The globe in my hand was showing outlines in the reflective surface, images sliding across the glass. Reflections of things not there.

She stared down at it.

"Well?" came Grimalkins voice, as the cat appeared on another counter amid several jars containing dead snakes in amber liquid. "Are you going to smash it or not?"

She heads back to her room.

She looks up at him. " am i supposed to? "

"She's learning well," Izz commented


He nodded.

She looked back at it, then proceeded to smash it on the ground.

The fragile glass shattered against the carpet with an almost musical chime, shards spiraling up to become fragments of light that spun around the room. They merged and coalesced into a thousand images, fluttering through the air like frantic doves. They swirled together and descended like a flock of birds in a horror movie. She was bombarded by an endless stream of images and emotions, all trying to rip into her head at once. The visions kept coming, flitting through her head like a strobe light. Of a man with lank brown hair, long gentle fingers, and eyes that were always smiling. The images were all of him. Him...pushing her on the park swing. Holding her first bike steady as she wobbled down the sidewalk. Sitting at their old piano, his long fingers flying over the keys. Walking into a tiny green pond, the water closing over his head, as Lise screamed and screamed until the police arrived.

Camm nods, smiling.

Izz fell silent