I didn't open my eyes again for a while. Even with Sebastian holding me close as my body trembled in fear, I couldn't bring myself to do so. So much had happened in the past several hours. I could barely process any of it.

Lisa turned and tried to talk to me several times, but I wasn't able to answer. Why was I so frightened now? I was away from the police station and away from all of the demons who had been staring at me. Why was I more scared here than there?

Then it dawned on me. I was in a car.

A few hours ago, Lisa had told me the truth about the "accident" that had taken my parents' lives. We had been struck by a car full of demons who had been trying to kill me. What if it happened again? At the thought, I curled up against Sebastian even more.

Sebastian held me tighter to him in response. As if he knew what I was thinking, he spoke up, "Lisa, keep your eyes peeled. Watch for any suspicious vehicles."

"Right," was her answer.

I felt myself relax slightly, knowing everyone was aware of the stakes. I continued to stare into the darkness in my closed eyes. My tight grip on Sebastian loosened and my breathing slowed. I felt as if I was on the verge of sleep when images began to form in my mind. I saw the four of us, still in the police car, and a silver minivan driving full speed out of a driveway. I watched as it collided with the car, then drove off unscathed.

"A van..." I mumbled, still feeling the pull of sleep.

"What?" I heard Lisa ask.

"A van..." I mumbled again, trying to stir myself.

"Chrystal, are you-"

I finally managed to jerk myself awake. "A van! Stop!!"

James slammed on the brakes and Sebastian held me as we were all jerked around. A moment later, a silver minivan came flying out of a driveway right in front of the car, and disappeared after it didn't make contact with the car.

After the shock of the moment passed, I felt all eyes on me. After a brief second, I closed my own and leaned against Sebastian, failing at trying not to cry.

"How did she-" James started.

"It's the gift," Lisa answered in awe.

"What?"

"If anyone was doubting she was the heir, there's no denying it now. Only the true heir has the power to see the future."

Sebastian's arms around me tightened once again.

"Sebastian, clearly the car isn't safe for her. I'll give you the address, and you can take her there by foot. We'll meet you soon."

I looked up at her then. "But if I can-"

"No, your powers are still developing. We're lucky you saw that car, but there's no guarantee you'll see every obstacle in our path. You'll be safer this way. I promise we will get there soon."

The sincerity in her voice and eyes made me nod my head. She and James would meet us.

Lisa described the building and where it was to Sebastian as I unbuckled and grabbed my purse. I glanced up to see James staring at me through the rear view mirror. He looked away a moment later. Maybe he was the one who was hoping all of this destiny stuff was nonsense. If Lisa's right...

Sebastian opened the car door and pulled me from my thoughts. He got out and offered my his hand with a warm and reassuring smile. I smiled back and let him help me out of the car. He then lifted me into his arms and I clung to my small bag as he ran toward the address he'd been given at full speed. I didn't even have the chance to look back and say goodbye. But I knew I would see James and Lisa again, so I grabbed the black rose from my hair and closed my eyes to shield them from the wind and waited patiently for us to reach our destination.

*

Sebastian slowed to a walk maybe five minutes later, and I opened my eyes to see where we were. Before us was a small community. It was made up of about ten houses, and was in the middle of nowhere.

Sebastian sat me on the ground at my request. I put the rose back in my hair as we walked hand in hand toward the houses.

As we were walking to the one Lisa had described, I heard a female voice call out to us from one of the porches to our left. I turned to see a middle aged blonde woman smiling kindly and waving. She ran down the steps to us, and I couldn't help taking a cautious step back.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I frightened you, dear. I mean you no harm. This is a safe place."

I didn't answer. She looked kind enough, but I wasn't going to take any chances.

Sebastian then squeezed my hand, and I looked up at him. He was smiling. I took that as him trying to tell me she wasn't a demon, so she was no real threat to me. I felt myself relax and I released Sebastian to extend my hand to her in greeting.

"I'm sorry. It's been a scary few days. My name is Chrystal."

The woman's eyes lit up as she shook my hand. "It's good to meet you, Chrystal. I'm Megan."

I nodded. "And this is Sebastian," I said, gesturing to him. He gave a small bow.

"It's a pleasure," she smiled. "Well, seeing you're here with nothing but the clothes on your backs, am I safe to assume you are here as victims under police protection as well?"

I gave her a hesitant nod. I didn't like the word 'victim', but it was a pretty accurate one for my situation, I thought.

"If that's the case, do you know where you're staying? Sometimes they have people share homes so they can watch out for one another, but since there's two of you..."

"Is everyone here under protection?" I asked curiously.

Megan smiled again. "Everyone but the police officers. They all stay in that house over there." She pointed to one that was slightly larger than the others and had daisies growing in pots on the lawn. "There's not many of them, but they can defend us in an emergency."

That was good to hear. I glanced up to Sebastian again, and he was looking at me, reassuring me that there were no threats that he could sense.

"So," Megan continued, "if you don't know where you're staying, you can come inside with me until someone comes to settle you in."

"Actually, we do know. Right?" I asked, directing my question to Sebastian. He nodded.

"Second to last house on the right side of the road, I was told." He then proceeded to point at a small wooden house with a rose bush growing beside the steps.

Once I looked back from the house to Megan, I saw that she had lost all the color in her cheeks. "Megan? Are you alright?"

She shook her head violently, then her smile returned. "Yes, dear. Sorry about that. I just didn't realize you were the girl I was told about."

I felt myself tense again. "Who told you about me?"

She looked worried when she saw my reaction. "Lisa, dear. She called and asked me to keep an eye out for a young lady and servant who would be traveling on foot, and to make sure you were welcomed and weren't followed. And seeing as we've been talking all this time and no one has jumped out to kill us, I'd say we're just fine." She smiled warmly at me, and even though her response to my question wasn't very reassuring, my body relaxed knowing Lisa had been looking out for us.

"Thank you for the offer to stay at your home, but I think we're both very tired after the long trek. We're going to go put our things away and rest while we wait for Lisa and James. It was lovely to meet you, though."

"Of course, dear. How selfish of me to try and keep you. Rest up."

I waved to her, then turned around to walk to the house Sebastian had indicated. I took his hand and held it tightly. No matter how safe this place seemed, I would not be able to relax until I knew nothing was going to happen. And I wasn't going to feel that relief until Sebastian had searched every inch of this small community and I had my swords back at my side.