"Leo? Are you alright? Leo?! Answer me…"
The girl's cries came from behind him, but he could hardly hear them. They were drowned out by the tumbling of rocks and the sound of gravel sliding down around him. What should have been a verdant forest was no longer.
He was surrounded by dirt and small rocks at the bottom of a deep crater. Just beyond him was a hole that the small rocks fell into. They simply disappeared into the black pit. He couldn't hear them hit bottom.
Other than dirt and rocks, there was blood. A LOT of blood. All around him were body parts, all cleanly sliced off. The coppery tang of the sanguine pools was thick in the dusty air. Bile rose in the back of his throat as he stared aghast at his hand. It was encased in a black gauntlet, and in his grip was a silver sword.
His mind flashed back to what had happened and a full understanding of what he'd done hit him. Groaning, he laid his head on his arm. He was so damn tired. Fatigue stole his strength, and his consciousness slipped away. Before the darkness rose up and swallowed him, he had one final thought.
'Hah… It's all my fault…'
***
"Hah…" Leo nearly choked on the word.
With a gasp, his eyes shot open, and he saw the poster above his bed. The sultry eyes of Sira Grimoire, the red witch from his favorite video game, stared down at him from the poster over his bed. He was in his own room.
With a shuddering breath, he tried to calm down. No matter how many times he'd had that dream, he still couldn't get over it. He took a slow, deep breath in on a four count, and then released it on a steady six count. Three more times, he breathed in on a four count, and out on a six count. The exercise helped him calm his racing heart.
Sitting on the edge of his bed, he scrubbed one hand through his hair. Pulling his hand back down, he stared at the dozens of thin lines from a multitude of scars from the back of his hand nearly up to his elbow. It was proof that his dream wasn't merely a nightmare—it was the sad echo of a cruel reality.
"Leo!" his mother shouted from downstairs. "Hurry with your shower and come get some breakfast!"
The mature feminine voice sounded right after he threw off the covers and sat on the edge of his bed. It was a mystery how she always knew when he was awake.
***
Leo had recovered from his dream by the time he walked down the stairs, with a cheerful look on his face. He never really spoke about his nightmares, because he didn't want to worry his parents.
"Good morning, dad."
His dad looked up from the tablet in his hand he was reading an article on with a smile. Lane Karteros was a handsome middle-aged man. He had green eyes and dark hair that was just starting to gray on the sides of his head.
"Did you sleep well? I know this is all still new and unfamiliar, but I hope you like it here."
Leo shrugged. They'd moved a number of times in the past two years, so the unfamiliar was nothing new. It wasn't like he'd left behind any friends or a relationship in Colorado. That they were now halfway across the country in South Carolina didn't make much of a difference.
"Here you go." His mom set a plate of eggs, a side of toast, and a hot cup of coffee on the table in front of him. Straightening, the beautiful woman with bright scarlet hair and matching red eyes gave him a warm smile, ruffling his hair before sitting down next to his father.
"Thanks, mom."
She was Saphire Karteros. And though he knew she was older than his father, she didn't look it. She certainly didn't look Greek, like his father. And with those red eyes, it was clear she wasn't even human.
Watching him eat, Saphire asked, "Are you sure everything will be alright? It's your first day in a new college. You want me to go with you?"
Leo rolled his eyes. "Mom, please… I'm not a little kid."
He was starting over at Sanders College. He'd done two semesters at a community college in Boulder, but his credits hadn't transferred. He was still a freshman, though at least they'd let him join several weeks into the semester.
His mother pouted at him.
"Leave him be, Saph… he's right, you know?"
The pout faltered and then his mother sighed. "I know. You're right. It's just that…I'm worried about him. We just got set up here in this new town and soon we'll have to leave on another mission. He'll be here all alone."
Leo took a drink of coffee to wash the last bite of his eggs down. "I know what you are doing is important. You finally found some clues about where she might be."
Both Lane and Saphire gave a bitter smile at his answer. They knew that they hadn't really been the ideal parents during those few years. Thankfully, Leo was extremely mature—but it was this maturity hurt their hearts.