The college was on fire. The crystal dome of the library shattered, the priceless books burning.

Dara was on the ground, impaled on a crystal shard.

“I…” Blood ran down her mouth.

“Oh, Dara is it!” the cloaked figured of the thief loomed over her. Behind him, the strange flying machines of earth were moving too and fro, lances of fire connecting them to the ground. “How do you like the world you created?”

Dara tried to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth but more blood as the figure knelt by her.

“Ah, I see you’re unwilling to talk. Don’t worry, Millie will be awaiting you when you arrive at your final destination.” He glanced around, face still invisible under his hood. “You didn’t catch me, and so I did all of this and returned, returned with tools that enabled me to be a king, not a thief. All thanks to you.”

“If you had only stopped me. If you had only found me earlier. If you had kept me from finding my own way back to our home…” He got up, and then put one foot on the crystal shard, moving it slightly.

Dara spasmed and screamed.

“Well, time for me to be off. After all, your parents’ village is next on my list. Farewell!”

As he walked off, Dara tried to dislodge the shard, but the only thing that achieved was to tear another scream from her mouth.

She lay back down as the shadows rose around her and—

Dara’s eyes snapped open. It was early morning, the first hint of dawn peeking in through the windows. Outside, she heard the sounds of cars moving back and forth, someone calling to her child, and then further away the lonely wail of a horn. She reached up, rubbed her eyes, and then sat up in bed and stretched.

It was still strange. The sounds, the room, the clothes… everything. Dara shook her head and stood up, the oversized t-shirt falling below her knees.

What was that dream about? A warning to not go home? Or a warning of what might happen if she didn’t get home, or…

“Just a bad dream,” Dara said to herself.

“Kid!” Millie’s voice called through the bedroom door. “We’ve got a full day ahead. You ready for breakfast?”

“Uh—yes, sure!” Dara paused. “Do you want my help?”

“After what you did with the microwave? Nah.”

Stupid microwave. If it was so good, why didn’t it warn me when I set it for too long? Dara shook her head and tried to forget the smell of seared meat as she went to get a shower and get dressed. They had a lot to do, after all.