“We’ve met,” the girl answered curtly.
Katie eyed her warily, “When? And where?”
“A while back,” the girl answered. “We’ve known each other for a very long time. But you wouldn’t remember. You wouldn’t remember how we used to be best friends.”
“What are you talking about?” Katie asked. Her hands became slightly clammy. She was nervous. She tried to drive off, but the gas pedal still didn’t respond.
The girl looked up at the sky. “You’ve forgotten everything, then. That makes things easier.”
“What have I forgotten?” Katie asked, scared but also curious.
“That I have been your best friend since before you were born. That I almost killed you and Tyson as children but I, having had a good heart, let you two live. That day wasn’t your day to die. And neither is today. You will learn soon enough, Katie. And soon enough, you will remember. And you will see what I see.”
“Okay, what the hell? I’m done with this,” Katie yelped and drove off. This time the car moved. It skidded down the road. Katie looked in the rearview mirror, but the girl was already gone. She knew the girl. Katie couldn’t quite remember how, but she knew her.
Her phone rang. It was her father.
“Hey, dad,” she answered.
“Are you almost home?”
“Yeah on my way, I forgot something at school. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Is everything alright?”
Katie hesitated.
“Sabrina,” she breathed. She remembered. She remembered that day.
There was a moment of silence on the phone.
“Come straight home and don’t stop for anyone,” her father said. “Your mother and I need to talk to you.”
2
The Queen’s Plan
After her brief stop on Earth to speak to Katie, Sabrina returned to her homeworld. The hallway she appeared in was dimly lit. The walls were made of stone, as were the black and gray tiles beneath her feet.
Despite the dark coloring of the room, the hall had an eerie green hue to it, so slight it was barely discernible.
Sabrina smiled, inhaling deeply as she set out at a slow pace. Her shoes made naught but a whisper of sound upon the floor as she walked. The hall was silent except for the occasional servant that passed by. As she passed them, each moved out of her path and gave her a low bow. The only sign of recognition that Sabrina gave to them was a smirk. She had never been fond of her servants. She hated how pathetically they tried to show their devotion to her and the Queen.
As she entered a room, built from more stone and a block of solid ice that was made never to melt, she halted. The room was well lit though there was no visible source of light. Nearly twenty feet in front of her stood a great throne made of ice. Behind it, the rest of the room was dark, as if the light had hit an invisible barrier, unable to penetrate it. The same tint of green filled the room.
“My Queen,” Sabrina said as she made a graceful bow. The Queen was not in sight, though Sabrina knew she was hidden in the darkness. Silence followed for a moment before Sabrina stood up and continued to speak. “I have great news.” This time, she waited for the Queen’s reply.
“Then do not stop speaking,” the Queen replied, still out of sight. “Tell me your news if it is so great.”
Sabrina continued to speak normally, though almost anyone else would have stammered in response to the tone the Queen had spoken in.
“Katie’s graduation will be held tomorrow evening at her school. Naturally, everyone in the room will be focused on the stage where the graduates will stand. Katie’s parents do not plan to attend it so that they can be home and make sure everything is safe. As we speak, Katie is driving home, and when she gets there, her parents will tell her everything; who she is and where she came from. The Dimes have been preparing for this for over seventeen years, getting ready for us to make our move. They expect us to do so soon.”
Sabrina heard an intake of breath. Still, no one else was visible.
As Sabrina continued, the Queen stayed hidden in the shadows.
“This will make it easy for us to make our move. We will set the school auditorium on fire just before the ceremony, buying us time so that when Katie arrives home, we will have already left.”
“Very well,” the Queen replied, her cruel voice sounding out. “That will be perfect. I must ask, though, you do remember the overall plan?”
Sabrina smiled slightly. “Yes, of course,” she reassured her Queen. “This leads me to bring you even greater news, my Queen. Katie’s father, John Dimes, you remember him?”
“Yes, of course! How could I not?” the Queen replied. “It was I who killed his father and his father before that. And that is why tomorrow night must go flawlessly. John Dimes has broken the chain and had a daughter instead of a son.”
“I understand completely, My Queen,” Sabrina said. “Which is why I have developed this plan. I will be seeing the Dimes myself in their home. By tomorrow, Katie will know who she is and from there, it is only a matter of time before her powers reveal themselves.”
“Which is precisely why she will need to be eliminated. She is the first daughter of the Dimes family, which means the power of their family line will cease after her. John did well in making us believe that he had a son, to keep her safe,” the Queen replied directly, a tone of warning clear in her voice. “The daughter will be at her most vulnerable when all those she cares about are gone. Therefore, she must be kept alive. To do otherwise will destroy our chance of success.”
A
