Becoming

Chapter #9: Kari "Take Me Home"

"Oh my gods," Ava says. She's pacing through the forest, hands crossed behind her back. For some reason, she's surprised that Ember broke free from her xechasiaris charm. Sofia waves her hands at me when Ava's back is turned, I think Sofia knows what happened.

"What?" I ask, hoping Ava can't hear. Sadly, Ava doesn't even get a chance to ask about what is going on because I feel a strange cold presence in the air.

"Kari," Ava says nervously, "Are you doing this?" I shake my head, this is not my doing, it's darker than what I bring. Suddenly, a laugh echoes through the forest, rustling the trees and causing a slight breeze. Ava shudders and grips her shoulder as if to swat away a fly. A hand begins to form where Ava touched her shoulder, then, a wave of black passes through the hand and down to the ground, creating a humanoid shape, the shape of my father. He's resting his hand right on Ava's shoulder. She realizes this and shakes him away immediatly.

"Man! It is good to be back!" He says, "You know, I did not think that you would be this stupid Rose, honestly! Telling my daughter, little snowflake to bring them here, the only place that can get me out of my realm. See until now, I was trapped, not able to speak to any of my children, at least not directly anyway. Now, now I can not only contact, speak, and touch you, I can leave my realm and contact the pathetic mortals as well. Not that I care about them, I only want you." The demon has come back, but I don't know what he wants. What he just said to Ava makes no sense at all, who is this Rose that he speaks of?

"Good to see you too, Ash," When he says 'Ash', he nods towards Emily, "Bone" Nodding toward Sofia now, "Flame," Nodding at Ember, "And last but not least, Snowflake" He nods toward me last. I'm about to object when he silences me with a hand.

"I'm not finished," He says, "How many is that? Four, including Rose is five, wait! I only need one more!" Ava stares at him in awe.

"Y-you mean t-that I'm not the o-only one?" She asks. The demon grins when she says this, almost pleased by her lack of information.

"Of course not!" He says, "Why do you think little bones could balance out your power? She was the one who reversed your xechasiaris charm, not Flame!" I put a finger to my temple, I'm sick of all these nicknames, they're confusing me.

"Leave," I say quietly. My father looks up, surprised that I even talked. I can guess that he has been watching my behavior since he first talked to me.

"Sorry, Snowy, care to repeat that?" He asks, raising his eyebrows, daring me to go on. I can't show him that I'm weak, but on the other hand, isn't that what I am? I'm unable to talk to people and I can't even

"Leave now," I say this firmly, louder than before.

"Sorry, I can't, I have your thoughts," He says this with a certainty that I wouldn't expect from someone who has just been told to leave.

"What? I know you, you do everything for a reason, why take my thoughts now?" I ask. I try and conceal the fact that I'm confused by adding a bit of his conversation into mine, but it doesn't work, the only reaction I get is a deranged laugh. I guess this is a good thing, showing him that I'm not afraid to ask questions, it's weird, but it might help make him leave.

"I know your deepest fears, desires and I can feel how close you are to the dark. My dear Snowflake, you know no one, know nothing, and you most of all, don't know me. But for now, I'll be keeping an eye on you. And snowy, you still owe me a favor." The shadow smiles and disappears, leaving a thin line of white leaning over
 me.

I look over at Ava, who is now drowning in tears, she was wrong about something and she's really upset about it for some reason. When I get a closer look, I'm shocked to see that her tears are thick and dark red, and when she looks up at me, so are her eyes.