"No, no, please ju-just go away!"

A desperate voice.

I'd heard it before, but where?

" We'll give you anything, but not the boy! Please!" The voice practically cried the last part out. It sounded like the voice of a woman. It was hoarse, and rough, as though she'd been crying recently.

I heard another voice. I couldn't hear what it was saying. It sounded like a series of mumbles, snarls,and mutterings. The woman screamed and then there was silence. I heard a door close. I realized that it wasn't actually dark, it was just that my eyes were closed.

I ran. My eyes opened just as a demon appeared in front of me. It's eyes were red and the snarls in the distance were unbearable. The monster smiled and began stretching upward, as the snarls got louder.

A scream,and then everything went black.

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I woke up thinking I was being drowned in my sleep. Turned out it was just The Mage. Something was off though. His face had a pitiful expression.

I rubbed my burning eyes. "Wh-where's Skylar?"

He narrowed his eyes. "That's who you saw? Interesting..."

"What do you mean?" I demanded. I was really not in the mood to guess what the reclusive Mage was thinking.

"It wasn't real."