We were the first to notice. Ever. Ellia and Rey were barely eleven. I was thirteen. We were trying to sleep. We shared a room.
It whispered my name.
Camius. Camius. Camius.
"Hello?" I said.
Camius. Camius. Camius.
"Is someone saying my name?" Asked Ellia.
"Is someone saying mine?" Asked Rey.
There was no one in the room but us three. And suddenly it was silent.
"It must've been a dream," I said. All three of us knew it wasn't.
But we went to sleep anyway. Or tried to. Next there were the footsteps. Not much of footsteps as...echoes. echoes of footsteps. Before and after the time we were in. They seemed to be forever, never, and whenever all at once. Then they were gone.
Suddenly, Rey's hands caught on fire. Or, fire caught her hands. But she didn't shriek. She didn't shriek. She wasn't hurt. I imagined fire on myfingertips as well, and to my surprise, they lit up. And so did Ellia.
Then the voice said one last thing, that all three of us could hear.
It has begun.