Free Write, 06/22/15

Prompt: One more magical experiment gone haywire and I’m going to kill her” – seventh sanctum

One more magical experiment gone haywire and I’m going to kill her, Halifax thought. Bad enough that I had those horns for six months, but that explosion sounded like it might have taken out the entire third floor!

Of course, the “entire third floor” consisted of a single room, so it wouldn’t have taken a very large explosion to topple it.

Halifax took the spiral staircase two at a time, climbing to the experimental spire. “Galina!” he cried, one hand lifting to cover his mouth, protecting it from the black smoke that was roiling out of a hole where a solid oak door should be. “Galina, are you alive?”

“Ow,” a voice said feebly.

Halifax leaped onto the landing and surveyed the damage. Or, he tried to. It was difficult to see with all the smoke. “Window,” Galina croaked, but Halifax was already moving. He threw open the wooden shutters and furiously beat the air with a paper fan, dispersing the smoke.

As the smog cleared it became apparent that little had been damaged. The bookshelves still ringed the room, supporting their leather tomes, and his favorite armchair was unharmed. Halifax frowned. What had caused all the smoke?

Then he noticed Galina sitting on the floor, rubbing her backside. “Why are you on the floor?” Halifax asked stupidly.

Galina just grinned up at him. “Why do you think?”

Then Halifax noticed what was missing: Galina’s desk and chair. They were simply gone. Halifax’s eyes widened. “You didn’t.”

“I did.”