The water’s arctic contact instantly numbed my chilled skin, making the impulse to gasp almost instinctive and yet the burning I felt inside as air was denied to my flaming lungs told me to ignore such innate thinking. My darker self stirred from within like an encaged incensed beast and yet she held back as if finally we had reached some sense of harmony among us, as if at last she realized that I was the one who truly belonged in control, and yet here I was silently begging for her unspoken guidance. 

“Anna, you have to start relying on the gifts given to you. You already know what to do,” I barely heard her whisper as thoughts that once was clear began to become hazy and the knowledge of limited time began to dawn on me. 

Withdrawing further within myself I tried to ignore that relentless burning that had seized my chest while still allowing my body to thrash violently against my restraints knowing that if I became too docile my demented captors would instantly be alerted to my inner tactics. 

“Think light and dark, Anna. They are both a part of you,” she whispered, her voice soft as my body grew weaker.

Focusing on the strength inside me both light and dark I allowed the coldness to disperse from my form, my body temperature rising swiftly. As wickedness and righteousness collided and what would have turned my skin into a warm touch distorted into an incineration as if unseen fiery flickers lied beneath a tanned surface, a brush of my fingertips would have scalded the surface of skin beyond what a mere burn could ever do. I felt scarlet slice into the rim of my hazel irises’ but this time it did not attempt to surpass, but to conjoin as if a piece of the puzzle that embodied me had finally found its rightful place.

What was once frozen liquid altered into a tepid warmth caressing my body while still choking the life from its form until the blistering essence of my skin turned its temperature sweltering, a humid mist coming off its surface as the binding that once held my hands melted finally granting my freedom just as the demon at last thought it best to allow me oxygen.

I could feel the steel underneath my skin weaken under my blistering touch, the sound of my body rising bounded off the walls as if my weight was too much to be held, and instead of shivering as I once would have as the coldness of air hit my now smoldering skin it no longer fazed me as I allowed oxygen to enter my lungs quickly while silently preparing myself. My eyes took in the nonchalant stance of my demonic subjugator seeing his superiority to my advantage and it was only as he smirked towards Maria that I let my grip on the edge of the metal slab release, finger indentations still welded into its surface. With that arrogance still fresh in my mind I aimed to wipe it from his face, and just as the table stood erect I allowed my feet to slip to the ground already running for the door. 

Sprinting across what felt like acres of tile I relied on surprise as my ally in my aid to escape this room as I raised a hand already aching in its need to suppress the white light within my skin as it ripped at muscle and fused into blood before bounding from my palm in the direction of the demon’s head. Doctor Foster and Maria ducked my wrath as I hoped they would crashing to the ground as surgical tables behind them received it full blast. Beneath such force they vaulted from the ground crashing into the other side of the room while allowing me time to direct that same power towards the door, watching as its metal surface crumpled until it fell before me. My feet barely felt the coldness of the crunched metal beneath them as I dashed over its surface, water dripping from every crevice I possessed, my heart hammering in my chest as I ran through the now open exit, the sound of claws scratching the flooring in quick pursuit rang out into the background like a soundtrack to a nightmarish movie that now seemed to define my existence. 

The halls remained the same, a bland likeness of white conformity and endless tile, night bounding pass glass windows showcasing my enemy’s natural collaborator as my feet slapping against the slick flooring remained the only sound to spring off the walls in this sparsely lit mausoleum they labeled a hospital. My breath came out in quickened spurts, my eyes wild as I searched for a place of concealment for I could hear the entrance of the demon’s minions, could smell the putrid aroma that wafted from rotted flesh as they hunted my frightened form without mercy, with a blind unsympathetic expedition of obtaining what was commanded. Could hear the destruction of plaster as talons ripped into once pristine halls as rubble lined the floor along with shards of glass only to be further crumpled under the massive weight of so many. I glanced behind me watching as they crashed over debris blood lining the path as glass sunk into skin and yet still they remained unfazed by the pain that mere mortals would have felt, never conceding to their preconceived notions of humanity’s weakness.

Their deformed bodies slithered within the night, blurring in its swiftness to pursue me like a snake haunted its prey, red eyes glued to my form even as talons ripped lights from the walls as if brightness charred their skin. My body swiftly slid around the corner knowing that my energy was dwindling, and the power to vanquish so many was beyond my capabilities at such a weakened state. It had taken so much of me to harness the power to even escape, now how was I to evade so many?

The halls remained empty, a fact even in my panicked mind I realized as odd and yet quickly compartmentalized knowing that a safe place to think was my most pressing concern. My gaze took in the stairwells exit while trying to ignore the explosion of damage around me or how close it now sounded. I bounded up the stairs this time inwardly knowing the human suffering that would commence had I lead them to the ground level, how much blood and life lost would have rested on my shoulders. Feeling my body tremble within the wintry gust, the heat that once consumed my form had now vanished like an extinguished fire as was my declining will power to distance myself from the ravenous herd. My fingers grasped the door to my level only to find to my horror that it remained locked; a badge needed for clearance, something I should have foreseen. Pausing to harness what little power I had left cost me precious minutes as I could only obtain enough energy to enflame my palms and melt the surface of the lock. I felt the door give underneath shaky hands just as talons ripped into my shoulder, slicing into skin, filling the stairway with my grief-stricken shrieks. 

The force of its hold literally ripped my body from the ground slamming my form from the door causing me to tumble harshly down the first flight of stairs. I felt every bump and abrasion received but unlike these immortals the pain caused tears to come to my eyes. 

“You,” it hissed, its voice enraged and yet its eyes intent on the reddened liquid now gushing down my arm. “Run from your destiny as if you had a chance at escaping what has been foreseen for decades. What has been written in the universe even before the useless coming of man. Accept your fate and come willingly and I promise you the pain will not be severe.” 

The thirst I could clearly see consuming his gaze told differently of his believed leniency of my surrender. I knew intimately of its seduction, of its possession of everything you held inside, of its grip on your sanity, of how it clouded your normal realm of thought until all that remained was quenching that unappeasable craving. My eyes fell to the horde of beasts lying in wait at the stair’s entrance, their gaze identical to the creature before me while inwardly I adamantly knew to admit defeat would be to submit myself to feasting. The hunger for blood being the one thing that overpowered commands, and I knew from unwanted experience that once this fiend tasted me it would have no choice but to concede in the other’s demands in their own morsel of consumption until almost on the brink of death I would be handed back defenseless to my captors, or worse already dead. 

Breathing in deeply, tangled curls partly impeding my vision I inwardly centered in on darkness and light until it merged from within shredding and enflaming my insides, blood pouring from my nose from my efforts to gain control as I rose on wary feet and ran full force into the enormous beast’s embrace. Power surged from my fingertips as unpitying fangs sunk into my already injured shoulder while finally realizing the true extent of just how much less control these creatures had when tempted by the thirst when compared to my own bloodlust. Ignoring the agony that spewed throughout my being I used that hatred for my adversary to further ignite myself within as my palms collided with flesh and the tips of my fingers bypassed skin. Its entrapped torturous shriek finally bounded off its tongue as pure dark power unleashed ripped entrance into my body, my hands used like a conductor would transmit electricity. It lurked playfully inside me shredding pieces of my civility along its path as the demon’s body withered within my unbreakable hold; its eyes shrunken within its skull, blood pouring from its pores as the life slowly extinguished from its eyes until quickly I released him from my grasp. Lifeless, I tossed his body down towards it’s followers already running through the open door knowing their rage would only be strengthened at the demise of their leader.

My hands were quick to scald the metal of the door, until welded along its frame it held their livid forms at bay, their bodies already pounding against its surface I rushed down the deserted hallway of my ward; my hand cradling my ravaged arm, my insides damaged as darkness freely plundered searching for light to defeat. Every second it lied inside me was a second I fought to retain my humanity, I battled for the possession of my soul. It felt as if taking in more darkness tipped the balance of good and evil within me and at odds my body now raged a war inside, seemingly ripping me in two. At one point I fell to my knees in agony only for common sense to force me back to my feet as I ran towards anywhere but near my enemies. I dashed down a hall unknown to me, piercing back a door labeled staff only before quickly locking myself inside.      

Lights instantly blinded me and yet I barely glanced at my surroundings too busy staring entranced at the door wondering when they would invade the halls and find where I now remained hidden. My foot steps were silent as slowly I retreated from the entrance, my curls falling forward shielding my view until I froze completely; stationary, at the unnerving feeling of breath blowing lightly against the back of my neck.

Breathing heavily I inwardly tried to find the unobtainable courage to face my fears, my unwanted suspicions, just as a hand besieged my undamaged shoulder twisting my body forcibly around. My palm rose swiftly, the power bounding out of me at such a speed I never knew I possessed watching in horror as Andrea flew perilously across the room callously smacking the distant white wall, the vigorous force leaving a dent along its plaster. Her body slid from its vaulted position downwards to the ground smacking the shelve containing pots and pans as she fell. Its collision causing a loud commotion of clatter that I feared would draw the demons near.  

I ran to her side, pushing back my curls in frustration, praying to the lords above that I had not just killed my sister. Her eyes were closed but as I grasped her hand there still lied a steady pulse, feeling tears of relief surpassing my gaze I whispered, “Andrea, are you okay?”

“I see you’ve been practicing in my absence,” she mumbled her eyes finally opening, “but can you refrain from using me as target practice?” 

“Oh my god, you scared the crap out of me,” I whispered hugging her to my shaken form. I finally felt as if a piece of home had returned, and I quickly wiped the moisture from my cheeks as I stared up into her vivid baby blues.

“I could say the same thing,” she grumbled with a smirk as I helped her back onto her feet, one side of her blond hair sticking up in total disarray. “I see your powers are growing.”

I smoothed back her silken strands, “and as usual I have no idea how to control them.”

“You seemed to control them well enough to me, Anna. Unless…,” she paused quickly grasping my chin to gaze into my eyes.

I yanked from beneath her hold with a smirk, “I am not under possession and evil has not taken over.” 

She grinned, “just checking. So, you’re in the kitchen because… you had a sudden urge for a snack?” 

I watched her hop onto the spotless granite countertop, her short blue jean skirt rising, and her black high heeled boots swinging out beneath her as a sudden flash back of happier times bombarded my mind. This reminded me so much of home I ached inside. Hiding from the eyes of Mother’s disapproval in Rick’s massive kitchen. 

My eyes wandered along the room gazing at endless counter space, cupboards, spotless stainless steel, a walk-in pantry, and massive refrigerator wondering why it was I had felt drawn here, and yet oddly unsure of my speculation that Andrea had something to do with it. “So Katrina didn’t send you? The guardians didn’t send you?”

“No, I sensed something was wrong and instead of ignoring it as they advised me to I came to you.”

I walked from her side, my fingers grazing the cold steel, “where have you been?”

“You know I can’t answer that, Anna.”

My gaze drifted pass menu lists, the phone message board, spices, and all the while as I slowly paced my finger dragged along, “you sensed I was in trouble? Did you draw me in here?”

“I implanted the image into your mind just like you can. I guided you to safety as any good watcher should,” I heard her hop from her seat, her heels clicking along tile as she followed my movements. “You know we can’t stay in here forever. Whatever your running from will eventually figure out where we are.”

I paused, my hand stilled, my back towards my big sister, “you lured me inside here where there is no doors, no windows, no chance at escape.”

“I was more worried about getting you to safety to think about that, I’m not perfect Anna. Look, we need to come up with a plan.”

“I already have a plan,” I whispered.

Deep within me there was a haunting feeling in the base of my gut that had nothing to do with the dark forces at play inside me, but with the instinctive feeling that warned me something was wrong. Power tingled at the base of my spine, my eyes taking in my reflection inside the glare of the steel refrigerator door. I opened my palm concentrating until I felt the object vault silently across the counter into my hand before I quickly turned and plunged it into Andrea’s stomach. 

Blood felt warm as it oozed out onto my skin, tears coming to my eyes as they trickled over the rim catching on long dark lashes as I gazed up at the horrified shock written on Andrea’s features. The senseless hunger to taste her blood rose inside me even as her skin paled, and the small flicker of life began to leave her eyes as tiny trickles of scarlet slipped from her lips. 

“Why,” she managed to whisper, her stomach still spewing her life force onto the now forever tarnished ground. 

It killed me inside to watch the image of my sister dying at my hand, anguish almost consuming my soul entirely, “because …you …are …not …my …sister.” 

The heavy iron frying pan she would have easily bludgeoned me with slipped from her grasp clattering against the floor as she tumbled backwards, her fingers gripping the knife still thrust inside her stomach. I watched as the image of her dissolved before my very eyes as black smoke rose from unforeseen shadows entwining itself around her until covered she vanished and yet it didn’t stop there. The darkness lurked along walls and cabinets, along surfaces, even among me until it encased anything and everything, and it was only then that…

I pierced open hazel orbs to the horrific realization that the entire horrendous incident had been nothing more than a appalling delusion, a mirage forced upon my mind, a distorted reality. 

And here I sat this whole fucking time strapped to a chair in Dr. Foster’s office, gazing up at the two demons I had naively thought I had escaped from. 

“Did you find that amusing?” I spat out, detestation laced in every word spoken as I glared up at what appeared to be the head doctor while hating the idea of the droplets of emotions that leaked from my eyes that I couldn’t seem to control.

He smirked, “no, I found it informative. There is so much more you are capable of, and while unpracticed you have a natural instinct of preservation that should be envied. I underestimated your weaker virtuous half, trust me it will not happen again.”

My eyes glared up into his scarlet pupils, hate consuming me, “was any of that shit true? That delusional garbage you spat out at me of a world full of chaos raged by uncontrollable demons spawned by my bloodline?”   

His happy grin instantly disappeared from his lips, fury filling his features as shadows ran rampant across his face, “you speak of what you do not understand! None of what I say is as you claim, ‘delusional garbage!’ We will win this fight and your constant evasion to the truth will only delay the inevitable!” 

Anger caused my tongue to loosen, but fear caused me to be foolish, “what truth! The only truth I see is a pathetic fanatical evil spirit hell bent on a worthless fantasy of a bleak future that will NEVER happen!”

His arm rose as my eyes widened as a unseen force captured my neck, my breathing ceased immediately as I gasped for air abruptly denied to me. My head fell back, my curls falling away from my face as my mouth gaped as the relentless pressure increased. Useless tears crept the length of my cheeks as my nails silently dug deep into my palms painfully drawing blood if only to distract my mind from the inconceivable agony I endured. 

“You have no idea of whom you play with, little girl!” He raged as he moved to stand over my pained form. “I am the demon of illusion! I can make anything I imagine reality! I can implant thoughts of indulgence, or on a whim withdraw every ounce of sanity from that minute brain of yours!”

His hand waved over my injured figure and instantly my windpipe was free, at last allowing me to cough choking on the air I yearned to draw in, my throat burning as if actual hands had maliciously grasped my neck. 

He turned from me dismissively as he walked back towards Dr. Foster’s desk, his eyes on Maria’s enraged face, “careful Anna, be thankful I still see a future including you at all.”

“We should end her now,” Maria raged, her features livid, “look at her, she is never going to choose our side. You implanted that whole vision into her mind and still it stayed intact! Her darker self is never going to surface! We should cut our loses!”

She stepped forward, her gaze intent on my tired form just as his words caused her to pause, “no, I can see the darkness she fights. Such a fragile hold she has on keeping it contained. It is only a matter of time before I shatter that weak grasp of morality she clings to.”

My eyes watered knowing how close he had already been to doing exactly that, how close to the edge of exhausted insanity I had been. The knowledge of my impending demise had been almost my undoing, but the ultimate death of a loved one would have unhinged my hold completely.

Maria’s eyes never left mine, her arm rising towards me, and yet her words directed at him, “You allow your hope for the future to cloud your judgment. To permit her to live is to aid their fight against us! You can not see her as I do. She is never going to change!”

I watched as her arm aimed directly for my entrapped form rippling with unknown power as Andrew’s once had while inwardly knowing what would soon drip from her fingertips and yet helpless to stop it. She smiled a grin so sinister among Maria’s graceful features at the defeat written along my face just as the demon of illusion literally reached inside her from behind; clutching the very essence of her being before callously ripping it forcibly from Maria’s stunned form. Maria’s body froze, her eyes blank as if abruptly she lied vacant of a soul before her lids closed, and she crumpled unharmed to the beige carpeting, the yellow lining now completely vanishing. 

He beamed insanely before me, his hand still clutching the neck of the resistant shadowed form of the demon he had just forcibly released as footsteps beyond the door embarked on our undisclosed location.

“It seems you can’t escape reality forever, my dear sweet Anna. It has been a pleasure returning to you.” He walked nearer, his eyes intent on holding mine, his fingers grazing my cheek just as the ropes that had confined me disappeared all together. 

Another fucking illusion.

“We shall meet again soon,” he whispered just as the door began to open. I turned quickly towards the nurses, and attendants now rushing into the space then twisted to confront the demon I knew would now haunt my worst nightmares only to discover he had already vanished, and all that remained in this now tension filled room was my solitary form along with the bodies of two prominent figures at this institution lying unconscious at the base of my feet.

Aww, shit.

…………………………………………………..

Dr. Foster and Maria were instantly removed from the room as attendants encircled me as if daring me to challenge them, my meek appearance going against everything they had experienced when dealing with the deranged. Instead of easily leading me to my room or whatever form of hell they deemed to toss me into they quickly captured my wrists and ankles carrying me forcibly towards an awaiting gurney. My arms and legs were strapped to the sides and hastily they traveled towards my awaiting imprisonment. 

Once at my appointed cell they removed my restraints with fear in their eyes at my continued silence and placed me atop my own bed before a younger attendant turned towards a doctor I had not seen in this ward before, “Dr. Harris, should we call the police, report the incident?”

The doctor’s brown eyes watched me warily, his gray hair shinning in the sparsely lit room, the white of his coat apparent even in the semi-darkness, “no, we will we wait until Dr. Foster is awake and can tell us what happened.”

“And until then? I mean she’s escaped this locked room before?” the attendant once again questioned.

The doctor reached behind him towards the nurse who had just entered the room, a needle now brandished inside him hand. The sight of it causing me to finally struggle beneath their hold, the idea of them seizing my free will almost too much for me to take. “Hold her still,” he ordered uncaringly before he moved nearer, his cold eyes still penetrating my own. “We’ll keep her sedated until her victims are conscious,” he continued as if my screams didn’t bound from my tongue as he harshly plunged the needle into my skin. My lids soon began to droop against my wishes, a foreshadow I knew would foretell how all my future decisions would be made had these medical professionals had their way.

Leaning over my almost unconscious form I heard him speak as if I no longer existed, “We’ll keep her drugged, that way finally no one else can be hurt.”

I vaguely remember hazy misshapen figures coming in and out of my room throughout the night and during the next day. I don’t recall being offered meals or kind words, and I do believe there was at least a hand full of occasions when an insensitive nurse would callously escort my barely conscious body across the room to a bathroom, basically dragging me towards it because whatever dosage they had me on was twice the amount normally administrated.

And then night fell and finally I awoken. Fully alert and free from grogginess, the moonlight filling my small room. I rose from my bed slowly dispelling the dizziness I felt at rising before I made it to the door. It was locked, a guard at its entrance and yet through its surface I could hear sounds of life. I hurried to grab the chair in the corner ignoring the mirror’s reflection of my thin, tired appearance as I quickly placed it near the entrance. Levering myself upon it I peered out of the small glass window near the top, my eyes finding my jailor, my mind hastily entering his.

As practiced I shifted through the garbage that littered everyday lives on towards hidden information I desperately yearned to know until like an unstoppable force it hit me. Dazed, I jumped back down onto the cold tile, my body slowly sinking back atop the bed. 

They wanted me transferred to another facility.

A facility so desolate the attendants forced to transport me didn’t want to partake. A place that sunlight became a thing of the past, and darkness filled your every waking moment. An institution where insolence was impossible because you were never allowed the opportunity to leave your cell. A imminent torturous existence awaiting for what they now perceived as a ravaged mind too far gone to be helped. 

They wanted me locked away until finally madness completely and utterly possessed me, which upon reflection I realized had probably been the demon of illusion’s aspiration all along.

I climbed into bed, my covers bunched within my shaken hands, gazing wordlessly out at the stars. My life could not end this way, with a justified anger coursing through me at the idea that this may be my last night looking up sky or any semblance to the outside world. 

I did not deserve such a bleak hellish future, I didn’t deserve anything that had happened to me. I was once a good kid. I listened to my mother. I tried to make friends at school. I dealt with the horrors of living with my step father, dealt with the idea of not seeing my dad unless my mother was finally tired of using us as pawns and allowed his rare visits, hell I even dealt with the death of everyone I loved. I accepted that darkness existed upon earth even that it now courting everything I possessed, but I’d be damned if I sit here and wait for them to lock me away until insanity consumed the only thing I had left; my sense of self.

Quickly hopping from the bed I walked towards the window. Standing under the moonlight I closed my eyes, and imagined that I could feel the breeze kiss my face, could hear the birds lingering in distant trees, could feel the sun brushing against my skin, could hear the flow of the water as it lapped against rocks until slowly what was once imagined became reality.

My eyes pierced open and there I stood at the entrance of the beautiful meadow, trees blowing gracefully along the wind, my curls dancing within its flow. The sun peeked through leaves as if a game a peek-a-boo with mother nature commenced, the sky above that forever untainted blue. Here before me lied a picturesque pasture so lovely in its view that it could never be of man’s world. Here lied an undiscovered expanse of tranquility that had once restored not only my body but my tortured soul, had once revealed deceased loved ones only for them to be snatched from within my reach. 

And there from my position standing just inside the surrounding forest I gazed out directly into incensed cerulean eyes, shock registering undisguised on Katrina’s livid features.

“You do not belong here,” she screeched, her gaze drowning in abhorrence, her beautiful features revoltingly distorted, a hateful grimace upon her lips. 

“I could say the same for you,” I spat back as I walked further into the meadow, my eyes never leaving hers.

“Isn’t there some other useless death you need to cause back on earth?”

Her blow hurt and yet I hid it well, “spoken like a bona fide guardian… only… that isn’t exactly true, now is it?”

She rolled her eyes, her annoyance obvious, “what lies are you spouting now?”

“Its no lie and you know it. You are no more a protector of innocence than I am an angel. It’s the reason you hate me so much because I am the only one who can see you for exactly what you are.” 

“You are nothing more than a foolish girl,” she insulted as she stepped closer towards me, hate controlling her every move. “You know nothing.”

“I know that your aurora has changed. The beam surrounding you has dimmed, that soon blue light will transform into that ugly tarnished yellow that clings to darkness. And then I wonder between us two which will be denied access to these hallowed grounds,” I mocked watching the fear trickle slowly into her anger.

“You dare to mock me! I have been a guardian longer than you have been alive!”

“And yet look at how easy it was for you to lose your way.” I moved further towards the water, my dimples showcasing the joy I found in her pain. “Did you really think I wouldn’t realize that protectors can sense when their appointed charges are in trouble?”, I questioned knowing that from the illusion even darkness knew of everything I endured on earth and quickly mimicked their knowledge of watchers almost flawlessly. “That it is impossible to not realize when help is needed? Meaning you have sensed it many times and yet ignored my call?”

Katrina didn’t even bother to deny it, her lips twisted cruelly, “so what if I did? They wanted you-.”

I cut her off, “I know they wanted me to find out the truth on my own, but I’m guessing that a line was drawn to that rule, that my death would not have been their intention, whereas you…”

“Whereas I what? Disagree with their choice to protect someone so riddled with darkness, then I admit to that. That I find your whining about becoming the most powerful being we have ever seen annoying then easily I admit to that, but if you think for a second you can convince anyone that I am at polluted by evil then-.”

I interrupted her irate tirade with the swift wave of my hand, “trust me, I don’t have to convince anyone. You’ll eventually hang yourself, that is… if they don’t notice it before then. Do you think I didn’t detect the shock on your face when you saw my arrival here? What Katrina, thought the demon of illusion would have finished me off?”

“You’re as crazy as they claim you to be,” she raged as she turned her back on me marching determinedly from my side. Only I could see the truth lying inside those demented eyes.

“And you’re just as jealous,” I foolishly taunted watching as she paused. 

Her hands balled into tight fist, the wind blowing through her hair as the faint blue light brightened discolored with specks of red and yellow, something until this moment I had never seen. Quickly before I could shield myself she confronted me with eyes an exquisite blue and yet traces of that ruthless crimson fought to stay hidden. My mouth fell open at the sight of darkness like leeches under her skin as they slithered into the white of her eyes just as a white burning ball of energy came hurtling towards me. 

Unprepared I met it full force with unprotected skin as it burned through the thin fabric of my white tee and flung my small form with such strength I vaulted back into the icy cold water. Never had I been hit by such power that I unwisely found myself gasping at the unimaginable pain radiating from my scalded stomach while easily taking in mouthfuls of the surrounding colorless liquid. I choked, the water embracing my form effortlessly, my inability to swim allowing it to hold me in its treacherous clutch.

“Jealously will never be something I’d apply to you… more like pity. I pity the child who clings to the border of good and evil. The child coveted by both sides and yet ultimately will die for the cause. Whether darkness or light takes hold of you, your fate is doomed. To let you drown here like the pathetic waste of space that you are would be merciful,” she roared, her voice one filled with malice, deepening beyond anything I had ever heard before. Then she simply walked away as if watching me sink no longer amused her. 

Thinking back to pass illusions before it was too late I centered myself immersing my form into both light and dark until the wind blew hysterically around us, and clouds lingered in the sky, the sound of thunder erupting pierced the silence; lightening raining down from the heavens. It was a view never seen in such sacred space that Katrina froze just as the water receded from my form. It withdrew from my sides like a trained animal now under my control, rising up away from my lone figure like a halted tidal wave until my feet sunk into dirt and pissed I sauntered back onto dry land. The earth shook underneath my dainty feet only stopping its tremble at the halt of my footsteps directly behind my supposed protector.        

She turned towards me slowly, shocked to see the hazel and scarlet comingling inside my incensed gaze before I commanded water to obey me as it rushed forward pummeling Katrina’s frozen figure. It literally encircled my body and yet never touched my skin in its objective to drown my enemy. Her figure flew back on impact like a small ship carried away in a hurricane, her back slamming into the bark of a huge redwood, blood dripping from her lips before I ordered the liquid element to return to its rightful place, the only evidence of its unnatural current being the wetness of the muddy ground. Slowly I approached her, my eyes trained on her slumped body before abruptly her gaze opened, and once again that unknown pressure took hold of my windpipe, squeezing my neck in a unforgiving hold. 

I fell to my knees as the gust receded back to a playful breeze, the clouds parted for sunshine to surpass my weakened hold as life was slowly compressed from my lungs. I whispered, “Katrina,” hoarsely knowing that bloodlust now consumed her entirely as darkness blurred my view and open mouthed I plummeted onto my wounded stomach watching as joy filled her gaze at my defeat. 

“Stop this, now!” A voice roared into the silence as a force took hold of us vaulting us both on opposite sides of the meadow like a normal mortal would separate immature children. “What is the meaning of this?”

As I choked on newfound air Katrina instantly transformed back into blameless protector bowing at this woman’s feet as if not worthy to gaze upon her. 

“Rise child, and speak,” she ordered Katrina, her voice smooth and yet within its flow lingered untold wisdom. My view of this stranger was one of only her back, her raven colored strands of loose curls of silk were littered with few streaks of silver, while dressed in those same blinding white robes my own father wore hers was embroidered with glittering golden intricate patterns flowing straight down to her concealed feet.

“She attacked me,” Katrina easily lied, false tears rising inside her eyes. “I had no choice but to defend myself.”

“Is what she says true?” she questioned me yet her body never moved to direct me, and compelled I replied.

“You may believe whatever you see fit. I see no reason to soil this place with lies.”

Eyes widening in satisfaction, Katrina quickly turned her pitiful expression back to the robed one, “do you see the disrespect she shows. The-.”

She stopped Katrina with one simple raising of her hand then once again questioned me without confronting my pained features, “you see no reason to soil this place and yet you two tarnish its existence with hate.”

“No, I,” Katrina objected only to stop at the stranger’s overpowering voice. 

“I do not care of tales told of self defense, in reality you are a protector, a watcher. Someone who has lived the imperfection of human emotion and earned the blessing of the responsibility of guiding those into the righteousness of light. No matter what trials thrown in your path you should have heeded others for assistance instead of doling out punishment for sin you have no right to judge.”

Katrina’s humbled form trembled in fear as she pathetically pleaded, “forgive me?”

“See that you learn for this mistake for it will not be tolerated a second time. Now leave us.”

I watched as Katrina cradling an injured arm hurried from our side before at last the stranger turned to face my silent form. 

Tears flooded my gaze that had nothing to do with the pain lingering along my scorched abdomen. My sight took in identical hazel iris’s, full red lips, wrinkles delicately lining her tanned skin. Skin tones equal to my own, “Grandma?”

She smiled a grin more joyful than any I had ever beheld transforming aged beauty into everlasting exquisiteness, “I prefer Abuela, and I believe my sweet Niña we have much to discuss.”

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Okay, I’m going to stop here. I don’t know if I truly like this chapter or not and too tired to reread it so if there is any mistakes, sorry. I really don’t feel like editing. Anyways, I was going to add in the conversation with her grandmother but I feel like it’s a really important scene in the book and I don’t want it rushed, nor do I want to make my chapter too long for you, the reader to take. I personally love a long chapter if I love the story but you may be different. So future hint the next chapter will obviously reveal Anna’s background so stay tuned….

To any new readers thanks, and welcome to the dark world of Being Anna Marie… lol

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always….

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Until next time…