Guarding Grace

Chapter Twenty-One

Slipping through the doorway from the shadow world to the bridge, Grace felt a surge of relief. She no longer felt as if she was being watched, as she continued on she felt a familiar presence before she felt the soft fur of Andora on her leg. She smiled and reached down to stroke behind her ears.

    Ryder breathed a sigh of relief as he passed through the doorway, "I do not want to experience that again." Grace turned and looked at Ryder, what had he gone through in there? A soft chuff came from the shadows, Angus walked out and stood beside Ryder.

    "We are almost to Her." Andora's velvety voice sounded in her mind. Grace nodded, apprehensive about who she was. She had her suspicions that it was Elizabeth, she held the locket around her neck. Andora butted her head against Grace's knee, "You are different. What did you learn?" Grace looked down at Andora, surprise written on her face. She shook her head, not wanting to share what she had learned. Angus pushed past her, his gravelly voice filling her mind. "Evil is not absolute." Grace stared after him as he walked along the dimly lit path.

    "At least there is light this time, even if it's not much." Hunter joked, his face not mirroring the humor in his words. Regan walked past Hunter, throwing his arm over his shoulder and dragging him along beside him. "Step lively, light can illuminate creeping horrors." His smile seeming a little too sharp in the dim light, to Grace's eyes.

Grace followed after Hunter and Regan, taking Ryder's hand as they continued down the path. Looking to break the silence, Grace squeezed Ryder's hand, "Are you ok?" Ryder squeezed her hand in return, offering a weak smile and nod. "Fine, just thinking."

Grace nodded and allowed herself to be lost in thought, remembering the many times her grandmother tried to teach her lessons of the world.

'Dreams tell us who we wish to be; but nightmares tell us who we really are.' Grace, wide eyed and awestruck, stared at her grandmother as she braided her long silver hair.

'But how do I know the difference? My nightmares are all so scary!' Her grandmother chuckled, 'Fear is the mind's way of forcing messages to you. Look beyond the fear.'

Grace sighed, was the demon lair a dream? Or was her grandmother truly a Celestial Demon? None of it made sense, but then again, nothing made sense anymore. Another memory surfaced.

'That Dark Annie, cheap tricks are all that she offers. She should be shut down. The awful woman.' Grace's grandmother paced in front of the heater, skirts swishing every time she turned. She whirled on Grace, 'She knows more than she lets on. It wouldn't surprise me if she had made a pact!'

Grace gasped at the memory, the anger that her grandmother had when talking about Dark Annie that cold night. Grace had forgotten about it, she was so young. Grace tried to remember if her grandmother had ever talked about her father; or her mother for that matter. For as long as she could remember, it was just her and her grandmother.

If her father was truly a demon, what did her mother ask for in exchange for carrying his child? Grace shook her head, whatever it was- it did not matter. Both parents wanted nothing to do with the tiny child that seemed ill all the time.

But her grandmother did, never could Grace recall ever seeing anything but love in her grandmother's eyes. It seemed unlikely that her grandmother would be a demon, she was loving, kind, and most of all normal.