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Mom ran to me and the three-headedhimswung its left-sided maw and knocked her across the room. My mother shattered the coffee table, crumpling in a heap of glass and splintered wood.
She didn’t get up.
“Mom,” I screamed.
Tears soaked my face. Hot, running, and choking. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real! Only hours ago, I was walking through the city under the arm of my crush. I was laughing on the couch with Mom and remembering Dad.
“This isn’t real.” Clapping my hands over my ears, I squeezed my eyes shut. “This isn’t real. Th-this is a nightmare. Wake up,” I hissed. “Wake up!”
“Sssstupid girl.”
A noise made me rip my eyes open. Mom groaned faintly as the snake woman lifted her up, tossing her on the dog beast’s back like she weighed nothing at all.
“Crying and cowering won’t do you any good.” Black blood wept freely from her face and burned the hardwood like acid where it dropped. “They sssay you’re to be a champion. A heroine. Let’sss ssseee it, then... Fight.”
It looked down, and so did I. Inches from my fingertips was my dad’s dagger.
“Go ahead. Fight ussss. Kill usss,” she hissed. “Carve your fate with our blood.”
Fight? With nothing but an old knife against two fearsome, impossible beings? Would the blade even pierce their skin? Did they have normal skin?
“Go on...” She laughed. “Won’t you even try?”
Shaking fingers gripped the blade. I shoved onto my feet, sliding up the wall to hold me. Clenching my chattering teeth, I gripped the dagger with both hands and thrust it in front of me.
“L-let my mom go,” I shrieked. “Get out of here. Leave us alone!”
More laughter. The three-headed beast also made a noise in its throats—a strange gruffing sound that mimicked a laugh.
“Oooh no,” the snake woman mocked. “Whimpering and whining don’t seem to be working. Better try something else.”
I gritted my teeth, nostrils flaring. Flicking away, I fixed on Mom. Blood wept from a wound on her forehead. If she’d woken up before, she was unconscious now.
“Go on,” it whispered. “Use the weapon. Attack. Kill.”
I couldn’t move. My feet glued to the floor, holding up a body shaking so hard, the dagger slipped through my spasming grip.
The snake woman laughed so hard, tears burned my eyes.
Do something. Mom needs you. Help her. Move!
“Let her go!” I screamed.
Its paw ripped through the living room wall, exploding wood and plaster across my face. My screams echoed through the city as it struck, sending me flying into the television.
Darkness bled around the edges, sucking me down under a slithering whisper of its laugh.
“If you want your pressscious mommy back, you know where to find us. Sssee you ssssoon, little warrior.”
Chapter Two
Two Years Later
Acrack spiderwebbed through the pavement, spreading to the end of the sidewalk and continuing through the street. I glued to that crack, letting the honking horns, rumbling tires, street chatter, and city noise wash over me.
Blue loafers blew past my vision, surrounding me in seconds.
“Oh, look. It’s a Harry girl. Shame about that tragic, shit-brown uniform.”
