Mom said it was almost time for bed. It gets dark early now, but I wasn't tired. Everyone spent all day decorating the house with pretty lights and shiny things. The big kids even set up a tree in the main hall. Mommy let me put the star on the top; she said that was the most important job. I had to guard it until the rest of the tree was ready. Christmas time is always so much fun.

Afterwards, we played music, and everyone danced. I got to dance with Kai; he’s the most handsome boy in the house. He said maybe when I grow up we could get married, but I think he likes Zoe, the siren, more. That’s okay, I wasn't mad. Mommy said I have plenty of time to find a husband. Or maybe a wife, if she’s as pretty as Mommy. I don’t know yet.

The other kids had gone to their rooms to get ready for bed, so I got changed into my favorite nighty; the one with the Little Mermaid, of course. The bathroom was a little down the hall, where I went to brush my teeth. I could do it all by myself now. If I was quick, maybe mommy would tell me a story before bed. Daddy tells the best stories, but that’s a secret.

I sang twinkle-twinkle little star, rinsed, wiped my face with a towel and I was all done. As I pulled the door open, all the lights went out, which was weird, cause I hadn't hit the switch yet. It was dark, so I moved into the hallway. There was some light coming through the windows, and I could hear some of the other kids yelling upstairs. The floor was cold; I forgot my slippers. A shadow moved down the hall, near the kitchen.

“Mommy?” I called out. She was probably looking for me.

“Guess again.” A voice replied. It’s sounded like a woman under water. A pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness, and the little bit of light coming from the window showed me big pointy teeth.

I screamed. I didn’t know what else to do, so I ran back into the bathroom and slammed the door. Mommy would find me. Mommy would kill the bad thing. She promised.

I turned the lock on the handle just before it started to rattle. I screamed again and backed away. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear the door rattling, louder and louder. The scary voice growled on the other side. I started crying, screaming for Mommy, or Daddy, or anyone.

The rattling stopped suddenly.

“Auria!?” It was mommy!

“I’m here!” I shouted back.  I ran to the door, struggled with the lock, and threw the door open.

The red eyes stared back at me, a huge toothy grin on it’s furry face, so close to mine. I couldn’t move. Then, it was gone. There was a blur of shadows in front of me until suddenly it was bright. I flinched away, but I recognized the fiery sword. In its glow, I saw Mommy’s face. She was mad, even more than when I snuck out of the house last month. She fought with the monster with the scary voice and the big teeth. I could see it now; it had reddish fur, huge paws, and a pointy tail like that bug Mommy hates.

“Stay back!” Mommy yelled. I hid behind the wall in the bathroom. The scary voiced monster shrieked, and it made my ears hurt. I covered them with my hands and I crouched down on the floor. It would be ok. Mommy would make the bad thing go away.

Something touched my arm and I screamed again, but then I saw Mommy’s face. It was all dirty, and she was breathing hard. Through the doorway behind her, there were more red eyes coming toward us. They disappeared behind black feathers. Mommy pulled me against her with one arm, and her wings wrap around us.

“Don’t worry, baby. We’re going to go see Daddy, okay?” She whispered, trying to sound happy. I nodded. Daddy always knew what to do.

~*~

The bright lights of Mommy’s magic faded. She fell over on her side, taking me with her. The cocoon of wings slowly fell open as she rolled onto her back and looked above. Mommy called out Daddy’s name, but there was only silence. We were in the big hall of the secret base. Daddy’s office door was open, but he’s wasn't there.

“Auria, honey… find your father, okay?” Mommy whispered. Her eyes were closed. I guess she was sleepy.

“Okay.” I stood up, careful not to step on too many feathers. I’d never seen much of the base. Usually, I stayed in Daddy’s office when we visited here. While I looked around the huge, dark hall I felt a funny sensation coming from the other end. It felt like that’s where Daddy would be. I followed it.

The floor was cold and hard. The further I got away from Mommy, the more I wondered if there were bad monsters here too. Before I knew it, I was running. Around a corner, to my relief, there was a light up ahead. I heard voices inside, one of which I recognized.

The first thing I saw when I stepped into the light was several faces, looking back at me. Several strangers sitting around a table. They were young, maybe the same age as Kai, from home. A couple of them were older, with greying hair. Then I saw a pair of grey legs right in front of me. He was facing the others, but I’d know that silly outfit anywhere.

“Daddy!” I screamed. I’d never been so happy to see him in my life. He froze mid sentence. His face went white.

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“Daddy?” A blonde man said, stepping up from the wall to the right, one eyebrow raised.

Daddy blinked a few times, put on his best smile as he scooped me up in his arms.

“Hiya pumpkin! Whatcha doing here?” He said sweetly. I couldn’t help but smile. I hadn’t seen Daddy in ages.

“There were big scary things at home, so Mommy and I came to see you instead! But then Mommy got tired, so she’s sleeping. But I’m not sleepy!” I told him, nodding. Daddy’s lip twitched, and his grey eyes simply stared at me for a moment. He glanced at the others and back to me,

“Mommy is here? Sleeping?” His voice squeaked a bit. Someone snickered. I nodded. The blonde man slipped through the door behind us, his footsteps racing down the hall. Daddy squeezed me tight and turned to follow.

“Where’s mommy sleeping, hun?” He asked.

“On the floor, outside your office.” I answered, clinging to his jacket. He started to run. Just before we turned the corner, I saw some of the others come out into the hall. In the front of the pack is a tall boy, blonde haired with a strong jaw and broad shoulders. He might have been prettier than Kai. Maybe. Just a little.

“Sera!” Daddy shouted in my ear. He lifted me and I was suddenly in the arms of the blonde man. I didn’t know which of us was more surprised, or uncomfortable.

“Sera!” Daddy slid across the floor on his knees. If I looked over my shoulder, I could just barely see him shaking her shoulders, and caressing her face. He wasn't smiling anymore.

“Is something wrong with Mommy?” I asked the blonde man. Then I noticed another face there. A shadowy figure hung on the blonde man's back, with bloodshot eyes and shadowy claws dug into his skin. It looked back at me and shifted from one side to the other, as if to see if I would follow it. I squirmed back and forth, looking at the weird shadow thing. It made a funny face at me and I smiled. The blonde man frowned, his eyebrows pulling together,

“Everything will be okay, kid.” He told me. The others finally caught up. They whispered and gasped among themselves as they gathered around behind Daddy.

“I’m not a kid.” I pouted as I squirmed out of his grasp. It wasn't hard; he held me as far away from his body as he could. I hit the floor and fell on my butt. It hurt, but it was better than hanging in the air.

“Whoa, you okay?” One of the boys rushed to my side. He had butterscotch skin, and pretty yellow-green eyes. I forgot all about the blonde man and his shadow friend. This boy was kind, I could tell. He reminded me of Mommy, the way he smiled. “What’s your name?”

“Auria.” I said, staring at him, suddenly shy.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Orion.” He helped me up and brushed off my dress. “Hey… Is that blood? Are you hurt?”

I looked where he was holding a part of my nighty; red smears obscured the face of the little yellow fish.

“No, I’m ok.” I told him.

The boy frowned, and turned to look toward Mommy. Did Mommy get hurt fighting the bad thing? I pushed through the legs of the grown ups and sat beside Daddy. He was staring down at Mommy, fists clenched.

“Daddy, is Mommy hurting?” I asked. His wide eyes fell on me, and he placed a shaky hand on my head.

"Mommy’s going to be fine, baby.” He looked up over me. “Help me bring her to the infirmary.” He said to the blonde man.

The blonde man walked around and kneeled beside Mommy. He was extra careful to put one arm around her back, beneath the wings and lifted. Daddy gathered the ends of her wings so they didn’t drag on the floor, and the two began to walk slowly passed the group standing by.

“Did someone knock the angel off the Christmas tree?” The smaller boy dressed all in black chuckled awkwardly. Daddy turned to glare at him, so he hid behind the pretty girl with black hair. She shook her head at him.

“Come on,” Orion lifted me up and followed behind Daddy. I watched Daddy as he was staring down at Mommy. He looked scared. Was Mommy hurt that bad?

They went into the big room with padded floors. It was almost like the one we have in the basement, where Mommy teaches Kai and the others. There was a small room, but Mommy’s wings were too big to fit through the door.

“Erik, would you bring the cot out here?” Daddy asked. The big tall blonde boy nodded. He laid a long cushion on the mats. They laid Mommy on the cot carefully. She groaned and shifted in her sleep. She was still wearing her special armor.

“Down.” I said. Orion snapped out of a daze, then gently placed my feet on the ground. I moved to stand beside the bed.

“Mommy, the bad things are gone now. You have to put your wings away. They’re too big.” I told her, hands on my hips.

Mommy didn't say anything. Her face scrunched a bit. Daddy looked at the blonde man and he waved his hand over Mommy. Then, Mommy’s chest began to raise, the wings absorbed into her back, and the armor faded in a shimmery light. She was now in her nighty. There was a big red spot in the middle of her tummy. Daddy breathed in sharply. The blonde man knelt beside me, opposite of Daddy. He tries his best to smile.

“Can you tell me what the bad things were? Do you know what hurt Mommy?” He asked.

I blinked at him. He seemed nice enough, and I don’t feel scared, but the thing on his back made me lean away. I thought back to the monster in the hall.

“It was kind of like a big cat, like a lion… but it had a face like a person, and talked. It’s fur was dark, and red. Oh, and it had a big bug tail.” I remembered for him.

“Manticore…” The man hissed. “Thanks, little one.” He moved around behind me and whispers to Daddy. “We’re going to need an anti-venom or she’s going to die… if she even can die.” The blonde man looked grim as he stood up. I shuffled closer to Daddy, where the big red splotch is.

“It’s okay Daddy. Sometimes when I don’t feel good, me and Mommy play doctor. I’ll be the doctor this time.” I told him.

“Sweetie, I don’t think…” He started.

I pushed back my sleeves and looked at the red spot. In the middle, it was darker, and there was some green goo leaking out. A dark cloud of ickiness hovered around it. I didn’t want to look at it before, because it felt bad. I watched it for a second. It was spreading slowly over Mommy’s tummy. Her face got whiter as it got bigger. It’s what was hurting Mommy.

“It’s okay, Mommy. I’ll make you all better.” I held my hand over the icky blackness. I scrunched my forehead together, and stared at it. Go away, I thought. You can’t take my Mommy.

My hands started to glow a little. Daddy fell back on his butt. I focused even harder, trying to make the bad stuff go away. I would make Mommy all better, just like she does for me. I didn’t want Daddy to be sad anymore.

It was working, the blackness shrunk, the green goo dried up, and soon there was nothing more than a raggedy red hole over Mommy’s bellybutton. She relaxed and fell into a peaceful sleep.

The others gathered behind us erupting with gasps of awe and whispered comments of amazement. I glanced back, and they were all staring at me with wide eyes. Funny, usually I was the one staring. The blonde man was halfway to the door, eyebrows arched as high as they can go.

“Oh… dear…” Daddy sighed, and ran a hand through his dark hair.

I yawned. “I’m tired.” I said, crawling into Daddy’s lap. “Is it bed time now?”