Prologue

Ten years ago – September 9, 1992

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!"

The shrill scream pierced through the still night air, and jolted Sabrina out of her troubled sleep. Sitting up abruptly, she looked around, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm her racing heartbeat. She was greeted by her small, pink-striped room, an army of stuffed animals, and a darkness fought only by the eerie red glow of her alarm clock.

Was I just having another bad dream?

Nightmares were not uncommon to the twelve year old girl bundled in warm flannel. For the past few months, she had been having unintelligible dreams, none of which she even remotely remembered when she woke up, sweating and gasping for air. Sometimes, she could recall a pair of deep, red rubies set against green, boring into her like a pair of cold, defiant eyes. But even though she could not remember anything tangible, or even make out a shape of anything earthly, the atmosphere of terror that she felt in the nightmares stayed with her, even when it was daylight and she was wide awake. It was an odd kind of terror, however - detached, but enveloping, as if it wasn't she that was feeling the panic, but was surrounded people in fear.

Pulling back her tangled hair, she glanced at her clock. 3:48. Sabrina sighed. Might as well go get a glass of milk, she thought, pulling on her terry robe. She was never able to get back to sleep after these nightmares, and tonight's was particularly vivid. She groped for her bunny slippers and padded down the stairs.

Absentmindedly, she glanced in the hallway mirror on her way to the kitchen, and did a double take. For a moment there, she could have sworn that the reflection showed a slender girl with blonde hair and dark eyes. But when she looked again, a familiar face peered groggily back at her: Pitch black hair surrounding a pale, creamy skin. A small, sharp nose and chin. And startling gray eyes that, set against sooty lashes, often gave people pause.

These nightmares are making me daft. She mentally shook her head and flicked on the kitchen light.

The microwave hummed behind her as she sat at the kitchen table, her head in her hands. Something about tonight's particular nightmare disturbed her. While she always felt each emotion of fear all too clearly, tonight's seemed far less removed, more… real…

CRASH!!!

The sudden noise pulled her out of her thoughts. That was no dream - there was a loud thud on the floor above her.

Mom!

Sabrina raced up the stairs towards her mother's bedroom, ready to help Julianna if she had hurt herself. But the sight that greeted her at her mother's doorway stopped her dead in her tracks.

Her mother was half on the bed, half on the floor. Her small body was horribly twisted, and even by the dim light of the hallway, she could see blood gushing from her mouth and nose to the rug below her. A tall black figure - a man - held her mother's leg in one hand, and had another thick, beefy hand around her throat. Small sounds of pain escaped from Julianna's mouth, as she fought futilely against her attacker. And what he was doing to her… Sabrina would never be able to forget…

"Tell me where she is, Julianna."

An icy cold voice whipped across the room. Sabrina looked around frantically for the source of that voice, but none came. It clearly was not from her mother's attacker.

Julianna shook her head in defiance, and saw her only daughter frozen in the doorway. Tears welled in her eyes, as she desperately tried to silently communicate to her baby.

Get out! Run! Forget about me!

Sabrina heard the words in her heart, but stood rooted to the spot. She stuggled internally, her love for her mother begging her to help her. Yet her own fear and, oddly, her mother's voice, begged her frantically to get the hell out of there.

NOW!!

This time there was no mistaking the message. Her mother had mouthed the lone word at her daughter; the command in her eyes echoed it. Unfortunately, Julianna's abrupt movement had drawn the attention of the man to Sabrina and the bulky man started towards her.

Or did it? He was looking straight at her, but did not seem to see her - was, in fact, looking around in her general direction. Nevertheless, his attention unfroze her legs, and she turned on her heel, and bolted down the stairs.

"After her!" screamed the high, shrill voice. "I can sense her!"

Sabrina ran blindly out of the door, through the backyard, and towards the woods that stood behind her quaint house. She could hear the sound of heavy, awkward footsteps trailing after her, hear another high pitched scream, and felt a flash of green light behind her, but she didn't look back. She just ran and ran until she was in the woods, her bare feet stumbling over twigs and leaves and roots. A particularly nasty one seemed to spring up at her and she fell forward, landing on the forest floor with a dull thud and a mouthful of dirt.

Pushing the hair out of her eyes, she finally dared to look back.

Walking calmly but quickly towards her was the tall, robed man… and yet, it wasn't. The dull, stupid features that had mauled her mother were replaced by red slits of eyes, pale skin and a smile so evil that Sabrina could not look away. She stared, transfixed, as the man closed the distance between them, reached into his pocket, and said, "Avada—"

He never finished his words. Suddenly, an incredible explosion sounded behind him, hurling earth and stone and streaking the sky with light. Visions of red eyes and orange light flashed before her, and then Sabrina knew no more.