It wasn’t long before the Evils and their demi-demon home fries showed up. I was still in the middle of a vision. My mother was all I saw. I couldn’t tell what was going to happen or where. I just knew she was in danger. I could feel it in my bones. They were too cold. I could feel them under my skin like an ice-sculpture skeleton. The rest of me was overly hot, and sweat covered my skin and pooled under my hair.
The hobgoblins ran around me, skipping and singing in their shrill voices, in a language I didn’t understand and really didn’t care to. The friendly goblin grabbed my leg and tried to crawl up it. I kicked him off. Scarface growled, and his eyes turned black.
I held my pounding head in my hands, made my way to the swing on the deck, and fell onto it. The red midget climbed up and sat next to me, his stumpy legs kicking back and forth, trying to make the swing move.
My mother. Standing at the window.
The goblin next to me was getting annoyed that the swing wasn’t moving. He stood up, his temper flaring. I reached out and pushed him off so hard he went flying across the deck. That didn’t help his mood.
She’s looking outside. There’s screaming. Hobgoblins are running through the house.
My vision came and went as the images played through my head.
“Fight it, Milayna. Your mother’s fine,” Chay’s dad said. “I’m going to stay with her.”
A demon. He reaches out and touches her shoulder.
“Milayna, you need to fight the vision.”
“I can’t, Mr. Roberts!” I fisted my fingers in my hair and pulled until it hurt. “The images keep coming. I can’t get them to stop.” My voice shook with barely controlled tears. Fear, panic, and rage swirled through me as the vision bombarded my senses. I didn’t know which emotion I felt the most, which would take over, but something bubbled under my skin, ready to burst free.
“It’s not real. The goblins are forcing a vision on you so you’re unable to protect yourself. You have to fight it.” My dad squatted in front of me. “You’re stronger than the vision. Fight it.”
A demon… No! It’s not real… it’s not real.
“A demon is in the house!” I cried. “Dad, a demon—”
“Milayna,” he said in calm, soothing tones, “the house is protected. Even if there is a demon inside, its power is drained.”
Yes! There’s a demon… no, it’s not real. It’s not real.
“Fight it, Milayna. The house is protected.” I could hear the fight. I knew Chay and the others were taking on the group of Evils by themselves.
Fight it! Okay, okay, I can do this. It isn’t real.
My head pounded, and my stomach clenched. I couldn’t erase the images that flashed in my head. “Where’s Mr. Roberts?”
“In the house.” My dad’s voice.
“Chay?” I whispered.
“He’s in the yard.” My dad cleared his throat.
My mother. A demon. Hobgoblins running through the house… on the counter tops… on the table…
“No! It’s not real!” I lifted my head and shook off the effects of the vision. My head pounded and the images still played out in my mind, but I had to help my group. I couldn’t sit there and do nothing. Chay’s dad was with my mom. She was fine.
Can I trust him?
I trusted Chay. I had to trust his dad.
I stood up and fought the vision.
It’s not real.
I ran down the steps of the deck and into the fight. Jen was trying to fight off two demi-demons. I picked one and slammed into him. The more the vision attacked me, the harder I fought.
He turned and threw a punch. I saw it coming at me in the freaky slo-mo thing I had. Blocking it, I kicked him in the side. He tried to jab me, and I stepped to the side. He swung and missed, stumbling forward from the momentum. I used his moment of weakness to kick him on the side of his head. He went down. No major damage done, but he wouldn’t get up anytime soon.
Demon. Looking at my mother.
My gaze swung to the house. My mother was standing at the window, watching the fight.
Demon. Looking out of the window. I can see the fight through its eyes.
I watched the window. There was nothing there. No demon. Just my mother.
It’s not real. It’s not real.
I turned and a fist hit me in the jaw. Stunned, it took me a second to recuperate, and I barely had time to block his next swing.
Jake.
I blocked the next two jabs he threw. Why didn’t his swings come in slow motion like everyone else’s? My freaky-magic-mojo didn’t work on him.
Demon. Reaching out to grab my mother. No! It’s not real.
Jake kicked me in the side and brought my thoughts back to the issue at hand. Getting my ass kicked, literally. The next kick I was ready for and grabbed his leg. I twisted it, and he fell with a grunt facedown on the ground. I stepped between his shoulder blades and pushed him down into the moist dirt.
“Don’t screw with me,” I bit out just before I kicked him in the side.
Demon. Demon. Demon.
I turned, my gaze searched frantically around the yard. Everyone was fighting. Chay was fighting a demi-demon. He had a cut above his eye; blood dripped down his face. Or maybe it was the same cut from the last fight. Who knew anymore?
Demon. Demon. Demon.
Something was wrong. My vision had changed. It wasn’t my mother I saw through the demon’s eyes. It was me.
It’s not real.