A Different Life

5. What Now?

Months went by and I continued to train with my father and Alexander, and it was Christmas break now. I had 2 and a half weeks off from school, which meant I would be going back on the first Wednesday in January.

I had been off for three days now and I hadn't heard anything from Alexander or Alocer. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but my mother had been getting suspicious when I kept coming home with injuries. Still, I came home with less noticeable ones now that I was getting stronger, and Evan had a knack for putting together some healing potions.

At least someone was paying attention in Potion Foundations class.

I had been grounded for two days after I came home with that fireball burn. Which totally wasn't my fault. Mom had believed the story that I had been attacked by a demon, but she had scolded me for "being careless" and when I continued to protest my grounding, she had claimed it was "for my own protection" more than anything.

I could understand that and all... but that didn't make it suck any less. I had missed out of two days of training after that, but things went back to normal... well, my new normal. School, killing demons, homework, sleep. Nothing out of the ordinary, right?

I sighed purposely, watching my breath puff out into the air in front of my face. I sighed again, this time breathing in deeper. It brought a small smile to my face, watching it puff out in front of me again.

December was the best month of all, I think. Not only did I love the cold, crisp weather, or the fact that my birthday was just days away, but it had snowed last night. I love snow.

I think that's the first time I've used the word "love" without "music" or "assassins" in the same sentence. Well yeah, I'm full of surprises here, folks.

Anyway, I'm getting off-track. Back to the subject at hand.

Evan's house. I was on my way there. The fallen, packed snow on the ground crunched beneath my boots with every step I took. Though I wore gloves, my hands were still freezing, and I shoved them deeper into the pockets of my winter jacket.

I was mostly immune to the cold, thanks to the scarf wrapped around my neck, which I pulled up to also cover half my face. All that ever really got cold was my face, and my hands.

But in this particular case - the one in which I had to travel through knee-deep snow dunes to get out of the driveway - my legs were numb with cold. That's why I was headed to Evan's, actually. To get help shoveling some paths from the front door, to the driveway, and then the sidewalk in front of my house. My mom was working, and this was my only task for the entire week, so I at least wanted to get the driveway cleared before she got home.

Or before that annoying snow-shoveling truck came by. I hate that bastard.

"Hey!" I looked up instantly at the shout. Two people were running down the street towards me. One looked to be a little girl, and the other a burly, older man that honestly gave me the creeps. "Help, lady! Please help me!" The little girl said as she reached me, horribly out of breath, and cowered behind me.

Oh, shit. That guy chasing her really looked angry.

"Get the hell out of my way!" He howled, looking as if he was preparing to charge through both of us, beat us half to death, then drag the little girl away by her ponytail.

Wait a second. I'm a witch, dammit! "Leave her alone," I warned. The man was maybe five feet away now and not looking as if he was going to slow down.

So much for a peaceful approach. Hey, don't say I didn't try.

I raised my hand, cracking an icicle from the roof of a house nearby, and threw it at the charging man with telekinesis. It hit him in the face, but not the sharp end, like I had been hoping. Still, the sudden impact of something hitting his face caused the guy to stumble, slipping on the snow and ice, and falling on his ass.

He looked pissed as he got back up, especially as the little girl began to giggle slightly, laughing at his fall. He gritted his teeth, reaching a hand into his jacket while shouting, "You think that's funny, you little punk?!"

"I'd say so." I muttered under my breath, not loud enough for him to hear me. My comment made the little girl laugh again, and that's when I saw what he was pulling from his jacket.

A gun.

Who the HELL brought a GUN to deal with a little girl? Who was this guy, a psycho pedophile as well as a murderer?

My mind went blank. I wasn't sure what I should do. Should I- BANG!

I reacted instantly, turning my back to him and dropping to my knees, wrapping my arms around the little girl, all without a second thought.

Please don't hit her, please don't hit her... I prayed in my mind, as time seemed to move at a slow crawl as I waited for the impact of the bullet.

Yet it seemed to hit all too suddenly, and I screamed out as I felt it rip through my flesh. it was somewhere in my shoulder, and even through all of the pain, I was glad it didn't go through me.

"R... ru..." I choked out as I looked at the little girl. My words were just soft whimpers, though I had been trying to tell her to run. Her eyes were wide as I felt myself fall on my side. Her mouth was moving, probably shouting at me to get up, or maybe asking if I was okay. But her words were jumbled together in fear and panic, and I couldn't understand most of what she said.

My vision began to blur. I couldn't really comprehend why the little girl was crying, or why the snow around my shoulders was being stained red. I heard her gasp, and looked up to see that man standing over us. He was looking at me, smiling cruelly, and then he laughed.

He laughed at me. It wasn't light or humorous. It was dark. Evil. Daunting. The total opposite of that little girl's giggle.

In that instant I realized, he wasn't human. He wasn't some pedophile looking to kill this little girl. He was a demon. He was a demon hoping to devour this little girl's being, erase her very existence, and leave her with nothing.

I glanced at the girl, who had buried her face into my stomach, trying to hide from this monster.

I had one move left. I raised my hands, and I heard him laugh again. His mouth was moving, probably taunting me, but I couldn't hear him at first. Sound was delayed, as if I was watching a tv show and the sound was lagging. His words came slowly, "What are you going to do, demon daughter?"

He was laughing again. But he didn't have much time left... I used my last ounce of strength to use molecular combustion, and then he was gone. Forever. He would never hurt that little girl, or anyone else, ever again.

At least, not until the next monster came along.

"I'm going to go get help, okay?" The little girl's frightened voice had caused me to loop my head to the side, looking at her through blurred eyes. "Thank you lady, you saved me. Now I'm going to get help and save you. Don't worry, okay?"

I watched her run off. I couldn't do anything else but wait, and hope she came back. What had that man- no, demon- called me? "Demon daughter?" What was that supposed to mean?

My shoulder stung like all hell, and my vision began to swim. I couldn't think much about his comment as the pain made thoughts difficult to process. Before I completely blacked out, I saw a figure standing over me.

It was obviously male. He was tall, and wearing all black. I realized there was something familiar about him as he picked me up, but all I could really do was hope that it was that little girl's father, or some other form of help she had gotten...

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(Oh shit! Things just got real! What do you think? Who was that at the end? Why was that little girl so important to that demon? Well, maybe I should stop asking you questions you don't know the answer to. But hey, if you look to the side there, we have a picture of the little girl that was saved! Isn't she cute? I mean, for not being an assassin. xP)