Robert was over for supper again. He'd been coming over a lot lately - even more than he had before my grandparents died. And he wasn't just helping out around the farm. He and Mother were courting. To his credit, he was also trying to get to know me, but I was having none of that. I was jealous of him, jealous of how much attention he was stealing from me, but at the same time, I knew this was best. Maybe I should leave soon. My birthday was coming up. I should probably tell Lucifer I wanted to go with him this time. I didn't, of course, but then he wouldn't have a reason to come around my mother anymore.

Robert was really nervous tonight. I watched him across the table, flushed and sweaty, fidgeting with his food. I knew what was coming. Mother did, too. There was no reason for him to be acting this way, unless he was about to propose.

But then there was a knock at the door.

My heart plummeted. He'd never come to the house before. Surely it wasn't him.

"I'll get it," I said, hurrying to the door before Mother and Robert could react.

It was him. I stared at him, horrified.

I heard Mother gasp. "You! What are you doing here?"

He just laughed, looking down at me.

She grabbed my arm and yanked me back, stepping between Lucifer and I. "You can't have her. I'd rather die than let you near her!"

Robert came up beside her. "What's going on here?" he demanded.

Lucifer grabbed Mother by her collar. "That was the plan, Cynthia." He threw her across the room like a doll. She hit the wall, hard, and didn't get up.

Robert took a swing at him. Lucifer grabbed his fist and twisted, a sickening crack sounding as the bones in his arm snapped like a twig. He screamed in pain, and Lucifer grabbed him by the neck, sending him across the room with Mother.

I couldn't move. I just stood there, frozen with shock, as my worst nightmare unfolded before my eyes. They lay, crumpled on the floor, unmoving.

And then he grabbed my arm in a vice grip. "Let's go."

He dragged me outside, slamming the door shut behind him. Two dark figures were pouring some sort of liquid around the house.

"You don't have to do this!" I pleaded, turning to face him. "I'll come with you! Just leave them alone!"

Flames roared into life behind me. He spun me around, twisting my arm behind my back to force me to face the house. The fire spread quickly, and then there were screams as they regained consciousness - and I realized I was screaming, too, struggling to break free from Lucifer's grip. He grabbed my other arm and twisted it behind my back. I fought, but he was easily able to hold both arms tight with a single hand. His free arm wrapped around my waist, lifting me off the ground.

"Watch," he hissed in my ear. "Watch and remember that you are the one who did this. Watch and remember that you ruined her life, and the lives of everyone you ever met and ever will meet. Watch and remember that this is your fault."

He held me there until nothing was left but ashes.

I was exhausted, a limp doll in his arms, my throat raw from screaming, face wet with tears. I heard a rustle behind me as an enormous pair of black wings sprouted from his shoulders, and suddenly we were airborne. He flew silently just above the trees, heading south, in the few remaining hours of night. I couldn't fight anymore. I had no reason to fight anymore.

He landed just before dawn at a cave entrance. He carried me deeper and deeper inside, until there was no light left. It was then that he finally released me, throwing me against the unforgiving stone wall. I wish I'd remained unconscious longer, but I healed far too quickly for that. When I awoke, my head was sticky with blood, but the pain was already gone. I hugged my knees to my chest, shivering.

"Cold?" Lucifer's voice was near, though I couldn't see him in the pitch black.

"Y-yes."

There was a soft thud next to me. I felt something soft - a blanket - and wrapped it around me. The warmth was comforting, and the smell reminded me of something familiar. Perfume. It smelled like - like Grandmother's perfume. Horror set in as I realized it was Grandmother's favorite quilt, the one that had been wrapped around her and Grandfather in death. I threw it away from me, burying my face in my knees.

Lucifer was laughing.

I shot out of bed, gasping for breath, shaking all over. This wasn't the cave. That wasn't the quilt. Sunlight streamed in around the curtains. This was all different - this was the spare room in Ashley's house. I put my face in my hands and crumpled to the floor. Deep breathing, in and out. I'd dreamed of it before, I'd remembered it before, but never had it been so vivid. I was the girl in the dream, seeing it as she saw it, feeling it as she felt it, all over again. My heart was open and raw. Breathe, Diane, breathe. I felt like I was suffocating.

"Diane? Diane, what's wrong?"

Ashley's voice. Ashley's arms wrapping around me. I was crying - sobbing, actually. It was the first time I'd cried since that night. Hundreds of years of tears - it was agony. I couldn't breathe.

"What's going on? What happened?"

"I don't know, Mom."

Another set of arms wrapped around me. "Poor thing. It's okay, just get it all out."

I didn't like crying in front of them. I didn't like crying at all. But I wasn't in control anymore. I was powerless, just like that night, when Lucifer fed me lie after lie, and I drank it all in, as I had in the years leading up to that event. But none of it was true. Not a word. I'd believed those lies for so long, let them define me, but they had no power over me anymore. It wasn't my fault. I wasn't responsible for Mother's death. I had been a victim, just as much as she and Robert had been. And that knowledge gave me the freedom to finally mourn them, and my grandparents, and Hitomi, and all the other animals Lucifer had killed.

Eventually, I ran out of tears. Ashley and her mother knelt on either side of me, hugging me. I dropped my hands from my face and took a deep breath.

"Sorry about that," I said quietly.

Mary was already handing me a handkerchief. "You have no reason to apologize. There's nothing wrong with a good cry, especially after what you went through last night."

I wiped my face and shook my head. "This wasn't about last night." I stood up, shakily.

"Another nightmare?" Ashley asked.

I nodded.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"But if it helps-"

"There are some things you never need to know, Ashley," I interrupted her firmly.

Mary stood up. "Well, we've got to get your clothes sorted out," she said, redirecting the conversation. "I've got an old dress you can wear for the time being - it'll be a bit short on you, but it's better than those rags." She was in full mother mode, brisk and domineering. I appreciated her changing the subject, although I knew she wanted me to talk about what had happened as much as Ashley had. But she didn't push me, and I let her lead me back to her bedroom for a change of clothes.

It was nice of her to give me her dress, but it looked absolutely ridiculous on me - she was at least two feet shorter than me, and I was of a much slimmer build, too. She quickly determined that my shirt and pants were beyond saving, so she measured me for a new outfit and started work on it right away. I pulled my black robe over top of the dress as soon as she was finished with me.

Jeffrey was out working with the horses until dinnertime. I was on my way out the door when he returned, but he stopped me.

"We need to have a talk about last night," he said, clearly upset with me.

"Jeffrey, not now," Mary said.

"Yes, now. She could have gotten Ashley killed! I'm putting my foot down. This has to stop."

"Dad-" Ashley started, but I put a hand out to silence her.

"He's right," I said.

"But-" Ashley tried to jump in again.

"You shouldn't have to deal with any of this, Ashley. I hate it as much as your father does. But the sara were never going to let me leave without a fight, and I can't stand by and let them continue what they're doing. Not anymore. And, unfortunately, there's no way I can take them on alone." I took a deep breath, making direct eye contact with each of her parents in turn. "Jeffrey, Mary, your daughter is on par with me at her age. She was made for this. I don't know why, but God led me here, to her, and I have to make sure she's ready for what's coming."

Ashley's eyes were round as she looked at me. I hadn't told her this much before.

Her parents were silent for a moment. "I don't like it," Jeffrey finally said, frowning.

"Neither do I. But whether I'm here or not, Ashley is still the way she is, and the sara were going to catch wind of that eventually. It may not make you feel any better, but I can at least reassure you that her training is significantly kinder and safer than mine was."

"What if we showed you? Tomorrow, during the daytime?" Ashley volunteered.

"I don't know that I want to see that," Mary said.

"I know I don't, but I think I should," Jeffrey said reluctantly.

"Ashley, maybe you should stay in tonight," I said. I would need to think about this. I didn't really like the idea of training in front of her parents. There could be nothing reassuring about that.

"But what if they come back?" she asked, concerned.

I sighed, looking at her. "I know you won't like hearing this, but you're a liability right now. It's easier if I don't have to worry about you. And I doubt they'd come back so soon. That's not their game."

It hurt her. I saw it all over her expressive face.

"Then it's even more important that we get back to training," she insisted.

"One night isn't going to make that big of a difference. Stay home. Please."

I didn't wait for her response. I just walked outside and shut the door.