The final walk along the last trail that would lead them to the Tenebris Mountains was much more tense and silent than Shandra had imagined it would be.Nervous, the girl was paying attention to the vegetation around her; the way the trees and plants looked now that she knew they were all interconnected with Gaia.And speaking of Gaia, the entity's words still rang in her ear constantly. She takes a deep breath as she gropes around in her pocket for the strange artifact she had been given as a gift.Would she need to use it that day?Sam's voice sounded in her mind:"Disturbed?"Shanda looks discreetly at him before answering mentally as well:"Evidently so. Don't you?"His fire-colored eyes, always so confident, were somewhat misty that morning. A few seconds later, he finally replies:"I'm more than disturbed. I'm terrified."The heartfelt answer takes the girl by surprise. He continues:"At some point, Shandra, everything... Everything will come to light. The fact that we are inter
The dark, moonless dawn was only a mere detail of how horrible that day had been.Walking slowly down the sidewalk, feeling the tears falling down her cheeks without bothering to dry them, Shandra thought about what she would do with the painful life unfolding in front of her.The young woman tried to stop the sobbing that rose up her throat, but could not. Then she began to cry openly like a child, holding the medallion tightly under her shirt.The three events of the day flashed through his mind for the thousandth time, like a cruel and sad movie replaying on the television.First: her arch enemy and rival, Sasha Royal, had made Shandra suffer a huge embarrassment in the cafeteria, humiliating her in front of everyone in the school.Second: her favorite teacher, the handsome and friendly Mr. Rinkons, died of a massive heart attack on his way to school.And third: the man she thought to be her friend, confidant and possible fiancé in the near future, the athlete and now ex-boyfriend
Shandra's consciousness betrayed her.In a moment, she saw the men who had chased her being reduced to ashes by the winged stranger. Less than a second later, the girl fainted.Minutes, hours or days later, the girl woke up on a bench in a square. It was still early morning. She was sitting up, as if she had just fallen asleep, and next to her was a stranger reading a newspaper.The man smiled without looking at her, flipping through a page instead."Hello, sleepyhead."Shandra wanted to jump in fright, but the lethargy that was hitting her body stopped her. The locket was still warm against her skin, but not to the point of burning her.His face was broad, with a pronounced jaw, thick lips, and unsettling fire-colored eyes. His thin, slightly pointed nose matched his other features perfectly, as did his square jaw and pale skin.A thin beard harmonized the whole ensemble, and he blinks one of his eyes as he notices the girl's careful inspection."Do you like what you see?"Dizzy, the
"How did you get in here?! Who are you?!"The man seems confused by the human's apparent fear. After all, she summoned it, didn't she? Why was she acting that way?He steps out of the tiny closet space, freeing his muscles from that wooden confinement. Moving his arms and back to stretch, the stranger replies:"I have unlimited access to anything that concerns you. And... Well, you know who I am, so I didn't understand the purpose of your question."Shandra takes great care that her indignation does not draw her mother's attention as she inquires:"What?!"He just laughs."I like the role you are playing. It's fun. But you should be more cautious about your idea of recreation. For a second, I really thought you had no idea who I am."The young woman is so wide-eyed and her breathing so loud that he laughs. Then the unknown man takes a good look at the posters and occult objects in the room, approaching the crystal ball."Interesting. Do you also have the gift of clairvoyance?"Contemp
Shandra finally manages to make a move: she slowly gets up from the bed, and with slow tortoise-like steps, slowly approaches the unimaginable demonic figure in front of her.The tiny firefly-like embers are still around him, and delighted and amazed, the girl realizes that none of them fall to the ground or even come close to burning the floor.Sam seems to be proud of himself to see the young girl's reaction. Then he makes the wings and horns disappear, returning to the inside of the back and head. The eyes also take on their ordinary appearance again."My goodness," she says, assessing the man from head to toe. There is still awe in her attitude, but also genuine admiration."Are you really as surprised as you appear?""I am. You're not very good at detecting emotions, are you?""Only the most primitive ones. Fear. Hatred. Anger. Passion."He says the last word lewdly and purposefully provocatively, blinking one of his eyes. The girl instantly turns red.Sam ignores the girl's wave
Sam immediately gets to his feet and looks at the door. Shandra also gets up from the bed, feeling chills once again, but for completely different reasons now.The voice of the young girl's mother enters in tandem with her father's, also shouting and cursing."Are they wanting to beat you up because you've been missing all day?" He asks loudly."Sssssh! They can hear you!" Whispers the girl.Sam makes a negative sign with his head."People only hear me if I want them to hear me. Everything is under control, don't worry."The door is almost going down. Shandra's father shouts once again, his pasty voice indicating that he is drunk as usual."YOU WILL REGRET THE DAY YOU WERE BORN."The girl knows she should be armored against that kind of verbal violence that is so unnecessary. Most of the time, it was as if the words went in one ear and out the other.But that particular day was the most difficult one she had ever faced. It was incredibly challenging to listen to that mountain of curse
"What have you done?!" Shandra screams, panicking, looking at her mother collapsed on the floor. She immediately drops the phone and runs to her.Sam replies with absolute calm and fullness"I didn't do anything.""How did you not do anything?! Mom!" The young woman shakes her genitor quickly, and then puts her hand on her wrist to feel her heart rate. It seemed faint."I already told you I didn't do anything.""She just fell down and passed out in front of me, don't tell me that was going to happen one way or another!""Fine. I won't tell."The way Sam spoke, full of reassurance while panic stretched into every brain cell in Shandra, made her even more nervous and prone to outburst.Making a decision, the girl rushes to the phone once again, finally managing to make the emergency call. Panicked, she explains that her father fell down the stairs, her mother probably had a heart attack, and gives the address right away.About ten to twelve minutes later, a shrill siren is heard. Shandr
The stranger smells like cinnamon, elderberry and plant leaves, and probably some medicine. His breath is strange too, like he's chewing tobacco, smoking or something.The girl is about to cringe, telling him to stay away from her, but the stranger's blue eyes change for a second... Showing the true color of fire that makes them so beautiful and intense.Sam.Shandra opens her mouth, completely shocked. He had changed completely! How had he done that?Immediately she cracks a smile of recognition, hugging "Uncle" tightly."Hi, Uncle! I'm glad you got here so quickly. My parents are in the emergency room!"She explains to him what happened, repeating the story of the call. It's amazing how well she can lie, even though she was following specific information."Let's go see your parents right away. Let me just talk to the receptionist."Shandra had no idea how he managed to pull off that incredible physical transformation, much less how he got an ID card. After a few minutes of filling o