Page 175 of The Immortal’s Mark

His words cut off as my consciousness is tossed back, away from my present, and into the unknown.

42

DARCIE

My brain spins and tumbles, like I’m trapped in a dryer. Colors blur. Sounds echo.

I fear the disorientation will never end—that I will be trapped in a kaleidoscope of senses forever.

It’s similar to the first time I was pulled through a rip, but so much worse. It’s as if my immortality makes me more aware of the disorienting sensations accompanying the magical travel. And my body struggles to adjust.

Then, just as soon as it started, everything stops.

I crash onto my hands and knees. My breathing is ragged, and my thoughts whirl.

Smoke burns my nostrils, choking me. Fingers dig into black sand. Only…it’s not sand.

Ash.

My head whips up, and the first thing I notice is burning buildings in the distance.

I’m in a vision.

But where?

And when?

I scramble to my feet and wipe my fingers against my shorts, the same ones I was wearing on the balcony, and spin in a slow circle.

I stand on top of a blackened hill. Smoke curls off the destroyed vegetation and skeletal trees, and heat radiates from the ruined ground. The fire that has overtaken the buildings burned through here.

A loud roar sounds in the sky. A plane flies overhead and releases a torrent of water on the flames.

The hot wind carries the sound of distant sirens to my ears.

My stomach clenches.

Why am I here?

Being pulled into visions is mostly accidental, but the circumstances are often informative.

About Des.

The rebellion.

The other Originals…

I’ve yet to stumble into a vision that didn’t give me insight into something relevant regarding the Immortals or my role in their world.

So what am I meant to learn here?

Holding my hands out for balance, I walk down the blackened hill. My bare feet struggle to grip the ashened earth, but I make it to the bottom without slipping.

I turn left, then right.

No one is here.

I focus on the buildings. Even on fire, they look modern. The tall skyscrapers reveal this time isn’t ancient Greece or Europe. But other than that, my location is a mystery.