Demons? Ancient Celtic Goddesses? It's bad enough Samantha's stuck in a new house and starting a new school, but can she also survive the evil that lurks in the shadows?

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The shadows danced across the barren white walls of 15 year old Samantha’s new bedroom. She tried to ignore them. She told herself it was just a dream. Somewhere in the distance, the howl of a wolf calling to its mate shattered the otherwise silent autumn night. Dark pink fingernails buried themselves deeply at once into her white comforter as she jerked it over her head.

“I hate this,” she whimpered. “I wanna go home.”

A minute felt to Samantha like an hour, but eventually she felt sleep’s embrace. As she cautiously poked pale green eyes over the edge of her comforter, a calm neutrality seemed to have returned to the room with the coming of the morning sun that now poured around the heavy, well-worn drapes.

She squinted as her bare feet touched the icy linoleum floor, causing her to hop back onto the bed. Her golden dark blonde hair brushed the floor lightly as she swung down over the edge, hanging upside-down for just long enough to grab her house slippers.

“Morning honey,” Samantha’s mother, a woman not quite yet at the cusp of middle-age, wrapped in a heavy pink bathrobe, commented despite her yawn as she passed Samantha in the hallway.

“Hi mommy,” Samantha answered meekly. Their argument the night before still rang fresh in her mind. She had done most of the arguing, and had said some things she wished she hadn’t now.

“How did you sleep?” she asked, as though nothing were ever wrong. She always pretended nothing was wrong, and Samantha hated it.

Samantha for her part tried to smile though. “It’s a new house, right? It just takes getting used to.”

“That’s my girl,” her mother responded tenderly. “I know this isn’t ideal, but it’s all we can afford right now. Maybe if your father were still alive,” she began, and immediately regretted it. Samantha quickly buried her face in her mother’s shoulder at the mention of her late father. Six long months had passed, but the wounds still ran deep.

“Shh-shh, It’s okay honey.”

~oOo~

By nine, Samantha had the house to herself, and already she began to understand how her mother could have come to afford such a large place. The house felt to her entirely too unwelcoming.

A constant chill ran down her spine as she tried to curl up on the sofa — a leathery, cracked affair left behind by the previous owners, trying to watch Saturday morning cartoons as she drowned her sorrows in a large bowl of cereal. Neither the heavy blanket nor the food could take her mind off her restless sleep the night before, and worse yet, starting a new school the following Monday where no one knew her, or her secret, made things even harder.

At least the previous owners were kind enough to leave behind their furniture. It seemed that they had been in a great hurry to depart the house like that. Almost every stick of furniture Samantha and her mother now owned had been left to them by the previous owner.

By noon, Samantha’s unease finally outweighed her fear of meeting new people. The gloomy sensation of someone watching her seemed to follow her back up the stairs. She carefully averted her gaze from the dusty old mirror that hung halfway up, as if a monster might jump out at her if she dared to look, and at the top step raced into her bedroom, shoving the door closed.

“Hate this place,” she whined, pressing her back to the old wooden door for only a moment. At least she had been able to keep her wardrobe. It made no sense to try and sell what she’d only acquired inside a year ago after all.

After selecting a pair of daisy-embroidered boot-cut jeans and a thin, black mock-turtleneck, she took a heavy button-down green sweater, grabbing a pair of black clogs with a scant two inch heel, disappearing into the upstairs bathroom to get dressed and do her makeup.

Perhaps it was just her imagination, or that she was able to lose herself in her work, but she felt less paranoid in the cozy little bathroom. The walls had fresher paint at least in contrast to the rest of the house, in a warm, creamy yellowish-white with light tan tile countertops and a lighted mirror. She almost wished she could stay in there forever.

The house itself had a few neighbors close by, but with an ample front and back yard and a large privacy fence in-back, it could feel very secluded, cut off from the surrounding area. Samantha hadn’t yet met any of her neighbors, though they had only just moved in a couple of days prior.

It nevertheless made her feel more uneasy and vulnerable. She grabbed her simple black purse and stepped out into the chill autumn air. Not a bird in the trees could be heard, just the crunch of dead leaves underfoot. She felt as if she were utterly and completely alone, a feeling she hadn’t felt in at least two years. Not since she first-

“Hey, hello?” a distinctly female voice shattered Samantha’s thoughts, sending her spiraling back to reality. Indeed, it took all she had not to shriek — either to surprise or joy, that another living being existed here. She spun around to find another teenager, somewhat shorter than herself with long black hair and thin-rimmed red glasses staring back.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” the girl offered warmly as she approached. “My name’s Jade. You just moved in, right?”

“Um y-yeah,” Samantha answered as she nervously shook Jade’s hand. “My mom and me.”

“I didn’t think they’d ever sell the old Whitmoore place,” Jade commented matter-of-factly as she pulled her dark brown suede jacket a little more tightly around herself. “Hey, do you want to go do something?”

Samantha hesitated, shyly chewing her bottom lip.

“Come on. You look like you could use a friend. I can show you around town and introduce you to a few people. I won’t bite, I promise. Well, unless you ask really nicely,” she added playfully. Samantha cracked a smile.

“Okay,” she murmured. “Oh, um, I’m Samantha, by the way.”

“Cool. Can I call you Sam?”

Samantha cringed, and Jade quickly corrected herself, “Samantha it is. My house is just over there, across the road. The heater in my car doesn’t work so don’t roll the window down unless you want to play freeze-out.”

~oOo~

Jade and Samantha drove around the sleepy little suburb, though Samantha didn’t seem particularly interested in the tour. Eventually Jade broke the awkward silence between them. “So how do you like the new house?”

The question almost seemed baited, as though Jade already knew what Samantha’s answer would be. Samantha slowly turned away from the window to stare at Jade, who offered the girl a sympathetic smile.

“I miss home,” she offered quietly. She’d already burst into tears twice that day, and refused to do so in front of this relative stranger now. She stiffened, sitting up slightly. “I guess I’ll get used to it.”

“If you say so,” Jade answered quietly. Samantha’s attempts at stoicism faltered as Jade rounded a corner, pulling up to a small public park. Samantha gave her a puzzled glance, to which Jade smiled and motioned for her to get out. She led Samantha to a small duck pond, though the fowl had by now departed for more southerly waters.

“Dad used to bring me here when I was little. I love coming here to skate when it freezes over, or to just sit and think.”

She buried her hands in her jacket as she sat, the rickety bench creaking under her slight stature. Samantha reluctantly sat at the far end opposite the stranger. Finally she turned to her, breaking her silence.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Jade answered simply. She smiled reassuringly, though kept her hands buried in her pockets, respecting the distance between the two girls.

“It’s about my house. Has anyone ever … um… I mean…”

“Is it haunted?” Jade answered. Samantha nodded. “I can’t say for sure. The last people who lived there moved out in the middle of the night, but the old lady before them lived in that house since before I moved in across the way, and she never seemed to have any problems. It’s just sort of an urban legend now, you know? It sat empty for so long. Why, did something happen?” Jade asked, concern filling her voice.

“Not,” she hesitated, “Not exactly. It’s just, when I’m alone I feel really uncomfortable there, like something doesn’t want me there. It’s like when,” she trailed off, biting down on her strawberry-glossed lower lip with enough force to make Jade cringe.

“Hey, don’t do that,” Jade offered gently, instinctively scurrying closer. As she reached out to wrap Samantha in a friendly hug, Samantha recoiled.

“I’m fine,” she muttered, standing.

“I was just trying to help,” Jade spoke softly.

“Sorry,” Samantha answered. “I’m just having a bad day. I didn’t mean to take it out on … Jade?” but Jade was nowhere to be seen. In fact, no one, anywhere, could be seen or heard. A deathly silence had fallen over the area. Darkness seemed to rapidly wash over the area, as a chill, animalistic and yet somehow unnatural howl pierced the silence.

Samantha turned to run toward Jade’s car, only to find a rusted-out wreck in its place, as though it had been sitting there for years. She turned back to find that where the bench once sat, a pile of maggoty wood now lay across a dried-up bank. The trees, a few seconds before, rich and beautiful, now seemed gnarled and, to Samantha’s mind, almost alive, and very angry.

The sky overhead became red as blood, and embers seemed to rise from the barren ground. Samantha turned to flee, screaming at the top of her lungs. Something, some shadow-like creature that she could only barely perceive at the edge of her vision pursued her.

How quickly and for how long she ran, she wasn’t certain, but one of her ill-fitting clogs had become lost along the way, leaving her half-barefoot by the time she had reached what appeared to be a dilapidated version of her house. She felt her pursuer directly behind her, and as she fell to her knees, she shut her eyes, preparing for the end.

“Samantha?” her mother’s gentle voice called. “Sweetheart what’s wrong?”

As she felt her mother’s warm embrace envelop her, she slowly opened her eyes. She began to sob uncontrollably, mumbling incoherently about the nightmare she had just endured. As Samantha’s mother led her inside, Jade pulled into the driveway across the way and raced over, carrying a familiar black clog.

“Hey, what happened?” she asked, near-frantic. Samantha’s mother glowered at the intruder.

“I’d like to know the same thing. Who exactly are you young lady, and why do you have my daughter’s other shoe?”

“I found it back at the park. One second we were sitting by the duck pond talking, the next she was gone.” She paused briefly to catch her breath. “I’m Jade. I live across the road. I was showing Samantha around town. You’re her … sister?”

“Mother,” she answered more softly. “Angela Davis-Frost. Will you stay with her for a moment while I go make some tea?”

“Yeah, of course,” Jade answered. Samantha reluctantly relinquished her grip on her mother as Jade pulled her close, carefully guiding the quivering mass that was once a girl to the sofa. She grabbed Samantha’s discarded blanket from her earlier cartoon-watching escapades, draping it over her. “Hey, Samantha? Come on, what happened?”

“I-I-It was awful,” she wailed. “Why’d you abandon me?!”

Jade stared blankly, utterly confused back at her. “I didn’t abandon you. I glanced off for just a second, and when I looked back again you were gone. I drove around looking for you, and when I couldn’t find you, I came back here, hoping you just ran home or something.”

Samantha slowly tilted her head, trying to decide if Jade was telling the truth. Had she really not experienced the same nightmarish Hell Samantha had? Though even now it had already begun to fade, as though it were just a bad dream, easily forgotten rather than a true and tangible experience after all.

“S-so it… it was all in my head? But it felt so,” she paused, shivering as she wept, her eyes shut tight from the stinging tears, “so real.”

“Alright now, I think you’ve had enough excitement for one day young lady,” Angela cooed softly as she reappeared, a steaming mug in-hand. Samantha gratefully accepted it and began to sip.

“Jade, was it? I’d like a word with you.”

Samantha nervously jerked her head up. “Please don’t leave!”

“We’ll be right in the next room sweetheart. I want you to just relax and drink your tea, okay?”

Jade hesitantly stood and followed Angela back into the kitchen.

“I want the truth, young lady. Did you slip her something?”

“What?! No! Look, I’m not that kind of person. I’m the head of the drama club at school, straight-A student. I’ve never even tasted alcohol. My mother would kill me if I even looked at a joint, not that I’d want to. I don’t know what freaked her out, but,” she trailed off as a contemplative expression crossed her features. She pursed her lips, choosing her next words carefully. “This house has a history.”

“I’m well aware of that silly urban legend,” Angela snapped back. She left off the part about this being the best house in their price range, or selling off every stick of furniture they owned just to make a good faith payment. Martin’s insurance policy just wasn’t enough, and eight months’ unemployment had taken their toll.

“I’m just saying the last people who lived here moved out in a hurry. Samantha seemed pretty tweaked when I first saw her. I thought maybe she could use a friend, someone who’s lived here awhile, who wouldn’t think she was crazy if she saw something,” Jade paused, searching for the right word, “Weird, you know?”

“She has trouble with new people,” Angela finally, reluctantly sighed. “It’s just who she is. Maybe it’s best if you go back home for now. I’ll get her up to bed.”

“I’ll help,” Jade offered sincerely. “It’s the least I can do.”

As the two rounded the corner, they found Samantha slumped over on the sofa, empty tea mug hanging delicately by one finger. Angela carefully set the mug aside as Jade took her by the arm, and together the two carried Samantha up to her bedroom.

“This is the first time I’ve ever actually been in this house,” Jade spoke quietly. Angela ignored the comment, and after they reached Samantha’s bedroom, Jade promptly showed herself out. It took no act of supernatural or extraordinary psychological phenomena to make her feel unwelcome in that house, but the simple stare of an overprotective mother.

~oOo~

Samantha woke with a start, lying curled up at the base of a tree. How she got there, and where ‘there’ was exactly, she couldn’t recall. She had never seen a forest like this before. A low mist hung in the air, yet somehow, it felt neither foreboding, nor oppressive.

Slowly, she gathered what little courage she could muster, and rose to her feet. She felt the cool, rich soil beneath her toes and for the first time looked down, to find herself barefoot. Perhaps more unusual though, she was clad in a shimmering silver gown. Its sleeves, a fine, sheer cloth, barely hung together, tied with an almost rope-like golden thread at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Somehow, her body felt different, not so much lighter, but reproportioned.

At first she panicked when she could no longer feel the weight of her hair on her shoulders, but reaching up, her fingers quickly found it affixed in a kind of ornate bun, held fast by what felt like a jeweled hairpin.

“Hello?” she called out as she cautiously took a first, tentative step. “Is someone there?”

She moved another three hesitant steps, but stopped when a faint sound like a woman’s singing seemed to surround her, coming from everywhere and yet from nowhere. The scene shifted, as though the entire world were spinning rapidly underfoot while she remained still, and she suddenly found herself by a small lake.

The singing had stopped, but she now stood alongside a taller woman with striking red hair which hung in ringlets from a simple ponytail, save for a set of loosely curled bangs that framed her face perfectly. Her flawless, milky white skin set a stark contrast to the deep mauve gown she wore, very much in the same style as the one that adorned Samantha but for the silver threadwork instead of gold.

Though she couldn’t explain why, Samantha felt at once completely at ease, and closed the short distance between herself and this strange woman. The woman opened her arms, gathering Samantha up in a hug, and the younger buried her face in the woman’s shoulder, weeping softly as she smiled, a brighter smile than she had in her entire life.

A sense of protection, of love and absolute peace washed over her as the woman stroked her neck and back. Samantha slowly raised her head, staring with confusion into the woman’s face, searching for some recognition, some feature that might be familiar to her.

“Who are you?” she whispered softly. The woman leaned closer and kissed Samantha gently on the forehead.

“You already know who I am,” she replied in a simple, even tone.

As the dream faded into reality, the feeling of absolute peace lingered. No shadows shifted, no wolves howled in the distance. Samantha slowly crawled out of bed and stepped out into the hallway. She could hear strains of the downstairs television, and as she reached the bottom step, her mother leapt to her feet, racing to her daughter’s side.

“Honey, are you okay?”

Samantha smiled, and it was as broad and genuine a smile as she had given the woman in her dream. It was the sort of smile Angela hadn’t seen from her daughter in months now, if ever. Mother and daughter embraced as Samantha burst into tears.

“I’m great, Mom,” she whispered. “I feel amazing.”

“What’s gotten into you?” Angela asked, completely stunned. Samantha just smiled, kissed her mother on the cheek, and turned away to disappear into the kitchen for a snack.

~oOo~

Two full weeks passed following that first incident. Samantha never spoke of what had terrified her so completely, nor did she tell of the vision that had come to her immediately after. As surely as she had been able to dismiss the nightmares, she had found ways to dismiss the vision, though in a strange way, both clung tightly to her, as if there were more to them than simply bad dreams.

Though Samantha mostly kept to herself, she had begun spending more and more time with Jade, much to Angela’s chagrin. Whether intentionally or passively, she felt certain Jade had a hand in Samantha’s mental anguish, though since her daughter refused to speak of it again, she couldn’t do anything about it. Even threatening to go to Samantha’s new therapist did her no good, so she resolved to let it sit, at least for now.

Generally, Samantha preferred to walk home from school. It gave her time to think and to clear her head before she had to enter that house, though even at that, she typically preferred to stay at Jade’s for as long as possible, but Jade had a date tonight, so she had no recourse but to take her time. As she walked along though, she suddenly became aware of the traffic - or rather, the lack of any. It was as though time stood still.

Her heart began to race as, far in the distance, a piercing, animalistic howl shattered the silence. She took off in a brisk run, no mean feat in the long skirt she’d decided to wear to school that day. No matter how hard or how fast she tried to flee though, it seemed the inescapable shadows gained on her, until at once, she found herself surrounded by desolate ruin again.

Her chest ached; she had to stop to catch her breath. As she did, she took in her surroundings. The signpost, though twisted about, and rusted with age, its white lettering reddened and partially illegible, at least seemed to suggest she was still six blocks from home. The area around her had fared no better.

Where a small convenience store once stood, a ruined shell remained, its glass door and windows shattered, leaving ugly, jagged glass around the edges like a gaping maw, waiting for something to stray too close. One of the rusted-out pumps lay on its side, its electronic face long scavenged, by the look of it.

A low hiss shattered the absolute silence, not like a serpent, but more guttural and angry. A shadowy whirlpool began to develop on the ground just in front of Samantha, from which a formless mass slowly emerged.

As the mass took shape, she shrieked in terror. She recognized it straightaway., for though the hair was shorter, almost a buzz cut, and the body more muscular, the face and frame were unmistakably her own.

“W-who are you? What do you want?!” she cried as she recoiled.

The boy smiled a cruel, dark smile, twisting familiar words.

“You know who I am.”

“But you can’t be,” she shouted. “You’re-”

“Dead?” He laughed deeply, mockingly. “You’d certainly like to think that, wouldn’t you?”

“GO AWAY!” she yelped. A blinding light washed over her, and she fell to her knees, cowering. A moment later, a gentle hand touched her shoulder. She slowly raised her head, lowering her hands as she came face to face with a woman in a police uniform staring with no small concern back down at her.

“Hey, miss, are you okay? Do you need me to call a paramedic?”

“What? I...” Samantha stammered. Everything was as it should be. No gnarled trees, no broken sidewalk. Her gaze shot to the gas station, where an old woman had just stepped out of a bright red SUV next to the pump, now upright and in its proper place. She turned back to the officer, nodding slowly.

“I-I thought I heard a bee. I’m like super-allergic.”

The officer gave her a skeptical stare, but slowly nodded. “Okay then. Do you need a ride home?”

“Um, sure,” Samantha answered. She didn’t want to tell her the truth because even she wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t going crazy, at this point..

“I’m Sheryl Baker,” the woman offered more gently, trying to set the girl at ease. She smiled meekly.

“Samantha,” she answered simply. Sheryl motioned toward the sleek white car bearing the local police department logo, and opened the front passenger door for Samantha to sit.

“I’ve never ridden in one of these before,” she mused. Sheryl laughed to herself as she slid into the driver’s seat.

“Well I’ll make sure to explain to your parents that you’re not in any trouble, if that helps. Where did you say you lived again?”

“End of Maple Drive. It’s the ‘haunted’ house,” Samantha answered blithely.

“Oh,” Sheryl stated quietly.

“Oh?” Samantha echoed.

Sheryl slowly shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“You know something don’t you?” She pressed, but Sheryl held her silence.

~oOo~

Angela’s car wasn’t in the driveway when the squad car rolled to a stop, and Samantha stared nervously at the house. She dreaded being home alone in that place. Sheryl reached out to place her hand on Samantha’s shoulder, causing the girl to jump.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Samantha nodded numbly as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “I’m okay. Thanks Ms. Baker,” she answered with a certain neutrality unnatural for a girl her age. She quickly stepped out of the car, and though the thought crossed her mind to make a break for Jade’s house across the way, the fact that Sheryl seemed to be waiting, watching her drove her to swallow her fear, and go inside instead.

If only she had known what waited on the other side of that door.

~oOo~

“That hurt,” the voice of her assailant hissed. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and yet, nowhere. She spun around to run back outside, but the knob wouldn’t turn. She raced to the window, slamming her fists against it and screaming, but Sheryl didn’t seem to notice. She had already begun to back out of the drive. Samantha could see Jade racing over, though by now something had grabbed her shoulder, flinging her away from the window.

“You tried to destroy me,” the voice seemed to snarl with pure rage. “Now it’s MY turn!”

“I didn’t want you!” Samantha shrieked in response.

“You shut me out, pretended I didn’t exist. How do you think that makes me feel?!”

“I’m sorry,” Samantha pleaded as she curled up where she lay, sobbing bitterly. “I’m sorry! I can’t help it. I didn’t want to be you. I don’t like being a boy! Just leave me alone!”

A growing, low rumble, like a growl, had until that point been building somewhere within earshot, but on those words, it grew abruptly silent. Samantha shut her eyes tightly as she drew her knees to her chest. “Just leave me alone,” she repeated, sobbing.

“Samantha?” she thought she could hear Jade’s voice outside the door.

“Go away!” she cried. “Just go away!”

The front door slid open, and Sheryl stepped through, Jade following close behind her.

“Samantha, what happened?” Sheryl insisted as she rushed to the girl’s side. “You’re bleeding!” She glanced over her shoulder back at Jade, throwing a keyring to her. “Med kit’s in the trunk. Go!”

Jade nodded, quickly turning to race back outside. Samantha hadn’t realized it, but the left shoulder of her blouse had been shredded, leaving claw-like gashes in her shoulder. Sheryl finished tearing the long sleeve away, doubling it over to put pressure on the wound.

“I think it’s just a flesh wound. Who did this to you?”

Samantha tried to sit up, shaking her head slowly. “Don’t wanna talk about it,” she replied simply.

Jade burst through the front door carrying a large first aid kit, and set it down next to the two.

“What can I do to help?”

“Put pressure here while I get some gauze. I’m going to bandage your shoulder, but I strongly suggest you let me take you to the hospital.”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt that bad. He just scratched me when he-” She flinched as Sheryl tended to the area, and grew silent as she realized what she was saying.

“This is insane,” she whispered. “This can’t be real. HE can’t be real!”

“Who can’t?” Sheryl echoed.

“Him. … Me, sort-of.”

~oOo~

Samantha had gone upstairs, with Sheryl escorting her, to change out of her shredded top and skirt into a comfortable, baggy sweater and jeans. She now sat barefoot on the sofa, sipping a cup of tea with her favorite blanket draped over her shoulders. Jade sat next to her in silent thought, and Sheryl paced slowly across the living room.

“Let’s go through this again. You’re telling me that you were attacked by a “male you” that can change the world into this twisted version of the town at its whim, and now he’s physically attacking you?”

“Um, basically, yes,” she answered softly. “I think there’s someone else looking out for me too. Both times I told him to leave me alone, and then there was this bright light, and...”

“I’m sorry, Samantha, but that doesn’t make any sense.”

“No, in a way it does,” Jade finally spoke up, causing both to turn and stare at her, Sheryl expectantly, Samantha hopefully.

“Sorry Sammy, but I have to tell her,” she spoke softly then turned to Sheryl. “Samantha’s dad passed away about six months ago, and she took it really hard. On top of that her Mom got laid off a few months earlier. They moved here because she got a job offer, but with all that stress, losing her dad then having to move,” Jade trailed off into silence, letting her commentary speak for itself.

“I don’t get it,” Sheryl answered, shaking her head. “You mean she’s having a kind of Post Traumatic Stress encounter?”

“Well not exactly. I think she’s beating herself up over her dad’s death, to the point that it’s manifesting physically. I read somewhere that sometimes if the mind believes the body is hurt, that the body will manifest the injuries. It’s used to explain a lot of so-called poltergeist activity where a victim is attacked, and even some demonic possessions.”

“But what about my top? Did my mind do that too?” Samantha asked desperately.

“I... I don’t know. Maybe a psychokinetic reaction, or maybe you did it yourself and don’t remember.”

“So you do think I’m crazy,” Samantha answered quietly. “Maybe I am. But what about my top? Did my mind do that too?”

“No, sweetie,” Jade tried to console her. “Everything you experienced is very real - to you. But why your mind manifests it as a guy’s beyond me. I like the spooky stuff, but I’m not a shrink.”

“Maybe I should talk to my therapist,” Samantha finally exhaled.

“That’d be a good idea,” Jade answered. “Why didn’t you bring this up with them if you already have a therapist?”

“Because he’s a … Well,” Samantha shut her eyes tightly and sighed. “Fuck, I knew I couldn’t keep it a secret forever. I’m transgendered. He’s a gender therapist, and he’s the only one I could see. He’s the reason we moved here, because mom’s new job came with insurance that would cover it, but just barely. I don’t talk about the other stuff, about losing my Dad. I don’t trust him yet, and the only reason I talk about the gender stuff is because if I don’t, I’ll go completely insane.” She paused to laugh bitterly at the situation. “Which didn’t seem to work out too well.”

“You’re … I mean, you used to be a...” Jade fumbled, staring in shock at Samantha. Sheryl stepped closer and knelt, gently squeezing Samantha’s knee. Whatever her personal beliefs might have been, she took a professional attitude, at least.

“She’s Samantha, a bright, beautiful young lady with far too much stress in her life.”

“Right,” Jade quickly agreed. “And she’s not staying in this house tonight. Come on you. We’re having a sleepover. You and me, and my cat.”

“But-” Samantha tried to protest.

“No buts!” Jade answered. Sheryl seemed to relax a bit as she stood.

“Frankly, I’d feel better if you weren’t alone either, at least until your mother comes home. I’ll stop by to check on you tomorrow as well. Are you absolutely sure you’re okay now? I can get you to a hospital in just a few minutes.”

Samantha quickly nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ll be okay. I-it’s just a scratch. It doesn’t even hurt now,” she lied, but the officer seemed convinced enough by it.

As Sheryl left the two, Jade followed Samantha upstairs. “What about your date?” she asked

Jade rolled her shoulders. “There’ll be other dates, or other boys. You do not need to be alone right now.”

“Do you really think this is all in my head? That I’m just, I dunno, stressed?”

“I’m not sure what to believe. My family is, er, well you’ve met my Mom. You know what my home life is like,” Jade added with a mild giggle.

“At least both your parents are still alive,” Samantha responded seriously. Jade frowned as she watched Samantha move about the room packing her duffel bag for the impromptu sleepover. “I’d give anything for my Dad to be here.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Jade asked, leaning against the doorway.

“Sure,” Samantha answered simply. “You already know my biggest secret. The fact you didn’t call me a freak or worse and run out of the room the second Officer Baker left speaks for itself.”

“I’d never do that. But anyway, how did he take it? Your... wanting to be a girl I mean.”

“Surprisingly well. Better than Mom actually,” Samantha sighed, folding over a pair of loose white pajama bottoms in her hand and laying them in the plain black duffel bag on her bed. “Mom and I never got along until really recently.”

“So what changed?”

Samantha paused to stare at Jade. She hadn’t really thought about it herself until that moment. “I guess it started with that freaky dream I had. Let’s get out of here. This room creeps me out.”

~oOo~

“She’s a friend,” Jade barked defensively into the cordless phone. “Well if that’s the way you’re going to act over a first date then you can kiss the fattest part of your mother’s ass, pal.” She slammed the phone down on the receiver and growled. “MEN! I swear they’re all like spoiled children.”

Samantha giggled behind her hand, and Jade smiled faintly. “Sorry about that. Sometimes I don’t know why I bother,” she sighed, but smiled a moment later. “Anyway, you were telling me about your dream? Did she ever say anything?”

“Yeah, when I asked her who she was. She responded with ‘You already know who I am’, and then I woke up.”

“Say that again?” came the familiar, faintly lyrical tone of Jade’s mother Amber. The woman stepped around the corner from the family study dressed in a long white bathrobe, her dark auburn hair tucked up into a matching towel on her head. She had a small wine glass in one hand, and an old leather bound book in the other.

“Um... You already know who I am?”

The woman giggled. “You said you heard that in a dream?”

“Yeah,” Samantha answered, and proceeded to recount, yet again, the strange vision that had stayed so strongly in the forefront of her mind those last two weeks.

“Hmm. Just a second, girls,” Amber replied, dashing back into the study. She very nearly spilled her wine as she haphazardly lay the glass aside on an end table, hurrying to the bookshelf.

“Where is it,” she stated, more than asked, barely above a whisper as she scanned the large oak bookshelf on the south wall. “Ah!”

Samantha caught a glimpse of the title, ‘Celtic Gods and Goddesses’, in a kind of penned, gilded lettering on the front just before Amber flipped the book open and thumbed through several pages. She stopped at one point, holding the book in front of her for the girls. Although the sketch had not been colored in, its depiction of a beautiful woman with long hair in ringlets immediately caused Samantha to stumble backwards.

“Oh my God, that’s her,” she whispered.

Amber smiled knowingly. “Goddess, actually. She’s a nature deity, a protector and patron goddess of women.” She glanced down as she turned the book back toward herself and began to read aloud. “The goddess whose name few still remember, she responds to those females, young and old, who reach out to her for protection, whether they know it or not. Slow to anger, her wrath is as the harsher side of Nature itself. She loves all her daughters, but holds a universal dislike of males.”

Jade and Samantha slowly stared at each other.

“That’s... interesting,” Samantha mumbled with uncertainty. Jade just shook her head slowly, turning back to her mother.

“So this … nature goddess is real?”

“I choose to think so, yes. Some call them angels, others ancient gods. They’re just labels, dear. It’s what they represent that’s truly important, and you, young lady,” Amber smiled broadly as she pointed at Samantha, “You are truly blessed if she is looking out for you.”

“Speaking of protection, Mommy?” Jade elongated the ‘y’, complete with puppy eyes. “Is it okay if Sammy stays over tonight?”

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with her being dropped off by a police officer would it?” Amber asked more skeptically. Before Jade could answer, Samantha spoke up.

“Sheryl was just giving me a ride home. She saw that I was walking home alone and just wanted to be sure I was okay.”

“Ah, I see. Well in that case, I don’t see why not. I’ll let your mother know you’re here when she comes home.” She paused to place her hand on Samantha’s shoulder, causing her to flinch. “And remind me to change your bandages in a few hours.”

“How did you..?”

Amber simply smiled back at her. “It’s a mother thing.”

~oOo~

“I don’t care what she says,” Samantha mumbled, leaning against the white marble countertop and watching Jade as she set a pan of popcorn on the stove. “That was not a mother thing.”

“Not a normal mother thing. She’s really perceptive. She probably saw that you were favoring it when you moved or something. Don’t let it spook you.”

“Hey Jade? Thanks for inviting me over.”

Jade smiled and shrugged. “Hey, what are friends for?”

“No, really. You gave up a date with a cute guy for me, even if he was a jerk. Nobody’s ever done that for me before.”

“What, dumped a pig to hang out with you?”

“You know what I mean,” Samantha insisted. “You came running when you saw Sheryl dropping me off. You... you care. You’re a real friend.”

“Aaand you didn’t have real friends where you were living before?”

“I had friends, sure. I had more friends as Samantha than I did as …”

“Sam?” Jade finished for her. Samantha nodded.

“I don’t mind you calling me Sammy because it still feels like a feminized ‘Sam’, but truth be told, I really wanted to change my name entirely. Mom wouldn’t hear of that though. I wanted something cute like Jennifer or Crystal, or even Amy.”

“You sound like you really hated being a guy. Not that I blame you. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like.”

Samantha nodded softly. “Almost as bad as-” but before she could continue, a strange sound caught both their attention, not unlike a faint scratching sound. It was enough to cause Samantha to jump, cowering behind Jade, but even her friend seemed mildly spooked now. Jade shifted the popcorn off the heat, turning off the burner, and the two crept slowly around the corner as the sound continued to get louder.

“Mrreow,” Jade’s plump, three year old white Persian cat lazily yawned as it stared up at the intruders then returned to scratching the drywall. Jade giggled. “Stardust you scared me half to death. What are you doing anyway? Is there a mouse in the hall closet?”

She pulled the door open to find a boy of approximately Samantha’s age and height smiling grimly back at her. “Boo,” he hissed.

Jade shrieked, and tried to slam the door closed, but he easily forced it open, leaving a distinct claw mark along the door’s edges.

“NOW do you believe me?!” Samantha shouted as she raced for the door. Jade, not far behind her, just shook her head.

“So what do we do now?”

Samantha grabbed Jade’s hand as the two raced across the street. Already things had begun to warp and twist into the hellish apocalypse that had tormented Samantha once that day.

“I don’t know!” she answered frantically.

“Well what did you say you did to get rid of him before?”

“I told him to go away,” Samantha responded, stopping abruptly. She turned to face their pursuer. “Leave me alone!” she commanded, but he laughed.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” she shrieked, yet their pursuer continued to laugh.

“Why isn’t it working?!” Jade demanded.

He stepped closer, slowly and methodically. The ground seemed to smolder in his wake, but one unfamiliar word, in a very familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. He spun to scowl at Amber from across the broken and shattered street.

“Leave them be, creature of darkness. Run, girls.”

“Mother?” Jade questioned, stunned, but Amber ignored her. There was something different about the woman. It almost seemed as if she radiated light, driving back the darkness immediately surrounding her.

“Meddlesome fool,” the boy scowled. Samantha grabbed Jade’s hand, pulling her along as they raced away, back toward town.

“Sammy, stop! We can’t leave her!” Jade insisted, jerking her hand back. They had run two blocks by this point, and already she had to stop to catch her breath. She turned back to stare down the darkened, desolate path that was once her route home.

“We have to! Look obviously your Mom knows what the hell she’s doing, right?” Samantha took Jade’s hand again and squeezed it. “We’re in this together, okay? Okay?”

Jade slowly turned back to Samantha, staring up at her. She nodded numbly. “All right. So what do we do now? And where the hell are we?”

“I don’t think ‘hell’ is too far off. I don’t know where we are, but that … that thing is exactly what I’d imagine I’d find there. It... It accused me of trying to kill it. It’s right, too. I did try to kill everything male about me. My former therapist called it ‘purging’. I hated being a guy. I hated looking like a guy and being treated like one. It was a kind of personal hell for me, Jade.”

“But that thing isn’t you. It can’t be. I’ve only known you a couple of weeks, but you’re a really nice girl. You’re pretty and smart and … And I really like you.” She paused, holding her hands up. “As a friend, I mean.”

Samantha laughed quietly. “Yeah, sure. I’m everyone’s friend.” She smiled faintly and squeezed Jade’s hand again. “But I’m glad you think of me as a friend. Let’s get out of here. We can talk about this later.”

“Yeah, when there’s not some psychotic demon-guy trying to kill us.”

A low growl interrupted the girls’ banter as a trio of wolves, fur as black as night, and eyes glowing red, emerged from the shadows of a ruined nearby building. Jade shrieked, and the pair took off again as fast as their aching legs would carry them, with the creatures right behind them. Suddenly Samantha grabbed hold of Jade’s forearm and dragged her toward the abandoned convenience store.

“Come on! They’re too fast!” she shouted.

The store appeared to offer little shelter, at least initially. Metal shelves had been knocked over with only a few badly rotted packages that once contained foodstuffs of a now unrecognizable kind littered the ground. The girls quickly found their way to a back room however, with a stout wooden door. Jade slammed the door shut, holding it closed while Samantha pushed a heavy, old office desk toward it.

“This isn’t going to hold them forever,” Samantha admitted reluctantly as the girls hunkered down with their backs to the desk. Jade leaned against Samantha, burying her face in Samantha’s shoulder. “I’m sorry Jade. I am so sorry.”

“I’ll never call my mother crazy again, I swear to God. Or … goddesses.”

Samantha wrapped her arms around Jade, both girls shaking badly. Jade slowly glanced up at her. “I know we’ve only known each other a short time, but I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you. I-if we get out of this alive-”

“Look,” Samantha interrupted her, practically leaping to her feet. “There’s a window up there! I think we can fit through easily if we can just reach it.”

Jade bit her lip and nodded simply. “Okay. Is there like a stepladder here or something?”

“I don’t see one.” Samantha approached the rickety-looking shelf along the back wall. She forced her weight against it, and while it wasn’t completely stable, it didn’t immediately fall to pieces either. “I think we can use this. Come on, you go first. I’ll hold it steady.”

Jade nodded quietly and rushed over, even as the wolves continued to batter the door behind them. With Samantha’s help she began the uneasy climb, and on finally reaching the window, she called back. “Sammy, it’s stuck!”

“Try hitting it!” Samantha responded. Jade slammed her fist against the window, causing the shelf to shake, and the entire rotted-out window frame to slowly creak, giving way to a loud crash as the window shattered outside.

“Oops...” Jade flinched. “Oh man, that’s a lot of glass.”

“Be careful, but hurry! They’re almost through!”

Jade hoisted herself over the broken wall, dangling by her fingers to give herself a shorter fall to the ground even as Samantha scurried up. She had no sooner hoisted herself over when the shelf gave way with a thunderous smash, and it took all she had in her not to scream when Jade grabbed the bottom of her feet at that exact moment.

“I’ve got you,” Jade called. “Just let yourself down like I did.”

Samantha shut her eyes, releasing her grip. Just on the other side she could hear the door splintering, and one of the wolves’ razorlike claws tapping on the poured cement floor. Jade grabbed her as best she could to ease her fall, lingering for just a moment before letting her go.

“Okay, now what?” Samantha gasped, leaning forward with her hands against her knees and breathing heavily.

“I’ve got an idea. Follow me!” Jade responded.

~oOo~

“Where are we going?” Samantha whined between heavy, exasperated breaths. It felt to her like they had been running for miles. Her feet ached, her heart pounded so hard it might burst through her chest, and her lungs felt as though they’d whither at any moment.

“There’s a church just around the corner. I know it’s cliche, but if ANYWHERE is safe it’ll be there. You know, hallowed ground and all.”

“If it’s even standing,” Samantha added solemnly. She couldn’t have known how prophetic those words would be, though. Where the sleepy little chapel once stood now looked as though someone, or something, had taken out a great deal of aggression on several occasions. All that remained amid the splintered rubble to signify what once was, was the shattered steeple, lying in pieces in front.

“Hey, look,” Samantha pointed toward the small patch of greenery alongside the church.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me,” Jade answered uneasily. “That’s the old founders’ graveyard. Let’s just keep going. There’s got to be somewhere else we can go.”

“No, I’m telling you it’s a sign. It has to be. Let’s go!”

Jade sighed reluctantly as she allowed Samantha to pull her along. Despite the age of the iron-wrought gates, they opened easily, permitting the girls entrance. As soon as they set foot on the soft grass, though, a piercing, unearthly howl filled the area. Several sets of glowing, blood red eyes began to line the borders of the small graveyard. Gradually their bodies followed, forming into a pack of black wolves not unlike those that pursued them earlier.

“Oh yes, I feel so much safer here,” Jade whined as she clung to Samantha’s arm.

“They’re not attacking,” Samantha whispered. Jade blinked back at her.

“What’s going on? Why not?”

“Because they know better,” a familiar female voice answered, causing both girls to shriek and jump. They quickly spun around to find themselves face to face with the woman from the book, and from Samantha’s dreams. She smiled down at them.

“You are deep in His domain, my daughter,” the woman mused. Samantha felt immediately at ease, but Jade continued to cower, at least until their mysterious visitor stepped closer, and lay her hand on Jade’s shoulder. “Calm yourself, little one. I am here to help you.”

“Nyyyyeagh!” the boy shrieked, knocking the iron gates aside. “No! She is MINE! They are all MINE!”

The woman turned to face him. As he crossed into the graveyard, his form began to shift. He became less and less average teenaged boy, and more a hunched over, malformed, clawed monstrosity, his eyes burning as red as the nearby wolves’.

“You have no power here, wench! This is MY domain!”

“No, but she does,” the woman stated simply. “You have the power, sweet child. You can end this nightmare.”

“No I don’t!” Samantha insisted, shaking her head. The demon cackled.

“You see? She is weak. Her anguish will sustain me for years to come!”

“Yes, you do. Listen to his words,” she again stated quite calmly.

Samantha hesitantly looked from the creature to the woman, and back again. Jade, by now had taken to cowering behind a nearby grave marker.

“My anguish sustains him,” she echoed.

She slowly nodded and turned fully to face the creature.

“What is this? The kitten has grown some claws? No matter!” He turned his attention toward the weathered grave marker where Jade had hidden, and Jade let out a startled shriek as he raced toward her.

Samantha cried out and rushed to put herself between Jade and the demon. The demon screamed, in both disbelief and agony. He recoiled in pain, his claws drenched, dripping with the blood of his unintended victim. Samantha touched her stomach, and as the full realization of how grave her wounds were sank in, she collapsed backward into Jade’s waiting arms. The wolves along the boundaries of the graveyard began to howl, and the largest, the only one of the creatures whose muzzle bore some silvered fur, leapt over the low fence. As the pack joined, it crept closer.

Jade eased Samantha to the ground, cradling her near-lifeless body. “Don’t you die on me,” she insisted through tears. “You can’t! Not now!” The alpha wolf padded closer. Its eyes locked with Jade’s.

“Please... Please leave us alone. Haven’t you done enough?”

The wolf seemed to bow its head, only slightly, and spun about, placing itself between the girls and the demon. By now the pack had begun to encircle the demon. He growled low with agitation.

“What are you doing?!”

“You no longer have power over these beasts. You harmed one whom I protect, and even your foul sorcery cannot go against the natural order forever,” the woman calmly responded.

“No! NOOOOO!” the demon howled as he lashed out at the alpha wolf. Two of the smaller wolves nipped at his exposed legs, and another attempted to jump onto his back. He managed to fling two of the creatures aside, but in the end, he succumbed to the wolves’ fury. Samantha smiled weakly up at Jade.

“I’m glad,” she whispered.

Jade pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh. Save your strength.” She turned her attention to the woman now. “Help her! I’ll do anything; just save her!”

~oOo~

Samantha awoke with a start, back in the forest from her first dream. Again she had been adorned in fine cloth and jewelry, but this time, she wasn’t alone. Jade lay sleeping just beside her, still in her street clothes, stained with Samantha’s own blood. The gentle splash of the lake drew her gaze, and surely enough, the woman stood close by, smiling back at her.

“What … What happened? Am I dead?”

“Yes and no,” she answered simply. “You sacrificed yourself to protect one you love. It was that act of sacrifice that shattered his domain. You … died, but such acts are not lightly, nor easily ignored. I must confer with another, and then we shall see.”

“And the demon?”

“Banished.”

“Good. But I don’t understand how...”

“In that instant, when you were thinking of your friend’s well-being above your own, you let go of your hatred. You allowed yourself to be free, to see what was truly important.”

“Where did he come from? How... why did he find me?”

The woman chuckled to herself. “I don’t know when or where it came into your world. I would suspect though, that someone invited it, or perhaps opened a gateway they couldn’t close, and it stepped through. Once there it latched onto you, to your anger, and your sorrow, your fear, twisting them, turning them against you to drive you further into sorrow.”

“I think I understand. So what happens now?”

The woman smiled as she leaned close and kissed Samantha’s forehead. “For now you will rest here. You will know safety in my domain, little one.”

Samantha nodded. She knew no doubt in that moment, no fear. A very large part of her wanted to stay regardless, to bask in the love and the peace she felt in this being’s presence. At the same time, though, as she turned away from the small lake to return to Jade’s side, a growing sadness filled her. She sat down beside the sleeping girl, and she waited.

A shadowy form stirred in the darkness, just barely within her sight, and the large, old wolf padded closer. At first Samantha rose to her knees, intending to protect Jade if need be, but the wolf lowered its head as it drew closer. It collapsed a few feet away, resting its muzzle against its paw in an almost human gesture. It stared at the girls in silence.

“You protected us didn’t you?”

The wolf’s right ear twitched.

“Thank you.” She glanced down at Jade with a quiet smile. “I didn’t realize how much she meant to me. She’s a good friend, but I … I never thought I’d sacrifice myself for someone.”

The wolf slowly rose to its full height and padded closer. It settled at her side, nuzzling its way up under her arm. It continued to stare at Jade, though Samantha couldn’t decide if the creature was unsure what to make of her presence, or if it was simply watching over her.

It felt to Samantha’s mind, as though hours had passed, yet Jade still slept. No sense of boredom entered her thoughts, though. She passed the time prattling mindlessly to Jade or to the wolf about her life before Samantha and after, about her father, about things she had kept locked deep in her heart.

“I wish I could see Daddy again. I mean, I’m dead right?” She looked questioningly at the wolf. Its left ear twitched, but it gave no response otherwise, and she sighed, returning to her one-sided conversation.

When the mysterious woman returned, she had a strange, very faint glow about her. Samantha and the wolf both rose at her approach. She smiled as Samantha rushed to her, and embraced the girl.

“It has been decided, but now, you have a choice to make.”

As Samantha nodded, the woman held her left hand out, and a small orb of light winked into existence. Its surface shifted through several shades of blues and reds, purples, greens, until it finally became transparent, and Samantha saw within the orb an image of herself. At first, she couldn’t tell a difference, save for the pretty smile, but as she stared, she became subtly aware that this Samantha had the proper body to match her mind.

The woman then outstretched her other hand, and another orb, like the first, materialized, shifted, and another image formed. Samantha gasped, her eyes widening as she reached out instinctively to touch the orb, as it depicted her father, dressed as he had for a business trip a week before his passing.

The woman stepped back to deny Samantha’s attempt to take it.

“Think carefully, sweet child. This is not a permanent, second chance. It was his time. You may see him once more, or you can have what you’ve always wanted.”

Samantha bowed her head. “It’s true. Even with the hormones, even with surgery, I’ll never be a ‘real’ girl. But... Daddy. I’d give anything,” she paused, choking on her words. “Anything,” she repeated, and as she shut her eyes, she touched the orb.

~oOo~

“Dad?” Samantha called. Surrounded by brilliant, white light, she shut her eyes tight. She thought she could hear the trickle of a nearby stream. Slowly the light faded, and again she felt the ground beneath her bare feet. She slowly opened her eyes again, looking around.

“Right here, Princess,” he answered gently, resting his large hand on her shoulder. She spun to face him, about to bury herself in his shoulder like she used to, when she became aware of a girl her age standing close by. Her dark red hair and black tank top struck a startling contrast to her almost brilliantly white skin. On her right shoulder, a large raven perched, and by her side, the old wolf rested its muzzle against its paw. The girl smiled as she casually turned to walk away.

“Don’t be afraid, Samantha,” her father insisted as he pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. “She won’t harm you.”

“Daddy,” Samantha wept as she buried her face in his shoulder. “Oh God, I’ve missed you so much.”

“You look amazing,” he responded softly, and kissed her forehead again. Samantha smiled up at him, and then looked back over her shoulder, slowly taking in their surroundings. Behind her, a babbling stream ran for as far as she could see, singing an almost lilted, wordless song. Beyond the stream, a vibrant field of flowers stretched, in colors she never fathomed could even exist.

“Is this heaven?” she asked softly. He smiled as he shook his head.

“No, this place exists for our benefit. You bought this with your sacrifice.”

“You mean saving Jade?” she pressed. Again, he shook his head.

“No, I don’t.” He squeezed her hand, leading her to the edge of the stream. “Remember when you were little, and I tried to take you fishing, but you started screaming when I baited my hook?”

Samantha blushed. She knelt down to poke at the cool, clear water, just as a fish swam past at a leisurely clip. “I felt bad for the little worm,” she pouted playfully. He laughed as he sat back on a conveniently placed boulder that Samantha was sure wasn’t there just a minute ago.

She stood to return to his side, leaning into him. “I missed you so much. Things with Mom got worse after you … After you,” she echoed, but couldn’t finish the sentence. “But they’ve been getting better.”

“She loves you, you know. She just blames herself for, well,” he paused, furrowing his eyebrows slightly as if not sure how to put it, “For you being you.” He sighed softly. “I wish we had more time.”

“What?”

“Just remember that I love you, and I will always be with you.”

The teenager approached again, though this time without the large, imposing raven. “Ready?”

He nodded, turning back to Samantha. “I love you. I’m so proud of you.”

The girl hesitated a moment, then knelt beside the wolf. She whispered gently in its ear, and the wolf stood. It plodded a few paces then turned back to stare at the three.

“He’ll show you the way back. I’ll look after your daughter and see her home safely.”

Martin smiled, turning his gaze to the wolf. “Well, fella, it looks like it’s you and me.”

The girl stepped closer. As she extended her hand, her dark, reddish purple nail polish sparkled and glinted, causing Samantha to laugh to herself.

“What?”

“You’re not what I expected Death to be like. I was expecting heavy robes or something.”

“I’m not Death.” The girl exhaled, mildly exasperated. “Look, it’s complicated. Think of me as a kind of spirit guide - a go-between or … caseworker.”

“If you say so,” Samantha answered, rolling her eyes.

“Are you ready to go back?”

“Can I … I mean, is it okay if I stay here a little while longer?”

The girl nodded, motioning to the boulder before seating herself. “Suit yourself. I’m assigned to you so I can’t really say ‘no’.”

Samantha slowly approached, sitting beside the girl. After a moment or two, the red-haired girl reached out to hug Samantha. “I know you hate me right now. I’m taking your father away for the second time in your life, but it’s not your time.”

Fresh tears sprouted forth, but Samantha shook her head. “I don’t hate you. I just … It’s not fair. I gave up being a real girl to see him again. I should get him back for that.”

She chuckled, causing Samantha to glare. “You are a real girl, where it counts. Your body? Just a shell. Trust me, I’ve been dead a long time. I know these things.”

She paused, adding, “By the way, when you wake up, don’t bump your head on Jade’s bed.”

“Wait, what?”

~oOo~

In that instant the world around her faded. She suddenly found herself lying in a cozy sleeping bag, on the floor next to Jade’s four-post bed. She sat bolt upright with a start, banging her head squarely on the horizontal mattress support rail and let out a mild yelp which caused Jade to slowly sit up, staring sleepily down at her.

“You okay?” Jade whispered as she reached over, squeezing Samantha’s shoulder. Samantha flinched, quickly slugging the neck of her night shirt aside. “Bandages...?”

“Yeah, remember? Your house, earlier? I had the weirdest dream about that though.”

“We were being chased by a demon that looked like me?”

Jade blinked several times. “H-how did you know?”

Samantha smiled as she reached up to take Jade’s hand, giving it a light squeeze. “Never mind. We can talk about it in the morning.”

“Okay,” Jade answered quietly. She lay back again, but after several seconds, she broke the comfortable silence that had fallen between them. “Hey Sammy, do you want to go catch a movie tomorrow?”

A light, nervous giggle escaped Samantha’s lips. “I’d love to. Jade?”

“Yeah?”

“Um, thanks.”

Samantha carefully eased herself out of her sleeping bag and stood, padding out into the hall. Amber smiled proudly back at her, as though she had been waiting for her the whole time.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Samantha half-asked, half-stated.

“She forewarned me, yes,” Amber answered softly. She turned to walk down the hall to the small study. Samantha followed her, watching as she carefully took the book she had shown Samantha earlier, and placed it on the shelf.

“So what happened anyway? How did you survive?”

“That was,” she paused, “Ah, how to explain it: that was me, but it wasn’t. Once the demon realized he was fighting a projection he was furious,” she added with a chuckle. “Luckily I distracted him long enough for The Lady to find you.”

“Why did it choose me? And why did she for that matter? I’m nothing special,” Samantha offered quietly as she shook her head.

“If she took an interest in you, then you are very much something special, young lady. And as for why the creature chose you, I think it has to do with the last people to live in that house. They were a … troubled family.

“I never told Jade this, but they fought, bitterly, and one night the woman tried to take her own life out of desperation. I believe the entity may have lain dormant in that house for years, but her anguish, her loathing for herself and her husband, was great enough to feed the creature. It’s possible she even attempted to summon it though. It’s hard to say.”

“So... I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

“Or the right time, depending on how you look at it. Come, I was just about to offer my thanks. Why don’t you join me?”

“Thank you. I … I can still hardly believe any of this was real. At least I got to see Dad one last time though.” Samantha hesitated, but started to smile. “You know a lot about this stuff. Do you think maybe you could teach me?”

“Of course I can. As Jade got older, I respected her wishes not to learn the old ways, but I suspect I’ll be seeing a lot more interest from her now, too.” She reached out to take Samantha’s hand, and when she let go, Samantha found a pair of rolled up bills had been left behind.

“W-what’s this for?”

“Dinner and a movie,” Amber responded with a wink and a smile. “Come, dear. Let’s say our thanks, then get you back to bed. I promised your mother that I wouldn’t let you stay up all night, after all.”

---

I'd like to just take a moment to thank Piper and Erin for their amazing work on the cover image. It looks spectacular, and it's quite fitting!

Love,

Zoe