Pain overwhelmed her. Unable to move without making it worse, she waited in the grass for hours. She felt safe in her glade, listening to the forest. The stream trickling next to her was a soothing calm to her agony as long as she stayed still and kept her breathing shallow. After a while, she heard footsteps approaching from behind her. She tried to call out, but even that caused the pain to worsen.

  "Don't move." A dark velvet voice cut through the air. "You'll only make the pain worse." she listened to him, knowing the truth of his words too well. "It would seem you've met with the Elders. This is Merihim's magic." his eyes narrowed.

  'I have.' Knots formed in the pit of her stomach.

  "I can take the pain away as long as you promise to stay calm."

  'Yes! I promise I'll stay calm! Please help me.' Silent tears fell from her eyes.

  Sitting next to her, the dark angel helped her to sit up and lean her back against his chest. He gently wrapped his arms around her, cradling her. Brushing her hair away from her ear, he whispered softly, "You may move away if you wish. The pain will not return."

  Keshiema remained still, unsure if she feared the pain or losing the butterflies forming in her stomach. 'What's happening to me?' She willed the thoughts to stay within her mind.

  "I promise you; I have taken the spell away. You may move freely." Damien leaned over and looked her in the eyes. He smiled, "Unless you don't want to?" he stroked her cheek lightly.

  "I like it here. Being in your arms. It feels nice." she felt silly as the words came out and blushed brightly.

  "I will always be happy to hold you, Keshiema."

  "What a peaceful dream." she laced her fingers through his.

  "Do you want this to be more than that?" Damien asked her.

  "I don't know," she said truthfully. "I feel like I've known you for so long, but I've never even spoken to you in real life. I mean, you only just joined the Academy a few months ago." She thought for a moment. "But when I heard Ayperos speak today, I knew the voice. I've heard you in class, sure, but you speak so rarely. I shouldn't have recognized it so quickly."

  "It's time for me to go, Kesh." Damien stood and carefully set her on her feet. "I will miss you."

  "I won't remember this, will I?"

  "I'm sorry, it's for the best." He placed his hand over her mark, and the world went dark.

  ***

  Deep within her heart, Keshiema knew something had changed during her sleep. She always remembered her dreams, but as of late, they often escaped her. This time, all she remembered was a fiery, agonizing pain. She wondered if the dream she had during her nap at the hospital might be a clue. 'I need to speak with Damien when I can. I just hope I don't sound crazy.' Still exhausted, she turned over and fell back to sleep.

  ***

  Year 1006 D.E.

  Keshiema stood over the fallen child, defiantly protecting him from further punishment. Fat Chu laughed, picking her up by the back of her shirt. "You know the rules. You really wanna take his place?" She never said a word, but the determination in her eyes spoke volumes. "May!" Fat Chu spat on Keshiema as he yelled for his wife. "The blue one wants another beating, get in here!"

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  Entering the room with a bottle of clear liquid in her hands, Big May slurred her speech. "That one again? I'm getting real tired of your shit, little demon. I can't even enjoy my booze without you acting up. Give her here, Chu." Keshiema showed no fear as Fat Chu handed her over to his wife.

  Big May slapped her face, giving Keshiema a bloody lip. Still, the child glared at the large woman. Her determination held fast when Big May grabbed her arm and snapped it like a twig. Her heart skipped no beats as her head cracked the plaster when she slammed her against the wall. Big May let her drop to the floor. Frustrated by her silent bravery, Fat Chu kicked her as she lay slumped on the ground.

  The only moment of panic came when Keshiema realized she was losing consciousness. If they were still angry by the time she blacked out, then someone else would take the rest of the beating. Her head throbbed, and her broken ribs made breathing difficult. She tried to sit up, fighting to stay awake, but when she put weight on her broken arm, she fell back to the ground.

  A warm tingling sensation on her forehead worried her. She wondered what a concussion might feel like. 'Am I going to die? I can't. If I do, no one will protect the others.' The pain in her arm and ribs lessened.

  Big May Screamed. She started shouting about something glowing. She rambled on about some sort of star. Feeling slightly less dizzy, Keshiema tried again to pick herself up off the floor. Fat Chu yelled at her to go to her room. When she got there, he slammed the door shut behind her, locking it from the outside.

  Tobias gave her a funny look as she sat on her bed. "What's that on your face?" He asked mockingly.

  Unsure what he meant, she walked over to her mirror. Sure enough, a glowing blue star shone brightly in the center of her forehead. She lightly caressed the lines, still not sure what they meant.

  "It looks like a compass." He laughed at her. "you gonna start navigating the ocean now? exploring the wilderness?"

  She threw her pillow at him, telling him to shut up. "May broke my arm." She told him seriously.

  "Looks fine to me." She knew he was calling her a liar.

  "she did! And Chu cracked my ribs. Then my forehead got hot and I felt better."

  "I heard them beating you." He sounded less skeptical. "You look fine though. There's some books in their office about demon abilities. I'll see if I can get them for you later."

  She trusted him only because she knew he had read every book available in the house. And on nights Chu and May passed out drunk, he made it a point to go around the neighborhood and search for more in the abandoned houses nearby. She looked at him sadly, thinking about the time he'd been caught by one of the demon Patrollers. He'd gotten off easy with only a small beating from the Patroller. Fat Chu and Big May never found out. They also never questioned the new scar across his cheek.

  Later that night, Tobias snuck out through the window, reentering the house through a broken side door. Quietly, he shuffled through Chu's office, bringing out several books.

  One Book with odd symbols on it caught her attention. She opened that one first. "Oops," Tobias said. "Looks like that one's in demon."

  Not responding, Keshiema sat on the floor with the book. She stared at the pages for several hours, unmoving. Unsure how she knew, she understood the text perfectly. "Tobias?" she asked quietly.

  When she was sure he was asleep, he finally answered. "Yeah?"

  I think I'm a," she struggled with the pronunciation, "Friskalia. It means 'healer.' But on another page, it seems to mean 'dreamer.' It says I can heal people."

  "Well, does it say anything about healing yourself?"

  "No, not without some weird spells. But maybe they just forgot to put that in."

  "Yeah, maybe." His skeptical voice returned. He thought for a second before holding out his hand. "Here. Give me your hand." When he opened his pocket knife, she tried to pull away. Being three years older than her, he was the stronger one. As she begged him not to, he cut her palm. She covered her mouth with her other hand to muffle her scream. He let her go as soon as the blade sliced her skin. The blood pooled in her hand.

  "Try one of the spells," Tobias urged her.

  Shuffling through the pages, she found a suitable incantation. She focused her thoughts, concentrating on the pain. A purple mist formed around her hands. "Astano yi mar. Relieve my pain." Her forehead felt hot again as her new mark started glowing. The blood in her hand receded as the wound sealed itself, leaving behind a small pink scar.

  "Keshiema, I think you just got a power." She looked at him questioningly, still not fully understanding what being a demon meant.

  "It's late. Why don't you get some sleep?"

  The next day, Chu and May beat her again, wanting to verify the incident had happened. She was the focus of many beatings for several days afterward. She refused to heal the wounds until they passed out drunk. When they finally got bored and decided to beat another child, Keshiema tried another of the spells in the book Tobias gave her, confirming her status as a Friskalia.