Demon's Dream Read Free Page B

specifically invited. Clarissa’s heart broke as she ran from the table in tears at the very thought. Johann found her outside, weeping softly. She clung to him as he approached her and begged him not to go. What was she to do without him in her life? How could he be so selfish as to leave them and listen to his wife, leaving his family, tradition and worse of all, leaving her?
    She shook her head now at how foolish she was, how young and greedy for his time and attention she had been. She pushed him away that day, yelled at him. Johann had reached out to her, told her he would always be there. But she didn’t listen and she didn’t care what he had to say at that point. Her heart ached. She was going to make sure he knew it and hurt him too. She could never take the words back that she had thrown at him so harshly that day. After his announcement, she had run out onto the front porch, tears streaming down her cheeks. Had she known then it would be the last conversation she had with him, she would have said so many things differently. Who knew her life would change just moments later that day?
    As she gazed at the scenes unfolding within the orb, she whispered, “I’m so sorry brother. I need you and love you terribly and I miss you so much. I never meant any of the words I said. I was rash and young. Gods please hear me. Please forgive me. I love you so much.”
    Although, she didn’t feel the full onslaught of heartache as she had when she first started this process over a month ago, she still could never undo the hurt she caused Johan as her last words rang in the still, cold, crisp air around them before she turned and ran off. His last act was to save her as he sacrificed himself so she could get away later that day, whereas her last words to him that morning were, “I hate you more than life itself and wish you were dead.”
    There was nothing she wished she could undo more than those words she never, ever truly meant but instead were said in the heat of anger.
    The scene within the orb shifted. Once Clarissa had run from the house, she hid in the woods for hours. Finally, she had calmed herself down enough to try and send a mental message to her family. She was still too upset at Johann and Marinka to see them at the moment but she wanted to go home. She tried to call out to her parents through her telepathy but there was no response. She had no idea what was happening, only a strong unease settled around her, a desperation that she needed to get home as quickly as possible. Why did no one answer her mental link?
    Shifting into her wolf form she began to run. She knew she was faster in this guise and her gut instincts told her she needed to get there as quickly as she could. She wanted to crawl in her Papa’s lap and have Mama chastise Johann for his announcement earlier but then why weren’t her parents responding to her either? Why were they ignoring her mental calls? Was she maybe linking incorrectly? Could were-wolves send a message to the wrong head, or get busy signals? She had never heard of such a thing but then again, she really didn’t know for sure.
    One more bend and she would be home. She shifted back to her natural human form, a coat wrapped tightly around her body as soon as she was able to materialize clothes on her otherwise naked figure.
    She rounded the corner and came to a dead stop. She blinked, and unsure she was actually seeing reality. The snows in the road were ran blood red as bodies were strewn about. Intermingled with the still figures of her young nieces and nephews, were the bodies of wolves, their throats cut or their guts torn out, laid next to them in a bloody pile matted with their fur. She was sickened by the sight and shocked. Tears streamed down her face as she ran, continuing to look for other members of her family. Surely they would be safe, it was important that they were okay. They were her parents and her family. They just had to be alright.
    She bust into the house,