Chanel Hastings & The Treasures of Aphrodite Book 1: The Magic Girdle

Chapter 18: Mikhailo Gets The Birthday Blues

OOTD: Same as before, now with some thermal wear underneath (It's cold out here; brrrr!)

Makeup: None

Hairstyle: Still wearing it loose!

Fragrance: The smell of snow and blood

Dear Diary,

I dreamed again.

But this time, my dream had nothing to do with Aphrodite.

Rather than taking on my usual ghost-like form, I was now inside an actual body...but it wasn't my body. Instead of my tan skin and chubby, petite build, this new body was tall, with a lean frame and slight muscle. It also had really pale skin, stained red by cuts and jabs from all over...

I was collapsed on the ground, panting for air. My black shirt and track pants were completely tattered, revealing more wounds. My body was weak and sore all over, and I felt like I would never get up. However, despite the chilly weather and my being underdressed, the cold wasn't bothering me at all. Truthfully, the cool air was probably keeping me stable, maintaining the little energy I had left and preventing me from passing out.

I looked frantically all around me, scanning the forest foliage for my enemies. I listened for voices and for movement, but all I heard was the occasional noise of an animal scurrying beneath the bushes. When I was convinced that I was alone and it was safe, I quickly pulled out a small container from the fanny pack slung around my waist.

The container had been a present; it was dark-blue, with a singular snowflake etched onto the lid. I ran my thumb over the snowflake, my heart aching at the sight of it. The design was familiar to me; I'd used the container hundreds of times. Usually, I didn't think anything of it, but tonight, seeing the beautiful crystal pattern made my eyes water.

But this was no time to cry. After all, crying wasn't a solution. Taking action was. And if I was going to prevent my enemies from killing me, I had to focus on what was necessary. No exceptions.

Without further hesitation, I popped open the lid, and stared down a small clump of dry ice, its gaseous form floating all around. I reached for the ice with my bare hands, but instead of the numbing pain that most people felt, I felt only the slightest coolness. I lifted a small piece and pressed it to a bleeding scar on my leg. Almost instantly, the bleeding stopped, and the wound began to close in a light pink scar.

Since there wasn't much ice in the container, I used the little I had to fix up the worst of my injuries. A gash on my arm, a deep cut on my abdomen, another scar on my face. With each one that healed, I felt a little bit of my energy return to me, and my panicky feeling began to calm, though I wasn't in the clear just yet.

I was glad that I hadn't completely let my guard down, because not even a second after I healed the last major scar, I heard a rustle in the bushes behind me. As soon as I whipped around, a band of warrior girls jumped out from behind the leaves, with blood-stained spears and arrows at their sides, dressed in all-black winter gear. A wave of fear rippled through me at the sight of their wicked smiles.

One girl stepped forward from the group, her beauty hitting me like a brick...just as it always had. Her complexion was pale like my own, her skin pretty much flawless without a blemish in sight. Her silky, burgundy-red hair flowed from behind her like a curtain, and when her harsh, grey eyes met my own, my heart exploded with a storm of emotions: love, admiration, confusion, regret, anger, fear, and most importantly...heartbreak.