Free Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H. P. Mallory Page B

keep the edge from my voice.
    “You can see auras. So can I. Yours looks the same as you described mine—electric blue.”
    I got him there. “I’ve never seen my own aura, so I know that isn’t true.”
    “No one can see her own aura,” Rand said with tight lips, clearly not enjoying this argument.
    I couldn’t say anything to that, so I didn’t. In angry submission, I turned toward the mirror again. Rand leaned down, his face parallel with mine. The planes of his face were so different to mine—angular and chiseled while mine were softer, rounder.
    “Use your anger, Jolie, focus it, and use it.”
    I focused and willed my damn blue eyes to turn brown. My pupils dilated until they eclipsed the entirety of my eyes and I looked like some sort of alien. Then the black slowly faded into a rich dark brown. I pulled back and stared at myself. “Did I…”
    “You did it yourself,” he interrupted me.
    I forced myself to concentrate on the mirror again, wanting to continue to test the boundaries of this new talent. What to do next…my lackluster blond hair hung around my face, just begging for an update. I focused on the dull strands and watched as a dark shadow started at the top of my head and like a cracked egg, seeped down the sides of my head, leaving my hair black in its trail. It seemed easier now. Maybe because the task was not a huge one. Changing one’s physical appearance had to be ten times easier than willing yourself to travel back in time or inadvertently reviving someone who’d been dead for nearly ninety years.
    I faced myself again and thought how odd I looked with brown eyes and black hair. Rand chuckled at the transformation. “Much better fair,” he said and with a blink, my eyes and hair were back to normal. Apparently he didn’t like the altered me.
    “Hey! I wasn’t finished.”
    He focused on me, his eyes narrowing as he bit his lip. “Perhaps some depth to that hair...”
    I looked in the mirror and watched as my hair seemed to take on its own personality, winding itself into tight coils only to drop in billowy waves around my shoulders. So, Rand liked longer hair…
    I considered the new look. “Hmm, not bad.”
    Rand continued to study me; the smile on his lips signifying that he was enjoying this as well. “That lipstick is too red on you.”
    When I looked from him to the mirror, the red disappeared as if someone had swept it away. In its place, a light pink danced aoss the planes of my lips. I guess he had a point there. I’d never been good with makeup and just settled for borrowing Christa’s colors. And Christa’s makeup was…vivid like her personality.
    “I never thought I was capable of any of this,” I said in a small voice as I gazed upon my reflection.
    “This is just the beginning.”
    I didn’t respond, but just nodded dumbly.
    “Well, Jack and Christa must be tired,” Rand said, clasping his hands in an “I’m going to leave now” motion.
    Tired? Then I remembered the spell Rand had put on them and figured they must’ve been dancing for over an hour! “Holy crap!”
    Rand waved a hand to calm me down. “They’ll be fine. They won’t even know there’s anything out of the ordinary. Well, I’ll say goodnight, Jolie. I had a fun evening with you.”
    He neared the door and paused, as if he wanted to say something more.
    I stood up and followed him. “Thank you, Rand, I had fun also.”
    He hesitated only momentarily. “I’ve booked you and Christa on a flight home tomorrow. I’ll need to remain here to tie up some loose ends.”
    My heart dropped and my throat felt like it was closing in on itself. “So, I guess this is goodbye?” My voice was an octave or so deeper than it normally is.
    “I’m afraid so.” He fished inside his pants pocket and pulled out his wallet. My heart took a further dump. He pulled out a folded check and handed it to me. “What I owe you and a…tip.”
    I smiled, trying to keep up the appearance of being okay,