Dawn's Pendant

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Horrified, she disobeyed, feet unable to move. The shadow splotch split into two, one part still pinning down her mom and the other forming into a slim figure. A couple of heads taller than Christina, the shadow stretched out its clawed fingers where a rim hat formed out of its palm and plopped it on its head of hair. Like a ghost, the shadow hovered in the air and gave a mouthless grin that reached its empty eye sockets.

With swiftness, she grabbed the sword and did not expect it to be heavy. The pointy tip slid across the grass as she struggled to raise and to aim it at the creature.

A hissing laugh filtered the air. "Ala," it said with a hint of amusement in its alluring voice.

"Let her go," Christina demanded.

"Okay," it hissed and cocked its head to the side. "But not until I have you, Diinae Se'er."

Divine Seer? She interpreted giving it a confused glare.

Before she could process the creature's address to her, it charged her at top speed. Her mom screamed, and her heart leapt into her throat. She waved the sword only for the weight to push it to the ground. Christina froze, unable to do anything as the shadow embraced her from head to toe.

Instantly, her body frosted cold, clogging her airway with a metal acid. A horde of needles pricked her skin. She swapped off the shadow to no avail, cringing to the creature's hissing laugh piercing her ears from within her skull. His violation invaded her body like a colony of angry ants. She dropped the sword just as her pendant began to glow in a white hue.

Something hot and foreign awoke within every part of her body, gushing through her bloodstream to attack the intruder. The shadow's hissing laugh converged into a scream of agony. She raised her hazel eyes flushing white as snow and gave a great scream that erupted fire from her pores. The earth shook.

As fast as it clung onto her, the shadow burst out of her, slithering away to rejoin with its other half. She panted to catch her breath, only for colorful light to flash before her eyes. Gravity yanked her off the ground and into the air. She squeezed her eyes closed and jerked awake.

She sat up in her bed and fell into a dry coughing spree. Caressing her burning chest, she noticed her pendant was still glowing and some of the veins in her arms were white. Christina wheezed until her heartbeat calmed, watching her arms and her pendant return to normal. Thick globes of sweat ran down her face and tainted her tongue with iron and salt. Her eyes darkened back to hazel and her high temperature decreased.

"Great God in heaven," she croaked, throat cracked and sore. "What kind of dream was that?"

That was not a dream, the angelical voice whispered from somewhere in the darkness. Goosebumps pricked her arms as she searched the room for the voice. A moan startled her on her right. She raised her clenched fists prepared to fight to the death, but then she relaxed. Still sitting in the armchair beside her bed was her mom.

"Ma?" she said turning on the lamp. The dull light gave view to her mom, brown skin glazed in sweat and full lips charred black.

"Ma," she screamed jumping out of the bed. She shook her, panic clawing at her chest. She took in the black veins forming around her eyes, sealed shut.

"Wake up," she said but her mom only groaned and cringed in excruciating pain.

It was just a dream! It was just a dream! Repeating it only made her gut revolt in denial.

She shook her unconscious mom and patted her face, icy cold to the touch. Then she stopped moving.

"Ma, please wake up. What's going on?"