“Daisy?” Mr. Brown called out, squinting his eyes to make out the glowing shape in front of him.

She didn’t seem to hear him as she continued to trek toward her house, the bag lurching across the ground with each of her floating steps.

If at any time you hesitate, you and your son will be imprisoned and killed.

Mr. Brown took in a shaky breath before following Daisy. Following suit closely behind her, he felt a liquid soak through his thin shoes. Looking down, he realized that the seemingly black seeped out of the bag, leaving a trail. Mr. Brown shook off the uneasy feeling as he followed Daisy into her yard, the long grass tickling his arms as he crouched down.

For a moment, she paused, perfectly still as the moonlight poured down a halo around her body. Mr. Brown’s breath caught in his mouth as he stared at her, deadly afraid that she might have noticed him. He suddenly looked down at his shoe, shocked to see the liquid suddenly drain out and form a small, liquid ball that floated before his eyes. The ball jolted forward joined by other large, glowing orbs from the rest of the trail. Rushing toward the bag, Daisy threw it on the ground and tore it apart, straddling the dead man’s body as her hungry eyes devoured the scene in front of her.

I can’t, Mr. Brown thought, kicking his feet back as he tried to scramble away. I can’t I can’t I can’tican’ticanticant. He could feel bile rising in his throat as he clutched his hand over his mouth, feeling the hot breath of his shallow pants at the scene before him. This wasn’t worth it, none of it was, and none of it was the life he dreamed of, the life he promised his son.

The grass seemed to become sharpened blades beneath his hands as he unsteadily got onto his feet, preparing to run regardless of if Daisy noticed him. Before he could, Daisy began to rhythmically hum, and soft, unknown words slipped past her lips and broke the night’s cold hug. Her voice poured out into the night like a raining tonic, bending to the will of her cascading words as she reached up toward the moon, body pleading.

Mr. Brown stood there, awestruck at the sight before him. The woman’s brown hair seemed to glow unsteadily, white streaks growing more prominent as she closed her eyes, tilting her head upwards as if steadily balancing something on the tip of her nose. When she finally looked down, the body in front of her seemed to breathe, body heaving upwards, before collapsing once more.

“You’re here,” she sighed, her voice a thrilling call.

Mr. Brown tensed up, thinking she might have noticed him, but her eyes were looking much farther ahead.

“I know. It’s been harder for me to bring these for you,” she paused for a moment, her almost black eyes glazing over other than the sparkle of one or two stars reflected within them. “When will it be my turn?”

She silently nodded, her head barely moving, before she lifted an arm and gently caressed a face, one that was not there. “I will come back to you, Lilith.” Her voice finally cracked, shrill and devastated, and although Mr. Brown could barely make out her face, he knew that tears would be streaming down her rosy cheeks.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Lilith? The first Leith? He asked himself, stealing a quick glance toward the body beneath her. Instead of the tough flesh corpse that lay below her, it was now a skeleton, yet its bones were caved in like pliable clay, molded under the imprints of what seemed like a giant hand.

He violently shook his head back and forth, finally running from the scene; his steps were first slow and heavy, dragging across the ground before he broke out into a full blown sprint back toward his house. He had seen enough, and whatever power Daisy had was something monstrous.

Dialing his phone, he brought it to his cold ears with both of his trembling hands.

“Why are you calling at this hour?” General Kristiansen’s voice boomed through the phone, and Mr. Brown flinched, bringing the phone father from his face.

“It’s Daisy. She can communicate with Lilith. I don’t know how, but she’s killed someone, and I… I think she sacrificed him.”

The call remained silent for a moment, only small static fizzling into Mr. Brown’s ears until it seemed like it would overflow. A breathy laugh finally interrupted the buzzing until it exploded into booming laughter, General Kristiansen’s deep voice seeming to fill up Mr. Brown’s entire house.

“Now, that’s a good boy, Mr. Brown,” he finally replied, sinister laughter still edging his words. “We’ll be there tomorrow. Your pay will be boosted. As for Morrigan, we’ll take her separately. A woman like Daisy, who knows what she’ll do if her daughter is taken right in front of her.” General Kristiansen hung up, not even bothering to wait for a reply from Mr. Brown.

When the melting sun finally broke the mountains’ jagged peaks, Daisy was already awake, thick leather gloves around her hands as she watered plants in the garden. She wiped sweat off her forehead, her now-white hair tied up in a loose bun with free hairs tickling her plump cheeks everytime she bent down.

The car pulled up, dust billowing from under the wheels as a fully clothed officer jumped out. Despite the hot weather, he was covered head-to-toe in a thick, navy uniform. Daisy casually walked over, waving and flashing that expansive smile. Finally within distance, the officer grabbed her arm and locked it behind her, slamming Daisy on the ground. Mr. Brown was far enough not to hear her cries, instead opting to watch with a simple cigarette in his mouth, as she desperately fought against them. Ripping off her gloves with her teeth, she attempted to grab him before another officer slammed his knee onto her back.

Desperately rolling in the ground she finally broke free. Locking her legs around one of the officers head, she slammed him into the ground and got up and pressed her hand into his face. His shrill shouts couldn’t even reach Mr. Brown before his face melted into the ground below him. More officers crowded around her and slammed her into the ground, violently tasing her as her body uncontrollably shook.

A young girl desperately tried to run out of the house toward her mother, but a man’s hand lurched her back inside. So Morrigan’s father was in on it after all. Finally subdued, she continued to violently thrash around like a fish out of water, glaring up into the sun and shouting indignantly through her burning eyes.

When they finally dragged her into the car, Mr. Brown eyes lingered on the melted corpse now in the front yard before he flicked his cigarette onto the ground, not bothering to put it out. He reentered his home and sat on the couch as Adam excitedly asked for the details, the news, the excitement. Mr. Brown’s eyes gazed far out of the adjacent window as he stared and stared, wondering about the girl who tried so hard to reach her mother.

He was finally jolted back to reality by the ringing phone. Picking it up, he numbly brought it to his ear. General Kristiansen’s voice was grave.

“Morrigan — you will protect her at all costs. If she shows any symptoms, call me immediately.”

He hung up.