She wanted to freeze the hands of time. Wanted to revisit, revise and rewrite the past…edit out the monsters hell-bent on taking the lives of everyone she loved.

Yes, the monsters were real. Are real. There are creatures in this world that exist beyond the scope of what you know and see. Remember, not all are created equal. Some are better…and worse than others…just like humans.

Fire and ice licked at his soul—whispered his name—drawing him deeper into the enveloping pain and blackness as he’d dreamed earlier. He suddenly wished to return to the rippling stream. The water would wash away the blistering pain…the fire…the burn. He’d wade deeper…submit to the current…He’d let go…

Death had marked his family with unbreakable black halos, until only two remained.

He retrieved the words from somewhere long forgotten. They floated through the foggy recesses of his mind, plucked from the dark and released into the air like a dove.

Inside, a deep-rooted force raged, buried in her psyche from eons before, percolating with a primordial awakening that had been long forgotten, until now.

You want to show me your wrath? You want to hurt me, so show me. We can take this to the bedroom if you like—the bed might be reduced to kindling, but I’m willing to take that chance. Now fight me,” he growled aloud, his obsidian eyes narrowing to angry slits. “Show me what you are becoming.

Grief—in all of its agony—burrowed deep into her essence, its serrated edges killing her piece by piece.