ANITA

I didn't sleep well.

I'd left the party pretty much after Jackal did, and my body had felt like it was on fire.

Somehow I'd made it home, and the rain pelting against the window was the only company I had.

Eric had been blowing up my phone but he was the last of my concerns. My body hummed, like it was listening—no—waitingfor something...or someone.

This is ridiculous.

I sat up, my ears pricking at the sound of a car door slamming outside. Something told me it was a red Ford, and that the woman driving was late for work.

For the third time this week.

I swallowed, catching sight of myself in the mirror across from my bed.

What the fuck?

My eyes were a dark yellow, and my skin was flawless. My hair fell in soft waves around my shoulders, and my lips were blood red.

I laughed uneasily, lifting my hand to my face to check it was really me.

"I only went to a Halloween party," I mumbled to myself, my body stiffening like something bad was going to happen.

Nausea swept through me and I doubled over, fear gripping me like an icy fist.

The window.

Something was at the window.

Gritting my teeth I dragged myself towards it, my fingers gripping the window ledge like there was a strong wind forcing me back.

Through the rain stained glass, I made out the shape of a figure standing across the road, and that figure was watching me intently.

I fell back like I'd been slapped, my heart thumping in my chest as I tried to shake myself, anything to feel some control.

Draw the curtains.

Now.

The unfamiliar voice in my head commanded, and I dove forward, tugging my grey curtains together, turning my head away so I didn't see the mysterious figure.

"What the fuck is going on?" I whispered to myself, staring around my room.

You played with a vampire.

The voice in my head wasn't mine.

But it was in my head so...it had to be, right?

Get it together. You've got danger on your doorstep.

There was something soothing about the voice, like a child hearing its mother in a time of need, guiding it to safety.

Danger on my doorstep?

I peered around the curtain, holding my breath so the warmth didn't steam the windows.

The figure had gone.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, dropping the curtain when I felt it.

Icy cold hands on my neck, the soft chuckle in my ear.

I whipped around, my eyes darting around the room and seeing nothing.

"Who's there?" I demanded, my hands clawing at my throat desperately.

Your feet have roots. Allow them to ground you. Inhale.

The panic in my body began to subside, and the chuckle turned into a growl as the fingers loosened.

Banish this demon!

"I don't know how!" I cried out as it pinned me to the wall, hands roaming all over my body.

Bale.

"Bale?" I whispered, as the fingers released me. I fell to a heap on the floor, my eyes still searching for the thing that held me against my will.

"You aren't welcome here!"

"Au contraire, Darling. You're dripping for me." The voice cut through the air like a knife, and my heart almost stopped.

A finger stroked my underwear, and I moaned, my head rolling back as Bale chuckled again.

"There's my good witch."

Banish him!

"Leave," I pleaded, teeth sinking into my lips as he moved his finger in circular motions.

"You don't mean that."

A moan escaped my lips as I tried to resist his touch, the icy fingers returning to my throat now somewhat pleasurable.

"Leave!" I gritted out, and the voice applauded me internally.

Louder. Mean it.

"Leave!" I bellowed, and something left me, a wind, or some kind of force field—and he was gone.

I panted, clutching my chest as the voice returned.

You need to protect yourself. You can't stay here.

I nodded, grabbing a backpack and filling it with clothes.

You don't need anything. Leave everything.

Something swept over me, a warmth that held the promise of safety, and I walked out of my room, out of my house, and down the street without doubting the voice once.

I was still wearing my oversized t-shirt, my bare legs unaffected by the cold wind and rain that lashed around me.

Despite knowing I was soaked, I felt warm and dry.

I passed people who barely glanced at me, and I wondered if they could see me at all.

Why are my eyes yellow?

Where am I going?

Silence.

I missed the voice. I needed it to tell me where I was going.

My feet moved on autopilot, walking towards the woods at the edge of town.

Wait, how the hell did I get here so quickly? It's miles to the edge of town.

I gasped when I realised I was barefoot, my feet squelching in the mud yet I felt nothing.

Except I felt everything else.

Physically I was numb; but internally, I was alive.

I could hear the birds in the trees; but not the singing. Their movements, the branches in their mouths as they made their nests. The hedgehogs shuffled on the ground beside me, the wind moving the leaves in the trees like it was opening the woods for me.

Like I was meant to be here.

I have no idea how far I walked, but suddenly, I felt eyes on me.

My body stiffened in reaction, my head snapping this way and that.

Almost there.

Thank god! The voice was back.

"Don't leave me," I whispered into the air as I felt more eyes on me, desperate, yearning eyes.

Hungry eyes.

The demons and the devils want you. Surround yourself with light. Almost there.

A house appeared in the distance, a battered and neglected looking thing, yet smoke rose from the chimney.

The wind hissed around me, but I felt like it was protecting me.

I daren't look into the trees, because without knowing how I knew, I knew there was something dark in there.

Watching me.

Waiting for me.

I'd almost reached the steps of the house when the fingers slid around my throat, gripping me as I let out a choked cry.

"Hello, witch."

Bale.