Chapter 45

Amerie stood with her elbows rested on her porch railing and watched Milo play enthusiastically with a stick. He tossed it in the air and chased after it as he played fetch with himself. She grinned at his innocence and happiness as he was pleasantly unaware that his owner prepared to face the oldest beings of the universe. A war of Ages and Power reared its ugly head on the horizon, yet, in this moment, Amerie found the normalcy that her soul craved. She found peace and reveled in it, refusing to acknowledge the obvious fact that it would too-soon come to a screaming end.

A carefree chuckle escaped her lips just as Milo laid down in the snow panting and facing the tree line. She at first thought he had simply tired himself out, but when he remained focused no matter how many times she called his name the realization sunk in that something stalked the woods. Amerie’s smile faded and her face went blank as she strained to see what Milo was focused on. There — something moved between tw