the ghost. “‘Cause I killed the last people who kidnapped me.”

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Pauline set the thermometer aside, tutting. “Not danger zone, but too high. Is it okay if I just check your pulse? I’ll go get the phone for you right after, I promise.”

Only the promise of a phone kept the girl from walking out the door. She nodded, holding her wrist out.

Pauline was careful not to touch her more than necessary, and when she’d finished, she shook her head. “A little high, but I don’t think you need the hospital. I’ll just get that phone, then.”

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For the moment, Pauline let the exorcism comment go. “It goes in your ear,” she said, seeing Malasi’s discomfort. “And then you push the button and wait until it beeps.”

“Okay.” Malasi’s eyes weren’t on the woman, however, instead scoping out the exits of the little apartment. When she got the thermometer, she followed the directions, making a face at the beeping noise. “101.6,” she said, handing the thermometer back.

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“Mostly that you’re not on the verge of heat stroke without realizing it. I know it’s not as bad as summer, but it still gets pretty hot out there along the highway, and Sara can’t really feel bad things happening when she’s in control.” Pauline produced an ear thermometer and offered it to the girl. “Take your temperature, and then I’d like to check your heart rate, just to be safe.”

“You should perform and exorcism if this keeps happening,” the teenager muttered darkly, shooting a glare at the glowing plant. Most of her sourness came from impending touching. This felt like being at the doctor’s office. Doctors touched a lot.

She held her hand out for the curious-looking thermometer. It looked like it was tipped with an ear attachment. She’d never used one of those before.

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“Okay. Let me just make sure you’re okay, first?” Pauline asked anxiously. “Possession can really do a number on you, and you weren’t at all prepared for it.”

Malasi supressed a sigh. She hadn’t been okay in years. But she really needed to call sooner rather than later to prevent him from catching the next plane down. But she just said, “What do you need to check?”

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“Fire?” Pauline echoed. She looked at the ivy hanging from the ceiling in the corner of the room, which seemed to glow slightly without giving off any light. “You didn’t say anything about a fire.”

Whatever Pauline was expecting, she didn’t get it, and after a moment offered Malasi a sympathetic smile. “The two of you walked all the way to Desert Bluffs,” she explained. “If there was a fire, I’m sure it’s been discovered by now.”

“No thanks to her,” Malasi scowled. “I still need to call my guardian and let him know I’m not dead in case the entire building is gone. The fire was in the walls.”

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“I’m Pauline.” They were in a small bedroom, decorated in mostly yellow, with a few paintings of wildflowers hung on the walls. Pauline guided Malasi to the bed, hovering while the girl sat down, and then reaching for a glass of water on the bedside table. “Drink this, but slowly. Sara told me you were out in the sun for a while.”

“That’s new information,” Malasi said. “Thanks.” She sipped the water. It tasted different from the water at her building. She started. “Oh shit, the fire. Do you have a phone?”

“Fire?” Pauline echoed. She looked at the ivy hanging from the ceiling in the corner of the room, which seemed to glow slightly without giving off any light. “You didn’t say anything about a fire.”

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The silence was more than welcome, as far as Sara was concerned. She ignored the intermittent questions, deflected a few concerned drivers who pulled over to check on her while she marched down Route 800, and found herself jumping between angry muttering and humming bits of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. 

By the time she got where she was going–a little apartment in Desert Bluffs–and knocked on the door, Malasi’s body was feeling the full effects of a miles-long walk through midday desert with no water and no rest, not to mention the added strain of a parasitic spirit. 

It was only a few minutes more before Malasi was suddenly feeling those effects herself, as Sara left her body and she was, quite suddenly, in charge again. 

A small, pale woman with glasses was at her side, and with an apologetic smile, put an arm around Malasi to steady her. “Here, you’d better sit down.”

Malasi blinked at the sudden light and pain. She flinched at the touch, shoulders hunching even though she wavered under the weight of exhaustion. “Okay,” she said. “Who are you?”

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Sara didn’t answer. Now that she knew where she was and where she was going, she didn’t need to bother with her annoying host anymore. So she left Malasi in silence in the dark as she continued her relentless march towards home. 

Malasi fell mostly silent, occasionally asking a question in an attempt to get an update on where the hell her body was.

The silence was more than welcome, as far as Sara was concerned. She ignored the intermittent questions, deflected a few concerned drivers who pulled over to check on her while she marched down Route 800, and found herself jumping between angry muttering and humming bits of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. 

By the time she got where she was going–a little apartment in Desert Bluffs–and knocked on the door, Malasi’s body was feeling the full effects of a miles-long walk through midday desert with no water and no rest, not to mention the added strain of a parasitic spirit. 

It was only a few minutes more before Malasi was suddenly feeling those effects herself, as Sara left her body and she was, quite suddenly, in charge again. 

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‘Don’t try me, brat,’ Sara returned acidly. ‘I’m not nearly as nice as my double.’

It wasn’t too hard to find a major road; all she had to do was follow the sound of the traffic. Once there, she took another moment to get her bearings, then turned in the direction of Desert Bluffs and started walking. 

“There’s another one of you floating around?” Malasi wondered. “Where are you taking me, anyways?”

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“Night Vale?” Sara stopped in her tracks, taking a closer look at the buildings around her. She didn’t know Night Vale particularly well, but if she could find something familiar, she could easily get herself home. 

A jagged, cackling laughter rippled through Malasi’s mind and eventually surfaced as Sara bent double, gasping for air as the sheer luck of her situation flooded over her. She was so close. 

‘Good news, kiddo,’ Sara told her host as she took another turn. ‘I might not have to scream into your brain just yet after all.’

“And I am very grateful that you’re not doing something you shouldn’t be doing anyways,” Malasi said, voice dripping with mocking gratitude. “You’re noisy.”

‘Don’t try me, brat,’ Sara returned acidly. ‘I’m not nearly as nice as my double.’

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‘You don’t even know what part of the world you live in?’ Sara scoffed, pausing to peer into a trash can on the sidewalk, hoping to find a newspaper or something to tell her where she was. 

“You should be more specific,” Malasi retorted. “We’re in Night Vale, Arizona.”

“Night Vale?” Sara stopped in her tracks, taking a closer look at the buildings around her. She didn’t know Night Vale particularly well, but if she could find something familiar, she could easily get herself home. 

A jagged, cackling laughter rippled through Malasi’s mind and eventually surfaced as Sara bent double, gasping for air as the sheer luck of her situation flooded over her. She was so close. 

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The insult made Sara bristle, and left her muttering aloud to herself. Most of it was furious nonsense, which only served to draw more attention to herself, but she was too angry to notice.

‘I don’t mingle with the uncultured slime of humanity,’ she finally said to Malasi. ‘Now tell me where the hell I am.’

If she had access to her eyes, Malasi would have rolled them. “I can’t do that if I can’t see.”

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‘If you don’t settle down, I will scream into your brain until your eyes bleed and your heart stops, and I’ll find someone else to possess,’ Sara told her sharply. 

She’d forgotten how damn annoying it was to have someone poking about in the back of her mind. Sure, it wasn’t really hers, but possession was most of the law. 

There were sirens now, probably coming about the fire. Cursing under her breath, Sara turned down a different street, hoping to find a quieter area in which to steal transportation. 

“Of course the first ghost I meet is a deranged bitch,” Malasi muttered as she reluctantly pulled back from the edges of her confinement. “Where are you trying to get to, anyways? Just take the bus.”

The insult made Sara bristle, and left her muttering aloud to herself. Most of it was furious nonsense, which only served to draw more attention to herself, but she was too angry to notice.