A dazzling young woman appeared at Kaia's side, seemingly manifested from a dust devil the wind had invoked. Exotic features were framed by flowing hair that shimmered like black satin, and her hypnotic eyes morphed from amber, to gray, then coal black, and back again. Her lips were blood-red and matched the long cape that whipped around her. She leaned down and the words spoken into Kaia's ear carried on breath that smelled of spiced wine. "I am Nyx."

A scream rose in Kaia, but stuck in her throat.

"I don't like being summoned, so I decided to arrive at my own convenience. I do prefer to vanquish over being vanquished."

Kaia forced the scream from her throat, and it managed to cut through the wind and reach her parents.

Deirdre's panic was instant. "Kaia!"

As Kevin and Deirdre turned to rush to her aid, branches of the tree reached out to encircle and imprison them.

"Oh, gods, Kaia!" Kevin shouted as he wrestled in vain against his restraints.

In an instant, the wind died.         

Nyx's laugh was throaty. "Funny thing about mistletoe. Despite human romantic notions about it, the plant is a destructive little parasite that eventually kills its host. Very much like love itself, actually."

"Run, Kaia!" Deirdre said, the terror in her voice thick.

Kaia tried to move, but invisible branches of Nyx's evil had enveloped her and she was helpless. A fear unlike any she had ever known filled her blood with ice.

"Very nice covenstead you've established here," Nyx said. "However, planning a vanquishing before erecting protective wards around the entire property was a bit reckless, don't you think?"

"Let our daughter go," Kevin said. "This doesn't concern her."

Nyx reached out and wrapped one of Kaia's curls around her finger. "Oh, this concerns her intimately. I understand that she was born to be a demon-hunter, too."

"Please?" Deirdre begged.

Nyx yanked hard on Kaia's hair before releasing it. Kaia winced and Nyx cocked her head. "Oh, that maternal bond is such a mystery to me. Tell you what, Momma Moonstone, let's see whom you really love more. I'll give you a choice. I will let you and your daughter live, but banish your husband to one of my special little hells of eternal torment, or you and your husband will die together and I'll send you both to that eternally happy afterlife realm you so quaintly call Summerland. Your daughter will be a sad little orphan, and I promise to never let her rest in peace. Which will it be, Momma Moonstone?"

A cry of anguish escaped Deirdre.

Kaia thought fast; she didn't want her father to suffer in an eternal hell. "Aunt Brennan will take care of me, and I'll grow up to be the best demon-fighter in the whole world. I'll vanquish Nyx someday. I promise."

Nyx sighed with impatience. "You've got thirty seconds to make your choice: good wife or rotten mother? Whom do you love more?"

Deirdre stared at Kaia, her face pale as moonlight.

"Tick tock," Nyx said, her voice smooth. "You choose or I'll make the choice for you."

"Send us to Summerland," Deirdre whispered. "I'm so sorry, Kaia. I love you more than you'll ever know."

Kaia broke free of Nyx's invisible grip and raced toward her parents. The albino bear magically appeared and tackled her moments before an enormous bolt of lightning slammed into the tree that held her parents captive, splitting it--and them--in two.

Berry Bear tried to cover Kaia's face so she wouldn't witness the execution, but Kaia bit his hand and when he jerked it away, she saw it all. Her shrieks were drowned out by the roar of thunder. She kicked and pummeled and bit Berry Bear until she was able to squirm out from beneath him. Trembling, she managed to stand tall and proud, "I will get you one day, Nyx. I'll get even with you for what you did today."

A slow grin crossed Nyx's face. "Our day will come, little spitfire."

Hatred overcame Kaia and she charged Nyx, but Berry Bear scooped Kaia up in his arms and raced toward the village.

"I will vanquish her," Kaia whispered through her thick veil of tears. "If it's the last thing I do."

*          *          *

Copyright ©  2012 - Devin O'Branagan - All Rights Reserved